Table for Two (7 page)

"I was just the opposite." He told her. "My dad was never around. I was raised by a nanny and my mother when she wasn't too busy with her charities. So I have no fatherly example to lead by."

Isabella smiled. "I love your mother. She's one of my best customers."

"You may need to put her on your payroll soon, with all the marketing she does for you." Parker told her, laughing at how enthusiastic his mother was about The TigerLily.

Both of them felt the car come to a stop and they looked out the window to see the doctor's office. "Well, this is it." She told him.

He nodded and opened the door, turning back to help her out once he got out. He followed behind her as she led him into the office of her obstetrician. While she checked them in, he took a seat. She returned and sat next to him, watching as his knee bounced up and down, showing just how nervous he really was.

*****

After the DNA extractions, Isabella and Parker got back in the town car. "Can I buy you breakfast?" He asked, not wanting to leave her yet. For some reason, it was comforting for him to be with her. "Maybe we can get to know each other a little better?"

Isabella thought for a moment. They did get off to a rough start, maybe this was the opportunity for the new beginning that they needed. "I have a better idea. How about you let me make you breakfast. Plus it will give me a chance to open the restaurant."

"Are you sure you feel up to all that work?" He asked, surprising both Isabella and himself with his thoughtfulness.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She smiled.

Parker gave the driver the address to the restaurant, and they arrived there a few minutes later. Isabella took out her keys and unlocked the door, turning on light as they went in.

He followed her to the kitchen, the place where they first met. Once in there, he looked around, something he didn't do the first time. He was impressed with what he saw, even though he had no idea what he was really looking at. But, it was immaculately clean, and that was definitely important to him.

"So what are you in the mood for?" She asked him, heading to the large walk-in cooler.

"I'm pretty easy. Surprise me." He called out, loud enough for her to hear him.

Isabella came out of the cooler with her hands full of ingredients. "We're not really the breakfast-type of restaurant, so I'll have to make do with what we have." She told him apologetically.

"I'm sure whatever you make will be great." He said politely. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, him watching her throw together ingredients. "Can we start over?" He asked, knowing that they needed to break the tension somehow.

Isabella looked up with a surprised look on her face. He seemed like an entirely different person than the one that she first met. Maybe it was just a bad first impression…and second, and third… "That might be a good idea." She told him, wiping her hands on the black with white pinstriped apron she wore. They met each other half way, in the middle of the kitchen, where she held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Isabella Violi and I own this little diner." She said with a smile.

Parker took her hand in his and shook it. "Nice to meet you. I'm Parker Davidson, rock star extraordinaire." They laughed. "Well, that went much better than the first few times." He said as he watched her go back to making breakfast.

"I don't know, but I think the second time we met might have been enjoyable." Her smile changed to a puzzled look as she thought about what she just said. They both laughed, realizing how awkward the whole situation was.

They made idle chat while she finished making their breakfast, and not long after, they sat down to a table full of breakfast foods. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, but I have ham and cheese omelets, steak and eggs, eggs benedict, and crepes. Like I said, I had to make do with what little breakfast foods we had."

"It all looks great!" Parker told her, his mouth watering. He took a little of everything, realizing at that moment exactly how hungry he was.

Isabella didn't take too much, her stomach was a little queasy, and she wasn't really sure what would calm it and what would send it over the edge. Parker didn't fail to notice how little she had to eat, and when he commented on it, she told him of her morning sickness, making him feel sorry for her and her situation.

"So tell me about yourself. You know all about what I do with my life, what's it like to be a rock star?" She asked him.

"Better than I could've imagined, most days. But then there're times when I hate it…the paparazzi, the crazed fans, the complete lack of privacy. And yes, I know that I made a conscious effort to put my life out there like that, but I don't think anyone ever truly knows exactly what they are getting themselves into." He explained. "But I love making music, and I love performing. It's such a rush to be up there on stage, in front of thousands of people, with all of them hanging on your every word."

"Did you ever have stage fright?" She asked, not sure if he would tell her the truth or not.

He paused for a moment. "Yeah. Actually I get nervous every time before I go on stage. But that all disappears the moment the first note of the song plays."

Slowly the food started to disappear until Parker could no longer to eat anymore. The conversation kept flowing though, as he talked about his new album and his struggles with the record company. For some reason, he just found her so easy to talk to, and was telling her things that he shouldn't be telling a stranger. He just had a feeling that she wasn't the type to run to the tabloids and tell them everything that he had admitted.

Before long, Dylan and a few other employees filtered in the door. Isabella jumped up, feeling like she got caught doing something wrong, even though she owned the restaurant and could do whatever she wanted. She gathered some of the plates and headed to the kitchen to start cleaning up. Dylan gave Parker a dirty look as he passed him and went to find Isabella.

"I don't want to hear it Dyl." Isabella called over her shoulder when she heard the kitchen door swing open. "We had a good morning, and I don't want to ruin it, so please save whatever you have to say."

"Fine, I won't say a word." He told her and started to help her with cleaning the dishes.

The kitchen door opened again, only this time it was Parker and he was carrying the rest of the dishes from the table they were sitting at. Isabella turned to see him trying to balance all the empty plates. She rushed over to take some of them from him.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that. I could've gotten them." She smiled.

"Hey, I have to earn my breakfast, right?" He joked, completely aware of the negative feelings that Isabella's friend and employee had for him. He pulled Isabella to the side where he could say good bye to her without her 'bodyguard' watching. "Thanks for everything this morning. I really enjoyed getting to know you, and I'm glad we were able to start over." He looked into her eyes. "You'll let me know when you get the test results back?"

