“I wasn’t in school enough to get to know anybody, anyway. It will be wonderful to start in a school where no one knows I’ve been sick. And it‘s great that I‘ll be starting my new life with a brand new brother.”
“And I shall enjoy having another little sister.”
“I haven’t met Lynn. Is she nice?”
“Not to me, she isn’t,” Justin said, tongue in cheek. “I know she’ll enjoy meeting you.”
“Can I ask her about being on Broadway?”
“You can ask her anything your heart desires.”
Justin uncrossed his legs and slapped his knees. “Well, I’d better be going. I’ll come back around ten tomorrow to be your chauffeur for the big shopping trip.”
Instantly alarmed, Natalie said, “You can’t see Anne in her wedding dress. It’s bad luck.”
He enfolded Natalie in his arms. “Not to worry. There will be a waiting room for me to stay safely out of sight.”
“Umm, you smell good. I’m going to like having a brother.”
“Goodnight, Natalie.”
“I’m going to go in my room now so you can kiss Anne goodnight.” She disappeared inside and closed the door firmly behind her.
“And I’m going to like having a considerate little sister.”
He kissed me, using his tongue and showing me that he was quite ready to use another appendage on me.
I pulled away and he released me and sighed. “I guess it will be a dry season until it’s official.”
“I guess.” I was as hungry as he was, but I didn’t want to show it.
“Are you sure we couldn’t slip into your bedroom? These rooms are probably sound proof.”
“No, Justin. We’re not exactly quiet when we make love, and I couldn’t concentrate with Natalie right next door. You’ll have to wait.”
“Ah,” he said. “But then…so will you.” He gave me one more evocative kiss and left.
Justin arrived the next morning at the prescribed hour. Liz had telephoned before I left and given me orders that I was not to think of the price of my wedding gown. I was simply to choose mine and Natalie’s dress and Justin would pay for them. I didn’t argue. I wanted to look nice for Justin.
I found a white silk dress, strapless with a full skirt that flowed gracefully away from my waist. The only ornamentation was the belt. It was set with sparkling white crystals. There was a fingertip veil with ornaments to match the belt. I was fitted with a long line bra to go under my dress, white stockings and bridal shoes. We found a stunning green Christmas dress for Natalie with tiny little cap sleeves and an old-fashioned sweetheart neckline. With her cluster of red curls that had grown back, she looked adorable.
“So nice that you aren’t pregnant.” The saleslady had an accent I couldn’t place. “Sometimes ladies come in and they are so far along that it’s a problem to find a style to suit them.”
“Yes,” I said, hoping I sounded sympathetic, “that must be difficult.”
In the dressing room, I was getting into my clothes when I saw Natalie studying me. She was fully dressed in her jeans and tee top. “You aren’t, are you?”
Oh, oh. This wasn‘t a place I wanted to go. “Aren’t what, baby?”
“Pregnant.”
I’d thought the tough part was all over. Now here it was, slamming me in the face again. “What makes you ask that?”
“You got a funny look on your face when the saleslady said that about pregnant ladies. And you’ve been wearing low-heeled boots ever since I came home. You always wear high-heeled boots, even in the snow.”
There was a comfortable round cassock in the middle of the room, meant for a bride to stand on and look at herself in the mirror. I sat down on it and pulled Natalie into my arms. I had to tell her the truth. But soon she would be dating. How could I warn her about the dangers of sex before marriage when I hadn’t obeyed the rules myself?
“Yes, Natalie, I’m going to have a baby.”
“I hope it’s Justin’s.”
That took me back. “Well, of course it is, darling. It couldn’t be anyone else’s. Try to understand. I’ve loved Justin since I was a high school girl.”
“So you’re going to marry Justin and you’re going to have a baby and I’ll just be…nothing.”
Love struck as I was with Justin, I hadn‘t seen this coming. “Of course you won’t be nothing. You’re going to live with us and go to school and when it’s parent’s night we’ll come and be your surrogate parents.”
