“No,” Corrie said, smiling. “It’s your first Valentine’s Day as a couple; you should do something special.”
Bryn protested several times over the next couple days, but on Monday evening she stood before the mirror in her room, surveying herself in the glass.
“You look nice,” Corrie said.
“I look like a stuffed sausage.”
“I think it’s time you broke down and bought some maternity clothes.”
“Ugh!” Bryn grimaced. “That’s romantic.”
“You’re pregnant, honey. And you’re beautiful. Bob thinks so. I think so. Anyone who sees you will think so.”
“Hmmm.” Bryn simply stared at her reflection, trying to smooth the fabric stretched tight across her belly.
“Screw it,” she finally said, pulling the dress over her head. “I’ll wear pants.”
The doorbell rang and Corrie went to answer it. On the porch, Bob stood clutching two bouquets of roses.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said, handing the bouquet of yellow roses to Corrie.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” Corrie held the bouquet to her face and breathed in deeply. “They’re beautiful, Bob. Thank you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Bob asked.
“No,” Corrie said. “I’m just going to kick back and watch a movie.”
“Hey!” Bryn appeared at the top of the stairs wearing jeans and a black tunic.
“Hey, you!” Bob smiled and held out the bunch of red roses. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Bryn kissed him, then handed the bouquet to Corrie.
“I’ll take care of these,” Corrie said. “You guys go have fun.”
After Bob and Bryn left, Corrie filled two vases with water and began arranging the roses. She placed one vase on the dining room table and the other on the coffee table in the living room. Then she sat on the couch and let the tears come. She and Mark had been married seven years today. They should be together, celebrating. Instead, she didn’t even know where he was.
After a while, she rose and walked into the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” she whispered, patting her stomach.
She turned on the television and watched a generic movie until she fell asleep.
At eleven, Corrie was startled awake by the front door. Bryn came in, closing the door softly behind her.
“Hey,” Corrie said. “How was dinner?”
“I didn’t think you’d be up.” Bryn sat down on the recliner. “It was good.”
“Where’s Bob?”
“The boys have school tomorrow.”
Corrie yawned and stretched and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“How was the restaurant?”
“It was good,” Bryn repeated, not meeting her eyes.
“Are you all right?” Corrie asked, watching her carefully.
“Yeah,” Bryn said. “I’m fine.”
“What’s wrong?”
Corrie leaned forward to catch Bryn’s eyes.
Bryn hesitated for a minute, then said softly, “We saw Mark at the restaurant.”
“Oh.” Corrie sat back, waiting.
“He was there with a woman from his office, a redhead,” Bryn continued. “Her name is Paige.”
“Paige?” Corrie nodded slowly. “Paige Chapin. I remember her. She’s only been with the company a couple years.”
“I wasn’t sure if I should tell you,” Bryn said. “Bob said I shouldn’t, but I thought you’d want to know.”
Corrie nodded again. “Paige,” she repeated softly. “Mark took Paige Chapin out for Valentine’s Day.”
She let the notion sink in for a long minute.
“Our anniversary,” she said then. “He took someone out on our anniversary.”
“I’m sorry, Corrie.” Bryn wrung her hands together.
“Did you talk to him?”
“We said hello,” Bryn said. “And he introduced us to his . . . to her.”
“I almost called him earlier,” Corrie said. “I just wanted to hear his voice. I’m glad I didn’t.”
She lay back on the couch, her arm across her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Bryn came to sit on the edge of the couch, her hand on Corrie’s arm.
“I’m okay,” Corrie said. “I mean, I don’t know. . . . Why shouldn’t he be out with someone on Valentine’s Day? We’re getting divorced. I cheated on him. He is obviously moving on.”
“I’m really sorry,” Bryn whispered.
“I’m going to bed now.” Corrie sat up and gave her friend a brief hug. “I’m just really tired.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”
Corrie just shook her head. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Bryn watched her walk to her room and shut the door behind her.
“Damn you, Mark!” she hissed.
She sat a minute, wondering if she should knock on Corrie’s door. Then her eyes fell on the roses on the coffee table and, beside them, Corrie’s cell phone.
Bryn took a deep breath, then picked up the phone and carried it upstairs.
She dialed with shaking fingers, praying that he’d be home.
“Hello?”
“Daniel? It’s Bryn,” she said softly. “Listen, I know Corrie told you not to come out, but I think it might be a good thing for you to come anyway.”
52
The following Saturday, Bryn and Corrie sat in the living room drinking coffee when the doorbell rang.
“Bob?” Corrie asked, looking at Bryn.
“I don’t think so,” Bryn said. “He’s taking the boys roller skating today.”
Corrie rose and walked to the door, pulling her robe closed around her. When she opened the door, she stood absolutely still.
“Daniel?”
“Hey, gorgeous!” Daniel swooped her into a hug, lifting her off her feet.
“What are you doing here?” Corrie pulled away from him.
