25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jane
M eg finally broke her cryptic silence and asked me to meet her for lunch at Buzzard Billy’s. Though the mighty Mississippi ran through La Crosse, the town wasn’t anywhere near New Orleans, but this iconic restaurant offered things like gator fingers and shrimp creole. I opted for the Bayou platter which included hushpuppies while my daughter ordered blackened salmon. I couldn’t resist greasy corn hushpuppies and probably should have just ordered a side of those.
As soon as the waitress left us, I squeezed my daughter’s hand. Something was off. Though she was wearing makeup, her eyes were puffy, her posture rigid, and she was wearing a beige sweater. I didn’t realize Miss Colorful owned anything in beige. “What’s wrong?”
“Why do you always assume something is wrong?” she asked, challenging me like she did whenever she wanted to take control of a conversation—or she’d worked herself into a frenzy over something else entirely.
Well, she invited me to meet her here, so I merely folded my hands. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
Her shoulders relaxed a little as she took a sip of herbal tea. “How is the restoration business?”
“Slow, but that’s a good thing. I still have a long list of projects for my house. And now I have to get in my ten thousand steps per day.”
“How can you walk that much?”
I had walked here, trying to avoid slipping on patches of ice, bundled up with a full-length winter coat, a trapper hat with lined earflaps, and ski gloves. “In this weather?” I blew a raspberry. “My treadmill is getting plenty of use. I also read an article that said ten thousand steps doesn’t give you a lot more benefit than five thousand. The bottom line is keep moving. ”
“I hear you. That’s why I rented an apartment close to downtown so I could walk more. Even when it’s ten below.” Meg studied the ingredients on a pack of Splenda and tossed it back into the bowl. “How’s Bob?”
Before I had a chance to check myself, my face burned. I fanned myself with the cocktail menu, pretending I’d had a hot flash even though those had stopped years ago. “He’s fine. We’ve had a few…ah…dates.”
Meg grinned—almost. Though I could tell she wasn’t herself, she might bite my head off if I pushed her. “So you do like him.”
I replaced the menu. “I never said I didn’t like him.”
“No, but you told me to butt out of your business when I asked if you were sleeping with him.”
For Pete’s sake, kids these days were so forward. “Because it is none of your business. Bob is smart and fun and full of energy—a good man for the likes of me.”
“Likes of you? In my book, no man is good enough to date my mother even if he is kinda nice.” Meg picked up the packet of Splenda again, tore it open and sprinkled about two grains into her tea. “Um, I need to tell you something.”
My breath hitched. Oh, God, I knew it. They found something at Moya in Rochester. Please don’t be an aneurysm, please, please, please! “Have you received your results from the genetic testing?”
“Not yet. I guess I’ll hear from them in a few months. I got a sign-on from the genetics lab, but their website says they’re experiencing delays.” Meg scooted her chair back a tad. “But I asked you out to lunch today because I wanted you to know that I’m pregnant .”
I blinked, wanting to ask her to repeat herself, but very sure of what I’d heard even though the word had been whispered. I glanced over both shoulders to make sure we didn’t have any eavesdroppers. “Oh, my goodness!” I whisper-shouted, squeezing her hand. “Is this what you wanted?”
Her lips quivered. “Eventually, but it certainly wasn’t planned.”
My mind whirred. “Did they find it on the CT?”
“No, Mom, after my blood test came back positive, they did an MRA. CTs have too much radiation for pregnant ladies.”
“Oh. Things sure are a lot easier after menopause.” I guzzled my water, only to bring on a coughing fit. Meg was pregnant? I needed to show more support and enthusiasm!
Cough, cough .
My eyes teared up as I pounded my chest. Lots of single women had babies these days. But why now? Why now when we were trying to figure out this weird FMD stuff?
“Sorry,” I said, sipping my water again and clearing my throat.
“I know. It’s a shock.” Meg sat back as the server set the blackened salmon in front of her.
After she set down my plate, I took a hushpuppy and bit into it, the hot pastry nearly burning my tongue. “Does Mike know?”
“He does.” Meg curled forward covering her face with her hands. “But I have to be the stupidest, most abhorrent woman alive.”
I glanced at her stomach. She didn’t look pregnant, but Meg always had a little bit of a tummy just like my mother did. My appetite vanished. “He doesn’t want children?”
