September Storm (24 page)

"Hello."

"How's married life treating you?" Marty asked.

"Not bad. How's things up there?"

"Just received the final papers on the new municipal building in Munich.  It will soon be yours."

"Good."

"You never did tell me why you wanted that building."

"I've had a good tip that Munich is expanding the airport next year, and that will make our building's value soar.  I was thinking about converting the building into a mall."

"Smart move, but then all your ideas are smart," Marty admitted. "How's Dani?"

"Growing bigger every day." Adrian chuckled. "She only has a couple of months to go, and then she'll be back to her normal size. Her biggest complaints these days are--she's hot and her feet are too big."

"Gee, you sound married."

"I am married,” Adrian said.  “And tonight, I get to experience my first baby class. Can't remember what you call it. She's been going with her friend Susan, but she's sick, so I'm the substitute."

"Oh, how I'd love to get a picture of that."

"Knock it off.  Was there pressing business you needed to talk to me about?"

"There is one small matter."

"Well--"

"You've been summoned by Coffee Advertising to appear in court next week."

"And just why are they suing me, might I ask?

"They're not suing you. They are suing Kapur and Associates. You're to testify in Coffee's behalf."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!  Does the Coffee Agency really think this suit will endear them with me?"

"I don't think so. Sounds like the old man is after your wife. Evidently, they don't know she's your wife."

"Probably not. And Dani doesn't know that I'm the Mass Corporation either."

"I thought you were going to tell her."

"Somehow I never got around to it."

"Well, there's no avoiding the problem now."

"Guess not," Adrian agreed. "Talk to you later."  Adrian said, but thought.
This doesn't look good
.

He'd have to tell Dani tonight.

And, he hoped she'd understand.

Dani stood in the shower, trying to grasp the bar of soap she'd dropped for the third time. The cool water felt good on her overheated body. May had brought hotter than normal temperatures and, with them, her feet had begun to swell big time. She dusted herself with powder, then donned a white smock with gingham trim and an appliqué of Raggedy Ann on the pocket and white slacks.
Then she went to the living room and settled herself on the couch.

Things had gone well over the last few months, better than Dani had ever thought. She enjoyed having Adrian around more than she'd like to admit. She especially liked snuggling with him as they slept. That was the one time when she truly felt like a wife and not a cheap imitation.

Adrian had been true to his word. He'd not pressured her about sex as he promised, but it left her wondering if he desired her at all.

Dani sighed and patted her stomach.  She didn't feel very sexy in this stage of her pregnancy, anyway.  In fact, she was damned tired of being fat.  It had been a long time since she'd been able to look down and see her toes. She gasped as the baby gave her a swift kick.

"Am I late?"  Adrian asked as he laid his hard hat on a chair by the door, which was his custom. That familiarity gave her a contented feeling every time he walked through their front door.

"No.  I just finished dressing.  The shower's all yours."

"Good."  Adrian leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.  "It's been a long day.  I'll be just a minute. Did you have a good day?"

"Yes.  I finished my sketches for Mama Rosé’s Dress Store."  Dani picked up the stack o
f mail and motioned to Adrian. "Go ahead and get ready.  We don't want to be late for my Lamaze class. I'm going to read the mail."

"Be back in a flash," Adrian said as he exited into the other room.

She thumbed through the bills, then her favorite--junk mail, until she came to a cream colored envelope hidden under a flyer. Nothing could change her good mood, or so she thought until she focused on the last letter in the stack. She went cold all over.  The letter was from Jones and Jones, Coffee Advertising's legal firm. Carefully tearing open the envelope, she pulled out a legal document, then swore as she scanned the page.

"They did it!"  Coffee Advertising had made good on their threats.  She'd have t
o appear in court in two days. Jumping to her feet, she said. "Those dogs!  They have some nerve!" She began to pace, too agitated to sit still.

"I'm ready sweetheart." Adrian appeared in the doorway dressed in a blue shirt and jeans. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?"

"Because you're as pale as a ghost." He moved closer to her, the concern evident on his face.

"Coffee Advertising is suing me for conflict of interest. They said I stole their ideas. Their ideas!  They were my ideas from day one. I did an incomplete set of drawings for them, but the ones I presented where completely different."

"Now I see why you're upset." Adrian held out his hand."Let me see." 

"Never mind." She threw the document on the table.  "You can look at it later tonight. Right now we have to get to class, and I don't move quite as fast as I used to.  We’d better get going. Did you remember that object I'm supposed to focus on?"

"I got it." Adrian held the door open, chuckling as he did so. "Waddle would be a good word to describe your movements."

"Oh, shut up."

They walked the six blocks to class along the beautiful waterway, and the tension eased as Dani put the letter to the back of her mind. She'd think of some way to get out of this mess later.

"This place kind of grows on you," Adrian remarked as Dani preceded him through the door to the recreation center.

"I've always thought it was beautiful here. Not as pretty as Sea Horse Island, but a close second."

"Dani! You're just in time." Rene walked over to them. "And this is?"  She held out her hand.

"The baby's father," Dani said, then added when Rene looked at her quizzically. "I mean my husband."

"Well, we're glad to have you both here. You picked the perfect night. We're going to see a delivery film."

"Thank you, I think," Adrian said. He guided Dani over to where the woman pointed for them to sit on the floor.
He sat down on the thick mat and spread his legs like the other couples, so Dani could sit down and lean back against him.

