The Truth About Air & Water (Truth in Lies #2) (51 page)

“I know but I was just thinking about all of it, and it makes me…sad.”

“Don't be sad. Don’t talk about
him
. Geez,
I’m driving
. We have a deal. Don’t ruin it. You’re ruining me.” The words are out before I can take them back. I catch my lower lip between my teeth and taste the blood in my mouth two seconds later. “Don't talk about him. No
side references
either. I’m going to pull over if you continue down this path. We don’t
talk
about him
ever
.”

“He called Charlie earlier. He’s getting sent up. He’ll be in Miami with the Giants at the end of next week after the All Stars game. He’s coming home. I thought you’d want to know so you could be prepared. You know, so you know.” She grins wide.

“You’re
talking
about him,” I scold as pull into Dr. Eldon’s wide parking lot. I carefully park in space far enough away from all the other parked cars and then turn to her. “Don’t do that.”

“Tally,” she says wagging her finger in my face, “you’re too stubborn. You’ve got to let it all go. Trinna Danner has been exposed for the whoring slut she was, and he’s coming home. For you. Prepare yourself.”

“He hates me now.” My voice trembles. “He loves Cara, but he hates me.”

Marla’s looking at me intently as if she’s going to find a secret way into my head for a cosmic mind meld of some sort. “Stop it. You’re being ridiculous. He loves you. He will always love you.” She gets this secret smile. “Big day,” she says.

I’m grateful she’s changed the subject. “Big day.” Smiling again, I squeeze her hand. “I’m so happy for you.”

She’s having an ultrasound and hopefully Dr. Eldon will be able to tell if it’s a boy or girl.

“Thanks for coming.” She gets this wistful look. “If Charlie were doing any other stint for his rotation other than the ER…I’m glad you’re here with me, Tal.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be. You’ve always been here for me. I’m here for you. That’s how we do it.”

She grabs my hand. “Let’s go do this. Maybe Dr. Eldon is ahead of schedule today because I’m absolutely starving.”

“Yeah, me too. Must eat soon.” She stares at me. “What?”

“I don’t know,” she says looking at me closely. “You’re
never
hungry.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

I laugh. “Okay. It’s a fluke. Just be glad ‘cause I’m
paying
today. Lucky you.”

Marla’s having a girl. She is so excited that she is practically sliding off the exam table unable to remain still. I’m here holding Marla’s hand providing her with awesome moral support. We both screamed at Dr. Eldon’s news that the baby is a girl.

Dr. Eldon announces she is ahead of schedule and gives me a curious look as she finishes up her charting about Marla and her baby girl. “You missed your six-month check-in, Tally.”

“Oh, did I? I’ve been slammed with work and all. I guess I forgot to call for the appointment.”

Marla slides off the table. I let go of her hand. We exchange a knowing look. I am as thrilled as she is that she’s having a girl.

“All right. Well, since you’re here let’s get your lab work done,” Dr. Eldon says, “and then we’ll schedule you for a regular exam in a month or so.” She gives me the there-will-be-no-arguing-with-me-today look.

“Okay.”

I’m not exactly thrilled with being cornered about the labs because it involves drawing blood, and she’s going to bust me again about eating, not eating, although lately I’ve been better about all of that. So whatever. I follow her out and Dr. Eldon’s nurse, Stacey, guides me to another room to draw blood and other fun stuff inside of twenty minutes.

We are back in the doctor’s front office, and all is right with the world as Dr. Eldon calls out, “Congratulations, Marla. I’ll see you in a month, just like Tally.” She smiles at us both and then proceeds to say, “I’ll call you with the lab results in a couple of days, Tally.”

“Okay sounds good.” Then I turn back. “Oh, I do leave for Moscow in a couple of days, this Thursday, actually.” Marla rolls her eyes again demonstrating she’s not exactly enamored about me making a return trip to Moscow.

“Moscow? Really? The Bolshoi?” Dr. Eldon asks. I nod and smile wide. She returns it. “Okay. Well, I’ll have the lab put a rush on it. Are you sure you’re caught up on all of your shots to travel?”

I frown. “I should be. I guess I’d better check all that out before I set off for Russia and fly on out of here; huh?” I laugh. Marla’s looking at me strangely. “What?” I ask.

“What’s up with your flightiness today?”

“I didn’t eat?” I say thinking. “Oh yes, I did. A tuna sandwich. For breakfast.”

“That sounds disgusting.”

“Not to me. It was fabulous. I even toasted the bread. Who knew?”

“Still sounds disgusting.”

“You’re pregnant. Certain foods sound disgusting to
you
,” I say.

