Deadly Expectations (61 page)

“What the hell is that?”
 
I exclaimed.
 
“A submarine?”

I gestured for Marie to answer.
 
She was close enough for Paul to hear her.

“Mm hm.
 
We can go in it if you want.
 
Keith and I made out in there once … third base.”

I burst out laughing.
 
“Maybe next time … can we go on the ship?”

“Uh huh.
 
Let’s go.”
 
She was enjoying getting in on the deception.

“I’m low on minutes,” I told Paul.

“Oh, okay … bye.”

“Bye,” I told him.

“Do you want an easy way to make up to him for giving him the run around tonight?
 
A place I worked last summer … they’re hiring me back for some shifts heading up to Christmas.
 
Get you a good discount.”

“Sure where?”
 
I asked.
 
I’d found a couple of hundred in the back pocket of my jeans when I put them on.

“You’ll see.”

It was one of those adult places with some naughty underwear on the mannequins in the window and a wall blocking most of the front door so that you had to walk around to see what was inside.
 
There weren’t any other customers other than us.

“Carla?”
 
Marie called and a middle aged woman came out of the back.

“Marie,” she smiled and hugged her.
 
“Who’s your friend?”

“Anna,” Marie introduced us.
 
We saw that Carla’s hands were full of Christmassy red brassieres so Marie offered, “I’ll wait on her … let you know when we’re ready.”

“Thank you!”
 
Carla disappeared.

“I think we’re the same size … you’ll want something your stomach won’t outgrow too fast.”
 
She tore through the racks as my phone rang.

“Hello?”
 
I answered while I looked at the shelves of adult toys and potions.
 
This is what I thought of when we were going to Willy’s Toy Shop.
 
Only this was Carla’s.

“Enough Rachel.
 
Where are you?”
 
Paul was losing patience.

I acted offended.
 
“So a woman can’t pick up a little something to surprise her husband without some other man escorting her?
 
Tell Keith we’re at Carla’s and see if he doesn’t blush when he explains that to you.
 
Then we’re probably going for ice cream or something and we’ll be back in time for dinner.”

I waited through the rustling.
 
I had been talking about Marie and I both surprising our husbands.
 
With different things of course.
 
Marie was still pulling things off the racks but she was slowing down.
 
While I waited I felt around the store and the mall out the door for Keith’s men or Paul or anyone else I would have to be cautious of.
 
There was nobody.

“Um sorry,” Paul said.
 
“Dinner’s at nineteen-thirty.”

“Okay John.”

He hung up.

Marie took me down to one of the change rooms.
 
“What colour does Paul like?”

“I don’t really know … he liked the green dress I wore last night.”

“Okay … I don’t have any green that won’t make you look like a Christmas present and I find bows on pregnant women to be intolerably tacky.
 
Like someone is going to be dumb enough not to know what’s under the gift wrap.
 
Here.”

She gave me a purple teddy.
 
The panties were stretchy satin as was the push-up style bra on top.
 
The sheer short skirt that hung from it was sheer and a little stretchy so it didn’t have too much bulk now and would still fit in a couple of months if I was still in the mood to put it on, as she put it.
 
Then she made me come out and model it.

“Carla?
 
You have to come see this,” she called so Carla came in.

“That’s very nice,” she said.
 
“Your stomach is just the right size to model things like this … my advice is to put it on after, honey.
 
When he’s tired but won’t resist going again.
 
Otherwise it’ll be over so quick you won’t feel like you got your money’s worth and you’ll be back in here complaining to Carla.”

Marie and I laughed.
 
I’d save the modeling for Marie in a few months.
 
I wasn’t into doing that at all.
 
Then Marie gave me a couple of others to try.
 
I settled on the purple one and a black one.
 
The top on the black one didn’t stretch like the purple but the front seam was open so there was room for my belly.
 
Carla gave us Marie’s staff price and sent us on our way.
 

We still had half an hour until dinner so we took our time walking back.
 
There was ice cream at a chocolate shop we passed and I got a box of dark chocolate caramels for a craving I suddenly had.
 
I tucked them in with my lingerie.
 
We got bubble gum ice cream cones because we both remembered liking it as kids.
 
It was still just as good.
 
I kept scanning ahead and behind for anyone who could be following us, friend or otherwise, but there was nobody.

Marie was a lot like spending time with Alina.
 
Quick to laugh and crude to the point of being blunt.
 
