A Week at the Beach (29 page)

            Chrissy’s face flashed with recognition.  She turned to look at me, but I kept looking intently at the food on my plate, and only barely raised my eyes to notice her. 

            “Rick, right?” Chrissy said with uncertainty.

            Nick laughed, “It’s Nick.”

            Chrissy shrugged him off and gave him a playful smile, “Sorry, I’ve never been that great with names.”

            “Funny, I don’t remember you having any trouble with the name Todd,” Nick quipped back with a chuckle in his voice.  He walked into the room further, so that he was now completely visible to Chrissy’s mom.

            “Oh my!” Chrissy’s mom sighed as she took in the sight of Nick. 

            “Fletch!  Glad you could make it!”  Ned stood up and greeted his employee with enthusiasm.  “I didn’t realize you already knew our Chrissy.”

            Nick smiled and looked at Chrissy.  “How much can someone really know Chrissy?”

            Ned laughed and Chrissy rolled her eyes.

            “Where did you two meet?” Chrissy’s mom asked Nick with a grin. 

            “I was lucky enough to share a house with her at the beach this summer,” Nick smiled at Chrissy’s mom. 

            “So then you know Cami, too,” Ned said and looked at me with a smile. 

            Nick slowly turned in my direction.  With the smile gone, he said softly, “I know Cami.”

            I couldn’t open my mouth to speak, so I just waved and smiled politely.  He nodded in response.

            “Sit down, sit down!” Ned said and pointed him towards the chair next to Chrissy. 

            I stared at my plate as he sat down.  I couldn’t look up at him.  I could feel Chrissy’s eyes on me, so I looked up at her.  She raised an eyebrow at me in question, and I nodded slightly in response.  With that one gesture, Chrissy knew about Nick and me.  She gave me an apologetic smile.

            “So Nick, what brings you to New York from LA?” Chrissy’s mom asked, oblivious to the silent conversation her daughter and I were having. 

            “LA just didn’t feel right for me anymore.  After that week in North Carolina, I started thinking that maybe the east coast would be a good fit.”  Even though I couldn’t see him, I could tell he was smiling as he talked. 

            “Well, Ned is certainly pleased to have you here in New York.  He was just telling us how great you are.”  Chrissy’s mom spoke in a giddy voice that reminded me of the way the girl in the ceramics shop had reacted to Nick. 

            “I’m happy to be here.  I’m hoping that everyone else is just as pleased to have me here.” Nick answered her.  I could feel his eyes on me.

            A wave of nausea washed over me.  I stood up suddenly, causing Ned, and Chrissy’s mom, both to flinch back in surprise. 

            “I’m sorry!” I said quickly.  “I’m not feeling well, all of a sudden.  Please excuse me.”  I put my hand over my mouth and ran out of the room.  Locked in the hall bathroom, I steadied myself against the sink.  The nausea had gone away, but the room was spinning.  I took several deep breaths then splashed water on my face.  The last thing I wanted was a face-to-face confrontation with Nick.  His arrival had put a big kink in my plan for telling him about my situation. 

            My hands shook as I reached for the door and turned the knob.  When the door opened, Nick was standing on the other side of it.  It felt like my heart dropped to my feet and all the blood ran out after it.  I clutched the doorknob for support.

            “I didn’t move here for you,” he said as he stared at me.

            I cleared my throat and looked down.  “I didn’t think you did.”

            He took a step forward, “Let me finish, please.”

            I nodded.

            He took a deep breath.  “I didn’t move here for you.  I moved here for purely selfish reasons.  I moved here because this job is better for me and offers me more chances for promotion.  I’m here because I needed to get away from LA.  I’m also here because I need to be near you.”

            The floor started spinning and I closed my eyes to avoid seeing it. 

            “I know it’s incredibly selfish of me to move here and expect that you’re happy to see me.  I know that you could quite possibly be with someone now.  You could be in love with someone else.  I know all of that, but I hope that’s not the case.  I hope that you want me around.”  He stopped and I looked up at him.  “If you are with someone, please tell me now.  I can be just friends with you, if that’s my only option.”

            I shook my head, “I’m not with anyone.”

            He closed his eyes and sighed loudly.  “I missed you so much, Cami.  I know it sounds crazy because we barely know each other, but I did.  I got back to LA and I hated every inch of that place.  I hated every minute of being back there.  I’m an idiot, too, because it took me almost three weeks to admit it.”  He took another step towards me and grabbed my hands, “Cami, I need you.  I don’t know how you did it, but you got to me.  You made me feel things I didn’t think were possible.  You made me a better person, and I want to be that person all the time now.  I need you.”  He leaned against me and rested his forehead against mine.

            I breathed in his scent and felt the warmth of his skin as his hands held mine.

            “Cami, say something before I go crazy,” he whispered.

