Daniel chuckled. "You know I'm talking about Bo. Shay tells me you two are inseparable."
Marvin cocked a brow in his friend's direction. "My wife didn't tell you any such thing. Just because the kid is being a bit more responsible in his chores around the house doesn't mean he's my shadow."
Daniel dropped down in a ratty plaid-upholstered chair across from Marvin. As usual, Marvin was taken aback by the extreme mismatch of the formal home and the eclectic garage-sale furniture that filled it. "Hey, I'm happy about you and Bo," Daniel said. "Let's see, you've known him for what—almost two months?—and you're already making some headway with him. Not bad."
Marvin was pleased with Daniel's words, but more pleased with the way his relationship with Bo was progressing. The boy had been wary and quiet for the first two or three weeks, coming and doing his chores without much interaction at all. But for the last couple of weeks, Marvin had felt the walls coming down. Bo still ran with a rough crowd, but Marvin prayed that soon the teen would find the courage to pull away and be his own man. "He's challenged us to a three-on-three game of hoops."
"Us who?" Daniel propped his feet up on the beat-up coffee table that doubled as an ottoman. "You couldn't be talking about me."
Marvin nodded. "Yes, you, and Marcus, too. I figure the three of us can hang well enough against Bo and his friends."
"How do you figure that? When was the last time you played a tough game of hoops?"
"Hey, I beat Bo the first time I played him."
Daniel gave Marvin a pitying look. "I hate to break it to you, Marvin, but Bo let you win. There's no way you could beat him. Didn't I tell you the kid had a basketball scholarship to Auburn? That's S-E-C Auburn, as in Southeastern Conference. That's the big league."
Marvin hadn't forgotten Bo's athletic background; he just didn't dwell on it. The boys wouldn't kill them, would they? "Instead of complaining," he told Daniel, "you need to be figuring out how you're going to get your old body in shape. I bet you haven't worked out in months."
Daniel patted his stomach. "Who says I'm out of shape? I work out. Marcus has the makings of a regulation gym in the basement. You ought to check it out. I bet I can bench-press more than you can." He stood up. "Ready to put your money where your mouth is?"
Marvin grinned and stood, too. "Lead the way," he said. "I think I can take you on."
Marvin followed Daniel to the back of the house and down the wooden stairs to the basement. Daniel flicked on a wall switch. "You guys need a wife," Marvin said, taking in the overwhelming messiness of the room. "Make that a maid. It's going to take more than love to get anybody to clean this place."
"It's not that bad," Daniel said without much conviction.
Marvin took in all the sports equipment, those pieces that weren't covered with car parts or hand tools or clothes—he wasn't sure if they were clean or dirty—and old newspapers. "Hey, is that a pool table over there?"
"Sure is. Is Stuart still a shark?"
Marvin nodded. "I've never beaten him, but I give him a good game." Pool was not really Marvin's game, though being Stuart's friend had forced him to develop better-than-average skills at what Stuart called the poor man's golf.
"Stuart must have been born with a cue stick in his hand or something." Daniel cut a questioning glance at Marvin. "Want to play a couple of games?"
Marvin knew that pool would allow more conversation than lifting weights, and he did have a couple of matters concerning Genesis House that he wanted to discuss with Daniel. "I'm up for it if you are."
"You're on. Get ready to get beat."
"Rack 'em up," Marvin said, ignoring Daniel's comment. He clapped his friend on the back and followed him over to the table.
Daniel did as instructed, and Marvin broke first. He pocketed a ball on the break, followed by two more before he missed a shot. When he looked up at Daniel, he found him staring at him. "What's on your mind?"
Daniel shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "Nine ball in the corner pocket," he said. "I was thinking about you and Shay."
Marvin raised a brow at that comment, and at Daniel's easy pocketing of what should have been a difficult shot. "Me and Shay?"
Daniel positioned himself to take his next shot. "Yeah. I keep asking myself how a woman like that ended up with a mug like you."
"You mean, when she could have had a pretty boy like you?"
