by Carla Fredd
He noticed she didn't say good news.
"No, Mom. I'm not moving to California. I'm getting married to Ric Justice. What? Wait. Don't talk at the same time. No, we haven't been dating long. Yes, this is rather soon but— Sure, Daddy, I want you to talk to him face-to-face. Well, he's standing right here. I know marriage is a big step and ... I'm sure this is what I want. No, we haven't set a date yet, but it will be soon. How soon? Two to three weeks. I ... but ... We don't want to wait. No, he's not pushing me. I'm the one who wants to get married so soon because I want to have a child right away. Daddy!"
He'd heard enough. Ric walked to her side and motioned for the phone.
"Ric wants to talk to you," she said and gave him the phone.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson."
"Young man," Reverend Steven Robinson began, his voice booming, "what is going on?"
"Sir, Anna May and I have decided to get married, and we want to do it soon. We'd like for you to be present at the ceremony."
"Why the rush?" her mother interjected. "There's no reason to rush, is there?"
"She's not pregnant, is she?" her father asked in a shocked tone.
"No," Ric replied. At least not yet, he thought to himself.
"Then there's no reason why you can't wait a few months," her father said.
"We don't want to wait," he said with a hint of steel in his voice. "Anna May and I will be married in a few weeks. She wants you to perform the ceremony. Will you do it?"
Ric looked into Anna May's anxious face as he waited for her father's answer. Silence stretched on the telephone line. He tensed as if to prepare himself for a physical blow. He'd tried to warn her, and now she was going to be hurt by her family. The least he could do was soften the blow when her father refused. The silence ended when her father spoke.
"Thank you, sir," Ric replied surprised at the answer. "It is very important to Anna May. Hold on, she wants to talk to you."
She took the phone and Ric wandered to the other side of the room. He was engaged, he thought in wonder. In a few weeks he would be married. Have a wife. Anna May Justice. She looked in his direction as if he'd said her name aloud. Her brown eyes were alive with happiness. She should be happy, he thought. She was getting what she'd asked for. Him and later his child.
Ric put his hands in his pants pockets. He never really had a choice in the matter. She was his best friend, and he cared for her more than anyone else in the world.
"Thank goodness that's over," she said sitting in the recliner with her elbows on her knees, supporting her head with her hands.
"Why didn't you tell them about the tumors?" he asked. "It might have made it easier for you."
"I'll tell them tomorrow. I don't think they could take hearing about it right now."
"Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"
"I think so."
"Good. We'll pick out rings and make an appointment to get the marriage certificate and blood tests."
An engagement ring. As much as she wanted her marriage to be real in every sense of the word, she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. "A plain gold band will be fine with me. Don't spend a lot of money on me."
"That won't do. Occasionally I have to meet clients in a social setting along with their wives and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable when people ask to see the ring and you don't have one."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," she said, her brow furled in a frown. "My family might think it was strange, too. Do you want to call your aunt and uncle now?"
"No."
"I suppose we could go see them tomorrow and give them the news," she said.
"No, that's all right. I'll tell them."
"You don't want me to be with you when you tell them?"
"Don't make a big deal out of this. My aunt and uncle probably could care less if I got married."
On the other side of the country, Steven and Carolyn Robinson tried to come to grips with the news their only daughter had given them.
"Something's wrong," Carolyn said.
"Of course, something's wrong. Our daughter's getting married in haste," Steven replied.
"No, there's more to this than what she's telling us."
"Ric," he said still dazed from the telephone call, "said she wasn't pregnant. Why would they lie about it? We can count to nine like anybody else."
"I've got a feeling about this, Steven. Anna May's impulsive, but this doesn't sound like her. I'm going to call James and Steven Jr. Maybe they'll know what's going on."
"We would have heard about it if either of our sons knew what was going on."
"I'm going to call them anyway," Carolyn said as she picked up the telephone.
Steven listened with half an ear as his wife spoke with their youngest son, James. He could tell from her comments that James didn't know any more than they did about Anna May's upcoming marriage. The same was true with Steven Jr.
"They don't know what's happening, either. James said she didn't say anything to him when he flew down last week," Carolyn said.
"We'll know soon enough," he replied. "I'm going to fix some coffee. Do you want a cup?"
"Yes," she said with a sigh.
He walked into the kitchen and began to prepare the coffee. As the stream of brown liquid poured into the pot, he stared at the telephone.
A few minutes later with a cup in each hand, he entered the den where his wife was waiting. "Pack a bag, Carolyn. We're going to Atlanta tomorrow."
"Ric," Anna May said in a fierce whisper. "I told you I didn't want an expensive ring." She glanced toward the open door where the jeweler went to bring another collection of stones. Ric told the man the stones they'd seen weren't exactly what they were looking for, larger stones were what they had in mind.
"It won't be an expensive ring," he replied.
"It won't be expensive for who? Ted Turner?" she whispered.
"He's coming back."
