Chapter 5
“Laura?” Taylor stood in the door of her study and watched his wife staring at a blank computer screen. She had made a name for herself in free-lance writing in the last few years and was finishing up a novel now. Words usually came easily for her but that obviously wasn’t the case tonight.
He crossed the room and leaned down to put his arms around her. “I have to leave for the theatre. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay.”
“It’s all right. I’m fine. Just a little too scattered to write right now.” She started the log-off sequence on her computer.
“Have you called your parents?”
“Not yet. Don’t you want to be here when I do?”
“I want you to do what’s best for you. I can get their congratulations later. I think you need to talk to your mother tonight.”
“Maybe. Go on, Taylor. You’ll be late.”
She watched as he walked to the door and listened as his steps faded down the hallway, leaving her alone with too much to think about.
* * *
“Hi, Jason, it’s Laura. Is Beth around?”
“She’s feeding the monsters. I’ll go relieve her so you two can talk. Everything okay?”
“We’re fine, Jason.”
“I’ll get her then.”
Laura could hear the sound of laughter in the background as she waited. Beth had married Jason four years ago. He was a fellow artist and the two of them had moved to Taos where they had opened a successful gallery. Beth had given birth to twins a year later and the boys were into their “terrible twos”.
“Laura! Thanks for rescuing me. Tomás and Taylor were driving me crazy.” She said it with a lilt in her voice that belied everything she said. Beth was a wonderful mother and adored her children.
“You love it and you know it, so don’t try to fool me,” Laura said.
“I do. They’re wonderful, Jason’s wonderful…I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. How are you and your gang?”
“The girls are fine. They’re both waiting to hear from schools about next year. I can’t believe they’ll be going off on their own.”
“But it will give you and Taylor a chance to have some time. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“It would be…”
“Laura? What’s wrong? Has something happened to Taylor?”
“No, he’s fine. He’s still on schedule to leave the show in March. But we’re going to have to change our plans a little.” She took a deep breath then asked, “How do you feel about being a godmother in May?”
“A godmother? To whom? Ohmygod, Laura, you’re pregnant! When did you find out?”
Laura’s voice choked with tears, “Today, Beth…”
“You’re not happy about it, are you?”
“No…yes…Beth, I don’t know how I feel!”
Beth laughed softly, “Those hormones will get you every time, girl. Give yourself some time to get used to the idea.”
“But I should be happy! Shouldn’t I?”
“Laura, don’t you remember when I found out I was having twins? I was devastated. I thought everything I’d planned and worked for was gone. But the day they arrived, all that changed. I wouldn’t give them up for anything.”
“You’re a wonderful mother, Beth. But I’m afraid I won’t be!” Laura began to cry. “What if I do it all wrong?”
“You’ll be great. You will. I promise.” Half a continent away, tears streamed down Beth’s cheeks as she tried to comfort her friend. “Have you called your Mom yet?”
“No. I needed to talk to you first.”
“Call her now. Then I’ll call you tomorrow night and we can talk.”
“Thanks, Beth…what would I do without you?”
“I don’t plan on letting you find out. I love you, Laura.”
“Me, too…‘nite.”
Laura hung up the phone then washed her face. The woman in the mirror looked so lost…maybe talking to her mother would help.
* * *
Laura glanced at her watch as the phone began to ring in New Mexico. Taylor’s curtain was going up right now and she sent a warm thought in that direction as her mother picked up the phone.
“Buenas noches.” Laura’s mother, part of one of the Spanish land grant families, still found it natural to answer the phone in the musical language of her childhood.
“Mamá? It’s Laura.”
“Laura! How good to hear your voice. I’ve been thinking about you all day and was going to call you in a while. How are you? The girls? Taylor?”
Laura laughed. “We’re all fine, Mom. The girls send their love and said to tell you they’ll call soon. Right now they’re busy with homework.”
“No word from schools yet?”
“No, but it’s early. They still have several months of school to go.”
“They’ll both be accepted where they want to go. No one would dare turn those two down. Your father is still hoping one of them will decide on UNM.”
Her parents were both professors at the University of New Mexico and Laura had graduated from there with her journalism degree. “I don’t think it’s going to happen, Mom. Meg is set on Stanford and Betta wants to go back to Italy.”
“Sí. It will be hard for you and Taylor to have them both leave at the same time. But you have a lot to look forward to as well, mi’ja.”
“A little more than we had planned, Mom.”
“Laura? Is something wrong?”
“No…not really. Mom, I have some news for you. How do you feel about being a grandmother again?”
“You’re taking in someone new? Now?”
“Not exactly. This one we’re starting from scratch.”
“Laura? I’m not sure…ay, Dios mío! You’re going to have a baby!”
As her mother began to laugh and cry at the same time, so did Laura. In the background she heard the rumble of her father’s questioning voice then he was on the phone.
