by Carrie Carr
Martha snorted, but didn't add anything. Her eyebrow rose at the term of endearment the young woman used. "How long have you known each other?"
Ronnie's face turned bright red. "Um, a while. We met at school."
"Oh?" Martha turned her attention to Nora. "Did you study veterinary science, too?"
"No, ma'am. Architecture. Well, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, to be exact."
"I see. That sounds quite fascinating."
Nora leaned forward as she nodded, her face animated and her deep brown eyes twinkling. "Oh, yes. I love it. I've recently joined a firm in Austin, and it seems like I'm learning more now than I ever did in school."
Amanda returned, with a happy and clean Eddie. She sat next to Martha. "Sorry about that. What did I miss?" "We were just getting to know Nora," Martha said. "She's a landscape and urban planning architect. Right?"
Nora beamed. "That's correct, Mrs. Bristol."
"Oh, please. Just call me Martha."
"Thank you, ma'am, I mean, Martha." Nora seemed to be coming out of her shell, at least until Ronnie stood.
"I'd like to make an announcement," he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Last night I asked Nora to marry me, and she said yes." He pulled Nora up beside him and put his arm around her.
Charlie and Martha both stared at them, not saying a word. Amanda grinned, and Eddie kicked his legs, oblivious to everything.
Ronnie looked at his folks, his smile slowly disappearing. "Um, Mom? Dad? Aren't you going to say anything?"
Charlie looked at his wife, who still had a stunned expression on her face. "I do believe that's the first time I've ever seen Martha speechless." He stood and embraced the happy couple. "Congratulations, you two. Nora, I hope you know what you're getting into."
Finally coming out of her trance, Martha clapped her hands. "This is wonderful news!" She looked Nora up and down. "You're not having to get married, are you?"
"Mom!" Ronnie's face turned beet red. "I can't believe you asked that."
Martha patted his cheek. "That'll teach you to keep such a lovely young woman a secret from me." She took Nora's left hand and looked carefully at the ring. "Very nice. Have you two set a date?"
Nora shook her head. "No, ma'am. But I was hoping to maybe have a spring wedding?" She asked Ronnie, who smiled his consent.
"Anything you want, honey. Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there." Ronnie kissed her cheek.
Amanda smiled fondly at the display. "Lex is going to be so sorry she missed this."
Once all the hugs were over, everyone took their seats again. "When will she be home?" Ronnie asked. "We can always stop back by sometime this weekend, can't we, Nora?"
"Of course. I don't have to be in Austin until Tuesday."
"Why not come over for lunch on Sunday?" Martha asked. "I've got a lovely ham I can have ready."
Ronnie deferred to Nora, who nodded and smiled. "We'd love to. And I can't wait to meet Ronnie's big sister, Lex, who I've heard so much about." She caressed his reddened cheek. "Aw, it's okay, sweetie. Everyone idolizes their older siblings."
"I know it goes both ways," Amanda said, which only added to Ronnie's embarrassment. "Don't worry, Ronnie. We won't tell."
"Thanks," he mumbled. In order to take the attention off himself, Ronnie got up and walked over to Amanda. "Can I hold him?"
She immediately handed Eddie over. "Sure."
Ronnie studied the baby while he held him close. "What's his name?"
"Edward Lee Walters. But we call him Eddie."
"He's cute." Ronnie shifted Eddie a little until they were both more comfortable. "How come he looks just like Lex?"
Charlie, Martha and Amanda all laughed at the familiar question. Amanda watched as Ronnie sat beside Nora, and they both fussed over Eddie. "It's kind of a long story, if you're in any hurry to get anywhere."
"Go on," Ronnie said. "We're fine. Aren't we, Nora?"
"Sure. I'm interested, too."
Amanda took a deep breath and exhaled. "Okay, well, it goes like this." She slowly related the tale, leaving nothing out.
Chapter Eighteen
BY LATE SUNDAY afternoon, Lex was chafing at the enforced rest. The lunchtime visit with Ronnie and Nora had been fun, but after they left, she'd been relegated to her bedroom. Even with the girls doing their best to keep her occupied, she was ready to escape. As her "company" for the time being, Melanie was stretched out across the bed, coloring. The room was quiet, which gave Lex time to think about the previous day's events.
