Chapter Twenty-One
Jenna
One year later
The trees were splashed with fiery oranges and yellows when I stepped out into the chilly afternoon air. A wetness coated the ground from the recent bout of rain. Everything felt crisp and ready for fall. Soon the leaves would fall and even Lone Tree would be bare for the upcoming winter.
The passenger door opened. I turned to see Owen slipping out of the car while trying to fumble with the zipper of his sweater. Crouching down, I helped him work the zipper up with a smile.
“Keep your sweater on,” I said. “It’s going to be cold all day. The summer days are gone.”
Owen pouted unhappily at that. “I want to go back to the ocean then where it’s warm, and where my mommy lives.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but it was Derek who beat me to it. He came around the front of the car to place a hand on my shoulder as I rose from my crouching position. He gave Owen a stern glance.
“We talked about that, bud. You can visit your mommy for Thanksgiving this year.”
“Fine,” he puffed out dramatically. “I guess that’ll do. I don’t like the cold here.”
“Me either,” I said, shivering against the crisp air. “Let’s go inside to eat. My mom is waiting from what I can see.”
Owen darted up the stretch of stone steps that led to the small restaurant in Lone Tree that all the retirees visited daily. It did have good food despite the “old people” smell, as Owen had put it one time. He had bonded, though, with my mother, who enjoyed having him around. “He reminds me of you as a child,” she’d tell me, beaming happily.
Derek guided me along the stone steps with his hand resting on the curve of my lower back. It felt nice to be guided and protected as we followed Owen up into the restaurant. The second I walked through the patio doors, I reared back in surprise to see the entire dining area decorated with balloons and flowers.
My mother stood in the center of it all, dressed in loose trousers and a coffee-colored cashmere sweater.
“There you two are!” she exclaimed, resting her hands on Owen’s shoulders. “You’re late, Derek. What took you so long?”
“We hit traffic,” Derek said, pushing me through the doors so he could shut them behind us.
I caught sight of the word “Congratulations” on a balloon floating in the back. It made perfect sense then why Derek had insisted on seeing my mother this weekend. I turned to look at him, and he smiled innocently.
“You know about this?” I asked, scowling. “You know I hate surprise parties like this.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he pushed me forward into the center of the room where everyone shook my hand. My mother tugged me into a tight embrace.
“I’m so proud of you, Jenna,” she said, beaming at me through tears in her eyes. “You must feel proud for finally finishing your bachelor’s degree.”
Embarrassed from all the attention, I patted my mom on the shoulder awkwardly as she guided us into the room to sit down at a table. I did feel proud, but a surprise congratulations party was a bit over the top in my opinion. I kept that to myself though, because I knew Derek and Owen had also planned everything.
My stomach churned queasily at the faint smell of garlic and butter. I looked over at Derek as he took a seat next to me, placing a reassuring hand on my knee underneath the table.
“Breathe,” he said, squeezing a lemon into my water. “Try drinking some water to fight the nausea.”
“Nausea?” Anna turned to look at Derek. She immediately placed a fretting hand on my forehead, much to my annoyance. “She doesn’t feel warm. You didn’t tell me she felt sick.”
“I’m fine,” I grumbled, swatting her hand away. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. This is really nice. Thank you.”
“I like all the balloons,” Owen said, happily tugging at the string of one. “I helped pick out all the balloons for you, Jenna.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I really like all of them. We can see how many we can pile into the car afterward.”
Once Owen was occupied with talking with my mother, I leaned into Derek’s side to whisper in his ear. “You could’ve warned me about this. You know I don’t feel good right now.”
His fingers squeezed my knee. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find a way to tell your mother no. If I said anything, she would’ve figured it out. Speaking of that”—he paused, leaning forward to press a kiss to my lips that instantly soothed my already bad mood from trying to find something to wear that fit— “when do you want to tell everyone?”
“Well, I—”
“Tell everyone what?” Anna asked. She was far too perceptive sometimes.
I turned to glare at her as she hovered above me again. “I’m going to turn that hearing aid off. It makes you prone to eavesdropping.”
“You sure are moody for a joyous occasion,” she replied, frowning down at me.
I didn’t know what to say to that. The wheels in my mother’s brain were already turning rapidly. Then realization filled her eyes.
“Oh my!” she said, one hand clutching at her chest. “Please me tell that what I’m thinking is right.”
I looked over Derek, who didn’t even bother hiding that charming and knee-trembling grin of his. Pride flashed in his eyes. He reached up to cover the small bump I had strategically hidden underneath a loose and oversized sweater.
“You’re thinking right,” he said. “There’s a baby bump that is making Jenna a horrible grump today.”
I rolled my eyes in exasperation at that before I was embraced again by my mother, who was practically bouncing in her heels from excitement. It was a right damn miracle that Owen hadn’t told her yet. He was excited to have a sibling to play with.
“I didn’t tell,” Owen said proudly. “I kept the promise like you and Dad asked.”
Derek reached over to ruffle his hair fondly. “You did good, Son. I’m proud of you for keeping quiet.”
My mother sidled down into the chair next to me as a waiter arrived with a platter of various fruits and cheeses. She placed a hand on my stomach with a happy grin.
“When is the due date?” she asked.
“May 24th,” I said. “I’m nearly out of my first trimester.”
“After everything that has happened,” Anna started whimsically. She smiled over at Derek, who returned it. “I’m so happy for you both. A baby and a future wedding to plan.”
“You only like Derek because he got me to complete college,” I said, but a grin tugged at my lips as well.
Even if I felt sick to my stomach, and unable to fit into my clothes, it was hard to contain the joy and happiness I felt. I stared down at my left hand, where the overhead lights sparkled off the ring there. It still felt bizarre and good at the same time to have a ring there.
“At least he got you to,” she replied, sniffing back tears again. “I’m just happy that everything worked the way it has for you. The both of you are blessed with Derek taking on that job as a lead investigator for a private firm, and finishing school after so long…” Anna sighed in relief and sat back to fan herself. “I’m just so relieved too. A baby. A baby. So many changes that I hope you both are ready for.”
I reached over to grasp Derek’s hand. He smiled at me in faint amusement as he gave my fingers a tender squeeze.
“Ready for those changes, Mr. Summers?” I asked teasingly.
He winked at me playfully. “More than you know, Mrs. Summers.”
THE END
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