Stunned, Yvette watched Christopher walk past her and up the stairs. “Seriously?” She was livid. I don’t know how in the world we got to this point, but this has to get figured out. There were just too many instances where if Chris was home, he was preoccupied at times, or working on his laptop. It was as if he worked around the clock. Which didn’t make any sense to Yvette. It was a farm, it wasn’t a global corporation. What in the world was so dire that it would monopolize his every waking hour? Her thoughts drifted to Margaret and Tony. It was as if they, too, were surprised at the amount of time he was putting in at work. And it was their farm!
Suddenly, a thought wove its way into her subconscious that was so shocking, she gasped. Was Christopher having an affair? Despair swept through her, and a sour taste permeated her mouth. Once she thought about it, her imagination ran wild.
Late nights, tired, preoccupied, missing important family functions. Is it possible?
“No,” she breathed aloud. It couldn’t be. Christopher would never, ever cheat on her. She was annoyed at herself for even entertaining the idea. He loved her…he had always loved her, and would never do anything to jeopardize their marriage. But…was he happy? Christopher had taken on a lot of responsibility in a short amount of time. They’d been married, he adopted Lacey, they’d sold both of their houses, had a baby, and now were living in his parents’ townhouse. That was enough to make anyone long for a much less complicated life. The single life?
Yvette shook her head, but emotions sprung up out of nowhere and threatened to overwhelm her. She felt a sudden urge to dissolve into tears. Tamping down the emotions, she walked over and sank into the couch. She wrapped her arms around her middle and tried to get herself together. She trusted her husband, and would continue to do so until she had reason not to. Suddenly exhausted, having to climb the stairs and walk to her bedroom was more than she could imagine right then. Instead, Yvette lay down and grabbed a throw to spread over herself. It’s just a rough patch we’re going through. It will all shake out soon. Christopher loves you and he loves the family you’ve created together. Nothing will ever change that.
10 CHAPTER TEN
“Mommy, wake up. Mommy, up.”
Yvette opened her eyes slowly. She blinked several times and eventually her sight cleared and she could see Robin standing in front of her. He was holding his favorite bear in one hand, and his sippy cup in the other.
“Hi, Robby,” she said, sleepily.
He kissed her. “No shick, Mommy.”
She sat up and got her bearings. She’d slept on the couch all night. She was shocked, but she had been so tired last night. And angry.
She focused on her son. “You’re not sick anymore?”
He shook his head and climbed up in her lap. He put his head on her chest and patted her shoulder. “You schick, Mommy?”
“You may be, from the looks of you,” Adelaide said from the doorway. “Maybe you’re catching what Robby had, Yvette. You look terrible.”
“Thanks, aunt.” She yawned. “You sleep with your face on a cushion all night and see how you look in the morning.”
Yvette stood up. “I’ve got to get breakfast ready for—”
“No need, honey. Christopher took care of everything. He cooked breakfast, got the kids up, and Lacey out the door. He told the kids not to wake you so that you could get some sleep.”
He left without saying goodbye? “Oh. That was nice of him,” she said, dryly.
Adelaide’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she got Robby set up to watch his favorite show, and then motioned for Yvette to follow her into the kitchen.
She didn’t beat around the bush.
“He left a note for you,” she said, without preamble. “Since when are you two the kind of couple to leave notes on the counter as opposed to talking to each other?”
Yvette walked over to the counter and picked up the small envelope with her name on it. “I guess since recently,” she said, defensively.
“What’s going on, Yvette?” Christopher looked like the walking dead this morning. It was obvious that he didn’t get much sleep, and from the looks of you, that’s a condition that you both share.”
“It’s complicated,” Yvette started.
Adelaide shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down. She faced her niece. “Un-complicate it.”
Yvette sighed. She poured herself a cup of coffee, and then joined her aunt at the table. She inhaled the aromatic fragrance and willed herself to feel more alert.
“Okay. The short version is that Christopher has been working non-stop ever since he took over running the farm from his parents. He’s back and forth, and sometimes spends the night at the farm. Not to mention that work is getting in the way of our home life. He missed Lacey’s play, Aunt Addie. You can’t get something like that back,” she pointed out. “And when he is here…he’s preoccupied sometimes. I swear I feel like I’m a single parent Monday thru Friday.” Yvette started to say more, but then stopped short. She crinkled up her face.
“What?” her aunt asked.
Yvette got up and went to the kitchen sink. She dumped her coffee down the drain, ran water in the cup and rinsed out the sink, and then poured herself a glass of milk instead. She came back and resumed her seat.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing. I didn’t like the smell of the coffee. It smelled…off.”
Adelaide stared at her. “What do you mean off? I tried it, and it was the same as always.”
Yvette shrugged. “I don’t know, it just made my stomach churn.”
“I hope you aren’t coming down with whatever Robby’s got, but anyway… Back to our conversation. What’s really bothering you?”
“I…what do you mean? I just told you everything. What else is there?”
Her aunt sat back in her chair. “I know what you said, but it’s what you’re not saying that I’m interested in hearing. All this can’t be because Christopher works too hard. A lot of people work too hard. In this economy, it’s a given that people are going to work too hard to keep their jobs, and make ends meet. Hell, I’d be worried if he wasn’t working hard.”
