Family Dynamics (Pam of Babylon Book Five) (32 page)

“Wow, that was fast,” he said.

Pam started laughing. “Yes, it most certainly was.”

“But she’s a smart kid,” Dan said. “If you’re worried about her, don’t be. I know, easy for me to say who’s never had kids, right? It’s plain to see they love each other, so this will just push things up the ladder a little faster. If they choose to keep the baby, we need to be there to support them one hundred percent.”

It was a good way to look at the situation. Before she hung up the phone, Pam told Dan she loved him again.

“I love you, too, Pam. Thank you for allowing me into your interesting life.” They laughed and said goodbye. She went right to Lisa and told her what Dan had said. It was inevitable that she and Ed would be together; now it would just happen a little faster than planned. She couldn’t wait for Ed to get there. She would be a witness to his reaction. Not only was he unemployed and living with his family; he didn’t have his own car and was coming up on the train.

Lisa drove to pick Ed up from the station. She sat in the car and waited for him to walk through the doors, and when she spotted him, she could barely contain the thrill. She leaped out of the car and ran to him, and he held her, burying his face in the top of her head.

“I missed you so much, Lisa. Not sure how we are going to be apart for a year.” He’d found a job in less than a week; he’d heard back from a school district, one of the few non-charter schools left in the Bronx that were hiring. Lisa gave him her keys and took his hand as they walked to her car. Excited about the way things were falling into place for him, Ed had never felt happier. When they reached the car, she blurted her news over the car roof.

“I’m pregnant. My mother suspected something when I threw up this morning,” she said, rolling her eyeballs, “and took me to the drugstore. My period was due on Tuesday, so it’s very early.” Ed had the sensation he was floating up in the air. He grabbed on to the door handle so he wouldn’t lose touch with the ground.

“Get in the car,” he said to Lisa, who was standing on the passenger side. Nervously, she got in. He grabbed her and hugged her again, breaking down into very unmanly sobs. She felt awful. Was he going to approach this as a sin that he’d be punished for committing? Or an opportunity for them to bypass a year apart, as her mother had suggested? She didn’t say anything to him, holding him until his emotion was spent. Hopefully, he’d be positive about the baby. The alternative never occurred to her.

When minutes passed, he slowly pulled himself together. He looked down in the center console of her car and picked up a ponytail holder. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, laughing, and she smiled at him.

“Lisa Smith, will you marry me?” Ed said. He took the holder and twisted it in to a figure eight so it would be small enough to slip over her finger. Then, taking her hand in his, he waited for her answer.

“Yes, Ed, after a week with you, and a baby on the way, I’ll marry you.” She stuck out her hand, and he slid the engagement ponytail holder onto her ring finger.

“OK! Let’s go tell your mother! She’s going to hate my guts before this day is over.” He pulled the car out of the train station, pointing it toward the beach.

As contradictory as it seemed after all they’d gone through, Pam wanted the entire family at the beach for a Memorial Day party. It would be lavishly catered, as the parties in the past were known to be, famous throughout Babylon for the boost it gave the local economy. Lisa and Ed dug the old guest list out of her father’s papers and starting making last-minute phone calls. Pam called her mother and arranged for Nelda and Bernice to be driven to Babylon for the long weekend.

Sandra and Tom would definitely come. Tom’s father and stepmother, John and Gwen, said yes, too. Pam asked if his mother wanted a day at the beach, as well. The three of them would bring baby Miranda and all her paraphernalia to Babylon, and Virginia was perfectly fine with seeing John and his new wife. She was a grandmother now and quickly rose to the top of the ladder of importance in her community.

Dan called Jeff Babcock, who agreed that a good summer party was long overdue, especially at the house of his best friend. Jeff took full responsibility for having introduced Dan to Pam. He would bring his new partner to the party, too.

Sharon and Susan, Pam’s sisters, would come from Cherry Hill and Westport, respectively, with their families in tow as they had for every Memorial Day party ever held at Pam’s beach house. It would be the first opportunity for the cousins to meet Miranda, too.

Ed’s parents declined, as Ryan did, thankfully. Pam flew through the grocery store trying to avoid Dave and loading up on every goody she could think of to feed her family and guests, she thought sadly of the people who wouldn’t be there.
Marie and Jack
, foremost. And poor Steve.

Then she remembered Brent! Even if he couldn’t come, she had to attempt to get in touch with him, to extend the invitation so he would know he was included. She paid for her groceries, loaded them into the car, and dialed his cell phone. It went unanswered. He heard it ringing but shut it off when he saw who was calling.

Brent didn’t want to be disturbed as he sat at the bar, talking to a new friend whom he would call John. After a few minutes, the two men got up from their bar stools and walked together to the back of the establishment. Rented rooms were available for men like Brent, who hid their true identities from the world.