“My lovely Dina,” he whispered into her ear. He extinguished the bedside lamp, reaching for her.
Into the darkened room a full moon sent in silver rays of moonlight while the billowing ocean waves pounded the beach.
The man and his wife engaged in the loving ritual that bound their lives forever, an act that has endured since the beginning of mankind.
* * *
When Dina awoke the next morning, her husband was not in their bed. She could smell, however, the stimulating odor of fresh coffee. Bless his heart, she thought, he’s making breakfast.
After a quick shower, she dressed in slacks and an Anchors sweatshirt and went downstairs to the kitchen.
“Good morning! Aren’t you the early bird!” She kissed him.
“Wife of my heart,” he said, “you deserve to have a fine breakfast. I’d planned to bring it to you in bed, but, well, here you are. Do blueberry pancakes, mimosas, bacon, sausage, and hot coffee sound good?” He ticked the items off with his fingers, waiting for her response.
“All of my favorites. How did you guess?”
“Didn’t guess. They’re my favorites, too. See how much alike we are?”
“Drew,” she said, her tone of voice solemn, “do you believe as I do that we were meant to be together?”
Two filled plates in his hands, he led the way into their dining room, placed the dishes down, seated his wife before taking his own seat.
“Girl,” he reached across the table to clasp both her hands, “from the day I saw you at that game, I knew it. Never a doubt. Now dig in, enjoy your breakfast. There are more pancakes in the oven, keeping warm.”
“They taste good, and I do love bacon and sausages.”
“So, as soon as we finish eating, I’ll shower, get dressed. We’ll take your car out for a test drive.”
“I can hardly wait. Do you know this is the first new car I’ve ever had? I can hardly believe it! Thank you.”
He saw sparkles of tears in her eyes as she dabbed at them with a tissue.
“Honey, the joy and happiness you have brought into my life cannot be measured, and I will always try my best to make you happy. More pancakes?”
“I’m full. I really enjoyed them. My compliments to the chef.”
He laughed, pleased with the comment.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Dina was surprised at how easily the car handled. She found it to be a very smooth ride and very quiet.
“Like it?” Drew asked.
“Love it! Couldn’t be more perfect.”
They went along the beach road, then to the shopping area. Drew wanted to get a Boston newspaper, and when he went into the store, she wondered how he was going to react when she gave him her news.
Turning into their driveway, Drew suggested that Dina drive up to the closed garage doors. Then he showed her how to use the garage door opener situated over the dash.
“That way, hon, in bad weather you can get into the house without any problem.”
“Didn’t have that in my old car.”
Be handy, she thought to herself, taking the bundles. Then she thought, When shall I tell him?
* * *
They had decided on a light lunch of tuna sandwiches, potato chips, and lemonade.
“So, Dina, what are you going to call your new car?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Hum-m, let me think for a minute.”
Then she said, “How about Lady Lexus, and your car can be Lord Lexus.”
“Sounds okay. Lord and Lady…I like it.”
“Drew.”
“Yes, honey, what’s on your mind?”
“I heard some very exciting news when I was in Chicago….”
“About your dissertation being published?”
“No, I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Ross Tyler are going to be grandparents.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Ross Tyler?”
Wide-eyed, he jumped out of his chair, almost knocked his glass of lemonade over in an attempt to reach his wife.
“Dina, Dina! Oh, my God, is it true? We’re going to have a baby?”
She nodded.
He kissed her and slumped to his knees, his arms around her waist, his head resting on her abdomen, where a new life was beginning.
With unshed tears in her eyes, Dina looked down. Her husband was crying, his shoulders shaking.
“We’re going to be a family,” he sobbed, “a family.”
* * *
Dina decided to discontinue her seminar sessions until after their baby was born. Drew agreed wholeheartedly, not wanting his wife out of his sight. And, besides, he told her, “Traveling would be hard on you.”
“I agree, but I will try to be active, exercise, walk every day, you know.”
One morning she felt like visiting Liberty Stables. She wanted to see her friend, Eleanor Burgess, and decided to see if she could ride Queenie.
“Oh, my, yes! She’s a gentle ride, and I think the rocking motion would be perfect for the baby,” her friend said. “Listen, there’s someone here I think you know.”
“Who is it?”
“You’re going to be happy when you see her.”
They walked into the quiet, dark stable. The horses whinnied, rustled about in their stalls and Dina could hear a quiet, calm voice. “It’s okay, guys, quiet down.”
