“I’m so glad you could make it,” Ann said to Amy. “You’re just down for the weekend?”
Amy nodded. “I’m flying back to New York late tomorrow afternoon.”
“How’s your mother?”
“The same. Buying new furniture for the living room. The floor was covered with swatches.” She surveyed Ann slyly. “So, how is life in the revamped Bodine marriage?” she asked as they waited for the hostess to seat them.
“Wonderful,” Ann replied.
“Yes, I could tell that by the new wheels you’re driving. Do you know how much that car costs?”
Ann looked at her. “Haven’t a clue. Heath leased it for me last month. I couldn’t drive his RV or his motorcycle, and when living in New York I didn’t need a car.”
“Didn’t you go with him to get it?”
“No, he just drove it home one day.”
Amy shook her head as the hostess led the two women to a table. “You’re a rare specimen, Annie. I’ve always known it.”
“I’m not interested in cars, Amy, you know that,” Ann said as she sat.
“Or anything else but Heath and those books you write,” Amy replied, sitting across from her.
“You’re wrong, Amy,” Ann replied as she took her menu from the hostess.
Amy raised her brows inquiringly as the hostess walked away from them.
“I’m interested in knowing whether or not I’m pregnant,” Ann said, and Amy let out a whoop.
Several of their fellow diners seated nearby turned to look at them.
“Please control yourself,” Ann said.
“Are you sure?”
“No. I’m going to take a home test but the doctor I saw this morning thinks I may be.”
“Oh, dear, I’m so jealous,” Amy said mournfully. “Here I am, still dating twenty different varieties of Mr. Wrong and you’re married with a baby on the way.”
“It’s still not certain.”
“Oh, of course it is, doctors know. What do you think Heath will say?”
“That’s my biggest concern at the moment.”
They paused in their conversation as the waitress arrived and they gave their orders. When the woman walked away, Amy leaned across the table and said, “What do you mean, your biggest concern? Doesn’t he want children?”
“He acted very weird when we discussed it.”
“When was that?”
“Christmas.”
“He had just learned that you’d been telling him the truth about leaving him all those years ago. Maybe he was just overwhelmed.”
“I don’t think so,” Ann said worriedly.
“Why?”
“He went into this big speech about his father being an alcoholic and not wanting to pass that problem on to the next generation.”
“Oh.”
“I told him every family has problems but I don’t think I was getting through to him.”
“Well, you know how abysmal his childhood was. It’s understandable that he would have some negative feelings on the subject.”
“But some people in his situation resolve to make it better for their children. They want to take special care to be loving and attentive and interested and understanding. They want to be the opposite of the parents who hurt them. It’s really the only way to deal constructively with a history like that.”
“Are you talking about yourself now?” Amy asked quietly, fiddling with her napkin.
“Maybe. I know I’ll never treat a child of mine the way my father treated me.”
“Heath doesn’t have your temperament,” Amy said. “He’s bound to react differently.”
Ann shrugged.
“He must know you haven’t been using birth control,” Amy said dryly. “What does he think is going to happen?”
“He doesn’t seem concerned about it. I’ve told him my periods have been irregular, that’s one of the reasons he insisted on the doctor’s visit. Maybe he thinks I can’t conceive.”
“Annie, I cannot believe that you haven’t discussed this with him.”
Ann sighed. “I’ve tried, but he’s a magician at changing the subject. I haven’t wanted to argue with him. Things have been so lovely since the holidays I hate to burst the bubble.”
“And you think this bulletin just may do that?” Amy inquired, concerned.
“I don’t know.”
The waitress returned with two glasses of iced tea and set them on the table. “Lunch will be right up,” she said, and walked away.
“Remember how your mother used to laugh at us, drinking iced tea all year long?” Amy said.
Ann nodded, smiling.
“It will be all right, Annie,” Amy said softly.
Ann looked away from her. “If I am pregnant of course I want the baby. But if I lost Heath now, I think I would die,” she said.
“You won’t lose him. He’s crazy about you.”
“He’s crazy about me as long as I do what he wants,” Ann replied flatly.
“Oh, come on. You’re making him sound very cold.”
“A side of him is. You’re forgetting the person who made that lovely marriage-blackmail proposal a few months ago. He’s still in there, along with the charmer who selects exquisite jewelry and leases expensive cars.”
“And bails brothers out of jail.”
“Right.”
“Nobody ever said Heath wasn’t complex.”
“Certainly not me.”
Amy raised her glass of iced tea. “Drink up. Odds are all will be well. Now, let me tell you about my latest dating fiasco, the supposedly available publishing executive who turned out to have a darling little wife and four fetching kiddies tucked away at the last stop on the commuter line.”
Ann laughed and tried to listen to Amy’s monologue. But her mind kept drifting back to the little box with the pregnancy test inside it, nestled in a bag in the trunk of her car.
She would use it as soon as she got home.
* * * *
By the time Heath returned from work that night, Ann knew that she was pregnant. The liquid in the test tube had turned bright pink the second she completed the steps. She had stowed the box and the plastic debris from the test in the paper bag and stuck it in the bottom of her closet. She didn’t want Daniela coming across it by accident.
