The Champagne Sisterhood

by Chris Keniston

  “Brad invited you to Big Sur?” When the hell had that happened? And why was she only finding out about it now?

  Kat shook her head. “Kevin.”

  “What?” Not the flirtatious younger brother, but the steady lawyer. Suddenly a blow-by-blow was exactly what she wanted to hear, only from Kat. “When did that happen?”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad. It’s totally legit. His sister Rachel is going there on vacation with her boys, and he’s going along to help babysit. He says the only problem with three kids is you’re always one arm or one parent short. He and Rachel make two. I’d even the odds.”

  “Seems awfully odd he’d ask someone he’s only met a few times.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m hoping he’s interested in more than just babysitting.” Kat flashed all her teeth at Anna, grinning like a kid with a fistful of candy. “Now back to you. How was it? Dreamy? Rockets bursting in air? Remember I want details.”

  “You’ll have to settle for the house was definitely rocking.” So what if she couldn’t stop smiling. At least she’d finally stopped blushing.

  Throwing a clenched fist in the air Kat yanked her hand back to her side in a brisk show of triumph. “I knew it! So what do we do now?”

  “What do you mean what do we do now?”

  Looking at Anna as though she’d asked what color is the sky, Kat rolled her eyes. “This changes everything.”

  She waited a beat, expecting Kat to say more then coaxed, “Like?”

  “You know. Everything.” Kat hitched a shoulder and sat back.

  “No, I don’t.” Teeth clenched, fingers splayed, arms waving like a football ref with a nervous tick, Anna tried not to scream. “What everything?”

  “Custody, those people, this house. Everything.” Kat spread her arms wide, using one of the many sweeping gestures she’d learned in the Bartiglioni household.

  “Let’s try a new approach here. Paint me a picture with words. What exactly is flowing through that complex little mind of yours?”

  “Okay, Sherlock. The Prescotts’ lawyer is painting a Rockwellesque portrait of the perfect American couple. Longtime married, stable, church going, good home, yada yada yada.”

  “So.” She shrugged.

  “If you and Mark hook up then you can fight fire with fire. Your own happy family. Married—“

  “Stop right there. We had sex. No one is walking down the aisle.”

  “Why not?”

  “What do you mean why not?” Now who was asking stupid questions? Things were already complicated enough. She didn’t need to add a new, and soon to be bicoastal, relationship to the mix.

  Kat’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t told him?”

  It wasn’t exactly a question. In Kat’s scolding tone it was more of an accusation. Almost fisting her hands in her lap, Anna forced herself not to fidget. “Told him what?”

  “This is no time to be coy. That you’re in love with the man.”

  “Am not.” Way to go hotshot executive, now she sounded like a guilty three-year-old.

  “Trust me. If anyone knows what love isn’t, it’s me. And you, Miss Bartiglioni, are a walking advertisement for in love.”

  “Kat, this isn’t one of your books. It’s just sex.”

  “Right, and the Statue of Liberty is just a hunk of copper.”

  “You’re wrong.” She pushed to her feet and strode to the window. Such a calming view. There was no tiring of looking out onto the bay on a clear smog-free day.

  Kat stood up. “Don’t go into denial because you feel guilty for falling in love with Mark while you were still technically with Harrison.”

  “That’s not it at all.” She shook her head, still looking out the window.

  “No? Think about it. When was the last time your heart skipped a beat at the sound of the doorknob turning when you knew he was on the other side?”

  Too damn long.

  Not waiting for a response, Kat took a step toward the window. “When was the last time you felt beautiful, not because someone said so, but because of what you saw reflected in his eyes?”

  Even longer still.

  At her side, Kat stopped. “And the last time you wanted to chuck it all- work, home, everything- just to stay in his arms?”

  Only now. Now. “Oh, God.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Anna smiled, but the way Mark glared at her with one raised brow, it was clear he wasn’t buying it. “Really.”

  “You’ve been out here for over an hour.”

