When Mom Meets Dad (15 page)

In the kitchen, he crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out the bowl of strawberries.  But instead of teasing her further, he set them on the counter.  "Is anything wrong, Amanda?"

"No.  Why?"

"You seem preoccupied tonight.  Are you having second thoughts?"

The worry in his eyes urged her to say quickly, "No, Alex.  No second thoughts."  She felt guilty not telling him about Jeff.  Yet her desire not to mar their time before the wedding by anything extraneous made her say, "There's just a lot to think about.  Selling the house and moving is a bit unsettling, let alone planning a menu for the caterer, finding music for the wedding and reception, looking for a wedding dress..."

When she trailed off, he curled his arm around her and tugged her close.  "I get the idea."

With their bodies pressed together, she realized he had other ideas, too, and she smiled.  He lowered his head and kissed her neck.  Then he moved to her earlobe and flicked it with his tongue.

"Alex," she said breathlessly.

"What?" he murmured, returning to her neck, then kissing her shoulder.

When he nudged her tank top and bra strap aside, she managed, "We can't do this in the kitchen.  Not with the girls here."

"We'll never make it to the bedroom," he breathed right before his lips captured hers.  His tongue dashed inside her mouth and she returned his fervor.  No, they wouldn't make it to the bedroom, but they couldn't make love here...

Obviously thinking the same thing, Alex kept kissing her, but drew her with him out onto the porch.  Then he locked the door to the house and closed it behind them.  On the porch, the humid night air surrounded them, and they couldn't rid each other of their clothes fast enough.  It was pitch black, and they couldn't see, only feel.  Alex didn't even attempt to turn on a light.  He kissed her as he took her down to the floor.  His mouth was wet and hot on her breasts and her stomach, and he kept going down further until she clutched his shoulders.  "Alex..."

"I want to kiss you everywhere, Amanda.  Everywhere."

And he did until she thought she'd go out of her mind with needing him.  His lips on her inner thighs made her arch up.  His tongue on the center of her pleasure began a wave of ecstasy that intensified as he thrust into her again and again and again.  She couldn't imagine needing him anymore or loving him anymore, and when the climax came, she embraced it as she embraced him, forgetting about tomorrow and living for the moment, hoping for a lifetime of moments with Alex.

***

Only three tables were filled at the Blue Door Family Restaurant when Amanda went inside.  She spotted Jeff immediately in the back corner at a table.  Standing when she came toward him, he waited for her to be seated.  He looked the same, his light-brown hair trimmed short in an executive cut, his lean physique not any heavier.  He was wearing a short-sleeved pinstriped shirt open at the neck and brown casual slacks.  The sight of him stirred anxiety inside of her but nothing else.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments until he said, "I thought you might not show up."

She folded her hands in her lap and told him the truth.  "I thought about it, but it didn't seem like a good idea.  After all, as you said, I'm listed."  Though soon she'd be listed under a different name.

"Amanda, my life's changing and I'm trying to change with it."  The man who had always shown her a self-assured front suddenly looked uncomfortable.  Not explaining further, he nodded to her engagement ring.  "It looks as if you're going to be getting married."

"In two weeks," she told him, but decided she didn't have to give him any of the details.

The waitress, a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, came over to take their orders then.  Quickly looking at the menu, they both decided on club sandwiches and iced tea.  When she was out of earshot, Jeff said, "I'm moving to Texas."

"Texas?"

"The company is opening a new office in Houston, and Nancy and I decided we needed a change--"  He stopped abruptly.  "That's not true.  Our marriage was on the rocks, and we're trying to put it back together.  I couldn't...fail a second time."

He looked as if the word "fail" was very difficult for him to say, and she couldn't imagine him using it.  The old Jeff would never have put himself in anything but a successful light.  Time and time again she had asked him to go to counseling with her, and he wouldn't.  She wasn't sure what to say, but finally responded, "Two people have to work on a marriage."

"I guess I've finally learned that--the hard way.  Nancy moved out for a while, then I found out that she was pregnant and didn't tell me.  That was almost as bad as finding out that you wanted a divorce."  The silence between them was filled with past hurts, not simply memories.

