Chapter 16
I was awakened later that morning by another text from Jacob. “Morning Mia. How are you feeling.”
I replied, “I’m fine. See you tomorrow.”
The day went as usual, Randy joined me for coffee in the morning, and we finalized our plans for the evening, she would pick me up at about 5:00 when she was off work. I did some more studying of protocols and processes for the new job on Monday and was pretty ready for the training. Spent some time sunning on the deck for a little bit while Lucky ran around. I was getting a pretty nice tan, which I felt looked good on me. Having been locked in the house for five years made me look really pale.
I was all dressed, ready for supper out with Randy a little early, so I took Lucky out back again, letting him run around the yard for a little bit, wearing off some puppy energy. I walked down to the pier, sitting on the bench for a little bit. The loons were back swimming, diving for food for the baby. I enjoyed watching them. Lucky soon got tired of running around the yard, came and lay down at my feet. We sat there for a little while, losing track of time. I heard Randy holler from the backyard by the house. I stood up, waving at her.
“Hey,” she said as she walked onto the pier. “You didn’t answer the door, so I figured you were out here.” She gave me a hug, then we sat back down on the bench.
“Yes, I’m just enjoying the gorgeous view with Lucky here,” Randy said hi to Lucky, scratching him behind the ears. “Sorry about that,” I said. “I meant to be back up to the house before you got here. Nature interfered.”
Randy laughed, “Yeah, it has a way of doing that. I love it here. I could get lost for hours just sitting outside enjoying nature.” I agreed. We sat in quiet for a few moments watching the loons on the lake. I turned to Randy, “I’m ready to go if you are. ”
“I am,” Randy said. “I’m going to take you to my favorite restaurant in town.”
“Sounds good,” I replied as we walked back up to the house. We went in through the French doors with Lucky at our heels.
“Before we go,” I said, “would you like a tour of the house?”
“I was hoping you would ask!” Randy exclaimed.
I first took her down to the basement, showing her the office with the play area. She looked around, exclaiming it to be adorable, but kind of giving the play area a funny look. I then took her back upstairs, showing her the master, then down the hall to the nursery. She walked into the nursery and stopped, turning to me in surprise.
“Are you pregnant?” she asked. I nodded my head, and she came over to me and gave me a hug. “That is so wonderful! I am so happy for you… it is happy right?” I laughed, assuring her it was a happy occasion. She linked her arm to mine, leading me out. “Let’s go for supper. Then you can tell me whatever details you want. I am so excited for you.”
We gave Lucky some scratches, I told him to go lie down. He lay down in his bed as we walked out the front door. I set the alarm before joining Randy at her car. She had a questioning look on her face, which I decided to ignore. I opened the passenger door, saying said, “Let’s go, I’m hungry!”
While Randy drove us into town, we chatted about her job and my job. We talked about how Josh was doing. She pulled into the parking lot of a tiny little pub. I glanced at her, and she said, “Don’t judge it by its appearance. It doesn’t look like much, but you will be surprised by how good the food is. It is also very reasonable pricewise.”
I looked at the small pub and said, “If you say so.”
“I do,” she replied with a smile. We climbed out of the car and walked into the pub. It looked like what some people refer to as a ‘dive bar’. Randy was welcomed by a lady behind the bar. She introduced her to me as Marie, asking her if they had a table for us.
The lady said, “For you, any time.” She pointed to a small table toward the back, and we made our way to it. The place was pretty small, but almost all the tables were full. We sat down at our table. Soon the waitress brought us menus, taking our drink orders. I glanced at the menu and then up at Randy in surprise.
She smiled, “I told you not to judge by the looks of the place.” The menu had items that you wouldn’t find in a ‘dive bar’. Chicken alfredo, steaks, shrimp. It was the menu of a higher quality restaurant with prices that didn’t seem possible. The waitress came back with our drinks, taking our food order. “The food here is fantastic. Marie and her husband, Leo, own the restaurant. Leo is the cook. You will love it. So… how far along are you?”
“I’m about seven weeks along. Still pretty early.”
“That is so exciting. Am I prying too much if I ask about the father?”
I shook my head, “Not much to tell. I was involved with a man who turned out to be married. When he found out I was pregnant, he wanted nothing to do with me.”
“What a jerk!” Randy said.
“He is. I could have gone to his wife and told her, but they have kids together, which I found out after he dumped me. She deserves to know, but I couldn’t do that to their kids. So I moved away, starting a new life here. Just me and my baby.”
“Well, I, for one,” Randy said, “am happy you did so.”
“Me too,” I smiled at her. “So I was wondering, I need to go shopping for some maternity clothes, baby things, maybe a few household things. Would you go shopping with me? Recommend a few places?”
“Oh, I would love to! We could go to the city. When would you like to go?”
“I know I have time before the baby gets here, so there will probably be more than one shopping trip, but I start work Monday, so I was hoping to go during the week, or if you can’t get away maybe Saturday?”
