“Well, I am often confused with a god,” Alex said, trying to lighten the conversation.
Frankie broke into a nervous chuckle. “What should I do?”
“The question is what should
we
do? We’re in this together. And there is no hesitation on my part. I’ll marry you on the spot . . . if you’ll have me, of course.”
“Really? You’d marry me?” said Frankie with huge sigh of relief.
“Absolutely. I’d be the luckiest man on earth
—
with the most beautiful girl having my baby. I’d be a crazy fool to let you go.” Alex reclined on the couch and took a long drag on his cigarette. “I wonder what it is.”
A few tears of relief spilled from Frankie’s eyes. “You know, there was the cutest little boy at the doctor’s office. He reminded me of you
—
a real terror. He crashed his little car into my toe.”
“Yeah that kind of sounds like me,” said Alex, “but what about a little girl with big, bright blue eyes like her mom?”
“That would be nice too,” agreed Frankie. She bit her lip and asked, “So what should we, and how do we?”
“I have holiday time coming up. We can elope—Bermuda, maybe—and when we return, no one can say anything to us. They can’t force us to do anything and they can’t tear us apart because we’ll be husband and wife. Do you think you can get away?”
“Yes. You leave it to me. I’ll make up some story my parents will buy.”
“And the rest you leave to me. I’ll arrange all the details. All you need to do is show up,” replied Alex.
“I’ll be there!” exclaimed Frankie happily.
“And Frankie,” Alex said. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Why not?” she asked. “They’re going to find out sooner or later.”
“Yeah, but you know they’ll try to stop us. You don’t want them to stop us, right?”
“Yes. Okay,” she said, crossing her lips. “Mum’s the word. It’ll be our secret.”
Alex hung up the phone and continued to wait for Chase. When Chase finally exited Darren’s office, Alex rose to meet him and patted him on the shoulder. “I feel like going someplace nice. It’s a night to celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating?” asked Chase, lighting a cigarette.
“Life,” replied Alex with a big grin. He shook his head again in disbelief. “Life is amazing!”
It was later that night, after having made many toasts and taken many shots, Chase dropped Alex off at home.
Stumbling inside, using the walls to help him walk, Alex stood in the doorway of his bedroom to find Sarah asleep. In his drunken stupor, his celebration suddenly turned into a crisis. Sarah was going to have to go.
Sarah woke to find Alex looming in the doorway. “What’s going on?” she asked sleepily. “Why are you just standing there? Why don't you come to be?”
“Not feeling so good,” he said, and it was the truth. He was going to have to tell his live-in girlfriend that he had gotten his other girlfriend pregnant. He was definitely going to need to be sober to have this conversation. If alcohol wasn’t enough to push him to sickness, this would.
Instead of going straight to bed, Alex headed to the living room, grabbed his guitar and took a seat in his favorite chair. He hadn’t thought much of song writing the last couple years; he had left that duty up to Robbie and Peter. Ironically Peter, his closest and longest friend, Alex had difficulty writing together. It was Robbie who Alex provided a line hear and a chord there.
With warm thoughts of Frankie in his heart, Alex strummed quietly on his guitar, careful not to stir Sarah. Word came to his mind quickly. He stopped playing to reach for a pen and paper and wrote:
Around the world I roamed
Never thought I’d find my home
Then many miles away from me
I found a girl that made me believe
I’m on my way home
I’d never thought I’d find
I’m on my way home
To a girl whose heart I’ve pined.
For all these years I have strayed
With all those ladies I have played
Your sweet smiles, I’d give it all away
For you and me to be in the family way.
A few days later, Frankie went back to work on Broadway. Tonight, however, she had difficulty zipping up her costume.
I can’t be getting big already,
she thought, looking down at her belly and then into the mirror.
I don’t look bigger; my belly is still flat.
A costume assistant approached to help Frankie zip up the back of her dress and asked, “Are you gaining weight?”
“Maybe I’m a little bloated. I just got my period,” Frankie lied.
“That happens to me all the time,” replied the assistant.
Frankie breathed deeply as the costume got zipped to the top. She didn’t recall having so much cleavage and then she remembered reading somewhere that women’s breasts got bigger during pregnancy.
Alex is going to love this,
she thought, cupping her breasts as she looked in the mirror.
The stage manager came to the dressing room. “I have a special delivery for Frankie,” he said just outside the door.
The costume assistant retrieved the package for Frankie and handed it to her. Frankie smiled when she read the card; it was from Alex.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” asked the costume assistant.
“Not here,” Frankie said.
On her car ride home from the theater, Frankie opened Alex’s package while alone in the back seat. She nearly cried when she pulled out the contents
—
a stuffed toy bear. The card inside read:
I can’t believe that soon we’ll be
Together for all eternity
Home at last with hearts of love
And a world of stars shining above
I’m on my way home
I’d never thought I’d find
I’m on my way home
To a girl whose heart I’ve pined.
Our baby’s first toy.
Love,
Alex
She arrived home and rushed upstairs to her bedroom, changing into Alex’s T-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms. Lying on her bed she cradled the stuffed bear in her arms while staring at pictures of Alex on her wall. All she could do was cry with anticipation. It was only going to be a short time until they were going to be together, but she simply couldn’t wait. She wanted him now.
The next day, Frankie impatiently stood over the phone and waited for it to ring while hugging the stuffed bear. The phone barely rang when she picked it up. “Hi!” she exclaimed happily, “I got your package last night.”
Alex poured himself a cup of tea and then stirred in some sugar. “I take it you liked what was in it.”
