by Lori Leger
After a few minutes of puttering in the kitchen, Ellen sat next to her daughter. “I think I’ll vacuum and mop your floors today.”
“You don’t have to do that, Mom. They’re still clean from the last time. There’s hardly any foot traffic in here.”
“You obviously haven’t been in the kitchen, lately.”
“Not since Zach left this morning. Did he leave a mess? He was expecting a big delivery today and was kind of in a rush.” Her mother’s bland expression made her worry. “What?”
“It’s—nothing. I’ll just mop the kitchen floor.”
“Stop. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and talk to me.” She waited until her mom situated herself next to her on the couch.
Ellen set her coffee mug on the end table and reached out with both hands to cup Cat’s significant belly. “How are my two babies? Maw Maw loves you both.” She spoke to the mass of taut skin stretched over Cat’s baby belly.
Cat considered her mom’s previous behavior. “What’s bothering you?”
Ellen waved off her question. “What? Nothing’s bothering me. Why would you ask that?”
“You should know by now you can’t hide anything from me. Now, spit it out.”
“I just wish I knew when these babies were coming.”
“Don’t we all? Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Ellen’s entire visage seemed to deflate before Cat’s eyes. “Gavin surprised me with an Alaskan cruise package.”
Cat gasped in delight. “You’ve always wanted to do that, Mom. Why are you so upset?”
“We’d have to fly out to Seattle in two days and we’d be gone for eleven days.”
“That’s great. You’re always saying the best vacations are the ones that aren’t planned, but happen spur of the moment.”
“What if you go into labor while I’m gone?”
“I won’t. I promise we’ll wait for you and Pops to get back home.”
“You can’t make a promise like that, Cathryn. Those babies will come when they darn well want to.”
“You’re right, they will …”
“And I want to be here when they do.”
“Mom—just go. Go, and have a wonderful time. It’s not like you’ll be completely out of touch with us. We’ll talk daily and I’ll let you know what’s happening—every twinge, every single cramp.”
“But—”
“No, call your husband right now and tell him you’re going. Yes, I would like for you to be around when my babies are born, but if worse comes to worse, the only person I’ll absolutely need is Zachary. Trust me when I tell you, that man isn’t going anywhere.”
“Are you sure? The timing seems so … off, somehow.”
Cat gave her mother an impatient huff and picked up her phone. She hit the first number on her speed dial list and waited. “Poppa Doc, this is Cat. Have you booked that flight to Seattle yet?”
“Yes, but your mom was so upset I’m considering rescheduling for the end of the season, in June.”
“Don’t you dare re-schedule. Is the flight direct from Houston to Seattle?”
“We’re catching a puddle jumper from Lake Coburn to Houston, then on to Seattle. It’s so much more convenient to get our luggage checked in at the smaller airport.”
“I agree. Don’t change a thing. She’ll be on it with you, I guarantee.”
“Thanks, Cat. I’ve spoken to Doctor Brown and tried to reassure her, but she wasn’t having any of it. I guess she had to hear it directly from you. I’ve had this flight and cruise booked since our wedding back in December.”
Cathryn laughed at the angst in her stepdad’s voice. “You’re cutting it close but this is entirely doable. I’m determined nothing will happen with this pregnancy while you’re on your trip.”
Her stepdad chuckled over the phone. “I know exactly where you get that determination of yours—from your mother.”
Cathryn smiled at Ellen. “I believe you’re right. You two have loads of fun. Don’t you let her spend one minute worrying about us—we’ll be perfectly fine. I love you, Pops. And thanks for making one more of mom’s dreams come true.”
“Well—she makes mine come true every day we’re together. I love you too, Cat.”
She disconnected and used the phone to point at her mother. “Take lots of pictures and video, do you hear me? Honestly, I’m so jealous.”
“Oh, Cat …” Ellen covered her face and burst into tears.
