by Tamie Dearen
“Gracebytheway—that’s a funny name,” she quipped.
Grace linked her arm around Emily’s and led her into the restaurant. “Ah—a sense of humor. We’re going to be best friends. Spencer, why did you keep this one from us?”
“Does he usually bring lots of girls to meet y’all?”
“Y’all? How cute—she has a southern accent. No. He never brings a girl to meet us. I can’t imagine why not.”
“Can we use the back room today, Aunt May?”
“I don’t have it reserved… Unless your mom and dad are coming?” May gazed expectantly at Emily.
Emily shook her head in answer, but Grace asked, “Who are your mom and dad? They get to sit in the back room?”
The blood rushed to her face—she hated attention. And she especially hated the kind of attention Steven Gherring garnered. Spencer came to the rescue.
“Grace, please. Can we sit down before you grill Emily further? And maybe you shouldn’t be quite so nosey.”
“Me? Nosey? Surely you’ve gotten me mixed up with Olivia.”
“Hey,” objected one of the tall sisters with long, brown hair hanging in a mass of curls. “I’m not nosey.” She pulled up a chair next to Emily. “But I’m great at keeping secrets. So you can tell me anything, and I’ll go to my grave with it.”
“Right, Olivia,” teased Grace. “But on your way to your grave you’ll tell your secrets to anyone who asks.”
“That’s a lie… Don’t listen to her.”
“Where did you two go today?” asked a tall girl whose curly hair looked similar to Olivia’s, but auburn. She had fair skin and rosy cheeks. She reached across the table to shake Emily’s hand. “I’m Hannah.”
“On a hike,” Spencer answered.
Grace frowned. “She’s one of those hikers?”
“You don’t like the people in the hiking club?” Emily asked.
“How should I know? I never get to meet them. He doesn’t bring anyone over.”
“I don’t live at home anymore,” Spencer defended. “And why would I bring a friend to the house so you could grill them?”
The tall sister with shoulder-length brown hair spoke up. “We don’t grill them, and you know it. You’re afraid we’ll tell them stories about you. We have lots of stories, and most of them are true. I’m Claire, and I keep secrets better than Olivia.”
“I’d love to hear a story.” Emily grinned, while Spencer buried his face in his hands.
“You want to hear about Spencer’s Senior Prom?” asked Claire.
“Oh, no. Tell her about his Superman underwear,” said Hannah.
“Hannah!” Spencer lunged for his sister.
Emily laughed. “Don’t worry, Spencer. I’m sure you don’t still have that underwear. You’ve probably moved on to Spiderman.”
Grace hooted. “I like you, Emily. Want to come to family dinner on Sunday?”
“No!” Spencer exclaimed.
“Why not, big brother? We promise to play nice.” Grace batted her eyes.
“I’d love to come, but can I let you know tonight.”
“Sure. Give me your cell number.”
“So how do you know Spencer?” Claire asked.
“She’s a friend from work,” Spencer explained.
“I didn’t ask you,” teased Claire. “If you wanted to tell us about her, you should have done it a long time ago.”
“So, are you in the hiking club? I don’t really have anything against them,” said Grace.
“No, this was actually my first hike. I don’t hike or anything like that. My favorite exercise is ballet dancing. At least it used to be.”
“She’s also an artist,” said Spencer.
“How did you know that? I never tell anyone.”
His face reddened. “I... I just saw the watercolors in your cubicle and assumed they were yours. I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to tell people, but I thought they were really good. Grace does watercolors, too. I didn’t know it was a secret...” His voice trailed off.
Grace said, “Oh, would you like to take a class with me? There’s a great summer class with a fantastic teacher. He’s amazing—you’ll love him. It’s on Tuesday nights.”
“Actually, it sounds fun.”
She glanced at Spencer, who sported a rather miserable expression. “It’s okay, Spencer. I was only surprised you knew about my painting. That’s all.”
All four sisters observed the small exchange closely. Grace considered Spencer with narrowed eyes.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better, Emily. We’ve got a lot of things to talk about.”
