*************
“Oh my goodness Audrey why didn’t you just tell him right then that he’s the baby’s father? The poor guy was trying to pour his heart out to you.” Leah says to me while the three of us are sitting on my patio later that evening.
“I panicked. I was afraid he wouldn’t want me and wasn’t sure what I had heard him say. He really did say he has been thinking about me ever since right? Or am I making this up?”
“Honey you’re the only one that knows for sure what was said. But if you’re telling us word for word then yes that’s what he’s saying.”
“Karlie are you sure? Leah?”
“I think you made another big mistake with him. You need to talk to him and that was your shot. You blew it big time.”
“Aaaahhhh! Why is this so damned hard?”
“It’s life sweetie.” Mom says as she walks in on the conversation.
“Hey Mom. How are you?”
“How are you girls doing? Especially you Miss Heart Breaker.”
“You heard all that did you?”
“Yes Audrey I heard it all as I was walking up here. You weren’t exactly quiet about it.”
“No one else is with you are they?” I panic.
“You mean your brothers? No they aren’t. I believe they’re in town with Prince Charming as you two call him. I think they’re helping him get moved in.” Mom smiles at Leah and Karlie.
“Have you seen him? He’s very dreamy.” Karlie says and laughs. “But of course not as hunky as my husband.”
“Nice save. I have heard he’s handsome yes. There are a lot of whispers around town about him. I think some of the ladies from church were going to try to set him up with their daughters and nieces.”
“No. They can’t do that. He can’t date anyone in town.”
“Audrey then you need to go talk to him.”
“Fine. I’ll go right now.” I can’t believe I’m going to town again. Going to talk to Maysen. Maysen of all people. Never thought I would say that again. I’m going to go talk to Maysen in person. A part of me dreads it but then there’s the traitorous side who is excited.
*************
After having the guys help move some boxes into the new house, I say to Mom, “I’m not sure what there is to make for dinner tonight. How about we go to Sally’s.”
“That sounds nice. I’ll go freshen up and then we can go.”
Uncle Sam and Aunt Ingrid extended their vacation another two weeks so Mom and I will have a little time to get moved into Austin’s house. Oh good grief I wonder if Aiden, AJ and Austin know I slept with Audrey? They’ll probably kill me if they find out. They’ll pull all their work from the shop and I’ll lose my chance of buying it.
“I’m ready son. Let’s go. You can be my date tonight.”
“Works for me.” I walk Mom to the car but I secretly wish it were Audrey and I that are on an actual date. Once again my mind flashes back to our dinner date in Omaha. My heart feels like it breaks into another sliver as I realize that some other man will get to love her for the rest of her life.
“Where do you want to sit Ma? The window booth over here is open.”
“That’s a good one. That’s a pretty girl sitting over there Maysen. Do you see her?”
“Yes Ma I see her. Let’s order, I’m starving.”
“Don’t you want to meet a pretty young lady and have a family?”
“Mom, where is this all coming from? I told you the other day about Audrey.”
“Audrey? What about her? Have you met her? She’s such a pretty girl too. Are you interested in her?”
“What? Mom are you feeling okay?” I’m starting to get very concerned. She doesn’t even remember our talk about Audrey. She never forgets talks about Grandkids and my getting hitched.
“I’m just fine son. When you graduate from college we’ll find you a wife so I can have some Grandkids. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
Graduate from college? What? Whoa, what is going on here?
“Ma, I’m not in college anymore. It’s 2014. You know that right?”
“Sure. Sure. Let’s eat. I haven’t been to Sally’s since before I moved to Tulsa. You used to love eating here too Michael.”
“Michael? Ma why did you just call me by Dad’s name? Are you sure you’re doing okay?”
“Of course I know who you are. We’re getting married soon aren’t we?”
“Let’s go Ma. We need to go.” I have got to get her out of here and to a hospital. This is the strangest thing I have ever heard. She thinks I’m my Dad and they’re getting married soon. This is so bizarre and terrifies me.
As we rush outside of Sally’s and towards the car I hear a female voice calling my name from down the sidewalk.
“Maysen! Maysen!” I turn to see Audrey coming towards us. Even in the terrified state that I’m in I can’t help but be relieved to see her.
“Audrey, I can’t talk right now. Something’s wrong with my Mom. She’s talking very strange and thinks I’m my Dad.”
“Didn’t your Dad leave before you were born?” She asks also starting to become alarmed.
“Yes. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Hello dear. So glad to see you again. When are you two going to set a date? Looks like you need to set one before that baby comes.”
“Wow, this is weird. Let me help you get her to the after-hours clinic.” Audrey takes Mom by the hand and helps her into the backseat of my car. What she does next shocks me even more. She gets into the front seat and waits for me to back out.
“You’re going with us? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Not right now no. I want to help you and your Mom. Hurry.”
I do just that. I hurry Mom to the clinic. Audrey calls ahead and has them waiting with a wheelchair when we arrive. Of course Mom puts up such a big fuss and they let her walk in by herself.
*************
“Thank you for being here.” I hear Maysen say to me. I thought he was sleeping but that must have been me that was.