Softly Amanda asked, "Why did you want to see me?"

After a pause, he answered, "Because I'm trying to clean up my past.  I'm trying to make some things right--"  Again he stopped and didn't look as if he knew how to put it.  "I know now I was a coward turning my back on you and Heather.  You'd hurt me, so I cut you both out of my life."

"Heather never hurt you."

He met Amanda's gaze squarely.  "I know that now.  But back then, you were both the same package.  She doesn't know me, and she probably doesn't want to know me, and I'm not going to pretend I can be a father if I'm in Texas and she's here."  He nodded again to Amanda's right hand.  "And from the way it looks, she's going to have a new father."

"Yes, she is."

"Does he like kids?"

"He loves them.  He has one of his own."

Jeff looked troubled.  "I never knew how to act around kids, but I guess I'm going to have to learn.  The thing is, and part of this is still selfish, I don't want Heather to hate me."

Amanda had tried very hard not to be bitter, not to let disappointment with Jeff and their marriage touch their daughter.  "She doesn't hate you, Jeff."

"As she gets older, she's going to think about things.  It could come to that.  The reason I asked you here is I want to set up a college fund for her.  I could put it in her name and turn it over to her when she's eighteen, but I thought it would be better if you knew about it, if she knew about it.  She can watch it grow that way.  And maybe she won't think so badly of me."

If Jeff gave Heather money, he'd probably want to control it.  He might even want to choose her college.  Should she even think about having contact with him again?  Should she let him salve his conscience by giving their daughter money?

"I know this is something you have to think about, especially if you're getting married again.  And if you want me to forget about the whole idea, I will.  But I'd really like to do this, Amanda.  I feel I need to do this."

The waitress brought their order and set their sandwiches and drinks in front of them.  Then she tilted her head and smiled at Amanda.  "When I took your order, I thought I recognized you.  Aren't you the third grade teacher at Cedar Grove Elementary?"

Distracted by what Jeff had offered, Amanda tried her best to give her attention to the waitress and nodded, "Yes, I am."

"You'll have my daughter in the fall.  My aunt, Clara Webb, pointed you out to me at the carnival.  You know, when you were stuck up on top of the Ferris wheel?"

Amanda remembered that night very well.  It was the first time Alex had kissed her.  "Clara didn't tell me I'd be having her niece this year.  I'll be in school at least a week before it starts to prepare my classroom.  Make sure you stop in with your daughter and say hi.  We'll get acquainted early."

The young woman smiled again.  "We'll be sure to do that.  Enjoy your lunch."  Then she went to wait on two customers who had seated themselves shortly before.

Spreading her napkin on her lap, Amanda looked back at Jeff, still absorbing all the things he'd told her.  "I'll think about your offer."

He took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to her.  "Both my home and office numbers are on there.  We won't be leaving until September.  Don't be afraid to call me at home.  Nancy knows I'm here today, and she understands this is something I have to do."

Amanda picked up a quarter of her sandwich.  If she told Alex about this, she was pretty sure she knew what he'd say--forget about her ex-husband's money.  But there was more involved here than money.  She was going to think about this very carefully, and make the decision on her own.

***

On Wednesday afternoon, Alex sat at his desk, shuffling through travel brochures.  He'd gone to a travel agency over lunch and discussed possibilities for a honeymoon.  There was a resort on a lake in Vermont that had a honeymoon suite left for the week after their wedding, as well as a bed-and-breakfast in Maine on a bluff overlooking the ocean.  Those were his favorites.  But he'd show everything to Amanda and let her pick out what she liked best.  He was amazed at how much she'd accomplished so quickly.

Last night she'd gone shopping with his mother, and both had been secretive about what they were wearing for the wedding.  He smiled.  That was part of the fun of planning a wedding.  After the shopping trip, his mother had stayed with Kristy and Heather for a while, and he and Amanda escaped to her house for a quick tryst.  If their lovemaking was only half this exciting for the rest of their marriage, he'd be a very happy man.  Still...

Something seemed to be bothering Amanda.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and he hoped it was simply pre-wedding jitters.  He had rushed her into this.

