Tree Climbing For Beginners

by Joyia Marie

  So far, I had managed to keep the details of the wedding from Aiden, a real trick as his sister Denise and my best friend Sonya were sharing organizational duties. I hadn’t told him not out of any type of perversity, but I knew as an artist, he’d have his own ideas on color schemes and such and I didn’t need any more input. My protests that I couldn’t care less were ignored when it came to the dynamic duo.

  In addition, he had his first art show coming up and he had other things to think about. He’s as nervous as a cat with newborn kittens. He’s more nervous about that then he is the bun in my oven. That he took in surprising stride, but his hands rested on my belly often.

  I smiled as he reached out toward it and I grabbed his hand before it made contact. This was Jillian and Harold’s day and I wouldn’t do anything to shift the focus. Our news could wait. I wondered how the twins would take having not one, but two new siblings on the way.

  We stood there waiting and looking into each other’s eyes and felt that bond that had formed renew. This might be Jillian and Harold’s day, but it was ours as well, as was every day. Every day was an adventure with us even today, on the weirdest day in the world.

  Chapter Sixty-Four: Jillian

  Jillian stood in the full-length mirror and inspected herself one last time. She couldn’t believe today had finally come and as this would probably be the only wedding, she would ever had she intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

  She adjusted the fold of her dress one last time, then gave it up. She hadn’t intended to wait this long to get married, but Gwendolyn had other ideas. It’s almost as if she wanted everyone to know why she and Harold were getting married so soon after his divorce.

  She thought everything was settled when Harold made the announcement to his kids about their marriage. She thought they would be married in a few months long before she was showing, but then that damn prenup was introduced.

  Jillian had tried to stall figuring the Petersons would never allow their grandchild to be born a bastard so if she just held strong they would give in. It didn’t happen. The months dragged by and wedding date after wedding date came and went. Her belly got bigger and bigger and her hair got browner and browner, as she couldn’t color her hair while she was pregnant.

  When Gwendolyn called for them to go to lunch to talk, Jillian just knew she had won. She was 5 months pregnant, but if they hurried, they could arrange a small tasteful wedding before she popped. Nothing like the extravaganza, she had dreamed of for her first wedding, but Gwendolyn had put the kibosh on that from the beginning, as it would be Harold’s second wedding.

  She couldn’t really say too much as the Peterson’s were footing the bill. Her mother had laughed when Jillian had broached the subject with her as she was between men and scrambling herself. She did offer to come to Fort Worth and help Jillian and plan it with Gwendolyn but both Gwendolyn and Jillian felt the best place for Monica was Houston.

  They met at a nice restaurant and Gwendolyn had treated Jillian with a distant respect. Not the warmth she showed for Helen but a decided step up from the stuff on the bottom of her shoe coldness she had shown before.

  Jillian was waiting for Gwendolyn to make her move, but they ate lunch without the wedding or the prenup coming up. The table was cleared and they were sharing a cup of tea when Gwendolyn pulled the paperwork out of her purse. She set the paperwork on the table along with the pen. She looked at Jillian with a determined look on her face.

  “Jillian,” she said in a kindly voice, “it’s time to get these papers signed so we can get you and my son married before that baby is born without the benefit of wedlock.”

  “But…” Jillian said in her little girl voice that worked so well on men, but that was all she got out before Gwendolyn laid down the law. Gwendolyn put a fist on the table and leaned forward.

  “Look, little girl, Harold is my only son. He is stupid, but he is mine. If you think I’m going to let my stupid son marry you without some safeguards in place for when you move on to your next victim, you are crazy.

  “Now we would love your baby to be born with the Peterson name and all benefits that entails but not without this prenup being signed. We will stand aside and let that child be born bastard and the second it takes its first breath, we will sue you for custody. With our money and your history, we will get it.

  “So either sign these papers and become Mrs. Harold Peterson and be prepared to be in it for the long haul because the second you sue for divorce, you will lose not only Harold and his money but your child as well. The choice is yours.”