Cat hugged her tightly. “Stop, or you’re going to make me cry, too.” She yanked a tissue from the box on the end table and handed it to the woman beside her.
Ellen wiped her eyes and sniffled into the tissue. “It’s just that sometimes I feel as though things are going so well in my life, it can’t last. You know what I mean?”
Cat leveled a serious gaze on her mother, and then straight out lied to her. “Not really.”
Ellen lifted one hand and let it fall limply into her lap. “The last time I was this satisfied with my life, this happy with the way things were panning out …” Her voice, already warbled with tears, cracked as her speech faltered.
“Dad died, right?” Cat sucked up her own undeniable feelings of dread as her mother’s face crumbled into a teary mess. She let her cry, thanking God for giving her some semblance of strength to help her mother through this. “Please tell me you aren’t feeling guilty for being so happy with Doc Barton. Dad would want you to be happy.”
“I don’t know, maybe, but it’s more than that. It’s just … it scares me sometimes. I want you all to be safe and protected from all harm, and as happy as you can be.”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed, mom. We know that. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you, it’s that whatever is meant to happen in our lives, will happen. We have to believe that whatever happens, good or bad, we’ll get through it. Our faith, our family, our friends, will all join forces to make that happen. Allow yourself to be happy, Mom. Kellie and I are fine.”
Ellen placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “How’d you get so wise?”
“I learned from the best teacher ever—my beautiful mother.” She pulled her close for a big hug. “Now I think you should go home. You’ve got some packing to do.” She raised a hand to stop her mother’s protests. “I don’t need a thing. Zac takes care of everything before he leaves. Go. But you and Pop come back for supper for some beef stew.”
Ellen nodded. “Okay, but if you need anything, I’m a phone call away.”
Cathryn nodded and watched her mother leave through the door she’d recently come through.
Things are going so well in my life, it can’t last.
She’d told her mom she didn’t know that feeling, but God, did she ever. Every time she looked at herself in the mirror and Zach’s reflection appeared beside her, she had that same feeling. Every time she felt her babies kick, press against her side, or on her bladder, she had the feeling. As though her world revolved around her husband and her babies, and if anything happened to any of them, she wouldn’t survive.
She grabbed another tissue from the box, and sniffled into it before wiping her eyes. Hormones—raging, pregnant woman hormones were to blame for this. “Stop Cat. Just stop,” she blubbered, as Chableu approached his mistress, clearly concerned and purring up a blue streak.
How many times had she lain in bed at night thinking those very same words her mother had dared to speak? Could things in her life possibly get too good? After all, what had she ever done to be this kind of happy? She placed her hands on her belly, one on each side. Pressed gently on what could be the head of one twin, and the bottom of the other. Could she keep her babies safely in her womb? Could she avoid giving birth long enough to keep them out of danger? God, she hoped so.
She crumbled suddenly, filled with a heaviness of heart—an acute sense of loss and loneliness. For her father, whose wife had to learn to live without him. For her children, as well as Kellie’s, who would never know the love of the man who’d rais
ed them with such warmth, and understanding—allowing them to grow into the strong, secure women they were today. Even though they had Mr. John, Zach’s dad, and Pops, as she’d taken to calling Doc Barton, they’d never know her dad, and it hurt.
She hurt for Zach, who had to be feeling the loss of his own mother right now. She wondered if either of her children would have his mother’s fair complexion or green eyes.
“Oh God, enough already,” she scolded herself, even as she heard the telltale scuffle at the door.
“Are you talking to me, sis?”
She turned to see her sister standing in the doorway, infant carrier in one hand, Diana’s chubby toddler hand in the other. Just as suddenly as it arrived, the heaviness lifted, like a dense fog that had no choice but dissipate in the presence of warmth and sunshine. Silently she thanked whoever was responsible for sending Kellie and her babies to brighten her day.
Diana chortled and walked toward her, taking several unsteady steps in Velcro strapped sandals decorated with sparkly daffodils. Cathryn had no choice but to smile. Sadness has no place in the presence of such joy.
