Face the Music (42 page)

He reached over and patted my thigh.  “I’m sure it will be fine.  Now, where to?” 

He held my hand and rubbed his thumb against my palm as he drove to Lauren’s house.  She didn’t live far, and I found her bag right where she said it would be.  I grabbed it and tossed it in the backseat. 

“Back to the hospital?” Chris asked.

“If you don’t mind, let’s swing by Target first.  Antonio said they don’t have a car seat yet, and if they plan on
bringing the baby home tomorrow
,
they’ll need one.”

“Target it is,” he said, shifting the car into reverse.

We
got to the store and
browsed through the selection, and I had narrowed the options down to two.  “What do you think?” I asked.  “This green one has cute little carousel horses, but that one is pink.”

“She’s having a girl?”

I nodded.  “
That’s what the doctor said
.”

“Definitely
the
pink.”

I nodded my approval. 
“
I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Would it have mattered if I’d picked the other one?”

I thought about it
and laughed
.  “Not really, no.”

After checking out
,
we stood in the empty park
ing lot next to Lauren’s car.  Chris
ripped open the box as I cleared a spot in the backseat.  “Okay, ready,” I said, reaching in fr
om the other side.  He handed the car seat
to me, but I pushed it back to him.  “It has to go the other way.”

“What other way?”

“It has to face backwards.  It’s safer,” I explained when he gave me a look.  “And it has to be strapped down with the seatbelt tight enough so it doesn’t wiggle.”  I climbed in and dug a knee into the car seat as I tugged on the belt.

Chris stood back and watched while I fought with the straps
.  “Need some help?”

“No, I think I got it,” I said, giving the strap one more pull.  By the time I climbed out of the car
,
I was winded.

He tried to wiggle the seat, but it held firm.  “Nic
e job.  You’ve done this before.
”

I stretched my fingers.  T
hey were sore from all the
tugging
.  “Why?  You don’t think I could figure it out otherwise?”

He cocked an eyebrow, but I knew he was teasing.

“I helped install Molly’s,” I admitted.  “Shall we go?  I’m just dying to see
if she’s had
the baby
yet
.”

Lauren was still in labor when we got to the hospital.  Her parents were in the lobby. 

“They’re waiting for the epidural to kick in,” her mom informed me.  “It could still be awhile.”

I turned to Chris.  “You can go, if you want.  I’m going to
stay.
”

He wrapped his arms around my wa
ist and rested his forehead against mine
.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

I closed my eyes and smiled as a rush of warmth flowed through my body.

We found a spot in a dark corner on the lobby floor.  He leaned against the wall, and I
sat between his legs and
leaned against him
, my back
to
his chest
. 

“Thanks for
being here
,” I said,
turning
my head back to look at him.  “I really appreciate it.”

He
pulled
the rubberband out from my hair. 
It fell down past my shoulders
, and he ran his fingers through it
. 
“Who knew dinner could be so exciting?”
  His cool lips pressed against my
temple
.

I laughed.  “That’s for sure.”

“I do
n’t know about the food, though,
”
he said.
 

“What do you mean?  You said you loved it.”

“I did.  I’m just concerned about the fact that it sent Lauren into premature labor.  That can’t be a good side effect.  You might need to work on your recipe a little.”
 
He
gathered my hair at the base of my neck and tugged
. 

“Shut up!” I said, laughing.  “
You’re such an ass!” 

He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder.  “You like it,” he said.  His breath tickled in my ear.

I did like it.  A lot.  “
T
oo bad we didn’t get to dessert.
”

He
lifted his head
and looked around.  “There’s got to be an empty bed somewhere in this place.  There’s still time.”

I elbowed him in the belly.  “I made chocolate mousse.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.”

“Man,” he said, smacking his lips.  “Too bad.  It’s probably better, though.  Who knows what kind of trouble that could have caused?  Antonio could have had an aneurysm
,
or something.
 
He tickled my side
s, and I squirmed to get away.

Jerry Springer re
runs played on a TV somewhere.  T
he screaming and censored bleeps
from the show
could be heard echoing throughout the corridors.  It was earsplitting.

