"Yes, I do." Marla frowned and then opened her mouth to say something and seemed to visibly stop herself.
Yuri hoped she was not going to ask him about them and their relationship or the future. All of this was a bit overwhelming right now. He wasn't even sure that tomorrow he wasn't going to wake up and realize that all of this was some form of an elaborate dream. That Pops hadn't left a will...the subsequent events hadn't happened. Marla wasn't really pregnant.
He stopped his ruminating in its tracks because despite how they came to this spot he was happy that Marla was pregnant.
He put a CD in the player and old school music flooded the vehicle, David Foster's For Just A Moment.
"Hey, I love this." Marla smiled at him.
"Me too. Amoy gave the CD to me as a housewarming present."
Marla's smile slipped. "She did?"
"She is trying to make me like old music." Yuri glanced at Marla and saw her frown. And then it hit him that there was going to be trouble.
On one hand he had the woman who was pregnant with his child, his childhood sweetheart and on the other he had Amoy, a woman he had recently met but had established a connection with. He was going to have to choose between them.
The mother of his baby or the new woman in his life who was smart funny and intelligent and seemed to get him totally.
Chapter Nineteen
Yuri lived in a lovely neighborhood. He even had a housekeeper, a Mrs. Sibbles, a middle-aged lady who was very friendly and efficient. She showed Marla to her room and the en suite bathroom as soon as she got in.
The housekeeper promised to return to unpack for her. Marla looked around the place in bemusement. When Yuri said he bought a house she wasn't quite picturing this kind of luxury.
She washed her face, running the water over her palms. The place cooled but she was just feeling bothered.
She needed to relax; her pulse was pumping in an erratic way. She felt outside of her element here and with Yuri. She kept referring to him in her head as new Yuri because in the five years she was out of his life, Yuri had expanded outside of her understanding. She didn't really know him anymore. It was frightening.
"You okay?" Yuri stood at the bathroom door. "The doors are open; you are just standing and staring at your hand as if you are in a trance."
"I am f-f-fine." Marla's voice trembled.
"It has been a tough day for you. Come on." Yuri turned off the tap, dried her hands and led her to the king-sized bed in the room and pushed her down on it gently.
"You have gone through a lot, Marla. Just relax."
Marla sniffed. "Yes. I have never been on the verge of tears so often."
"Pregnancy hormones." Yuri said, sinking down on the bed beside her. He laid on his back. "I hope you'll be comfortable here."
"Its a nice place, very nicely decorated."
Yuri nodded. "Thanks, Amoy helped. What am I saying? I gave her free reign. She has great taste."
"She's a decorator?" Marla asked after a pause. She turned her head to look at Yuri.
"No, a lawyer." Yuri looked at her. "Her law firm handled Pops' business and now mine."
"You love her?"
Yuri stared at her so long before answering that Marla was sure he wasn't going to answer.
"I can't answer that right now," he whispered. "I am not able to distinguish the emotions coursing through me right now."
"Yeah. I understand. I guess. Things have changed, haven't they?" Marla put her hands around her belly protectively. "What are we doing for Christmas?"
"I don't know." Yuri moved a lock of her hair and put it behind her ear. His hand slid slowly down her cheek. "I had plans to go home but this year, Terri is spending her Christmas in Qatar with a friend. Troy is hiding out from Chelsea and social services in Canada and Mom and Dad are going on a cruise. They leave next week."
"The family is breaking up," Marla murmured sleepily.
"No. You and Junior will be here. That's family."
Marla smiled. "Junior, huh?"
"He's Junior till we find a name," Yuri said softly.
She drifted off to sleep with him beside her and when she woke up she saw shadows in the room. She padded to the windows and looked out. She was looking at the twinkling lights of the city below.
*****
Yuri was staring at Amoy in silence. She had come over to check up on him in the early evening.
He had just told her that Marla would be around for a while.
"How long is a while?" Amoy asked, running her fingers through her hair nervously.
He couldn't answer. He didn't know what to say. It was early days yet. Marla had just arrived.
Amoy got up and started pacing. "I heard about the marriage officer conspiracy. One of our clients filed for a divorce but that proved to be a problem. And then we found out that apparently this situation was very widespread. They were relieved that they didn't have to go through a divorce but the lady was upset that she had been living in sin, as she called it."
Yuri nodded.
"You are not going to be living in sin with Marla here, are you, Yuri?" Amoy phrased the question like a joke but her eyes were dead serious.
Yuri shook his head. "My mother and father already gave me that speech. No, I am not. She needs some stability. She's carrying my baby. I just can't see what else to do in this scenario. She needs me now more than ever and I intend to be here for her."
"This situation is weird," Amoy said, pulling her hair from her face. "If there was a manual for something like this I would have to search for boyfriend's pregnant one-night stand living with him.
"But wait, it gets even more complex. This one-night stand was the one who got away, whose boyfriend had sex with her when he thought she was married to his best friend."
"Come on, Amoy," Yuri groaned, "cut me some slack here."
