Enigma

by Taylor Brent

  Jill had made her choice soon after, breaking Roger’s heart. Not that there was really a way out of that kind of situation without someone getting their heart broken. Roger had stood beside Luke as his best man at the wedding, but the two men had drifted apart over the past few months. Margery hoped they could put it all aside in time for the holidays, but only time would tell.

  “So, plan for eighteen,” she clarified. “But there may only be seventeen?”

  Rose nodded.

  The two women got to work on the Thanksgiving food while Ainsley sketched at the table. A half hour later, Niyol and Luke burst into the kitchen with Roger in tow, the third man looking a little conflicted but overall happy to be there.

  “Look who we found outside,” Niyol said, grunting as Ainsley launched herself at him.

  “Niyol!” she squeaked. “Look at my medal from the pageant. Isn’t it pretty?”

  She showed him a small gold medal with the words “Best Actress” embossed on the front. Ainsley had won the award yesterday at school and had talked non-stop about showing it to Niyol.

  Margery smiled. After their date at the skating rink, she and Niyol had seen each other almost every night. He had patiently helped Ainsley with all her lines for the pageant, teaching her about Native American culture and history the whole time. Ainsley had hung on his every word, convinced he was a great “Indian warrior” that saved princesses and battled monsters. Margery had rolled her eyes at that, but Niyol had taken the young girl’s fantastic imaginings in stride. Ainsley was quite the storyteller and had a wild and active imagination. Since it didn’t seem to bother Niyol, Margery had let it go, happy that the two were building a good relationship.

  Niyol took the medal from Ainsley, giving her a huge grin. “I’m so proud of you!”

  Ainsley beamed, her whole face lighting up.

  “Dinner is almost ready,” Rose called. “Hi, Roger,” she added. “Someone go get Jill and tell the others. The rest of you, take your seats.”

  Luke rushed off to get Jill and Danny who was rounding up the guests. Soon, everyone was sitting around the big kitchen table talking and laughing over the food Margery and Rose had worked so hard on. Ainsley was busy telling everyone who would listen about the first Thanksgiving while Luke, Roger, and Danny argued about the football game. Rose was deep in conversation with Jill and one of the guests. Margery looked at Niyol and smiled, and he reached under the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

  After dinner, the boys offered to take Ainsley outside to play football and invited the guests to join in if they wished. Ainsley plastered herself to Niyol who threw a questioning look at Margery.

  “Go on and play,” she said, grinning. “Rose and I will look after Jill and clean up before dessert.”

  Niyol smiled and allowed Ainsley to pull him outside to play. They played a game of backyard football, Niyol insisting on touch instead of tackle due to their youngest player and the guests. Danny, Luke, and Roger agreed, and the game was underway, everyone laughing as Ainsley danced out of everyone’s reach, quick as lightning. They had been playing for an hour when Rose ran out of the house in a panic, and the game stopped immediately. Her face was pale as she beckoned Niyol and Luke over, Roger and Danny following close behind.

  “Something’s wrong with Jill,” she breathed, motioning for them to follow her. Niyol and Luke ran after her while Danny scooped up Ainsley and explained the situation to the other guests before he and Roger followed the others into the house.

  Niyol’s heart stopped as he looked at Jill. She was pale and shaking, but he couldn’t see any outward signs of injury which meant it had to be the babies.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice sharp.

  Rose took Ainsley from Danny and led her to the far end of the table, plying her with crayons and paper.

  “She’s having a little bleeding,” Margery whispered so that only the four men could hear. “She needs to go to the hospital to get checked out.”

  Nodding, Luke grabbed his keys and coat from the hook on the wall.

  “I’d like to change first,” Jill muttered, and Luke wordlessly led her upstairs. Niyol’s worried gaze followed them until they were out of sight.

  “She’ll be okay,” Margery said, slipping her hand into Niyol’s to comfort him.

  “You don’t know that,” he snapped, pulling his hand out of hers.

