by Sherie Keys
Brandy nodded and pushed her hands down into her pockets. "Yeah, I do think he'll still want to marry me. Another man's baby is not going to deter him from his present course which is set on me. In fact, I could see him turning it into a crusade to save me and make a family with me. He's a good guy, but there is just no chemistry on my side, just... zero. I've never liked him like that and he's always liked me like that. We're kind of in a weird spot."
Alice sighed. "I don't envy you any of the craziness, but I am glad that you had somewhere to go, and I'm glad that you're with your parents. At least they can help you with all the changes going on in your life. That's a huge benefit to you. Imagine those girls that have nowhere to go. Your situation could have been a lot worse."
Brandy agreed. "It's true, I really don't have it as bad as it could be. Still, it would be nice to be out of here."
Alice stopped and looked at her. "You haven't heard from what's-his-name, have you?"
Brandy hadn't thought about what's-his-name in at least half an hour, and it had been a peaceful half an hour, and now Alice wanted to talk about him.
"No, I haven't heard anything," she said. "I won't. He's gone. He's long gone with his wife, and I'm here in Boston with my parents and my baby."
A wistful look came into Brandy's eyes and Alice looked at her carefully. "You still haven't told him you're having his baby, have you?" she accused her friend.
"No," sighed Brandy in resignation. "I haven't. I will, I just had to get out of the city first. Everything kind of happened all at once and I had to handle it, and now I'm here and I'm trying to get settled. It's a crazy time for me and I am trying to get a hold on it and make it calm down before I add any more drama.. Besides, this kid isn't going anywhere for at least the next six months, so I have a little time to tell him before things get real."
Alice laughed a little. "Yeah, you do. You have some time. What have your parents said about the baby?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
Brandy smiled and rubbed her stomach. "My dad hasn't said much; he never does, but my mom is so happy and excited. She's ready for the next step in her own life, which is to be a grandma, so she doesn't care whether I'm married or not or whether the dad is around or not, although I know she would prefer I'd done this the traditional way like she did, marriage first and then babies. But she's not judging me at all, and it's nice to have the support and love from her. I'm really lucky with that."
"And you're sure that you don't want to shack up with this Riley guy?" Alice asked, teasing her friend a little.
Brandy made a face. "Well, not really, no. I mean, I don't want to be alone forever either, but I don't want to be with someone just for the sake of having someone around. If I hadn't been with what's-his-name, then I wouldn't know what real love feels like, and I might be more satisfied with Riley, but I have had love, and I know what it feels like, what passion and romance and excitement feels like, and that's not Riley at all.
“He's very safe and secure. Whoever he winds up with is going to be a lucky lady. He'll marry her and spend the rest of his life doting on her, spoiling her, and loving her. Riley would never cheat on her or hurt her, but he's just not the best one for me. To be honest, I think I'd rather end up alone than end up with the wrong guy, I mean, wouldn't you?"
Alice thought about it and slowly began to nod her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. There is so much pressure in our society to wind up with someone, but when you get right down to it, if the only choices were to either be alone or be with someone you shouldn't be with, I guess I would want to be alone.
“It would suck to be with someone who wasn't right for you. You'd feel trapped all of the time and with no options. At least if you are alone, then you can leave your slippers and your coffee cup wherever the hell you want to leave them and no one is going to yell at you for it."
"See? Independence. That's what I'm thinking for myself, too. I can watch whatever I want to watch on television, I can eat breakfast cereal for dinner or pizza for breakfast if I want, I can take off out of town on a whim if I want, or sleep like a starfish in the bed and take up the whole thing. There are definite perks to being alone."
"Except you won't be totally alone, there will be a baby along for the ride as well."
"Then it will be more fun with the baby,” Brandy said, making her mind up to be glad about it.
Alice nodded. "That's right. It will be more fun, and you and that baby will have a great time no matter where you go and no matter what you do."
They smiled and hugged, and wandered through the museum, looking at all of the exhibitions and paintings, stopping for coffee and a late lunch in the cafe.
By the time dinner rolled around, they had left the museum and were on their way back to the house. Mary and Oscar welcomed Alice into their home with wide-open arms and hearts, and told her that they were glad to have her there.
Alice was thrilled to be able to be there and to see where Brandy had grown up. She took a look at Brandy's room and the lifetime of memories that were displayed all over the walls and shelves.
"This is so cool! My mom didn't keep most of my stuff, and the moment I went off to college, she turned my room into a craft zone. I've never been allowed back into that room again,” she teased Brandy.
Brandy laughed. "That's not true!" She said that in defense of Alice's poor mother.
Alice shook her head. "Oh yes, it is true. It's also okay. That's not a house I want to go live in again. I've been there and done that, and I want to move forward with my life. Far forward."
