“Come on, Dougless,” Robert had said with a smile when Dougless didn’t reply to his question. “I keep hearing what a paragon of love and support that family of yours is, so why can’t they help you now?” Before she could speak, Robert raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Ah, baby, please try to get the money. I so much want us to go on this trip because I have such a very, very special surprise for you.”
Part of Dougless had wanted to shout that he wasn’t being fair. He should have made it clear that she was going to be required to pay for half of the trip before she’d made reservations at such expensive hotels. But another part of her asked why she’d expected him to pay for her share. They weren’t married. They were, as Robert often called them, “partners.” “Sounds like John Wayne and a sidekick,” Dougless had muttered the first time he’d said that, but Robert had just laughed.
In the end Dougless couldn’t bear to ask her father for money. It would be like admitting defeat to him. Instead, she’d called a cousin in Colorado and asked him for a loan. The money had been given to her freely, no interest, but she’d had to endure her cousin’s lecture. “He’s a surgeon, you’re an underpaid teacher, you’ve been living together for a year, but he expects you to pay for half of an expensive trip?” her cousin had said. Dougless had wanted to explain about Robert’s mother, who had used money to punish her son, and about his cold ex-wife, who had spent everything Robert earned. Dougless had wanted to explain that money was just a small part of their lives and that she was pretty sure that Robert was going to propose marriage on this trip.
But Dougless said none of that. “Just send the money, will you?” she’d snapped.
But her cousin’s words had upset her, so, during the few days remaining before they left, Dougless gave herself several little lectures. It was only fair that she pay her own way, wasn’t it? And Robert was right: it was the day of the liberated woman. Her father, by not dropping millions in her lap before she could handle them, was teaching her to take care of herself and, now, so was Robert. And, most of all, she told herself that she had been an idiot for not realizing beforehand that she was supposed to pay her own way.
After Dougless had contributed her half to the bills, for the most part, she recovered her good humor, and by the time she’d packed their suitcases, she was again looking forward to the trip. Happily, she filled her tote bag with necessary toiletries, travel books, and as many gadgets as she could cram into it.
In the taxi on the way to the airport, Robert had been especially nice to her. He’d nuzzled her neck until she’d pushed him away in embarrassment when she saw the taxi driver watching.
“Have you guessed the surprise yet?” he asked.
“You won the lottery,” Dougless answered, still playing the game and pretending ignorance.
“Better than that.”
“Let’s see . . . You’ve bought a castle and we’ll live in it forever as lord and lady.”
“Much better than that,” Robert said seriously. “Do you have any idea what the upkeep on one of those places is? I’ll bet you can’t guess anything as good as this surprise.”
Dougless had looked at him with love. She knew just what her wedding dress would look like, and she imagined all her relatives smiling at her in approval. Would their children have Robert’s blue eyes or her green? His brown hair or he
r auburn? “I have no idea what the surprise is,” she said, lying.
Leaning back against the seat, Robert smiled. “You’ll soon find out,” he’d said enigmatically.
At the airport Dougless dealt with checking the luggage while Robert kept looking about the terminal as though he were searching for something. As Dougless tipped the porter, Robert threw up his hand to wave to someone. At first Dougless was too busy to realize what was happening.
She looked up at the cry, “Daddy!” and saw Gloria running across the terminal, a porter trailing behind her pushing a hand truck loaded with six new suitcases.
What a coincidence, Dougless thought as she checked the tags the baggage handler gave her. Imagine meeting Gloria at the airport. Distractedly, Dougless watched as Gloria flung herself on her father. Moments later they broke apart, Robert keeping his arm tightly around his precious daughter’s plump shoulders.
Once Dougless had finished with the bags, she gave her attention to Robert’s daughter, and it was difficult to keep the frown off her face. Gloria was wearing a fringed jacket and cowboy boots, and a too-short leather skirt. She looked like an overweight stripper from the sixties.
Where was her mother and how could she allow the child to dress like that? Dougless thought as she glanced about the airport for Robert’s ex-wife.
“Hello, Gloria,” Dougless said. “Are you and your mother going somewhere too?”
Gloria and her father nearly collapsed with laughter at Dougless’s words. “You haven’t told her,” Gloria squealed.
It took Robert a moment to sober himself. “This is the surprise,” he said, pushing Gloria forward as though she were some huge trophy Dougless had just won. “Isn’t this the most wonderful surprise you could imagine?”
Dougless still didn’t understand—or maybe she was too horrified to want to understand. All she could do was stand there and stare at the two of them, speechless.
Robert put his other arm around Dougless and drew her close to him. “Both of my girls are going with me,” he said with pride.
“Both?” Dougless whispered, her throat closing down on her.
“Yes,” Robert said, his voice joyous. “Gloria is the surprise I’ve been hinting at for weeks. She’s going with us to England. I knew you’d never guess! You didn’t, did you?”
No, Dougless had not come close to guessing. And now that she was finally understanding that the beautiful, romantic trip she’d dreamed of wasn’t going to happen, she wanted to scream, to yell, and to refuse to go. But she did none of those things. “All the hotel rooms are just for two people,” she’d managed to say at last.
“So we’ll have a rollaway bed brought in,” Robert said in dismissal. “I’m sure we’ll manage, because we have love going for us and that’s all we need.” He dropped his arm from Dougless’s shoulder. “Now for business. Dougless, you won’t mind getting Gloria’s luggage checked in while I catch up with lambykins, will you?”
Dougless could only shake her head. Numbly she went off to the ticket counter, the porter and the suitcases following her. She had to pay two hundred and eighty dollars in overcharge for Gloria’s four extra bags, and she had to tip the porter.