Amy Maxwell's 6th Sense (23 page)

“Yeah. They gave me a ride back from the hospital,” Roger says, jerking his head toward the back of the restaurant. “They’re with some FBI guy right now, but they should be here shortly. Jason said they had a lot of paperwork to do after the bust.  Hopefully they’ll be here in time for the ceremony. That would be crazy if they flew all this way for it and didn’t get to come.”

“Wait, what?” I am shocked by what Roger has just said. “Jason and River were here for our vow renewal ceremony? They’re weren’t here for a law enforcement conference?”

Roger chuckles. “You fell for that? Ha! Jason said he told you that when he ran into you, but I didn’t think you’d believe that nonsense.”

I feel my cheeks flame as I recall “running into” Jason and our kiss on the beach. Touching my face, I stammer, “I didn’t really believe it. I just…I’m just shocked you invited them.” I raise my eyebrow and offer him a look only he will understand. A look that says,
considering you nearly crushed all the bones in Jason’s hand with a handshake the last time you saw him, I’m shocked, that’s all.

Roger scowls. “Well, why wouldn’t I? They’re your friends aren’t they? I invited all your friends, but of course not everyone was able to get away.” I instantly feel bad—Roger was trying to make this perfect for me, prejudices aside.

“I know,” I say. “And I’m definitely thankful. I really appreciate everything you’ve done.” I offer him a shy smile that melts his hardened expression. Climbing up the steps, I met him on the deck and wrap my arms around him. “Thank you, Roger. I don’t think I say thank you enough.”

“And neither do I,” Roger whispers. “This is my way of saying thank you for all you’ve done for me the past nineteen years.” He pulls me closer. Still unsteady from my recent ride on the boat, I stumble and end up stepping on his foot.

“Ouch! Holy shit, Amy! You stepped on my bad foot!” Roger yelps releasing me and hopping around the deck.

“Crap! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I rush to his aid, but he puts his hands up.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he says between clenched teeth. “I’ll just have to ice it before the ceremony.”

“What
ceremony
?” Evan asks, scrunching up his face.

“The vowel renewal, dummy,” Colt tells his brother.

“It’s
vow
renewal, moron,” Lexie interjects. “Duh. Vowels are letters.”

Colt shakes his head. “No! It could be poop, too!”

“What?” Allie shouts, obviously disgusted. “That’s gross, Colt.”

“But it’s true,” Colt insists. “I have a vowel movement in the toilet bowl. Mommy told me so.”

Lexie slaps her forehead with her palm. “Oh my
God
, you idiot! That’s
bowel
!”

“Gross, gross, you’re all gross!” Allie is shouting while covering her ears. Soon the kids are all arguing and Roger and I are stuck in the middle of it. My mother is trying to pull Lexie off of Colt.

Roger and I exchange a knowing sideways glance and he drapes his arm over my shoulder. Cocking his head to the side he whispers in my ear in a teasing voice. “What’d you say we go up to the room and get ready for the vow renewal ceremony, Mrs. Maxwell?” He winks and adds with a sly smile, “If you catch my drift.”

I return his smile and giggle as we walk away, “Oh, I catch your drift Mr. Maxwell. And it’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

~Twenty-Five~
 

I nervously close the lid to the laptop as the timer next to my left hand dings. Well, in actuality, the timer dinged a few minutes ago, but I’m been staring at, wishing it would disappear, just like the little stick sitting on my bathroom counter. This day started out so promising, my blog article about traveling with kids practically flying off my fingertips and onto the keyboard. That is, until my world nearly came crashing down and now that dreaded thing is in my bathroom. On the counter. Taunting me.

“Come on, Amy,” Joey says impatiently, tugging at my arm. She pulls me to my feet, but I’m like a limp rag doll and I slump right back into the chair.

“I’m not ready for this,” I tell her, shaking my head. “Seriously, this can’t be happening. What are we going to do?”

Joey rolls her eyes. “We’re going to go into the bathroom and look at the little pee stick, is what we’re going to do.”

I stare at her, shaking my head. “I don’t understand how you can be so damn calm about this whole thing. Don’t you understand the gravity of this situation? Don’t you realize how much this one little thing has the potential to change
lives
?” I am practically screeching at the top of my lungs.

Joey waves her hands impatiently. “Will you keep it down?” she hisses as she pulls me to my feet again. “The kids are going to think that something’s wrong.”

My eyes widen and I stare at her. “Are you kidding? Something
is
wrong! I just knew if we went on this vacation, something would go wrong and now it has! Damn sixth sense of mine! Why don’t I ever listen?”

“Oh, please,” Joey says, waving her hand in front of her face. “You certainly enjoyed that vacation.”

Believe it or not, she’s telling the truth. After our vow renewal ceremony, my parents took the kids for the rest of the vacation to their room.
They
had a suite
.
The suite we were supposed to get. But that didn’t matter because Roger and I had peace and quiet for the next two days. I slept for almost forty hours straight. It was bliss.

We were unceremoniously woken up on our third day of our slumber-moon by the FBI who needed to interview us about the passport thieves. Turns out their names weren’t Mario, Jerry, and Danny like I thought. They were Frank, Hank, and Arthur. Yeah, the short guy’s name was Arthur. I liked my names better.

Roger and I even made the front page of
USA Today.
The story was mostly about the identity theft ring, but there was a short little section about the heroine mom whose snooping saved further children from having their identity stolen. At the bottom of the article a link to my blog appeared and I’ve been getting thousands of hits ever since. In fact, just yesterday I got a call from an agent who wants to represent me! She thinks my adventures have potential for a TV series. It’ll be a ton of work and I’ll believe it when I see it, but damn…I have to admit, I’m incredibly excited at the prospect of this change.

That thought reminds me of the other change that I’m surely in for. I moan and drop my head into my hands.

Joey tilts her head and examines me like I’m a potted plant she discovered is dead and can’t figure out why, despite the fact that she never watered it. Actually, that makes me even more upset, and I start to cry.

“There’s no use crying over spilt milk,” Joey tells me, suddenly the voice of reason. “Or in this case, fertilized eggs.” She holds up the stick. It has two lines.
 

Heather Balog is a school nurse by day, supermom and writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, children, two very needy dogs, and one ancient cat. When she is not writing, she’s thinking about writing, reading, or tending to the needs one of the aforementioned people or pets. Or beating her husband and children at Trivia Crack…

Other novels by Heather Balog
:

The 8 Mistakes of Amy Maxwell

Amy Maxwell & the 7 Deadly Sins

The Dead of Summer

All She Ever Wanted

Letters to My Sister’s Shrink

Note to Self: Change the Locks

Falling When the Bough Breaks

Connecting with Heather Balog
:

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www.thebadmommydiaries.com

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