9781618853158SpecialKindofWomanBergman (20 page)

“We were talking about
the best food we ever had and I was telling Jeff over here that the best
sandwich I ever had was this place in Indianapolis called ‘Goose the Market’,
me and Martha had this sandwich called the Batali after that chef on
television’s father. Best sandwich ever and I know my sandwiches, don’t I
Martha?” asked Fred while he took a sip of his wine.

“Yes dear you do, I
also remember that after you had that sandwich, you had the worst case of
indigestion. The entire night, he was complaining about his acid reflux
bothering him and kept me from sleeping.”

Regina tried not to
laugh as she watched Fred get flustered.

“I think the best thing
I ever ate was this place Regina took me, Mrs. Ramona’s over at the park where
we would go to have lunch. She made this stew that was so delicious and we
would have it with some bread and even with that it was just amazing,” Collin
said.

“You didn’t tell them
about how you reacted while you were eating the stew, it was like he was
chomping down on his first meal ever. He was making these sounds that were so
funny that I had to stop eating otherwise I would’ve ended up choking, I was
laughing so hard,” Regina told them as Collin started to blush a bit.

“How did he sound?”
Martha asked.

Regina started making
the exact moans and groans he’d made and Collin shook his head in embarrassment.
When Regina saw how uncomfortable he was, she laughed and patted his back. “Oh
sweetie, it’s all right but that is how you sound when you eat Mrs. Ramona’s
stew.” She chuckled and kissed his cheek as he laughed a bit too.

“I couldn’t help it, it
was so good.”

Jeff and Bertha came
back in with their food, which consisted of marinated prime rib with roasted
vegetables and baked potatoes with butter and sour cream on the side.
Everything was so fresh Collin couldn’t stop praising Bertha about how
delicious everything was. Once they finished eating dinner, Bertha brought out
dessert, which for Collin was that piece of cheesecake he was promised.

“Thanks Bertha, here is
your cheesecake I told you about.” Regina smiled as he picked up his fork and
took a small piece and slowly started to eat it.

“You were right, this
is amazing.”

He took another forkful
and was just about to eat it as he looked over at Regina enjoying a piece of
chocolate cake. Tapping her on the shoulder, Collin waved his fork near hers and
she smiled. They both sat there and fed each other their dessert.

“Awww, you two are
adorable,” said Bertha as she came in with coffee for Fred and Martha.

When they went back to
her room, Regina and Collin ended up talking more about their plans of moving
in together. “I want you to know I quit my job,” Regina told him as she changed
into her nightgown.

“Really, why did you do
that?”

“I don’t want to be in
a place that would remind me of all the shit I had to deal with. I can’t go
back Collin, I won’t.”

Collin held her as she
rested between his legs on the bed. “Well, that’s all right because I can
afford to take care of us both on my salary. So there won’t be any need for you
to work, I can provide for you Regina.” And with that he kissed the back of her
neck.

The phone startled them
as it began to ring. He grabbed the receiver and handed it to her. “Hello?”

“Hi Gina, it’s me Max.”
Her tone sounded so somber that an immediate red flag popped up in Regina’s
mind.

“What’s wrong Max, you
sound odd?”

At first she didn’t say
a word but Regina could hear her sniffling as if she had been crying before she
had called. “Gina, I walked down to the park for lunch and I went to Mrs.
Ramona’s for her stew. But she wasn’t there at all, not even her cart, which I
thought was odd because usually it is. So I asked around to one of the other
vendors. He got real quiet before he told me Mrs. Ramona died in her sleep.”

Regina looks into Collin’s
eyes and started tearing up and couldn’t stop.

Not since the death of
her parents had she heard anything as devastating as those words from Maxine.
Mrs. Ramona, a woman that she not only considered a wonderful person but also
like a mother to her was now dead. How this could happen. Collin quickly grabbed
the phone from her and started talking with Maxine. She watched him close his
eyes and shake his head for a moment and look over at her as she continued
crying. Regina heard him say goodbye and quickly took her in his comforting
arms and told her sweetly, “We’ll leave in the morning Gina. Max told me they
are having her funeral this Saturday.” He continued holding her in his arms as
she cried herself to sleep.

Chapter Eleven

Ramona Baptiste was her
name.

Regina never knew her
last name until the day of the funeral. It seemed she had been really sick for
the past couple of days and using home remedies didn’t seem to work. Her heart
gave out while she slept. This is what she heard from one of the relatives that
day after the funeral procession. Maxine, Collin and Regina were sitting at one
of the many tables of the reception when a lady came over. “Are you Regina?”

“Yes, I’m Regina.”

“Let me introduce
myself, I’m Amelia, Ramona’s niece,” she said with a smile that reminded her of
Ramona’s while she shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you, this
is my friend Maxine and my boyfriend Collin.”

“I know this might
sound weird to you but my aunt always talked about you. You see, she couldn’t
have any children so she always treated her nieces and nephews like her own
kids. Well, she would talk about you constantly, saying you were one of her
favorite customers,” Amelia told her with that smile of hers. It lifted
Regina’s spirits to hear that Ramona thought so well of her.

“She was an amazing
lady that’s for sure, she always had me in stitches.” Regina smiled as Maxine
nodded at her.

“I have something she
wanted you to have.”

“Something for me you
say, what would she want to give to me?” Regina wondered as she looked at
Collin confused.