Daniel chuckled and sank his fourth ball. "Boy, did I ever have a crush on that woman, second only to the one I had on Mrs. Willis in second grade. And to think Shay picked you over me. There's no accounting for taste."
"My wife has perfectly good taste."
Daniel snorted. "Things still going good with you two?"
Marvin rested his hands on his cue, not at all bothered by Daniel's early crush on Shay. If he thought the brother's feelings for her had been anything more than a passing attraction, Marvin wouldn't have taken the job and moved to Odessa. Not because he didn't trust Daniel, but because he wouldn't have wanted to put either Daniel or Shay in what could have turned into a very uncomfortable situation. "Very good," he answered, describing his relationship with Shay. "You know I was a little nervous when she seemed to be so focused on having another child, but I think that's passed. She's happy and content now. I think she's adopted Bo and now considers him her baby." Marvin grinned as he pictured his wife clucking over Bo, who was a good six inches taller than she was and at least fifty pounds heavier.
"That's a big baby," Daniel said.
"Tell me about it."
Daniel stood aside so Marvin could take his next shot. "So life is good, huh?"
Marvin easily pocketed the eight ball in the side pocket. "Very, and getting better every day." He leaned back against the foot of the table and rested his cue against his side. "You know, I start each day with this 'What is God going to do now?' attitude. Let me tell you, that's much better than the 'What is God going to do to me now?' attitude that used to hound me."
* * *
"They tell me there's a woman in here who's getting married next week," the skinny comedian barked from the stage in front of Shay and Vickie.
"I don't believe this," Vickie said, leaning over to whisper to Shay. "I really don't believe this."
Shay patted Vickie's hand with her own. Because she was feeling a little down, Vickie had suggested an evening out at the Comedy Club in Jackson to celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday. Since her love life was one of the things that had her down, the comedian's chosen topic for the evening wasn't exactly easing Vickie's anxiety about her marital status. "We don't have to stay," Shay offered.
Vickie shook her head. "We'll stay. If I start running now, I'll be running for the rest of my life."
Shay and Vickie didn't speak anymore until the comedian finished his set and the houselights came up. The hum of conversation from the other restaurant patrons filled the place. "How are you doing?" Shay asked her friend.
"I've been better," Vickie said, taking her menu off the table and burying her face in it. "I may as well eat a million calories and get as big as a house. What's the point?"
Shay chuckled. "Come on, Vickie," she said. "It's not that bad."
Vickie peered at her over the top of her menu. "That's easy for you to say. You have a hunky husband at home waiting for you. What do I have? A big old empty house."
Shay reached over and took the menu from Vickie. "Talk to me," she said. "What's brought on this mood? It has to be more than your birthday."
Vickie's beautiful brown eyes filled with tears. "My life is falling apart," she wailed softly.
"Stop it, Vickie." Shay took Vickie's hands in hers. "Stop it and tell me what's going on."
"I want to be you," Vickie said, the words coming out on another wail. "I want a husband and I want to be planning for a family. I'm tired of being single."
Shay felt her friend's despair and wanted to ease it. "You don't want to be me, Vickie, believe me."
Vickie leaned closer, giving Shay th
e impression that her friend was looking to her for some type of lifeline. "Okay, tell me why I don't want to be you. Tell me what's wrong with your life, because from where I'm sitting it's looking pretty close to perfect."
"Well, it's not," Shay said, but as she searched for words to express how imperfect her life was, nothing immediately came to mind. That was because, right now, her life was pretty close to perfect. She and Marvin had never been closer or happier. She saw a contentment and peace in her husband she hadn't seen since before their son's death. Their lives together were full with new friends and work they loved. And, unless she was wrong again, she was pretty sure she was pregnant.
"I'm waiting."
"Give me a minute," Shay said, desperately trying to come up with something.
Vickie leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "See, I told you. You have a perfect life, and my life is over."
Shay chuckled again. "Stop it, Vickie," she said. "Your life is not over."
Vickie sighed deeply. "Okay, maybe it's not over. Every time I start to get into one of these 'poor Vickie' moods, the Lord comes right back at me with Galatians 6, and my pity party is over before it starts."
