by Linda Wisdom
During the drive back to his apartment, Mark called Brian on his cell phone but only got the answering machine. He disconnected without leaving a message. He next toyed with the idea of calling his parents then decided against it. No matter how badly he wanted his parents’ advice on how to handle Jeff, it was up to Jeff to call them, not Mark.
When Mark later walked into his apartment he found Jeff still slumped on the couch, his beer can cradled between his palms. Mark couldn’t remember ever seeing his oldest brother looking so dejected.
“You look like you lost your best friend,” Mark said, detouring to the kitchen long enough to get a can for himself. He didn’t want a beer, but he thought he’d make the appearance of keeping his brother company. He dropped into the chair across from Jeff. “What happened, Jeff?”
Jeff shook his head. He stared into the can as if he hoped it held all the answers.
“Hell if I know. I took Abby out to dinner for our anniversary.” His voice was as wooden as his expression. “Everything was great. I waited until we got home before giving her her gift. Next thing I know, she’s yelling at me. She said I don’t understand her. That I have no clue. She told me to get out and not come back until I do get a clue.” He lifted his head and looked at Mark. He lifted the can and drank. “Why is she doing this to me?” he moaned.
Mark was stunned as he listened to his brother. He couldn’t imagine anything happening where Abby would throw Jeff out of the house. He’d always viewed them as the ideal couple with the ideal marriage. He saw them having the kind of standard he didn’t imagine he could ever live up to. He racked his brain to come up with a logical reason but nothing was coming to mind.
He wished Nora had stayed. She might have been able to come up with questions that wouldn’t occur to him.
“She was fine before dinner?” Mark asked.
Jeff nodded.
“And everything was okay during dinner?”
He nodded again. “Mom and Dad took the kids for the weekend,” he said. “We had the house to ourselves for the first time since Seth was born. I thought we’d continue celebrating. Instead, she kicks me out. Just kicks me out.” He kept repeating the words as if he couldn’t believe it happened. “She threatened to tear me into little pieces. She would have done it too,” Jeff said sadly. “God, I love that woman.”
Mark hunched down in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. Silence hung heavy between the two brothers.
“Jeff, how did you know you’d be such a great dad?”
Jeff looked up, surprised by the question. “How did I know?” he repeated. “I didn’t know. I was scared to death I’d be a failure from the minute I found out I’d be a father to the minute the girls were put into my arms. When I looked into their tiny faces, I knew I would move heaven and earth to do whatever it took to keep them safe and feeling loved. Dad said it was ten percent work and ninety percent just plain not worrying, because it would all fall into place. I thought he was just putting me on. I saw it as his way of soothing new-father jitters, but it turned out he was right.” He smiled faintly. “You just sense what needs doing and you do it.”
Mark shook his head as if he had trouble believing him. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Not easy. You panic the first time they sneeze or get a fever. Late at night, you get up and go in to check on them and then you just stand there watching them sleep and think to yourself this child came from me. It’s an incredible feeling. And now…” He shrugged.
Mark looked at Jeff’s morose expression and easily guessed what he was thinking about.
Mark felt just as unhappy for pretty much the same reason. He leaned forward to get out of the chair.
“I’ll get some sheets for the couch.”
Chapter Fourteen
It took all of Nora’s willpower not to call Ginna the moment Mark drove away from her house. It took just as much self-control for her not to call her friend the moment she got up in the morning.
Luckily, she only had to wait until she started fixing breakfast. She snatched up the handset before her telephone finished its first ring.
“Hello?”
“If you were still over here I would have served you breakfast in bed.”
Her smile came readily. “And what would breakfast in bed have been?” She nestled the handset between her ear and shoulder.
“Well—” Mark drew the word out “—it would have started out with me.”
“My, my, the pictures you bring to mind,” Nora drawled.
“I hope your pictures are as interesting as mine.” He heaved a sigh. “Time for another cold shower.”