“It’s no big deal. I pray she’s okay. Shouldn’t they know anything yet?”
“You would think. I really do appreciate the help and the company. I’ll be okay if you need to go. Really.”
“No, I’m good where I am. You need a friend right now. I’m here. Can I be that friend for you? At least for right now?”
“Of course.” That’s all he says and leans back in his chair again. It’s been a little over an hour since we brought his mother in here and no word yet on her condition.
“My brothers are on their way.”
“How are we going to explain how we know each other?”
“For right now we’ll say I saw you outside Sally’s and helped out.”
“You want to lie?”
“For now it’s fine. The whole truth can wait.” The entire whole truth can wait.
*************
“Mr. Correli? Are you Maysen Correli?” I’m awoken by the sound of a nurse standing in front of me. I open my eyes and see an older lady with scrubs touching my knee trying to wake me. I look to the side expecting to see an empty chair but to my surprise Audrey is still here. And her brothers are all across from us stretched out in chairs asleep also. In the midst of something so terrifying with my mother, they are such amazing friends that they wanted to stay and support me.
“Yes I’m Maysen. How’s my Mother?” I stand up hoping the lady will take me to see my Mom.
“She’s resting comfortably and the doctor would like to see you in her room.” She looks around at the people there with me. “Just you though. Only immediate family is allowed right now.”
“That’s fine I’ll be right there.” I walk over to Audrey and put my hand on her shoulder to wake her. She startles awake and I do the same with Aiden and Austin.
“Wow I didn’t realize we were sleeping here. We really can sleep anywhere can’t we?” Aiden chuckles and stretches.
“T
hey called me in to see my Mom. You guys go home and get some rest. I really appreciate your support. Audrey, you especially need a bed to sleep in.” I see her frown at me but stand up and stretch.
“You sure you want me to go? I’m okay here if you need me.” She says and I know deep down she really does mean it. You can always tell when someone is being insincere but Audrey is the polar opposite of insincere. I want so badly to tell her yes I need her to stay with me.
“I’m fine. They won’t let anyone else in anyway. You might as well go home and get a comfortable nap.” I squeeze her shoulder and smile. When she smiles back at me it knocks my socks off, I sigh a big relief that I have her in my life again. Even if it’s just in the friend capacity. I wave goodbye and follow the nurse to my mother’s room.
“Your mother is waking up but still seems a bit disoriented. She was severely dehydrated and that was allowing her mind to drift to other places and times. We don’t see any signs of illness or causes of concern. We’ll keep her for a little longer for observation but she should make a full recovery. She was very lucky that you were with her and brought her in so quickly.”
“Thank you. So she hasn’t been drinking enough fluids? That can cause her to think I’m my father thirty years ago?”
“I’m very sorry this happened to her but she does need to drink more fluids and keep hydrated. We’ll get her back to perfect health and then you can bring her home again.”
“Okay thank you Doctor. Ma? Can you hear me? It’s Maysen.”
“Hi honey. How’re you doing? Why am I in the hospital? Is this a hospital?”
“You had an episode Mom because you haven’t been getting enough fluids. I had to bring you here so they could help. They want to keep you a while just to be on the safe side.”
“Maysen you have a new business to run and you-know-who to win over. You need to focus more on that than your old Mom here.”
“No chance of that. I’m worried about you and everything else can wait. I haven’t taken very good care of you since we got here and that’s about to change.”
“You’re so hard headed. Just promise me you won’t give up on her and that baby.”
“Ma she helped me bring you here and she stayed here with me all night until they let me come back here. I think things are good with us so don’t worry about that. You need to get better and take care of yourself.”
“Maysen I will be fine. I think I’ve just gotten lazy since Ingrid left. You know she kept me going and I think I got used to that. I’ll do better I promise. Go live your life son.”
“Not arguing with you now. You need to rest. I need to get the shop opened up. I have a few people this morning but I can come back after lunch to check on you. If you need me just call.”
“Maysen I’ll be fine, just go.”
“Okay. I love you Ma.” I kiss her on the forehead and head out the door. I really thought I was going to lose her last night. That was so strange. I am so thankful for Audrey being there with me while I was waiting on the doctor. She was so tender to Mom when we were trying to get her out of the car and into the wheelchair. I should have known Mom wouldn’t go in it and she calls me hard headed?
20
“Maysen? It’s Audrey. I was calling to check on your Mom but I wasn’t sure if you would be at the shop today or not.” I say once he answers the phone.
“I just got here actually. She ran me off and made me come get some work done. She’s going to be fine.”
“I’m so glad she’s going to be okay. That was scary.”
“It was. They said as long as she stays hydrated she’ll be just fine. They want to keep her for a while for observation though.”
“That’s probably best. That way in case it happens again they can be there to help.”
“I wonder if she needs transferred to Tulsa’s hospital? The clinic has only those couple of rooms. Do you think the doctor here is good enough?”
“Maysen, she’ll be fine. The doctor here is great. Don’t worry so much.”
