While Josh was reluctantly planning his marriage to his pregnant girlfriend, Alex was as silent as a stone about his plans to elope with Frankie. “What is it with women and weddings?” asked Josh, taking a large gulp of ale. “And why do us guys have to help pick out flowers and cakes?”
Alex reclined in his chair and smoked a cigarette, feeling thankful that Frankie was not bothering him with that stuff. He figured she was doing some planning of her own, but anything she decided would be fine with him. He was just looking forward to seeing her. “I don’t know,” replied Alex. “Maybe it’s because they have nothing else to do. For many women, their main goal is marriage.”
“And getting knocked up is one way of getting what they want,” Josh said with another large drink of his ale.
“In some cases, I guess,” said Alex. “Sometimes it is an accident.”
“So, us guys are supposed to be chained and shackled to a bird because she
accidently
gets pregnant?” asked Josh.
“Come on, Josh, Marie’s a nice girl. You’ve been dating her for a while. There isn’t anybody else, so who are you waiting for? Do you think Ann Margret is going to walk through your door?” asked Alex, dumping ashes from his cigarette into a tray.
“That’s easy for you to say; you’ve been pullin’ Frankie Robinson, one of the hottest chicks around,” said Josh. “So yeah, Marie’s cool. She does a great job ironing shirts, but there are girls and then there are
girls
.” Josh paused to finish his ale. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Marie; but when you think of getting married, it’s because you want to or because you love them, not just because they’re in the family way.”
Alex wanted to confess to Josh he too shared a similar situation. But in his case, Frankie’s pregnancy was the break he had been waiting for. He wanted to be with Frankie and now he
had
to marry her. There was no question or deliberation. All he had to do was go to Bermuda, collect his pregnant bride and bring her home. He was about to get what he was longing for. There was a God and he was answering Alex’s prayers.
Lighting another cigarette, Alex said, “Sometimes things happen for good reasons.”
“When did you get such a positive outlook on life?” asked Josh.
Alex blew a puff of smoke. “When life got positive,” he said with a grin.
He returned home pleasantly buzzed and the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream gave him more confidence to have the conversation he had been dreading with Sarah. He found her in the kitchen making dinner. She loved to cook, especially for him. Every night seemed to be a grand occasion, and that occasion was mostly because he was home alone with her.
Sarah turned from the stove and gave him a wide smile. “Dinner’s almost done.”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing at the dining room table decorated with china and lit candles. She looked so sweet with her hair tied back in a ponytail and an apron wrapped around her waist. It was nice having her live with him; his house was so warm and smelled like a freshly cooked meal, but it wasn’t right. No matter how warm and welcoming, he was beginning to feel like a guest in his own house. “We need to talk.”
“Okay,” she said without looking at him.
Alex shoved his hands in his pockets. “There’s someone else.”
Sarah listened to his words, but she chose not to hear, continuing to focus on stirring peas in boiling water.
“She’s pregnant,” continued Alex.
“How convenient for her,” replied Sarah, still not turning around to face Alex. “Are you sure it is yours?”
“Yes.”
“Well, no bother, just have Darren take care of it.”
“Take care of it? No. That’s not the answer,” replied Alex.
Finally Sarah turned around and asked, “What
is
the answer?”
Alex shrugged his shoulders and stared at her, hoping she would get the clue that he was no longer in love with her and wanted out of their relationship.
She got it, but wasn’t going to give in. “Those women just make me so angry. They really believe if they get pregnant they can bribe a man for money or expect him to marry her. Honey, don’t fall into the trap. Alex, you are with me. I say it’s her problem.”
“It’s my problem, too,” he said.
Sarah approached Alex and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I think it is great that you are taking responsibility, but it doesn’t have to be like that. Have Darren take care of it. If it’s money she wants, give it to her.”
“It’s not about money or fame,” he said.
“Alex, I love you. I’m willing to work through this with you. And one day you and I will have our own children and this will just have been a bump in our road.” Sarah smiled. “Look at it this way, it is our first crisis as a couple, and I will stand by you completely. We’re going to survive this.” She returned to her boiling pot on the stove and said to him, “You’ll want to make sure this does not become public knowledge. Think of what it would do to the band’s reputation.”
Alex stared at Sarah’s back and said, “Just whose reputation are you concerned about
—
mine or yours? If this goes public, it’s your reputation on the line as well.”
She reflected on the peas in the bubbling water. “You want to destroy us both?”
“I want to do what is right!”
Sarah turned around and glared at Alex. “The right thing would have been keeping your willie in your pants.” She sighed heavily and slammed the spoon on the edge of the pot. “I know it must be hard with all those women, but
Jesus
, Alex, there are such things as fidelity and loyalty. I’m not even going ask if you love her, because how you can fall in love after such a short time is beyond me. What do you really know about this girl? And, more importantly, what does she have that
I
don’t?”
Alex shrugged and shoved his fists deep into his pockets. He couldn’t answer; he didn’t have the words to express what was inside him. It was all just a feeling.
“That’s what I thought—you’re confused,” said Sarah. She kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll get through this. I am sure of it.”
“I’ll talk to Darren tomorrow,” Alex said without returning Sarah’s affection.
Precipice of Indecision
After returning from a day of shopping, Frankie scoured the refrigerator for a snack. Nothing appealed to her sense of taste and then she thought of an incredible taste sensation
—
sardines and mayonnaise on toast
.
The combination would just hit the spot.
She sat at the table munching on her new favorite dish while staring at her psychology book, but her mind was on Alex and the baby. She imagined how the baby would look
—
tall with dark hair. The baby would have her eyes, but they would be dark brown like Alex’s. And then she thought of names
—
Genevieve if it was a girl, Samuel if a boy.
