Arrive (3 page)

“Way to mix a metaphor, professor.”

“It was a simile.”

“Whatever.” I fasten the ribbon around my ponytail and dab some powder on my nose. “Besides, you try lugging around twenty-five extra pounds and see how fast you move.”

“I have to get to the library, and Allie said she needed you to be at the café by eleven because she and Brent have that thing they need to get to.”

“What thing?”

“The
thing
.” Dean waves his hand impatiently. “And eleven o’clock is seven minutes from now.”

“Thank you, Father Time.” I make sure my wallet, keys, hairbrush, and lipstick are in my satchel. Then I groan. “I need to pee again.”

“Liv.”

“This is not within my control!” I glare at him and stomp back to the bathroom.

After peeing for at least the third time this morning, I wash my hands and check my reflection again. I’m wearing one of my work outfits of black maternity pants and long-sleeved, V-neck blouse with a wide sash above my belly. I retie the sash into a bow and go into the living room.

Dean is now waiting by the front door. Looking pointedly at his watch.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I announce, glancing at his clothes. “Why are you so dressed up for a trip to the library?”

He looks down at his charcoal-colored slacks, navy blue dress shirt, and gray-and-blue striped tie. With his dark hair brushed away from his forehead, he looks distinguished and handsome as the devil, but… really? The library?

“There’s a board meeting I agreed to attend,” he says, holding out my coat.

“Since when do you sit on the library board?”

“I don’t. They want some advice on their medieval manuscript collection.”

I push my feet into my slip-on shoes. “What kind of library board meets on a Saturday morning?”

“The university library board. Now come
on.
”

After grumbling that because I took so long, we don’t have time to walk to the café, Dean opens the car door for me and waits until I’m settled before he goes around to the driver’s side.

We drive the short distance to Emerald Street, and Dean circles the block twice because of the number of cars lining the street. Not surprising considering it’s a bright, beautiful morning. There’s a brisk chill in the air, but the sky is eggshell blue, and the sidewalks are humming with shoppers and pedestrians.

“You don’t have to park,” I say when Dean starts to maneuver the car into a tight space beside the curb. “Just drop me off, then go on to your board meeting.”

“It’s okay. I have time.”

“Five minutes ago, you were snarking at me that you have to get to the library, like,
yesterday
and now suddenly you have time?” I ask peevishly. “Did I miss something? Did we drop through a portal in time and space?”

Dean puts the car into park and gives me a grin that should come with a warning sign considering the way it makes my heart go all aflutter. I try to maintain my scowl, but then he leans across the console to press his mouth against mine, and of course that’s the mortal blow to my irritation.

“If there were a time-travel portal,” Dean murmurs against my lips, “I’d travel back to the day we met so I could see you for the first time all over again.”

I break away from him to laugh. “You are so full of it.”

“Full of love for you, beauty.” He winks at me and opens the car door.

We head to the café and go up the steps of the front porch. The doors are closed, which is strange since the café opens at seven on Saturdays.

“Allie didn’t tell me no one would be here,” I say, fishing in my bag for the key. “Did she tell you anything? Where’s the rest of the staff?”

I unlock the door and push it open. The lights are off, and there’s a strange hush in the reception area.

“What in the…” I drop my bag on a chair and walk toward the front counter.

An instant later, the lights flare on, a loud cheer fills the air, and I almost pee in my pants.

Dean puts a hand on my shoulder to steady me when I step backward and blink in astonishment.

At least twenty-five people fill the café, along with a blur of pink and blue. Voices rise with laughter, and then Kelsey and Allie appear in my line of vision. To complement the blue streak in her hair, Kelsey is wearing a tailored blue suit and silver jewelry. Not to mention a brilliant and self-satisfied smile. Beside her, Allie is almost clapping her hands with excitement.

“Happy baby shower!” Kelsey encloses me in a hug before reaching behind me to high-five Dean. “Nice work, Professor Marvel.”

“She didn’t suspect a thing,” he says.

I turn to Dean, who is also looking rather smug. “You guys planned all this?”

“Kelsey and Allie did,” Dean replies. “My job was to keep my mouth shut about it and deliver you here on time. Which was no easy feat,” he adds.

