by Emma Easter
“You don’t need to apologize,” he said gruffly. “I like you too . . . very much.”
Her jaw dropped, and she stared at him, unable to say a word.
He finally smiled and said, “I don’t know if dating a fellow police officer is discouraged here, but I can’t help myself, Audrey. I want to get to know you better. Would you like to have dinner with me Friday evening?”
“Yes,” she said quickly, and then cringed inwardly at the eagerness in her voice. She felt suddenly shy as she looked at him and said more slowly, “Yes, I will have dinner with you.”
Chapter Seven
Audrey rifled through her closet in a sort of panicky mode looking for something to wear for her date with Ken. None of the outfits she’d looked at seemed appropriate for the date. She stood back wearily, huffed and then continued searching. Most of her clothes were either outdated or too casual for a date. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone on one, and so she hadn’t stocked up on any dressy outfits. The closest thing she had were her church outfits—usually dark jeans and a few simple tops. Somehow, they seemed unsuitable today.
She pulled out a designer dress that Sienna had given her for Christmas last year. She had never had the guts or desire to wear it. This time, she forced herself to put it on and then regarded herself in the mirror. The strapless fitted white dress hugged her every curve. She sighed. This looked like she was trying way too hard.
She took the dress off and finally selected another—a knee-length black gown. She looked at herself in the mirror after she put it on. It looked nice, but simple-nice.
As she put on her black kitten heels, she could hear Sienna’s and Trisha’s voices in her mind scolding her, saying her outfit looked too plain. “You are going on a date, not to church,” they would say if they saw her now. But she wasn’t like them. That white dress just wasn’t her.
She glanced at the mirror again. This was her—simple and practical.
She thought about wearing some makeup for the first time in years, but her mind rebelled. Makeup also wasn’t her. A makeup kit sat on the edge of her dressing table. She stared at it for a long moment. It was a gift from Trish for her last birthday. It had sat in the same spot for a year without being touched.
She could see a trend now. Her sisters were telling her through their gifts that she needed to try harder with her appearance.
She picked it up and then decided to use some. Ken was definitely worth the effort. She tentatively applied pink gloss on her lips and fought the urge to wipe it off. She could see Ken’s handsome face in her mind, and she wanted to look pretty for him. She swiped on some mascara and then decided she’d applied more than enough makeup.
The doorbell rang, and her stomach quivered.
He’s here.
She took a deep breath and shook her hands to try to calm her nerves.
You have to watch what you say to him today. I know you really like him, but that doesn’t mean you have to blurt it out. Grabbing her purse, she went down the stairs and eagerly opened the door.
But it wasn’t him. Trisha came in, tears running down her cheeks. She had a travel bag in her hand. She dropped her bag on the floor and flopped down onto the sofa.
Audrey frowned in alarm and walked over to her. “What’s wrong, Trish?”
“It’s Stan. He cheated on me . . . again.”
Audrey sighed with relief, sat beside Trish and put her hand on Trish’s shoulder. “I told you, Trish, but you still decided to stay with him.”
Trisha stared at her through her tears. “You don’t know what happened. Some weeks ago, I found out I was pregnant and . . .”
“What! And you didn’t tell me!” She looked down at Trisha’s stomach. It was still flat but not as flat as it usually was. “How come I didn’t notice? As a cop, I’m supposed to be able to pick up on these things.”
“You’ve been busy with your life. And I didn’t tell you because Stan and I decided to wait for a few months before we told anyone; because of our last two miscarriages, you know. Anyway, I was over-the-moon happy, and I thought he was too because he started coming home early and he cut back on his business trips. I told myself that he wouldn’t spend this much time at home if he were still cheating on me. But I was wrong. I don’t know why, but this morning, before he woke up to go to work, I decided to check his phone. I found another message . . . this time from him to a girl called Samantha. Another girl. I even saw the girl’s picture on his phone.”
She bent her head and broke down.
Audrey held her as she cried. She looked up with her cheeks streaked with mascara and eyeliner. “You were going out?”
Audrey nodded and opened her mouth to speak just as the doorbell rang. “That’s probably my date.”
Trisha groaned. “So, you can’t stay here with me? I really need you now. Is there any way you can postpone?”
Audrey sighed. “I like this guy a lot and you know I haven’t had a date in a while . . .”
Trisha nodded and started to stand up. “Okay, this distressed pregnant woman will get out of your hair.”
“Way to pile on the guilt.” Audrey held her hand. “Wait, Trish, don’t go.” She went and opened the door. “Ken.” Her heart pattered as she gazed at him. He looked so handsome dressed in a navy jacket and pinstripe button-down shirt.
He gave her a once-over, and his eyes lit up in admiration. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said and smiled at him. Now how to explain the situation with Trisha? This was going to be hard. She opened the door wide so he could come in and pointed in Trisha’s direction. “Ken, this is my sister, Trisha. Trish, this is Ken, my date, and my boss.”
Ken lifted his brows, a silly grin on his face. “Boss ugh! Today I’m your date.”
Trish quickly wiped her tears and smiled brightly at him. “Hi, Police Chief Baylor. I haven’t spoken to you in person. Pleased to meet you.”