“Yes, he wants children,” she whisper-shouted, looking over her shoulder. “I never should have asked to meet you in a public place.”
“Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“No!” She picked up her fork and stabbed her salmon. “I’m starving.”
I took a drink of water while she ate a few bites.
“When are you due?” I asked as gently as possible.
Her hands stilled as she looked at me with haunted blue eyes. “I won’t find out until I have an ultrasound. You know me, I’m about as predictable as snow in July.”
Oh, shit . Lance was here in October. If the baby is his she might not be showing yet. “Does Mike know about Virgil?”
Meg swallowed her bite. “I hate that name.”
I nudged a steaming hushpuppy. “Lance.”
“Yes, yes, of course I told Mike everything.” Her fork clattered to the table as she sobbed. “But I’m going to be dangling in purgatory until I get the stupid ultrasound and it’s not for another two weeks. Meanwhile, my entire world is imploding around me!”
“Of course, it is.” I pushed my plate away and pulled her into my arms. “Being pregnant is the most emotional time in any woman’s life. But really, two weeks will go by faster than you think.”
She pulled away and dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “I told Mike I didn’t want him to go to the ultrasound. I don’t want him there when they tell me the due date.”
I suppose that would be for the best. “Would you like me to go with you? ”
“Yes, please.” She nodded, brushing away more tears. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but it seems I can’t control anything .
“Oh, Baby.” I slid my hand over her shoulders and squeezed. “Everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be a great mom. And your baby is going to have its nana nearby.”
The tortured expression on my daughter’s face took my heart and twisted it into knots. “But what if it’s Lance’s?”
I tugged my daughter into another hug. “Whatever happens, you’re going to get through this. I didn’t move to La Crosse for the hell of it, either. I’m here for you, Margaret Lehn. No matter what.”
As I bit into a hushpuppy, I decided there was no job in America more important than the one I had right now—not refurbishment, but being a mother and a grandmother, not to mention a daughter…yes and a girlfriend , too. I needed to be here for the people I cared about. Yesterday I received a phone call from Bethany’s VP of Human Resources asking me to step in as an interim CEO and they agreed to give me a few days to think about it. But I’ve had enough time. As soon as I get home, I’m going to respectfully decline.
Bob followed me up the stairs of an old warehouse that had been turned into an antique shop. “These days, no one cares if an expecting mother is married or not.”
“I know.” I exited the stairs and strolled toward a bay of shelves with China on display. “But Meg has always been so frail.”
“She doesn’t seem frail to me.”
I gawked at him, but then remembered that I hadn’t told him about FMD and arterial dissections. Damn, I’d gone from being super fit and healthy to being a decrepit old lady and I certainly didn’t want Bob to see me that way.
“Meg has asthma and high blood pressure. She gets headaches.”
“Like you?”
I picked up a teapot and examined it. “Sure, I get headaches, but I don’t have the complications she does because of her hypertension.”
Bob moved away from my line of sight. “Well, even if Mike isn’t Mr. Right, at least she has you to look after her. She’s in good hands.”
“Thank you,” I replied, replacing the teapot. “I appreciate your vote of confidence.” I worried about Mike. Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I don’t know what I would do if I had to face the fact that the baby might not be mine—and they hadn’t been dating all that long. Maybe he wasn’t Mr. Right. Maybe Meg would be better off being a single mom. I know I was.
“Hey, Jane, come here once.”
I stepped into the aisle. Where had Bob picked up the “once.” He’d beckoned me before using “once.” Who said that? If I joined him, it would naturally be only once. Right? Or was I overthinking? I peered across the cluttered store. “Where are you?”
“Over here.”
A hand flashed above the shelves and I headed for it, finding Bob standing between two red velvet chairs and a matching settee that looked new, but very old at the same time. I bent down to examine the woodwork. “Wow, are these replicas?”
“I don’t think so. Look at the wheels. My guess is they’ve been recently reupholstered.” He smoothed his fingers over the velvet. “These would look fantastic in your drawing room.”
He wasn’t wrong. And it was about time I put some furniture in that great big room. “They’d be perfect.”
“Pricey, though.”
I looked at the tag and didn’t even blink. “Hey, have you checked the auction sites online? These are an amazing buy.”
“Don’t you need to think about it for a while?”
“We both agreed they’re perfect, didn’t we?” I headed for the sales desk. “I’m buying these babies before anyone else has a chance.”