WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Viva La Valentine Edition (10 page)

“What was going on in there?” Pat asked.

“Nothing worth talking about.” His cell phone
rang and he went out on the patio to take the call. A few minutes
later he returned wearing a grin.

“It must’ve been good news in order for your
mood to change so quickly,” Jan said. “Who was that?”

“Ken. The Will Call window is holding tickets
for us for tomorrow’s game. The best part is we’ll be in one of the
Crown Suites, courtesy of Antonio Morris. We have a busy day
tomorrow. Let’s go for a drive and talk about it,” He said raising
Jan from the sofa by the hand.

“I think Grant and I are heading out,” Pat
said, seeming to understand that he was trying to get Jan out of
the house.

“We’ll stop by and see you before you leave
on Monday. Okay?”

Mac nodded and kissed her cheek then led Jan
out the back door to the car.

Neither of them brought up his mother’s
concerns during the twenty-plus mile drive into downtown Dallas to
the Hyatt Regency’s Reunion Tower. “I want to show you a view you
can only get in Dallas,” he said as they took the elevator up to
the restaurant.

“I thought you might enjoy a nightcap with a
view.” He waved his arm toward a breathtaking panoramic view of
Dallas-Fort Worth when the doors opened onto the glass-walled
eatery. “I also thought you might need a break from my family.”

“Your family is great, Mac, and so is this
view.”

“I wanted to give you some breathing room and
apologize for my mother. She can be overpowering at times.”

Jan lowered her gaze. “Suppose she’s right.”
She said softly. “There’s a saying that goes something like, ‘your
mama knows you better than you know yourself.’”

“Well, in this case it doesn’t apply. She
likes you, Jan. I can tell. She’s just desperate to be a
grandmother. That’s all. Put it out of your mind and focus your
thoughts on me for a little while. Okay?’

“Okay,” Jan gazed out over the twinkling
skyline. “Thanks for bringing me here. This view is fabulous.”

“I thought you’d appreciate it. Now, let’s
talk about tomorrow. Do your parent’s know we won’t be spending the
day with them?”

“They will in the morning.”

• • •

Jan smelled fresh coffee brewing before she
even got out of the shower. When she finished dressing, she heard
Mac’s voice coming from the kitchen. When she walked in to join
them, he grabbed her around the waist and greeted her with a slow,
drugging kiss Jan was a little too passionate for his parents to
witness. An unwelcome blush heated her cheeks. When he released
her, John added to her embarrassment.

“Aww, look at that girl blush. Don’t worry
about it, Jan. Sinclair men can be very demonstrative when we want
to. Isn’t that right, Ruthie?” He gave Jan a wink and palmed his
wife’s behind.

Ruth flushed miserably then cleared her
throat. “I was just asking Mac if they were coming to church with
us this morning. There are lots of people who’d love to see
him.”

“And I was just telling her that we made
plans to go to the game,” he answered quickly.

“You’d have plenty of time to get to the
stadium after church lets out,” Ruth implored.

“I know, Mom, but we have to get our tickets
from Will Call, and I don’t want to cut it too close,” Mac
explained.

“Well, you two are supposed to be here to
have a good time,” his father jumped in. “So get in everything you
can. What time is your flight tomorrow?”

“Not until six-twenty-five tomorrow evening.
I promise we’ll spend the afternoon with you guys after I take Jan
downtown shopping first thing in the morning. Right now we’ve got
to run. The service starts at seven thirty, and I hear it’s always
packed.”

“You’re not going to eat breakfast?” Ruth
protested, her voice filled with disappointment.

“We’ll get something before the game, Mom.”
He gave her a peck on the cheek, took Jan by the hand and led her
out the door to the carport.

He and Jan ate breakfast at a restaurant not
far from Cowboys Stadium and went to pick up their VIP passes at
the will call window. Once they found their way to the Crown
Suites, the luxury and the bird’s eye view of the field wowed Jan,
much to Mac’s pleasure. Antonio left instructions with the staff to
serve them whatever suited their fancy. The Cowboys were going up
against the Washington Redskins and it was supposed to be a fierce
competition. Right before the kick-off three other couples joined
them in the suite. Mac started a conversation and soon discovered
they were relatives of one of the Cowboys’ defensive linemen in
town for the weekend. Jan and one of the women, who admitted she
wasn’t a fan of the game either, hit it off right away and kept
each other occupied once the game began and Mac and the others went
into an instant hypnotic trance.

