Chapter and Verse (31 page)

I dumped his eggs on a plate and added bacon and toast.  I tossed the plate in front of him and moved to leave the room.  He picked up his plate and started to follow me, before I turned on him and he froze.

“
You.  Sit.  Eat your breakfast and leave me alone for a little while.  I need to think.”

He sat back down but picked up his juice and reached out to me.  I took the juice, sipped, then narrowed my eyes.  He started picking at his food.

“
You’re not thinking about breaking up with me are you?”

I threw my head back and counted to ten.  When I looked back up, he was staring at me with big eyes and I crumbled.

I walked back to him until I was standing between his legs, then I kissed him.  He liked that so I kissed him again and brushed a lock of his black hair from his forehead.

“
Deacon, baby, there will be times when I want to rip off your head and use it for a candy dish.  But I won’t.  Know why?”

“
No idea.”

“
I love you Deacon and I’m not really a violent person.  Oh I contemplate and threaten violence, but I’d never hurt you, because I love you.  I won’t break up with you, because I love you.  I’ll marry you, because...”

I trailed off, letting him finish the sentence.

“
...you love me?”

“
Good boy.  Now sit here and eat your breakfast good boy.  I need to go in the den and convince my sister that she can put together a wedding dress in a week.  Then I’m going to call my parents and try to explain to them why they’re not going to be able to spend lavish amounts of money on the wedding they’ve been planning since I turned six and why the wedding I AM having, has to take place next week.”

Deacon took a bite of his toast and shrugged, putting the toast to my mouth.  I took a bite and he handed me the juice.

“
Tell them about the baby Dor’.  Things will move pretty fast then.  Watch and see.”

“
Deacon, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but there’s an excellent chance that we’re not pregnant.”

“
Okay, let’s say that you’re right.  What would you like to bet that we are by next week?”

He waggled his eyebrows and I took a step back.

“
I wasn’t sure until now, but now I’m positive.  Deacon Sloan, you’re insane.  I’m not trying to get pregnant with you.”

“
Good thing we’re already pregnant then.  Save’s us from trying.”

I turned and walked toward the den shaking my head, his voice following me down the hall.

“
We may as well have all the wild monkey sex now Dor’.  You’ll be as big as my jeep soon and we’ll have to get creative with positions.  Dor’?  Are you listening to me babe?  Dor’?”

I closed the door to the den and softly beat my head against it.  I couldn’t make up my mind if he was cute or infuriating.  This was yet another reason why he was so good at what he did.  The man was relentless when he put his mind to something.  He was determined we were getting married, so there was now a ring on my finger.  He’d decided we were having a baby, so he tricked me into unprotected sex and he already had it named.  I was caught in the vortex that was Deacon Sloan.  All I could do was grab onto something and wait until the wind died down.

“
Dorothy, let me get my head wrapped around this a minute.  You’ve been alone with him how long now?”

My sister was yanking my chain and I knew it.  She also had me over a barrel and there was nothing I could do but smile and take it.

“
A little over twenty-four hours.”

“
Twenty-four hours and you’ve got a ring on your finger.  That man must have a wicked...”

“
Not going there Mel’.  A discussion of my fiance’s anatomy is not on the table.”

“
You want me to design and produce a to-die-for wedding ensemble in less than a week, but you won’t tell me the good stuff?  Come on!  Maybe voodoo penis’ run in the family.  This might be a need-to-know thing.”

“
I cannot believe you just said penis.”

“
What?  I could call it something else if you like...”

“
I don’t want you to call it anything.  I’d prefer we didn’t name it.”

“
I bet he’s named it.  Men are goofy like that.  They name their cars, boats, penis’, anything they’re attached to.”

“
Can we stop talking about his appendage and get back on track?  Can you do this or not?”

“
What’s the rush?”

She had me.  I still didn’t have a logical reason that I could give her and I refused to tell her that Deacon thought I was pregnant.

“
Dor’?  Can you hang on just a minute, I’ve got another call coming in and it could be important.  I’ll be right back.”

She put me on hold and I was listening to Pat Benatar singing about love being a battlefield.  Fate had an interesting sense of humor this morning.  I couldn’t wait to see what Karma had in store.  A few minutes later she came back.

“
You didn’t tell me you were pregnant.”

I gasped and looked around.  I was still alone.

“
What?  Where the hell did you get THAT idea?”

