Lined With Silver (17 page)

Zack sighed. “We haven’t had a lot of time to
talk. How about we go over all this after the funeral?”

Sondra caught the tail end of Jade’s glare as
Zack stepped out of the room. Jade switched tones when she turned
her attention back to her daughters and Sondra. “Jeremy will be
playing the piano.” Sondra noticed another blond head poking above
the upright piano.

He grinned at her. “I’m Joselyn’s twin.”

Sondra was taken aback. No wonder Zack was so
happy about the twins. They ran in his family.

She just managed to smile a greeting before
Jade had them lined up to practice “How Great Thou Art.” To
Sondra’s surprise, her voice harmonized with the group. She
wouldn’t have to feign laryngitis, after all.

Before they entered the chapel, Jade
introduced Sondra to a man about her height. His dark blond hair
was matched by the two boys clinging to his legs. “This is Stan, my
husband. Joseph is five and Jake is three.” They peered up at her,
their brown eyes full of curiosity. Sondra shook Stan’s hand and
smiled at the boys before moving to join Zack at the front bench.
The familiarity of the building was a comfort.

Just before the service started, there was a
disturbance at the front of the chapel. A couple of men were trying
to prevent an older woman dressed in black, complete with a veiled
black pill box hat, from opening the casket. “This is a closed
funeral, Ma’am.”

“I want to see my son.” Her voice was loud
enough to wake Mitchell.

“We can’t do that. This isn’t the place for
it.”

Zack stepped over and settled her in next to
Jade. Whatever he said seemed to comfort her, and she relaxed into
her seat without any further trouble.

Based on her claim, Sondra guessed the person
under the veil was Zack’s grandmother. Her vital voice didn’t sound
like an eighty-three year old. She hoped she’d get to meet her
after the services.

Even though Mitchell hadn’t joined the
church, his funeral had a distinctly LDS feel to it. His children
were both members and the funeral was geared to the living. The
comfort of the gospel was abundant in the service, as was the
promise that they would reunite as a family.

Sondra stayed close to Zack during the
internment. She glanced around the crowd and couldn’t see the
veiled woman who had disturbed the services earlier. “Where is your
grandmother?”

“She refuses to attend internments. She
thinks they’re bad luck.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Granny has her own views on life, that’s for
sure. You should be able to meet her during the family dinner.”

“What was the fuss about before the
services?”

“She wanted to see Dad. I assured her she’d
get to see him after the services. Fortunately, the funeral
director was able to let her have a moment between when we wheeled
him out and when we loaded him into the hearse.”

After the internment, they met at the church
for a traditional funeral meal. Zack searched for his grandmother.
When he saw Jade, he asked, “Do you know where Granny is?”

“She said she was going to be late. She
doesn’t like attending the internment, but she wanted to say
good-bye to Dad.”

“I thought her moment with him after the
funeral took care of that. I was hoping to introduce her to
Sondra.” Zack searched the room again.

“You can do that when she gets here. She
shouldn’t be long.” Jade assured him.

As they settled into their seats, Jade’s
determined look meant she was going to do some fishing. Stan was
occupied with keeping the younger boys in check. Sondra snuck a
look at Zack. He didn’t seem to be bothered. She hoped he had
created a convincing story.

“So… tell me about how you met.” Jade
prodded.

“Remember that summer I spent in Stockton?”
Zack asked.

“Yeah. I was jealous I couldn’t go with
you.”

“You were on the all-star softball team.” He
reminded her.

“I think you had more fun.”

Zack reached around Sondra’s shoulder. “Well,
it was certainly life-altering, that’s for sure.” He caught Jade’s
eyes and continued, “I met Sondra while we were on trek together.
She was my sister.”

“How come I never heard about Sondra?” Jade
asked.

“Well, Grandpa died after that summer,
remember?” Jade nodded, then Zack continued, “I never had an
opportunity to go back. I didn’t even know which ward she was in.
It was Grandpa’s stake. And how would I go about finding her?
Besides,” and this time he chuckled, “I wasn’t thinking of a
Beehive as a romantic interest.”

Sondra’s heart felt like it was being
strangled. All the time she had dreamed about him. Obsessed over
him. And he hadn’t thought of her. Not once.