“It won’t be the same.”
I hugged her tight, tight, tight. “No, my darling sister. It won’t be the same. It will be better. You‘ll be an aunt with a little niece or nephew.”
But she was cool to me when we went for supper that night at the inn. I’d called Justin and told him of Natalie’s reaction and that it would be best if he didn’t come tonight and would he mind going and picking out the wedding rings himself. When he protested, I said, “You know I’ll love anything you pick out.”
“I understand,” he said, but I heard him mutter under his breath, “long, dry spell.”
It was Christmas Eve and I thought I’d make one more attempt to appease Natalie. I asked Justin if he would press his limo driver into service and take us around to look at the holiday lights. He agreed readily. “Anything to be in a backseat with you.”
Natalie plunked herself down between Justin and me. Trying to separate us? Difficult to tell. She worked hard not to be enchanted by the lights, but soon her natural good nature returned and she was pointing out the reindeer and the Santas and the stars, almost jumping from one side of the car to the other, first leaning over me, then leaning over Justin. He simply lay back against the seat to give her room, his smile one of amused tolerance, making me fall more in love with him than ever. When the ride was over, Natalie actually kissed Justin on the cheek. “Thank you for this. I’ve never spent a whole night looking at Christmas lights before. I loved it.” She crawled over Justin to climb out of the car. “I know you two will want to stay and kiss and stuff. I’ve got my key. Goodnight, Anne. Goodnight, Justin. Thanks again.”
When she had gone through the hotel door, Justin turned to me. “Well? Do you want to kiss and stuff?”
“What do you think?” He wasn’t wearing a tie, so I used the lapel of his coat to pull him close. Before I knew it, he had me down in the back seat and was sprawled half on top of me, as much as he could.
Shamelessly, he turned his head and called out to his driver, “Tom, go get a cup of coffee. And leave the motor running.”
“Yes, sir,” Tom said, and I could hear the grin in his voice.
“Justin, we can’t make love in your limo.”
He pushed the button to close the privacy window and lock us inside and the world out. “How do you know? Have you ever tried it?”
“No. Have you?”
“Actually, no. Andrea never wanted to make love unless she was in bed.”
“You dare to mention an old lover when you’re with me?” I was very haughty, very righteous, and very artificial.
“It’s because of you that I can talk about her. You’ve washed all the bitterness I felt about her away with your big heart and your big bo…”
“Stop it right there, buster. Or you’re going to be short one bride tomorrow.”
“God, I love you. You can take anything life throws at you.”
“Justin, I love you too, but are you going to spend this precious twenty minutes we have talking?”
“Well, it would go a lot faster if you’d worn a dress instead of jeans.”
“I didn’t know I’d be accosted in the back of a limousine.”
“You should have. You know how you are.”
“How I am?” I protested.
“You’re a sex fiend,” he murmured in my ear. “And I thank God for it.”
He was making short work of my jeans and his pants. My body knew him so well and wanted him immediately. “You know this is downright disgrace
ful and so very lovely,” I said as he entered me.
“Yes, indeed,” he said, and neither of us talked any more. Our mouths were busy enjoying each other.
Up in my hotel room, Natalie jumped up from the couch where she’d been waiting for me.
I hoped to heck my jeans were zipped all the way up. My panties were stuffed in my purse. “You should have gone to bed, sweetheart. Tomorrow’s a big day. You’re my maid of honor. You have to make sure you have Justin’s ring so you can give it to me at the proper time.”
“I just want to know something. You really love Justin, don’t you? I mean he’s rich and everything, but you wouldn’t marry him if you didn’t love him, would you?”
“No, Natalie, I wouldn’t marry him if I didn’t love him, no matter how rich he was. What brought this on?”
“Well, I was just afraid you might be marrying him because of the baby and me and everything.”
“I told you, sweetheart. I’ve loved Justin for a very long time.”