The visit to Rodney's office had frightened Lex, but she was too stubborn to admit it to anyone, including Amanda. Rodney took several x-rays, and wanted to send her to Parkdale for an MRI, which she adamantly refused. He told her that from her symptoms he believed she suffered from a herniated disc in her back. Rodney recommended a week of complete bed rest, and without bothering to get Lex's approval, made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion, and the dreaded MRI.
When he explained that, in some cases, only surgery could repair the damage, Lex had felt like fleeing the office. The only thing that kept her in place was the terrified look on Amanda's face, and the knowledge that she was the only one who could take that look away. Then and there, Lex pledged to do whatever it took to appease Amanda.
But now, with the bedroom walls closing in on her, Lex had second thoughts. She didn't know if she could handle an entire week this way.
"Momma?" Melanie tapped Lex on the leg, "What color should I do the horse?" She held up her coloring book. "I was thinking brown, but it kinda looks like Thunder, and he's black. But black isn't a pretty color. Maybe red? Or I could do different colors, like Mommy's horse. But that's not as pretty as purple." When Lex didn't answer, Melanie grabbed the hem of Lex's tee shirt and tugged on it. "Momma? Why are your eyes closed? Is your head hurting again?"
Lex took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "A little. Would you mind going downstairs and getting me something to drink, please? I'm sure that would help."
"Okey dokey!" Melanie gave Lex a kiss on the cheek before she hopped off the bed and raced from the room.
A few minutes later, Amanda arrived with a glass of milk and a small plate of cookies. She placed the items on the nightstand and carefully eased herself next to Lex. "Hi, honey. Mel told me you had a headache." She caressed Lex's cheek. "You look a little worn out."
"It's the pain meds. And I don't know how I'm going to survive an entire week in this room. If I have to lie down the entire time, you may have to have me committed."
Amanda's face grew serious and she cupped Lex's chin with one hand. "I know this is hard for you, and I really appreciate that you're willing to do whatever it takes to get better. I know how I'd feel in your position. Why don't we compromise? How about stretching out on the sofa downstairs during the day, and only being up here at night? Would that help?"
Lex leaned forward and kissed her. "Will you be keeping me company?"
"Keep kissing me like that and you can bet on it." Amanda grinned as her lips were covered again, this time for a much longer period.
An embarrassed cough sounded from across the room. Hubert stood in the doorway, his face and ears red. "Uh, sorry to disturb you." He and Ramona had accepted Amanda's offer to stay, at least until Lex met with the specialist. They both enjoyed being a part of the large family and were thrilled to help out. "Martha sent me up to see if Lex wanted anything, but I can see she already has it." His eyes grew big. "I mean, I saw the milk and cookies. Um, I think I'll go back downstairs now. Talk to you later, sis."
Both women laughed as Hubert scurried away. Lex put her arms around Amanda. "He was right, you know."
"Oh?"
"You're all I'll ever need." Lex pulled Amanda close and kissed her again.
LATE MONDAY MORNING, Lex was propped up on the couch, television remote in one hand and her head tipped back, dozing. The pain pills Rodney prescribed tended to knock her out, which was
as much for Amanda's benefit as Lex's.
At the other end of the sofa, Amanda sat with her laptop, typing away at her blog. She stopped when she heard a car come up the driveway. "Damn." She put her laptop on the coffee table and hurried to the front door before the visitor woke up Lex.
She opened the door and was almost hit by her sister, who had been prepared to knock. "Jeannie! What are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too, Mandy. I was hoping to help keep Slim company. How's she feeling?"
Amanda held the door open and gestured for Jeannie to come inside. "Her back and right leg are really bothering her, and she hates taking the pain medication. So she's either grumpy or sleepy."
"And that's new?" Jeannie glanced into the living room and could see Lex's head. "Let me guess. Right now, she's sleepy."
"I'm afraid so. She put off taking the meds until after Hubert and Ramona left for the day." Amanda's eyes softened as she looked at Lex. "I hate seeing her like this."