The light went low and the film started. He felt just like he was back in school. Until they got to the delivery room clips, that is.  They had never showed anything like this in school! The woman's legs were in stirrups, and the doctor held a scalpel.  He lowered the knife and
cut.

"Omigod," Adrian moaned.

"Shsss."  Dani turned to him.  "Are you okay? You look pale."

"Look at all that blood." Adrian grimaced just as a baby slid out into the doctor's arms.

"There's supposed to be blood," Dani whispered. "Now, be quiet so I can watch the film."

Adrian didn't know it, but he'd just voiced Dani's exact thought. The whole thing looked painful, and with Adrian's responses, she wasn't too sure he was going to be her
tower of strength she needed. More than likely, somebody else would be picking him up off the floor where he'd fainted. Who would have thought this big, strong man would be a coward when she needed him most?

The lights came back on. "I want the coaches to be thinking of an object that your wife can focus on during delivery. Something that will make her feel happy and make her forget," Rene said to the group.

Dani looked at her husband, wondering what object he'd brought. She hadn't given him any suggestions.

She watched him reach into his shirt pocket and pull out a small object. He opened up his hand and there sitting in the palm of his hand was a tiny pelican.

"I hope this will do. Captain Bass gave it to me the day you left Sea Horse."

Dani eyes moistened, but she was determined not to cry. "It's perfect," she whispered.
She took the wooden figure from his hand. "Perfect." She swallowed and looked at him again. "If you dare laugh while I'm panting like a dog for the next half hour, I'll personally kick you." With his grin, the sentimental moment was broken.

"All right.  All right."  Adrian held up his hands, but keeping that promise proved to be difficult.

When class was finally over they went for ice cream cones, then started for home. They were strolling back when a voice called out.

"Hey, little mama. Want a free ride?"

"Thanks, Lopez. My feet can use the rest." Dani took Lopez's hand and carefully stepped into the boat. "Is this your last run tonight."

"
Si
."

"We'll be glad to pay you," Adrian commented when he took his seat beside Dani."

"Your money is no good with me, gringo. When is the little
bebe
due?"

"June sixth."

"If it's a boy you can name him after me."  He pointed to himself.  "Lopez."

"If it's a boy, she'll name him after me," Adrian stated stiffly.

"Don't I get any say-so in this?" Dani asked. She was a little surprised by the fearlessness in Adrian's voice. Then she reminded herself that the baby was the main reason Adrian was with her. She wished things could have been different, and they had married for love.

Now as her time grew near, she had to face the fact that Adrian might leave after the baby was born.

Chapter Fifteen

"You know, we haven't discussed names for the baby," Dani said, moving over to the couch where she settled in and propped her puffy feet on the coffee table. "Oh, that feels so much better," she murmured as she pushed off her shoes.

"I'll pop some popcorn and get a couple of so
das, and we'll talk about it." Adrian didn't wait for her reply, but headed for the kitchen.

"Need some help?"

"No. I got it. There's supposed to be a good movie on television tonight.  See if you can find the channel."

"What's the name?"

"Can’t remember."

Dani picked up the remote control and switched on the tube, flipping several channels until she found it. "
'Casablanca.'  That's a good movie.  It starts in ten minutes," she shouted, then turned to see if he'd heard her.

"At your service, ma'am."  A few minutes later, Adrian handed her a big bowl of buttered popcorn and set two icy drinks down on the coffee table.

"This smells great. Grab that letter off the bar before you sit down," Dani said as she reached into the bowl.

When Adrian joined her on the couch, he handed her the cream colored envelope, and said, "I hope this isn't going to put you in a bad mood."

"No.  I got that out of my system before we left. Read it." She shoved the envelope toward him. "And see what you think."

She watched as he quickly scanned the page, and wondered if he'd ever been sued before. Probably not, she assured herself, bec
ause this was a first for her. "What do you think?"

"Sounds serious.  Do you have a good lawyer?"

"I have Kevin."

"Kevin? Not Mr. so-and-so-big-shot lawyer?"

Dani laughed.  "Actually, Kevin is a great lawyer. I used to date him during breakups with Steven. He's a good friend, and I'm sure he'll help me."

An unexpected twinge of jealously struck Adrian. He didn't particularly like the way her eyes lit up when she said Kevin's name. "He does know that you're married?"

"One of the few people. He drew up our prenuptial agreement, remember? The only people that know we're married are Susan and our parents."

Adrian chuckled.  "I think your mother was a little surprised."  He could still see the woman face down in the cake.

"You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I am."  He tried to look virtuous.

"Look, the movie's starting."  Dani picked up her soda and turned the volume up on the television.

Adrian knew he should turn off the tube and make Dani listen to him. He needed to tell her the whole truth. However, this evening had been so wonderful that he didn't want it to come to an end just yet.

He pulled Dani back to lean against him. Why couldn't life be as simple as a movie? He knew the answer, of course.  In a movie, a director called the shots and told everyone how to feel and how to act. Real life, however, wasn’t nearly as predictable.

He'd once been happy with passionate affairs and meaningless relationships, but recently, he'd grown tired of the games.

And then there was Dani, his sweet, sweet Dani. He needed her in a way he couldn't explain to either of them.  He didn't want anything to jeopardize the new contentment he'd found with her.  Maybe he could find a way to persuade Coffee to settle out of court. With a slight feeling of hope, Adrian settled down and watched the movie with Dani's head snuggled on his shoulder.