“We are closed on Fridays; we could go then?” Randy said.
“That would work if you don’t mind that we go after my doctor’s appointment. I am meeting my new OB/GYN early Friday.”
“Perfect!” Randy exclaimed. “How about I pick you up and take you to your appointment? I don’t mind waiting in the waiting room for you. Then we can go from there shopping.”
“You really don’t mind?” I asked.
Randy answered, “I really don’t. It sounds like a fun day.”
“Then that sounds perfect!”
We finished our meal chatting about the shopping trip on Friday, discussing things that I would need for the baby. The topic then changed to Randy and Josh. I asked if they had set a wedding date yet .
“No, not yet.” Randy smiled. “I really want an outdoor wedding, small, on a lakeshore somewhere. Josh’s family really wants us to get married in their church. Josh wants to make me happy, but he also wants his family to approve of our plans, so for his sake, I am thinking of the church.”
“I bet that they will love the wedding no matter where it happens. As long as Josh is happy, they will be happy. Could you have the wedding at a lakeshore and then the reception at the church? Would that be work?” I asked.
“That might be a possibility.” Randy looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to look into that. They do have a nice area for the reception at the church. Also, the minister will be the one doing the ceremony. Surely, he would do a service somewhere else for a member of his church.”
We talked about the other possibilities and what plans she has made as far as her dress and flowers. “We haven’t really done any planning yet, have only been engaged three months at this point.”
“We could look Friday at some dresses if you want. Just to get an idea. Unless you are planning a trip with your bridesmaids or family,” I suggested.
“If we have time, I would love to do some browsing. I haven’t decided who is going to be in the wedding party, but I’m sure when I am ready to buy it there will be a few people that will go with me. I kind of want everyone to be surprised by the dress, but I also want someone else’s opinion, so I don’t buy something I think I look good in, yet it turns out I actually don’t!” She laughed.
“You will look great in whatever you pick. You have the perfect figure to wear pretty much any style dress.” We paid our check and left the pub. “You were right, that place is great. The food was really good. I’ll have to come back.” I told Randy.
“Maybe we can make it our regular spot and go there often. Girls’ night out!” suggested Randy.
“That would be a lot of fun,” I said, “I think if we go every week I’ll be as big as a house! Maybe every other week or something. I would love a regular girl’s night though. Maybe we could do weekly and go someplace different once in a while.”
“I think that would be fun!” Randy said. “We will work something out. I am so glad you moved here.”
“Me too,” I smiled back at her.
Thursday was spent with a little bit of time reviewing things for work and going on a walk with Lucky—all after Randy and I had our morning coffee together. It was becoming a daily occurrence that we had coffee on the deck together every morning. I really enjoyed Randy’s company, and it felt so natural with her. She was quickly becoming my best friend, I felt like I might be able to trust her. I didn’t share my true story with her. I could never share that part of my past with her as it would put her in danger. We also texted each other throughout the day, laughing like schoolgirls over some things. I was starting to feel secure and safe in my new life, but I doubted I would ever let my guard down, too many lives hang in the balance if I do.
Jacob was coming over tonight at 6. I had offered to cook for him, it was the least I could do since he was helping me out.
Jacob knocked on the door, pretty much right on time. I opened the door. “Hey, Mia,” he said smiling.
“Hi,” I said, letting him in.
“Hey, Lucky,” Jacob scratched his head, looking at me. “I’ll get the planters on the deck rails for you, then hang your planter basket on the front porch.”
“Jacob,” I said as he walked to the doors to the back deck. He turned, looking at me. “I appreciate your help. I’m sorry to have to take up your time. I’m sure you have more important things to do or someplace else you would rather be.”
He paused with his hand on the door handle, ‘Mia Amata’ clearly considering what he wanted to say. “There is no place I would rather be.” He went out on the deck to work on the planters.
I watched Jacob as he went to work, pondering what he meant. I shrugged it off and went to the kitchen to start supper for us. I got the hamburger patties ready, then went out to start the grill. Jacob finished the two planters while I was out there.
“There you go. It just took a little bit of extra hardware to get these to stay on your rails. They do look nice there.”
“Thank you. I love them. They really do look nice. I hope burgers are good for supper.”
“Sounds good,” he replied. He headed around the front to hang the baskets, I went back into the kitchen to work on supper. I was pulling the burgers off the grill when Jacob came into the house.
“All done,” he said .
“Perfect timing. Supper is done too.” I smiled at him. I put everything on the table while he washed up, then we sat down to eat.
“Did you and Randy have a good time last night?”
“Yes, she is super nice, a lot of fun. We seem to get along really well.”
He nodded. “She is great. Josh is a lucky man.”
“They really do seem happy together. She misses him a lot when he is gone.”
“What about you?” he asked, looking at me.
“What do you mean? Do I miss Josh?” I was confused.