" 'And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not,' " Shay recited right along with Vickie.
"So you like that one, too?" Vickie said.
Shay nodded. "The Lord uses it to keep me in line the same way he does with you."
"You know, the Lord has a unique sense of humor. How can I have a decent pity party with that Scripture ringing in my heart?"
Shay laughed at Vickie's offended sense of fairness. "Tell me about it. I know exactly what you mean."
"In all seriousness," Vickie said, leaning forward again, "I do know how blessed I am, and I know how full my life is, but sometimes..."
"Sometimes what?"
"Sometimes I wonder what married life would be like, what being a mother would be like. I wonder if I'm missing something, you know, if I'll have regrets when I'm older. What if I'm an old woman in a nursing home with no one to visit me?"
That statement struck Shay as poignant, for it was one she too had asked. She wondered if all single women asked it at one time or another. "Being married and having children is no guarantee that you won't end up alone in a nursing home. Besides, there are a lot of people who love you, people who will always love you. You won't end up alone."
Vickie sat back in her chair again. "I know that, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah, but I think you're glamorizing married life. It's hard, Vickie, and it's not always pretty."
"You and Marvin certainly seem to have it together."
Shay's mind immediately went back to the time right after Marvin Jr.'s death. "I'm glad you think so, but we've had our trials and done more than our share of stumbling."
"But now?"
Shay smiled from a place deep inside. "Now, things are pretty good. Better than good, in fact."
"I knew it," Vickie said, picking up her menu again. "I sure am glad we're friends, because if we weren't, I think I'd be so jealous of you I could spit."
Shay allowed herself to laugh at that outrageous statement. "If that's the case, I'm glad we're friends too. I think I'd be a bit embarrassed if you started spitting in here."
Vickie chuckled. "So I gather all's good on the baby front."
"Better than good, I'd say," Shay confided in a whisper. "I have an appointment with Dr. Holmes first thing tomorrow morning." She had considered seeing Deacon Greg, but she'd concluded that their close personal relationship would make a patient-doctor relationship much too uncomfortable for her. Though she and Marvin had both met Dr. Holmes socially, she didn't have the same reservations about him.
Vickie's eyes brightened. "You mean you're—"
"I think, but I'm not positive." Shay took her friend's hand and squeezed it. "Oh, Vickie, I don't want to get my hopes up and then find out I'm not, but for some reason, I think this time is it."
"Well, I certainly hope it is. What does Marvin think?"
"I haven't told him."
"Why not?" Vickie asked. "I thought sharing anxieties was one of the benefits of having a husband. At least, that's how I've always dreamed of it."
Shay gave a long sigh as she tried to decide how to best explain the situation to Vickie. "Sharing is a benefit of marriage, most of the time," she said, "but Marvin and I have had our share of disappointments and loss in the last few years, and I don't want to get his hopes up just to have them dashed. I'd rather wait until I'm sure before I tell him."
"You're pregnant," Vickie declared with utmost confidence. "You'll be pregnant and have a baby, and I'll be the world's oldest virgin."
Shay's laughter spilled out. "There are worse things, Vickie," she said, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. "Besides, I don't think you'll be the oldest. There are a lot of single women who have remained pure before God. You should be proud of your faithfulness, not ashamed of it. Believe me, if you do get married, you'll understand why God wanted you to wait."
"Did you wait?" Vickie put up both her hands in front of her. "Okay, forget I asked that. I know I've crossed the line. Me and my big mouth."
Shay put her hands on Vickie's raised ones and lowered them back to the table. "No, you haven't crossed any line. To answer your question, yes, I waited."
"Did Marvin?"
"Unfortunately not, and I know he regretted it. He'd been promiscuous before he became a Christian, and he worried that what he knew about sex would somehow taint the physical relationship we would share as husband and wife."
"Did it? Taint the relationship, I mean?"
Shay shook her head. "No, thank God. Not for me, at least. And I don't think for Marvin, but I know he still wishes he'd waited and done things God's way."
