“Yes, Miss Grace. I will order the food. Do you need me to stay late?” Jo asked. Grace knew she was perfectly willing to do so.
“No, I think that Zane and I can clean up any mess in the kitchen. You enjoy your night with Miguel.” She hugged Jo and said, “Are you and Miguel available for dinner tomorrow night? I would love for Miguel to meet Zane. It would be great if you could prepare something for all of us if that is not too much trouble?”
“I can let you know for sure in the morning, but I am sure he would like that. Miss Grace I would be happy to make something for you and Mr. Zane” She went to go about her job when she abruptly turned to face Grace expressing pure concern for her employer and asked her, “Miss Grace, are you sure about him, your husband I mean? I went into the kitchen after you took Michael in the study. I was going to make the sangria that you love and came out with the wine opener. I swear he squeaked and jumped away from me dropping the shrimp fork that he was examining. I also saw him picking up your books and smelling them. I have never seen this kind of thing before. Most people read books not smell them. He is a bit odd, no offense. I just worry about you. I want you to be happy.”
“He is quite odd here, huh?” She said in agreement and laughed,”He is not like that at all when he is home. That is what I love about him. Can I ask you something Jo?” She waited as Jo nodded, “When you first met Miguel, did you know he was ‘the one’?” She asked Jo, a serious expression on her face.
“Well, yes, I guess I did,” Jo replied smiling at the thought of meeting her husband the first time.
“Well, I guess I did too. He is the one Jo,” Grace smiled genuinely and Jo knew what she said was true. She had known Gracie for a long time and could tell that the woman who stood before her knew what she was feeling for this overly large man she brought home. Jo would make it her duty from this moment on to make him feel welcome, no questions asked. “Can you check on Michael from time to time to see if he needs anything? He will be in the study working. I will take Zane to the Museum in a little bit. I think he will enjoy that.”
Grace went to find Zane. She found him on the balcony again sitting at the table and lost in thought, “Hey, my very handsome husband.” He turned to her smiling to show that he was happy to see her. “Michael is busy working, drawing up some papers. I called my driver last night to let him know I was in town. I just texted him and he will be here in 15 minutes to take us somewhere that I want you to see.”
“Really? Michael will not need you?” He said.
She held up her cell phone and said, “You have your transmitter from the ship and I have my cell phone in the city. If he needs me he can call me. He has a bunch of things he needs to tackle that I know would go easier if he wasn’t interrupted by me or anyone else. I am sure that I won’t be required until two days from now when we face my family.” She laughed at the thought of that. “I may have to prepare you for that. You think the council was a tough audience, wait until you meet the family members and co-owners of Abernathy and Associates.” She playfully punched him in the belly lightly.
Chapter 15
She yelled out to Jo that they were going out and would be back by 4:30 pm then they made their way down to the lobby. The weekend staff was working the front desk and Sammy was ready at the door opening it for the two of them. Sammy looked up unsure about the size of the man that was escorting Miss Abernathy. Gracie said to him, “Sammy, this is my husband Zane. Zane this is Sammy.” She added for Zane, “He is the weekend doorman of this building.”
Zane said, “Nice to meet you Sammy.” Sammy didn’t say anything in return and just nodded to Zane. William was right on time, as usual and waiting in front of the building. Sammy went to open the car door for them.
Grace got in and Zane squeezed in after her. He was a big man and even the spacious back seat with extra leg room was almost not enough for him. He looked like he was in the back seat of a small compact car. “Good morning, William, I would like to introduce you to my husband, Zane.”
William appeared very shocked and looked into the rear view mirror and found the aqua eyes of Grace’s new husband. “It is nice to meet you Mr. Zane. Where would you like to go today?”
“Please take us to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And, William if you must address Zane formally, please call him Dr. Zane.” She looked at Zane and spoke for both the men’s benefit, “Zane you don’t know how long I have been trying to coerce William to address me informally. We have known each other for years and he still insists on calling me Ms. Abernathy or Miss Grace,” she said laughing.
They drove in silence as Zane looked out of the window. When they came up to the museum, William pulled up to the curb. “Please don’t get out William. We can let ourselves out here. Please plan to be back for 4pm. We will be waiting for you right here.”
After making their way up the museum steps Grace turned to Zane and said, “This is a huge museum. I don’t think that we will get to see it all but we can probably complete the Director’s tour so we can be out of here on time. The Director’s tour covers many different styles of art.”
Grace had been a President’s Circle donor for years and she took over after her mother died. Her mother had a passion for the arts that she passed on to her daughter. Grace flashed her membership card at the ticket desk and received her tickets.