His intense blue eyes were staring into mine like he was trying to read my mind. “No.Do you miss the father of the baby?”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t given him much thought really.”
We finished eating, and Jacob insisted on helping me clean up. “It’s pretty early,” he noted. “How about we go to a pub, maybe play some pool, listen to some music?”
I hesitated, “I don’t know. You don’t have to keep an eye on me anymore. I’m fine. It’s OK if you want to leave.”
“Mia Amata,” he said, reaching out and taking my hand. It was all I could do to not yank my hand away. “I’m not asking out of obligation. I think it would be fun, I like spending time with you.” I still was hesitant. “I won’t hurt you, Mia Amata.”
Finally, I nodded, “I don’t know how to play pool though.” He said he would enjoy teaching me.
Trying to pick something to wear to the pub turned out to be a little bit of a challenge. I wasn’t showing a lot, but the only pair of jeans I had were getting a bit snug. There was no way I could wear them all night and remain comfortable. I finally grabbed the short skirt and a different T-shirt, along with the only lightweight jacket I had. Looking in the mirror, I thought I looked OK. I had my sandals on, completing the outfit with some hoop earrings.
I got Lucky all set for the evening with food and water. When I walked out to the front porch where Jacob was waiting, he gave a low whistle, “You look great,” he said.
I smiled shyly, “Thanks.”
He walked me around to the passenger side, helping me into his truck. He closed the door, walking back around to the driver’s side .
We had a nice time at the pub. He said hi to a couple of friends, giving them a brief introduction, but not moving to sit with them. I thought that was a little odd, but didn’t question it, figuring he wanted to sit by the pool table, so we could play. He taught me how to play pool, he did seem to enjoy teaching me.
After a couple of games, we sat in our booth talking.
“We could join your friends if you really want to, I don’t mind.”
“Hell no,” Jacob said. “I won’t subject you to them. Plus, they are all sitting over there jealous that I am here with the most beautiful woman in town.”
“I seriously doubt that!”
“Just wait, tomorrow, maybe even later tonight I will start getting tons of text messages asking me who you are and what are you doing with me. Some will even have the nerve to ask for your number.” As if to prove his point, one of the new guys who came in while we were playing pool walked over.
“Hey, Jacob, how are you?” he asked, sticking out his hand.
“I’m good,” he shook the man’s hand. “Tyler, this is Mattie. Mattie, Tyler.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
“Same,” Tyler said, looking at me. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“I’m new to town, haven’t been here very long.”
Tyler nodded, wanting to say more, but Jacob spoke up first. “Hey, if you don’t mind Tyler, Mattie and I were having a conversation, I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Oh, sure, just wanted to say hi. Nice to meet you, Mattie. Catch you later Jacob.” He walked back over to the bar, and immediately, the other guys were leaning over asking questions.
“See what I mean? They are great guys, don’t get me wrong, but any one of them would love to have your phone number right now. I’m trying to eliminate the competition.” Jacob smiled at me.
“Competition for what?”
Jacob looked at me, “For you.”
A slow song came on the jukebox right then. “Dance with me?” He stood up and held out his hand. Somewhat taken aback, I took his hand, letting him lead me onto the dance floor where three other couples were dancing. He took me in his arms, and I lost all train of thought. It was like the entire bar was swallowed up by a hole in the ground. Nobody else existed except for this man who had me in his arms. I felt confused and anxious. What was going on here?
Soon the song ended, and another one started. Someone tapped Jacob on the shoulder. It was Tyler. “Mind if I cut in?”
Jacob tensed up; I could feel the tension in his arms. “That’s up to Mattie,” he said.
I had no desire to dance with Tyler. I looked at him, “Oh, I’m sorry, but we were just leaving.” Jacob led me off the dance floor, and I grabbed my purse. I caught a glimpse of Tyler joining his buddies at the bar.
They were all laughing, punching him in the shoulder.
We got to Jacob’s truck; he walked me to the passenger door. Before he opened the door for me, he said, “You could have danced with him if you wanted to.” He was looking at me intently, those blue eyes felt like they could see to the bottom of my soul.
“I know.”
He moved a little closer. “Why didn’t you?” still looking at me.
“I didn’t want to.”
He leaned down like he was going to kiss me. “Why?” he said softly.
I had no answer, I looked down. He put his fingers under my chin, tipping my head up to look at him. “Mia Amata, look at me. Can I kiss you?” I nodded, not understanding exactly why I did. He started kissing me gently, I’d never been kissed like that before. I reached my arms up around his neck, and he put his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. He moved his lips down my neck while he slid his hands down to my hips. All of a sudden, he pulled back, “Damn Mia. You take my breath away.”
I stood there breathless, not sure what really just happened.
He helped me in the truck. He stood there with the door open. “You may not believe me, but I am falling for you, Mia Amata.” He leaned in, kissed me again, then shut the door, taking me home.