Ten Mountain Men's Baby (Love by Numbers 9)

I raised my eyebrows. “Dr. Stevens?”

“Perhaps I should make my appointments with her.”

I opened my mouth, surprised, but didn’t know what to say.

“In case you find yourself indisposed, out of town over the next six months.” She gave me a wry smile.

“Oh, you mean…” I stammered. Is she implying that I might want to take her place on the Appalachian Trail?

“Of course, you may be worried your practice would suffer in your absence. And you would be missed, don’t get me wrong.” She put her hand on my arm. “But this trip would make you something of a celebrity. Think about it. Lots of people would want to go to a dentist who was also a celebrity philanthropist, at least a lot of people I know.” She gave me a sly look out of the corner of her eyes.

“I… I….”

“Of course, you’ll need time to think about it.” She tapped my hand and stepped into the corridor.

I gathered myself and followed. She turned to me and smiled. “I’ll call you Monday morning and give you the details.”2RykerYou’d think I’d be capable of setting the table in less than a half-hour. There were only four of us: my mother, my father, my sister, and me. But I kept changing the placement of each item. The cutlery was too close to the plates; it looked cramped, tense, exactly how I feared the conversation would be. Then the cutlery was spread too far apart. Would they interpret that, even subconsciously, as my expressing a need or desire for distance?

I’d cooked for my family before. They weren’t difficult guests. But this was going to be a difficult conversation, one that had been a long time coming.

My sister, Amy, arrived early. Thank goodness! Even though she had no idea why I wanted everyone together and what news I was planning on springing on them, she could appreciate my anxiety for socializing with our parents. She had three years on me—plus the two years when I was in a foster home before my parents had adopted me—so she knew even better than I did how disconnected and stubborn they could be.

“It smells great,” Amy said, as she passed from the foyer into the living room.

“Stuffed mushrooms,” I said.

“Ah, Dad’s favorite.”

“And I’ve got a green bean casserole in the oven, Mom’s recipe with my own special touch.”

She turned to me with a serious expression on her face. “The place is spotless. Looks like you’re going all out. Suspicious.”

I shrugged. “I like to keep a clean place.”

“I bet.” She smirked and looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. “If I know you as well as I think I do, I’d say you’re planning to drop a bombshell on us tonight.”

I glanced at my watch then straightened the magazines on the coffee table for the tenth time.

Amy took my arm and looked at me with wide eyes. “What is it?”

I feigned a look of incomprehension.

“Just a hint.”

I put my empty hands out, open palms up.

She paced back and forth, then stopped and looked at me. “Are you gay?”

I cocked my head to the side and frowned.

“Did you get Lucy pregnant?”

“Wow. You’re all over the place. It’s nothing like that. Just relax. You’re stressing me out.”

“Then tell me.”

I walked away from her and into the open kitchen. “Care for a glass of wine?”

Her eyes got bigger still. She pointed at me and declared, “You’re joining a cult.”

I shook my head.

“Not a cult, but you’ve decided to go off on a spiritual quest, go to India, climb the Himalayas or something.”

Now I pointed at her. “You’re getting closer.”

“You got Lucy pregnant, so you’re running off to India to join a cult.”

The doorbell rang.

“Ah, saved by the bell.”My parents were in a cheerful mood. The appetizers went off without a hitch. We talked about movies we’d seen and books we were currently reading. Every now and again, Amy would glance at me and give me a stern “when are you going to drop it” look. I waited till the main dish was served, spicy pork chops and green bean casserole, before launching into my prepared speech.

“Mom, Dad, Amy, I’ve invited you here tonight for a special reason. I have come to an important decision.” I paused to make sure I had a captive audience.

Amy looked to be on the edge of her seat, while both Mom and Dad looked quite concerned.

“I’ve decided to go on an expedition.”

“An expedition?” Mom repeated. “What kind of expedition?”

“I’ve decided to do the thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.”

Mom furrowed her brow and pulled back in disbelief. “Appalachia? But you’ve only just started your residency. How are you going to—”

“Mom,” Amy butted in, “let him say what he’s got to say.”

“Sorry, dear,” said Mom as she straightened in her chair, folded her napkin, and set it back onto her lap.