She easily fell into conversation with them all, but whenever Rick tried to join in, she and the rest ignored him. He tried to hold her hand, but she pulled away and sat beside one of her friends. Rick tried to sit on her other side, but someone else quickly took the spot. He felt like the last person standing after a game of musical chairs, and he started to think he might be an ghost.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rick spotted a shooting star. He turned his head to catch it, and several more rewarded him. Wishes flooded his mind, all of them involving Shelby. As he watched, more and more stars began to fall. He called to Beth and told her to look to the sky, but she still ignored him. As he watched, the moon itself fell. Fear replaced his amazement. It couldn’t be good for the moon to fall. He took a few steps to test the gravity around him and found nothing had changed. He yelled to the group sitting around the ring, warning them that something strange was going on and that maybe they should consider doing something or warning others, but still they ignored him.
In a flash, it was daylight, and he was suddenly standing on the sidewalk by the chapel under the rocks. He looked around to find Shelby climbing one of the tall rocks jutting out from the sea. Relief at finding her there filled him.
“Watch this,” she called. “I’m going to do a flip!”
As she leapt into the air, Rick called out to her, “I love you –”
She performed a perfect flip in the air and disappeared into the water. Rick waited for her to surface, but it was Beth who broke through. When she caught her breath, she called back to him, “I love you too!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I don’t know Ricky, looks like this game is going into overtime,” Devon said, shaking his head. “You’re woman’s gonna be pissed.”
“She’s lying down, so it’ll be fine. Why do you guys act like she’s some controlling, psycho bitch anyway? She’s not.” Rick said, wincing at tackle on TV that looked particularly painful. “Besides, Chicago is gonna score in a minute anyway, you watch.”
“They don’t have a minute,” said Randy as he rose and headed for the kitchen. “I’m gonna grab another piece of pumpkin pie. Anybody want anything?”
“I’ll take another beer,” Devon said.
Rick and Keith both shook their heads. “You better hurry, it’s gonna be a back on,” Rick called after him.
“So what’s wrong with her?” Devon asked, bouncing Elijah on his lap and looking towards the second level and the bedrooms.
“I don’t know, she hasn’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks. I keep telling her to go to the doctor, but then she feels fine again and blows it off.”
Devon nodded and thought for a moment. “She’s not pregnant is she?”
Randy returned with his pie and Devon’s beer. “Who’s pregnant?”
“Beth,” Keith answered.
“She’s not pregnant, and would you guys keep your voices down?” he said, looking around to make sure no one had followed Randy from the kitchen.
“How do you know?” Devon asked.
“She’s on the pill.”
Devon nodded and turned his attention back to the game. “Ten seconds…this game is going into overtime. What did I tell you?”
As the clock ran out, Rick stood and headed for the kitchen. “Fine, in that case I will have another beer.”
Julia and Morgan were deep in conversation when he entered the room, but grew quiet when they saw him. Rick continued to the refrigerator, aware he’d interrupted something. He watched them, and saw Morgan fanning herself with a stack of pictures Beth had given her – subject matter to paint.
“For some reason, my ears are burning,” he said, opening his beer. They both gave him a funny look and started giggling. “You were. You guys were talking about me, weren’t you?”
“No Ricky, we’re talking about family, friends, and how great it is that we can all get together to celebrate like this,” Julia said. Morgan burst out laughing again, and her fan of pictures dropped to the floor. “Don’t worry about her,” Julia said, bending over to help retrieve the photos, “she’s had too much Thanksgiving wine.”
Rick nodded in feigned understanding and left the room, but he knew he had interrupted something to do with him. He reclaimed his seat on the couch as the teams lined up for the kickoff.
“Just in time,” Devon said.
Detroit kicked the ball and the two teams ran down the field. The Bear’s kick returner caught the ball and started running back up the field. He dodged and broke one tackle after another.
Randy jumped up, still holding his pie and yelling, “Stop him you morons! Somebody, anybody!”
Devon laughed in excitement. “I don’t know buddy, looks like he’s going all the way.”