  “But…” Jillian said again, not sure what to say next. She had thought Gwendolyn a kindly old woman and not a true player in this drama. She had thought Harold Sr. was the major puppeteer behind Harold but now she had to regroup. Jillian was stymied, she didn’t know how to deal with women.

  Gwendolyn sat back with a bland smile, “but Harold won’t let us do this? But Harold loves you? But what? Harold, unlike you, knows what side his bread is buttered on and he has two other children to provide for. Harold Sr. has made it clear that if Harold should get a wild hair and marry you without our blessings, he’s cut off. The will has already been drawn up to bypass Harold and make the twins Harold Sr.’s heirs.”

  Jillian looked at Gwendolyn in horror and realized she had no choice. She noted Gwendolyn said the twins and nothing about the child she carried. So not only would she and Harold get cut off, but so would her child.

  Suddenly she understood why Helen was so fierce in the protection of her twins. For the first time in her life, she cared about someone more than herself and that someone hadn’t even been born yet.

  “I don’t see what all the fuss is about anyway,” Gwendolyn said with a sip of tea. “These papers only go into effect if you and Harold divorce and anyone can see how crazy you two are about each other.”

  Jillian winced when Gwendolyn emphasized the word ‘crazy’. She thought frantically, she had trapped herself far more effectively than she had Harold. If she didn’t sign the paperwork, then she was out without even her child. If she did sign, she had better be ready to be with Harold forever or she’d still lose her child.

  Jillian opened her mouth again, then shut it without saying anything else. She pulled the paperwork to her and signed it. Gwendolyn gave her a gentle smile and a comforting pat of the hand after, she folded up the paperwork and tucked it into her purse.

  Jillian could have sworn she saw the spine to a Leslie Vandersmoot novel in there and she started to say something then closed her mouth again. What did it matter? All the news might do is piss Gwendolyn off enough to tear up the prenup and put plan B into place. Jillian had already been regaled with tales of Saint Helen the wonder mother for months and she would do nothing to add fuel to the fire.

  Then there was what Helen might do. Helen had never mentioned the file again, but every time she and Helen were in the same place, Helen would give her a long considering look, letting Jillian know where Tonya had gotten it from. A look that said ‘I’m still watching you, so don’t mess up’. Jillian had the feeling, letting Gwendolyn in on the big secret would be considered messing up.

  Gwendolyn had called for a fresh pot of tea and they spent the next two hours planning the wedding. Or confirming plans Gwendolyn had already made. Gwendolyn was a force of nature with the organizing ability of a general preparing to go to war. Jillian wondered where Peterson paper might be if Gwendolyn was at the helm instead of Harold Sr.

  However, even the smallest formal wedding took time, so here Jillian was about to waddle down the aisle eight months pregnant in all her brown haired glory. Raphael had found a rinse safe to use during pregnancy so her hair was shiny and soft but nothing like the golden glory of a few months ago.

  Jillian sighed and looked in the mirror one last time before turning to wait for Harold Sr. to come get her. She had no idea where her father was and her mother was sitting in Houston waiting for news on when the wedding would be so Jillian had no one
else. She was just grateful that Harold Sr. had stepped in at his wife’s insistence.

  She gave the tight waist a pull and she couldn’t wait to get out of it. Theo, Aiden’s friend and designer to the stars, had made some adjustments to the off the rack dress, but swore he didn’t have time to create a gown from scratch for her. She did notice he had time to make Helen’s dress, but she didn’t say anything. He had done an excellent job, but her stomach was still prominent.

  She also hadn’t been able to convince Helen to get either of her famous parents to take the pictures, but she was sure one of them would be snapping away at Helen’s wedding next month. She sighed again, then shrugged all that off.

  She was getting married, she reminded herself as Harold Sr. led her to the vestibule to wait for Helen to reach the pulpit. She sighed again as she looked at her soon to be husband. Harold looked even thinner and pastier next to the golden-skinned handsomeness of Helen’s fiancé Aiden.