We’re back in Marla’s Escalade in under an hour which she points out to me as I pull out of the parking lot and she rewards me with one of those sly smiles of hers because she’s still has me driving. “You’re doing great, Tal. You really are.”

“Yep.” I signal for a left turn and gun the engine so we escape the oncoming traffic still stopped down at the next light.

“So where are we at with Sam?”

“What is this? Break all of Tally’s rules day? We are
nowhere
with Sam. We don’t talk about Sam either, remember? He…I don’t know…he’s busy with secret stuff he can’t tell me about, and frankly, I’m beginning to find it annoying. Plus, every time he looks at me, I know he’s thinking of the somewhat compromising positions I took with Linc in the baseball player’s truck that night.” I glance away for a second to gain some control. “Every time. I guess Elvis ruined that too. He ruined me. Damn. He ruined me,” I say softly wiping at my eyes and then I laugh and shake my head.

“I
did not
bring him up.”

“I know. I did.”

“Okay then. I just want to be clear. I understand the rules and I only break them
consciously
.” Marla looks at me intently.

“You are so weird sometimes,” I say with a laugh.

“And you are downright giddy. And you are
never
giddy,” she says getting this all-knowing face.

“I’m not.” Then, I smile wide again.

In solidarity, we order virgin Pink Lady daiquiris to celebrate Marla’s girl news while I order a hamburger, and Marla orders a salad.

We’ve been at the restaurant about half an hour when she looks over at me and her mouth drops open. We’ve been talking about Moscow, the latest, dirty going-ons at SFB, Mikhail Rostov who I’ve grudgingly have begun to admire, the fall schedule, Marla and Charlie’s continual talk about moving closer to me, Cara’s preschool, Elliott’s acceptance of the new baby when she arrives, and Marla’s due date, which is the middle of November and how that’s going to affect Thanksgiving.
Stuff.

Marla’s staring at my plate. “You ate the whole burger.”

I look down. My plate is empty. I swipe up the crumbs with my finger and suck it. “I did. Yum.”

She gets this look—the stunned one that metamorphoses into her particular brand of wizardry. She gasps and holds her breath and then she bursts out laughing. This happens in all of twenty seconds.

“What is your problem? And can I just say I really hate that we have given up the word,” I lean forward and whisper, “
fuck
.”

She leans forward. “I know me too. However, if Cara and Elliott were saying it, we both know where they got it from and Charlie busted me for it. So there you go.”

“I know,” I lament this major parental error of my own making. “I know. I just
miss
it so much.” We grin at each other.

It ends up being only forty-five minute drive home to Alamo Square as we’ve miraculously timed it so we missed much of the traffic. Andy has been watching both kids. The three of them are playing outside in the kiddie pool I bought for Cara the week before when the heat got to be too much around the fourth of July. They look to be having a glorious time.

Marla and I stand arm-in-arm at the back door watching them for a few minutes.

“Don’t let them know we’re back quite yet. I still need a little longer break from it all,” Marla says.

“You okay?” I eye her more closely. “You’re good, right? It’s a
girl
. You’re doing great. Dr. Eldon says everything is fine.”

“I know. But you just don’t know. I mean I know everything looks great, but you worry about everything. Every little thing.
Fuck
,” she whispers.

We laugh. I’m still laughing when my cell rings and
Elvis
comes up on screen. “It’s Linc,” I say in surprise. “I mean I know we talked about him earlier but this is weird, right?”

“Answer it.”

Why is this suddenly like prosecuting a federal case in my mind?

Answer the phone, Tally.

He probably just wants to see Cara. Make plans to see Cara. He has been seeing Cara sporadically.

We make the most convoluted plans to ensure that happens.

He talks to Andy all the time—making those plans. They meet up in the strangest places wherever the team happens to playing while on the road that has him near enough San Francisco.

Why shouldn’t he talk to me? I’m the mom after all.

Answer the phone.

“Hello.”
I’m three-years-old again taking my first phone call from Grandma.

“Tally. Hi. It’s Linc. I’m just about there. I’m a little early. Andy said it was fine.”

“Aaaannnnnddddyyyyyy said
what
was fine?”

“Yeah, I talked to her about two hours ago? I’m driving up from Fresno. I should be there in about fifteen minutes. Just wanted to swing by and pick up Cara. She’s spending the night at my house and we’re going to the zoo tomorrow. I’ve got about nine days off before the trip to Miami when they’ll work me into the rotation. I want to fit in as much time with her as I can.”

“Of course. Right. Okay. Your house? I thought you sold that place? I’m sorry; I just got home so this is all news to me, but that sounds fine.” I flash Marla a thumb’s-up sign. “Marla’s having a girl by the way. It’s okay to tell you because she already told Charlie. We’re stoked.”