            “I missed you too,” I said softly.

            He let go of me and wrapped his hands in my hair.  He pulled me to him and kissed me.  I felt myself melt into him as my arms wrapped around him. 

            He broke the kiss.  With his hands still wrapped up in my hair, he smiled and looked into my eyes.  “I have something for you.”

            I swallowed hard, “I have something too.”

            He smiled and stood up.  He pulled away from me and reached into his pocket for something.  “I looked everywhere for the right one, but couldn’t find it.  I finally just broke down and had one of the guys in graphic design draw it for me.  I took the drawing to the jeweler and had it made.  Do you like it?” he asked with a voice full of hope, as he held the diamond ring out for me.

            “What?” I asked in disbelief.

            “Right!” he said with a smile and shake of his head.  He knelt down in front of me and held the ring out to me.  “Cami, I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I know that if I love you this much and I barely know you, then I can’t fathom how much I’m going to love you in thirty years.  You’re it, Cami.  I want to spend the rest of my life trying to keep you from tripping on things and falling down.  I want you, and I want you forever.  Please marry me and put me out of my misery!”

            “What the hell is going on here?” Chrissy said loudly from the hall. 

            Nick put his other hand up to silence Chrissy.  He was still looking intently at me, though the smile was gone.  “Cami, will you marry me?”

            “I need to tell you something first,” I said with a dry mouth.

            He grabbed my hand.  “Whatever it is, Cami, I’m sure it can wait.”  He smiled nervously, “I’m kind of hanging here, Cami.”

            Before I could hesitate or stop myself, I spit out what I needed to say.  “I’m pregnant.”

            Suddenly, the house seemed to go silent.  It was the first time I’d said the phrase aloud and it felt strange, but somehow made it all real. 

            “What!” Chrissy shouted and started walking towards me.  Her mom reached out and stopped her before she could get closer to me.

            “This is between them, honey.  We should let them handle it.”  She said as she pulled her daughter back down the hall.

            I could hear Chrissy’s incredulous voice, even though she couldn’t be seen.  “I’m her best friend.  How could she not tell me that?”

            “Are you sure?” Nick asked nervously.

            I nodded, “I took a test at home then went to the doctor the other day.”

            He was still looking at me with a nervous look.  “It’s mine?”

            I nodded, “Yes, and I’m sure about that too.”

            His eyes closed but he didn’t move from his proposal position.  I stared at the ring he was holding out for me.  It was exactly what I’d described to the waitress our second day at the beach.  It was platinum with a round diamond placed in the center around a circle of diamonds.  The whole thing was set in a band with diamonds set inside it.  My eyes started to tear up as I looked at it.

            “I’m still waiting for your answer,” he said softly. 

            I’d been too busy staring at the ring to realize that he was looking at me.

            My voice broke as I asked, “Are you sure?”

            He grabbed my hand and slipped the ring on my finger, “Are you kidding me?  Do you honestly think I’m not going to be there for you and our baby?”

            “You don’t have to marry me just because of the baby.  I don’t want you there just because you feel obligated to be there.” I could feel hot tears streaming down my face.

            He smiled, “I asked you before I knew, remember?”

            “I know, but everything is different now.”

            He stood up and held me against his chest.  “You’re right.  Everything is different.”  He rubbed my back.  “It’s better now.”

            I sighed and leaned into him.

            He started laughing.

            I leaned away and looked up at him.  “What’s so funny?”

            He smiled at me, “We should have known this was going to happen.  You are the most accident prone person I’ve ever met.”

            I smiled, “I’ve never had this kind of accident before.”

            He leaned down and kissed me on the lips.  “This was no accident, Cami.  This was meant to be.  I love you.”

            “I love you too.” 

            “Can I touch your bump?” he said sweetly.

            I blushed, “It’s not really a bump so much as a blip.”  Carefully, I pulled my shirt up and lowered the waistband of my skirt. 

            He gently placed his hand on my belly.  He smiled and stared at it, “That’s our baby.”  He leaned down and kissed where his hand had been.  “I’m going to be a dad.”

            “I’m sorry I was so cold the last time we talked.”  I ran my fingers through his hair as he kissed my belly again.  “I didn’t understand why I was feeling the way I was, and I thought that walking away would make it all better.”

            “Boy were you wrong, huh?” Nick said with a grin and stood up.  “Don’t worry about it.  I get it.  I will accept your apology on one condition.”

            “What’s that?” I asked nervously.

            “Accept mine for being an ass and running away,” he grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips.  He kissed my hand softly and waited for my response.

            “I accept.”

            He smiled then held my hand up and pointed at my ring.  “Do you like it?”

            I smiled and nodded.

            “I had an inkling that you would,” he kissed my hand again.  “You never said yes, by the way.”