Heath came in whistling, his jacket slung over his shoulder, his face lighting up when he saw Ann in the bedroom.
“Don’t you look pretty!” He said, admiring her turquoise silk suit. “Is that new?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see Langley?”
“Yes again. He couldn’t find a thing wrong with me but he’s going to run a test for anemia.”
“Why?”
“I told him you thought I had iron-poor blood.”
Heath laughed. “He’ll be accusing me of practicing medicine without a license.”
“I must say that he seemed very curious about our star-crossed union.”
Heath dumped his jacket on a chair. “He thinks I’m an anomaly, and I guess I am in a way. He doesn’t know too many self-made millionaires.”
“Who does?”
“I’ll bet he was impressed with you,” Heath said, changing to a fresh shirt.
“Why?”
“You’re beautiful and accomplished. He thinks I’ve snagged a prize.”
“Just as long as you think that,” Ann said, coming up behind him and putting her arms around his waist.
“How could I think otherwise?” he said, covering her hands briefly with his and then breaking loose to select a new jacket from his closet.
Ann put her brush and her lipstick into her handbag and slipped it over her shoulder.
“Ready?” Heath said as he emerged from the depths of his closet.
Ann nodded.
“What time are the Jensens expecting us?”
“Seven-thirty.”
“Then let’s go.”
He took her hand and they walked out to the garage
.
* * * *
Joan Jensen welcomed them into her modern ranch house on the leeward side of Lime Island with a broad smile.
“Here’s the happy couple!” she said. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be late. My appetizers are fossilizing in the oven.”
Heath kissed Joan loudly on the cheek. “This Woman kept me alive when we were starting Bimini,” he said to Ann. “I ate here five nights a week.”
“He’s exaggerating,” Joan said.
“Not by much.”
Joe appeared, bearing drinks, and the two men retired to the den just off the hall. Ann followed Joan into the kitchen and helped her to serve up the stuffed mushrooms and pigs in blankets, making small talk and inserting toothpicks into the finger food.
“You okay, hon?” Joan said to her as she turned from the oven with a tray.
“Sure. Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve been blooming the last couple of months and I’ve been relieved to see it. Right around Christmas I was really worried about you.”
“Oh, my brother’s legal trouble, you know. It was always on my mind.”
“Of course. As I said, Joe and I were thrilled to see you so much happier lately. But tonight you seem.. .I don’t know, preoccupied. Has there been a bad turn in Tim’s case?”
“No, everything is fine. I think I’ve just been working too hard on my book. I went to see Heath’s doctor today and he gave me a clean bill of health.”
“Dr. Langley?” Joan said.
“Yes.”
“I hear he’s good. Joe doesn’t trust anybody who hasn’t been in the Keys since the Seminoles, and Langley’s fairly new so I’ve never seen him. We see Dr. Rappaport on Big Palm.”
“Rappaport was my father’s doctor.”
“Do many people connect you with Henry Talbot nowadays?” Joan asked, removing the glassine wrapper from a stack of small paper napkins.
“Not that many, you’d be surprised. People forget fast and a lot of the old guard has changed. But, of course, with Tim’s name in the news, there’s some recognition.”
“Does anybody give you a hard time about it?”
“A few veiled remarks, nothing major. Maybe some people would say more, but I think they’re afraid of Heath.”
“Afraid he’ll sue them?” Joan said.
“Or punch them in the mouth. He’s quite capable of either course of action.”
Joan chuckled. “I remember him when he was a kid. Very tough. He hasn’t changed much in that regard.”
“Did you know him when he first came to work for Joe?” Ann asked.
“Sure did. All sinew, that glossy hair, huge dark eyes. He was something to see.”
“I know. I saw him.”
Something about the wistful note in her voice touched the older woman and Joan patted her arm. “I’m sorry it took so long for you two to get back together,” she said.
“It was a misunderstanding.”
“So I gathered. But I know Heath can be pretty unforgiving. It’s the opposite face of his generosity. He’s a great friend but a formidable enemy.”
Ann nodded.
Joan brightened. “Enough of this serious talk. Let’s bring this food in to the men before they get restless,” she said.
Ann picked up the napkins and a tray and went out of the kitchen with Joan.
* * * *
The rest of the evening went smoothly and Ann held her tongue about her news until she and Heath were back in their bedroom. Heath decided to take a shower and Ann waited for him in their bed, dressed in a satin negligee. When he joined her, wearing only a towel about his waist and smelling of soap and shampoo, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled in next to him.
“You feel nice and warm,” he said. “Aren’t anemics supposed to be cold all the time?”
“Heath, forget about that. I’m not anemic. I just took the test to satisfy Langley.”
“What was the test?”
“A blood sample.”
“When will the results be in?”
“Early next week.”
“If you’re not anemic then why are you dizzy?”
“Langley thought I might be pregnant,” Ann said after a long, doubtful pause.
He froze; she could feel his body stiffen against hers. “Did he examine you?”