Jade furrowed her brow. “What changed your
mind?”

Sondra wanted to know as much as Jade did.
What kind of fiction was going to roll off his tongue?

“I was flying out to the East Coast on a
business trip...” Sondra’s breath caught. This was too close to the
truth. Would Jade figure it out? Zack reached up and stroked
Sondra’s hair, “when the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen sat
down beside me.”

“Did you know who she was?”

Zack shook his head. “The astonishing part
was that
she
knew who
I
was.”

Jade’s eyes met Sondra’s, who felt the color
steal up her face.
Oh man.
Think fast
. It was a good
thing she was an attorney. Sondra smiled, trying to act relaxed
even with her heightened color. “Zack hasn’t changed as much as I
have. It took me the entire flight to go through all my lists of
acquaintances. By the time we were off the plane, I’d remembered
where we met.”

Zack’s eyes were asking questions she didn’t
want to answer.
What is truth and what is fiction?
She had
the same question of him.
The most beautiful creature he’d ever
seen? Yeah right. It did sound nice though
, she admitted with a
small smile. Suddenly, she realized Jade must have asked another
question. “What did you say?” Sondra asked.

“So when did you two decide to get married?”
Jade repeated.

Zack answered even though the question was
directed at her. “A couple of months ago.”

“Why didn’t you let anyone know?” Jade
probed.

Once again, Zack replied, “Sondra’s parents
are serving a mission in Norway. We were going to wait and plan a
temple wedding when they returned.”

Comprehension dawned. Jade continued the
story, “And then Dad changed the will and you moved up the date.”
She turned to Sondra. “I’m sorry you gave up your temple wedding.”
She glared at Zack, “Not that you
had
to make the
sacrifice.”

Zack’s voice was calm. “Depends on who you’re
talking to.” Then a wicked grin spread across his face. “Besides,
Sondra is pregnant.”

Sondra’s jaw dropped. She snapped her mouth
shut and glared at Zack. He continued to stroke her hair,
attempting to calm her. It was a failed attempt.

Jade blinked. “Well. That certainly puts
things in a different perspective. When is the baby due?”

“Twins. And they’re due in about eight
months.”

“Twins?” Jade raised her brows. “You do work
fast.”

Zack lowered his hand to Sondra’s clenched
fist, loosened her fingers and brought them to his lips. “It helps
when you have an irresistible partner.”

For some reason, Sondra felt like slapping
him. Right there. In front of everyone. She narrowed her eyes. Zack
almost looked afraid. Almost.

Jade directed her attention back to Sondra.
“Good luck with that. I have first-hand experience.”

Sondra swallowed and then smiled. “I’ll pick
your brain. Zack,” she turned a saccharin smile his direction, “has
mentioned that I’m following in your footsteps already.”

“Really? In what way?” Jade’s interest was
genuine. She seemed to have bought the story hook, line, and
sinker.

“I’m so exhausted I can hardly stay awake.
Zack won’t let me drive.”

Jade snickered. “That sounds like my
brother.”

“And I’m so sick every morning I can’t eat
anything.”

Jade nodded. “Sounds familiar.”

“Is there anything I should be scared
of?”

“Very.” Jade nodded. “You can ask me
later.”

“That bad?”

“Just enjoy the moment while you can. Once
the babies come, your whole life will change.”

Zack and Sondra exchanged glances. He must’ve
seen the glisten of tears because he stood up abruptly and
announced, “We’re still on our honeymoon. I hope you don’t mind if
we leave. Please let Granny know we’ll be down to visit.”

Jade smiled. “She’ll be disappointed you
left. When are you planning to see her?”

“Sometime next week.” Zack glanced at Sondra,
worry on his face. “I’m not sure of our schedule.”

“I’ll let her know. Enjoy.” She hugged Zack
and then hugged Sondra again. “I think you’ll fit in just
fine.”

Sondra bit her lip to distract herself. It
was so far from the reality she desperately wanted that her whole
body hurt. On the way out the door, Sondra managed to nab a box of
tissues.

The clock on the hotel wall read six thirteen
when they walked through the door.

“I’m exhausted. I’m going to crash.” Sondra
announced.