“I came to see my favorite girls. Are you going to let me in?”
Corrie stepped back so that he could enter the house.
“Hey, Bryn,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re looking huge.”
“Screw you!” Bryn snapped, but she smiled at him.
“You, on the other hand, are positively beautiful.” Daniel kissed Corrie’s forehead. “Pregnancy obviously agrees with you.”
He looked around the tiny living room, crowded with furniture.
“Nice place,” he said.
“We’re still trying to figure out where everything goes,” Bryn said.
“Maybe some of it needs to go to Goodwill?” Daniel laughed. “But it’s a nice house. And how great to have the park right across the street.”
Corrie still stood in the doorway, watching him in silence.
“Why did you come?” she finally asked.
“To see you, to see how you’re doing, to see how the baby is doing. I know you said not to, but this is my daughter, too, Corrie. I wanted to see you, to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”
“Do you want some coffee?” Bryn rose and walked into the kitchen. “Black, right?”
“Thanks,” he called after her.
He turned to look at Corrie. “Aren’t you even going to say hello?”
She smiled at him. “Hello.”
“I brought something for you.” Daniel reached into the bag he was carrying and produced a big heart-shaped box of chocolates. “Happy belated Valentine’s Day,” he said, holding the box toward her.
Corrie felt tears sting her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking the box.
“I brought something for the baby, too!” He pulled another box from the bag, this one gift-wrapped in pink-and-white paper. “Are we still calling her Emmaline?”
Corrie nodded, sinking down onto the couch.
Daniel laid the box in her lap. “Open it,” he commanded.
<
br /> She unwrapped the present and opened the box. Inside she found a tiny pink L.A. Dodgers jersey and an equally tiny Dodgers baseball cap.
“I thought about the Lakers,” he said, “but I figure this is Pacers’ country, so I went with the Dodgers.”
She lifted the small jersey and laid it across her stomach.
“It’s so tiny,” she said. “And cute . . . really cute.”
“Well, it’s her first Valentine’s Day,” he said. “I couldn’t just let that pass by without doing something.”
“How long are you in town?”
“Till Tuesday,” he said. “I fly back Tuesday afternoon.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At Bob’s,” he said, smiling. “I guess he’s finally forgiven me for messing up your life so bad.”
“No, he hasn’t!” Bryn appeared from the kitchen carrying a mug of coffee. “He just can’t ever say no.”
“So you guys are dating now?” Daniel took the cup from her.
“Yeah.”
“Be good to him,” he said.
Bryn just shook her head.
“I’m going to get dressed,” she said. “And then go to the store.”
“I thought we were going to get haircuts this morning.” Corrie watched Bryn walk up the stairs.
“We can do that another day,” Bryn said.
Corrie sat a moment, looking from Bryn’s back to Daniel’s face.
“She knew you were coming, didn’t she?”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “No, of course she didn’t. Not unless Bob told her.”
She stared at him intently for a long minute, then seemed to relax.
“When did you get in?” she asked.
“Just this morning,” he said. “I wanted to see you. I’ve really been missing you.”
“You shouldn’t have come. I asked you not to come.”
“I know,” he said. “But like I said, Corrie, this is my baby, too. I want to be part of her life, even if you won’t let me be part of yours.”
She sighed and leaned back against the couch. “Well, I’m glad to see you,” she admitted.
He grinned at her and sipped his coffee.
“So, what should we do today?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“How about we buy stuff for the nursery?”
Her eyes widened in suspicion again.
“How do you know I need anything for the nursery?”
“Bob said he’d offered you his stuff, since you didn’t bring anything from your old house.”
Corrie shook her head. “Sometimes I think we all know each other too well.”
“Maybe,” he agreed. “But I still think we should buy a crib today. And whatever else you think this baby needs.”
She smiled at him. “Deal.”
Bob came with the boys that evening after their roller skating adventure. He and Daniel assembled the new crib and changing table in the nursery while Corrie and Bryn made stuffed peppers and salad. The boys ran from room to room, supervising.
“Hey!” Daniel called from the bedroom. “We’re done. Come see it.”
Corrie walked into the pale green bedroom, now sporting a white crib and changing table, with a matching chest of drawers. White curtains hung in the window and a pink-and-white rug covered the floor. In the corner, her father’s globe stood beside the closet door.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“It really is,” Bryn agreed.
“Whose room is this?” Cody stood in the doorway.
“This is for my baby,” Corrie said, smiling at him.
“When did you get a baby?”
“I haven’t gotten her yet,” Corrie said. “She’ll come in June.”
“How can you get a baby if you’re not married?”
Corrie’s cheeks flushed red.
“It’s okay, buddy.” Bob lifted Cody onto his shoulders. “There are all kinds of families in the world. Like our family isn’t how it used to be, but we’re still a family, right?”
Cody nodded thoughtfully.
