“Yes.”
“Does he like pets?”
“Yes.”
“Has he ever been married?”
“No.”
When Angie’s lower lip pushed outward, Amelia’s spirits shot down to the floor. She knew that look.
“You asked him about his marital status?”
“Yes. If he had a wife, she would have been involved in the conversation.” No, that wasn’t quite how it had gone. He’d said if she had a husband he should be involved in the conversation. “Or maybe he just told me,” she added, feeling as though she was floundering now in a dark mass of seaweed.
“He told me,” she said, trying to keep Angie worry free and keep herself honest at the same time. “He was telling me about his reasons for seeking me out in the first place. Like I told you, his partner had been killed...”
“That didn’t mean he’d never been married.”
No, it didn’t. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her sister about the man’s biggest desire being a wife and family, one wife for the rest of his life.
For a long time she’d believed her mom, that their father would be coming home. When they’d been little enough to play house they used to pretend that, every single time, their dad was home, and mention of him wouldn’t make their mother cry. It wasn’t until her mother had started dating Duane that Amelia had realized that her daddy wasn’t coming back to them. She’d been in third grade. That had been a tough year.
“He and Tricia were together from the time he graduated,” she said now. “And before that he’d shared an apartment with another medical student, a guy from here,” she added. “Here being Marie Cove. And I know this because his roommate’s mother works at the Parent Portal and that’s how he ended up getting involved with artificial insemination to begin with. A choice he now regrets. As I told you.”
She was overcompensating. She heard it happening.
“What?” she asked, noticing Angie’s frown. She had nothing to feel guilty for. Other than decisions of the past. And the fact that she hadn’t told her sister she was seeing Craig the night before—and that one was arguable.
“I’m confused. You saw him, at his request, so that he could learn enough about you to put his mind at ease about the well-being of the baby...”
“Right.”
“They why do you know so much about him?”
Because he’d been easy to talk to. Because they’d talked for hours. Because she’d made him dinner. Because she’d wanted to know.
He’d listened, really listened, without judgment...and had offered comment that rang true to her.
Because what she’d said, felt, experienced in her life, seemed to matter. It hadn’t just been all about what he needed.
All of which meant nothing other than that they were two human beings with something in common, being kind to each other.
But Angie wasn’t going to believe that.
“You’re attracted to him.” Angie’s tone had lowered. And then she stood. “You’re trying to hide it from me.”
Amelia stood, too. “Angie, please...”
“Answer me this, then...”
Nodding, Amelia waited, eager for the opportunity to show her sister that she was on top of things.
“Are you seeing him again?”
A lie was on the tip of her tongue. She hoped to God she hadn’t been about to utter it. Either way she never got the chance.
“You are!” Angie said, her voice raised enough that the pair of women seated closest to their table glanced over at them. “You’re seeing him again.”