Brandy leaned over and hugged her friend tightly. "It is so good to see you and have you here to visit with me. Thank you so much for coming up."
Alice grinned. "Sure! I'm glad to be here for you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, and check on you, I missed you. So, it's not hard at all to come here and visit with you for a weekend. Tell your parents that I'd like to make a reservation for that spare bedroom at least once a month, so I can come up here and see you and play with the baby, unless you have your own place by then, and then I will catch up with you wherever you are, and you can come back down to the city and see me anytime. Call first." She winked at Brandy.
Brandy smiled excitedly. "How are things going with Harry?"
At the mention of his name, Alice grew a little pink and a big smile spread over her face. "Things are going really well. I think we're going to be together for a long time."
Brandy looked at her in surprise. "Really? How long is a long time?"
Alice rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh, you know, until he and I are having wheelchair races in the hallways at the old folks home."
Brandy laughed at her and smiled, shaking her head. "I hope that works out for you."
"The wheelchair races? Yeah, I hope that works out, too." Alice smiled in anticipation.
Brandy laughed at her. "That's not what I mean... I mean all of it! You goof." She hugged her friend and then stood up when she heard her mother calling up the stairs to her. "Come on, dinner's ready."
The two of them went down to dinner and enjoyed it, spending the evening talking to Brandy's parents and laughing about new experiences and old stories.
After dinner, they watched a movie together, and then the girls headed to bed. They were brushing their teeth together when Alice looked at Brandy and said, "You know, if you do wind up here after the baby is born, this would be a good place to raise a child."
"I know. I was raised as a child here."
Alice nodded and laughed. They went into their separate bedrooms and before long, they were both asleep.
The next morning Alice woke Brandy up with a squeal of excitement.
"Brandy! Wake up!" she said happily.
Brandy opened her eyes slowly and looked up at her friend who looked as though she might burst with excitement. "What? What is it?"
"Your mom made homemade cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast," Alice said, barely concealing her absolute delight.
Brandy lau
ghed. "Yeah, I told her that you like those."
"Well, come on! Get up! They're going to get cold!" Alice dragged Brandy out of bed insistently, and Brandy laughed at her as they headed down the stairs. They sat together at the kitchen table and ate rolls and drank coffee, loving being spoiled by Mary.
"What are you girls going to do today?" Brandy's mother asked them as she set another tray of freshly baked rolls on the table and laughed as Alice's eyes grew big.
"Oh, I thought I'd drive her around the neighborhood here before I take her back to the train station," Brandy said with a smile.
"It's too bad you came for such a short visit, Alice,” Mary told her. "Next time you come, make it a longer stay. We'd love to see you for more time, and I know it makes Brandy happy. She was just about to go nuts up here without any of her girlfriends." Her mother, as usual, confided too much information and Alice smiled and winked at Brandy.
"Thank you, Mary. I've enjoyed being here."
Mary nodded and hugged her.
"Well, you come back any time, my dear." She smiled and then she left them to themselves.
They talked a bit longer and finished their breakfast, and then the two of them got ready. Alice packed her bag, and they got into the car. Brandy drove Alice past Marge's massage parlor and parked across the street from it.
"So this is the dreaded dead end, is it?" Alice asked with a sad face as she looked at Marge's parlor.
"That's the one. I’ve got a job there waiting for me if I want it, I just have to go in and accept it. Pat, who is the clerk down at the grocery store, has said that she'll come in and be my first customer."
Alice's eyes glazed over as she stared at the parlor. "So you'll be hired here, and then Pat will come in. Then you'll marry Riley, and then he'll adopt your baby, and then he'll buy you a house. Then your clientele will grow and you'll have Sunday dinners with the grandparents at your mom and dad's house. In two years there will be another kid and you'll have a big enough clientele base that you can't justify leaving, and you'll have the kids to think about.... holy crap. Did I miss anything?" Alice asked in horror.
Brandy nodded, staring off at Marge's front door. "Yeah, you missed bowling leagues on Wednesday nights and karaoke twice a month."
Alice shook her head. "I get it. I totally get. I can absolutely understand why you want to get the hell out of here and go be on your own. This would drive me crazy. I can't believe it hasn't driven you crazy. I've only been here one day and I'm twitching."
Brandy raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath. "Oh, it's making me crazy. I'm twitching. Never doubt that. I'm definitely twitching. I can't stay here... I mean, I could. By some weird whim of fate, I have a whole built-in life just waiting for me here, but I just don't want it. I don't have a better alternative, but it just doesn't feel like the right life for me."
Alice nodded and took Brandy's hand in hers. "My friend, the answer will come along to you. I promise you that. I just hope it comes before you get married to Riley out of desperation."
Brandy smacked Alice's arm lightly and Alice laughed at her, and then they drove back into Boston and said a long and emotional goodbye to each other.