The jeweler entered the private room holding yet another black case. "I think this set of stones is what you're looking for," he said. He removed several envelopes from the case, then opened them.
She gasped. The stones were more beautiful than any she'd seen so far. She picked up a large pear-shaped diamond.
"That's an excellent stone," the man said. "Four and a half carats—very, very fine."
"We'll take it," Ric said.
"Ric!"
Twenty minutes later they left the store with a promise from the jeweler that her ring would be sized, set, and ready for delivery that evening.
The next stop was Emory Hospital for their blood tests. He'd managed to convince his doctor to put a rush on their test results, and they would have them within the hour. That is, if Anna May held up that long.
"Do we have to get this done today? Tomorrow is good for me," Anna May said for the third time as they waited in the lobby.
He took her cold hands in his. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid."
She lifted her chin and said without hesitation, "I'm not afraid."
Her show of bravado was undermined as her hands began to tremble. She'd had that same look on her face in college when he'd taken her to the emergency room. She hadn't cried when the glass she was washing shattered in her hand, but she cried like a baby when the doctor gave her a shot to ease her pain. Anna May was terrified of needles.
"Anna May Robinson." A lab-coat-clad technician called her name. Her hand clamped around his like a vise, and her eyes widened with fear.
"I'll come with you," he said softly. "I won't let them hurt you."
Together they walked toward the technician. The young man looked from Anna May's terrified expression to Ric's determined face. He smiled. "Ms. Robinson, why don't you have a seat over there while I get your friend a chair."
"O ... okay," she replied, her voice trembling.
Ric sat down next to her and held her hand. "So tell me about this press release you've got to finish." He had to keep her talking. Next to her family and frien
ds, her job as a public relations consultant was her favorite topic of conversation.
"I ... I can't tell you about this one."
"Oh? The last time you said that the price of your company's stock went up ten percent. Should I buy more shares?" She flinched as the needle pierced her skin. Ric gave the technician a killing glare. The young man swallowed nervously.
"So what are your parents up to? Have you talked to your brothers lately?" Talking about her job wasn't distracting her, but talking about her family would keep her mind off what was happening. He normally avoided talking about her family but he'd do just about anything to take away her fears.
"I haven't talked to either of them," she said softly, her frightened gaze never leaving his. He kept her talking until the young man was finished. Ric walked with her to the lobby, making sure she was all right before rejoining the technician who was waiting to take his blood.
Her color had improved by the time he returned to the lobby, and she even smiled at him.
"Thanks for staying with me," she said.
He smiled at her in return. "Hey, what are friends for?"
She took his hand and held it until their results were ready an hour later.
"Can we eat now?" she asked when they'd reached his dark green Jaguar convertible. Their marriage license along with their test results were now in her possession.
Ric was like a man on a mission this afternoon. He was treating their wedding with the same organizational skill he used in his normal business activities. It was as if he had a mental checklist Engagement ring. Check. Blood test. Check. Marriage license. Check. Anna May hadn't decided if she was happy with his actions or not
"Sure. What do you have in mind for lunch?" he asked.
"I want a naked dog with a big F.O.," she said with a smile.
The Varsity was the only place in Atlanta where it was normal for naked dogs to be ordered. Anna May picked up their order for two plain hot dogs and a frosted orange shake and searched for Ric, who'd found an empty table for them to sit at.
She unwrapped the hot dog, took a bite, and closed her eyes in delight. "They serve the best hot dogs."
"I hope you feel this way later on tonight when the grease has had a chance to settle," Ric replied.
"If you don't want that hot dog, I'll eat it"
"I didn't say I wasn't going to eat" he said while unwrapping his hot dog.
"You're just trying to make me feel guilty for eating this fat- and calorie-filled lunch—well, it ain't gonna happen," she said after sipping her frosted orange. "Besides, I've been eating healthy for the last few months, and I can afford this one little indulgence." She paused as a young couple sat at the table beside them. The woman was obviously in the later stages of pregnancy. Anna May felt a twinge of envy as the woman placed her husband's hand over her stomach. Feeling as if she were intruding on a private moment, she looked away.
"When are you planning to move your things?" Ric asked.
"What things?" she asked.
"Your clothes, some furniture. I'm assuming you want to move to my house since it's the biggest. Am I wrong?"
"Oh, no. You're not wrong." Sometimes when she'd indulged herself in fantasy, she'd dreamed of living in his home and becoming his wife. Now for a brief time her dream would come true. She would have the right to lie in the huge four-poster mahogany bed beside him. To make a child together. She shivered at the thought as sparks of desire raced throughout her body. "I'll start packing some of my things this weekend and ask Janet if she wants to live in my house for a year. She's been complaining about her apartment complex lately."
"Let me know if you need any help, and I'll make a point to come over," he said as he looked at his watch. "We'd better go. I've got a two o'clock meeting."
He dropped her off in front of her office building in the heart of town. "I'll see you tonight," he said when he brought the car to a halt.
"You don't have to give me the ring tonight. Tomorrow will be fine."