"That's so sweet." Vickie closed her eyes and patted her heart the way a teenager might do. "Now I know I want to get married, and I want a man just like Marvin. Are there any more like him back in Atlanta?"
Shay's thoughts immediately turned to Stuart, Marvin's friend from college who was now an Atlanta judge. "There may be one or two who come close to Marvin," she teased. "But my husband has no equal."
Vickie grinned. "Ex-cuse me, Miz Taylor, with your bad self."
Shay laughed. "You're doing a lot of complaining, Vickie, but I can't believe you don't have your share of admirers."
Vickie gave an unladylike snort. "I hope you're not referring to the guys who come up to you and say—" Vickie deepened her voice—"The Lord told me that you were going to be my wife." In her normal voice, she continued, "Give me a break. I think the Lord would have put that little nugget directly in my ear, don't you?"
Shay laughed again. "They don't really do that, do they?"
Vickie rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that line, and from some seemingly together brothers. I don't get it. Maybe something's wrong with me, but I really don't get it. I bet Marvin didn't come at you with some crazy line like that one."
"No, he didn't."
Vickie leaned closer. "So how did he approach you?"
"You're not going to like this," Shay warned, still laughing.
Vickie lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "Probably not, but tell me anyway."
Shay's eyes danced. "He didn't do anything. We met, and we both knew at that moment. Sorta like love at first sight."
She laughed when Vickie's white cloth napkin hit her in the face.
Chapter 6
"Congratulations, Mrs. Taylor," Dr. Holmes said, a grin on his face. "You're pregnant. Be sure to tell Marvin I want to get the first candy cigar."
Shay clamped her hand across her mouth to stifle the scream of joy that bubbled up inside her. She was pregnant. She and Marvin were going to have a baby. She'd known she was pregnant. This time had been different from the other times she'd thought she was pregnant. This time she'd immediately scheduled an appointment with Dr. Holmes to confirm what s
he already knew to be true. "Thank you, Lord," she murmured. "Thank you, Lord."
"Well," Dr. Holmes said, his words returning her attention to him. "Thanking the Lord is a good place to start."
Shay dropped her hand from her mouth, leaned forward from her perch on the examination table, and wrapped her arms around Dr. Holmes's neck. "I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby."
"And you're going to choke me if you don't let up on my neck," Dr. Holmes said, trying to unwind her arms from around him.
Shay dropped her arms. "Oh, Dr. Holmes," she said, "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy." She was crying now, and she felt she'd be crying for the rest of the day. Maybe even for the rest of her pregnancy. "I'm pregnant."
Dr. Holmes nodded. "I'd say about six weeks."
She pressed her hand across her abdomen in a protective gesture. "Our baby."
Dr. Holmes was still grinning. "You've gotten my day off to a great start. I wished the responses to all my diagnoses were this positive."
"Thank you, Dr. Holmes, for squeezing me in."
"Don't worry about it, Shay," Dr. Holmes said. "I'm glad you called. I love to see my patients happy. And I especially love to see new mothers. Sometimes I think I missed my calling. I should have gone into obstetrics."
"It's a miracle, Dr. Holmes," Shay began, her heart filled with gratitude and joy. "After our first child was born, we tried for about four years to get pregnant before giving up and accepting it as God's will that we not have another child. It's only been in the last year that the desire has come back to us. And now we're pregnant. I can't believe it."
"Well, believe it," Dr. Holmes said. "But I think you'd better believe it out of my office. Though I'm enjoying your company immensely, I do have other patients to see."
Shay scooted down off the examination table. "I'm sorry," she said, gathering her purse. "I got carried away."
Laughing, Dr. Holmes opened the examination room door and let her out. "Be sure to give Marvin my congratulations," he said. "And don't forget to tell him about the cigar."
Shay nodded, thanked the doctor again, and floated out of his office, past the office clerk's desk, and to her car. As she tossed her purse and the New Mother packet down on the seat next to her, she realized she didn't even remember getting the packet. Once she was seated behind the steering wheel, she paused to give thanks to God again. She was pregnant! She was really pregnant!
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