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On the way there she bought a home pregnancy test at the Lime Pharmacy.
She would make sure of what was happening before she said anything to Heath.
* * * *
Amy was waiting outside the restaurant when A
“I’m so glad you could make it,” A
Amy nodded. “I’m flying back to New York late tomorrow afternoon.”
“How’s your mother?”
“The same. Buying new furniture for the living room. The floor was covered with swatches.” She surveyed A
“Wonderful,” A
“Yes, I could tell that by the new wheels you’re driving. Do you know how much that car costs?”
A
“Didn’t you go with him to get it?”
“No, he just drove it home one day.”
Amy shook her head as the hostess led the two women to a table. “You’re a rare specimen, A
“I’m not interested in cars, Amy, you know that,” A
“Or anything else but Heath and those books you write,” Amy replied, sitting across from her.
“You’re wrong, Amy,” A
Amy raised her brows inquiringly as the hostess walked away from them.
“I’m interested in knowing whether or not I’m pregnant,” A
Several of their fellow diners seated nearby turned to look at them.
“Please control yourself,” A
“Are you sure?”
“No. I’m going to take a home test but the doctor I saw this morning thinks I may be.”
“Oh, dear, I’m so jealous,” Amy said mournfully. “Here I am, still dating twenty different varieties of Mr. Wrong and you’re married with a baby on the way.”
“It’s still not certain.”
“Oh, of course it is, doctors know. What do you think Heath will say?”
“That’s my biggest concern at the moment.”
They paused in their conversation as the waitress arrived and they gave their orders. When the woman walked away, Amy leaned across the table and said, “What do you mean, your biggest concern? Doesn’t he want children?”
“He acted very weird when we discussed it.”
“When was that?”
“Christmas.”
“He had just learned that you’d been telling him the truth about leaving him all those years ago. Maybe he was just overwhelmed.”
“I don’t think so,” A
“Why?”
“He went into this big speech about his father being an alcoholic and not wanting to pass that problem on to the next generation.”
“Oh.”
“I told him every family has problems but I don’t think I was getting through to him.”
“Well, you know how abysmal his childhood was. It’s understandable that he would have some negative feelings on the subject.”
“But some people in his situation resolve to make it better for their children. They want to take special care to be loving and attentive and interested and understanding. They want to be the opposite of the parents who hurt them. It’s really the only way to deal constructively with a history like that.”
“Are you talking about yourself now?” Amy asked quietly, fiddling with her napkin.
“Maybe. I know I’ll never treat a child of mine the way my father treated me.”
“Heath doesn’t have your temperament,” Amy said. “He’s bound to react differently.”
A
“He must know you haven’t been using birth control,” Amy said dryly. “What does he think is going to happen?”
“He doesn’t seem concerned about it. I’ve told him my periods have been irregular, that’s one of the reasons he insisted on the doctor’s visit. Maybe he thinks I can’t conceive.”
“A
A
“And you think this bulletin just may do that?” Amy inquired, concerned.
“I don’t know.”
The waitress returned with two glasses of iced tea and set them on the table. “Lunch will be right up,” she said, and walked away.
“Remember how your mother used to laugh at us, drinking iced tea all year long?” Amy said.
A
“It will be all right, A
A
“You won’t lose him. He’s crazy about you.”
“He’s crazy about me as long as I do what he wants,” A
“Oh, come on. You’re making him sound very cold.”
“A side of him is. You’re forgetting the person who made that lovely marriage-blackmail proposal a few months ago. He’s still in there, along with the charmer who selects exquisite jewelry and leases expensive cars.”
“And bails brothers out of jail.”
“Right.”
“Nobody ever said Heath wasn’t complex.”
“Certainly not me.”
Amy raised her glass of iced tea. “Drink up. Odds are all will be well. Now, let me tell you about my latest dating fiasco, the supposedly available publishing executive who turned out to have a darling little wife and four fetching kiddies tucked away at the last stop on the commuter line.”
A
She would use it as soon as she got home.
* * * *
By the time Heath returned from work that night, A
Heath came in whistling, his jacket slung over his shoulder, his face lighting up when he saw A
“Don’t you look pretty!” he said, admiring her turquoise silk suit. “Is that new?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see Langley?”
“Yes again. He couldn’t find a thing wrong with me but he’s going to run a test for anemia.”
“Why?”
“I told him you thought I had iron-poor blood.”
Heath laughed. “He’ll be accusing me of practicing medicine without a license.”
“I must say that he seemed very curious about our star-crossed union.”
Heath dumped his jacket on a chair. “He thinks I’m an anomaly, and I guess I am in a way. He doesn’t know too many self-made millionaires.”
“Who does?”
“I’ll bet he was impressed with you,” Heath said, changing to a fresh shirt.
“Why?”
“You’re beautiful and accomplished. He thinks I’ve snagged a prize.”
“Just as long as you think that,” A
“How could I think otherwise?” he said, covering her hands briefly with his and then breaking loose to select a new jacket from his closet.
A
“Ready?” Heath said as he emerged from the depths of his closet.
A
“What time are the Jensens expecting us?”
“Seven-thirty.”
“Then let’s go.”
He took her hand and they walked out to the garage.
* * * *
Joan Jensen welcomed them into her modern ranch house on the leeward side of Lime Island with a broad smile.
“Here’s the happy couple!” she said. “I was hoping you wouldn’t be late. My appetizers are fossilizing in the oven.”