When Steven called during the middle of their lunch, Emily sent a tense glance toward Spencer before stepping away from the table to answer.
“Steven? What is it?”
“They put her on an IV again, and now they’re sending us home. They told us to come back tomorrow if she still can’t eat or drink, and we’re seeing the doctor on Monday. I think we need to try a different prescription.”
“So what do they have her on now?” asked Emily.
“Uhmm... I can’t say exactly. But it isn’t working.”
“Do they have her on an antibiotic?”
“An antibiotic? For an ulcer? Uhmm, no I don’t think so.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. Most ulcers are caused by infection, so they usually prescribe an antibiotic. I wonder why they didn’t give one to Mom.”
Steven heaved a heavy sigh. “I wish I could answer that one for you, Emily. Maybe Monday I’ll be able to give you a better answer.”
“You’re worried, aren’t you?”
“I... I’m not... Yes. I am. But, your Mom’s going to be fine. I promise. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
She wanted to believe him. At least he’d admitted his concern, but she knew from her research things didn’t make sense.
She walked back to the table, avoiding the probing eyes of the Marshall sisters. She had to say something. “Good news… Mom’s fine. She’s just dehydrated again.”
Grace started to ask a question, but Spencer caught her eyes. When he shook his head almost imperceptibly, she forked a spoonful of salad and chewed with relish.
Spencer asked Emily, “Are you finishing lunch? Or do you need to go?”
“No, I’m good. I guess I’ll be available for dinner on Sunday as well,” she told Grace.
“Six o’clock, as usual?” asked Spencer.
“Did we invite you, Spencer? I thought this was a girls’ night.” Hannah stuck out her tongue.
“Fine,” he smirked. “Are you cooking?”
“Hey, Spencer. Can we have shrimp scampi this week? You know, since Emily’s coming?” asked Claire.
“But that’s your favorite, Claire. Maybe Emily doesn’t like it.”
“I like everything. Well, except for liver. And eggplant. And mountain oysters. Other than that, we’re good.”
“Too bad,” Spencer chuckled. “I was really hoping to do mountain oysters.”
“What’s mountain—” Claire began.
“Don’t ask,” said Olivia. “I’ll tell you later.”
“I’ll bring dessert. Do you like Hello Dolly Bars?” asked Emily.
“Do they have chocolate in them?” asked Hannah.
“Of course… Dessert has chocolate by definition.”
“This is fun, isn’t it, Spencer?” Grace’s eyes were twinkling. “You should have introduced us to all your many, many female friends.”
Emily watched as he glared at Grace, the muscles in his jaw clenching. But he didn’t respond to her provoking comment. How many female friends had he had over the years? He was awfully good-looking—of course he’d had a lot of girlfriends. Perhaps she could find out at dinner tomorrow night. In fact, she might learn a lot at the Marshall family dinner.
Chapter Four
Anne felt like warmed-over death. And she looked like it, too. She stared at her drawn face in the mirror. She pulled out
her concealer and dabbed it under her eyes to camouflage the huge dark circles. Then she rummaged through the back of her drawer, searching for powder blush to lend an appearance of color. Inspecting her work, she told herself she looked halfway normal. Hopefully, she looked good enough to pass the inspection of her daughter who was on her way up. Her husband had already seen how bad she looked. He was getting a full-blown trial of the “for worse” part of his recent wedding vows.
Why did she feel so terrible with this pregnancy? Her first two had been easy, and she felt terrific the whole time. Of course, she was in her early twenties when she had Emily and Charlotte. She’d had a little morning sickness, but nothing like she was experiencing now. The nausea meds prescribed by the doctor provided little relief for her severe symptoms. She had hoped fervently she’d eventually adjust, praying each day her symptoms would improve. But so far, she found it almost impossible to keep anything in her stomach.
She spied her husband behind her, watching her in the mirror, his face clearly exhibiting the emotions warring inside him. Whoever said men don’t have any feelings had never met her husband. He had them in droves, and most of them were intense.