“Sounds like a plan.” Zack didn’t offer any
information on his evening’s plans, but then, he rarely did.

Pain. Sondra stared into the darkness, unable
to focus. She stumbled to her feet and moved to the connecting
door. Another wave of pain drove her to her knees. She writhed in
agony. “Zack,” she whispered; she had no breath. She pulled herself
up with the help of the connecting door’s knob. Another wave of
pain stopped her lungs. When the pain ebbed, she opened the
connecting door and knocked softly. It was all the energy she
had.

A breath of air against her cheek announced
the opening door. Sondra had dropped to the floor again, curled in
a fetal position. A serrated blade slicing through her gut would
have been kinder. Her vision narrowed to pinpoints of darkness.

Zack wrapped his arms around her. She could
almost feel them against the pain. “Are you alright? What’s
wrong?”

“Ho-hospital.” Was all she could manage.

His warmth disappeared and she felt herself
being wrapped in something. He grunted as he lifted her, but she
was too weak to help.

Helpless. Absolutely helpless
. Tears
of frustration leaked around closed lids.

She was aware enough to know she was being
buckled into the car, but the trip to the hospital was a blur. Some
of it was the speed of the scenery as it flew by. She suspected
Zack was driving faster than she’d ever dared.

He carried her into the emergency room. As
they walked past a mirror, she caught a glimpse of someone she
hardly recognized. The robe she’d worn the night before must’ve
been added by Zack. Green pallor was a clear indicator that her
nausea was just barely in check. Her eyes were dark and wild and
matched her out-of-control hair. She closed her eyes and tried to
erase the vision when another wave of pain had her clenching her
fists and biting her lip. She couldn’t help the cry of pain.

She was strapped on a gurney and in an
emergency cubicle in a matter of minutes. A nurse drew some blood
and took vitals while a physician talked to Zack. After a few
minutes, Zack smoothed her hair back.

“They’re going to do an ultrasound and see
what’s going on. They want to make sure it’s not a tubal
pregnancy.”

Sondra took a deep breath to counteract
another wave of pain. “I don’t think that’s a possibility given how
the babies were put there, is it?”

“I have no idea. Let’s just let the doctor
take a look.”

Sondra reached for Zack’s hand. Her knuckles
were white with the strength of her grip, but he didn’t pull away.
“You’ll be okay, Sondra. Everything will be fine.”

She hoped it was true. A few minutes later,
they had her wheeled into the ultrasound room.

A technician ran the machine over her
stomach. “It looks like you’re having twins. Congratulations.”

Sondra trembled, and Zack reached for her
hand. “What is this pain she’s experiencing?”

The technician pushed away from the table and
busied herself cleaning her equipment. She avoided their eyes. “I’m
not a physician. He’ll be talking to you in a few minutes.”

Sondra was wheeled back into a private room
in the labor and delivery section of the hospital. The room was
decorated with flowered wallpaper and had a homey feel even though
evidence of the room’s purpose was evident. A nurse came in and
attached a heart monitor, an IV and a blood pressure cuff. As
another wave of pain shook Sondra, the heart monitor echoed her
pain.

A doctor in a white lab coat walked in.
Sondra was clenching Zack’s hand as if her life depended on it. As
the pain lessened, she looked up at the doctor. He picked up her
clipboard and read through her information. While he was staring at
the paper, he asked, “When did the pain start?”

Sondra scrunched her brows. She hadn’t looked
at a clock.

“It was around midnight.” Zack answered.

The doctor looked at the heart monitor as it
registered another spasm of pain. “Her contractions are about three
minutes apart.”

“Contractions?” Sondra was dumbfounded.

“You might be losing your babies.”

Sondra’s anguished eyes met Zack’s.

“Is there anything that can be done?” Sondra
whispered.

“This early on, there isn’t much we can do.
You should know in a few hours whether this pregnancy will keep.”
The doctor sounded sympathetic, but Sondra had the feeling that
he’d lived through this same scene with so many patients that he
was having a hard time empathizing.

Sondra’s grip tightened on Zack’s hand. This
wasn’t something she’d really prepared for. Sacrificing nine
months. That was the plan.