"I'll let you know as soon as I find out. But I don't need them to give you the answer." She said, almost sadly.

Parker nodded. "I know, and like I said, I'd like to trust my gut, but you understand why I can't, right?"

"Yeah, I understand."

"Alright. Well, I have to get to the studio, and it looks like you need to get to work here too. Thanks again, I really enjoyed myself." He told her, not sure whether to give her a kiss, a hug, or a handshake. He settled for an awkward kiss on the cheek before turning to leave.

Once he was gone, Isabella turned around. "Not a word Dylly!"

*****

Over the next week, Parker was busy at the studio, trying to get the last of his songs recorded. When the last song was finished, they decided that it was time to celebrate. "Tommy, my man, you're taking me to dinner tonight."

Tom looked at his client who was smirking at him. "And why am I taking you?" He asked.

"Because you need to appreciate your clients. Without me, you wouldn't be nearly as successful." Parker pointed out.

If Parker would have been serious or malicious in his statement, Tom would have told him to go get bent. But he knew the man too well, and knew he was just trying to get a rise out of Tom. "Fine, McDonald's it is."

"Not a chance. We're going to The TigerLily." He smiled.

"You've been going there a lot lately. I thought you got tossed out and completely embarrassed." Tom questioned.

"I did, but we worked it all out. They really do have some of the best food." He admitted. 'Besides, I want another chance to talk to Isabella and see if the results came in yet.' He thought.

"Ok, lead the way!" Tom told him as they left the studio.

*****

Their meal was nearly over, and Parker still hadn't seen Isabella. He was just about to ask the waiter where she was when the paramedics rushed in. The whole dining room was silent as they watched the emergency crew take the gurney into the kitchen. Parker stood at his table, trying to catch a passing waiter to ask what was happening, but none of them would stop to talk to him.

He tossed his napkin on the table and headed to the kitchen. The bartender and another waiter blocked his path as he tried to enter to see what was happening. He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn't like, and he had to make sure that Isabella was ok.

He tried to explain to the two guys that he needed to see Isabella, but they weren't accommodating him. As he tried to talk reason with them, the paramedics burst back through the door.

And, just as he'd feared, there lay Isabella on the gurney. "Bella?" He shouted as she passed, but she didn't respond to him. He found Dylan trailing behind the EMTs and tried to get information from him. "Listen, I know you don't like me, but I need to know what happened to her."

"You're right, I don't like you." He spat, then thought of what Isabella would have wanted and sighed. "We don't know what's wrong. She collapsed a few minutes ago and has been out since. You can follow the ambulance to the hospital if you want."

Parker nodded his head and followed after them, completely forgetting that Tom was still at the table with no clue what was happening. All that mattered was finding out what happened to Isabella.

*****

They waited for what felt like hours. The tension in the waiting room was thick as Parker and Dylan sat on opposite sides of the room. Neither one said anything to the other and the quiet was deafening. When the doctor finally appeared, neither was prepared for what she said.

"Ms. Violi is conscious again, but unfortunately, she lost the baby. We really aren't sure what happened, sometimes women just end up having spontaneous miscarriages in their first trimester."

"Can we see her doctor?" Dylan asked.

"Only immediate family at this time." The doctor told them.

"I'm the father of the baby though." Parker told her, hoping that would give him access. He wasn't thinking at that point, he couldn't think. All he knew was that the baby that he wasn't ready for had died, and it was the worst feeling in the world.

The doctor nodded her head. She looked at her chart. "Mr. Davidson?" She asked.

"Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you could keep this quiet. I don't want the press to know about any of it." He told her.

"Of course." The doctor nodded her head. "If you'll come right this way, you can see Ms. Violi."

Parker followed behind the doctor, not sure what he would be walking into when he saw Isabella. He walked through the door to her room to find her laying on her side, with her back to him.

He slowly walked around the other side of the bed so that he was on the side where she could see him. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were closed. She looked so tired and so pale, just a shell of the fiery woman he first met. He placed his hand on hers, causing her to open her eyes. "Hi." He whispered, not sure what to say.

"Hi." She said, rolling over to her back and running her hands over her face. "I must be a sight, huh?" She said with a humorless laugh. She reached over to the stand beside the bed, picked up a manila folder and handed it to him. "Here's your results."

Parker held the folder in his hand, but didn't open it. Instead, he tossed the folder into the garbage can next to her bed. "I don't need them. I already know that I'm the father." His throat tightened. "That I was the father."

Isabella began crying. "I'm so sorry Parker. I'm sorry that I lost our baby."

Parker sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her body to his. "Shh…it's not your fault. The doctor said it just happens sometimes." The tears were building in his eyes. Neither one had been ready for the baby they created, but neither one had been ready to lose the baby either. It was a hurt that would take a while for them to get over.

The next day, Isabella was released from the hospital under strict orders from her doctor to take it easy for the next few days. Dylan walked by her side as a nurse pushed her wheel chair to the front doors where a taxi was waiting for them. Neither one said a word, both feeling the solemnity of the moment.

Once back at her apartment, Bella went straight for her bedroom, and let the tears fall as soon as she laid down. The guilt inside her was immeasurable. If only she hadn't regretted the pregnancy, maybe she wouldn't have lost the baby. Or, if she had slowed down a little, her body would have been able to accommodate the pregnancy. All sorts of thoughts flew through her mind, but in the end, none of them mattered. She still lost her baby, and nothing felt as bad as that.