Rebecca's Little Secret (6 page)

“I suppose, if you want.” In actuality, she was having a little difficulty adjusting to sharing her son.

While Jeff helped Joey into his pajamas, washed his face and brushed his teeth, Rebecca tidied his bedroom. There wasn’t a lot to do, thanks to Betty. When it had just been the two of them, Rebecca had had trouble keeping up with the laundry and the toys and books, in addition to her job.

When the two men came out of the bathroom, Joey was giggling. “Mommy, Daddy said the new baby will be like my little brother or sister.”

“Yes, I guess you could say that,” she said slowly. She often wanted Joey to have a brother or sister, but that wasn’t possible.

“That’ll be okay, I guess. Will he be here in the morning? When I wake up?” Joey asked innocently.

“No, sweetie,” Rebecca said, running her fingers through his unruly hair. “He’ll be here in almost a year.”

“Did I take that long?”

“Yes, you did,” Rebecca said, avoiding Jeff’s gaze. “Have you picked out a bedtime book for your daddy to read to you?”

“I want him to read my dinosaur book. And you come read some of it, too, Mommy. I want both of you to put me to bed.”

Rebecca realized her son was getting a little spoiled, but she couldn’t resist his request. She joined Joey and Jeff on the bed, the three of them cuddling around the book.

When they’d finished, she tucked in the sleepy little boy.

“That was nice, wasn’t it, Mommy?” Joey asked.

“Yes, Joey, that was nice. Now, go to sleep.” She kissed his cheek and pulled the covers up close.

Then Jeff leaned over and kissed Joey, too. “Good night, son.”

The two adults backed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“This is getting to be a regularity,” Jeff said softly. “I like it.”

“Joey enjoys having your attention.” Rebecca moved toward the stairs.

“Was it like that when you found out about Joey? Were you happy?”

She turned and stared at him. “There was a momentary joy, but I had too much to worry about, Jeff. Being single and pregnant, without any money, is no picnic.”

“I know that,” Jeff said, acknowledging her words. “I just wanted to know that—that somewhere, sometime, you were happy.”

“Yes, Jeff, there was happiness, but I had no one to share it with. I know, I know, I should’ve called you. But I didn’t. I believed I was alone. After he was born, he was so—so beautiful, so perfect. Yes, there was joy.”

“I don’t mean to remind you of bad times, but I’ve missed so much of his young life. I sat down there listening to Will and Vivian, knowing that we’d never have a moment like that.”

Jeff turned and paced the hallway. “I know we can’t go back to change the past, but I wish we could.”

Rebecca sighed and leaned against the wall. “Do you think I haven’t thought that a jillion times? Do you think I wanted Joey and me to be alone? I don’t want us to be alone now. But you’re marrying Chelsea. I accept that. It would be helpful if you could accept the past, too.”

“Yeah,” Jeff said, his chin down. “I guess I’m not helping the situation any.”

“No, you’re not.” She’d fought those battles when Joey was born. She’d wanted so much for her child. Now it appeared that Joey would receive at least some of what she’d wanted for him. She had to adjust to the fact that she wouldn’t be a part of all Joey would receive. But she would accept it soon. It just took time to swallow the fact that Jeff wasn’t going to be her partner in raising Joey.

“Let’s not discuss the past, Jeff. It’s gone. Let’s deal with the present. I’m allowing you as much visitation as you want with Joey. And I think things are going well.” She gave him a bright smile, one that hid tears and lonely nights.

“All right. We’ll concentrate on the present…and the future. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” With his hands in his pockets, Jeff went down the stairs.

Rebecca didn’t follow.

When Rebecca got to the office the next afternoon, Chelsea was waiting for her. Or at least that’s what she said. She was busy talking to Bill when Rebecca came in.

Harriet, too, was waiting to talk to Rebecca. She’d learned Vivian’s news and wanted to discuss it with her.

Jeff stood on the sidelines, watching the life of his office whirl around Rebecca. He was drawn to her, too, as he’d always been. But he remained still, waiting to see her reaction to Chelsea’s plan.

“How is Vivian feeling?” Harriet asked.

“Very well, except for getting tired more frequently. She’s taking naps, though.”