Kellie set down the carrier and lifted her six week old son from the seat. “I think Auntie Cat has a case of the blues, kids. It looks like we got here just in the nick of time.”
Cat accepted her nephew greedily and cradled him in her arms. “Girl, you have no idea.”
Chapter 19
May 22nd – 34 weeks
T minus 43 days and counting
Zach brought his wife a tall glass of iced raspberry tea. “Have you heard from your mom today?”
“Thanks sweetie.” Cat took a sip. “Mmm, that’s delicious.” She picked up her phone and scrolled to the text her mother had sent her earlier, along with several shots of Alaska. “They took the Mendenhall Glacier tour today, did some whale watching, and then rode a train through Mendenhall Valley. She says it’s every bit as beautiful and impressive as she’d always heard.” She handed the phone to Zach and he flipped through the shots, whistling under his breath.
“That is really something. How about it, babe? You want to go to Alaska one day?”
Her nose wrinkled in distaste. “I’m sure it’s a fabulous cruise, but I’d much prefer something more tropical, like Hawaii. I’ll take the sand and sea any day over snow and glaciers.” She patted her belly and gave a slightly hysterical snort. “And who needs to go to Alaska for whale watching when you can do it right here from the comfort of your own living room.”
Zach placed her feet gently in his lap and began massaging them. “By the time we go, that baby bump will be long gone, and you’ll look as good in a bikini as you ever did.”
“Humph … the bump may be gone, but not forgotten.”
“You know, if you ever decide to switch to a one piece, it won’t hurt my feelings one little bit. I’d just as soon not have every man on the beach gawking at my gorgeous wife.”
“I may not have a choice. By the time I’m done, I’ll only be fit for one of those mu-mu’s my great-grandma used to wear. Look at me, Zach. I’m huge.”
“Just remember, Cat. The bigger you get, the more our babies will weigh. Personally, I hope you get even bigger. Anybody can look at you and tell your belly is all baby. Where are you going now?”
“I’ve got to go pee.”
“You just went.”
“I drank something since then. I have to go again.”
“Let me carry you. You shouldn’t be on your feet.” He leaned over to lift her.
Cat pushed his hands away. “You are not carrying me to the bathroom. I have to move every now and then to keep my back from hurting.”
He helped her up and walked her to the bathroom, and then back to the couch when she was done. “You know, babe, from behind you don’t even look pregnant.”
She gave an audible snort. “I find that hard to believe. I can practically feel my butt getting wider.”
Zach stood behind her, looped his arms around to encompass her—all of her—belly and all. “Cathryn Jade, you’re always beautiful to me, but now, carrying our children—you’re breathtaking.” He lowered his face into the crook of her neck, and breathed her into him. “Don’t you know that?”
She let her head fall back against his chest. “I guess I do now.”
“Here, sit. I’ve got something for you.”
She clapped her hands. “I love surprises!”
His heart swelled with love for his precious wife. “Yeah, I kind of already know that about you.”
“Uh huh—like this Mother’s Day gift I didn’t expect.” She touched the exquisite watch on her wrist. “But I adore it.”
“I know you do, but I kept asking if there was anything you wanted specifically, and you kept saying—”
“I already have everything I wanted. And that’s the truth.”
Zach reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a black velvet box with a hinged lid. “That may have been true at the time, but not once you’ve seen this.” She opened the box slowly and gasped. Zach’s heart swelled as his wife’s eyes glittered with delight.
“Oh my God, Zach, this is exquisite.” She lifted the box to better observe the glimmering effect of the diamond in motion—a clustered circle pendant of diamonds with a center circular diamond that spun to and fro, always in motion and catching the light. “How did you know?”
“I walked in on you the other day, and I saw you close down the site. I checked the history on your laptop.” He grabbed a tissue and kneeled before her to wipe the tears gently from her cheeks.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know. I was just curious about them. It didn’t mean I had to have one.”
