Lined With Silver (10 page)

“I’ll pick you up.” They finished the
conversation, and Sondra settled back into her pillows, her mind so
full of images of how she wished her honeymoon would be that she
was sure she wouldn’t sleep. Jet lag swallowed her up a few minutes
later. She didn’t even remember shutting her eyes before her alarm
rang the next morning.

* * *

Mr. Wellingford stopped in mid-sentence.
“When did you get married?”

He might be old, but he was still sharp as
a—“This weekend. Zack called to ask me to marry him, and we married
in Virginia.” Sondra interrupted her own thoughts.

Mr. Wellingford’s brows drew down. “I don’t
remember there being a temple in Virginia…”

Sondra managed to not roll her eyes. He acted
like her grandfather, but she had to bite her tongue. He was too
big of a client to offend. “We’ll have the temple ceremony when my
parents return from Norway next year.”

Seeming to accept her explanation, Mr.
Wellingford turned back to the topic they’d been discussing before
he noticed her flashing rings. Cari hadn’t noticed yet.

Mr. Wellingford’s buy in was the one she’d
worried about. He’d accepted her explanation without a moment’s
hesitation. She crossed her fingers under her desk and hoped the
rest of her clients and the other partners would fall into line as
easily.

* * *

Sondra leaned back in her chair, stretched
her arms above her head, and breathed a sigh of relief. The day had
gone from one client to another with hardly time for lunch. She
settled herself at the light knock on her door.

“Ms. Lytle?” Cari’s timid tone had her
sitting up straight. She wasn’t normally like that.

“Yes?”

“I have a visitor for you.”

Sondra crunched her brows for a split second,
then smoothed her expression. “I’m available.”

Scott Steele sauntered in and sat on the
corner of her desk, as if he owned it. Deciding now was a good time
to flash her rings, she wiggled her fingers to have the diamonds
upright. They had slid slightly to the side, and she wanted the
full flash affect for when she brushed back a non-existent stray
hair.

Totally oblivious to her new rings, Scott
went into a complete description of the bird hunt. She didn’t hear
a thing until he finished with, “And then he puked the entire bird
on my seat.”

Her lips quivered and she had to bite hard to
stop a guffaw from exploding. He had purchased his truck last week
and had bragged relentlessly about how much his baby had cost.

So much for that new car smell,
she
thought. Trying to drum up some sympathy, she asked, “What happened
to the kennels? I thought I saw them strapped inside your camper
shell.”

All of his frustration appeared on his face.
“I was securing my dogs when yours broke loose. The door was left
open because I’d just finished putting the gun case behind the
seat.” He sounded petulant. “
My
dogs know better than to get
in the cab.”

Sondra remained calm. “I didn’t ask you to
take Dewk.”

“I thought you’d appreciate the effort.”

“Good effort.” She was frustrated that he
hadn’t even noticed her sparkles. “I’m sure Dewk enjoyed the whole
event.”

“Aren’t you even going to offer to pay the
cleaning bill?” Scott ground his teeth in an effort to control his
rage.

“Since you’re asking, I’ll offer, but it was
your
idea, and you’ve taken him with you before, so his
behavior isn’t a surprise.”

“I keep hoping my dogs will rub off on
him.”

“Good luck with that.” She touched her brow
with her left fingers.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. “Are those
real?”

“As real as the puke on your seat.” She felt
a twinge of guilt when she thought about the stones. Cubic zirconia
or not, the wedding rings were real.

“I didn’t know you were dating anyone. I
never see you leave.” His shocked surprise would’ve been insulting
had she not been expecting his reaction.

Sondra closed her eyes and took a calming
breath, then she caught his eyes. “My house isn’t the only place I
can leave from, but to be fair, I haven’t been dating anyone—until
this weekend. I reconnected with someone I knew years ago and we
decided to make it official.”

After witnessing Zack’s controlled rage, she
watched with some amusement as Scott’s face filled with color and
his mouth worked on a sentence he couldn’t quite spit out. Finally,
he managed, “Don’t plan on my taking Dewk again.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” As he was marching
out of the office, she called after him, “And send the bill to
Cari.”

He didn’t look back.

