Pride's Prejudice (31 page)

EPILOGUE:

TWENTY-ISH
MONTHS LATER

"It
is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible."

~Jane
Austen

The
rain spattered steadily but softly against the roof of the tent.  The
howling wind had finally subsided, and just a breath of its fury
remained.  It reminded Beth of the way a child hiccups for hours after a
major tantrum.  She smiled in the darkness at the feel of Williams arms
against her bare skin.

His
subdued voice broke the silence; a faint note of disapproval coloring his
words.

"I
still can't believe you wanted to cancel our sailing trip to go
camping
. 
You chose sleeping bags and a tent over a luxury yacht in the Caribbean."

She
revolved in his arms to face him.  "This is an important part of our
history.  Besides, wouldn't you say this camping trip turned out better
than the last one?"

He let
his eyes travel slowly down her form and back up to her face.  "I
would, in fact."

A lull
ensued and Beth squirmed internally.  She had been trying to find the
perfect moment to break the news to William.  She had only canceled their
vacation because it fell on a certain holiday that she had hitherto ignored. 
As the silence stretched on, she knew it was time.

She
cleared her throat.  "So…..I got you something."

William's
brows arched playfully as he looked around the tent.  His expression
evolved into puzzlement when he discovered nothing.

Beth
took his hand and pressed it to her abdomen, still flat.  It took a
moment, and then understanding lit his eyes.  His face split into a wide
grin.

"Really!?"

Beth
nodded, smiling.

William
sat up and scooped her onto his lap, like a child.  "How long have
you known?  How far along?  Are you feeling okay?  Are you
hungry?  I could get you another pillow……?"

Beth
silenced him with a finger over his lips, laughing quietly.  "I just
found out last week.  I'm not sure how far along - we have to go to the
doctor to find that out."

William
kissed her deeply, then held her close for several minutes in silence, his hand
covering the smooth plane of her belly.

 He
smiled his little boy smile, sounding eager.  "When do you think
you'll start to show?"

"They
say it takes longer with the first.  Look at Jenna - she's just starting
to pop out, and she's six months along."

"What
are we going to name her?"

"
Her?
 
What if it's a boy?"  Beth mussed his hair.  "I'm not sure
I want a girl.  I can't imagine you being
more
protective as a
father than you are as a brother."

William
scowled in the darkness, and Beth may not have noticed except that she knew
when he paused for a long time his thoughts were taking a morose turn.

She
sighed.  "What is it you don't like about him?"

In the
silence before he spoke, Beth noticed that the rain was even quieter now. 
There was no need to clarify which 'him' they were talking about.  Gianna
had met someone at college, and Beth was fairly sure they were headed for the
aisle.  William had been a tad difficult about the whole thing.

"I
don't think his work ethic is that great," he began.

"He's
still in school."

"I
know lots of people who work through school."

"Medical
school?"

His
strained silence was the answer.  "And he never picks her up for
dates," he continued, the current carrying him along swiftly now.

"He
doesn't have a car, William.  Poor medical student, remember?"

"Still. 
It's a matter of principle."

Beth
rolled her eyes.

"She's
too young…..and then there's the smell."

Beth
laughed, incredulous.  "What smell?!  Don't tell me - he smells
like 'Beef Vegetable Soup' or something!  Oh, and he tried to steal your
cat?  Next thing I know you'll be calling the
Weekly World News
'The Paper.'"

William
laid back down and pulled Beth on top of him, hugging her fiercely as if he
wanted to squish her.

"Don't
ask a question you don't want the answer to, Mrs. Darcy."

"Oh,
I wanted an answer.  Just a real answer.  Gianna's legally an adult,
William.  She's in college!  You really don't have a valid reason for
not liking Ben.  And Gianna is crazy about him.  Which, I think, may
be the real problem for you."

William
brooded quietly, and Beth decided she would have to take his mind off Gianna's
love life, and soon.

She
began kissing his neck, running her fingers over the skin of his waist on the
sides.  He shuddered and rolled her back under him.

"Just
promise me you'll think about it, okay?  Try to come up with a valid
concern about Ben - that doesn't include your prejudice that no one is good
enough for your sister.  She's earned the right to some happiness after
all this time.  And he really is a good guy, William.  He hasn't even
touched her."

William
froze.  "She told you that?"

"Yes."

"No
way.  I saw them holding hands.  And when he came over last time I
saw him put a hand on her back."

"He
hasn't pressured her about sex in any way," she clarified.

William
paused again, in defeat, and Beth sensed his teeth clenching.  He took a
deep breath.  "I'll try."

She
pulled his face down to hers and whispered.  "Thank you." 
She paused, thoughtful.  "Eliza."

"Hm?"

"If
it's a girl.  I like Eliza.  And if it's a boy, Austen."

William
smiled as his fingers crawled up to twist with Beth's.

"It's
a girl," he whispered.

"You
can't know that."

"It's
a girl," he repeated.

He
pressed his body tenderly against the length of hers, bearing most of his
weight on his elbows.  His fingers tangled in her hair and he kissed her
softly.  Beth marveled that after almost two years of marriage, she still
felt as giddy as she had on their wedding night.  His touch still made her
feel the same ethereal joy.  How glad she was that her first impression of
William had been wrong - and that he'd stayed around long enough to prove it.

"Happy
Father's Day, William," she murmured, pulling him down and snuffing out
the space between them.

'MERCI BUCKETS' TO THE FOLLOWING:

My family
and friends who read the binder edition or spent hours squinting at a computer
screen; my writing group, who hacked it to bits every month without ceremony;
Cindy Canizales for your breathtaking cover design, and for tolerating my
perfectionism; Sarah Boucher, for being my human thesaurus and keeping
William's eyes firmly in their sockets; Melissa Lemon, for your faith in me,
being my friend before you were my editor, and accepting payment for services
rendered in Mini Eggs; Dionne Butler, for being my Jenna and telling me the
truth about that first draft; my kids, for agreeing to wait until you're
sixteen to read it; my husband, Sean Pulsipher, for being a constant voice of
encouragement and riding out the neglect when I was 'in the zone;' my mom, for
playing
Moonshadow
for me as a baby; the first and last publisher I
submitted to, for rejecting it so I could make it my own; Jane Austen, for
making waves and going against the current in pursuit of your dream; and
finally, the music and movies that I quote throughout the book, including but
not limited to:  Cat Stevens, Jet,
Star Wars, So I Married an Axe
Murderer, One Fine Day, Top Gun, Better off Dead, The Princess Bride, Steel
Magnolias, The Prince and Me, and Titanic......
please don't sue me, I'm a
huge fan!

Misty Dawn
Pulsipher was born and raised in Utah. She attended Snow College where she
developed a love for writing. Misty served as a full-time missionary for the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Washington, D.C. area. She and her
husband now reside in Maryland with their three children, two dogs, and the
colony of squirrels that lives in their back yard. When she's not writing or
procrastinating an edit, Misty is reading, baking, sewing, playing the piano,
or bribing her family to play Monopoly with her.  Visit her Facebook page
or author blog:  mistydawnpulsipher.blogspot.com.