Parents in Training

by Barbara McMahon

  “Any promotion at work that deserves a celebration or something?”

  “Nada. Well, if she calls you, let me know. See you tomorrow.”

  Annalise finished sanding the trim in the front bedroom and then went to the room in the back that held the bed. She’d lie down just for a minute. Her entire right side ached now. She needed to work into fixing this place up gradually. There was no need to attempt to do everything this weekend.

  On that thought she promptly fell asleep.

  “Annalise?” Dominic shook her gently.

  She opened her eyes. It was dark outside. The faint illumination from the hall light showed her husband leaning over her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Just tired. And my arm hurts from sanding so much these last two days. No wonder Randy is in such good condition. This is hard physical work!”

  “Yeah, well, you shouldn’t push yourself so much.”

  “Pace myself? Good idea. Only there’s so much to do, and I’m anxious to have it all completed.”

  “Dinner’s ready. Your construction friend left. He had a date,” Dominic said.

  “Oh? How late is it?”

  “After seven.”

  She groaned and sat up, still feeling as if she could sleep a week.

  “I can dish up the dinner and bring it up, if you’d rather stay here,” he said, stepping back to give her space to rise.

  “No, I’ll be right there.” She hated to move. Truthfully, there was nothing she’d like more than to roll over and go back to sleep. But she needed to eat.

  Walking down the stairs, she surveyed the floors of the main level.

  “They look beautiful,” she said, stepping gingerly on the foyer portion.

  “They’re dry. Tomorrow we’ll seal them and let that dry for a week, then give a second coat next Sunday. But you can walk on them carefully in the meantime.”

  “Thank you for your help. I know the work will go faster with the two of you in charge. I lack your experience.”

  Dominic made a noncommittal sound and led the way into the kitchen. The aroma of the stew in the crockpot filled the air. She was instantly starving. Using the few plates and utensils she’d brought, they soon began eating.

  “This tastes so good,” she said, watching in satisfaction as her husband gave every appearance of enjoying his meal. The old adage came to mind. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Maybe this was a way to remind him of all they had? He wasn’t much of a cook. Before they’d married he had made do with fast food and ham-burgers—typical college fare. Her mother had taught her how to prepare meals of all kinds, and Dominic liked the food she made. Obviously including tonight.

  “What’s up for tomorrow?” she asked.

  “We’ll tackle that little room behind the living room, and then seal the floors. Once that’s done, no walking on them for at least twenty-four hours.”

  “Bridget’s coming over at noon to see the yard. I asked her to landscape. How long will it take you and Randy to seal the floors?”

  “A couple of hours, max.”

  “Next weekend I can paint the living and dining room walls, right?”

  He nodded.

  She took another bite. If she couldn’t walk on the floors while the top coat dried, where would she go? Glancing at him, she considered returning home. Then promptly vetoed the idea. First of all, she wanted him to ask her back. She needed that. It wouldn’t be much of a statement if she headed for home the first time something came up. She didn’t need Dominic. She wanted him—as husband, lover, father to her baby. But if that was not to be, she could manage on her own. Time her husband realized that.

  It didn’t take long to do the dishes when they’d finished.

  “Ready to go home?” he asked casually, hanging up the drying towel.

  “I am home,” she said, turning to face him. “You wanted a trial separation, you’ve got it.”

  “Okay, we tried it. I don’t like it.”

  She shrugged, holding his gaze.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “Some assurance we are going to make it,” she said.

  “There are no guarantees in life.”

  “That’s reassuring,” she replied dryly.

  “Look, I know we’re stuck with the baby. I have to make the best of it.”

  “Get out, Dominic. Wrong answer, wrong attitude—wrong, wrong, wrong everything.”

  She pushed past him and headed upstairs, slamming the bedroom door when she’d entered the room. She held her breath, waiting for some indication he wasn’t going to let the situation remain as it was.

  The sound of his car gave her the answer. Not the one she wanted.

  She flipped open her phone and called Lianne.

  “Can I stay with you this week?” she asked, when her sister answered the phone.

  “Oh-oh—trouble in river city?”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Annalise explained about moving out, and then about Dominic showing up to help her today. “I think he’s surprised I’m not like his first wife.”

  “And how is that?”

  “Dependent.”

  Lianne laughed. “That does not sound like you. He’s known you for years—does he really think you’ll become dependent?”

  “Apparently his first wife did when she became pregnant.” Annalise could say the words first wife without a pang. She was accepting the past, growing used to it. Maybe she’d never know the full story about their relationship, but as long as it remained in the past she would not dwell on it. What had happened before she met him went into making him the man he was today—hang-ups and all.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “I’m living in the house until further notice. Only, they are sealing the floors on the main part of the house tomorrow, and I can’t walk on them for a while. So I’d need to stay with you for several nights.”

  “You are always welcome here, sis, you know that,” Lianne said. “And I want to hear more about Dominic’s first wife.”

  “I’ll tell you all I know—which still is hardly anything.”

  “See you when you get here,” Lianne said.

  Annalise went to bed more content than she’d been in days. Dominic had come to help on the house. That meant a lot.

