by Ann, Natalie
“Have a beer and relax now; the hard part is over.” She laughed and handed him an opened bottle of his favorite craft beer. Then she grabbed his hand quickly and examined it as he attempted to take the bottle away. “You need a manicure. Look at those calluses. You should have soft hands as a pediatrician,” she informed him.
He snatched his hand back. “Thanks.” He held the bottle up to his mouth, drained a third of it in one gulp. “But there are only so many things I am willing to do in the name of love, and a manicure isn’t one of them. Sorry.” He chuckled, then groaned over his weary body, and pointed to the chair next to him. “Have a seat, relax. I’m making Lucas grill when he gets here. It’s his wife’s birthday, so he should do it anyway, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure he will if you ask.”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling. I’ve got the food and everything else we need, so someone else can grill. I’m even willing to give up my grill tonight, and that is saying something.”
Two beers and an hour later, Mac was feeling much more relaxed and ready for the second party to begin. At least this one would be much more enjoyable, for him anyway.
He turned when he heard the glass door open behind him and watched when Brooke and Lucas walked out, each carrying beer and snacks to place on the table. It didn’t take long for her to notice what was in the yard either. “Mac, you shouldn’t have,” she cried out. Quickly placing her food down, she took off running for the castle. Within moments she was barefoot and jumping up and down with Zoe, laughing and giggling.
Mac turned to Lucas, shock and confusion written on his face.
“You don’t want to know. Suffice it to say, that beat out my gift to her,” Lucas informed his brother-in-law.
***
Zoe was safely tucked into bed, completely exhausted from her party, followed by Brooke’s thirtieth birthday party. Two pieces of cake and ice cream had given her more energy than normal, keeping her up a full hour past her bedtime. Until she finally crashed in Ryan’s arms.
Everyone seemed to be taken with Zoe, and she had no shortage of laps to crawl into when they all got together. But for some reason tonight, Zoe decided Ryan was the man she wanted and she couldn’t be persuaded otherwise.
Of course, Ryan’s gift of the complete set of every Disney Princess DVD ever made might have had something to do with it. He even rated well with four-year-olds, Mac thought with a grin.
“You sure you don’t want a glass of champagne?” Cori asked Beth once the bottle had been opened. She brought several bottles in honor of Brooke’s birthday and was currently filling glasses.
“No, thank you. I’ll stick with water. I’ve never been much of a drinker.” Mac knew that Beth wasn’t about to tell them she had never had a drink in her life, nor would she likely ever. Growing up with an alcoholic father would do that to you.
Mac stood up once everyone had their glasses, sparkling cider for Brooke and Beth. “To my baby sister. The one who has always been there for me. The one who will always be there for me. And the one who is going to be the best mother possible.”
“Cheers,” everyone said at once.
Brooke, tears in her eyes, walked over to Mac, and wrapped her arms around him tight. “The best big brother ever.” She leaned up, kissed his cheek and whispered for his ears only, “You’re an awesome father.”
His own eyes got pretty glossy after that.
Shame
Night had fallen, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Thomas and Michelle were sitting together on the porch swing that Mac had decided suited the deck better than the front porch. Cori was sitting in Jack’s lap, eating what looked to be her third piece of cake. Ryan was currently in a texting match with his most recent lady friend and he didn’t seem to be happy at the moment. Brooke continually glanced between the bouncy castle, and the large emerald and diamond ring that Lucas had given her, while Lucas was getting a few more beers from the cooler. It all seemed like a normal get together in Beth’s mind. But one she had never experienced before in her life.
“So, Brooke, how are you feeling? I want to know if you start to have any back pain,” Jack told her. As her orthopedist and her best friend’s fiancé, he was taking it upon himself to make sure she didn’t have any unnecessary back issues during her pregnancy. For the most part Brooke was completely healed from her accident over two years ago, but that didn’t mean something couldn’t go wrong, and her family seemed to be keeping an eye on her. Beth thought it was sweet, and that brought on a bout of envy at the same time. Again, something else she never had in her life—family members caring about her.
“I feel wonderful. A bit of morning sickness, but other than that, I couldn’t be happier. It’s all worth it, either way,” she said, gushing.
Beth’s mind drifted to the past. When she found out she was pregnant, already into the beginning of the second trimester, she was doing anything but gushing.
She’d been terrified. Not only because she hadn’t been to a doctor in years, but also because she saw her future falling down the drain. Flashbacks of her childhood with a single mother filtered through her mind, making her regret ever being so stupid.
As if it wasn’t bad enough to never see the signs that she had been the other woman in her relationship, she hadn’t even used protection the five times she had sex.
The first time she wasn’t even prepared. Derek had smooth-talked her, turned her on, and turned her up, lavishing all sorts of attention on her that she had never received from anyone else. Looking back in disgust, she was easy pickings. When he finally convinced her to go to the next level, telling her how beautiful she was, how much she turned him on, and how much he wanted her, she was in a cheap motel before she could say no.
She had enough intelligence to tell him she wasn’t on any birth control when he didn’t put a condom on. But he complained, said he didn’t like the way they felt, that it would be fine, and not to worry. So she didn’t. She wasn’t the one with experience, and she believed him.