“And you.”
Audrey said to him, “I’ll be right back.” She led Trisha away into the kitchen.
Trisha chuckled. “You didn’t tell me your date was the police chief. He’s gorgeous. No wonder you agreed to go out with him. You usually don’t care about dating.”
“Stop it, Trish! I’m not going out with him because of his looks. He’s smart and funny. Most of all, he’s a great human being. That’s why I agreed to go on this date.”
“You are totally smitten with this guy!” Trisha teased in exclamation, and then she scrunched up her face. “Stan is handsome too.” She put her hand on Audrey’s shoulder with tears running down her cheeks and said, “I’ll repeat your own words back to you, Audrey. Be careful of handsome men who seem too nice.” She sniffed and looked away. “I guess you can go. I’ll be fine.”
“No, I’m not leaving you like this,” Audrey said. She really wanted to go out with Ken, but Trish needed her. She couldn’t bring herself to leave her pregnant sister in such a miserable state. An idea came to her, and she said to Trisha, “I’ll be right back.”
Walking to the small living room, she found Ken sitting on the couch, riffling through the Police Academy magazine that had been on the coffee table. She came and sat next to him. “Ken, what if we had dinner here instead of some expensive restaurant. My sister is depressed right now, and I don’t want to leave her. I could order something for us to eat or you could have my famous lasagna. I made it yesterday and it’s really nice.”
She held her breath, hoping he would agree.
He smiled. “Sure, I wouldn’t want you to leave your sister, and I would love to have your lasagna. Do you want me to help with anything?”
“No,” she said, relieved that he’d agreed to stay. She winked at him and gave him a naughty grin. “Just sit and look pretty.”
He laughed as she left for the kitchen.
Trisha was still there munching on chips. Audrey brought out the pan of lasagna from the fridge, covered it with foil and put it in the oven to reheat it. She tu
rned to Trisha and asked, “So now that he’s cheated on you while you are pregnant, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I know you want me to leave him, but it’s not that easy. When you get married to that hunk out there, you’ll know.”
Audrey’s stomach flipped, but she pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Who said we were going to get married?” Even as she said the words, she knew she didn’t believe them, because she still imagined herself in a wedding dress in front of a church, holding Ken’s hands and saying marriage vows.
“From the longing expression on your face, I would definitely say you’re thinking about that. Anyway, I can’t just leave Stan. We’ve been through so much together.”
“Well, it’s your life, but as someone who truly cares about you, I’ll advise you to get rid of him. He’s a jerk!”
Trisha looked like she was going to cry again. She shut her eyes and said, “I don’t think I can do that, especially now that we are both expecting this child.”
Audrey put her arms around her and drew her close. “Don’t cry, Trish. You can come and eat with Ken and me once I dish out the food.”
“No, I think I’ll go to bed in Mom and Dad’s room.”
Audrey smiled sadly. They still called their old parents’ bedroom, “Mom and Dad’s room.” She slept in the other bedroom she had shared with her sisters growing up and hardly went into that room.
Trisha stopped at the kitchen door and turned around. “You guys have a good time.” She gave Audrey a half smile and walked out the door.
Audrey took the lasagna from the oven and carried it to the dining table. She quickly dished it out onto square white plates. Ken turned his face to her, and she smiled at him before going back to the kitchen. She brought out a bottle of non-alcoholic Sangria from the fridge, took out two glasses from the cabinet and went to set them on the dining table.
As they ate, they talked about work until Ken shook his head. “We need to stop talking about work, Audrey.” He smiled at her. “Tell me about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
He leaned forward and stared into her eyes. “I want to know everything about you, except for your job, of course.”
She gazed at him for a minute, captivated by how his eyes danced as they studied her face. She finally shook herself out of her entrancement and sighed softly. “Okay. I’m the oldest of three girls.”
She told him about growing up in this house. “I had a happy childhood.” She folded her hands on the table and talked about choosing to join the police force after she went with her high-school senior class to an excursion at the police station. The sights, sounds, and the uniforms had fascinated her. “I went to the police academy when I was eighteen, wanting to make a difference in my small town. I joined the Rosefield Force officially at nineteen.” Tears suddenly filled her eyes. “We lost our parents six years later. It’s been seven years since they died in a car crash.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Even though it was very sad, it somehow didn’t surprise any of us that they died together. They loved each other so much, and neither of them would have wanted to live without the other.” She looked up wistfully. “Thankfully all of us were financially stable by then. My sister Trisha was dating her now husband and got married soon after. Though my baby sister, Sienna, was just fifteen at the time, she’d been scouted as a model the year before.” Her heart grew heavy as she said, “We were all devastated by our parents’ death, and the emotional trauma stayed with us for a while. However, through God’s help, and our love for each other, we eventually got through it.”
He looked sad, and she smiled to lighten the mood. She said to him, “It’s your turn.”
He told her about being the youngest of five siblings. “My family lives in Tampa, and I had a normal-ish childhood,” he said. “Like you, I joined the academy because I wanted to make a difference. I moved to Miami after the academy to join the MPD. And I’ve also lived in Boise, just for a few months, before I became a cop.”