"I am not sure that I have a place in this equation," Amoy said, frustration in her voice. "When you and Marla are bonding over your baby what am I supposed to do, hang around like a fifth wheel?
"Let me tell you, I did the whole stepmother thing already and I hated it. I want a baby of my own. I want a man who is exclusively mine, without the ties of another family. I did this already, Yuri, and I found out that I was never number one in my husband's affections. It was always the ex-wife or the children or the business."
She closed her eyes. "I don't think it is too much to ask to be first in somebody's life, is it?"
"No, it isn't." Yuri whispered he hugged her to him. "No, it isn't. You deserve to be first."
"But you can’t give me that?" Amoy said in his shirt.
"No." Yuri squeezed her tighter and then stepped away. "No, I can't. Not now."
Amoy wiped her eyes and nodded. "I understand to a point. I get it. Don’t think I don't get it. I just hate that I am the fifth wheel."
"You know what? Let’s get married now and start working on some babies," Amoy said feverishly. "I mean, we could totally do it. I could even be magnanimous enough to have Marla live in my apartment, and I could move in here. It's just up the hill, walking distance—you wouldn't be far from your firstborn and we can have him over any time you want. I will be the perfect stepmother. I love kids. Ask anyone. I want at least ten of them."
Yuri chuckled. "Ten?"
"Yes, ten, or eight. A girl can dream..." Amoy sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't stay any longer. I actually have to go into the office and join the rest of the team to prep for a high profile case. It sucks being a career girl."
She headed to the hall and grabbed her purse.
Marla was coming downstairs at the same time and the two women looked at each other.
"Hello again, Marla," Amoy said pleasantly. "I am sure that we will see each other around."
"Hello Amoy," Marla said, her voice barely audible.
Amoy headed to the door and looked from Yuri to Marla, a warning in her eyes. She finally closed the door and Yuri went after her and locked it.
He
sighed raggedly.
"She has a problem with me being here, doesn't she?" Marla asked softly.
"It's obviously complicated." Yuri raised his eyebrows. "You hungry? You slept through the afternoon; of course you should be hungry. Poor Junior must be starving."
Marla smiled. But she was aware that Yuri hadn't answered her question about Amoy and that he was trying to be upbeat but he really was not.
"Would it make you happier if I moved out, found my own apartment?" Marla asked. "I have some money, I can totally manage..."
Yuri was heading to the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks. He spun around to her. "You just got here, you are not going anywhere. You know what would make me happy Marla? If you are happy. So just relax and be happy, okay?"
"Okay, if you are sure."
"Very sure," Yuri said, determination in his voice.
Chapter Twenty
"Yuri! Just the man I want to see," Watson met Yuri in the lobby of the office building. "I am heading out for the rest of the day. Cindy is on bed rest and she has me doing a ton of things for the holidays. I told her I would dedicate today to her."
"Is that normal, the bed rest?" Yuri asked Watson, his thoughts instantly turning to Marla, who had looked as fit as a fiddle this morning. When he left she had been in the gym, walking on the treadmill and listening to loud, upbeat gospel music.
"No, it's not but she has a pressure problem and she was told to take it easy."
Yuri nodded. "Okay then."
Watson pulled him out of the high traffic area and into an alcove. "I got the strangest call this morning from a man, Ricardo Mills. He asked to speak to the head of the company. Technically, since you all nominated me COO, my secretary got the call. This guy was asking me to fire you."
Yuri laughed. "What did you tell him?"
"I said, ‘Sorry sir, I can't fire Mr. Scarlett; his work here is invaluable to us.’ He then threatened to buy the company from whoever owns it and fire you himself. He said you took away his wife and child."
"Delusional," Yuri said wearily.
Wilson shook his head. "How delusional?"
"She wasn't his wife and the baby is mine." Yuri ran his hand over his neck. "Yep, I have some complicated matters to deal with."
"Is Amoy okay?" Wilson asked, concern in his voice.
"No." Yuri shook his head. "She is not. Not really."
Wilson held up his hand. "You have my number. Call me if you want a listening ear."
"I am handling this," Yuri said, nodding, "but thanks for the offer."
He headed to his office and slumped around his desk. Ricky was up to his old tricks. Still trying to wrestle control, still trying to rule his life.
His cell phone rang at midday and it was his father calling. Lloyd's voice was gruff. "Yuri, how are things?"
"Fine, Dad," Yuri said, trying to multitask. "How are you?"
"Perplexed," his father said, "This morning I got notice for the ten acres I farm up in the hills. The owner wants me off today."
"That would be Ricky," Yuri grunted. "He called the company demanding that I be fired. What are you going to do, Dad, about the farm situation?"
"I am going to find the lease agreement and have the lawyers deal with it," Lloyd said. "I have a whole lot of melons to be reaped from there. I can't just be kicked off now. And then I am going to buy the piece beside it. Its been on sale for years now."
Yuri chuckled. "Okay. You go, Dad."
He hung up the phone and stared into space. So Ricky really had threatened to ruin the Scarletts, as Marla had said. If they hadn't gotten that money from Pops he could have easily done it too. His father depended on that farm to survive. Well, he had. And Yuri would have been severely drained without his job here.