The Cowboys won, which put Mac into a good
mood for the rest of the evening. So when they returned to his
parents’ house, and Ruth asked them to spend the rest of the
evening with her and John, he didn’t mind.

“I know you two are tired from running all
day. Why don’t you relax and watch television with us?” Ruth
asked.

Mac sensed that Jan’s lingering discomfort
from the earlier run-in with his mother, but she was doing a good
job of keeping her feelings hidden. He and Jan took of their shoes
and cuddled up in a corner of the sofa.

“Great game wasn’t it? How’d you like it,
Jan?” John said, letting them know he’d watched it on
satellite.

“Truthfully, I’m not a football fan, but
anything that makes Mac so happy is all right with me.”

John sent an approving look in her direction.
“Smart woman.”

“Are you still going shopping tomorrow
morning?” Ruth asked during the first commercial break.

“Yes. I’m taking Jan to your favorite
hangout.”

Jan’s eyes widened. “And where is that?”

He stroked his chin and smiled. “Neiman
Marcus, a Dallas landmark. I’m thoroughly convinced my mother
played a major part in putting the store on the map. She doesn’t
like to shop anywhere else, and she’s responsible for me knowing
they have a world-class lingerie department. I want to get you
something special for our honeymoon.”

“Oh, look out now!” John said with a
salacious grin. “That’s a good habit to start, letting your husband
buy you expensive lingerie. Make sure he keeps it up.”

They watched television until the eleven
o’clock news went off when Mac announced, “We’re going to crash
now.”

“Will you at least be having breakfast with
us in the morning?” Ruth sounded almost needy.

Jan hurried to answer. “Of course. But we
want to be downtown when the store opens so we can get back to
visit with Pat and Grant for a while too.”

“No problem. We’re up with the birds.”

• • •

In the morning, when Mac knocked on the door
to the guestroom, Jan was packed and ready to go. With the
exception of Ruth’s brief interrogation, Jan actually enjoyed her
visit. As usual, Verna had been right. Her time there wasn’t nearly
as awful as it had been in her mind’s eye. Yet she was looking
forward to going back to Atlanta where she and Mac could just be
themselves and not “the son and the fiancée.” John and Ruth were
gracious hosts, but no matter how hard she tried, Jan couldn’t help
but feel like an outsider.

“I heard the water running in the shower, so
I knew you were up.” Mac kissed her neck. “Are you ready to let me
spoil you?”

She returned his kiss. “You’ve been spoiling
me since we got here. You can continue though. I don’t mind.
This’ll be my first time in Neiman Marcus.”

“You’re kidding?”

“No. I told you I’m more of a Target woman. I
wouldn’t think of shopping Neiman Marcus even for a special
occasion.”

“Well, we’re going to have some fun then.
Let’s go eat and get out of here.”

Ruth and John were enjoying their morning
coffee when they walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Ruth greeted them. “Make
yourselves some coffee. I’ll have breakfast on the table in a few
minutes.”

“Do you cook like this all the time, Ruth?”
Jan asked looking at the bacon, sausage, biscuits piled on plates,
a pot of grits on the stove and eggs Ruth was scrambling in a cast
iron skillet.

“No. That’s why it’s such a treat when
someone comes to visit. What time do you think you’ll be back? Pat
wanted me to call her and let her know.”

“We should be back by one,” Mac reassured
her. “That’ll give us a few hours with you guys before we have to
leave for the airport.”

Mac explained to the saleswoman that they
were getting married and he wanted to see the hottest pieces she
had. She proceeded to treat him to a display of teddies, bustiers
with garter belts and baby dolls that made his head spin. Jan chose
the three that elicited his strongest reaction. She wanted him to
drool when she wore them. She reveled in the experience of having a
man buy such intimate items for her, another habit Robert had never
cultivated.