They spent the day looking at many fine paintings, sculptures, and reliefs. She loved watching as Zane immediately targeted a piece he liked. She couldn’t wait until they reached the end of the tour. It was then, that she realized that they shared favorites. Zane loved Van Gogh’s, Wheat Field with Cypresses. It resembled the kind of art that he painted in his quarters. They spent a bit more time looking at this piece. Zane asked her about it and she said that she could not wait to show him an image of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. He also liked the style of Monet with the tiny dots to make a picture as well as the Rembrandt paintings. He liked how Rembrandt made it seem as if a light was shining on the subject. She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t like the Jackson Pollock paintings very much. He said they displayed too much disorder for his tastes. As they finished looking at Pollock’s paintings, Grace noticed it was ten to four and about time to leave. They met William as scheduled right outside on the curb then returned to Grace’s apartment.
“Thank you, Gracie. I have had a wonderful day,” Zane said as he put his arm around her and kissed her softly. She just smiled at him and said with her eyes, you are most welcome. As the car pulled up to the front of the building, Sammy came out to open the car and the building doors as they made their way through the lobby hand in hand to the elevator with several of the tenants staring wide eyed at them. It was enough to make them uncomfortable so when the elevator door closed behind them they were able to relax a bit.
“Why are they staring?” he asked Grace.
“They stare because you are quite an attractive and tall man walking in with a woman that has been alone for years with no real male visitors, except for my cousin Michael. I wonder if some of them were under the impression that I preferred women. That is probably why they stare.” Grace said, “However, I would like to think it is because we make a striking couple.” He kissed her in the elevator stopping when they reached the top floor.
They went to the kitchen to help Jo set up the dinner party. Grace showed Zane how to set the table in the dining room while she went to help Jo prepare the food in serving dishes to place on the table when their guests arrived. Jo had readied the garlic bread on a cooking sheet and preheated the oven for the lasagna and the baking of the bread. She gave Grace detailed instructions on the time at which the food was to be placed in the oven and then got ready to leave for the day. Michael was still in the study, steadily working away.
When Emily and the kids arrived Grace and Zane met them at the door together. The kids ran past them into the apartment, ready to find their father. Grace directed them to the study and they took off like little bats out of hell. Emily was arran
ging her bags on the nearest chair and putting her keys in her purse when she looked up to see the smiling face of Zane. “You must be Emily. Grace has told me so much about you. It is really nice to finally meet you.”
Emily did a double take, as she steadily and slowly looked up his body to find his face. She did not expect him to be so tall. Grace ran up to her and excitedly hugged her friend planting a kiss on her cheek. Emily looked at Grace and said, “Could you have found anyone any bigger and handsomer?” Extending her hand out to Zane she said, “It is very nice to meet you Zane. I can’t wait to hear about how the two of you met?”
Zane did not know just what to do with the hand she offered so he reached out and she grabbed it holding it until she tried to let him go. “I think that we have successfully potty trained Jake but I brought some things in case of accidents. I can’t believe that we will be doing this all over again. Another round of diaper duty, what were we thinking?” Grace could already start to see the swell of her belly beginning show on her previously fat free frame.
“You look radiant Emily. How far along are you now?” Grace said admiring her best friend.
“I just made three months, two days ago. I sure hope that God sees it in his infinite wisdom that four is enough. I thank God for Jillian. She is fabulous with the kids. I even have had enough time to do some things that I love, like yoga practice. I found a great place if you are interested. Hopefully with you being newly married, this means you are going to settle down for a while. Maybe you will even root yourself to the city for a while,” Em said as she looked at the two standing next to each other. Zane was playing his part well. He had his arms draped around Grace’s shoulders with his hands meeting on her chest. Em could clearly make out the love that he had for her. She knew her best friend though, better than anyone. This was when Grace would make her move and run.
“Where is Michael? I am guessing that the kids have found him because they are awfully quiet.” Emily laughed and walked in the direction of the rising laughter of children. “So, what is for dinner guys?”
“Italian,” Gracie yelled out. Grace smiled at Zane and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. “Looks like you passed Emily’s test. She must have seen something great in you. She has the best judge of character I have ever seen. Amazingly, she did not have me excuse myself to speak to me in private to criticize my choice of husband,” she said as she walked into the kitchen to check on the food with Zane following behind her. After checking the lasagna in the oven she shouted, “Dinner is ready everyone!”
She handed Zane the pot holders to take the lasagna to the dining room and told him to place it on the trivets that she set out on the table. She took the breadsticks and placed them on a platter, and removed the salad from the refrigerator. Zane came back to collect these things as she fetched the pitchers of kool aid Jo made for the kids and the sangria that she made for the adults. Thinking about Emily’s condition she yelled out, “What do you want to drink Em. Jo made sangria but I know you can’t have that.”
Emily came in behind her and said, “I will just take a large glass of ice water.” She gave her friend a sly look as she retrieved a glass out of the cabinet and said, “You are so going to spill tonight, my friend. Where did you find him? Michael says he is a doctor. He is so big and my Lord, he is quite handsome. You can tell that he is absolutely smitten with you,” she paused for just a second in thought and then added, “You married him, which is surprising to me. This is when you usually run. What is different about this man? I have to know.”