“Laura? Your mother is hysterical. What’s wrong? You’re all right…all of you?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Dad. She’ll be ok. But you might want to start work on that cradle you always wanted to build.”
“Cradle…Laura?”
“I’m pregnant, Dad. The baby’s due in May.”
“Well…well! I guess I had better get to work. Here’s your mother, my girl.”
“He’s crying, isn’t he, Mom?” Laura said with a smile, her own eyes filled with tears.
“He is. We’re both so happy for you, Laura. Taylor’s pleased?”
“He is. At least I get to stay home and get used to the idea. I hope he makes it through the show tonight.”
“And you, mi’ja?” Her mother’s voice was tender as she asked.
“Oh, Mom…I think I’m happy but I’m also really scared.”
“I was, too, when I realized I was pregnant with Tomás. It’s a scary thought. Suddenly everything’s different, isn’t it?”
“Taylor was right, Mom. He said I needed to talk to you.”
“So, let’s talk…”
Laura kicked off her shoes and sank down into the armchair by the bed and let her mother’s love surround her.
* * *
Laura was asleep by the time Taylor had gotten home from the theatre and she’d been so tired she hadn’t heard him come in. When she woke in the morning, their room was filled with light. She turned over to look at the clock and found a vase of yellow roses—six of them—sitting on the nightstand. She smiled as she reached out and touched one of the soft petals then picked up the envelope that leaned against the vase. Opening it, she read the small card inside:
Darling mother of my child-
Roses for you.
½ now, ½ on delivery.
Love always-
Taylor
She was laughing as she looked up to find him standing in the doorway.
“Too cute?” he asked.
“Too something,” she said as she held out her hand to him. “But,
I love you,” she continued as he sat on the bed beside her.
“Good talk with your Mom last night?
“With Mom and with Beth.”
“I should have known,” he said with a smile. “How is Beth?”
“Frazzled. If we have twins, Taylor, I’m never forgiving you.”
“I don’t have any say in it, Laura!”
“You should of thought of that when you got me pregnant,” she retorted then gasped as her stomach flipped. “Oh no! Taylor, move!”
He listened helplessly as the morning sickness gripped her again. Maybe twins weren’t the only things she’d never forgive him for!
Chapter 6
Taylor’s show was dark on Mondays and they all made an effort to be together for dinner on that night. It gave them a chance to catch up on everyone’s news and lives. Dinner was usually a lively event and the centerpiece of their week.
Laura had requested Rosina make the lasagna that the girls and Taylor loved. Personally, she really didn’t care if she ever ate again! Her morning sickness wasn’t having the decency to confine itself to mornings. She felt nauseated a good deal of the time and was already counting the days until the first three months were over. The doctor said the morning sickness usually went away then.
She was calmer now about the pregnancy. It still seemed unreal but she was getting used to the idea. She and Taylor had already begun to look at converting his study to a nursery. He would move his computer to a corner of their bedroom for now.
She was sitting on the floor in her study going through a box when Taylor came to the door.
“More from the fan club?” he asked as he sat down beside her.
“I’ve just started sorting this box. Did you finish what I gave you last week?” Laura had been sorting his fan mail since before they were married, when she had served as his assistant for a brief time.
“It’s done. Here’s the thumb drive with the answers.”
“I’ll print them out this afternoon and you can sign them this evening.”
“You know, Laura, all of this could wait.”
“No. If we get behind on it, you’ll never catch up. There’s some stuff in this box from Elodie that she wants you to sign for fund-raising. You know how she gets when you don’t get stuff right back to her.”
Elodie Nee was president of Taylor’s fan club. She had been the “poor little rich girl” of their group when Taylor and Annie had met in New York. As struggling young actors, they would often come together to pool their resources for cheap, but plentiful, group meals where they could compare auditions, complain about directors, and celebrate the small breaks that happened now and then.
Elodie had been part of that but everyone knew she came from “old money”. She didn’t flaunt it but if someone was desperate, they knew she’d come through with the money to see them to that next paycheck.
When Taylor got his big break and became the toast of Broadway, Elodie placed an ad in Variety. A joke for Taylor’s birthday, it announced the formation of the Taylor Morgan Fan Club. The joke quickly turned into reality as requests began to come in. Before either of them knew it, Taylor had a real fan club and Elodie was its president.
She’d kept it up even when she left the theatre to marry the nice stockbroker her parents had picked out for her. Five years later, the childless marriage ended but her presidency went on. Her steadfast support meant a lot to Taylor and their friendship remained the basis for the fan club and the charity fund-raising that was done in Taylor’s name.
He would have liked it if Laura and Elodie had become friends but there had been something between them instantly, a mutual antipathy that never showed in public. They avoided each other more often than not. Laura accepted Elodie’s friendship with Taylor but had made it clear she didn’t want to be part of it.
