Marriage of Inconvenience

The alarm blared and Jamie rolled onto her back, swung out one arm and flipped off the buzzer. The irritating noise was replaced with the gentle sounds of the soft rock station she listened to each morning.



The bed was warm and cozy and she didn’t relish the thought of crawling out into the dark, cold world, especially on a Monday morning. It was far more pleasant to linger beneath layers of blankets, thinking about the good things that were happening between her and Rich.



They hadn’t seen much of each other in the past week because Rich was involved in a defense project for Boeing. He’d worked three to four hours overtime every night, plus both days of the weekend. Yet he called her every day without fail, usually late in the evening.



He sounded so frustrated at not seeing her as often as he wanted. As often as she wanted. Jamie had done her best to pretend it didn’t matter, but it did. She missed him dreadfully, although their nighttime phone conversations went a long way toward making up for that.



They were like a pair of teenagers talking on the phone. There wasn’t really a lot to discuss, yet they often spent an hour or more chatting and laughing as if it had been weeks since they’d last spoken. Afterward, Jamie would spend the rest of the night swaddled in happiness.



Rich was exhausted whenever he called her. Although he’d never said as much, she had the impression he hurried out of the office and drove straight home just so he could talk to her.



Although they hadn’t actually seen each other since the week before, Jamie felt encouraged by the way their relationship was developing. They were close, closer than they’d been at any time since high school. It seemed natural for her life to be so closely entwined with his. Natural and right.



Everything was going so well for them, she thought again. Rich seemed pleased when she rescheduled her appointment with Dr. Fullerton. Jamie often fantasized about their child—boy or girl, she’d be delighted and she knew he would, too.



Stretching her arms high above her head, she yawned loudly and kicked away the covers. Although she’d prefer to laze the morning away thinking about Rich and their future, she had to shower and get ready for work.



Still yawning, she sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. The room started to sway. Jamie exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. The sensation worsened until she was forced to put her head back on the pillow. The dizziness was followed by a surge of nausea.



Apparently she was suffering from a relapse of the flu. Wasn’t she?



* * *



Jason called Rich at the office early Tuesday morning. “I haven’t heard from you in a while,” he said, giving the reason for his call. “I thought I’d check in to see how everything’s going with you and Jamie.”



“Fine,” Rich said, studying a design layout on his desk. He held the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he worked. “I appreciated your words of wisdom the other night.” However, as Rich recalled, Jason had been more concerned with getting him out of his apartment than shedding any new light on Rich’s muddled marriage.



Rich had been more shaken that night than he’d realized. The mere mention of the word divorce had thrown him. It had also forced him to deal with the depth of his love for Jamie and had set his determination to do everything within his power to make their marriage work.



“So things between you and Jamie are better?”



“So far, so good.”



“No more talk of a divorce?”



“None.” Thank God, Rich mused.



“Then you’ve agreed to her terms?”



“More or less.” It was the terms they’d both agreed to—only he wanted to change the rules now. All he needed was a few days to convince Jamie how crazy she was about him. It shouldn’t be that difficult, especially when he was already so much in love with her, as long as he could get a few hours free from work. Which was difficult right now, with that defense contract gearing up.



“What does ‘more or less’ mean?” Jason wanted to know.



“It means,” Rich said, his words heavy with impatience, “that I intend to make this marriage real.” He glanced around to be sure no one in the office across the hall from him could hear. This wasn’t the way he wanted his fellow workers to learn he was a married man.



“How does Jamie feel about this, or—” Jason hesitated “—does she know?”



“She will soon enough.” Rich had never felt more frustrated. The defense project was taking all his time; knowing he’d volunteered for it didn’t help, either. He’d been single at the time, but his life had changed and he was a married man. Sort of a married man. One who longed to be a real husband to his wife.



“I don’t suppose you’ve considered telling Mom and Dad that you’re married, have you?”



Jason should’ve gone into police work, Rich mused. He certainly possessed interrogation skills.



“It wouldn’t hurt, you know,” Jason added.



Rich frowned. “Is there any reason I should tell them?”



Jason’s chuckle annoyed him. “Not really,” his brother said. “Just promise me you’ll let me be there when you do.”



Rich didn’t find any humor in his teasing. “I will when the time’s right.” That might take longer than he’d originally planned, thanks to all the overtime he’d been putting in lately. Informing his parents that he and Jamie were married, and had been for the past six weeks, wasn’t a task he relished. Of course, the longer he waited, the more offended they’d be.



“Talk to you later.”



“Okay,” Rich said absently, more concerned about the designs he was reviewing than the conversation with his brother. He hung up the phone and glanced at his watch. The defense project was winding down, and if the day progressed as he hoped, he’d be able to take a break this evening and visit Jamie.