“I look bad… I’m afraid for Emily to see me.”
“If you’d tell her the truth, it wouldn’t be a problem. I really don’t like lying to her, and I’m having to do it a lot. Have you considered how angry she’ll be when she finds out the truth?”
“I know, but I’m just not ready.”
He sighed. It seemed like he was doing a lot of sighing these days. “Have you had anything to drink today?”
“I liked those ice chips you brought me. And I ate a cracker.”
“And they stayed down?”
“Well... Not exactly.” She felt tears forming, and she turned away, blinking rapidly.
She found herself enveloped in his arms. “Don’t worry. We’re already planning to go back for an IV this afternoon; you’ll feel better soon.”
“I’m really worried the baby’s not getting enough nutrition.”
“I’m worried about you. If something doesn’t change, there won’t be anything left of you.” He gave her a squeeze. “But Monday, something’s going to change. We’re not going on like this. So why do we have to keep lying about it, even to our family?”
“It’s... You won’t understand.”
“I will. Please tell me.” He lifted her face toward his, so she could see the promise in his eyes.
“I’m... I don’t want to go through this in public—in the newspapers, in the tabloids. I’m just not used to it. I know it doesn’t bother you, but I was even embarrassed over all the press stuff when we got married. I can’t imagine what they’ll say when they find out I’m pregnant at my age. And then if I lose the baby...” She couldn’t stop a few tears from rolling down her cheeks.
“I didn’t know the paparazzi upset you that much. I guess I’m used to it, so I can ignore it. But if it matters to you, it matters to me.” He kissed a few stray tears off her face. “Couldn’t we at least tell the girls and Gram?”
“But then they’ll have to lie about it.”
He heaved out another weighty sigh. “Okay, we’ll wait as long as we can. And I’ll see what I can do to keep the media out of it. Truthfully the best way to fight the tabloids is to be very open with the mainstream press. It’ll be hard to keep it a secret for long.”
She managed a little smile. “Maybe you could simply buy all the tabloids.”
“I’m considering it.” He grinned, and her heart leapt in her chest. He was so handsome. Sometimes she still had a hard time believing he could love her.
“Help me get dressed and ready for when Emily comes. I want to look really normal.”
“I’d rather help you get undressed.” He kissed the back of her neck.
“You’ve got to be kidding. Me throwing up ten times a day hasn’t turned you off?”
“Na! I’m used to it. I’ve always had that effect on women.”
Emily’s mom lounged on the couch. Her color was better, but she looked thin—like she could easily snap in two.
“So you’re feeling better?”
“Yes, much better. Tell me about Spencer? Are you sure you’re only friends? He’s such a nice boy.”
“Yes, we’re friends. So what medicines are you taking for your ulcer?” Emily had done a thorough Internet search on ulcers. She was prepared to catch her mom if she was lying.
“Are you really sure you’re only friends?”
“Yes, we’re just friends. And what medicine did you say you’re taking?”
“Some type of antacids. Uhmm, I forget.” She fidgeted with a button on her shirt, refusing to make eye contact. “I wanted to know if you were really only friends, because his Aunt May wants me to match him with someone.”
“May asked you to match him up?” Something heavy fell to the bottom of her stomach.
“Yes. You know, she wants me to find a wife for him.”
“Mom, maybe Spencer doesn’t want you to find someone for him. Maybe he’s not ready to get married. Have you thought of that?”
“No, he told me a while back he’d love for me to find someone for him. In fact, before y’all came to visit me in New York, I showed him a picture of you and Charlie. He told me he’d take either one of y’all.”
“Either one?” Why did that bother her?
“I think he meant he thought y’all were both cute,” Anne clarified.
“Well... If Spencer wants a wife, I guess you should find him one. Do you have someone in mind?”
“No, I actually thought you could help me look. I don’t know him that well, and I don’t meet a lot of young people.”
“Sure, I guess. You know, he told me he wasn’t even interested in dating anyone right now. Are you sure he still wants a wife?”