Geraldine returned home to find Frankie staring off into space with a half-eaten slice of toast topped with mayonnaise and sardines. “What are you eating?”
Frankie twirled her blonde hair. “I had a craving.”
Her choice of words startled Geraldine and suspicion set in. “So are you over the flu?”
“Oh, yes,” replied Frankie. “I’m feeling fine—great, actually.”
“Good, because for a moment there I thought you might be pregnant,” said Geraldine.
“Oh!” Frankie laughed. “No!”
“Then you wouldn’t mind if I called Doctor Joe for the results of your last visit?” questioned Geraldine.
Frankie stopped twirling her hair. “Why would you do that? Don’t you trust me? I wouldn’t lie about being pregnant. I
couldn’t
lie about being pregnant. People would notice.”
Geraldine nodded. “Honey, I’m a mother
—
your mother. I know you better than you know yourself.”
Frankie sat upright in her seat. “You don’t know about this.”
“Who’s the father?”
Frankie laughed nervously. “Mom, what are you talking about? There is no father.”
“Is it Alex Rowley—the one who took you to the ball in September?”
Frankie slammed her psychology book shut. “I don’t have to take this interrogation,” she said with indignation and walked out of the kitchen.
Geraldine chuckled. “Honey, you’d better keep studying that psychology book.” She looked down at the half-eaten toast, “Oh, and don’t forget your sardines and mayonnaise sandwich!”
Frankie stormed upstairs and slammed the door behind her. Plopping on her bed, she buried her head in the pillow.
Shit!
she thought.
Geraldine opened Frankie’s bedroom door, stood above her with her arms folded, and then glanced at the pictures of Alex on Frankie’s wall. She sighed, trying to figure the best way to handle the situation. Dealing with a daughter was always tricky, but now she had an emotional and pregnant daughter on her hands. “You like him a lot, don’t you?” asked Geraldine.
“We’re in love,” said Frankie. “We’re going to get married.”
“Yet he is not here. You’d think he’d be on the first flight to New York upon hearing the good news,” said Geraldine.
“His schedule is very busy,” explained Frankie. “He loves me, Mom. He asked me to marry him.”
Noting the seriousness of the situation, Geraldine sat on the corner of Frankie’s bed. “So when were you going to let your father and me in on the news?”
Frankie stared at her pillow and responded, “Once Alex and I were married.”
“Seems you two have it all planned.”
Turning around to face her mother, Frankie said, “Yes, we do. This is between me and Alex. We’re adults and don’t need anyone’s interference.”
Geraldine nodded and stood from Frankie’s bed. “Well, I’m glad to see you have it all figured out. I wonder how much you know about him. I mean, how long have you dated, seen each other? Obviously you two get along well, but there is more to a relationship than sex.”
“Our relationship
is
more than sex,” Frankie stated angrily. “I talk to him more than I talk to anyone one else
—
ever!”
“Yeah, you can learn a lot about someone over the telephone,” replied Geraldine. She walked out of Frankie’s room. Learning this news, Geraldine had to get her thoughts together to stop her daughter from making the biggest mistake of her life.
Geraldine closed Frankie’s bedroom door and headed back downstairs to the kitchen. She poured herself a big glass of wine and lit a cigarette. Leaning against the countertop, she sipped her wine and took a long drag on her cigarette.
I should have seen this coming,
she thought. She could not believe Frankie had fallen into the exact same trap.
His name was Mike Matthews, tall and dashing just like Clark Gable. He was a man whom Geraldine had had a hard time resisting. And why should she have? Before her romance with Mike Matthews had taken root, Geraldine had already imagined them being shining stars together like Olivier and Leigh.
The only downside to her relationship with Mike was his love for the ladies
—
all ladies. Proud Geraldine had a difficult time understanding why Mike would care to wander. She was smart, she was beautiful, and they made a great pair. Everyone thought so, so why was she spending most of her nights at home alone, crying?
It was Marcus who came to Geraldine’s rescue. Not only was he kind and patient, he had a very light and breezy sense of humor. Despite her tears, Marcus had a way of making her laugh and seeing the bright side of love and romance. And soon after many months of trying, Geraldine gave in to Marcus’s sweet advances, but she still couldn’t resist the charms of Mike Matthews.
Several months into her relationship with Marcus, Geraldine discovered she was pregnant. Marcus was thrilled and immediately started planning their life together, but Geraldine was reluctant. Not only did she doubt the baby was Marcus’s, she had deep reservations regarding giving up her dream of being an actress. There wasn’t much choice for a young woman in the late 1930’s. She had Marcus’s devotion; what else was there? And a few short months later, Geraldine gave birth to a baby boy
—
Edward Maxwell Robinson.
When Frankie was born a few years later, it was evident that she was the apple of Marcus’s eye. But Geraldine knew that fruit rarely fell far from the tree. Frankie was smart, she was rebellious, and she grew into a beautiful girl. And although Frankie dated boys who were a lot like Marcus, Geraldine knew there would come a time when Frankie’s heart would be led astray by her very own Mike Mathews. As it happened, that boy turned out to be Alex Rowley.
Standing alone in the kitchen finishing her cigarette and quickly lighting another, Geraldine worried for her daughter. There were several things she knew for certain
—
hearts never really heal, opportunities only happen once in a lifetime, and a woman’s reputation is hard to fix.
This is a tough one
, she thought as she took a sip of wine and then a long drag on the cigarette. Regardless how this played out, her daughter would be affected her entire life.
How am I going to break this to Marcus?
she thought.
He’s going to be devastated.
She flicked ashes from her cigarette into a tray.