“Aunt,” Yvette said, in censure. “Robby’s in the other room.”
“He can’t hear me; he’s watching his favorite show. You know he’d tune out a fire alarm while his program’s on. I don’t understand why you’re so stressed out about Christopher’s work schedule. If you’re so concerned about it, have your nanny stay longer if she can, or hire one of the young girls in the neighborhood to be a mother’s helper a few times a week.”
“That’s not the same as having Christopher here,” Yvette countered. “Sometimes I feel like…”
“Like what?” Adelaide pressed.
“Like he doesn’t even want to be here,” she finished.
Her aunt stared at her in shock. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” she chided. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you most certainly are,” her aunt said, warming to her cause. “Christopher has worshipped Lacey since the first day you took her to his tree lot—and you even longer. I could see in his eyes that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the two of you—that’s still true.”
“What if it’s all too much for him? He took on a readymade family and now we’ve increased it. Plus we’re in a house that’s too small and trying to find a place that’s bigger, but we haven’t yet and—”
“Okay, hold your horses before you have an anxiety attack. You’re working yourself into a tizzy for no good reason. You’ve got a terrific man, Yvette. One that loves you, your daughter, and the family that you’ve created together. There is no way that man isn’t exactly where he wants to be. And I’ll tell you, if you were talking that nonsense to me…I’d leave outta here and leave a note on the counter, too!”
Without warning, Yvette started to cry. She grabbed a napkin off the table and dabbed furiously at
your eyes.
“Mommy? Mommy, no cry,” Robin said, running up to her. He patted her on the arm and then crawled up into her lap.
“I’m okay, sweetheart,” she said, quickly.
“Mommy’s just fine, Robby. She thought about something that made her sad, but I’m sure the longer she thinks about it, the happier she’ll be,” Adelaide said pointedly.
“Aunt Addie’s right, Robby. Mommy is all better.” She forced a smile. “You go back and watch your show. I’m going to go get dressed, and I’ll be back to play, okay?”
“K.” Robin said, and then ran back in and jumped on the couch.
“I think a shower would do you a world of good,” her aunt agreed. “You go ahead, I’ll watch Robin. While you’re up there, think about what I said.”
She nodded and then left.
Once upstairs, Yvette turned on the shower and started to undress. She tried to calm down, but it was hard. A part of her knew that her aunt had been nothing but truthful. Why she was building a mountain out of a mole hill was anyone’s guess.
She bent to pick up her clothes, and was struck with a sharp pain in her abdomen. It was enough to double her over. The breath left her mouth in a loud hiss. Holding on to the sink, Yvette tried to ride out the discomfort. When it didn’t abate, she decided to go to the emergency room. She grabbed the sweats off her bathroom counter and struggled to put them on. The pain was now radiating around to her back. The sweat began trickling down her face, and when the saliva left her mouth she bolted. She barely reached the toilet in time before she dropped to her knees and retched into the bowl.
There was no way that Adelaide would hear her call from the bathroom. She’d have to make it to the hallway. After she’d stood up, Yvette rinsed out her mouth with Listerine. When the pain subsided, she staggered to the hallway.
“Aunt Addie,” she cried out, and then reached for the wall. “Aunt Adelaide!”
Unable to drive, Adelaide called for an ambulance. Yvette protested that given time she could drive herself, but her aunt vetoed that idea.
“You could have a burst appendix or something, Yvette. Don’t be silly. They’ll be here in minutes.”
She realized Adelaide was right. She sat on the stairs, and leaned back against the wall. Robin was upset and crying at seeing his mother in pain.
“I’m fine, Robby,” she assured him. “Mommy has a stomach bug. It’s okay.”
When Adelaide heard the doorbell, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Hang on, honey. I’ll go get it.”
The EMS crew came in and from there everything moved in rapid succession. Yvette was stabilized and secured to a stretcher to be transported to the ambulance. Against her aunt’s wishes, Yvette insisted that she and Robin stay home.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured her. “I’ll call the moment I know anything.”
“I still think I should—”
“Aunt Addie, please,” Yvette said, weakly. “Robin will be much less excited here.”
“Okay, honey. You call me as soon as possible, do you hear me? In the meantime I’ll call Chris and—”
“No,” Yvette protested. “I’ll call him from the hospital after I see the doctor. I don’t want him rushing frantically home if it’s indigestion or something minor.”
Her aunt frowned. “This doesn’t look minor, but we’ll do it your way, honey.”
“Thanks.”
Adelaide waved, and stepped back when one of the men hopped into the back with Yvette, and shut the door. She closed her eyes. “Lord, please keep her safe.”
11 CHAPTER ELEVEN
The good thing about being in an ambulance with gut wrenching pain, if there was a good thing, was not having a long wait to be seen.
At least that’s what crossed Yvette’s mind thirty minutes ago. She was lying in a hospital bed waiting for the doctor to return. The doctor had ordered a slew of tests, and she was waiting to hear the results. Exhausted, she had fallen asleep waiting. She thought about calling Christopher, but had decided to wait until she was certain what she was dealing with. They may be at odds, but there was no doubt that he would drop everything and race to the hospital if she called him. Part of her wanted to, but the other part didn’t want to worry him unduly.