“Oh, that’s good. I’ll have to take her to lunch to celebrate. This is so exciting.”

“Yes, it is, Harriet. I’m sure she’d love to do lunch,” Rebecca assured her, smiling.

“Rebecca, I have a great idea,” Chelsea said almost before Rebecca had finished speaking.

“You do?” Rebecca asked politely, edging her way to the desk Harriet had assigned her.

Chelsea stayed right beside her. “Yes, it’s a new thing for us to do with Joey. It’s perfect.”

“Okay, what is it?” Rebecca asked, putting her purse and books down on the desk.

“It’s the Sesame Street Show on Ice. Jeff can get us very good tickets, maybe even front row. It will be wonderful.” She was very enthusiastic.

“Why, that sounds like a fun thing to do. I’m sure Joey will enjoy it.”

“I think we all will,” Chelsea responded.

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at Rebecca when her gaze met his.

“All?” Rebecca asked faintly.

“You, me, Bill and Jeff, of course, plus Joey. We mustn’t forget Joey,” she added with a laugh.

“But, Chelsea, surely you and Jeff can take Joey.”

“Oh, no, not yet. You promised to teach me all about little boys. I don’t know anything yet.” Chelsea gave her a stubborn look that Jeff had seen before.

He suddenly noticed, too, that Chelsea was wearing jeans and a sweater, similar to what Rebecca had worn to the zoo. That was a change. A big change. Usually, Chelsea wore tailored slacks, silk shirts and jackets.

“But—” Rebecca began, and Jeff stepped forward.

“I think that’s a good plan, Rebecca. And how hard can it be? We’ll sit in air-conditioned seats and watch other people perform. It’s not like we’d be camping out or going fishing or something.”

He almost burst into laughter as he saw Chelsea’s eyes light up. Would her next suggestion include some of those things? He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was willing to let it run its course. If nothing else, his fiancée would understand Joey and know how to deal with him more.

“That’s right, Rebecca. And Bill said he’d buy us a hamburger beforehand.” Chelsea exchanged a bright smile with Bill.

“Well, that’s very nice of Bill, but surely it’s not necessary,” Rebecca responded, seemingly unsure of the invitation.

Bill stepped forward. “Don’t be silly, Rebecca. It will be a treat for me. I’m so tired of eating alone.” He pulled on a curl of Chelsea’s blond hair. “It’ll be fun to take all of you kids out to dinner. And hamburgers aren’t that expensive.”

Jeff touched Rebecca’s arm. “You can tell Bill’s willing. It will be fun, Rebecca. How about Friday night? Are you free then?”

Rebecca hesitated and Jeff’s heart sped up. “What’s wrong? Do you have a date then?”

“Of course not. Vivian was talking about having a celebration with their friends about their baby, and I—”

“Mrs. Greenfield is having a baby?” Chelsea asked.

“Yes, and—”

“But she’s too old!” Chelsea exclaimed.

“No, she’s not,” Rebecca replied, for the first time
showing impatience. “She’s only forty-three. I think it’s wonderful.”

“It is,” Jeff agreed. “And we certainly don’t want to take you away from Vivian’s celebration. Why don’t I call her? Then we can pick another night for our outing.”

“That would be nice, Jeff,” Rebecca agreed with a sweet smile. “I appreciate that.”

Jeff went back into his office, glad things had worked out as they had. He called Vivian Greenfield. “Viv, this is Jeff Jacobs. We were trying to determine a date to take Joey to see Sesame Street on Ice. Rebecca was afraid this Friday might be your celebration for your baby.”

“Oh, Jeff, thanks for checking with me. Yes, we were thinking about this Friday. Would that be a problem?”

“No, we can try to get tickets for Saturday night.”

“Oh, good. And can you and your fiancée join us Friday night? We’d love to have you. It would be nice if someone were here that Rebecca knows.”

“We’d be delighted. Do you mind if I bring my new partner? He doesn’t know anyone in town and—”

“Oh, yes, that would be delightful. I’d love to meet him.”

“Thanks, Vivian. His name is Bill Wallace. I think you’ll like him.”

“I’m sure I will. I’ll look forward to introducing him to Will, too.”