  Margery looked hurt but said nothing. Niyol felt a little guilty at his reaction, but he couldn’t focus on that now. Of course, he wasn’t mad at Margery but at himself for being outside enjoying himself while Jill was in here bleeding. He should have been with her; he had to be the worst father in the world.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Margery murmured.

  “I’m fine. Why don’t you stop worrying about me and just worry about Jill?”

  Before Margery could answer him, Jill came back down the stairs with Luke and searched the room full of faces until her gaze lit on Margery. “Margery? Will you come with me?”

  “Of course,” Margery said, glancing at Niyol.

  When he didn’t say anything, Rose stepped forward. “I’ll keep an eye on Ainsley for you. Keep me posted about what’s going on.”

  Margery nodded and, pulling on her coat, helped Luke guide Jill to his truck.

  Danny and Roger bustled around the kitchen, helping with clean up. Rose eyed them for a moment before leaning down to speak to Ainsley.

  “Ainsley, can you stay here and color for a few minutes? I need to speak with Niyol.”

  Ainsley nodded, oblivious to the drama and tension around her.

  Rose turned and, glaring pointedly at Niyol, marched him into the empty sitting room. She whirled around to face him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What do you mean?” Niyol asked defensively.

  “You were as cold as ice to Margery when all she was trying to do was help.”

  Niyol grimaced and avoided Rose’s gaze.

  “Out with it, Niyol. What is going on? Why on earth are you mad at Margery?”

  “I’m not mad at Margery,” Niyol snapped. “I’m mad at myself for not being there for Jill when she started bleeding.”

  After saying it out loud, Niyol realized how stupid he sounded. He’d had no way of knowing Jill would start bleeding, and even Luke had been outside playing football.

  “Luke was outside playing football,” Rose said, echoing his thoughts. “Does that make him a bad husband because he wasn’t there?”

  “Of course not,” Niyol replied, shifting uncomfortably.

  “Then why would you feel any guilt at all? Do you think Jill would be upset about you playing with Ainsley? Is that it? If she had a problem with your relationship with either Ainsley or Margery, do you think she would have asked Margery to come with her to the hospital?”

  “I don’t know,” Niyol answered, feeling even more stupid.

  “She wouldn’t. This guilt is coming from you and no one else. You can either let it go, or you can let it destroy the rest of your life. It’s up to you.”

  Niyol studied Rose’s angry face, realizing her words were true. He had been an ass, treating Margery like that when all she had ever done was try to help him and Jill. All Margery had ever done was make him and his daughter happy, and he had treated her horribly.

  He thought about how it would feel if he lost Margery because of his own stupidity, and the pain of that thought was almost more than he could bear. It hit him suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, that he loved Margery. He didn’t want to lose her. He couldn’t lose Margery.

  With a groan of frustration, he swiped his hands over his face. “I need to go after them.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Rose said, tossing his keys at him.

  Niyol caught them easily, and, throwing a grateful look at Rose, he strode out the front door. He prayed there was still time to fix things.

  Rose watched him go with a smug look on her face before turning back to the kitchen to make
sure those bumbling boys didn’t break her good china.

  Chapter Thirteen: Fairytale Endings

  “Everything will be okay,” Margery told Jill as Luke pulled up to the ER entrance.

  “Can you take her in while I park?” Luke asked.

  Margery nodded and helped Jill out of the truck and into a nearby wheelchair. She wheeled her into the emergency room and straight up to the front desk.

  “She’s pregnant with twins and is bleeding,” she told the triage nurse in a low voice.

  The nurse nodded and motioned for them to follow her as Luke rushed up behind them. Margery wheeled Jill after the nurse, Luke on her heels. As they walked, the nurse asked Jill a few questions—how far along she was, if she’d experienced any cramping or other symptoms—and led them to a small exam room. After instructing them to help Jill into a hospital gown, the nurse rushed off to find a doctor. Minutes after Margery and Luke maneuvered a wobbly Jill into the gown and onto the bed, a knock came at the door, and a doctor stepped inside.