After his abrupt departure, Cari swept in.
“What was this about rings and bills?”

Sondra held out her hand and let the sparkles
speak for themselves.

“Oooo. What beautiful rings.”

“Thanks. I got to choose them.”

“Thoughtful of him.” Cari skewered Sondra
with her shrewd eyes. “I heard you’re not taking on your married
name.”

“News travels fast. I thought you hadn’t
noticed.”

“Oh. I noticed all right. I just didn’t know
what you wanted me to do about the problem.” She jerked her chin at
the closed door. “I was hoping you’d come and tell me about it, but
apparently, my hopes were vain.” Cari was the only one bold enough
to ask the question that was probably on everyone else’s mind,
“What happens when your children are born? Are they going to use
your name or your husband’s?”

Sondra felt the flush rise up her cheeks. She
hated this ruse she was living. “I’m sure I’ll be using my married
name in my private life.”

“Which is?” Cari prompted.

“Carlson.”

“Nice name.” Cari smiled her approval.

“I think so, too. It’s just too hard to make
everyone in my official life make the change. I’ll stick with Lytle
here.”

“Makes sense.” Cari sent her a penetrating
look, as if she could see right through all the lies Sondra was
living. Despite her questioning eyes, her voice sounded genuine
when she said, “I wish you all happiness. When do we get to meet
Mr. Carlson?”

“His name is Zack, and you’ll be meeting him
at the Christmas social.”

“I can’t wait.” Cari’s face lit up in
anticipation.

“I’ll bet.” Sondra turned to the files on her
desk, finished with the conversation. Cari eased the door shut
behind her.

Paper crinkled under Sondra’s legs. Sitting
on an examination table had never been her favorite. She fought a
sudden urge to make a run for the door.

She glanced at Nikki, who looked as nervous
as she felt. Sondra could only guess at her sister’s agitation. Her
hopes for a baby were all wrapped up in someone else’s ability to
carry it.

The blood work had come out perfect. Her
German measles shot had been updated for a recent overseas trip,
and she’d been tested for AIDS at the same time, so she didn’t have
to wait for results. The plan was to implant two embryos and hope
at least one would take.

There was a monitor set up in the room. Dr.
Lloyd carried the thawed embryos in a petri dish. He slid them
under a microscope. Sondra held her breath as she watched the
moving cells.

She caught the glisten of tears in Nikki’s
eyes. “Brad wanted to see them, but I thought you’d like the
privacy. He’s watched our other children just like this.”

“Tell him I appreciate him thinking of me. I
had no idea I’d feel this way, but they are real and living
and…”

“I know. There are no words.” Nikki took a
deep breath. “Not many people get to see their own children at this
stage. What a miracle.”

After they watched the moving cells, the
implantation took far less time than Sondra had anticipated. She
looked at the doctor as he was pulling off his gloves. “Is that
it?”

He nodded and smiled.

“What now?” Sondra asked.

“We wait.” He answered.

“And?”

“If the pregnancy takes, you should know it
in a couple of weeks.”

“That long?”

“It’s not worth checking before then. Unless
you start to cramp or have problems, we don’t do an ultrasound. You
should show signs within two weeks if the embryos implant
properly.”

As they left the office, Sondra turned to
Nikki. “How did you stand going through this? I think the next two
weeks are going to be the longest of my life. What if they don’t
take?”

Tears sparkled in Nikki’s eyes. “Shhh. It
does no good to stress about it. It’s going to be hard on all of
us. Brad and I are praying. I know you are. I know Mom is—although
Mom’s reaction wasn’t as supportive as I thought it would be.”

“You told Mom?” Sondra was horrified. “What
did she say?”

“I didn’t tell her that you were the
surrogate. I figured you’d want to be the one to tell her that.
She’s freaked out because the babies won’t be born in the covenant.
I told her we’d get sealed to them as soon as we can. Utah law
isn’t really clear on surrogate mothers and embryos, but we might
have to wait six months like we would if we were adopting normally.
Of course, with you being an attorney, you should know all
that.”

“The problem with this area is there is a lot
of gray and the laws are in flux right now. I think the current
legislation is addressing the issue, so I won’t have any clear
answers until I see what laws are passed.” Sondra said.