  “It’s a nice night. Any trouble putting Marcia to bed?” Dumb question. She already knew the answer, no. Marcia always went down happily as long as she got her bedtime story with Uncle Mark. But idle chitchat was better than having to talk about what was wrong. Not that anything was. There was just something about falling in love and into bed with a man within days of ending a five year relationship with someone else that simply seemed not right.

  For an uncomfortably long minute he simply stared at her. She could see flashes of questions in his eyes but felt a wave of relief when he merely blew out a breath and turned to the view. “Not really. She seemed a bit restless.” He leaned against the railing with his fingers laced together in what she feared was a careful gesture not to touch her. “I think she’s teething again. She felt a little warm to me.”

  “Oh. I see.” Her tone, like her bad poker face, probably gave away that she didn’t see at all.

  “Sometimes when babies are teething they run low grade fevers,” he said.

  She nodded and did her best not to fidget under the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them like an itchy blanket.

  A soft evening breeze carried the smell of lavender from a neighbor’s yard. Chirping crickets seemed to be making every effort to drown out the intrusive sound of passing cars on the street below. Dogs barked in nearby yards. First one, then another. Back and forth the canine communication reminded her of her favorite childhood movie, 101 Dalmatians. She wondered if there could be any truth to the idea that animals understood each other.

  “Can I touch you?”

  Like the tremors of a California earthquake, the low rumbling sound of Mark’s words caught her by surprise and left her feeling just as skittish. “What?”

  “I’d like to hold your hand.”

  He might as well have said he’d lasso the moon for her. The simple request couched by the nervous anticipation in his eyes was enough to make her heart race and her bones turn to Jell-O. “I’d like that.”

  Inching close enough to feel his warmth beside her, his fingers linked with hers, infusing comfort and reassurance with the power of an intravenous drug.

  If you’d offered to give her the infamous leprechaun’s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, she couldn’t have told you how long they stood silently on the deck, listening to the wind blow and watching the bunnies scurry about the hillside. The only thing she knew for sure was she didn’t want to be anywhere else, and when Kat came out to tell her Erin was on the phone, she really wished she could tell her friends to go away.

  “She’s a little upset.” Kat shrugged an apology. “Has another one of those feelings.”

  “Shit. That’s all we need.” She pushed off from the railing. Loosening her grip on Mark’s hand, it surprised her when instead of letting go he tightened his hold, gave her one of those lopsided grins that made her knees weak, and nudged her toward the back door.

  Kat held the screen open, pointing with her nose to the handset resting on the counter across the kitchen. “She called on the landline.”

  Anna slanted a questioning gaze in Kat’s direction. Her lips pressed into a tight line, Kat shook her head and hitched a shoulder. On the same wall as the outdated princess phone, the large driftwood clock displayed the time, eleven o’clock. One in the morning in Dallas. Damn.

  At the same moment she reached for the receiver, Mark’s warm breath blew down the back of her neck
. He’d let go of her hand and stood behind her, gently rubbing away the knots that were quickly pulling at the muscles already tight with stress.

  His lips pressed a featherlight kiss on the top of her head. A surge of warm comfort flashed through her body, calming every anxious nerve. She could do this without him. There wasn’t any doubt. Of the four friends, she was the problem solver, the fighter. She’d climbed her way over the competition to a well-respected career. Whatever was coming, she would make it through. But knowing he was there for her, strong and dependable, she felt like an amazon warrior. Undefeatable.

  Placing the phone against her ear, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “What’s up?”

  “Kat says everyone there is all right.”

  “So far. We’re all a little rattled after court, but other than that we’re fine.”

  “What about Marcia?” There was a nervous edge to Erin’s voice that gave Anna an uneasy feeling.

  “Sound asleep. Oh, she does seem to be teething. Maybe that’s it?”

  “I doubt it. She’s cut teeth before and it didn’t wake me up out of a deep sleep.”

  “Are you sure it’s not someone in your family?”