“Well, it just seemed funny to me. I mean, I’d never seen him around or anything. And then all of sudden you come home from a trip and you’re having a baby and getting married. I guess I feel funny about it because it all happened when I was in the hospital.”
“Do you still feel funny about it?”
“Not so much now that I’ve seen you with him. You act like you’re already married.”
“I guess in a sense we are.” I waited, wanting to make sure that she’d said everything she wanted to say. Then she dropped the bombshell. “I don’t know anything about sex. Will you explain it to me?”
And here it was. That tough discussion that a wise mother should have with her daughter. I didn’t want to do it. It occurred to me, as I studied her young, beautiful face that I had never really been a parent to her, guiding her through the morass of dealing with other girls’ cattiness and predatory boys. She’d always been at home, sick, being tutored by someone else, or me when I could no longer afford a tutor, or she’d been in the hospital. She was a babe in the woods in more ways than one. And I was a babe in the woods when it came to explaining sex. But I‘d have to give it a try. “Well, have you ever heard a plumber talk about connections?”
This was really lame but I didn’t know where else to start. I‘d never felt that the birds and the bees quite cut it. “They have connections in plumbing that they call male and female. The male connection is like this,” I used my pointer finger to demonstrate, “and the female connection is like this.” I used the thumb and forefinger of my right hand to make a circle. “To make the connection the male piece of pipe goes into the female.”
Natalie looked at me with huge eyes. “You can get pregnant by having a man touch your hand?”
“No, my darling,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. I thought I’d better get a little more graphic. “A man has an appendage between his legs we call a penis. He inserts it in a female vagina.” I touched my core.
“And you did that with Justin to make the baby?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds gross. Really, really, gross.” She made a face. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“When you are older, you will understand that when you love a man, it’s the most pleasurable thing in the world to be joined with him in the act of love.”
“I’m never going to do that.”
“Of course you aren’t going to do that-- now. You have a lot of growing and learning to do before you can even think about falling in love. The important thing to remember is that sex is an act of love. You need to love someone with all your heart and all your soul to have sex with him. It’s not something you should do just out of curiosity or because the other girls have done it.” I hesitated and then said, “If you do get to the point where you think you’d like to have sex with someone, you will come and talk to me first, won’t you?”
“You didn’t come and talk to me about having sex with Justin.”
“I’m an adult, Natalie. I’d feel very uncomfortable talking to you about having sex with Justin.”
“I’ll probably feel uncomfortable about talking to you about having sex with a guy.” She raised her head and looked defiant.
Oh, oh. “Natalie.” I covered her hand with mine. “You can talk to me about anything.”
“It’s just a lot for me to take in. I’m kind of tired now. I think I’ll go to bed.”
She looked shaken, my suddenly knowledgeable little sister. Maybe I should have waited. Was this how it was going to be? Me not knowing how to be a mother? “Goodnight, Natalie.”
Yikes. Justin had told me I could handle anything. An infant and a blossoming teenager were going to be a whole heck of a lot of anything.
Chapter 16
Like a castle in a fairy tale, the Cameron house was cleaned to white-glove perfection, the windows sparkling in the winter sunshine. Inside its luxurious rooms, the fireplace and stairway were draped with green garlands, while mistletoe dangled from each archway. To complete the ambiance of Christmas, the aroma of sugar cookies pervaded the air. I couldn’t believe this beautiful home would be the scene of my marriage to Justin. It was perfect setting for hosting a Christmas wedding, the second one for this family. Amelia had white poinsettias everywhere.
We were to say our vows in the sitting room in front of the fireplace. I was to dress upstairs in a spare bedroom with Natalie and we’d form a procession down the staircase, her descending on one side and me on the other. Only the immediate family would be there.
I was almost dressed when Liz came in to see me. She looked lovely in a rose dress, the baby in her arms. Madeline was already a fashion maven in her adorable pink dress with pink booties to match.