Waving her hand to get
a man’s attention, Amelia signaled him to come over to their table. When he did,
Regina saw in his hand was a small wooden box. “Here you go Amelia.”

“Thank you Peter, this
is my husband, sweetheart, this is Regina.”

“Oh you’re Regina, so
nice to finally meet you at last,” Peter told her as he shook her hand.

“Thank you, it seems
like she talked about me a lot to everybody in her family. What is this?”

Amelia handed her the
box with an envelope.

Regina found a letter
inside. She opened the folded paper and started to read.

Dearest
Regina,

If
you are reading this letter, this means I have gone. I know that I don’t have
much longer to live now, I’ve been sick for years but I guess all my remedies
and the medications the doctors have given me aren’t working like they used to.
I have considered you like a daughter to me, since I have never been able to
have children of my own. You always brightened up my day when you come to my
stand. I was so very happy to see that you had found someone in that handsome
Irish man of yours. You two were made for each other and I hope that you will
be happy together for the rest of your lives.

In
this box are my recipes I have made over the years, most importantly the stew
that you two loved so much. I hope you enjoy these recipes and pass them down
when you decide to have children.

Love
Always,

Mrs.
Ramona

Regina started to cry again
as she gave Amelia a hug and the woman started crying too. “I don’t know what
to say. I never thought she would do anything like this for me, much less
expected her to give me something so valuable. I thought she would have given her
recipes to her immediate family and not a girl who would come to her stand for
a bowl of her stew.”

“She had already given
us her recipes, but these are her original ones in her handwriting, so they are
more precious than anything. I hope you enjoy them Regina, all of you,” Amelia
told her with a small smile as she walked away from the group.

* * * *

When they got back to
Regina’s apartment, the couple decided to rest that afternoon, it had been an
emotional and exhausting day. They laid together, his arm around her waist
while she rested her forehead against his cheek as they slept. Her hand rested
on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. It was a comfort Regina needed badly
during this time. Thankfully things between her and Collin were finally at ease
and they could get back on track as far as their relationship was concerned.

Waking from her
slumber, Regina saw that Collin was gone but then she smelled something coming
from the kitchen. She got up and saw that he was cooking. “What are you making
there?” Regina asked, walking toward him.

“I got hungry and
thought I’d make me some toast with butter and jelly.”

“I can whip us
something more substantial than that. Or maybe we should just order in tonight?
I want to get started on trying to figure things out as far as what needs to be
sold or, now that I think about it, I might just donate everything to charity.”

“Ordering in sounds
good and I think that donating would be a better thing than actually selling it
to someone, that stuff takes time you know. Plus the sooner I can get you in my
house the better I think, don’t you?” Collin told her while he wrapped a strong
arm around her waist.

Looking up into those
beautiful green eyes of his, Regina raised her hand and softly ran her fingers
through his red hair. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I think that is the best
idea I’ve heard in a long time baby.”

Collin chuckled, laying
his forehead on hers. “I love it when you call me baby, don’t ever stop calling
me baby.”

“I promise I won’t.”

* * * *

One year later…

“This stew of yours is
amazing Regina,” Bobby said as he came back into the kitchen for thirds.

Regina Talbot-Noonan
laughed at her brother-in-law and grabbed his bowl to serve him up another helping.
“I know if Mrs. Ramona was still around, she would be happy to hear you say
that.”

The entire Noonan clan
had come to their home that summer creating a parade of children, brothers and
sister-in-laws as well as a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. “Are you
sure you don’t need any help dearie?” asked Virginia, Kendrick’s wife.

“I think I’m going to
rest for a while outside in the shade, I swear this little booger has kicked me
non-stop for the past five minutes,” Regina said as she rubbed her now eight
month old bulging belly.

Yes, who would have
thought Regina would now be pregnant with child, her and Collin’s first child.
They had gotten married in Ireland in a lavish wedding where Collin’s family
had lived for centuries. Soon afterward, she found out she was pregnant and
Collin was the proudest new dad anybody had ever seen. He was there for every
appointment and every birthing class. And when he found out they were going to
have a boy, he was the first one to come home with an onesy that said ‘Daddy’s
lil man’.

“Do you need any help
Gina?” Randy asked taking her hand as she walked toward the sliding glass door
that led out to the big backyard where most of the family was at.

“No not really, I think
I can manage.”

Making her way off the
porch, she saw Alannah waving at her. She waddled her way toward her mother-in-law
and sat with a thankful sigh. “I didn’t think I would make it here.” Regina
laughed with Alannah.

“How are you holding up
sweetie?”

“Better than I thought
I would be, just one more month and this booger won’t be kicking my insides
anymore. Damn, I should have brought something to eat, that’s why he keeps
kicking me. He smells all that good food and wants some.” Regina smiled while
rubbing her belly again.

“Regina needs something
to eat!” shouted Alannah and soon Collin, Kenny, Randy Sr. and Randy Jr.’s son
Randy III came over.

“What do you want
Regina?”

Regina had to laugh.
“Now isn’t that something Alannah, it’s not every day that you get serviced by
four handsome men all at once. Why don’t you guys surprise me?”

They all nodded and
ended up going in different directions.

“I know I’ve watched
how they make sure nothing happens to you. It's nothing to worry about though,
they’ve been that way with all the Noonan women when they were pregnant,”
Alannah told her with a smile.