“I guess he could’ve changed his mind, but to be honest, most guys don’t know they want a wife when they find one.”
“That’s true.” Steven walked in and sank onto the couch next to Anne. “I was determined to remain single for the rest of my life.”
“But Spencer’s still in grad school,” Emily reasoned.
“Doesn’t he graduate in December?” asked Steven.
“I guess that’s true,” said Emily. “Still, he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to settle down.”
“What do you think about Becca? She seems interested in Spencer.” Her mom blinked wide innocent eyes.
“Oh, you mean Betty Boobs?” Emily asked sarcastically.
Anne giggled. “I thought y’all were getting along well by the end of the hike. You have something against her besides her significant endowment? I thought y’all were becoming bosom buddies.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny. I was only trying to make them feel comfortable. Becca’s okay. But she’s not good enough for Spencer. She’s too... too...”
“Busty?” Steven grinned.
“No—too shallow. Becca and Candace were both too shallow for him. He can do better.”
“All the girls I know are too old for him,” said Anne.
“I’m having dinner with his family tonight. Maybe I should ask his sisters.”
“That sounds fun. Have you met his family?”
“I met his four sisters yesterday at Papa’s. They were crazy—you’d love them.”
“And you’re having dinner tonight? Are you supposed to bring something?”
Emily clapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Ohmygosh! I almost forgot. I said I’d bring Hello Dolly Bars, and I haven’t even been to the grocery store yet.”
She jumped up to give her mom a hug, cringing at the feel of her gaunt shoulders and the weakness of her embrace. “I’m sorry I have to run. I hope you’re better soon, Mom. I’m really worried about you, and so is Charlie.”
As she left, she realized her mom had never answered her question about medications. She’d have to pursue her investigation tomorrow. She wouldn’t stop until she knew the truth.
“That went well.” Anne relaxed against her husband on the couch.
“Yeah, that story about finding a wife for Spencer was really distracting.”
“That wasn’t a story—it was true. May’s been after me to find him a wife for a while. But I think Emily likes him more than she’s letting on, don’t you?”
“Really? She hardly talked to him on the hike. It’s not like they ever touch each other, even accidentally.”
“Exactly. Emily makes up her mind about people pretty quickly. She likes you, or she dislikes you. One or the other. Black and white. She’ll always try to be polite, even if she doesn’t like you. But, she won’t ever be around you voluntarily. So I know she doesn’t dislike him. And she’s so awkward around him—almost as awkward as he is around her.”
“If you say so. I didn’t notice all that. I was probably distracted by all the cleavage.”
She punched him in the chest, chuckling. “Watch out buddy. When I get my strength back, I’ll make you pay.” Then she grimaced. “Ugh. Help me up, will you?”
“Where to? Do you feel nauseated again?”
She nodded, before her feet buckled under her. He scooped her up and carried her to their bed, handing her a basin. Anne stared at the plastic tub, thinking once again there was nothing inside her to throw up. She felt like crying, but she was so dehydrated no tears emerged.
“That’s it—I’m calling the doctor. I don’t care if it’s Sunday.”
“No.” Anne spoke between dry heaves. “Let’s wait. We’ll go get an IV and call her tomorrow.”
“I think she’d want us to call. She doesn’t even know you’ve gotten worse instead of better. We haven’t talked to her since Wednesday.”
“I don’t want to bother her on the weekend.”
“Well, you’re not going to bother her—I am.” Gherring stalked from the room.
Anne could hear his voice, rising and falling. She felt the room start to spin and closed her eyes against the sensation. Then she was blissfully asleep.
*****
Spencer was nervous, and with good reason. His sisters couldn’t be trusted. Even while he was cooking he observed them whispering and plotting. Occasionally they’d glance his direction, laughing out loud. True, they were aware of his observation, and they were probably egging him on. But they seemed to function together as an enemy organism whose sole purpose was to embarrass him. And tonight, he really didn’t want to be embarrassed.