Nora’s smile grew. “Otherwise, how was your night?”
Mark lowered his voice. “My brother is about as pathetic as you can get.”
“Did you find out exactly why he and Abby had a fight?”
“We stayed up until about two while he moaned and groaned his life was over. According to him, there wasn’t any fight. He could only say that he couldn’t understand why she threw him out. He tried calling her this morning, but she hung up on him. He barely said hello before she hung up,” he explained. “He’s in the shower now. I think the best thing to do is just shoot him and put him out of his misery. Please tell me you slept as lousy as I did.”
Before Nora could speak, a soft beep sounded in her ear. “Just a minute, that’s my call waiting.” She depressed the flash button on her handset. “Hello?”
“Nora, do you have plans for lunch?” Ginna asked.
“Nothing, why?” She sensed Ginna knew of her oldest brother’s fate.
“Call it a major estrogen caucus,” she said cryptically. “I’ll pick you up.”
“No, just tell me where to meet you.”
“Meet me at Starrs at one.” She named one of their favorite restaurants.
“I’ll be there.” Nora waited as Ginna disconnected. She heard a click. “Mark?”
“Still here. Although I could be over there in about the time it would take you to get back in your bed.”
She laughed at his hopeful tone. “Down, boy.”
“That’s not an easy task,” he groaned. “I wish we were going on duty today. Then Jeff would have something to do other than look about as sad as a hound dog.”
“Why don’t the two of you go for a run or go lift weights or something?” she suggested as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Isn’t that what guys do when they’re depressed?”
“What do women do?”
“Go shopping. Eat chocolate.” She turned at the sound of her toast popping up. “Mark, I want to eat my breakfast before it gets cold. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Next time I’m not letting even the president of the United States interrupt us,” he warned her.
“Don’t worry, handsome, next time I’ll shoot the doorbell myself.” Nora chuckled softly at Mark’s softly muttered curse as she disconnected the call.
She glanced at the clock. She’d have just enough time to run a couple of errands before meeting Ginna at the restaurant.
A few minutes before one o’clock, Nora parked her Bug in the restaurant parking lot. She carefully extricated herself from behind the steering wheel and climbed out of the small car.
She grimaced as raindrops started falling on her before she reached the door. She quickly pulled up the hood to her coat and quickened her steps.
“You made it just in time,” Ginna greeted her as she entered the restaurant. “We’ve got a corner table.”
Nora looked down at her tummy. She swore it had grown just since breakfast. “Good. The last thing I want is to find myself stuck in a booth.” She slipped off her coat as they walked to a table where Abby, Gail and Cathy were already seated.
Nora always enjoyed eating here. She liked the serene atmosphere with its hanging plants everywhere and a rock waterfall that covered one wall, with a small pool below populated with colorful koi. She wondered if the peaceful surroundings was the reason for
their choice.
As she approached the table, she noticed Abby didn’t look as energetic as she usually did and her eyes were shadowed with weariness. The other two women looked serious. Cathy stood up at their approach and hugged Nora.
“You look beautiful, dear.” She kissed her on the cheek.
Nora laughed. “I feel like I should be named Shamu.” She mentioned Sea World’s whale mascot.
“Yes, but can you jump through a hoop?” Abby hugged her next, then Gail.
Conversation was superficial as the women placed their orders with the waitress.
Nora knew these women well enough that plain talk was best. She turned to Abby.
“Jeff’s staying with Mark,” she said without preamble.
Abby arched an eyebrow. “And you know this because…?”
“I was at Mark’s when Jeff showed up. He looked about as shell-shocked as a man can look.” She looked at Abby. “All he could say was that you told him he had no clue and to stay gone until he figured it out. What does he need to figure out for himself?”
Abby didn’t look away. “Did he tell you it was our anniversary yesterday?”
She nodded. “And the two of you went out to dinner.”
Abby picked up her glass of iced tea and took a sip before speaking. “Did he tell you what he gave me?”