  Jillian still couldn’t believe that Aiden owned his own contracting firm that was worth more than Peterson paper. The fact he was getting ready to do an art show that was already getting a lot of buzz was just the icing on a very shitty cake.

  Helen had it all, she thought resentfully. The man, the money and everybody liked her better than they did Jillian. They might pretend to accept her for the baby’s sake or Harold’s sake, but bottom line, she would always be known as a home wrecker. A woman of low morals who didn’t have the decency to keep her fingers out of other people’s marriages.

  “You ready,” Harold Sr. said shortly from beside her and Jillian saw that Helen had reached the pulpit and everyone was waiting for her. She nodded, put a big smile on her face, and then stepped out proudly to meet her destiny.

  Chapter Sixty-Five: Harold

  Harold pasted a smile on his face as he watched Jillian waddle toward him on his father’s arm. Her brown hair shown under the headpiece and Harold couldn’t wait until Jillian had their baby and could return to her former blonde glory. He had gotten few questioning looks lately when men saw him with Jillian and remembered Helen. Looks that said ‘what were you thinking?’

  Watching Helen walk up the aisle on Aiden’s arm was a strange moment of déjà vu. Switch Aiden. out for Vivian and turn the gown white and it would have been the Helen of 15 years ago on their wedding day. Harold felt like he was punched in the gut and wondered again, how he had ever been so stupid to lose such a wonderful woman.

  He shook the thoughts off, this was his new life, and he and Jillian would be fine. She might not be Helen but she had her own charms. Charms that he hadn’t been able to indulge as often as her pregnancy progressed.

  When Jillian drug her feet over signing the prenup, Harold had had a moment of relief. He wouldn’t have to marry her and it would be all her fault. He was perfectly comfortable with the idea of taking on a baby along with the twins. He had this daddy thing down and with Mrs. Gunderson in his corner, he was sure he’d be fine.

  He and Mrs. Gunderson had bonded over his learning German. He had picked up the Berlitz tapes, but nothing beat having a tutor. He struggled as languages were not his strong suit, but it was worth it the first time the twins slipped into their ‘twin talk’ and he had jumped in as well.

  The twins had looked at him with identical looks of astonishment, then they had all laughed. It was the moment they bonded as a unit and Harold felt like a large part of the credit belonged to Mrs. Gunderson.

  Harold looked out to see the sturdy housekeeper sitting with Vivian and Helen’s father John Dudley. Helen and he had developed a relationship and Harold had met him during one of his visits to see his daughter and his grandchildren.

  John Dudley was a tall thin blond man and Harold finally understood her attraction to him. It was a bit lowering to know Helen was looking for a substitute father, but Harold was glad to have her under any circumstances. If only he was smart enough to keep her, he thought as he watched Jillian come up the aisle.

  Harold could see the twins sitting with Mrs. Gunderson and their grandparents, their wedding duties completed. Tonya was watching everything in her normal calculating way and Tony seemed oblivious or off working on one of his drawings in his head. He had to admit his son was talented and was glad Tony had Aiden to talk art with.

  Harold was clueless, which he freely admitted, but he was proud of his son nonetheless. Tonya with her cool deliberation seemed like she would be the businessperson of the pair. Harold Sr. was dragging his feet to admit it, but Harold had caught the two of them huddled up talking paper on more than one occasion.

  When the pair finally reached the front of the church, Harold Sr. released Jillian with what seemed rather unseemly haste. Harold took her hands and led her to the minister who started the ceremony that would usher Harold into the next phase of his life.

  Chapter Sixty-Six: Aiden

  Aiden looked at the happy couple and wondered again how he was trapped into this. This wasn’t his scene. He hated dressing up like this. He hadn’t even been in any of his sisters’ weddings and here he was in his fiancé’s ex-husband’s.