“Five minutes late.” Kelsey shrugs. “We’ll forgive you.”

“A surprise baby shower?” My heartbeat has calmed down a little, but now my chest is filling with a riot of emotions. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“That’s why it was a surprise,” Allie says, giving me a tight hug. “We wanted to lure you here at the last minute so you wouldn’t have any time to get suspicious.”

“It worked.” Tears sting my eyes as I gaze at the people, my friends, filling the café Allie and I opened together. “You did this all for me?”

“Yeah, but don’t get sappy about it.” Kelsey presses a glass into my hand. “Sparkling apple cider. Now go on, mingle. People want to see you and wish you well.”

I sniffle and try to compose myself. Dean hands me a tissue.

“You knew about this all along?” I ask.

“Yeah. Kelsey and Allie have been planning it for months. Drove me crazy with the catering menu. Should we have tea sandwiches or deviled eggs or salmon mousse? I picked all three.”

“What about the café?”

“Brent just put up a sign saying we’re closed until two for a private event, along with a pack of free meal coupons to appease any disgruntled customers,” Allie explains. “Now, go on, have fun.”

I walk into the café. Even with all the Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz décor—the playing card curtains, curvy high-backed chairs, and colorful murals—I can’t get over the way they’ve transformed the rooms. The tables are arranged with careful precision, each decorated with a blooming lilac centerpiece and place settings of china, silver, and crystal. Huge bunches of helium-filled pink-and-blue balloons float toward the ceiling. Garlands of pink-and-blue paper lanterns crisscross the molding and provide a soft illumination. Two servers in white jackets walk around with silver trays filled with appetizers.

Dean presses his hand against my lower back to urge me forward.

“Don’t you need to get to the library?” I ask. “For the board meeting?”

He chuckles. “There’s no board meeting.”

“Oh.”

“No crying, Liv.” A familiar female voice makes me look up. “You’ll smear your makeup.”

I watch in shock as Dean’s mother and sister approach. Joanna West looks lovely in a pale peach dress, her hair carefully styled. Beside her, Paige West is elegant as ever in a cream-colored sheath.

“Congratulations, Liv.” Joanna touches my arm and brushes her lips close to my cheek, the air around her smelling like flowers. “We’re so pleased everything is going well.”

Then, as if I couldn’t be shocked any more than I already am, Paige reaches out to hug me. These are women who once thought I wasn’t good enough for Dean. Somehow, without even being born yet, this baby has bridged a gap that I’d once thought was impassable.

“You look great, Liv,” Paige says.

“You… you came here from California for my baby shower?” I ask.

“Our flight got in last night,” she explains. “Dean picked us up from the airport.”

When I thought he was at a chancellor’s reception. I glance at him. The man is smiling like he just pulled off the heist of the century.

And I’m about to become a blubbering mass of goo unless I can pull myself together. I squeeze Paige’s hands too tight.

“I’m so glad to see you.” I take a breath. “I’m so… I can’t believe you came all this way for our baby shower.
Thank
you.”

I don’t think I can even explain to myself how much their presence means. By the looks on their faces, though, I don’t have to.

“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Joanna says. “Richard sends his best wishes. He’d have come along too, but of course he had to work, and he’s still not doing much traveling after his heart attack. We’ll catch up later, Liv. I’m sure everyone wants to talk to you.”

She and Paige ease back into the crowd. I watch them go, then turn to look at Dean. He reaches out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear.

“My mother called a few weeks ago,” he explains. “She said they’d gotten the invitation and wanted to come.”

The fact that Joanna was the one who instigated the trip adds another layer to my surprised pleasure. I tighten my fingers around Dean’s.

“I’m really glad they’re here,” I say.

“So am I.”

I’m not sure even Dean can explain all the complexities behind that simple statement. But then, he doesn’t have to. We both already know.

We separate and start to socialize. Everyone I know is here—the café staff, my friends from the Historical Society, all the curators and volunteers from the museum, several colleagues from Dean’s department, a few of Kelsey’s friends, Allie’s father, even the librarian from the public library where I volunteered last year.