  “I’m Dr. Avery,” he introduced himself, giving them a warm smile. “What seems to be the problem?”

  Jill recounted the incident in a shaky voice, telling him how far along she was and that she was carrying twins.

  The doctor nodded as a nurse wheeled in an ultrasound machine. “I’m going to take a look at the babies and try and find their heartbeats, okay?”

  “Okay,” Jill agreed, her face pale.

  Margery held one of her hands while Luke held the other. It took a few stressful minutes, but Dr. Avery found two strong heartbeats. Margery, Luke, and Jill all breathed a sigh of relief as the nurse took the ultrasound wand from Dr. Avery.

  “I put in a call to your OB/GYN’s office,” he told Jill. “They’re sending their on-call doctor. She should be here soon.”

  Jill nodded as Luke helped her wipe the ultrasound jelly off her stomach. Before any of them could say anything, another doctor—a woman this time—walked into the small room.

  She smiled warmly at them. “My name is Dr. Casey. I’m on call for your usual OB/GYN, Dr. Elliot, tonight. I hear you’re having some bleeding?”

  Jill nodded.

  “But no cramping?”

  Jill shook her head.

  “I’ve taken a look at Dr. Avery’s notes, and it looks like everything is fine, but I’d like to take another peek just to make sure.”

  Jill nodded and rested her head back on the bed. Margery stroked the hair off her forehead and smiled down at her.

  “Thank you for coming,” Jill said, returning Margery’s smile. She winced slightly as Dr. Casey pushed the wand against her stomach.

  “No need to thank me,” Margery answered, still stroking her hair.

  Dr. Casey moved the wand around and studied the screen for a few minutes before wiping the wand off and helping Jill wipe off her stomach.

  “It looks like everything is okay with the babies,” Dr. Casey said. “But I’ll send the images to our in-house radiologist to be extra sure. Now, I’ve read your chart, and it says you’re quite active?”

  “I’m a wilderness expert for the Twin Peaks Inn, but I’ve cut my activity down a lot,” Jill told her.

  “Well, I’m going to need you to cut it down even more. Your body is going through a lot right now, Jill. It’s your first pregnancy, and you’re having twins. A little bleeding is normal, especially with a lot of activity, but it can obviously be scary. I’m not putting you on bed rest, but try to take it easy relative to your usual activity level. Listen to your body. I know it’s hard for athletes and people with active lifestyles like yours to dial it down, but you need to try. For yourself, and for your babies.”

  Jill nodded, looking chastened.

  “I’m going to let you go home tonight, but I want you to rest for the next few days before resuming any strenuous activity. And you tell Rose Callahan that if she has a problem with that, she can call me.”

  “I’m sure Rose won’t mind,” Margery said, smiling. “Jill is family. We’ll all take care of her, I promise.”

  Dr. Casey nodded, satisfied. “I’ll also set you up a follow-up appointment with Dr. Elliott so you can discuss any concerns with him.”

  “Thank you,” Jill said, sounding relieved.

  With another warm smile, Dr. Casey ducked out of the room.

  “I’m going to go call Rose and give her an update,” Luke said, leaning over to kiss Jill on the forehead.

  “Love you,” she whispered.

  “Love you, too.”

  After he left, Jill wasted no time in turning to Margery. “Now that all that’s taken care of,” she said. “What the hell is going on between you and Niyol?”

  Margery blinked at her, a fierce blush climbing up her face.

  “Oh, not that,” Jill said, laughing. “I already know you two are seeing each other, and I’m happy for you. I meant, why was he acting weird before we left?”

  Margery hesitated, not wanting to betray Niyol’s confidence.

  “Please tell me, Margie.”

  “I think he feels guilty,” Margery replied with a sigh. “Because he came here to spend time with you, and he’s spent a lot of his time with me. I think he still feels guilty because of your mother’s death. And maybe he feels he’s betraying her by being with me…”

  “But I talked to him about all that,” Jill said, frowning. “I thought he was mostly over it. I told him I was fine with the two of you together and that my mother would feel the same.”