It was hilarious and I had no trouble keeping up with her jokes and sense of humour.
  
We had to finish our cones outside Keith’s restaurant before we could go in.

“Will you come in the restroom with me?” she whispered.

I nodded so she took my hand and we walked in together.
 
Nobody was at the railing on the upper level watching for us so we headed down to the ladies room.
 
Patrick would have spotted us anyway.
 
We made it past the stairs up without being stopped and safely into the washroom.
 
Marie put her bag of CD’s on the counter and took the other one.

“Here goes,” she said.
 
Her hands were shaking a bit so I gave her a hug and smiled warmly.

“I think you already know what it will say or you wouldn’t be making sure,” I told her.

“You’re right,” she smiled back.
 
Then she showed me her crossed fingers and went in.
 
After a minute I heard the cap snap back on it and she passed it to me under the door.

“Here,” she said.
 
“Tell me what it says … I can’t look.”

“Okay,” I took it and watched until the window showed a plus sign.

“Do you want to do the other one to be extra sure or is one good enough?”

“Anna!
 
What does it say,” she demanded.

“It says congratulations Marie … go tell your husband.”

“Yes?” she squealed and burst out of the stall and threw her arms around me.

“Yes.”
 
I showed her.
 
It wasn’t the reaction I’d had when I’d found out but I hoped it would be something close if Paul and I were lucky enough to try again sometime.
 

She checked her watch.

“Should I tell him at dinner … in front of everyone?” she asked.

“You know him best.
 
Maybe he’d rather find out privately … then you can decide together how to tell everyone.”

She considered that.
 
“No.
 
He’s such a prankster.
 
We have some cakes in the fridge for things like this.
 
I’ll get one out and set something up with a waitress I trust to be quiet about it.”

“If you’re sure,” I told her, but I guessed that anyone who would be fine with getting to third base on a tourist submarine would have no trouble with a baby cake.

Marie and I split up at the bathroom.
 
I went upstairs to find Paul and she went to the kitchen.
 
The restaurant was still packed but I noticed that a lot of the customers were having desert or coffee so it was probably going to quiet down soon.
 
I took my seat next to him and put my bag between my feet.

“What’s in the bag?” Paul asked.
 
Carla’s bags were plain brown paper.
 
Appropriate for an adult shop.
 
I picked it up carefully to keep Paul from peeking.
 
Didn’t matter though.
 
The things I bought there were well wrapped in tissue.
 
I rooted around and pulled out the Advil.

“There you go,” I told him as I put the bottle on the table.

“Fantastic,” he said taking a couple then he shook it and had a few other takers.

“What were you two doing?” he asked.
 
Keith listened across the table.

“We were up to something.
 
I felt
Warren
behind us from the moment he started down the stairs.
 
Nobody is getting even close to us.
 
The other two will be entering the restaurant in a few seconds.”
 
I said just to prove my point.
 
I’d made a quick sweep of the entrance and lucked into spotting them.
 
Keith stood up to look and then sat back down.

“They’re here,” he said but he still didn’t seem very pleased with me.

Paul understood that protecting Marie now was as important as protecting me.
 
Keith didn’t yet.
 
The only difference was that Marie would need the protection if there was trouble.
 
I wouldn’t.

“I like her a lot.
 
She’s so much like Alina it’s uncanny.”

Paul laughed.
 
“You two have always gotten along.
 
I’m not surprised you found some reason to take off together the first chance you got.
 
So what’s in the bag?”

“I know where our child will get his impatience from, Paul.
 
You want me to show you here?”

He grinned and shook his head.
 
Marie came up and took her seat next to Keith.
 
He put his arms around her, relieved that she was back.
 
She gave me a quick smile over his shoulder and they whispered for a while.
 
He seemed to calm down after a few minutes.

“Is Keith mad with me?” I whispered to Paul.

“He’s not convinced you can take care of his girl,” he answered.

I shrugged.
 
Whether he believed it or not I was.

Dinner was great.
 
Fettuccine Alfredo with prawns, salad, and garlic bread.

“You want cheesecake Anna?”
 
Marie asked.
 
“Keith’s is the best.
 
Paul?”

“It is Friday,” I laughed.
 
“Cheesecake day.”

Keith went down to order desert.
 
He came back looking puzzled.

“They had to scramble to get more ready … she’ll bring it up in a bit.
 
We don’t usually run out of cheesecake.”