“Lynette James, is that you?” Dina shouted, following the sound of the voice.
An attractive young teenaged girl dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, a large grooming brush in her hand, bounded out from one of the stalls.
“Dina!”
She flung herself into Dina’s outstretched arms.
“It’s you! Am I glad to see you!”
“Lynette, you look wonderful. I’m so happy to see you. Look at you! All grown up and everything!”
Eleanor Burgess spoke up. “She’s one of my best volunteers. I love having her, and my horses just love her.”
“So all is well, Lynette?”
“Yes. I graduated from high school and I’m going to study veterinary medicine.”
“Good for you!”
“And how about you, Dina?”
“I am happily married….”
“To the football player?”
“The very one, and,” she patted her basketball-sized abdomen, “I’m having a baby!”
“Wow! Super!”
“Think Queenie would be a good choice for me to ride?”
“She would be perfect. Let me get her saddled for you.”
“Already done,” Eleanor said, leading the mare out. “Here she is. Now, easy does it,” she said as she helped Dina mount. Queenie seemed to know that she was carrying precious cargo and moved at a calm, sedate pace.
Dina felt special and relaxed as she rode down the roadway toward a large pond before heading back to the stable. The fresh air, warm sun, and the gentle movement of the mare’s stride all contributed to the serenity of her new life.
* * *
Nora told Dina, “This is going to be a piece of cake. You’re fully dilated right now, and with a few good pushes your son will be here!”
Both she and Drew were dressed in gowns and masks, and Drew told Nora, “I’ve never been so nervous in my life!”
She laughed. “Goes with the territory. You’ve never been a father before. Don’t worry, all is well.”
“God, what a week this has been, Nora! I was so proud that Dina was able to see me receive my master’s degree, and now this! The most important day in my life.”
“It’s important to all of us. I’ve never seen or met a more wonderful pair of folks than your parents, Drew.”
“Don’t I know that, Nora? I’m so lucky.”
“I’m happy for you and Dina. You are both good people.”
Then she noticed the determined grimace on Dina’s face, red from exertion.
“So we’re ready, eh? Okay, here goes! Take a deep breath and push!”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, after ten g
ood pushes, David Ross Tyler came into the world, all of nine pounds.
“A fullback for sure!” his new granddad exclaimed.
His grandmother said, “Now, Ross, don’t start that again,” as she leaned over to kiss the baby’s mother. “He’s your son, you and Drew decide what he’ll be. Congrats, my dear. You did a great job. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Dina breathed, weary but very happy.
* * *
That night when he arrived home, Drew sent an email to Henry Lawrence.
Your grandson, David Ross Tyler, arrived today, weighing in at nine pounds. All is well. Proud parents, Drew and Dina.
The return email read,
Congratulations from a proud granddad and grandma, an uncle and aunt. Our love to all. P.S. Send pictures!
* * *
Dina was out of the hospital a few days later, Nora helping out, when Drew, sitting on the sofa beside Dina, who was holding their son, checked over the mail he’d just picked up.
“Look, honey, this is addressed to the baby.”
“Really. Wonder what it is? Does it have a return address?”
“Yes, it’s from your father.”
He opened the business-sized envelope.
“Oh, my God, Dina! It’s a check from your father for five thousand dollars!”
She handed the baby to his father and took the check.
“It’s for David, from the Lawrence family.”
Shaking her head at the enormity of it all, she looked at her husband.
“Well, Drew Tyler, what do you think of my family?”
He rubbed his hand across his short, croppedhair. He’d given up the dreadlocks long ago. “Too hot under the football helmet.” He said to his wife, “Believe they are first class all the way! Knew it all along. Just look at you!”
About the Author
Mildred E. Riley is a native of Connecticut. After a forty-year career as a registered nurse, when she retired, she began a second career as a writer of multicultural romances. A First Class Act is her fifteenth book.
She lives in Massachusetts.