  * * *

  By the time Bridget arrived the next day, Annalise was glad to escape to the yard. She’d tried to help with the flooring, but Dominic didn’t want her around the fumes. Randy and Dominic seemed to have an armed truce between them. They were cordial enough, but neither seemed to like the other much. Were they disagreeing on how to do the job?

  It was her house, and she wanted to make sure things got done the way she wanted, but at one point even Randy said they’d do more faster if she’d get out of their way.

  She was sitting on the front porch, imagining what the garden could look like, when her sister turned into the driveway. There was scarcely room for her vehicle with their own two cars and Randy’s truck. Bridget climbed out of her low- slung sports car and headed up the crumbling walkway.

  “Wow, this is fantastic,” she called, when she spotted Annalise. “And I get to do whatever I want?”

  “As long as I can afford it,” Annalise said, coming down the steps to give her sister a hug. Another one in her camp. “I want it to be a showplace.”

  “It kind of reminds me of Grandma Carrie’s garden. You already have roses growing.” Bridget examined the sprawling branches. “But not so good. I can fix that.”

  “And there are more in the back,” Annalise said.

  “With a little care these old bushes will be full of blooms next summer. I bet they’re the old-fashioned fragrant kind. We’ll have to see.” Bridget walked around the expanse of yard, examining former flowerbeds, kicking at the brown grass, studying the tall trees.

  “Let’s see the back,” she said, completing her circle.

  She was just as pleased with the backyard—large by city
standards, and full of old trees and shrubs. She and Annalise discussed what could be done, and Bridget was even more excited than Annalise about the possibilities.

  Randy came around the side of the house. “Anyone here own that car behind my truck?” he asked.

  “I do,” Bridget said, turning. She smiled brightly. “Hello, I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “Bridget, this is Randy Hawthorne. My sister Bridget. Randy’s helping me renovate the inside of the place.”

  “And I’m finished for the day. See you next Friday?”

  “Yes—as we arranged.”

  “Wasn’t sure we were going to continue in light of Dominic now helping.”

  Annalise wanted to say that was the arrangement she was uncertain about, but she wouldn’t say it aloud. “Dominic may have to go out of town on business at a moment’s notice. I want some assurance this project will continue on track. You’re hired for the duration.”

  “Works for me,” Randy said, with an easy grin.

  “I’ll move my car,” Bridget said, walking over to Randy and falling in step as they both headed for the driveway.

  Annalise sat on the back steps, waiting for her sister. She liked the ideas Bridget had proposed, and couldn’t wait until spring, when she would see the flowers in bloom.

  Bridget returned a few moments later. “Wow—what a hunk. What does Dominic think of you working with that guy?” She sat on the steps beside Annalise.

  “He hasn’t said anything, but he sure volunteered to help quickly enough when he got a good look at Randy.”

  Bridget laughed. “Not that he’d ever have to worry about you. I never saw two people so in tune with each other. You can practically finish each other’s sentences.”

  Annalise wanted to confide in her sister, but until she made her announcement to the whole family about her pregnancy, she had to keep quiet. Except…

  “He doesn’t think much of my remodeling project. He likes the flat we own.”

  “I do, too. It’s so elegant, and yet comfortable.” She looked around. “This is going to be a lot of work compared to no yard at all. You don’t even have a balcony with flowers now. Are you sure you’re up to it? You two travel so much. Though I wouldn’t mind coming over to keep an eye on things.”

  “We may not be traveling as much in the future. And I figure we can always hire a gardener.”

  “I guess. Nothing like getting your fingers in the soil, however. Or talking to your plants as you prune them and water them,” Bridget said.

  “Is that the secret to your green thumb? You talk to the plants?”

  “And encourage them to be all they can be. It works. Grandma Carrie taught me that.”

  Dominic came around from the side of the house. “I thought I heard voices. Hi, Bridget. What’s your verdict about the jungle?”

  “Hi, Dominic. You have a huge challenge here, but I’m up to it. Leave everything in my capable hands and you’ll have a showplace in spring.”

  He looked at the tangled and overgrown yard and shook his head. “I can’t picture it.”

  “Annalise said to make it low maintenance, so I’ll install sprinklers and get only plants that require minimum care. With maybe a couple of flowering ones that might take a bit more.”

  “A gardener will take care of it all,” Annalise repeated, with a glance at Dominic. “I want a big lawn area.”

  “Umm, you may change your mind,” Bridget said. “Can I see the inside now?”

  “Sorry—we just sealed the wood floors on the ground level. Can’t go in for forty-eight hours,” Dominic said.

  “Come back next weekend. I’ll give you the grand tour,” Annalise said.

  Her cell rang. She answered, looking at Bridget as she said, “Hi, Mom.”

  Her mother asked if she and Dominic were available next weekend, to meet with the rest of the family at the sea cottage.

  “What day?” she asked, already wondering what she could rearrange with the tasks on the house to accommodate her mother’s request.

  “Sunday. I haven’t confirmed that day with everyone yet, but so far everyone I have talked with has the weekend free,” Helen said.

  “I’m available Sunday.” She raised her eyebrows, looking at Dominic, and he paused a moment, then nodded. It would still give her two days for renovation work.