Four more times they’d had sex in that cheap motel, since he always said his roommates were home and he didn’t want to bring her there. She believed him then, too. Why would he lie to her?
When she realized that her period wasn’t irregular but later than normal, and her breasts were tenderer than ever in her life, the dread settled in. Buying a pregnancy test and testing immediately didn’t give her the results she hoped for.
Neither did Derek when he found out. He was actually angry with her and told her it was her fault for getting pregnant. It didn’t even matter that she reminded him she wasn’t on birth control and he said everything would be fine.
She couldn’t understand his anger. Yes, it wasn’t planned. No, she wasn’t happy either. She had plans of her own. But when he had told her everything would be fine, she thought that meant he would be there for her.
Turned out she thought wrong. He told her then that he didn’t want to see her anymore, that she was nothing more than a fling to him. Within a week she quit her job, there was no way she could be around him anymore, and no way to avoid him at the restaurant they both worked at. Thankfully, she easily found another waitressing position and finished out her second semester of college. Falling one year short of graduation, she headed home in shame.
She’d believed her mother would understand. She had been in the same situation—barely out of high school and pregnant with Beth. But she was wrong there, too. Rather, her mother took one look at her and said, “Not so high and mighty now, are you?”
But things had gotten better, somewhat, and her mother did help. Beth decided to go to cosmetology school, only taking a few weeks off after Zoe’s birth, and making up what she missed without a problem.
She returned to work at the diner she worked at in high school, and had a place to stay with her mom in the same small trailer she grew up in, only this time she had to pay half the bills. It was still better than living alone while trying to raise a child. She h
ad some help, sort of.
The only thing she was really thankful for in terms of her mother’s help was with the child support hearing. Since her mother, Melinda, had to fight for support when Beth’s father left them high and dry around Beth’s tenth birthday, her mom knew the ropes.
Unfortunately, Beth’s father rarely held a job down thanks to his drinking. So support was few and far between.
The one and only time Beth had seen Derek after she left the restaurant where they worked together, was when she went back to Oswego where she had been attending college and later saw him in court. It was fairly simple and the judge awarded her support, the maximum allowed for one child on his income.
Derek met her at the end of the session, handed her an envelope and said, “In exchange for never contacting me again. I don’t want to know about the baby, don’t want to see it or you, and don’t want you to ever try to get more money out of me. I don’t even want my name on the birth certificate, so I hope you didn’t place it there.”
She had never seen such coldness in his face before. But then again, he wasn’t the guy she thought he was to begin with. “Her name is Zoe,” Beth started to say.
“I don’t care. If you want what’s in this envelope, then you will agree to those terms.”
Her eyes dry—she had shed enough tears for him—she opened the envelope and had stared at the check written for ten thousand dollars. More money than she’d ever seen at once, and more than she thought she would ever see.
She agreed to his terms, took the check and opened a savings account in Zoe’s name as soon as she left the courthouse. Only touching that money once in four years to help make the move from that small trailer and get settled here, in Saratoga.
Looking around the deck again, seeing all of Mac’s friends and family sitting around laughing and joking, caring for each other, she couldn’t help but wonder where she belonged.
Then she felt Mac pick up her hand, thread his fingers through hers and give her a tug until she looked at him and he mouthed the words, “Love you.”
And she knew exactly where she belonged.
***
The next morning Beth walked out on the deck to make sure everything was cleaned up before she left for the day. She had managed to get most of Zoe’s party picked up before everyone arrived for Brooke’s party. But by time everyone left last night she had been too tired to do more than place the dishes in the dishwasher and put any leftover food away. And that was only because all the girls helped and they managed to get it done quickly.
With a sponge in her hand, she quickly wiped down all the tables and counters and grabbed any remaining trash while Mac swept up.
“Ugh,” she said with a groan.
Mac looked over sharply. She was gripping the table breathing deeply in and out of her mouth, her face surely a lovely shade of green. “What is it?” He rushed over. “Do you feel ill?”
He took the sponge out of her hand, pushed her into the chair and told her to keep breathing as he went and got her a bottle of water. By the time he came back she was laughing. “That was fast. What happened?” he asked.
Accepting the open bottle of water, she tentatively took a few sips. “Sorry. I went to wipe the table down and saw what I think is melted ice cream that had sat in the heat and sun and the smell hit me. I’ve never had that happen before. But geez it was fast.” She laughed again. “Trust me when I say I’ve been around my fair share of stinky things before, too.”
Mac took the sponge, wiped down the offending spot, then finished cleaning off the other tables. “All done now.”
***
“Are you sure you want Zoe and me to go? Wouldn’t you rather go alone and spend some time with your family? Besides, it doesn’t seem like a very child friendly restaurant. I don’t know how Zoe will behave,” she said, starting to worry.
She was packing up the rest of her and Zoe’s clothes and getting ready to drive home for the day. It wasn’t even lunchtime, but she wanted to get Zoe settled for a bit and try to have her get a nap in.