“
Anton.  Deacon just called to give him the good news.  How come I didn’t get the good news?  Why did I have to hear it from Anton?”

I raked my hand down my face.  This was NOT happening to me.  My next thought was, who else was he calling out there?

“
Mel’, Anton is mistaken and my fiance is crazy.”

“
You may as well tell me everything Dorothy.  If you don’t, he will.  Mom and dad will be pleased to know you’re naming the baby after them, but I expect an honorable mention on the next one.  I AM your only sister and dress designer.  What is that sound?”

“
It’s me pounding my head against the door again.”

“
Well stop that.  It might be bad for the baby.”

“
For the love of god, there is no baby.”

“
Well Anton says there is.”

“
Oh, and Anton is a gynecologist now?  Melody, listen to me.  Please.  Deacon tricked me into having unprotected sex last night.  That’s when he proposed.  This morning, I discovered our lapse in judgement and he told me I was pregnant.  I asked him how he was so certain of that, and he said he had good swimmers and I should accept it.  Then he started in with the baby names.  We had sex once Mel’.  Once.”

“
Did you take the Health class in High School?”

“
Of course I did.  It was mandatory.  Why?”

“
Then you know that you can get pregnant after one time.  Your poor neglected eggs probably latched on to Deacon’s swimmers and went for multiple births.  You could be having twins.  You don’t know.  Grandma was a twin you know.”

“
Am I surrounded by loonies and psychics?  I am NOT pregnant!”

“
Dorothy calm down.  Your blood pressure will go up and that’s not good for the baby either.  We’re gonna have to watch you.”

“
Can we talk about the dress please?”

“
We can, but ignoring the baby won’t make it go away.  I hope you come to terms with it soon.  We’ve got planning to do.  Anton said it’ll be here in May.”

“
Anton is an asshat that believes everything his brother says.”

“
Deacon should know Dorothy.  He was there.”

“
So was I, but that seems to carry very little weight with you people.  The dress Mel’.”

“
Do you want silk, satin, or lace?  Long or short?  White, ecru, or ivory?”

“
Silk, tea length, ivory.  No veil.  We’ll do something creative with my hair.  Pumps, not stilettos and I’ll need help with the flowers too.”

“
I’ll take care of all of that.  I’ve still got your measurements from Saturday’s dress.  Let me work something up and I’ll call you when it’s ready to try on.  You worry about the venue and our parents.  Oh and Dor’?  I’d leave out the part about the baby.  They’re gonna be upset enough about the wedding.”

I wasn’t even gonna fight her on it.  There are times where the smart thing to do is smile and nod.  So I did.

We hung up five minutes later and I thought it might be prudent to check on Deacon.  It seems he was awfully busy in there while I’d left him unattended.  I crept down the hall and he wasn’t there.  The living room and kitchen were empty.  I started back the way I came and heard his voice coming from the bedroom.

I stood in the doorway, and there he was, seated on the bed with my laptop open while he talked to someone on the phone.  By the sounds of it, he was booking a venue.

“
...no, we’ll take care of the flowers and the reception.  We want something nice, but simple.... That sounds perfect.  Do you have a photographer or should we find our own?.... yes... no... excellent!  We’ll see you a week from Friday then.  Bye.”

He looked up and smiled at me.  I smiled back and tried to look serene.  That was tricky because serenity wasn’t something I was accustomed to.

“
I booked the venue, we’re all set.”

“
Well unbook it.  I’ve changed my mind.”

“
Changed your mind?  You’re not marrying me?”

“
I’m marrying you alright, but not in Vegas.”

He put the laptop down beside him and stood, eyeing me in confusion.

“
Where are we getting married then?”

“
Connecticut.  On a farm.”

He thought about it a minute before his face broke out in a huge grin.

“
Really?  You wanna get married at my folks’ house?”

“
It’s perfect, don’t you think?  It’s secluded and quiet and it’s where this whole thing started, in a way.  I love that house.  Do you think they’ll mind?”

“
Mind?  Are you kidding me?  They’ll be thrilled!  The weather will be perfect if you want to have it outside.  We can have it in the living room if you don’t.”

“
No, outside is good.  Can I ask you a question?”

“
You can ask me anything baby.  I’m your open book.”

“
Glad to hear it.  How many people did you call this morning?”

His eyes circled the room, looking for an escape.  I was blocking his way out so his options were limited.

