Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy (11 page)

"What?" he said, after a pause. "But...we're
on the pill."

She hesitated. "Yes, but...you know the
pill's not a hundred percent, and," her eyes widened, "we're
pregnant."

Michael stared at her. He leaned forward on
the sofa, resting his elbows on his knees, as if he expected her to
say something more.

"Well," she half-laughed, "say something.
Are you happy about it? It's not like we didn't ever expect to have
kids."

"I..." He closed his mouth, looking her over
very closely.

Uh oh
, thought Amber.
He knows I'm
lying.
"Well? You what?" she demanded,
taking the offensive.

"I'm just...the timing. I mean you just had
your period last week, Am. How can you be pregnant?"

"Well, um..." Amber
cleared her throat. Maybe she hadn't thought this through well
enough after all. "You know women can still get their period in the
first trimester, Michael, right? That's why a lot of us don't even
realize we're pregnant sometimes."
Salvage,
she thought.
You can fix this.
"Anyway, I took a test over at my mother's this morning and
it was positive."

"Okay," he said frowning, "but if you just
had your period, what made you suspect you might be pregnant? Did
you know when we were in Arizona?"

"No! I mean, well...I suspected it then,
because I felt queasy. I didn't want to bother you with it, but my
breasts were a little sore...and...and I just felt nauseous. Not
like myself, you know?

"Anyway, I'll be making an appointment with
an OB...Elaine's. She's supposed to text me the number." She
hesitated. "You know, I'm not feeling a whole lot of support here,
Michael. We're going to have a baby and you look like I've just
punched you in the gut or something."

Or something.

Michael just sat there
staring at her, a strange, glassy look in his eyes. Finally, he
shook his head. "I'm sorry but I'm just
very
surprised. Shocked, actually.
It's the last thing I would've expected right now."

"I
know
," she replied. "I know. But we
can embrace this, can't we? We'll be such awesome parents! We could
start looking for a bigger place, maybe move down to Lincoln Beach
and—"

"Amber, whoa. Obviously, I'm gonna need a
minute to digest this, okay? Wow."

"Okay...but
I'm
very happy about it.
I just know this is a good thing for us. I
know
it is. It takes us right into
the next phase of our life together."

Suddenly, he got up, left her there and went
into the bedroom. After a few minutes, she heard the shower
running.

Shit,
she thought.
This won't work if he
doubts me
.
What
if he asks for proof? And won't he want to attend my first doctor
visit?

Shit
.

While she sat at the desk wringing her
hands, trying to calm her anxiety over what she'd just done, their
food arrived. Later, Amber would have very little recollection of
the fact that she had gotten her wallet out, paid and even tipped
the driver as he'd handed her the food.

The whole rest of the evening went by in a
blur. Michael had his Kung Pao in front of the television, watching
SportsCenter, while she ate at the desk, trying but failing to get
started on her next assignment. She finally just gave up, which
meant she'd have to do a rush job on it in the morning.

Finding it almost impossible to swallow
much, Amber threw most of the shrimp and vegetables away before
heading into the bedroom to take a shower.

•~•

When she got out, she went outside on the
balcony to call her mother, but her phone buzzed just as she was
sliding the door closed behind her. Looking at the screen, she saw
that it was her cousin. "Hey, Elaine," she answered quietly, trying
to keep her voice calm even though her stomach was in knots.

"Hey," her cousin said, "is it a good time?
I just wanted to check in and see how things were going."

Amber knew she could trust
Elaine with her life, but now that she was in the thick of this
scheme, she was embarrassed to talk about it. "I think you were
right," she admitted. "This might've been a good idea in
theory
, but—"

"Okay, wait—just tell me what happened."

Amber explained Michael's
reaction. "And, Elaine—I
know
that look. He said he needed time to digest it,
but I don't think he believes me at all."

"Well, it was a harebrained idea to begin
with," her cousin said, not unkindly. "And I warned you not to go
there."

"Well, I went there," said Amber, "and I
can't back down now—I have to get pregnant ASAP."

"Yep, it sure looks that way. But, Amber, if
you don't get pregnant in the next couple weeks or so, you'll have
to fake a miscarriage...or blame a faulty test strip to get out of
it." Elaine paused. "But, hopefully it won't come to that."

"Oh, my God!" Amber perked
up. "I was
so
worried about not getting pregnant right away—but you just
gave me an easy out! Why didn't
I
think of that? Saying I had a miscarriage would
be
perfect
. I
could easily stage one when I get my next period. And there's no
way he would ever be able to prove I hadn't been
pregnant!"

"But, Amber. Seriously." Elaine's tone was
sobering. "You're playing with fire here."

Yes, I
know
, she thought.

"But isn't he worth it?"
she asked, looking inside the apartment where Michael was stretched
out on the sofa, likely fast asleep. "We could never have
with
anyone
else
what we've had with each other."

"And no offense, Am," her cousin added, "but
you know your mom's not exactly the best influence, so I'd take any
more advice she doles out with a grain of salt. You don't need a
prison record to match hers."

"Well, let's not
get
that
carried
away," she replied. But heeding Elaine's advice for the moment,
Amber decided against calling her mother next. Instead she went
back inside to wake Michael and got him to bed.

Just keep playing your
role,
she thought as she pulled the quilt
over him.
He's not going to leave...This
whole mess will run its course
.

•
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
•

T
here were three popular parks in the City of Mayfair.
Coincidently, Violet Heights Recreational Park was not only the
most secluded but also the closest one to Emerald Leas, and it had
been their grandmother's favorite.