"I'll call you!" Brandy promised with a wave as Alice hurried into the station.
"You had better!" Alice called back, and then disappeared.
Brandy got back into her car and drove home. When she parked, she was surprised to see a strange car parked across the road.
She walked in through the back door and called out to her mother. "Mom, I'm home."
"Mom?" she called out once more.
Her mother called her from the living room. "We're in the front room, dear."
Brandy walked into the living room and stopped in her tracks. There, sitting on the sofa beside her mother was Riley, and on the other side by her father, who was sitting in his easy chair with a dark look on his face, was Kyle Jamison.
Chapter11
Brandy's jaw fell open when she saw Kyle sitting there and several things happened at once. He stood up the moment he saw her, his eyes wide and she saw a wave of relief wash over his face. Her father never took his eyes off Kyle, and her mother smiled tightly and said in a thin voice, "Well honey, you've had some visitors drop by while you were gone. This young man says he's a friend of yours from New York."
Mary looked as though she believed that as much as she believed Elvis was still alive. Oscar just watched him quietly. Riley stood up and watched Kyle and Brandy, and he shoved his hands down deep into his pockets and scowled fiercely.
Kyle drew in a deep breath when he saw her in the doorway and he walked quickly to her and took her in his arms, holding her close to him. She breathed him in, not realizing how much she missed the scent of him and the feel of him so close to her. He held her tightly and kissed her cheek near her ear.
"God I've missed you so much," he whispered to her as his arms closed more tightly around her and she felt nearly every part of his body pressed against hers. He leaned back and looked her up and down again. "Are you alright? Are you okay? I have been so worried about you." He shook his head and locked his green eyes on hers.
She breathed deep and forced herself to let him go. He felt her resistance and stepped away from her, turning to go back to the couch.
"She's fine. She's just fine here with us,” Riley stated firmly, still standing with his hands in his pockets.
"I didn't know if I would find you again. It was like you just vanished off of the face of the earth. You weren't at your apartment, you weren't at the spa... you were just... gone. I couldn't believe it," he told her shamelessly in front of her family and Riley.
She sighed. "Well, now you've found me."
"I'm glad I did. I have missed you so much. It's been awful without you."
Riley huffed an impatient sigh and rolled his eyes.
Brandy came further into the room and sat at the edge of one of the armchairs facing all of them.
"So I guess you've met my parents... and..." she paused in absolute disbelief, "...and Riley." It was surreal that they were there together and that Kyle was there at all.
"I have met everyone. Your parents were kind enough to let me wait in here for you while you were gone."
Brandy looked at Riley and tilted her head. "Riley, what are you doing here?" she asked curiously.
"I came to see about taking you out for a nice supper and a long drive, and it looks like I came to see you just in time,” he said, with a clipped tone, shooting daggers at Kyle.
Kyle looked from Riley to Brandy and coughed lightly. "I'm sorry... are you... are you two seeing each other?"
Riley nodded and grinned. "We sure are. I'm going to marry that girl right there." Mary smiled a little, looking from Riley to Brandy. "Did you ask her then?" She looked at Riley, and then her gaze moved to her daughter. "And you said yes?" She nodded encouragingly.
Kyle's mouth fell open and Brandy lowered her eyebrows in frustration. "No we are not engaged, and no I am not seeing Riley."
Riley grew indignant. "Yes you are, we went out bowling the other night and you kissed me! We’re going out again tonight, as soon as your company leaves. Then we have some things to talk about." He smiled and patted a bulge in his pocket that looked suspiciously like a ring box.
Brandy sighed and rubbed her fingers over her forehead.
Kyle looked around at all of them and spoke to Brandy. "I'm sorry if my timing is off, I realize I came here unannounced, but I had to see you, Brandy; we have to talk. There are several things we need to discuss. Things you don't know."
She groaned quietly and rolled her eyes a little. "Yeah, there are things you don't know, too."
Kyle looked at her sadly. "I know more than you think I do." He frowned. "In fact, I think you're going to be a little surprised at what I found out.”
Oscar spoke for the first time. "So would I be correct in assuming that this is the father of the baby?"
Both Kyle and Riley's jaws fell open and they bo
th snapped their heads in Oscar's direction, and then both of them snapped their heads over to stare at Brandy, whose face felt very warm. Kyle and Riley simultaneously said, "What baby?"
Brandy sighed again. "My baby."
Both of the men asked in unison again, "You're pregnant?"
Brandy rolled her eyes, waiting for the obvious to become clear to everyone. "Yes, I'm pregnant, and yes, Dad, this is the father of the baby."
Oscar nodded and his frown deepened.
"Is that why you took the payoff from Veronica?" Kyle asked Brandy anxiously.
Brandy lowered her brows and looked at him in irritation. "I didn't take the payoff!"