“Obviously not something wildly extravagant and romantic.”
“Something definitely not romantic,” Cathy agreed.
Abby looked around. She blinked rapidly as if she was trying not to cry. “I wanted to give Jeff something extra special for our tenth anniversary,” she explained. “You know what I mean. Something he wouldn’t do for himself. I was able to get him season tickets for his favorite hockey team for next season. It wasn’t easy, because I kept hearing they were already gone. But I didn’t stop. I made calls and I tracked some down. He’s got four season tickets for next season. And I—” she stopped, swallowed and pulled out a tissue to blow her nose, “—and I am the proud owner of a central vacuum system.”
Now Nora understood why Jeff had ended up on Mark’s doorstep the previous night.
“Last year he gave me a beautiful pair of earrings that held the twins’ birthstone.” Abby carefully dabbed her eyes. “This year all he talks about is what a good wife and mother I am. He tells people how well I keep the house and raise the kids. All of a sudden, I’ve turned into some drudge.”
“My son’s brains have suddenly turned to mush,” Cathy pronounced, patting Abby’s hand.
“He has no clue,” Abby declared. “That stupid man has no clue!”
“I guess if Brian gives me something much too practical on our tenth wedding anniversary we’ll know it’s genetic,” Gail said.
Cathy grimaced. “It could be. Lou gave me a new engine for our tenth anniversary.”
Ginna shook her head in disbelief. “And to think Dad is still alive. Okay, that’s it. Zach is no longer allowed to play with them,” she announced. “I don’t want him picking up any bad habits.” She looked at Nora. “Now that you’ve had fair warning, you know you’ve got ten years to train Mark.”
“Mark’s on his own,” Nora insisted.
“You were at his apartment last night,” Ginna pointed out.
“He invited me to dinner and that was all,” she said firmly. She concentrated as hard as she could not to betray herself with a blush. The bane of all redheads was blushing at the wrong time. She must have succeeded since Ginna didn’t say anything. “Mark drove me home not long after Jeff arrived.”
Ginna looked at her closely. “Your suggestion or Mark’s?”
Nora tipped her head slightly downward so she could look down her nose at her friend. “Mark needed to be with his brother.”
“He didn’t help him figure things out,” Abby muttered.
“How would you know? You hung up on him every time he called you.” Nora held up her hands in defense. “I saw him when he showed up at Mark’s, Abby. He’s devastated.”
“Good,” she said coldly, although her lips wobbled a little. “Maybe I overreacted last night, but it was the last straw. The man used to be so romantic. For no reason at all he’d bring me flowers or arrange for Cathy and Lou to take the kids, and take me out for dinner and a few hours stolen away in an elegant hotel,” she said. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she recalled those times. She suddenly recovered herself and flushed. Then sorrow took over. “Now he’s taking me for granted like I’m a piece of furniture.” She picked at her crab salad. “He can’t come home until he realizes he’s been an inconsiderate idiot.”
“Abby, I hate to say this, but I grew up with these guys. Jeff’s as stubborn as any mule and if you’re honest with yourself, you have to admit you can be just as obstinate as he is,” Ginna said cautiously. “It sounds as if you were pretty harsh on him last night. What if he gets some bug up his butt and decides he can do without you?”
“That would never happen,” Cathy said firmly.
Abby looked at her sister-in-law with a stricken expression, as if she’d just been struck.
“I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate here,” Ginna pointed out. “That sometimes things don’t come out the way we hope. Or maybe Dad will put Jeff out of his misery and reveal the secret,” she said in a mock hushed whisper.
“Trust me, your father won’t tell Jeff a thing,” Cathy said. “He and Theo would say the boy has to figure it out for himself.”
“Way to go, Dad and Grampa.” Ginna grinned.
“If you’d seen Jeff’s face last night you’d know he’ll do whatever he can to get back home again,” Nora said. “The man is a walking wreck.”