"I'm coming by tonight, Anna May," he said in a stubborn tone.
"Fine. See you tonight," she replied reaching for the door. She paused when he touched her arm.
"One more thing," he said in a tone she'd heard only once. It was the same deep, sexy tone of voice he'd used when he'd whispered her name the morning after the ice storm.
"What?" she asked as shivers danced down her spine.
"This," he murmured as he leaned across the seat, placing his fingers under her chin. His kiss was soft and gentle and it ended much too soon. "I'll see you tonight," he said.
Anna May didn't remember getting out of the car, but for the rest of the day, she remembered their first kiss.
Chapter 5
Anna May knew she was in trouble when she saw not one but three rental cars parked in front of her house as she turned into her driveway that night. Her parents had wasted no time coming to Atlanta. She'd expected them to come down—just not this soon—and she certainly hadn't expected her brothers.
As the garage door lowered, her mother greeted her at the door. For the first time in five years, she wondered if giving her parents a key to her home was a good idea.
"Hi, Mama." Anna May picked up her briefcase and closed the car door.
With arms open wide, her mother met her in front of her car, enveloping her in a warm embrace. "How's my baby girl?"
Her mother was an inch shorter than her height of five feet six inches. Her black hair was peppered with strands of gray, and her once smooth light brown skin had faint laugh lines around her dark brown eyes.
"I'm fine," she said giving her mother a hug. "When did you guys get in?"
"This afternoon around one o'clock. We called your office, but you were out."
She'd been making wedding plans with Ric. "Oh, I had a few errands to run." Anna May straightened the straps of her purse as they entered her home.
Her father and oldest brother, Steven, stood in the kitchen side by side like matching bookends. Both wore what she'd laughingly referred to as their "preacher garb," black suit, pristine white shirt, and a dark tie. She wanted to make a comment about it, but she had a feeling neither her father nor her brother were in the mood for jokes.
"Hello, Anna May," her father said.
She sighed inwardly at his serious tone, regretting the fact he hadn't called her by her nickname "baby girl," like her mother had.
"Hi, Daddy. Hi, Steve," she said with a sad smile.
"Is she here yet?" The younger of her two brothers walked into the room, his denim shirt and worn blue jeans were as different from his father and brother as his own personality. James, who was two years older than she, had been the object of many arguments in the past. Her parents said they were too much alike to really get along. He stood beside his father—the three men in her family wore the exact same I'm-gonna-get-to-the-bottom-of-this expression.
"What is this I hear about you getting married in a couple of weeks, shorty?" James folded his arms across his chest, his legs planted shoulder width apart. It was a pose guaranteed to put her on the defensive.
She flashed her brother an irritated look. "Do you mind if I change clothes before we have this conversation?" she said heavy with sarcasm.
"No, honey," her mother interjected giving her son a look of warning. "You go ahead and get comfortable, and I'll fix you a plate."
She could hear her father reading James the riot act as she left the kitchen. Placing her briefcase beside a chair in the living room, she prepared herself for the battle to come. I'm not giving in, she said to herself as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. I'm getting married and having Ric's child, and there's isn't a thing they can say or do that'll make me change my mind. With that in mind, she walked into her bedroom wishing she had a suit of armor in her closet.
A suit of armor wasn't what she needed, she thought an hour later. A bomb shelter was more like it.
"You need to think this over," her father said.
"Marriage is such a com
mitment, baby girl—are you sure you want to do this?" her mother asked.
It was as if her kitchen had been transformed into an arena, and she'd entered a tag team wresting contest without a partner.
"When did you start dating Ric, and why didn't you say anything when I was here a week ago?" James questioned.
"What's going on? This is too crazy even for you," Steven demanded.
Anna May felt pressure build between her eyes, a sure sign of a whopper of a headache in the making. "No, Daddy. I don't need to think this over. Mom, I know marriage is a commitment and I'm sure I want to do this. James, I don't tell you everything like you don't tell me everything. And Steven, I'm getting married is what's going on." She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Anna May," her mother said. "What's going on, really? This isn't like you to make a major decision like marriage without involving us. Is there something we should know?"
Now was the time to tell them, she thought. Drawing a deep, calming breath, she responded. "I know this is a surprise to you," she continued despite James's snort. "But there are reasons we want to get married this quickly. I've seen several doctors in the past month. I'm fine," she added quickly noting her father's concerned frown. "The tumors are back, and the doctors have advised me to have children now or not have children at all."
Silence filled the room as her family mulled over what she'd said. The confusion that was present in her father's expression was replaced by concern.
"So you're getting married to have children?" her father asked. At her nod yes, he continued. "Ric knows your reason for marrying him?"
"Yes, I was up front with him when I asked him to marry me."
"Wait a minute, you proposed to him?" Steve asked, his brows raised in surprise.
"And asked him to father my child."
"This is crazy, Anna May. You're planning to marry a man you don't love and have his child." James rubbed his hand across the nape of his neck. "You might as well hire a divorce lawyer right now."