“Yes, I want you and Zoe to go, so does Brooke. Lucas will be there to support Brooke, and you can be there for me,” he said with a laugh.
“What does that mean?” Beth asked curiously. She had only met his parents once, and though his mother didn’t seem very friendly to her, she didn’t think much of it either. Some people didn’t like to be caught off guard. And they most certainly were, showing up unannounced like that and seeing Beth and Zoe at Mac’s house. But Beth still didn’t feel comfortable enough to be part of a family dinner like this either.
“Long story. And I don’t want to scare you away with sad stories about my family life. Let’s say there is a reason Brooke moved and that I followed her shortly after. I meant it when I said she has always been there for me.”
“That’s funny, I heard it the other way around, that you have always been there for her,” she told him.
“True. I’m the older brother, and it was my job. But yeah, it was the two of us, always. So anyway, it will be fine. Zoe will be fine, too. Between us and Brooke and Lucas, and her new tablet, she will do great. Besides, Brooke is going to be telling my parents about the baby today, so she would like you there.”
“Your parents don’t know yet? I thought everyone knew.” Beth didn’t want to say she thought that was odd. She had known about Brooke’s pregnancy for almost a month. Why wouldn’t Mac’s parents even know yet?
“It’s not something Brooke wanted to say over the phone. My mother would have been annoyed over it, news like that should be said face-to-face,” he said, trying to mimic a proper Miss Manners tone.
“Guess I’ll take your word for it.”
Patience
“Ready to go?” Mac asked when he walked into Beth’s apartment to pick them up a few hours later.
He looked sexy as hell in his suit. She loved looking at him dressed up, and was proud to know he was on her arm with her wearing her one and only other dress that would be suitable in her mind. A light blue and white wrap dress that she bought on sale at the Gap. She wasn’t sure she would have ever had an opportunity to wear it, but at seventy percent off she couldn’t pass it by, and she was glad she didn’t.
Paired with white wedges, and keeping her hair simple by wearing it down and naturally wavy, she felt almost comfortable. In her mind, she looked the right combination of modern and chic.
Zoe was dressed in a cute yellow and white sundress with a little white cardigan and white sandals, while a matching yellow headband held her curls away from her face.
Mac looked back and forth between the two of them, shining with pride. “Don’t you both look so pretty? I must be the luckiest guy in the world right now.”
A little over an hour later, Mac pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and Beth tried to gently wake Zoe in the backseat. “I hope she isn’t grouchy. She isn’t always happy to be woken up,” Beth stated, worried.
“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Mac said, trying to reassure her. She was nervous enough as it was and the thought that Zoe might misbehave was making her anxious on top of it.
Since they were the first to arrive, Mac secured a private table in the back room, knowing his mother’s preferences. Within moments, Brooke and Lucas entered. Lucas was wearing a suit like Mac, and Brooke was dressed in a light yellow high-waist sheath dress with floral print pumps. The dress disguised her tiny belly that she proudly showed off to everyone the night before.
“Zoe.” Brooke walked straight to the little girl. “We match today.”
Zoe looked at Brooke and then pointed at her dress. “Yellow.” Then pointed to herself. “I have a yellow dress, too.” She smiled, showing her two dimples.
“Yes, you do, but I don’t have a pretty headband like you do.” Brooke sighed, feigning sadness.
At the mention of her headband, Zoe lifted a tiny hand and primped her hair to everyone’s amusement. “Mommy makes me pretty.”
***
A few minutes later, Mac’s parents walked into the back room. Richard Malone looked handsome in a suit, not quite as handsome as Mac, though. Paula looked lovely dressed similar to Brooke in a pale pink sheath dress with low tan heels, not a hair out of place.
A waiter entered with a booster seat for Zoe, resulting in a frown from Paula, who turned her head and finally noticed that Mac wasn’t alone. Zoe, scared at the arrival of Mac’s parents, had gone over and raised her hands to be held by him, hiding her face in his neck.
“Mother, you remember Beth and Zoe,” Mac said, leaning in to kiss his mother’s cheek. Paula briefly glanced at both Beth and Zoe, and then turned her attention away. Richard shook his son’s hand and tried to shake Zoe’s to get her to smile. Zoe allowed the handshake, only she didn’t smile, just looked at him shyly.
Richard quickly walked the few steps toward to Brooke. “Happy birthday, Brooke.” He hugged her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Married life seems to agree with you. You are positively glowing,” he added cheerfully, sounding in an odd contradiction to his deep monotone voice.
“Thanks, Dad.” She stole a quick glance at Lucas, smiling at their secret, causing Beth to smile, too, temporarily overruling her anxiety.
Everyone was taking a seat when Paula spoke. “Brooklyn dear, you do look lovely, but just because you are married doesn’t mean you should relax too much. You look like you’ve put a few pounds on.”
Beth’s eyes grew wide. Brooke was in the best shape of anyone she knew, even with a few pounds on no one would have any idea she was even pregnant right now.
Before Brooke, or even Lucas could comment, because he looked fit to be tied, Mac jumped in to Brooke’s defense. “Really, Mother, I would think being relaxed in a marriage is a good thing.” He winked at Brooke.