Nikki nodded. “It’s the gray that’s stressing
out Mom. She always hoped all of her grandbabies would be born in
the covenant. You served a mission, so she never worried about you.
I dated a couple of non-members before Brad and I got together.
She’s thinking she had a premonition that my children wouldn’t be
born in the covenant. Trying to shake Mom of her convictions isn’t
easy.”

“I know what you mean. Let’s go celebrate. I
feel like lunch somewhere. Do you have a preference?”

After lunch, Sondra replaced the rings she’d
removed while she was with Nikki. She returned to the office and
tried not to think about the babies. Whether or not they lived, at
the moment she was carrying twins. She had a hard time
concentrating on her work. Twins. How was she going to function as
an attorney when she was as big as a house and full of babies?

* * *

Long strawberry blond ringlets fell from a
sparkly clip. Sondra adjusted long earrings. The sparkles matched
her flashing rings. Most of the employees at the firm had noticed
or been informed of her marital status. They were probably all as
anxious as Cari was to see who she had chosen.

Sondra glanced at her watch. This would be
their first official date as husband and wife. And she was already
pregnant. As the physician had promised, she didn’t feel any
different. This was Friday. The implantation was Tuesday. The
butterflies in her stomach weren’t caused by the babies.

She quickly ran a roller over her black
velvet gown. Dewk had left his hair on her dress. He was in his
heated doghouse in the backyard for the duration of the party.

Rhinestone-accented sandals peeked out from
under her long dress. The dress was elegant in its simplicity, and
it was one she’d probably never be able to wear again. She’d heard
too many horror stories about body changes during pregnancy. She
looked at her nonexistent tummy and felt a momentary twinge of
regret.

Helping her sister. Gaining a niece or a
nephew or both. Those were the things that mattered. Being able to
wear a dress that hugged her thin body didn’t, but she’d enjoy it
this one last time. And stretch marks? Her husband would never get
to see her without them. There were layers of sacrifices she hadn’t
even considered.

A careful knocking at the door interrupted
her thoughts. She inhaled deeply, stilling the butterflies.

She opened the door. Shut her eyes. Opened
them. The vision was still there. Zack looked better every time she
saw him. He was wearing dark blue pants and a tweed jacket. Blue
threads ran throughout the pattern, matching the color of his
pants. The same blue in his tie pulled everything together. The
silk almost shimmered in the light. To her relief, his black eye
was barely visible.

“Earth to space.” He snapped his fingers
under her nose. “Are you there?”

At her quick nod, he laughed and then
startled her with an appreciative whistle. “Wow. Mrs. Carlson, you
are absolutely stunning.”

She dropped her eyes and curtseyed. “Thank
you, kind sir.” Then she met his eyes, wrinkled her nose, and
laughed. “Ready?”

“To beard the lion?”

“Something like that.”

Zack helped Sondra with her coat and they
walked out to his Humvee, a large forest green vehicle that looked
like it was ready to drive up the side of a mountain.

“Nice, but it’s not really family-friendly,
is it?” Sondra asked.

He stepped back and looked it over. “I don’t
think I have to worry about that any time soon, do you?”

Of course he didn’t. Those words had popped
out. On their own. With no help. Remembering his earlier behavior
during their trip, she threw up her hands and quoted, “I was just
making conversation. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Touché.” He opened the passenger door and
helped her climb in. He observed, “I can see I’ll need to get a
stepstool before I take you anywhere.”

“Are we going to make a habit of this?”

“You never know.”

Sondra sat quietly, trying to figure out what
he meant by his comments. He was sending so many mixed signals, she
had no idea where he was going.

For this evening, at least, they would
pretend that their relationship was not just going somewhere but
staying solidly where it was supposed to be. Given the fact that
the reason for their wedding was already in her belly, she needed
to play this game convincingly.

Mr. Wellingford and his steady wife, both
white with age and well rounded with years of good food, were
acting as greeters at the door. Mr. Wellingford was usually the
center of attention, but Sondra was suspicious he was standing at
the door to get a first glimpse of her mysterious husband. Necks
all around the room craned at Mr. Wellingford’s booming voice. “So
nice to finally meet the husband. Did you say he was taking on your
name?”