“No!” Randy cried as the player escaped the pursuing Lions and crossed the goal line. Elijah, startled by the outburst, began to cry. Devon gave Randy a dirty look and held the baby close to his chest.
“Well, that wasn’t even worth getting another beer,” Rick said.
Randy slumped back into the couch, set his pie down, and dropped his head into his hands. By now, Devon was standing and rocking back and forth with Elijah. The rhythmic motion soothed and his crying stopped. “Well Mr. Young, do I need to remind you how to spell my name for the check?”
“Check? Hell, I want mine in cash,” Rick said.
“Me too,” Keith agreed.
Randy peeked back up at the television briefly, but returned his face into his hands.
“No flags, no nothing, it’s over buddy,” Keith said.
“Alright, I’m gonna go wake Beth up, and we’re gonna head out,” Rick said, taking one last swig of his beer before heading to the stairs.
He found her on Devon and Julia’s bed, sound asleep. He sat beside her and gently rubbed her arm. When she opened her eyes, Rick smiled. “Hey babe, you feeling any better?”
“Is the game over?”
“Yeah, you ready to go?”
She nodded and slowly sat up. Blinking her eyes a few times, she stood up but wobbled a little. Rick grabbed her arm to steady her. Once she had her balance, she started for the door, but before she made it, she stopped.
“Are you okay?”
She held up her hand. “Just give me a minute.” She turned around and made a dash for the bathroom. Rick followed her, but stopped at the door and watched as she wretched into the toilet. He suddenly felt a little nauseous himself. Rick wetted a washcloth from the sink and held it to the back of her neck.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “I’m okay.” She took the washcloth and held it to her face. Slowly rising, she wiped her mouth and went to the sink for a drink as Rick flushed for her.
“Okay,” she laughed half-heartedly. “Shall we try that again?” Rick followed as she made her way downstairs. They said their goodbyes, and when Rick leaned over to kiss a contented Elijah in Devon’s arms, Devon asked, “You okay? You look as pale as she does.”
Rick looked at him briefly and whispered, “I think you may be right.” He nodded towards Beth who was hugging Morgan.
Devon’s eyes widened slightly, but all he said was, “You drive careful, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”
~
The ride home was a quiet one. Rick did his best to focus on the road while sorting through his muddled thoughts. The idea of fatherhood didn’t scare him that much, he was amazed and in awe of Devon and Elijah. However, the thought of being forever attached to Beth through the bonds of parenthood concerned him. At times, he thought maybe he was in love with her, but when he compared his feelings for her to those from his past, he knew he was not. He waited for it to happen, knowing she was an amazing woman and aware of the difference she made in his life.
I just need more time. There is no reason I shouldn’t love her
.
“You’re very quiet,” she finally said. “Did the Bears lose?”
Rick pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in
park
, killed the ignition, and turned to Beth. “Are you pregnant?” He could tell the question and his directness caught her off guard.
She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I don’t know. I think I might be.”
“Were you going to tell me?” He remembered Julia and Morgan’s hushed conversation when he had entered the kitchen. “Why does everyone seem to know but me?”
“‘Everyone’ doesn’t know – I don’t even know for sure.” She looked up at him. “I just asked Julia some questions about it, so I’d have more information.”
“Have you been to the doctor?”
“No. I’m going to call and make an appointment tomorrow.”
“Are you late?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“How much is a little?”
“A couple of weeks. I don’t like the way you sound Ricky. You’re mad, aren’t you?”
“I’m not mad, I’m just really surprised, I mean, I thought you were on the pill?”
She didn’t answer right away, and started to bite at her nails. He stared at her expectantly. “I am,” she said finally, “but I think I may have forgotten to take them for a couple of days.”
Though they were not moving, Rick grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and locked his arms as though they were about to wreck. Gripping it tightly, he repeated her last sentence to her.
Between clenched teeth, she told him, “You know what? Just don’t even worry about it! If I am, it’s my problem, not yours. You can just carry on with your life, and I’ll carry on with mine, without you.”