Yuri thought about it. Part of him was angry at Marla for not leaving Ricky and the consequences be damned. He was angry that she hadn't trusted him but she obviously thought about the consequences to his family and had stayed with Ricky.
To be honest, he still distrusted Marla because of what he had viewed as her rejection of him. Even though his brain knew the circumstances behind what happened, his heart was having a hard time reconciling the facts.
Marla had left him emotionally paralyzed. And now that he had her he didn't know how to revive himself.
And Amoy? How did he honestly feel about her? Did they have enough to go on? Could he put her first, as she said? He wished now more than ever that he had Pops to talk to.
He closed his eyes. What would Pops do?
He would grab his Bible, and he would open to a text and he would read it. Yuri chuckled. He had always found that method of finding wisdom a bit old fashioned and risky. But here he was at a crossroad.
What would be the harm in him taking his Bible opening it and allowing God to guide him with some wisdom from his word?
He pulled the Bible from his desk drawer and opened it. His eyes fell on the book of James. He was in James 1. He had never really read James before. His eyes settled on verse 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
He laughed and swung around in his chair. Was God really telling him that he should ask him for what to do in the way forward? It was a fluke. He closed the Bible again, still chuckling and opened it.
John 16. His eyes latched on to verses 23 and 24. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Whoa! Yuri wasn't laughing anymore. He closed the Bible again. This was not funny. First the text told him to ask God for wisdom, then it was telling him that he hadn't really asked God for help. If there truly was something to this Bible thing, the next time he opened his Bible he absolutely would follow whatever it said.
He opened the Bible again and it opened to Proverbs 3. My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ...
This-this-this sounded like Pops was talking to him directly.
And Yuri knew without a shadow of a doubt what he had to do about his situation. Tell God, trust him and he would give him the wisdom to deal with this situation. It was as simple and as clear as that.
And he would have to read his Bible more. It was totally ridiculous that he had no idea that these texts were in there. He got down on his knees in his office and he talked to God, reminding him that he said all men could come to him and ask him for wisdom, even him, Yuri, who had not lived the best of lives so far or made the right decisions.
*****
Two weeks of living with Yuri and Marla realized two things: she loved him more than she had ever thought possible and she deeply resented Amoy's presence in his life. Amoy treated the place as if it was her own, just because she had decorated it. She flitted around the place with her lean, modelesque self, wearing clothes that Marla could only dream of fitting into and laughed loudly at Yuri's jokes even when they were not that funny. She bought Yuri's groceries, or at least the things that she thought he would like.
Marla made it a point not to touch any of them, especially those ridiculous-sounding teas like apple cinnamon and the like. She made chocolate for Yuri in the mornings just like old times. The old fashioned chocolate that you had to grate and spice.
She also made him dinner in the evenings, stuff that she knew he absolutely loved, like curried chicken and boiled green bananas. It was her pleasure to dump the salmon pate that Amoy had put in the fridge when it was past its due date. She hated to waste food but she knew that this was war. And she had the home side advantage.
Barel
y.
Over Christmas, Amoy had dragged Yuri to her family dinner. Marla had smiled and insisted that she was fine. Her counter move was to give Yuri all his favorite Christmas foods before he left for the fancy-smancy Lee Chang dinner.
On Boxing Day Amoy had tried to drag him off to some friends’ party but Yuri had felt guilty for leaving her behind and had protested. Amoy had grudgingly said that she could come too. Marla had accepted, foolishly.
She didn't know anybody in Amoy's crowd and she was definitely the odd woman out with her protruding pregnant belly.
Amoy had announced that she was Yuri's surrogate pregnant friend. And Marla had been too embarrassed to explain that she was not anybody's surrogate.
She was sulking in a corner with Amoy deliberately and pointedly commandeering Yuri's attention.
"You look glum." Another pregnant lady came and sat beside her. "I am Cindy Wilson."
"Marla Roundtree." Marla looked at Cindy with a smile.
Cindy sighed. "I was on bed rest for three weeks. I thought I would go crazy. I threatened my husband to bring me to this party or else...so here I am."
Marla nodded. "I am just here because I am jealous of Amoy and I wanted to let her know that I was around."
Cindy laughed. "Join the club. I used to be so jealous of her, it was not funny. My husband, Ken Wilson, the one in the ridiculous green shirt with the Christmas trees. See." Cindy pointed out a tall stocky guy with a drink in his hand.
"He had a crush, a mammoth crush, on Amoy for years. We all went to the same school." Cindy grinned. "And there was little Miss Perfect Amoy with the perfect skin and the perfect hair and the perfect body. God, I resented her. If I just looked at a donut I would put on a pound but Amoy could eat the donut shop and not put on an ounce. It was unfair. I liked Ken; she didn't. She was into really handsome guys who were very tall. My Ken was none of that and yet he would put his shirt on puddles so that she could walk over."
Scarlett Baby (The Scarletts Page 14