“Anything interesting in this one?” Taylor changed the subject. He didn’t feel like having the same argument again. He reached into the box and pulled out a handful of envelopes.
“The usual. I’ve found a few that need answers. Taylor, you do know the fans are going to go crazy when they find out about the baby?”
“I’ve thought of that. I think I’ll ask Elodie to come up with a fund-raiser for Shelters and ask them to donate there instead of sending gifts to us.” Taylor was president of Shelters for Children, a charity that provided a safe haven for abused children. He’d met Laura when he’d been in Albuquerque for a concert benefiting the homes.
“That will help but we’re still going to be inundated. Even if I do have twins, we’re not going to need a gazillion pair of baby booties!”
Taylor reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. The morning sickness was still hitting her every day and he could see she’d lost weight. “Let’s not worry about them now, Laura. It can wait until later. Have you thought about how we’re going to announce it to the family tonight?”
She looked at him with a wicked grin. “Actually, I have. I’m going to let you figure it out!”
* * *
Dinner that night was their usual noisy affair. Rosina insisted on using the good china, silver, and a tablecloth every week. There were candles on the table and they had all gotten into the habit of “dressing” for dinner…at least something a little more festive than their usual casual clothes.
“Rosina, you’ve outdone yourself on this batch,” Taylor said as he took a second helping of the lasagna as everyone murmured agreement. He saw that Laura had taken a small serving and was mostly pushing it around on her plate. No one else seemed to have noticed. “So, what’s happening at school?”
“The fall dance is coming up,” Betta said. “Meg’s got a date to it already.”
“Betta!”
“Well, you do!”
Taylor put on his best fatherly air and asked, “Do I know this young man?”
Meg rolled her eyes before she answered, “No, Taylor. But he already knows he has to pick me up here and at least meet Laura before we leave. His name is Jared Brown. He’s first chair French horn in the orchestra.”
“And only the cutest guy in the whole school,” Betta volunteered.
“Looks aren’t everything,” Laura said as she looked at her husband, “but being cute doesn’t hurt.”
“I am not cute,” Taylor said. “Handsome, debonair, and charming, but never cute.”
Meg and Betta looked at Laura and the three of them chorused, “Cute!”
It was Taylor’s turn to roll his eyes as the three of them broke into giggles. They really were more like sisters. Laura was only ten years older than the girls.
Rosina stood to clear away the dishes. “I made chocolate cake for dessert, Laura, with your mother’s mocha icing.”
“Thanks, Rosina,” she said as Rosina took her plate. She didn’t miss the look that Rosina gave her untouched food. “Chocolate’s always a good choice.”
The girls helped clear the table while Matteo and Taylor talked about the new car they’d just bought. Taylor had put his Jaguar in storage along with Laura’s Opel GT when they moved to New York. They kept a sedan now and Matteo was their driver.
Laura thought it was a good thing that the girls were going off to school or they might find themselves stuck with a mini-van.
When the cake had been served and everyone was settled in again, Taylor waited for a pause in the conversation. When it came, he cleared his throat and said, “Laura and I have some news for you.”
“A new CD, Taylor?” Matteo asked.
“Not quite, Matteo. But it is a new venture. I guess there’s no clever way to say it. You girls are going to have a little sister or brother come spring.”
There was a stunned silence around the table. No one had expected this. Taylor looked at Laura and smiled as they waited for the storm to break.
“You’re having a baby?” Meg whispered then loudly repeated, “A baby?”
Everyone turned to look at Laura who smiled and said, “A baby. In May.”
“This is so cool,” Betta said. “I hope it’s a girl.”
“No way,” Taylor responded. “We have enough girls around this house. I want another guy on my side.”
“Too bad, Taylor,” Meg said as she sat back down, “it’s a girl. I just know it. And, if you think Betta and I are spoiled, just watch out when we get our hands on her.”
Betta sobered and said, without thinking, “But I’ll be in Italy…”
“Betta? Did you hear?” Laura asked
She smiled shyly. “Last week. I was accepted.”
The scene from moments before was repeated as the women surrounded Betta with hugs.
“Betta! That’s wonderful.” Taylor said. Betta had always had a special place in his heart. They were very much alike on the inside and, for a moment, his heart hurt at the thought of her going so far away.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Laura asked.
“I guess I needed to get used to the idea first. But, now, with the baby, maybe I should stay here in New York so I can be around to help.”
“And California’s too far away, too,” Meg said. “I’ll start here, then transfer later.”
“Wait a minute,” Laura said. “You can’t make those kinds of decisions without thinking about it. Betta, you can’t turn down this opportunity. Meg, Stanford won’t wait if you turn them down. I’ll have Rosina and Matteo to help.”
“But she’s going to be our sister,” Meg said.
“Or brother,” Taylor said dryly.
“Sister,” Meg said firmly. “And I want to be here.”
In the Fullness of Time Page 2