“It’s my Mom though. I can’t help but worry.”
“I know and you’re a great son. You need to let the doctors help her though. You’re a mechanic not a doctor.”
“Point taken. I really need to get busy so I can go by there after lunch. Thanks again for helping me last night and staying.”
“It was no big deal. Anything for a friend.” One step at a time.
“Bye Audrey.” I hear him say but know there was much more he wanted to say about the friend part of my answer.
I’m not sure I can be just friends with Maysen though. Not when all I want to do is jump into his arms and kiss him like there’s no tomorrow. He looked so pained last night while waiting for the doctor. My heart just broke watching him pace the floor. I am so glad she’s going to be okay. When Karlie lost her dad it was one of the toughest days for her and I don’t wish that on anyone. Especially Maysen.
After hanging up with Maysen I leave the school and drive over to Stampley’s to see Leah. She can help me work through this better than anyone.
“Hey you! What’s up? How’s Maysen’s Mom?”
“He says she’s going to be fine. She was just dehydrated. They’re going to keep her for a bit to make sure she’s okay.”
“That’s a relief. I bet Maysen is relieved too.”
“He is. The whole time we were worried that something was wrong with his mom I couldn’t help but feel guilty that if she passed away she would never know she had a grandson on the way. I have got to tell him. But how do I do that?”
“I wondered about that. I knew you would be struggling with your own demons the whole time. Austin said you never left Maysen’s side though. The guys think something’s going on between you two now.”
“Great. That’s all I need is for my over protective brothers butting in.”
“I told Austin to stay out of it but who knows if he’ll listen to me.”
“Wonderful. I’ll see you later. I have to get back to class.”
“You need to tell the poor guy.”
I just frown and glare at her before turning and leaving the nursery. It’s so easy for them to say. Just tell him Audrey. Yes, it’s that easy. I guess Leah knows how hard something is to tell the one you love when you’re afraid it will drive them away. She told Austin though and he loves her more today than before. Maybe Maysen will be the same way. It’s now or never I guess.
Pulling up in front of the garage, I find myself overwhelmed with nerves and nausea. What am I doing here again? I can’t think this is the time to tell him can I? I’m here and it’s killing me knowing he doesn’t have a clue about his son. I get out of the car and take a deep breath and exhale. Okay, let’s get this over with.
“Hey Audrey, what brings you by? I just told you I was okay. Really, I am.”
“I know you are but we need to talk Maysen.”
“Okay about what? I thought we got it all out there and decided to be friends. Or at least try to be? Have you changed your mind?”
“There’s more I need to tell you.”
“More? Like what? It’s okay you can tell me. After thinking I was going to lose my Mom again last night I decided to live day to day. What happened between us can stay in that hotel room, it doesn’t need to haunt us here.”
“Actually it can’t stay in that hotel room Maysen.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Maysen the father of my baby isn’t some loser out there. My baby’s father is standing right in front of me.” I look straight into his eyes and see the confusion.
“What? You mean you’re carrying my baby? Audrey?”
“Yes Maysen. There has never been anyone else. No one but you.”
“Whoa. I need to sit down. You’re telling me for six months you’ve known you were carrying my baby? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“For one, I didn’t have a way to contact you. The girls and I went to Omaha a while back to find you but some really nasty guy at that
Ned’s said you had moved and he didn’t know where. I had no idea how to find you.”
“You came to Omaha to find me? Audrey I’m so sorry you did that. That must have been hard on you. But when you saw me the other day you didn’t tell me either.”
“I know and I’m sorry about that. I was so shocked to see you that I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid you would be angry with me or think I’m trying to trap you with the baby.”
“Why would you think that?”
“The way you ran out of the hotel room. I honestly thought all along that you were ashamed of sleeping with me. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to be around the baby. Or me.”
“Oh my goodness Audrey that’s so far from the truth. I have wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you in the Tulsa hospital. I have kicked myself in the butt every day for not getting a way to keep in touch with you. And now we’re going to have a baby?” He walks forward until he’s within arm’s length and motions towards my stomach as if asking for permission to touch it.
“Of course you can touch your son.” I see his eyes light up and fill with tears.
“A son? You’re having a boy? Oh my goodness Audrey! I can’t believe I’m going to be a father. I had my suspicions but never dreamed it would be true. A son. Wow.” He lightly touches my stomach and miraculously the baby moves at that moment as if high fiving his father. Maysen’s eyes get as big as half dollars and he smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen.
“I felt that! My son is in there. Audrey, I love you. I love our son too.” I let out a big gasp as he puts his hands on either side of my face and kisses me. Kisses me so gently and sweeter than I have ever felt before. My heart jumps and I feel as if I’m going to faint. I’m so happy and love this man so much I never expected this fairy tale to come true. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him as close as I can.
“Maysen I love you so much too. I’ve been so miserable without you. I thought I would never be able to give my son his father. When I saw you the other day I was beyond happy. Would you like to see pictures of him?” I pull away from his arms and reach into my purse for the sonogram pictures.
Third Time's a Charm- Book 3 of the Colvin Series Page 12