He gave her a shrug and reached for the box. “I can always return it.”
She snatched it from his reach. “Not after you went through all that trouble to spy on my browsing history.”
“It was a means to an end.” He raised his hands and dropped them. “Guilty, as charged. I’m ready for my sentencing.”
Cat pushed out her lower lip. “Poor you, I sentence you to life.”
He frowned. “Where?”
She looped her arm around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss. “Right here with me, Zack-attack. Are you going to ask for a retrial? Or maybe plan an appeal?”
He removed the pendant from its box. “Hm. A retrial? I think not. Maybe I could appeal, but only to your good nature. Be gentle with me.”
“Oh, I’ll have to be considering the circumstances. But you just wait until our sentence of celibacy is over. I can promise I’ll be anything but gentle with you.”
Zach’s eyes rolled back in his head at the thought. “Oh. God. I can’t wait.”
Chapter 20
May 29th – 35 weeks
T minus 36 days and counting
“Oh. My. God. Cat-astrophe has truly let herself go.” Cathryn stiffened at the heartless comment, knowing the speaker immediately.
“Cat … Girlfriend, when did you get so huge?”
Girlfriend? Jeri Young DeVillier? Since … never. Cat would have recognized that irritating nasal tone of her high school nemesis anywhere. She’d seen her in the store earlier, and pleaded with Zach to push the wheelchair he’d confiscated for their “outing” as far away from her as possible. She had no desire to face anyone wearing size three jeans. Particularly someone who’d claimed superiority over the rest of the human race throughout four years of high school. Hindsight being what it was, it hadn’t helped that Jeri had spent most of that time throwing herself at Zach. Apparently, the woman still had the same high opinion of herself.
Cat had to wonder if she plowed down the woman with her wheelchair, would anyone really give a damn?
She retracted her claws, and pasted on a smile, so artificially sweet it made her teeth hurt. “Why, thanks so much for noticing, Jeri. Yes, it started approximately eight months ago with a little condition called pregnancy.”
“Oh, you’re en famille …” The pixie-haired blonde’s mo
uth puckered in distaste. “I didn’t realize.”
“Sure you didn’t.”
“But sweetie, I’ve had children, two of them, and I never got that huge.”
“Unless you popped them out at the same time, I’m not surprised. I’m having twins.”
“Twins? Oh, well … yes, I guess you could use that as an excuse.”
Heat emanated from Cat’s face and ears. Her blood pressure had jumped through the roof.
“But twins are usually so small. Surely those two tiny little things aren’t taking up that much room. I bet you’ll be stuck with a good fifty pounds of extra baby weight.”
“That’d be difficult since I’ve only gained twenty-nine pounds.” Twenty-nine and a half, but who’s counting?
The corners of Jeri’s mouth pulled down in a frown. “Really? I guess I hadn’t seen you since you moved back to town. You must have put on some weight since high school.” Jeri clucked her tongue as she stared down at her. “Poor Zachary.”
Cat felt her claws lengthening—itching to scratch Jeri’s eyes right out of her uppity, snobbish little head. “You know what you could do to make my day?”
“What’s that, honey? Call a tow truck to get you back into your car?”
“You could kiss my big ole pregnant a—”
“Excuse us!” Zach rounded the corner, just in time to keep from having to peel his pregnant wife off the pitiful excuse for a lady.
“Zachary, you’re looking as handsome and fit as ever.” Her voice lowered to conspiratorial whisper. “I’m glad one of you has had the decency to keep yourself up.”
“Jeri,” he nodded at the blonde. “How’s that raging case of chlamydia? Did you ever get that cleared up?”
Cat’s laughter came in the form of snorts, as her husband rolled her away from the encounter, leaving Jeri coughing and sputtering like an old car. She reached up to grab onto his arms. “Well done, babe!”
“I thought so.”