  He looked over at Helen and understood. She had asked and he had said yes, as he usually did. Theo said he was hen pecked but Aiden didn’t care, he couldn’t think of a better hen to be pecked by. Helen was everything he ever wanted and nothing he ever dared dream of in a woman and he was eternally grateful to own the motorcycle that had brought them together.

  The motorcycle had seen plenty of action until lately. He refused to take Helen on any rides until she gave birth to their child. Helen thought he was being silly and overprotective, but Aiden was sure he had seen a pleased gleam in her eyes.

  The baby was just the icing on the cake. The morning he found her standing in the bathroom of her loft with a stunned expression on her face, he had rejoiced. He immediately dropped to his knee and asked her to marry him.

  He had asked her before in a variety of ways, but she had always put him off. The most she was willing to promise was a hand fasting, but Aiden wanted the real deal. He wanted the world to know this fabulous woman was his.

  She had looked from him to the pregnancy test, then with tears in her eyes she had nodded yes. Aiden felt like a million bucks even though he was probably the first man in history to trap a woman into marriage with a baby. Not that he had actually engineered the baby, but he might have if he thought it stood a chance.

  Later on, they figured out that Helen had missed a shot during all the excitement with the divorce, the loft, his show, and everything else. She was using the depo provera shots for years and simply missed one. Nature took its course from there.

  So here, Aiden stood in the strangest position in the world and couldn’t be happier. He probably looked happier than the groom did. He was counting down the days until his own wedding.

  He grinned as he recalled an incident last week. He and Helen went out to dinner and Alicia was there with another man, not her husband. Alicia had made a point of coming over to say hello. When Helen heard her name and realized who she was, she jumped up and threw her arms around the startled woman.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Helen said when she finally released Alicia.

  “For what?” Alicia asked in an ugly tone, flipping back her red hair.

  “For messing over Aiden the way you did. If you hadn’t, he might not have been on hiatus from women and waiting for me to find him,” Helen said with a sly grin.

  Then she flashed her engagement ring and sat back down. She reached over the table and gave Aiden a long kiss and by the time they came up for air, Alicia had returned to her own table. Shortly thereafter, Helen and Aiden watched the other couple leave. Alicia looked back and Helen gave her a jaunty wave with her left hand, flashing her ring again.

  A couple of nights later Alicia had called while Helen and Aiden were cuddled up on the couch. Aiden had looked at the display and started to put the phone back down when he saw Alicia’s name. Helen had grabbed the phone and
answered.

  “Hello,” she said merrily, her dark eyes gleaming at Aiden. He just shook his head. Helen was crazy and he wouldn’t have her any other way. Then she closed the phone and set it back down. “Guess she didn’t want to talk to me,” she said as she settled back into her position on Aiden’s chest. Alicia hasn’t called back.

  Aiden surfaced from his memories and realized the church was strangely silent. Then he realized the minister must have asked for objections. Oddly enough, no one said a word. Aiden knew he wouldn’t. If Harold hadn’t been stupid enough to lose Helen, then Aiden wouldn’t have found her. Aiden grinned and looked at Helen to find her looking at him.

  “I love you,” he mouthed and she flushed.

  “I love you, too,” she returned, then focused on the wedding.

  Aiden did too, the sooner this train wreck was over, the sooner the reception would begin. He couldn’t wait to wave the happy couple off on their honeymoon so he had Helen to could return to the loft to continue their own.

  Whose turn was it, he wondered absently. He and Helen spent time in both lofts, but Aiden had a plan to end that. He had had plans drawn up to combine the two lofts.

  He had thought of suggesting he and Helen buy a house together, but he knew Helen would never give up her loft. Something about the industrial space fed her creativity and it didn’t hurt his either. He still couldn’t believe he was about to become a professional artist.

  His dad was supportive of his endeavor, especially when Aiden showed him the kind of numbers he could expect to generate with his art. Not that Aiden planned to give up construction. Construction could be just as creative as art and Aiden enjoyed both. Charlise was moving up as partner as she should have been anyway. Therefore, everybody wins, he thought with satisfaction.