“Not internally. He just thought that explanation might fit my symptoms.”
“What symptoms?”
“The dizziness, the irregular periods.”
“You said that was from stress.”
“I’m not a doctor, Heath. I was just guessing. Anyway, Langley gave me a referral to an OB/GYN
in his building. I called and I have an appointment next week.”
Heath got out of bed and turned to face her, putting on his robe. “You can’t be pregnant,” he said flatly.
“I think I am, Heath. I took one of those home tests and it was positive.”
His face closed completely and Ann felt a chill when she saw the old expression, hostile and withdrawn, suffuse his features. She had hoped never to see it again.
“Then the child cannot possibly be mine,” he said coldly.
Chapter 11
Ann was too stunned to reply for several seconds. Then she said, “What on earth do you mean, Heath?”
“Just what I said. You’re not pregnant by me.” There was an air of unreality about the exchange that made Ann wonder if she had already fallen asleep and was having a nightmare. “Are you accusing me of having an affair?”
“I don’t know how else this could have happened,” he said tightly, his arms folded.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You know how it happened.”
“No I don’t. I had a vasectomy while I was in the Navy. If you’re having a baby it isn’t mine.”
Ann stared at him, her lips parted in disbelief. “You had a vasectomy?” He glared back at her stonily.“Why?” she said.
“You know why. I didn’t want to produce any more congenital drunks.”
“So you knew you couldn’t have children when we were first married?” Ann said, dumbfounded.
“Of course. In the kind of marriage we were planning to have, it wasn’t going to make any difference.”
“But what about after Christmas when things changed? Just when, exactly, were you going to share this piece of information with me?”
“Don’t try to turn the tables here—the discussion at hand concerns your mysterious pregnancy. Who’s the father?”
“You’re the father, you idiot, and I’m livid that you could even imply otherwise,” Ann replied, throwing back the covers on the bed and standing to face him. “You must know that vasectomies don’t always work perfectly—they can still fail to prevent pregnancy in some circumstances. Instead of insulting me with this baseless accusation, why don’t you contact the doctor who performed the operation and find out exactly what’s going on? If you loved me, or trusted me the way you should, that would be your initial reaction, not another round of ‘let’s beat up on Annie.‘“ She marched to her closet and began to pull clothes off hangers.
“What are you doing?” he asked, following her.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m leaving.” She rapidly folded an assortment of sweaters and slacks and tossed them haphazardly into a canvas flight bag.
“In the middle of the night?”
“I see no reason to stay any longer.”
“You’re leaving me?” he said in a bewildered tone, as if unable to believe it.
“Of course. Do you think I’m going to stay here and listen to any more of this garbage? I’ve been as understanding and patient as I know how to be. I forgave you for the way you treated me when we first got back together. I made every excuse I could think of for your abominable behavior and overlooked all of it in order to have the future with you that I so desperately wanted. But this is the last straw, Heath. If you actually think that I have been sleeping with somebody else during the past couple of months whe
n we’ve been so happy together, then I don’t even know what to say to you.”
“It may have happened before Christmas,” he said flatly, his gaze level.
“Oh, I see. While you were torturing me on a daily basis, I was taking comfort in some other man’s arms?”
“Why not? According to you, I gave you sufficient reason. How pregnant are you?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to have a sonogram to date the conception. But no matter when this baby was conceived it is yours, and I will undergo DNA testing to prove it. I’ll send you the results in the mail.” She tore off her nightgown furiously and then pulled a sweater over her head.
“Where are you going?”
“To my apartment in New York. We’ve continued to pay the rent on it, if you recall, and it’s empty. You suggested it as a refuge once before. It’s as good a place as any for me to be.”
“Wait...” he said, grabbing her arm.
Ann tore it loose from his grasp, and when his eyes met hers again he saw that, despite her reserved tone of voice, she was indeed furious.
“No, I won’t wait. I love you, Heath. I have always loved only you and apparently that is my misfortune. It may interest you to know that during the eleven years we were apart I never made love with another man. I was faithful to you, not only during this marriage, but all the time before when the mere memory of you made the presence of any other man pale by comparison. You have been my one and only lover, but I know that nothing I can say will convince you of that. You seem determined to drive me away on one stupid pretext or another, and this time you have finally succeeded.” Ann stepped into a pair of slacks, zipped them up and grabbed her purse with one hand and the overnight bag with the other. When he blocked her path, she stopped short.
“Get out of my way,” she said through gritted teeth, her body rigid.
“Listen.”
“I have listened. I have listened to more nonsense from you than I have ever heard from another human being, including my late and unlamented father. I have had enough. Now, are you going to move, or are you planning to chain me to the bedstead and post an armed guard? Because the second you leave me alone I’ll be gone.”
He stepped aside and she breezed past him. She paused in the doorway and looked back at him. “You know, I was worried about telling you I was pregnant because of your less than enthusiastic reception to the topic last Christmas Eve. I didn’t know the reason for your negative response, of course, but it never occurred to me that you would accuse me of having another man’s child. Your opinion of me must be even lower than I ever imagined. Goodbye, Heath.”
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