And my aunt Stella.

She’s standing with her husband Henry near the buffet table. I have to drum up some courage to approach her, especially after everything that happened with my mother last spring.

Though Stella was the one who took me in after I left my mother when I was thirteen, she’d never been able to rid herself of the reminder I was Crystal Winter’s daughter—or the belief that I might one day end up like her. For years, I’d feared the same thing, which was the reason I’d spent so long hiding in a shell.

Until I looked out one day and saw Dean.

I glance at where he’s talking to Brent on the other side of the room. The sight of my husband eases my brief anxiety, and I approach my aunt.

“Aunt Stella, thank you so much for coming. You too, Henry. I really appreciate it. I had no idea Kelsey and Allie were going to do all this.”

“We’re glad for you, Liv,” Stella says, pursing her lips.

Henry nods. “Congratulations.”

He trundles over to the buffet table to grab a plate. Because I’m feeling magnanimous, I give Stella a quick hug. “Really. Thanks for coming. It means so much that you’re here. I’ll always be grateful for what you did for me.”

“Yeah, well, you were always a good kid.” She squints at me. “You get hold of your mother?”

I nod, unsure how much I should divulge. But the truth is the truth, so I tell Stella about Crystal’s visit and that it ended with a goodbye.

“I don’t think I’ll ever see her again.” I expect the words to hurt, even brace myself for the pain.

But there is none. There’s sadness. Maybe pity for the woman my mother has chosen to be. And there’s relief that I no longer have to contend with her.

Stella sighs. “Ah well, Liv. That’s probably the best kind of relationship you can have with Crystal. No relationship at all.”

I stare at her for a moment. Stella hasn’t told me much about her own relationship with her sister-in-law—what there was of it, anyway—but I suddenly have the sense it might not have been very different from my own.

“There’s only ever been one person Crystal cares about,” Stella continues, “and that’s Crystal. Took your father a long time to figure that out.”

I don’t know what to say, so I just nod.

“Anyway,” Stella continues. “I hope you’ll bring the baby around to visit.”

“I will. Of course.”

“Good.” She heads toward the buffet.

I push thoughts of Crystal away and go to join several café staff members. I spend the next couple of hours basking in the warmth of friends and family, eating two platefuls of food, and then opening a bunch of presents. There’s a lot of laughing and picture-taking followed by cake and coffee.

By the time everyone leaves, I’m starting to yawn. Dean gives my ponytail a gentle tug and kisses the top of my head.

“Ready to go home?” he asks.

I look at the disarray of the hall. “I should help clean up.”

“Don’t you dare.” Kelsey stops by the table with her hands on her hips. “We have cleaners coming in five minutes and, Dean, would you please tell your mother she does
not
have to clear the plates?”

Dean heads over to where Joanna West is stacking dirty dishes, then gestures to me that he’s going to accompany his mother and sister outside. When the cleaners arrive, Kelsey shoos me away so they can get to work.

I give her as tight a hug as my belly will allow.

“I love you.” Tears start to crowd my throat again. “Really, Kelsey. I’m so grateful to have you. Thank you for everything.”

“Yeah, well…” Her voice is gruff, but her grip on me is just as tight. “You and that husband of yours are important to me and with a baby on the way, so… whatever. You know.”

“Yes.” I pull away to smile at her. “I know.”

“Go.” Kelsey pats my belly and waves me toward the door. “We put the presents in the office, and Dean said he’ll come by later to pick them up. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I find Allie in the kitchen and give her an equally mushy thank you before I go outside.

Dean is waiting at the bottom of the porch steps for me when I step out into the bright sunshine. For a moment, I just look at him. He’s leaning against a post, his hands in his pockets, his tall, lean body relaxed. Sunlight glows on his dark hair. He sees me and smiles.

Even after six years together, the sight of him takes my breath away.

No longer will I harbor any regrets or sorrow about the past. How can I when my past led me to
this
present?

As I walk down the steps, my pulse suddenly stutters. I press a hand to my belly. I’ve been experiencing this since I was twenty-three weeks pregnant, but every time it happens, it feels like the first time all over again. I stop, curling my hand around the railing.