It was mid-morning and Priscilla was sitting
in the shade, on her favorite park bench, tapping her pencil
against her lip and feeling...absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch.

She had agreed to complete a cover
illustration for a well-known author's latest children's book and
needed to have it done in the next few days.

Man,
she thought,
how hard is it to draw
a damn unicorn in a poppy field?

Having accepted the project at the last
minute, she had hoped to find quick inspiration for the piece in
the outdoors. From the beautiful flowers, the chirping birds and
playing children, to the gorgeous view of the white sandy
beachfront, sitting in the park had always inspired her, made her
feel good inside.

Even now, busy squirrels rattled in the
trees overhead and fragrant flowers bloomed all over with the life
and vibrancy she strived to capture. So why couldn't she turn this
drab landscape into the gorgeous meadow she already saw so clearly
in her mind?

Beauty,
she thought.
The
unicorn's name is Beauty, so there's no way this can be a
lackluster backdrop.
Letting her head fall
back for a moment, she stared up at the clouds. One of them looked
like a butterfly and she studied it for a while.

Smiling, she suddenly began sketching
passionately, her hand moving effortlessly over the page. The
flowers came alive. Blues, purples and pinks. The horizon turned
into a nice sunset, and the unicorn stood tall. Priscilla
relaxed.

"So," said Paula, petting
her Great Dane, a strapping animal the Fleischman's called
Chambers. "I'm glad we finally got you out of the house, Cilla, but
can you at least
pretend
you're not alone out here?"

She looked at her friend and smiled. "Sorry.
I've just got a few things on my mind...had to work through a
block."

"Yeah, well, block or no
block, it makes you pretty lousy company—which you
know
Mrs. Bauer wouldn't
have stood for."

Priscilla shrugged. "That's true, can't
argue with you there." She glanced up as she noticed a little girl
tripping on a jump rope nearby. An older boy, maybe her brother,
started teasing her. The girl got up with such fierce
determination, Priscilla almost applauded, watching her take off
with long strides to continue jumping elsewhere.

Smiling, Cilla turned and looked at Paula,
who'd also been watching. "Spunky little thing, isn't she?"

Paula giggled. "Stop trying to change the
subject."

"Sorry," she replied,
bowing her head. "It's just that my life has changed
so
suddenly and everyone
just expects you to know how to get on with it. Gran's left us with
a lot of responsibilities we've never had before. And Doug is far
more prepared to handle them than I am. I have a whole lot to learn
and not a lot of time to learn it in, especially if I don't want to
screw things up." She paused, softly underscoring her point.
"It's
a lot
of
pressure."

"Did your grandmother have a DMM? Or an
accounting firm handling her finances, or did she handle everything
herself?"

"No, Gran was
very
hands-on. That's
one thing she drilled into us—sign your own checks. But we do have
an accountant and I have a meeting with him next week to go over
things."

"Well, that's good," said Paula.

"Yeah. I want a clear
understanding of everything, so I can manage the estate myself. I
don't even want to depend on Doug for anything. I never
ever
want to be one of
those people who has to get a phone call in order to know they're
broke, you know what I mean?"

"Totally, and I don't blame you; and you
know I'll support you any way I can."

"I know you will," she said, reaching over
to squeeze her friend's shoulder, "and it means a lot. Thank
you."

"So...I sensed some tension in the air when
I came by. What's up with Doug?"

"Ugh," Priscilla groaned
and put down the sketchpad. "I'm so ready for Douglas to go back to
France! He's on my last nerve. We were arguing about the fact that
the Academy wants to throw a"—she made air
quotes—"
memorial celebration
next month and he up and agreed to host it at the
hotel!"

"We're talking about The Academy of Motion
Pictures, right?"

Priscilla nodded.

"Well, what's wrong with that?" cried Paula,
even startling Chambers. "It sounds fabulous!"

She shook her head.
"Interviews. Events. Fuss, fuss, fuss.
Exactly
what Gran never
wanted."

"I know that's how you
feel," said Paula, "and I know you think you're trying to honor her
wishes, but Priscilla..." She paused, her voice softened. "She's
gone now. And there are a lot of people who loved her, too. She
made some really great movies in her day, classic films that are
still celebrated today. I don't see the harm in this. It should be
the
least
of your
concerns."

Whatever,
Priscilla thought.
You
just don't understand
.

"So, will you go?" Paula asked her.

"I told Douglas I wouldn't, but I think he's
right—I have to. If I don't put in an appearance, it'll just feed
the press cycle on her for another month."

"So...what do
I
have to do to get an
invite?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to find out, but
I'm pretty sure you'll all be invited."

"Great!" Paula exclaimed. "And you know
Stell will be over the moon!" Paula's older sister Stella was
notoriously unsatisfied with simply being wealthy; she craved fame
in equal measure.

Now a little annoyed, Priscilla began
packing up, sticking her sketchbook and colored pencils into her
carrying case. She just wanted to get home and put the final
touches on the artwork. She was done trying to make her friend
understand.

•~•

When she got back to Emerald Leas, Priscilla
was relieved to see her grandmother's Cadillac missing from the
garage. It meant Douglas had gone out.

Once inside, she put her things away and
went straight into Gran's bedroom to spend some time with Chewy. He
looked up expectantly as she walked in, breaking her heart all over
again. He always allowed her to pick him up, going almost limp when
she touched him. "Hey, boy," she said. "We're gonna go for another
walk in a bit, okay?" And as she lay in the bed with Chewy, she
allowed her mind to take her to the place she'd been resisting for
days now—Michael Frost.