  “Yeah. I called around. Everyone’s fine. When the phone rang on your end my stomach started doing calisthenics. Whatever’s going on, it’s going on there.”

  “We don’t need more problems.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Erin’s voice rose to a near shout. “I was having a very nice dream with David James Elliott, Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery. Trust me, the last thing I wanted was to wake up in a cold sweat ready to puke.”

  “Cold sweat?”

  “Yeah. Y’all both still have your appendixes don’t ya?” Erin tried to make light of the situation.

  “Yes.” She put her hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Kat. “Have you had any stomach aches, indigestion, anything not feel right?”

  “Nope. Already told her that.”

  “I don’t either.” She moved her hand away and spoke to Erin. “Doesn’t look like a run to the emergency room is in our immediate future.”

  “Just promise me you’ll be extra careful. You know, look both ways twice before crossing the street. Take extra vitamins. Whatever, just be careful.”

  “We will. Promise.”

  After a few more words of caution and encouraging Erin to try and get some sleep, Anna slipped the phone in its cradle.

  Still massaging her shoulders, Mark leaned in closer. “This is a big deal isn’t it?”

  “Could be. Remember the first night Marcia came home?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He rolled his eyes.

  “All she felt was uneasy that night. Feeling like throwing up could mean all sorts of things. None of which is making me very happy at the moment.”

  “Maybe we’d better check on the baby. Just in case.” Kat started down the hall without waiting for a response.

  “Good idea.” Anna followed with Mark at her side. Once again fingers intertwined.

  The three of them quietly made their way up the stairs to Marcia’s room. Reminiscent of the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty, they stood quietly smiling over the crib, watching the little child sleep.

  “She looks so sweet with her butt up in the air that way.” Anna brushed a lock of soft dark hair away from Marcia’s brow. “Ooh, she does feel warm.”

  Kat brushed the back of her hand against Marcia’s cheek. “I saw one of those strip things you put across her forehead to tell her temperature. I’ll go get one.”

  “You think we should risk waking her up?” Mark asked. “It could be she’s teething.”

  “If Erin hadn’t called in a state I’d agree with you.” Anna ran her fingers through the baby fine hair again. “But we know better than to ignore her instincts.”

  “Here we go.” Kat rushed into the room, waving her find in the air. “Only thing it changes color to tell us she has a fever, but doesn’t tell us the exact temperature.”

  “I think we all agree she has a fever.” Mark looked from Erin to Anna.

  “Which is why I brought this too.” Kat handed Anna the thermometer.

  “And what do you want me to do with this?”

  “Oh I don’t know, maybe...take her temperature.”

  “Ha ha. You know what I mean. How am I going to get this thing in her mouth, under her tongue for however long, is it two minutes?” Anna shook her head and sighed. “And not wake her up?”

  “It’s easier under her arm.” Mark took the thermometer, leaned over the crib, tilted his head, studied the baby, turned and tipped his head the other way, then straightened. “You’re right. No matter how we handle this, she’s going to wake up.”

  Mark handed Kat the thermometer and reached into the crib, lifting the groggy baby into his arms. Cuddling her against his chest, he patted her back gently when she started to whimper. “I know. Mean old Uncle Mark had to wake you from your sweet dreams.”

  The words had barely left his mouth when Marcia threw up all over him. Vomit ran down the front of his shirt.

  “Well, at least now we know what has Erin all twisted up.” Kat took a quick step back and flipped the lights on.

  Spurred on by either the flood of bright light, or the upset stomach, or both, Marcia burst into full flowing, eardrum piercing, baby cries.

  “Now what?” Kat spoke exactly what Anna was afraid to ask.

  “A cool bath to wash her off might make her feel better.” Mark turned toward the door. “If we’re lucky it’s only something she ate.”

  “And if it’s not?” Anna asked, true fear skittering up her spine. Healthy babies were already over her head. She couldn’t do sick babies. Could she?