“Yes. I love it,” she said. “And I have a present for you, but you’ll have to wait until Bermuda.”
“Oh no, you can’t do that to me. Give me a hint, or I’ll go nuts trying to figure out what it is.”
“My boobs are getting huge,” she said with a giggle, “I mean, I read about women’s breast getting larger. I could barely get my costume on earlier tonight.”
“Well, that is a great present. Makes me wish I were there with you now.”
“Me too. I can’t help thinking of your
package
,” she said with a laugh. “Just think, we’ll soon be sitting on the beach drinking virgin piña coladas.”
“Isn’t it ironic
—
you drinking
virgin
piña coladas,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s hysterical,” she replied, making fun of his stupid joke. “It’s going to be so great: just you, me, and nothing else around but beach and ocean.”
“Don’t forget the baby,” he said.
“Yeah, but she’s too young to know anything,” Frankie replied.
“How do you know it’s a girl?” he asked.
Frankie rubbed her belly. “A mother knows.”
“Do you know Josh’s girlfriend is pregnant? They’re getting marriage in a few months,” said Alex, “So you’ll have someone to hang out with and swap baby talk.
“Really . . . is she nice?” asked Frankie.
“Yeah, Marie is real cool and down-to-earth. You will really like her. And then there’s Nick’s wife Julia, who is the nicest person on the face of the earth. You’ll never be alone,” he said. “See? It’s all working out perfectly; there will be family and friends waiting for you when you get to England.”
“England,” Frankie sighed. “Never imagined myself living in England.”
“We can travel between the States and England. When you think about it, England is closer to New York than California,” he said. “Everything will work out, you’ll see. I promise.”
As the days grew nearer, Frankie couldn’t wait to start packing. In fact, she pulled out her suitcase as she soon as she got back to her bedroom after hanging up with Alex. She opened her closet and sorted through her dresses.
What should I wear when we get married?
she thought.
Can I wear white
? She then shivered with excitement at the idea.
She pulled out a cream-colored sequined cocktail dress that she had worn to a dinner given for her father. With the thought of her dad, she put the dress back. She needed something new—something a little more fashionable and sexy that Alex would like. That was it; she just had to go shopping.
Curling up in bed, she rubbed her belly, closed her eyes, and cried. She just couldn’t believe this was the turn her life was taking. In seven months she would be living abroad as a mother, married to a world-famous musician. She fell asleep that night dreaming pleasant thoughts of her future.
The next morning she greeted both her parents at the kitchen table for breakfast. She poured herself a large helping of milk. Her stomach was still queasy with morning sickness, and she reached for a piece of toast.
“How you feeling this morning?” asked Marcus.
“Much better,” Frankie replied as she took a bite of dry toast.
“You never did tell us what Dr. Joe said,” replied Geraldine.
“Flu, just as I expected,” said Frankie. “Hey, I was talking to my friend Katie who is an actress in Hollywood. You remember Katie Todd? You met her family on the boat back from Europe last year. Anyway, she and a few girls are meeting for a few days in Bermuda next week. They asked if I could go.”
“How are you coming with your studies?” asked Geraldine.
“I’ll be done with finals,” said Frankie, “and the show will be over on Friday.”
“I was counting on you to help me with the Christmas pageant,” said Marcus.
“I’m sure you find someone to take my place,” said Frankie. “Besides, that is so old; I’ve been helping out since I was a kid.”
“But it was always kind of our father/daughter thing,” said Marcus.
“Marcus, for God’s sake, let her go,” scolded Geraldine. “She’s a young woman who wants to holiday with a bunch of girlfriends.” Geraldine turned to Frankie, “Of course I’m going to need to speak to Katie’s parents. A bunch of pretty girls alone in Bermuda could be trouble.”
“Mom, you’ve met the Todds,” said Frankie. “They’re good people.”
“It’s okay with me,” said Geraldine, looking up at Marcus, “but it’s up to your father.”
Marcus’s hesitation was evident. She was a young woman, but he knew well the type of people out there and was constantly worried about his beautiful daughter being taken advantage of.
“Dad, please,” Frankie begged.
“All right,” he said.
Frankie leaped from her seat and hugged her mother. “Thanks!” She ran around the table to hug her father.
Marcus gave her a hug, but it was clear he was not at all eager to see his daughter off on her own.
Later in the afternoon, Frankie took to the streets of Madison Avenue for one purpose
—
shopping. She felt a little like Holly Golightly in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
, staring dreamily into store windows, but unlike Holly, Frankie could afford almost anything she wanted.
She tried on several dresses. Being Christmastime, it was hard to find something white, so she settled for a silk cream sleeveless cocktail dress that fit all her curves snuggly. Pearly satin pumps were the perfect accessory, and long silk gloves were a nice sexy touch. Admiring her look in the store mirror she paused.
Maybe it’s too much,
she thought.
Maybe I need something more casual.
After giving her wedding outfit more thought, she decided on a casual flowing silk pleated dress with spaghetti straps, but she stuck with the pumps.
Striding down the avenue, happily swaying her bags in her arm, she dared to stop outside the actual Tiffany’s. No, she didn’t have a diamond. “Diamonds for girls under forty is tacky,” she said softly. She did enter and took a browse by the wedding bands. She was tempted to buy a ring for Alex, but then remembered Nick, who
was
married, didn’t wear a ring. She wondered if Alex would wear a wedding ring.
Probably not,
she thought. She then wondered if he was out looking at rings for her. It was the first time she had doubts about her marriage to Alex. She realized she had no idea what he was doing on the other side of the Atlantic.