The Invitation (Montgomery/Taggert 19)

Surprise!”

Jackie stared in open-mouthed astonishment at the people standing in the doorway of her house, five men and two women, their faces alight and happy. Their expressions did not reflect what she was feeling inside.

“Bet you didn’t expect us, huh, Jackie?”

“No,” she said as politely as she could, but her heart had fallen to her feet. Only yesterday she’d had to deal with Terri, and in the hours that had passed since then, she hadn’t stepped outside her door, afraid of what the other people in Chandler were saying about her and William.

Now there were seven people standing at her door, old friends of Charley’s, old drinking buddies of his. Men and women who had once been part of her life but who were no longer.

As she looked at them, laughing, holding up bottles of wine, wanting to stay up all night to celebrate, she realized how much she had changed during her time in Chandler. In Chandler, if someone saw your light on at three A.M., they’d call you the next day, usually at six A.M., to ask what was wrong with you.

“Come in,” she said, smiling, holding the door open wide. Once they were inside, she went to the kitchen, knowing they would be hungry and that later probably at least two of them would need cash.

“Jackie, come in here and tell us what you’ve been doing these last two years. We saw a barn full of new planes out there. Where’d they come from?”

At those words, Jackie’s hands froze as she was cutting the fourth sandwich. So that was why they were here: they’d somehow heard of her new business and wanted in on it.

Suddenly she had an overwhelming desire for William to be there. He would politely but very firmly let these people know that they were hiring only reliable people, not old-timers whose best years had come and gone.

At that thought, she shook her head to clear it. She was an old-timer. These were her people, her own age.

“Come and get it,” she called as she carried a tray of sandwiches and pickles into the dining room where the table was already littered with beer and wine bottles. One of the men was carrying in suitcases.

“Hope you don’t mind a little company for a few days, Jackie,” one man said. “We didn’t think you’d mind, what with this whole hotel to yourself. You must get lonely now and then and want a little company.”

“No, of course not. Sure,” she said, trying to force a smile, and she was sent back in time to when she lived with Charley. He was a very generous man; what was his belonged to everyone else as well. He was considered generous, but it was Jackie who’d had to buy the food and cook the meals and do everyone’s laundry.

So now they were here wanting jobs and food and free lodging. How was she going to tell them to get lost?

“Hello.”

She looked up and there stood William, so strong and tall and clean. The sunlight behind his head made him look like a rescuing angel. Dropping three empty bottles, Jackie rushed to him, and he opened his arms to her, pulling her against his chest, holding her close. Vaguely she was aware of the hush behind them, but she didn’t care what they thought. Until this moment she hadn’t realized how m

uch she had come to depend on William, on the strength of him.

“Hey, Jackie, are you gonna introduce us?”

One by one, Jackie introduced the people, only six of them in the room since one of them, Charley’s oldest friend, had stepped out for a moment. With enthusiasm, they said hello to William and invited him to join them.

Jackie was holding her breath, as these were the first people she had introduced William to as “her” man, and she was waiting for their reaction. As far as she could tell, there was nothing unusual in the way they acted. Within minutes they were telling William lies about their exploits in airplanes and William was telling them about nice hotels in town where they could stay. Jackie had to hide her smile. She could relax now; William was here to take care of her. He wouldn’t allow these people to take over the house, nor would he give them jobs unless they were qualified.

Five minutes later Charley’s friend Arnold returned to the room.

Gladys, being much too friendly with William, clutched his arm to her bosom and said, “And this gorgeous young thing belongs to Jackie.”

Arnold smiled and held out his hand. “I didn’t know Jackie and Charley had any kids,” he said.

There was instant silence in the room. Only William seemed to be at ease as he took Arnold’s hand and shook it. “I am hoping to persuade Jackie to marry me,” he said smoothly, seemingly unperturbed by what had just been said.

As for Jackie, she wished the floor would open so she could sink down inside the earth and never be seen again. Turning on her heel, she walked out of the room, ignoring Arnold’s apologies ringing out behind her and the group’s pleas for her to return.

When she got outside, she wasn’t surprised to feel William’s hand on her arm. He was trying to make her stop walking, but she meant to get into a plane, as that was the only place where she felt really safe.

“Jackie,” William was saying, “the man is half drunk, and even sober I doubt if he can see past the end of his nose.”

“He could see what everyone else can see.”

William grabbed her shoulders. “Jackie, I’ve had about all of this I can take. I love you. I love you. I don’t care how old you are, what race you are, whether you’re fat or skinny. I love what’s inside you.” When she didn’t respond, he dropped his hands from her shoulders. “But it’s your decision,” he said, and his voice was cold. “You have to decide.”