He relaxed his grip on the wheel and took a few deep breaths. Letting go, he turned to her and took her hand. “Don’t be like that. You know I wouldn’t leave you to deal with this on your own. I’m just really surprised by all this.” He pulled her close and kissed her. “I’m not sure we’re ready for this, but I’m smart enough to know that most people never are. If you are, then you are, and we’ll figure out what to do about it.”
“What to do about it?” she pulled away. “I’m not having an abortion, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
His heart sank a little, but he said, “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Rick sighed. “I meant, figure out what to do, as in getting married. If we’re going to have a baby, we should probably get married.”
Though she tried to hide a smile, Rick saw her elation and the flush in her cheeks. “A night wedding on the lake would be perfect. Or, or we could book Stonewall’s Plaza in the spring… Should we do it before or after the baby comes?” Rick felt short of breath. “We don’t
have
to get married,” she added, possibly sensing his panic. “It is the eighties after all, it’s not like I’ll be shunned for having a kid out of wedlock.”
Once he slowed his breathing, he said, “No, you wouldn’t…well, except for Randy. He’d shun you, I’m almost sure of it.”
She laughed as he started the car and pulled back onto the highway. Turning in her seat to face him, she said, “I am sorry Ricky. I didn’t want this to happen, and I feel really stupid…about the pills.”
“I know,” he reached over to squeeze her knee. “We’ll figure it out.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“So what did your dad say?” Rick asked as Beth straddled him on the couch.
“Exactly what I expected him to say, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe my little girl is getting married,’” she mocked. “Of course, he and mom both wanted a date.” She wrapped her arms around him and touched her nose to his.
“And what did you tell them?”
“Just that we hadn’t settled on one yet, and I told them as soon as we had, I would let them know.”
Rick ran his hands up the back of her shirt as she spoke, making her giggle and squirm. “And your sister?”
“She had the same question, but she was more interested in my due date than the wedding,” she said, planting a kiss on his forehead.
“That surprises me.”
“Why?”
“I would think her biggest concern would be whether or not you’d ask her to be a bridesmaid.”
“Well, I did, so she didn’t even get a chance to ask.” She sat back and observed him carefully. “Isn’t there anyone you want to call?”
“The guys already know, Julia and Morgan helped me pick out your rock.” He took her ring-adorned hand in his and kissed it, “So no, I don’t need to call anyone.”
“What about your sister? Aren’t you going to tell her?”
He knew she’d be thrilled, but hadn’t made the call. “Well yeah, but it’s late there right now. And besides, it’s cheaper to call on the weekend, so I’ll wait and call her on Saturday.”
Beth gave him a funny look, but nodded, and said, “Yeah, I suppose it is pretty expensive to call overseas.” She climbed off his lap and sat beside him on the couch, still holding his hand.
“I’ve been thinking of some more boy names,” Rick said.
“I still like Devon, and I’m sticking by it.”
“If we name it after Devon, then Randy will be pissed. Keith won’t care, but Randy won’t get over it.” He repositioned himself to face her. “What about Patrick, or Alex?”
Beth shook her head, “No to both.”
“Why?”
“I dated a Patrick once, and he was a jerk. Alex is too much like
Alexander the Great
.”
He sighed deeply, “What have you come up with then, besides Devon?”
“Maybe something that sounds like Devon – Kevin or Evan.”
Rick laughed. “Lame.”
“Fine then,” she said reaching for her glass of soda on the coffee table. She took a drink and replaced the glass. “What about girl names? Have you come up with any you like?”
Rick grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back to lie on the couch. “It’s not going to be a girl, it will be a boy.”
Beth raised her head to his and teased him with a kiss. “Would it make you feel weak, make you feel like you’re not a man or something?”
With one hand, he began unbuttoning her shirt as he felt his erection pressing against her body. “No, it just kind of seems like tradition. First you have a boy, then a girl.”
As he kissed her face and down her neck, she pulled his shirt over his head. “I never really thought of you as such a traditionalist.”
She ran her fingertips down his chest, over his stomach, unbuttoned his jeans, and eased her hand inside. Rick raised his hips to give her easier access, but as he did, he gasped in agony.