  Margery blinked at Jill. So, he wasn’t feeling guilty? Then… what was the problem? Maybe… maybe he just didn’t want to be with her. Had she imagined the affection between them? Had he just been trying to be nice to her out of pity?

  Swallowing her pain and humiliation, she forced a smile onto her face. Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of Jill. She didn’t want to worry her.

  “Will you excuse me a moment, Jill?” she asked, standing up and striding from the room.

  “Margie!” Jill called after her, but Margery didn’t turn around. The tears had already started to fall.

  Frustrated, Jill threw herself back on the bed. She couldn’t follow Margery out of the room, but as soon as she could, she would give her father a real piece of her mind.

  Jill didn’t have to wait long for the opportunity. Niyol came barreling into the room not long after Margery left, Luke at his heels. Jill glared at her father as he looked around the small room.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked her.

  “With the babies? Yes,” Jill replied tersely. “With you? Not at all. Sit.” She pointed to a chair next to her, and Niyol lowered himself into it while Luke wisely made himself scarce. “Now, tell me what the hell is going on with you and Margery, and don’t beat around the bush.”

  “What do you mean?” Niyol asked, his eyes widening.

  “I said not to beat around the bush,” Jill growled. “You were awful to her back at the house, and I want to know why.”

  Niyol shifted uncomfortably in his chair before throwing her a guilty look. “I felt bad that you had gotten hurt while I was out playing with Ainsley and the others. I feel bad that I haven’t spent a lot of time with you since meeting Margery.”

  Jill rolled her eyes. “We’ve been over this! It doesn’t bother me, Dad. I have you in my life. You aren’t going anywhere, and you deserve to be happy. But so do Margery and Ainsley.

  “I’ve gotten to know Ainsley over the last several months. Her father rarely spends any time with her, and she needs that fatherly relationship in her life. Do you really think I would begrudge her or you that? You missed my childhood. We can’t go back and change that. It isn’t your fault, and it isn’t something I blame you for, but it is the way things are. You’re there for me in different ways than you are for Ainsley and Margery, and that is okay.

  “Besides, Luke was out playing with you guys, and you don’t see him beating himself up over it. If anyone should feel guilty, it’s him, since he�
�s the one who put me in this position in the first place, but he doesn’t, and I’m glad. You can’t live your life feeling guilty over every little thing you can’t control. And you are not allowed to hurt Margery.”

  She glared at Niyol who looked miserable. “I know what a life full of loneliness feels like,” Jill said, her voice gentling. “I would never wish that on you or Margery—or anyone. Plus, I know how it feels to have parents that don’t spend time with you. Ainsley is lucky she has Margery, but she deserves a father who will shower her with attention. It won’t upset me if that person is you.”

  “Do you know where Margery is?” Niyol asked quietly.

  “She ran out of the room, but she went that way,” Jill answered, pointing down the hall.

  He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Thanks, Jill.”

  “Any time. Now, can you send my husband in here for me? After all,” she said with a wink, “it is partly his fault I’m here, is it not?”

  Niyol grunted, preferring not to think about that train of logic. He stepped into the hall and nearly ran into Luke.

  “I heard her,” Luke said, smiling. “Margery is down in the waiting room.”

  Niyol nodded gratefully before heading off to find her. He found her in the waiting room near the vending machines, struggling to get one of them to give up her drink.

  She spotted him as she straightened up, a soda clutched in her hand, and she eyed him warily. As he strode over to her, Niyol couldn’t help but note how beautiful she looked and felt even worse for how he had treated her. Before he could say anything, Margery spoke, her words coming out in a rush.

  “I’m sorry, Niyol. I think I imagined more between us than there is, and if that caused you any awkwardness of grief, I really am sorry.”

  Niyol stared at her in shock.

  “I haven’t dated much since Mitchell,” Margery continued. “And I guess I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I think I asked too much of you. I just want you to be happy, and I didn’t mean to be so—”