“But you used to be married to Mommy,” he said. “When you got me and Micah.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Bob agreed. “But remember, we talked about this. Sometimes people who aren’t married yet want to be parents. Like Bryn, remember?”
Cody stuck his fingers in his mouth and thought about it for a long minute.
“When are we eating?” he asked.
Corrie’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled at him. “In just a few minutes,” she said. “Why don’t you go wash your hands?”
“Sorry about that.” Bob touched her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” she said, shrugging. “I’m sure he’s not the only one I’ll have to answer about that.”
Bob and Bryn followed the boys from the room, leaving Corrie and Daniel alone.
“Marry me,” he said softly. “Marry me and come to L.A. and you won’t have to do this alone.”
She shook her head.
“The nursery is really beautiful,” she said. “Thank you.”
Then she walked back to the kitchen to toss the salad.
53
The next morning, Daniel was back bearing bagels and cream cheese.
“What are you all dressed up for?” he asked, staring at Corrie’s plum-colored dress with matching pumps.
“Church,” she said.
“Since when do you go to church?”
He put the bagels on the kitchen counter and poured himself some coffee.
“Since I got engaged to Mark,” she said.
“You don’t go to the same church he does, do you?”
She shook her head. “I go to St. Luke’s now. Mark still belongs to Holy Spirit.”
“Skip it today.”
She shook her head.
“Come on, I’m only in town until Tuesday. You can go to church any Sunday. Skip it and I’ll make you breakfast.”
“You can make breakfast for Bryn.”
“As delightful as that sounds, I didn’t come to make breakfast for Bryn. I came to spend time with you.”
“Well, I am going to church.” She snapped her purse closed and pulled on a coat.
“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll go with you.”
She stopped and stared at him. “You don’t go to church.”
“How do you know?” He grinned at her. “Maybe I go to church every week. Or maybe I go to a Hindu temple.”
She stood a minute, just watching him. “I’d really rather you didn’t come.”
He feigned a hurt expression. “Well, that’s really . . . Christian of you! Denying me the opportunity to find God and get myself saved.”
She cocked her head. “And this is exactly why I’d rather you didn’t come. You don’t take faith seriously, Daniel, but I do. I go to church to pray and have some quiet time to think and listen for God. I don’t want to have to sit and worry about you doing something stupid.”
“I’ll be good,” he said, pulling his jacket back on. “I mean it. I promise I’ll be good.”
Corrie sighed and shook her head.
“God help us both,” she whispered.
True to his word, Daniel did behave in church. He knelt when she knelt and rose when she rose. He sang hymns, sharing a hymnal with her. He bowed his head during prayers. He even got up to receive communion, before Corrie pulled him back down and explained that he needed to stay put.
After the service, Corrie stopped to speak with several people, including the priest.
“How are you, Father?” she asked, shaking his hand.
“Just fine, Corrie. How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Who is this?” Father Martin smiled at Daniel.
“This is my friend Daniel. He’s visiting from California.”
Corrie paused, tense, waiting for Daniel to make a flippant remark about being her baby daddy, but he only shook the priest’s hand and said how much he had enjoyed the service.
In the car, Corrie finally allowed herself to relax. She sighed deeply.
“You really do take it seriously, don’t you?” Daniel was watching her thoughtfully.
“I told you I do.”
“I guess I just never pictured you as a church lady,” he said. “No, I’m not making fun of you!” He held up one hand to stop her reproach. “I’m not making fun. I’m impressed, actually.”
She glanced at him briefly, waiting for the punch line. Daniel simply smiled.
“Seriously, Corrie,” he said, “I’m glad you have a community. I may not believe in God, but I do believe in community. That’s what I’m trying to build at the center. So many people are just so alone these days, especially in a city like Los Angeles. That’s why so many kids get drawn into gangs; they’re looking for family, for community. So, if you’ve found a community in the church, that’s a good thing. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’m still getting settled in at St. Luke’s. I’ve only been coming for the last couple months. Holy Spirit is my home . . . was my home.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I really did screw up your life, didn’t I?”
“Well, you had company,” she said, smiling ruefully. “It takes two to tango.”
“Yeah, but I think you’d have come home unscathed if I hadn’t pushed you so hard.”
She shook her head, feeling her eyes burn.
“I’m starving,” she said, turning onto her street. “How ’bout you make me that breakfast?”
So Daniel made an omelet while Corrie toasted bagels. They sat together quietly for a while.
“You really are a good cook,” she said, finishing her eggs.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he said. “I told you, I’ve been on my own a long time. I had to learn to cook, because I got sick of fast food.”
“I want to have the baby baptized.” She said it quickly, relieved to put the idea on the table.
“I figured,” he said, laying aside his napkin.
“And?” She watched him, twisting her own napkin into a knot.
“And, okay,” he said.
“Really? You don’t have a problem with that?”
“I told you, Corrie, I believe in community. If you have a good community to raise our daughter in, then I’m glad of it.”
The Weight of Small Things Page 28