When his intercom buzzed, he picked up the phone.  Georgia said to him, "It's a Mrs. Webb."

Alex ran his hand through his hair and sighed.  She probably wanted to know when their next meeting was going to be.  Looking at his calendar, he decided it could wait until the week after his honeymoon.

Taking Mrs. Webb off hold, he said, "Hello, Clara.  How can I help you?"

"Just checking to see how our speaker list is growing."

"Twenty-one, so far.  I'm going to make a few calls and pull in some favors.  We'll get our thirty."

"You certainly know how to get things done, Alex."  Hardly pausing for a breath, she went on, "By the way, my niece said she waited on Amanda yesterday at the Blue Door Restaurant."

Amanda hadn't mentioned that she'd had lunch out, but she had so many errands to run for the wedding, he wasn't surprised.  Kristy had asked him if she could stay with Amanda and Heather during the day and he'd readily agreed.  "That's the way it's going to be after the wedding anyway," were his daughter's exact words.  His mother had understood, and since she was in the process of packing up for her move to Florida, it seemed to be the best arrangement for everyone.  But she'd told both him and Amanda she'd keep the girls anytime they were particularly busy.

"Amanda probably thought Kristy and Heather deserved a lunch out after running errands all morning for the wedding."

"Oh, but the girls weren't with her!  Some man was."

Clara Webb was not one of Alex's favorite people, and he didn't want to encourage her gossiping.  But he wanted to know what she knew--

Clara chattered on.  "I didn't see them myself.  My niece waited on them, and she said he was good-looking but that he had light brown hair.  That's how I knew it wasn't you."

Light-brown.  That would let out Ted.  He was unmistakably blond.  Just who did Amanda have lunch with, and why hadn't she told him about it?  He remembered not so long ago Heather saying that Amanda went out every weekend.  What about those men she'd dated?  Did she still have feelings for any of them?  He'd courted her so quickly.  He thought they'd both been caught up in the whirlwind of finding each other...

"I remember now, Clara.  I think she was meeting him to discuss music for the wedding.  Something like that."

"Oh, I see," Clara responded, sounding disappointed.  "Well, I guess I won't keep you any longer.  Just let me know when our next meeting is."

A meeting for Career Day was the last thing on Alex's mind right now.  Discussing Amanda's lunch date with her was first.

***

 When Alex arrived home that evening, Amanda had just put supper on his dining room table.  The girls were already seated.  His last appointment had run over.  Usually he called Amanda when he was going to be late, but today he knew his voice would give something away if he talked to her.  He had to see her face when he asked her what she'd done for lunch yesterday.

"We were afraid you weren't going to make it," she said.

Unbuttoning his shirt cuffs, he rolled up his sleeves.  "Lots of complications today," he said vaguely.  All afternoon he'd told himself not to jump to conclusions.  All afternoon he'd told himself Amanda wouldn't lie to him.  All afternoon he'd tried to tamp down the frustration that had continued to build.

The girls chattered about their day--going to the florist and looking at all sorts of flowers, visiting the bakery and seeing many shapes and sizes of wedding cakes.

Amanda jumped in then.  "I brought home a book with pictures of wedding cakes.  That way we can decide what we want, and you won't have to go into the bakery."

She looked so happy, so innocent, it was hard for him to believe she was keeping something from him.

And just in case his conversation with Clara Webb hadn't  been sheer fabrication on his part, he asked his fiancee, "Did you find anyone for the music yet?"

"I put in a few calls, but I'm waiting for everyone to call me back."

He took another shot, knowing it was a very long shot.  "How about the photographer?"

"We're meeting with him next week at his studio.  Monday was the earliest he could fit us in.  I hope Monday night's okay with you."

"It's fine," he murmured, knowing that nothing was fine, but that he had to wait until they were alone to have his questions answered.

After Amanda served a lemon cake she had made, the girls asked if they could go outside and play in the lean-to.

"Stay away from the creek," Alex warned.  "With all the rain we've had, it's high."

"We will," they chorused and left the dining room, eager to play outside for as long as daylight allowed.