  “Is Dominic in town?”

  “Dominic’s available, too, as far as I know. He’s right here. As is Bridget. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “Yes. Plan to arrive midmorning. We’ll have lunch, and then everyone can leave before dark.”

  “What’s up, Mom?”

  “Tell you on Sunday. Let me speak to your sister.”

  Annalise handed the phone to Bridget and walked over to Dominic. “Mom is gathering the entire family at the sea cottage next Sunday. But she won’t say why. Nothing awful, do you think?”

  “I’m sure she’d tell you right away if something awful was up.”

  She glanced at her sister, who was still talking on the phone.

  “So, can you go with me?” She hated to ask, but if he didn’t go it would raise more questions than she wanted to answer.

  “Of course.”

  Annalise wished he’d take her in his arms and kiss away the estrangement. But before she could even ask him to hold her, Bridget rose and crossed the distance to hand Annalise back her phone.

  “Weird. Why won’t she say why we’re all meeting?” Bridget asked. “I think I’ll go home and call the others. Maybe she let some clues drop and I can put them all together to find out why.”

  “Good luck. Mom doesn’t let anyone know what she doesn’t want them to know,” Annalise said.

  “See you next Sunday, then.” Bridget hugged them both, and left.

  “Nothing more to do inside?” Annalise asked. Did she have to worry about her parents on top of everything else going on in her life?

  “I checked everything was turned off before we finished the floors. We worked our way to the front door. You can lock it, and we can leave. I have to go by the office. I’ll be home later.”

  “Thanks for your help, Dominic.”

  “You don’t need to pay for help, Annalise. If I’m not available, get one of your brothers.”

  “This way I can call the shots and not have to wait on someone’s availability. Don’t you think Randy’s competent?”

  “He seems to know his stuff. What I don’t like is the idea of the two of you working so closely.”

  She shrugged.

  Dominic turned and headed for his car. “I’ll be home later.”

  “I’ll be staying at Lianne’s until the house is habitable again,” she said.

  He turned back and stared at her for a long moment. “As you like.” In only moments, he was gone.

  Annalise kept her days busy with clients and new listings. Evenings she spent with Lianne and Tray, trying to ignore the fact her husband had not called.

  To Annalise’s surprise, Dominic arrived at the house on Friday morning earlier than Randy. He told her he’d arranged for a few days off to help out, and that she should take advantage of the time while he had it.

  She and the two men painted the front rooms and worked on the small room behind the living room. She was anxious to get started on the kitchen, but knew that would be such a monumental task it was best left until she had more energy. If she ever would while pregnant.

  Nothing was said about their living arrangements. With Randy in earshot all day, it was hard to have any private conversation—which both suited Annalise and frustrated her.

  Sunday, Dominic picked her up at the house to drive to the cottage together. Annalise watched the familiar scenery as they drove east, feeling awkward. She hadn’t completely severed ties with Dominic. Yet she hoped the estrangement was showing him what he was missing with her gone. Glancing at him, she wondered if it was working. She was encouraged by his helping with the house. Yet yesterday, he could have been the hired help like Rand
y for all the special treatment he’d given her.

  Dominic hadn’t said much since he picked her up and she didn’t know how to open the topic closest to her heart—literally. She wanted to tell her family about the baby. Yet the last thing she wanted was for him to tell everyone how against having a baby he was. No one would understand. She, who knew him best, didn’t fully understand.

  She knew the past held a tremendous hold on him even today. Would anything get through that barrier?

  They were not the last to arrive, but more than half the family was there when they pulled in. The day was beautiful, cold, but sunny with no wind. Children ran on the beach, staying back from the waves, but tempting fate by running up to the water’s edge and dashing away when the water advanced.

  “We did that as kids,” Annalise said, watching them for a moment. She couldn’t wait until her own son or daughter dared the water. And got scolded when they got wet against instructions to the contrary.

  Her brother-in-law, Sam, was watching the kids. No one let the children on the beach without adult supervision.

  Dominic looked at him when he got out of the car.

  “Sam got kid duty.”

  “Until someone switches with him. Didn’t you watch them last summer for a while when Grandpa Paul wanted a break?”

  Dominic nodded.

  “And was it so awful?”

  “Annalise, watching your nieces and nephews for a few hours at the shore is nothing like raising a child. A few hours’ duty is not a life sentence.”

  “Having a child is not a life sentence. You make it sound like a crime,” she said, annoyed he still held that view. She walked into the house and was immediately surrounded by brothers and sisters and grandparents and parents. She hugged everyone, so grateful to have such a loving family. Dominic entered a moment later and was swept up into greetings, as well. How could he not want some of this for himself with his own child?

  Everyone arrived before lunch. The food was set out on the porch, deli trays for making sandwiches, an assortment of salads, cut up fruit, chips and a variety of beverages. It was buffet-style. Chairs were brought from the house, from the storage shed and soon everyone was eating and catching up on news. Since they’d all been together just a few weeks ago when celebrating Lianne’s news, there wasn’t as much to catch up on. But conversations were lively and full of laughter.