Jeannie rubbed her arm. "She's going to be okay. How are you doing? I can't even imagine taking care of two active girls, an infant, and a recuperating wife. You've got my utmost respect, little sister."
"Thanks. But I've got a lot of help. Martha and Charlie usually kidnap Eddie, and I don't get to see him until lunch. Then we have lunch together, and they usually stay and visit." Amanda tugged Jeannie's arm. "Come on. Lex will be out for a while. Let's get some coffee in the kitchen."
"Sounds good to me."
Amanda prepared two mugs of coffee and set one in front of her at the table.
"This may sound crazy," Jeannie said, "but you really seem comfortable here."
"Don't you think I should? I've lived here for over twelve years." Amanda sat across from Jeannie. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"
"No, no. I didn't say that right. What I meant was, I've always seen you as someone in an office. But now, you seem perfectly content to stay at home, raise your kids, and live your life."
Amanda nodded. "Yeah, it's been a bit of an adjustment for me, that's for sure. At first, I felt almost cheated because we closed the office. But it didn't take me long to realize that I really wanted to spend more time with my family. The girls are growing so fast and I don't want to miss a moment of it. And now, with Eddie, I can actually be a stay-at-home mom full-time. Even with Mel, I worked half-days once she was six months old. And as she got older, I worked even more. And when I got home, I was so busy being some kind of super mom, I had a tendency to neglect the most important person in my life."
"I can't imagine Lex giving you a hard time about working, though," Jeannie said. "She's got such a strong work ethic."
"No, she didn't." Amanda smiled fondly. "She wouldn't. But it had gotten to the point that the only time we'd see each other was at the dinner table with the kids. Then, once we'd get the girls to bed, we'd both collapse and fall right to sleep. Even though I was lying right beside her I missed her."
Jeannie wiped away a tear. "You two should be considered illegal. I've never seen two people so much in love."
"We are. It seems like every day I fall even deeper in love with her."
A shuffling at the door caused Amanda to look up. "Lex, what are you doing?"
Lex stood in the doorway, propped on crutches. "Hey, Jeannie. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, the baby's growing, I'm eating, and poor Rodney has to run out in the middle of the night to fetch my latest craving." Jeannie pushed a chair away from the table. "Why don't you come join us?"
"Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything?"
Jeannie patted the chair. "Not in the least. As a matter of fact, I came to visit you. Come sit by me, cutie."
Lex blushed, but worked her way into the kitchen. She lowered slowly into the chair and put the crutches on the floor beside her. "One of these days Amanda's going to think something's going on between us, if you keep that up."
"So?"
Amanda took one look at Lex before she stood and picked up a coffee cake off the counter. She gathered plates and forks, and brought everything over to the table. In no time at all, she had served all of them a decent-sized piece. She poured Lex a glass of milk and returned to her chair. "You need to get something into your stomach, honey."
"Yeah, I know. Those damned pills always make me wake up nauseous." Lex picked at the coffee cake, before finally taking a small bite.
Jeannie scooted closer and rubbed Lex's shoulder. "Maybe you stole my morning sickness. I had it for about a week, and then it disappeared."
"God, I hope not." Lex gave her a crooked grin. "I lucked out when Amanda was pregnant. Didn't get sick or the weird cravings. But I did buy a lot of strange things when I was in town, just on the off chance she'd want them later."
Amanda came close to spitting her coffee across the table. "Martha was afraid you were craving those things. I think it freaked her out a little to think of you setting foot in a grocery store without being threatened first."
"She even tried to take my temperature, the first time I came home with several grocery bags," Lex added, much to Jeannie's amusement.
"Well, Slim, you have to admit, you've always acted like you were allergic to any kind of shopping."
Lex shrugged. "I tried to be prepared."
"Want to come home with me? Rodney's been good, but I think I'd like to be spoiled."
Amanda started to choke on her coffee cake. When she was finally able to take a breath, she glared at her sister. "You've been spoiled your entire life, Jeannie Louise. So don't try and tell us any different."
Jeannie stuck her tongue out at Amanda. "Turd."
"Spoiled brat."
"Ladies, please," Lex said. "Let's not resort to name calling."