Liz turned to Natalie. “You’ve got the ring in that little pocket I showed you, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got it right here.” Natalie patted her belt line.
“One of Justin’s friends is going to play the Pachelbel Cannon on the guitar. I’m to give the signal when you’re ready. Anne, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you for your help with our hair.” She’d done wonderful curly waves in my long hair and adamantly refused to pin it up. “Justin will want to see it the way you normally wear it.”
For Natalie, she’d turned her short hair into a neat cap of tendrils curling around Natalie’s face. Natalie looked like a young angel.
“Are you ready?” As if on cue, Madeline began to cry. “I knew she’d want to be fed. I’ll manage somehow. I am not going to miss this wedding.”
She left. I went to Natalie to take her hand. “I love you, little sister.”
She threw her arms around me. “I love you, too. You’re all I’ve ever had to give me hope.”
“Now you’ll have a big brother, too. Never forget that, Natalie. You are my family. We’re just adding a big brother.”
“And a little baby,” she said, patting my tummy.
“And a little baby,” my heart beating a little faster at the thought that I had inside me a little boy or girl who would look like Justin.
When the music started, I stepped back a bit to watch Natalie walk down the stairs. She was so beautiful, a young woman on the cusp of life, her pale complexion set off beautifully by her blue eyes sparkling with good health and her cap of red hair. The green dress we’d chosen fit her tiny waist to perfection and showcased her slim legs. I started down then, my hand on the rail to preclude a fall, my heart in my mouth. I wasn’t sure this was really happening to me.
But when Justin came to stand beside me looking like a male model in his gray tux, it became real. It was even more real when he slipped the ring on my finger and looked into my eyes while he said his vows.
In twenty minutes, we were married and standing together to receive his family‘s greetings. Even though it was just Justin’s family, I felt as if I’d been given a million hugs and a million cheek kisses. When it was Amelia’s turn, she whispered in my ear, “How lucky I am that I may live to see two
of my grandchildren. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I’m awfully glad you feel that way,” I whispered back.
“You’re family now. You have our loyalty and our love.”
Justin leaned over to me. “Is Ma giving you her blessing?”
“Don’t call me that,” she said sharply and gave him a rap on the wrist. Then she turned to me and said, “Don’t mind us. He always calls me Ma. He’d be disappointed if I didn’t reprimand him.” She smiled serenely and floated away.
“There goes a hell of a woman,” Justin said. “She never faltered, through the bad times or the good.”
“Do you suppose our child will say that about us, someday?”
“I hope so, sweets. I hope so.”
There was the wedding dinner which was more like a Christmas family affair. Afterwards, groaning with full stomachs we retired to the drawing room. There we simply relaxed and enjoyed each other‘s company. Liz sat watching the rest of the family and smiling as she held little Madeline in her arms. The baby began to fuss.
“Woman, bring that baby to me,” Hunter said. When Liz handed the baby over, he took the little girl in his big hands and draped her over his shoulder to pat her back. The baby quieted instantly.
“Good job, honey.” Liz kissed him on the head.
I saw Justin gazing at Hunter and wondered if he was thinking that Hunter was an excellent example of a father. Hunter had fathered his brothers and sister through a tough time, and now he had his daughter to love. I hoped Justin would know that he would be a wonderful father, too.
I thought how fantastic it was to be a part of a family at Christmas time, to smell the Christmas tree and the lingering scent of food. How proud Amelia looked. It was all so wonderful except that Alex looked quite alone now that Hunter was occupied with his daughter. Alex seemed subdued and somehow different than I remembered him, cooler, more self-contained. I wondered what kind of woman would be smart enough to capture Alex’s interest. As for the other Cameron sibling, Lynn, she lay sprawled out on one of the couches in a way that appeared completely natural for her. She wore her signature outfit of a silk blouse and tailored slacks. I decided to go to her and apologize for not having her stand up with me at the wedding.
Wooing Justin: The Cameron Family Saga, Book Two Page 10