The curtain across the room was pulled back with a loud whoosh. The Emergency Room doctor she’d been assigned came in. He was an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair, playful blue eyes, a very round middle, and a great bedside manner. He sat down on a wheeled chair, and then scooted over to her bedside.
“Hello, Mrs. Darcy. Well, depending on how you look at it, I’ve got some good news, and some potentially better news. Which would you like first?”
Yvette was taken aback by his jovial manner. It couldn’t be that serious if he was smiling…right? She relaxed a little, but not too much. “I’ll take the good news first.”
“Okay,” he scanned over her chart again. “The good news is you’ve got a case of Gastroenteritis. It’s an inflammation of the stomach lining most likely caused by bacteria in something you ate, or a virus. You do have a low grade fever, but we’ll give you something to take care of that. It will run its course and you should be good to go in a few days.”
Yvette digested that information. The pain was excruciating. She couldn’t imagine how bad it would hurt if it were more serious.
“That’s good to know. So what’s the potentially better news, doctor?”
“You’re pregnant, Mrs. Darcy.”
The world faded away while Yvette processed what the doctor had just told her. Pregnant? “Are you…are you sure?” she whispered.
“Yes, very.” He asked her a few of the usual questions, which she answered.
“We won’t be able to tell for sure how far along you are without an examination. Would you like us to do one now, or would you prefer to follow up with your personal physician?”
“No, I’d like to know now,” she said, in wonder. I’m pregnant. How in the world did that slip past me? Granted she was shocked, but Yvette was happy about the news, and yet a little worried. What in the world would Christopher say when he found out? So many things ran through her head at once. Would he be happy, too, or would he think that the timing wasn’t ideal? Was it a boy or a girl? They were already cramped in the townhouse. Now finding another house would be imperative. They were having a baby! Despite the uncertainty she was feeling, a wide smile spread across her face. Oh Christopher...please be happy.
***
Christopher walked through the back door and into the kitchen. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. How was your day?”
He walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek before going to the sink to wash his hands.
“Fantastic.”
“So you’ve spoken to Yvette then and patched things up?”
He frowned. “Not that fantastic.”
Margaret turned around and faced her son. Her hands automatically resting on her hips. “Christopher, what could be more important than that?”
“True, but the flooring is in and it looks great, Mom. Just as I imagined it would,” he hedged.
“Oh, I’m glad, son. I’m very happy that your work day went well. Now get on that phone and call your wife,” she fussed.
He strolled over to the table and sat down. He reached for the aluminum tin a few inches away. Opening the lid with a firm tug, Christopher took three cookies out and placed them on a paper napkin.
“Why you’ve let things go on this long is anyone’s guess. You two are never at odds,” she said while going to the cabinet and retrieving a glass. “It’s not like you not to settle things,” she continued while she wrenched open the refrigerator and grabbed the container of milk. “If you ask me—”
“I didn’t,” he countered.
“You’re asking for trouble,” she replied, pouring milk into the glass and setting it on the table next to him. She returned the container to the fridge, and then sat down at the table beside him. “I
t was a silly quarrel that needs resolution.”
Christopher took a healthy swig of the milk, and bit into another one of his cookies.
“Mom, I’m not disagreeing with you. It was ridiculous, but I don’t know what else to tell Yvie without giving myself away.”
“It’s easy. You say, ‘Honey, I’ve got a surprise for you and I can’t tell you what it is, because that would ruin it. I just need you to trust me and know that things will go back to normal around the house soon.’—and— ‘My family means everything to me, and I love you.’”
Christopher tilted his head to the side. “A bit redundant, isn’t it, Mom?”
“Hey, you should be shouting it from the rooftop if that’s what Yvette needs to hear from you.”
“What’s he shouting from the rooftop?”
They both turned to see Anthony walk in. He came over and opened the tin to grab himself a few cookies.”
“You’re going to ruin your dinner,” his wife lamented.
“He’s not ruining his dinner,” Anthony said eyeing his son. “Bet you didn’t tell him to put them back.”
“That’s because his doctor didn’t say that he needed to watch the holiday pounds.”
“Hey, I’m Santa Claus, I’ve got to be jolly,” he laughed, and then sat down beside his wife.
“That’s what pillows are for, Kris Kringle. Now if you want to snack, get some fruit.”
“Not happening, Mrs. Claus,” Anthony said with a gleam in his eye. He turned his attention to his son. “Now what’s going on with you?”
“He and Yvette had a fight.”
“A disagreement,” Christopher clarified.
“Whatever it was, she slept on the couch, and he left without saying goodbye to his wife.” She glanced over at her son with an accusatory expression on her face. “Like I didn’t raise you better than that.”
Christopher shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Mom, I’ve tried to call Yvette several times today, but she hasn’t answered. I wouldn’t blame her for still being upset. I’ll patch things up the moment I get home.”
Two Hearts for Christmast Page 6