Jeff came out of his office to find Chelsea still
there, talking with Harriet and Bill. Rebecca appeared to be working. “Well, I talked to Vivian and they are having their celebration on Friday night, but we’re all invited. So I think we should move Sesame Street to Saturday night.”

“We’re
all
invited?” Bill asked.

“Yeah. Vivian is looking forward to meeting you and introducing you to Will. You’ll like him. He’s a P.I.”

“I don’t want to intrude on a family event,” Bill said, still hesitant.

“You won’t be. You’ll need to meet them, anyway, since they’re our clients. They’re genuinely nice people and it will be a good time. Right, Rebecca?”

She looked up, but it was obvious she’d been following what he’d said. “They really are, Bill. They took me and Joey in and they treat us like family.”

“But I thought you were family,” Chelsea said, frowning.

“We are, sort of. Vanessa and I are blood sisters, but they didn’t have to be so generous.”

“I bet they fell in love with Joey right away,” Bill said.

“Yes, they did. And they spoil him rotten. But we were so alone until we moved down here, it’s very good for Joey.”

“And you,” Jeff added softly.

Rebecca gave him a sharp look. “Well, yes, of course.”

“Has Will found any of your other brothers or sisters?” Chelsea asked. “Are there others?”

“They’ve found our brother Jim. He’s serving in the Middle East right now. We’re hoping he’ll get home on leave soon. Our brother Wally died over there. They haven’t found David or my twin sister, Rachel.”

“How strange to have a twin and not know where she is,” Chelsea said. “Why did your parents give you all up for adoption?”

“They didn’t,” Jeff hurriedly said. “They were killed in a car crash and there were no other family members available, so the children all got split up and lost contact with one another.”

“Oh, how sad.” Chelsea looked appropriately subdued. “I just never thought about something like that happening.”

“Life takes funny turns, Chelsea. You have to be strong to deal with what happens—look how Rebecca has managed.” Jeff smiled at Rebecca even as he spoke.

“Well, if I’d been Rebecca, I would have given up. I certainly couldn’t have managed on my own. That would have been too hard.”

It was Bill who stepped forward to say, “You would have found a way to manage, Chelsea. I suspect you would have found a lot more strength in you than you’d imagined.”

Chelsea gave him a solemn look. “I hope so.”

F
RIDAY NIGHT
, R
EBECCA
fixed Joey’s collar and smoothed down his hair one more time. “Please be polite this evening. After a while, you can come up
stairs and watch television, but we want to celebrate the new baby first.”

“Why do we celebrate the new baby when he’s not even here yet?” Joey asked. “He can’t even have any cake.”

“No, he can’t. But we celebrate him because he’s a miracle.”

“What’s a miracle?”

“It’s something that happens in spite of everything.”

“Was I a miracle?” Joey asked, staring at his mother.

“Yes, sweetie, you were. You’re my special miracle.”

“And mine, too,” a deep voice said over her shoulder.

“Oh, Jeff. I didn’t know you were here. Is Chelsea with you?” Rebecca hurriedly asked, hoping to hide her embarrassment.

“Yeah, she and Bill are downstairs with Vanessa. I came up to see if you two were ready.”

“Did you see the cake, Daddy? It has little baby shoes on it. Grandma Vivian said that’s ’cause it’s for the baby, but he doesn’t get to eat any. Isn’t that funny?”

“That’s been fascinating him all afternoon,” Rebecca explained.

“And driving you crazy?” Jeff asked sympathetically.

“Yes. Joey, take your daddy’s hand and go downstairs. I need to brush my hair and then I’ll be down.”

“We could wait for you,” Jeff suggested.

“You’re as bad as Chelsea. You’ll be fine.” She hurried out the door to go to her room.

“I think Mommy’s tired.”

“You do? I guess I shouldn’t have made her work today. I didn’t think about that.”

“She made me take a shower and change clothes and everything.” There was a hint of a pout in those words that gave Jeff pause.

“You didn’t give your mom a hard time, did you?”

Joey immediately shook his head no. “But I wanted to wear my jeans. Mommy said no.”

“I figured you’d be in a suit, like me.” Jeff led him to the stairs and started down them.

“I don’t have a suit. Mommy said I should, but she said I grow too fast.”