“Oh geez,” I said, digging
out my iPhone and handing an ear
bud to Chris.  “There’s got to be something better to listen to.”  He chuckled and leaned his head back against the wall while I shuffled through my music.  I came to an Elvis song.  “Here, you should like this one.”

Chris
pulled
me into his chest.  “I’m surprised you have this.”

“You said he was your
favorite.  I checked him out.  H
e’s not
all that
bad.
”

He pressed h
is cheek against mine and
softly
sang about sweet
,
tender love and never letting me go. 
He continued to sing over the hum of the cold hospital lights, but we could have been on the moon
,
for all I c
ared.  His voice was hypnotic, b
arley above a whisper.

I relaxed against him, curving myself into his chest and letting all the excitement of the day go.
 
My eyes grew heavy,
and I felt my conscious mind
slipping.  There wasn’t anywhere in the world I’d rather have been.

A different song was playing when Chris shook me awake.

Antonio was coming down the hall, wearing a smile only a proud
,
new father could.  “It’s a girl,” he said
,
breathless.  “Seven pounds, six ounces, and twenty-one inches long.”

“Congratulations!  How are they?”
I asked, getting up from off the floor.

“They’re great.  They’re being moved to another room right now.  Her parents are with her, but you can go in.”

We
found Lauren, along with her parents and Antonio, all gathered in the maternity room.  Lauren was in the bed,
simply glowing
as she held a little pink bundle. 

“Oh
,
my gosh, she’s beautiful,” I said, running my finger across one of
the baby’s
chubby cheeks.

“I think she’s pretty perfect.”  Lauren handed her to me, and I cradled
the sleeping b
eauty in
my arms, pulling her up close.

“She smells so good.  What did you name her?”

“Kylie.  Kylie Elizabeth.”

I peered down into the tiny, wrinkled little face.  “Hi
,
Kylie.  It’
s so nice to finally meet you.” 
My eyes welled up.  She
was so beautiful and innocent. 
“I think you’re right, Laur
en.  She is perfect.  Want to hold her, Chris?”

He was leaning against the wall, a soft smile on his lips.  “No, you go ahead.”

We didn’t stay for much longer.  Everyone was exhausted, especially Lauren, so we gave them our best wishes and said
‘
goodbye
’
.  It was a little past two when the cab pulled up to my building. 

“That’s really incredible, isn’t it?” Chris said before I climbed out.  “I remember when Hannah used to be that small.”

“Hannah?”

He nodded. 
“My niece.  You just forget how tiny they are, don’t you?”

“Definitely,” I agreed, remembering when Emily
had first
had Molly.  I had thought her perfect, too.  “Want to come up?  We could
still
have dessert.  Chocolate mousse, or otherwise…”

He
let his head fall against the headrest
.  “You don’t know how good that sounds.  But I
better get back to the hotel.  I
t’s really late
, and we’ve got an early practice
.  Tomorrow?”
  He looked at me hopefully.

“Okay,” I said, not hiding my disappointment.

***

Emily, Molly and I were huddled on the couch late Sunday morning.  Molly was watching Loony Toons, I was reading
Pride and Prejudice
, one of my favorites, and Emily was on my laptop, getting her weekly fill of celebrity gossip.

“Um, you should look at this,” she said, pointing to the screen.

“You know I don’t read that
garbage
.  It’s mostly
just
a bunch of lies
,
anyway,” I said without looking up.  I was at my
favorite part in the story,
Mr. Darcy
was about to ask
Elizabeth to dance at Mr. Bingley’s ball.

“Yeah, I know, but I really think you might want to see this one.”
  Her voice was insistent.

At first
,
I only glanced to satisfy Emily, but
,
recognizing myself, I did a double take.  A picture of Chris and I covered the screen.  We were walking out of Target, him carrying the car seat, and me tucking my wallet into my purse. 
A giant red arrow had been inserted into the picture, and it pointed right to my stomach. 
The headline read: 
Big Expectations for Chris and Allison
?