“
Just a few.  Why?”

“
Because Anton buzzed my sister while we were on the phone to ask her if she knew that I was pregnant.”

“
That betraying rat bastard.  He promised he wouldn’t tell anyone!”

“
So did you Deacon.”

“
No I most certainly did not.  I think I would have remembered that promise if I’d made it.”

“
Who else did you tell?”

“
About what?”

“
Deacon, please don’t stress me out.  It’s bad for the baby.”

He immediately looked alarmed and then his eyes settled on my abdomen.  Hot damn.  I finally had something that might keep him in line.

“
Sit down babe.  You’ve had a long day.”

“
It’s barely ten o’clock.  I’ve been awake two hours Deke, I’m fine.  Who else did you call this morning?”

“
Just Pierce.”

“
That’s it?”

“
I was only alone for half an hour or so.  I had venues to call as well.”

“
Quit telling people we’re pregnant.  Okay?”

“
Can I tell them we’re getting married?”

“
You can tell the world we’re getting married, but wait until we tell our folks first.”

He nodded and smiled and all was right again in his world.

We both had our cell phones in our hands.  The next two calls would be the most important and the air felt oppressive in the room.  It’s not that we thought our parents wouldn’t approve, my father was practically waiting with rice in his hands and his folks were with us last weekend.  None of them would be surprised by the news.

The thing is, my folks wanted the big wedding.  I was their first born daughter and they wanted the organ and the orchids and the country club reception.  It was something they could show off to their friends.  Their daughter the writer had bagged a famous millionaire.  I could see my mother’s friends pea green with envy and her loving every minute of it.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s not that mom is shallow, she’s not.  She just wanted the best for Melody and me.  A wedding at a farm in Connecticut wouldn’t cut it in her eyes.

Deacon took my phone away from me when he saw my hesitation.

“
I’m making both calls.  I should ask your father’s permission anyway.  It’ll soften the blow when I tell him that the wedding is next week.”

“
You don’t know my father.”

“
I know him well enough.  Don’t worry babe, it’ll be fine.”

He called his folks first to make sure it was okay to HAVE a wedding on the farm.  Like he said, they were overjoyed.  His mother demanded to talk to me and I smiled.  That is until she started talking about prenatal vitamins and making Deacon go to Lamaze classes with me.  Anton had been a very busy boy.

Deacon saw me blush and took the phone from me.

“
Mom?  What are you saying to Dorothy?”

*pause and guilty glance in my direction*

“
Anton has a big mouth... yes I’ll make sure she eats right and takes her vitamins... of course I’ll go to classes Mother, it’s my baby too... I know, I know, but it’s a little early for that don’t you think?... alright I’ll ask her.”

He put his hand over the mouthpiece and cleared his throat.

“
They want to redo Dad’s office into a nursery.  Mom wants to know what your colors will be.”

I glared at him and he had the good sense to shrivel a little.

“
Gee Deacon, I’m not sure.  You seem to be able to foretell the future.  Will it be a boy or a girl?”

He blinked a few times before he replied.

“
Boy you’re a nasty piece of work when you’re hungry.  Are you gonna be like this for our whole pregnancy?”

“
Nope.  I’ll perk right up once I bury you in the yard.”

He gave me a quick kiss and went back to his mother.

“
Do it in cream and taupe mom.  Use crayon colors for accents and borders.  That way, we can use whatever color sheets and curtains we want when we know what we’re having.”

Did Deacon just say taupe?

“
We’ll take care of the flowers and I’ll hire a planner to do the decorating and catering.  It’ll be outside if the weather permits.  We’ll set up chairs on the lawn and get married on the porch.  I’m thinking flower garlands around the the railing and eaves.”

Flower garlands?  I lay back on the bed and wondered when our apartment entered the the other dimension.  I took a long look at Deacon as he sat planning our wedding with his mom.  He was such a striking man.  Black hair, gray eyes, a rocking body and fashion sense that rivaled my sister.  He would have been an exceptional gay man, had he been so inclined.  That’s not a dig by the way.  One of the biographies I did was on a famous actor who used the book to come out.  We were still in touch because we hit it off so well.  I had to introduce him to Deacon.  Maybe at the wedding.

While I was thinking about Spencer Cobb, Deacon was ending his phone call.  He sat there watching as my wheels turned before he interrupted.

“
What are you thinkin’ about?”

“
Spencer Cobb.”