Both sisters started laughing. Their favorite pastime was teasing each other.
Jeannie flicked a piece of pecan from her cake at Lex. "Who are you calling a lady?"
Lex flinched as the nut bounced off her cheek. "Not you, obviously." But she couldn't help but smile at their silliness. "You'd better not make a mess in here. Amanda's worse than Martha when it comes to the kitchen."
"Really?" Jeannie looked at Amanda. "My sister? The girl who used to get hives at the thought of cleaning?"
Amanda dropped her fork onto the plate. "I was ten, for god's sake. What ten-year-old likes to clean?"
"Pfft." Jeannie waved her hand in a dismissive motion.
"I swear, sometimes I wish I'd been an only child," Amanda grumbled.
"Yeah, right. Then whose bed would you have invaded every time you thought you saw the boogeyman? Hmm?" Jeannie turned to Lex. "Does she stick her cold feet on your legs in the middle of the night?"
Lex nodded. "All the damned time." Another piece of cake bounced off her shirt. "Hey."
Amanda pointed her fork at Lex. "My cold feet will find somewhere else to sleep, if you're not careful."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Amanda appeared quite pleased with herself, until a rather large piece of cake hit her forehead. "Lexington!"
Ten minutes later, Martha came into the kitchen, where she saw three laughing women and chunks of coffee cake all over the kitchen. "What on earth has been going on around here?"
The room turned silent, as all three pointed to each other, laying the blame. They looked at the peeved glare on Martha's face, then at each other, and proceeded to laugh even harder.
TUESDAY EVENING, LEX lay on the sofa, while the girls were playing a game on the coffee table. Amanda had taken Eddie upstairs for a bath, and Hubert and Ramona were next door at Martha's. So, she drew the short straw and was left with two rambunctious girls.
"There!" Melanie placed her game piece on the final square. "I win."
"No, you don't." Lorrie moved Melanie's piece to its original spot. "It wasn't your turn."
Melanie took the piece and slammed it on the final square. "I won!"
Lorrie rolled her eyes. "That's cheating." She petted Freckles, who loyally sat next to her.
; "Girls, behave." Lex closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain in her back. She was long overdue for her medication, but hated to take it because it made her so sleepy.
"Lorrie, stop that!" Melanie grabbed her game piece. "I won, and you lost."
"No, you didn't. You're cheating." Lorrie's voice started to rise.
Freckles began to bark, adding to the noise.
"Am not!"
Lorrie tried to wrestle the game piece away from her sister. "Are too! Gimme!"
"Nooooo!" Melanie rolled onto the floor and started to kick at Lorrie. "Stop it! I won!"
Now Freckles was barking and dancing around the squabbling children, enjoying the game.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Lex had heard enough. "Damn it! You two, cut it out!" She quickly sat up and immediately regretted the action. Her hands went to her back. "Fuck!"
At Lex's raised voice, Freckles stopped barking and ran out of the room.
"Oooh, Momma. That's a bad word," Melanie said.
"I don't care," Lex yelled. "If you two can't play nice, then don't play at all. Put the game away, right now."
Melanie's lower lip began to quiver. "But I was winning."
"No, you wasn't. You were cheating," Lorrie said.
"Shut up! Both of you," Lex snapped. At the sound of both girls crying, she realized what she had done. "Damn. I'm sorry, girls."
Melanie was openly sobbing, and Lorrie kept trying to wipe her own tears away with the sleeve of her shirt.
"Come here," Lex asked, in a softer voice. When neither girl moved, she edged off the sofa and landed painfully on her knees. With a grimace, she held out her arms. "Please, come here." Her arms were filled with crying girls, and soon Lex was crying, too. "I'm so sorry, girls. Please forgive me."
Amanda came into the room and saw the three on the floor. "What's going on?"
Lorrie pulled away from Lex. "We made Momma mad and she yelled."
"I didn't mean to," Lex choked out. "I'm sorry." She held both girls tightly.
"I thought I heard something." Amanda came around the sofa and put her hand on Lex's head. "Girls, why don't you go upstairs and wash your faces? I'll be up in a few minutes, okay?"