“Are you going to give him any hints?” Gail asked.
Abby thought for a moment. “I’m betting on Jeff. Let’s pick on Nora now. What exactly were the two of you doing last night?”
Nora hadn’t expected the abrupt change of subject.
“He cooked me dinner.”
Four pair of eyes swiveled in her direction.
“Mark can’t cook,” Ginna stated.
“We had chicken kabobs and baked potatoes on the barbecue.”
“That explains it,” Cathy chuckled. “That’s the only meal Mark can safely fix without burning anything.”
“He told me he mastered the packaged meals,” Gail added. “The man is almost domestic.”
Once again, four pair of eyes settled on Nora. This time she couldn’t blame her burning cheeks on the spicy tortilla soup she’d ordered.
“Do not see things that do not exist,” she ordered them.
“He’s a cutie,” Abby pointed out.
“We’re sharing the baby and that’s all we’re sharing.” Nora picked up a tortilla chip and bit into it almost defiantly.
“That’s not going to stop us from hoping, dear,” Cathy inserted. “A mother always wants the best for her children.”
“I’m flattered you think I’m the best for Mark, but…” She found herself fumbling for the right words. “It’s just not meant to be.” She finally settled for what sounded clichéd in her ears but the best she could do.
“Of course, dear,” Cathy murmured.
Nora didn’t know why Cathy’s smile made her nervous, but it definitely left her feeling uneasy.
“Is anyone up for shopping after lunch?” Cathy asked brightly. “It seems everyone is having a sale. Besides, I want to go shopping for my prospective granddaughter!”
Under her deft urging each woman admitted there was that one special item she was looking for.
“ABBY, it’s Mark.” He shifted the phone to his other ear as he walked out to the patio where the barbecue grill was waiting. He’d tried calling his sister-in-law all day and hung up each time he heard the answering machine. Where was she?
“If he asked you to call on his behalf, you can just forget it,” she said coolly.
“I guess you’d have to say I’m calling on my behalf,” he joked, waiting for her answering laugh. The frig
id silence told him his joke wasn’t appreciated. “Ab, the guy’s hangdog miserable. We’re talking he’s as pathetic as you can get.” He moved the barbecue tools to one side so he could set the platter of hamburgers down.
“Good. Once he figures things out, he can come home.”
Click!
Mark reared back. “The woman wastes no words.”
“What woman?” Jeff stepped out onto the patio. He carried a plastic bag of hamburger buns in one hand and a plate of cheese and onion slices in the other.
“Your wife. Has she always been this stubborn?” Mark set the burgers on the hot grill. The meat immediately started sizzling on the hot surface. “You know what you need to do? Just call her up and tell her you’re sorry. I bet you could be home by dinnertime.” And I’d be over at Nora’s five minutes later.
Jeff frowned. “Why should I apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Mark mouthed a curse. “Maybe because you’d rather be with Abby than eat my char-grilled hamburgers every night? Come on, Jeff, it’s been a week!” Longest damn week of my life.
“It’s the principle of the thing. I haven’t forgotten our anniversary once, I don’t forget her birthday or the kids’ birthdays. We celebrate the anniversary of our first date and even the date we think the twins were conceived.” He circled the small patio. “I never leave the top off the toothpaste. I take the trash out without being asked. I’ll take the kids out for walks when I’m off duty. I don’t leave my dirty clothes on the floor. I even remember to put the toilet seat down! Dammit, I’m a prize and Abby needs to realize that!”
“Honey, if she doesn’t take you, I will!” A woman called out from the pool area.
Jeff clasped his hands over his head in a victory gesture.
Mark closed his eyes. “Now I know why he came here. Pure torture.”
WHAT WAS MARK doing at her house?
Nora didn’t miss his truck parked in front of her house nor the lights blazing inside. Since Ginna was the only person who had a key, she guessed how he got in. She drove up the driveway, activated the garage-door opener and drove inside.