  “We call someone.” Mark consoled the crying baby on his way to the hall bath.

  “Good idea. Who’s her pediatrician?” Kat looked relieved to have something else to do. Anna ran to the linen closet and grabbed a towel.

  “I don’t know.” Mark sat on the commode and reached over to turn on the tub faucet. “I’m sure Barb has it written down somewhere, but at this hour I’d rather call one of my sisters if she throws up again.”

  “Again?” Anna stopped in the bathroom doorway. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  Kat fisted her hands on her hips. “Neither do I.”

  By the time the tub had a couple of inches of water in it, Anna took over comforting Marcia while Mark changed out of his soiled clothes.

  “How’s she doing?” He walked up beside her as she taped the squeaky clean baby’s fresh diaper closed.

  “Looks like whatever she’s got is making its way through her digestive system. As much as I don’t like her having diarrhea I much prefer that to vomiting.”

  “Neither one is much fun.”

  Kat stood in the doorway with a large wooden tray. “Any better?”

  “I don’t know.” Anna curled the baby into her arms. “Whatcha got there?”

  “Three cups of peppermint tea. Good for the nerves and the stomach. I was tempted to make a bottle for Marcia, but decided against it.”

  Mark reached for the tray. “Thanks. Since I don’t think any of us are going to be able to sleep until Marcia does, why don’t we all head downstairs.”

  “When I was a kid and one of us got sick.” Kat tightened her hold, unwilling to release the tray to him. “We’d climb into bed with Mom and Dad. For now, you two are it.” With the tilt of her head, Kat led the way into Anna’s room. “Maybe this way all of us can get some sleep.”

  Four hours later Kat was snoring in the nearby rocker, Anna slept curled in bed with one arm protectively draped over Marcia and Mark’s large hand rested atop Anna’s. The sound of a retching baby sprang all three to life.

  “Damn it.” Anna pulled Marcia into her arms paying no attention to the mess. “I don’t like her sick.”

  Mark hurried into the other room and reappeared with a clean pajama for Marcia. Kat quickly stripped the bed.

 
; “Shh shh shh,” Anna cooed into the crying baby’s ear.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way.” Kat stood with the bundle of sheets in her arms. “But maybe, until everything settles down, she’s better off in only a diaper.”

  Her lips gently caressing the downlike hair on Marcia’s head, Anna glanced at Mark. From a practical point of view Kat’s suggestion made sense, but what the hell did she know about what was best for sick babies? For all she knew the kid would survive the stomachache and then die of pneumonia because her godmother was too stupid to give her a warm pajama.

  Mark shrugged a shoulder, his fingers squeezing the pale yellow sleeper. The same doubts coursing through her flashed across his face. The same pain in her heart flickered in his eyes. And then, as his gaze settled on hers, a short nod. “Okay. Let’s leave her in a diaper for now.”

  After several gulping sighs Marcia finally dozed off. This time Anna didn’t have the heart to lay her down or the inclination to sleep herself. Cradled in her arms, alternating rocking in the Lazyboy in the corner of the bedroom with pacing the length of the room and back, Anna prayed for Marcia to wake up happy, healthy and smiling. Thirty minutes later, after cleaning up another dirty diaper, she knew she was in over her head. “It’s time to call someone.”

  “I’ll call Rachel,” Mark said.

  “No, it’s the middle of the night. Let’s call Mom, it’s later in New York.” She reached for the phone on the nightstand.

  Kat stood over her shoulder eaves dropping.

  “That’s right, three times.” Anna kept her eyes on Mark as he paced with the baby.

  “No. Not that I know of.” Still watching Mark and Marcia cruise the room, she twisted the phone cord around her finger, listening to her mother.

  “Okay. I’ll keep you posted. I love you, Mom.”

  “What did she say?” Kat asked the second Anna dropped the phone in its cradle.

  “We need to buy something called Pedialyte. Give her small sips. If she keeps it down for a couple of hours, give her a little more.”