He paused for a minute, as she scrutinized his face. He looked a little distressed. “I was once engaged to be married, but she called it off a month before the wedding. She’s married to someone else now.”
His expression was so wistful that Audrey felt a sting of jealousy. She, however, pushed the jealous feeling away. Being jealous of a girl who was in his past and now married was ridiculous. She smiled sympathetically at him. “You have something in common with my sister, Sienna, but at least your story is better than hers. She left her fiancé at the altar.”
“Wow! That’s rough!”
Audrey nodded.
Soon they moved to the living room and settled side by side on the couch. They talked about everything from their love of old movies to the most interesting places they’ve each visited. Audrey kicked off her shoes and placed her feet on the coffee table as she told him about her best friend growing up and the silly antics they got into. She howled with laughter as he shared childhood story after story, and she teased him about being a very naughty child.
Sometime later, his eyes grew round as he stared at the clock on the wall. “Wow! It’s past midnight! I was having so much fun I didn’t even look at the time.” He stood up. “I guess I have to get going, Audrey.”
She stood up reluctantly, walked him to the door and said, “I had a great time.” If only this night didn’t have to end, she thought. It felt like it had just begun.
“I did too.” His eyes searched hers. “I love the way your lashes flutter when you’re lost in thought.”
She knew what he was doing. It was now their usual flirty banter. She couldn’t resist teasing him and said, smiling, “I love your shoes.”
“My shoes?”
She laughed at the look on his face.
“Surely you can do better than that,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied, and then lost the smile. “I love the cute dimples that appear on your cheeks when you smile. I love the way your eyes sparkle when you’re saying something funny.” She fingered his beard. “And I love how this feels . . . just the way I imagined it would.”
His eyes were as round as saucers when she finished. He shook his head and exclaimed, “Wow! Okay; and I only said something lame.” So, let me really say what I want.” He caressed her cheeks. “I love how smooth this is,” he said, and kissed each of them.” Her heart thudded as he ran his fingers through her hair and cupped her face. He kissed her nose and said, “I love your nose; it’s as cute as a button.” She trembled as he smoothed his thumb over her lips and said, “I love how soft your lips feel, and I can’t wait to kiss them.”
Her heart raced as he drew her close and kissed her chin and the corner of her lips. But just before their lips met, Trisha came into the room, screaming.
“Audrey! I think I’m about to lose my baby. Help me!”
Audrey gasped and pulled away from Ken. There was blood on Trisha’s legs.”
Ken sprang to action. “I’ll call 911.”
Audrey went to hold Trisha as she howled. “I don’t want to lose my baby again. Please help me!”
“It’s okay, Trish,” Audrey rubbed her sister’s back comfortingly while her heart pounded. “Ken is calling for help. The paramedics will be here soon.”
*****
Trisha bit her lips worriedly as she looked up at the doctor. She was lying on her back in the hospital bed. The doctor stood beside her, pressing his stethoscope to her uterus. She waited impatiently as he kept probing and listening, and then asked for the third time since he started examining her if her baby was okay.
He gave her a small smile, but he didn’t answer. She wanted to scream at him, to insist that he immediately tell her if her baby was fine, but she held herself in check. When she saw Stan enter the room, she held back a sob and held out her hands to him.
Stan came rushing up to her.
“Trisha, are you okay?” he asked.
She looked up at
the doctor and then shook her head. “I don’t know yet.”
The waiting felt excruciating, but at last, the doctor smiled at her and Stan. “Your baby is fine.”
“What about the bleeding?” she asked.
“It happens sometimes, but your baby’s heartbeat is strong. There is no need to worry. However, I would advise you to stay away from any strenuous physical activity and stress until your baby is born.”
She exhaled, relieved.
Stan hugged her. “Thank God the baby is fine.”
The doctor left, and Stan sat beside her on the bed. She looked at him, the man she had married and still loved in spite of his continual betrayal. She had asked Audrey to call him as the ambulance took her to the hospital, but Audrey had been hesitant.
“He’s the father of this baby, Audrey. I have to call him. What if something has happened to our child?”
“Trish, stop it! Your baby will be fine.”
“Please, just call Stan. He deserves to know what is happening.”
Audrey had snorted but called. Thank God he was here now. But once they got home, they would have to have a serious heart to heart.
He looked at her as if he wanted to cry and said, “I know you are angry with me, Trish, but please come back home. I need you.”
“No, you don’t. You need other women. Not me.”
At this point, she wasn’t sure what she would do. Sometimes, she was certain that she wanted to leave him, but at other times, she couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from him.
“I love you, Trish. Please come back to me. Besides, you know our baby deserves to have both a mother and a father.”
She looked up at him, and for the first time in their marriage, she felt a deep sense of loathing for him. “Can you tell me one thing, Stan?”
“What?”
“Why can’t you stop cheating? Is it something I have or don’t have, or is it a sickness that you have?”
He looked taken aback, like what she had just asked him was the last thing he expected her to ask. He did not answer for a full minute, and then he said in a shaky voice, “I don’t know, I don’t know what it is, but I know I love you. The affairs meant nothing. I think I get lonely when I’m away.”