2012 eBook Titles
January
Blow by Blow*
Keith Thomas Walker
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-626-5
ISBN-10: 1-58571-626-X
$6.99
The Art of Love
Celya Bowers
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-463-6
ISBN-10: 1-58571-463-1
$6.99
February
A First Class Act
Mildred Riley
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-464-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-464-X
6.99
So Different
Ruthie Robinson
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-466-7
ISBN-10: 1-58571-466-6
6.99
March
Believe in Me
Regena Bryant
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-465-0
ISBN-10: 1-58571-465-8
6.99
Straight from the Heart
Sean Young
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-469-8
ISBN-10: 1-58571-469-0
6.99
April
Mind Games
Bernice Layton
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-468-1
ISBN-10: 1-58571-468-2
6.99
Mama Said
Wendy Byrne
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-474-2
ISBN-10: 1-58571-474-7
$6.99
May
Liar’s Web
Sandra Bell Calhoune
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-475-9
ISBN-10: 1-58571-475-5
$6.99
Shadows of the Past
Alysha Adams
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-476-6
ISBN-10: 1-58571-476-3
$6.99
June
Harlot
Keith Thomas Walker
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-477-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-477-1
$6.99
Three Chords, One Song
Beatrice Hogg
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-478-0
ISBN-10: 1-58571-478-X
$6.99
*also available in print from Genesis Press
July
Painted Passion
Latisha Brandon
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-479-7
ISBN-10: 1-58571-479-8
$6.99
Seasoned Just Right
Renee Wynn
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-480-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-480-1
$6.99
August
Mulligan’s Math
Chamein Canton
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-467-4
ISBN-10: 1-58571-467-4
$6.99
September
October
November
December
Other Genesis Press eBooks*
*Starred titles are coming soon…
2 Good*
Celya Bowers
$6.99
A Dangerous Woman*
J.M. Jeffries
$6.99
A Dead Man Speaks
Lisa Jones Johnson
$6.99
A Good Dude
Keith Thomas Walker
$6.99
A Love Built to Last
L.S. Childers
$6.99
A Lover’s Legacy
Veronica Parker
$6.99
A Perfect Place to Pray
I.L. Goodwin
$6.99
A Place Like Home*
Alicia Wiggins
$6.99
A Taste of Temptation*
Reneé Alexis
$6.99
A Voice Behind Thunder
Carrie Elizabeth Greene
$6.99
Against the Wind
Gwynne Forster
$6.99
All I’ll Ever Need
Mildred Riley
$6.99
Allegro
Bennett, Adora
$6.99
Always You
Crystal Hubbard
$6.99
An Unfinished Love Affair
Barbara Keaton
$6.99
Another Memory*
Pamela Ridley
$6.99
Anything but Love*
Celya Bowers
$6.99
Best Foot Forward
Michele Sudler
$6.99
Best Friends Better Lovers*
Celya Bowers
$6.99
Best of Luck Elsewhere*
Trisha Haddad
$6.99
Between Tears
Pamela Ridley
$6.99
Blame It on Paradise*
Crystal Hubbard
$6.99
Blindsided
Tammy Williams
$6.99
Bliss, Inc.*
Chamein Canton
$6.99
Blood Seduction
J.M. Jeffries
$6.99
Blue Interlude*
Keisha Mennefee
$6.99
Burn
Crystal Hubbard
$6.99
Caress
Grayson Cole
$6.99
Caught Up*
Deatri King-Bey
$6.99
Caught Up in the Rapture
Lisa G. Riley
$6.99
Checks and Balances*
Elaine Sims
$6.99
Choices*
Tammy Williams
$6.99
Corporate Seduction
A.C. Arthur
$6.99
Crossing the Line*
Bernice Layton
$6.99
Crush*
Crystal Hubbard
$6.99
Cupid
Barbara Keaton
&
nbsp; $6.99
Dawn’s Harbor*
Kymberly Hunt
$6.99
Do Over
Celya Bowers
$6.99
Dream Keeper*
Gail McFarland
$6.99
Dream Runner*
Gail McFarland
$6.99
Ebony Angel
Deatri King-Bey
$6.99
Ebony Eyes
Kei Swanson
$6.99
Enchanted Desire*
Wanda Y. Thomas
$6.99
Everything In Between
Crystal Hubbard
$6.99
Except on Sunday
Regena Bryant
$6.99
Fireflies*
Joan Early
$6.99
Fixin’ Tyrone
Keith Thomas Walker
$6.99
Fractured
Wendy Byrne
$6.99
Friends in Need*
Joan Early
$6.99
From This Moment
Young, Sean D.
$6.99
Frost on My Window*
Angela Weaver
$6.99
Havana Sunrise
Kymberly Hunt
$6.99
Heart of the Phoenix
A.C. Arthur
$6.99
Holding Her Breath
Nicole Green
$6.99
How to Kill Your Husband*
Keith Walker
$6.99
I Take This Woman
Chamein Canton
$6.99
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me
A First Class Act Page 16