“You have no idea Emily. Then again, maybe you do. From the moment I saw him, he had such a calming effect on me. He is so patient and kind. I have never met anyone like him. My God, Emily, I never thought that I could ever love someone. I never thought someone would make me feel complete like this man does.” She could feel the tears building in her eyes and looked to the ceiling to try to abate them. Emily saw this and took her in a tight hug.
“We had better get in there. They will start to wonder what we are up to.” Grace took the two pitchers and Emily brought her large glass of ice water to the table. Zane was just now cutting and dishing out the lasagna and filling the plates for the children. Michael was still eyeing him down as he helped pass out the bread. She knew that Emily was won over on the subject of her new husband, but it was going to take much more to win Michael’s approval. Grace started to pour the drinks and joked with the kids saying that they would not get any kool aid without a hug and a kiss. They were happy to oblige her request of them. They missed her even though they were together a mere 5 days ago.
Dinner was an overall success. Everyone continued to eat their food with gusto. Grace mentioned to the kids that the cannoli was waiting for them in the fridge if they ate a good bit of their dinner. The girls screamed their approval but Jacob looked upset. She asked him what was wrong and he told her that he wanted ice cream. They all laughed and he joined in shortly after. Before leaving to get dessert, Grace scooped Jacob up out of his booster seat and brought him in the kitchen to find some ice cream. In the freezer she found a quart of homemade vanilla ice cream and handed it to him with a spoon telling him to get his daddy to open it for him. He bounced out of there so fast it was hard not to laugh. She brought in the platter with the delicious Italian dessert and several small saucers to serve them on.
After everyone was full, Michael excused himself to finish up what he was working on and Emily, Grace, and Zane started to pick up all the dishes and clean up the mess. The kids were arranged on the bar with some coloring books and other activities while they watched the adults wash the dishes and load the dish washer. Emily was now on a fact finding mission that Michael had probably sent her on.
“So Zane, I must know how you met Grace,” she said with a sneaky smile.
“To tell the truth, we just bumped into one another and the next thing you know we were moved beyond belief. I could not believe my good fortune. She is a wonderful woman.” He stood propped against the counter near Grace.
“Grace, is he telling the story right?” Em was pushing for details.
“Yes, I was moved pretty far. It was quite a magical experience to say the least. I could feel the tingling sensation throughout my whole body when he first touched me,” she said giving Zane a knowing glance as he laughed getting her meaning.
Emily liked this man instantly. He did have a wonderful effect on Grace. She couldn’t remember the last time that Grace was this happy. She was glad that her best friend found someone and connected with him as well as she and Michael did. Finally, Emily thought, Grace had found her soul mate. She could recognize the signs. He was always close and always giving her supportive glances and would let his gaze linger longer than absolutely necessary as if not to miss a minute of her company because a minute would be far too long. Yes, she concluded, Grace was very much in love.
Michael came out of the study as they started the dishwasher and they all went into the living room. Emily brought the girl’s current favorite princess movie and started it up to keep them occupied. They all watched as the children started waltzing around the room with Jacob playing the part of the handsome young prince. They danced around the room with him, the princesses clearly leading him around. Grace knew that Jacob would follow his sisters in whatever activity or adventure they went on anytime of the day.
Zane sat on the floor with his long legs stretched out in front of him, resting his back on the comfy arm chair that Gracie was sitting in. He had his arm over her lap and was gently stroking the palm of her hand with his thumb. Grace was embarrassed when Michael and Emily told stories of Grace in her prime. They did not hold back either. Zane was asking questions and actively involved in the banter but supportive of his new wife all the same. This went on for quite a while until the kids started to get tired and were falling asleep where ever they lay on the floor. Jacob climbed into Michael’s lap and quickly fell asleep in his arms.
With Jacob curled in his lap, Michael asked Zane
, “So Zane, are you looking forward to starting a family soon? My kids are in need of cousins.” It appeared that he was warming to her new husband’s presence but Gracie knew that the test was not over. There was no one on Earth that would fully be acceptable for Grace in his eyes. She was after all, the closest equivalent to a sister.
Emily instantly recognized where this line of questioning was going and got up out of the sofa to save Zane from Michael’s tireless inquisition. She went to pick Jacob out of Michael’s arms. “I think it is time we load up the car and take these kids home to their beds.” She yawned, politely covering her mouth with her hand, “I could sure use some sleep. Besides, the newlyweds need their time alone.” She winked in Gracie’s direction.
Grace was starting to get nervous. It had been a long time since she had been intimate with a man. It never really ended well for her. Either they got physical too soon or they spent so much time getting to know one another that when the time for sex came, she felt unfulfilled and empty somehow.
Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) Page 16