“Hmm, I need to discuss that with Mommy.”

When they got downstairs, Jeff discovered the party had also become an opportunity for an announcement to all his clients and friends about Joey. Was that why Rebecca had lingered upstairs? Well, he guessed not. How could she have known that he was going to come upstairs to get them? When she finally did come down, Joey turned loose of his hand and immediately crossed the room to her side. Jeff followed.

“Are you feeling all right?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. Why?” she asked as she knelt down beside her son.

“Joey said you were tired.”

“It was a busy day.”

“I could’ve given you the afternoon off,” he offered.

“It’s all right,” she said, rising. “Come on, Joey, let’s go see if Betty and Peter need our help.”

Which effectively excluded Jeff, he realized, as he watched them walk away.

“Where’s Rebecca going?” Chelsea asked as she and Bill approached Jeff.

“I believe to the kitchen. Have you been introducing Bill around? I want him to meet any clients who are here.”

“Yes, I have. Vanessa offered to do so, but I told her I’d manage,” Chelsea assured him, looking proud of herself.

“I’m glad you met Vanessa,” Jeff said to Bill. “I thought maybe we could double-date, if the two of you get along.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Bill assured him.

“I think she’s seeing someone,” Chelsea said at once.

“Really, who?”

“I don’t know his name, but I’m sure they’re pretty serious.”

Rebecca came back into the room, crowded with people, without Joey. She joined her sister. Jeff immediately began moving in that direction and found Chelsea and Bill following him across the room.

“I just wanted to check on Joey.”

“We wondered what happened to him, too,” Chelsea assured him.

When the entourage arrived at Rebecca’s side, she
introduced them to the group. As they were absorbed into the circle, new conversation forming, Jeff discovered Rebecca was no longer with them. Before he could ask her anything about Joey, she’d left their group and moved on to another one.

With a careful look at Bill and Chelsea, Jeff slipped from the group and went after Rebecca. “Are you trying to avoid me?” he asked in a whisper.

“Yes,” she returned, much to his surprise.

“I was kidding,” he protested.

“I wasn’t. It’s a little awkward to be introduced as the mother of your child but not your wife. It’s easier if people connect the dots later, when I’m not around.”

“I hadn’t realized it would be embarrassing to you,” he said slowly, thinking about what she’d said. “I guess that is more, uh, difficult for the mother than it is for the father.”

“It’s the double standard in American life. If a man produces a child, he’s virile. If a woman produces a child without a man attached, she’s easy.” Rebecca had moved to the table and picked up a cup of punch.

“I’ll knock the block off anyone who says such a thing.” Jeff protested, horrified that he’d laid Rebecca open to such attitudes.

“It’s not something you can do anything about. I’m not ashamed of Joey. But I don’t want to encourage that opinion. When you and your fiancée are following me around, it arouses questions I don’t want to answer.”

“Maybe you should grab hold of Bill.”

“Why?”

“He’s a single guy. People would assume he was the new man in your life.”

“And that would be good how?” she asked impatiently.

“I don’t know. I just thought—I wasn’t thinking.”

“Hello, Rebecca, dear,” a large woman said, interrupting their quiet conversation. “It’s so good to see you again. And is this your young man?”

“No, Mrs. Bracken, this is the attorney I work for, Jeff Jacobs. Jeff, Mrs. Bracken is a longtime friend of Vivian’s.”

When Mrs. Bracken engaged him in conversation, calling over her husband to meet him, Rebecca slipped away.

This time Jeff didn’t follow.

T
HE PARTY WAS ALMOST OVER
and Vanessa and Rebecca were standing partially hidden by the French doors.

“I’m glad Mom doesn’t have these kinds of parties very often. I feel like I’ve been at a family reunion,” Vanessa said in a whisper.

“And has every one of them asked you what you think about having a little baby in the family?” Rebecca asked with a smile.

“Yes, of course. Just as they’ve asked you about Joey’s daddy. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable that would make it for you tonight, either.”

“That’s okay. Joey’s up in bed and Chelsea has
taken hold of Jeff, so there are no more lifted eyebrows for me this evening.”

“Bill looks a little lost, though.”

“Yes, he does. Did you like him?”