Mac smiled when he and Jan pulled into the
driveway and found his brother and sister already waiting for them.
“Baby, I’m going to change my clothes and shoot a few hoops with my
brother. We haven’t spent any time together since I got here.” Mac
handed her the shopping bags.

“Okay. I think I’ll sit out here and talk to
your father.”

A few minutes later he came out of his room
wearing a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt that clung to his
exquisite torso like a second skin. She’d never watched him play
ball, and she wanted to see him doing something purely
physical.

John wasn’t fooled by her offer to keep him
company. “He’s in great shape, isn’t he?” The sly smile he wore
gave away his thoughts.

Jan uttered an embarrassed giggle realizing
how transparent she’d been “Ooh, I guess I’m busted. He’s a very
good-looking man, but he does come by it rightfully.” Jan playfully
patted her future father-in-law’s arm.

As the Sinclair brothers worked up a sweat,
Jan couldn’t hide the titillation their exhibition stirred up in
her. “I think we should go inside.”

“So, how did the shopping trip go?” Pat asked
as they left the yard and entered the kitchen.

“The store was wonderful, and now I know your
brother’s taste in lingerie.” Jan shook her hands like she’d just
put her palm into a flame.

Ruth chuckled behind them. “That boy is so
much like his father, it’s not even funny. You wouldn’t believe how
many trashy things I have in my closet thanks to John. Watch out,
Jan. If he gets you to wear those on a regular basis, you just
might end up pregnant anyway.”

Jan’s stomach tightened and her jaw clenched.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pat glare at her mother.

Well, it looks like she’s not going to let
this go. So, if she wants to make a real issue out of this, so be
it
. “I plan to make sure that doesn’t happen. I do intend to
spend the rest of my life spoiling your son. That’ll be enough to
keep me busy,” Jan answered, refusing to be intimidated.

Ruth pressed her further. “If you knew you
didn’t want children, why on earth did you pick a young man in the
prime of his life. I’m sure there are lots of older men who want
the same things out of life you do.”

Jan swelled with anger, tapped her fingernail
on the kitchen counter and raised her voice a little louder than
she intended. “Tell me something, Ruth. Would you be this upset if
Mac brought home a twenty-five-year-old girl? I’m sure it wouldn’t
make a difference if he were eleven years older. And for your
information, I didn’t pick him. He picked me.”

“A lapse in judgement, I’m afraid. Just
because you’ve already experienced motherhood, don’t you think it’s
selfish to rob my son of his opportunity to be a father?”

“Momma!” Pat exclaimed.

“I appreciate the backup, Pat, but your
mother has a right to say what’s on her mind. She just doesn’t know
what she’s talking about.” Jan glared, her eyes conveying the fury
within her. “For your information Ruth, I had serious reservations
about getting involved with a younger man, but your son pursued me
like a bloodhound. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. So, if you
have a problem with me, you’d better take it up with him.”

Mac and Grant were in the middle of an
intense one-on-one game when the screen door slammed and Jan
stormed down the back steps into the yard. He looked up and saw the
ferocious expression on Jan’s face and called a timeout. “What did
she do?”

“What did she do, baby?” he repeated, wiping
the sweat from his face.

John rushed over. “There has to be a reason
why you look like you’re ready to take on Mike Tyson and almost
took my screen door of its hinges. What happened, sweetheart?”

She spoke through the tears choking her
throat. “Ruth has decided that Mac asking me to marry him was a
lapse in judgment
. And that’s a quote.”

Before Mac could reply, John turned on his
heel and stormed into the house.

Mac bounced the ball to Grant, indicating an
end to their game then cupped Jan’s face in his palm. “I need to
talk to my mother and take a fast shower. Give me a half hour.”

“I’ll wait for you out here. My suitcase is
packed. It’s at the foot of the bed in the guestroom. My purse is
right next to it.”

Jan walked down to the swing at the end of
the yard to get as far away from the house as possible, not
realizing Grant was right on her heels.

He grabbed her elbow. “Jan, wait a minute. My
mother is wrong, and we all don’t agree with her. Mac is happier
than I’ve ever seen him, and it’s only because of you.”

“Thank you, Grant. That means a lot to me,”
she said gulping in deep breaths, willing herself to calm down.
“But it’s time for me to go.”

Chapter Six