Rich was so involved in the designs that he didn’t notice someone standing in the doorway until he glanced up. When he did, his eyes widened with shock.



“Jamie.” Her own eyes were red and glazed with tears. Yet she was smiling. Rich didn’t know which emotion to respond to first. “What’s wrong?”



“Oh, Rich, you won’t believe what’s happened,” she cried, and ran toward him, arms outstretched. “You just won’t believe it. I … I know I shouldn’t have come here, not when you’re so busy, but I had to, I simply had to.”



Worried that there might be something seriously wrong with her, Rich got out of his chair and had her sit down. Then he crouched in front of her, holding the armrests, forming a protective barricade around her.



“Tell me,” he said tenderly.



“I woke up sick yesterday,” she muttered, opening her purse and digging through it for a tissue. When she found one, she dabbed at the corners of her eyes. Once again she was smiling broadly and weeping at the same time. Tears slid down her face, and her mouth trembled with some as-yet-undetermined emotion.



“I assumed it was the flu,” she said, sobbing, “but I felt fine a little bit later. I didn’t even think to mention it when you phoned last night—but this morning my stomach was queasy again and I felt light-headed, as though I was going to faint. I wasn’t sure what to think until I checked the calendar.”



“The calendar?”



She nodded enthusiastically.



“Jamie?” Rich was afraid to place too much significance on what she was saying—what she seemed to be saying. She couldn’t possibly mean what he hoped she did. It was ludicrous. They’d only made love that one time.



Once again she nodded wildly. “Rich,” she said, her hands gripping his. “We’re pregnant.”



“Pregnant,” Rich repeated in a whisper, stunned. If he hadn’t been clutching the sides of the chair, he would’ve toppled onto his backside. “Pregnant,” he repeated slowly.



“I never dreamed it would happen so quickly. My temperature was only elevated a little that morning and… I didn’t really think I was fertile yet, but obviously I was. Rich, oh, Rich,” she sobbed joyfully. “We’re going to have a baby.”



“A baby.” Rich stared at her. “You’re sure? You’ve been to see Dr. Fullerton?”



“No… I bought a pregnancy test in the drugstore this morning and a few minutes later—”



“You’re sure?” he asked again.



“The stick turned blue. You can’t get any more positive than that.”



“Blue…does that mean the baby’s a boy?” His head, his heart, were racing, trying to take it all in.



Jamie laughed and hiccuped and laughed some more. “No, silly, it doesn’t mean we’re having a son, it means we’re going to be parents.”



“But we could be having a son,” he challenged.



“Of course. Or a daughter.” She threw her arms around his neck and laughed, an outpouring of joy. It was the sweetest, most poignant song he’d ever heard.



“We’re pregnant,” Rich said, finally—fully—taking it in. “We’re really pregnant.”



“Really,” she said, brushing the tips of her fingers over his face. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”



“Pregnant.” Slipping his arms around her waist, he stood, bringing her with him. His mouth found hers, and he kissed her the way he’d longed to do all week.



Jamie moaned. So did Rich. The kiss created a need for much more, and this was neither the time nor the place.



“Say something,” she whispered, her eyes holding his. Her hands pressed against the sides of his jaw. “Tell me you’re pleased about the baby.”



Everything he wanted to tell her—his joy, his excitement, the overwhelming love he felt for her—it all formed a huge lump in his throat. To his dismay, Rich couldn’t utter a single word. Finally he threw back his head and released a shout that sounded like a war cry.



“Rich?” A frowning Bill Hastings appeared in his doorway.



Rich grinned and waved. He broke away from Jamie, but took her hand in his. “Hello, Bill. Have you met Jamie Manning, my wife?”



Jamie’s smile grew and grew. “Jamie Warren Manning,” she corrected.



“Your wife?” Bill frowned again, but recovered quickly. “When did this happen? You never said a word. This isn’t the same Jamie Warren you…you know, is it?”



“Yup,” Jamie answered for him. “I’m the one he wanted you to ask out.”



“You two are married?”



“We’d better be,” Rich said, tucking his arm around Jamie’s slim waist. The time would come when that same waist would expand, her belly filled with his child. Thinking about it, he felt shaky inside. Rich hadn’t realized men were susceptible to those kinds of emotions. He’d assumed they were reserved for women. His heart was full. Overflowing with a happiness so profound, it was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. His throat thickened as though he might break into tears. Rich couldn’t remember the last time he’d wept. It wasn’t something men did often. But knowing Jamie was pregnant with his child, his son or daughter, was enough to reduce him to tears.