Treasured Legacies (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery) (8 page)

Mary sat in the dark restaurant for short while longer,
hoping to catch another glimpse of Brandon. But as the wall clock echoed loudly
in the relative quiet and the various machines went through their cycles, no
other supernatural event occurred.
 
Finally, Mary placed her hands on the counter, pushed herself up and
walked across the darkened ice cream parlor to the front door.
 
Turning, she took one last look around the
large room.
 
Everything was still and in
place for the next morning. Shrugging, she unlocked the door and stepped
outside to the street.
 
Maybe Brandon and
Erika would contact her at home, now that they’d made a connection with her.

Locking the door behind her, she hurried to her car and
drove back in the quiet streets to her home.

“So, how’d it go?” Bradley asked her as she walked into the
house. “Did you make any new friends today?”

Chuckling, she nodded. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,”
she replied, slipping her coat off and hanging in the closet. “I met Erika, a
teenager from the fifties. She was waiting for someone to take her cruising,
but they never showed up.”

He turned from the desk he was sitting behind. “She’s been
waiting a long time,” he said.

“Yeah, I hate when dates go that way,” she said. “You wait
for half a century and they still don’t show up.
 
That’s just plain rude if you ask me.”

Standing, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m sure you never had to worry about being stood up for a date,” he said,
placing a kiss on her head.

She looked up at him with disbelief on her face. “Excuse
me?” she asked. “I do recall sitting around in a sexy black dress for several
hours while my date was otherwise occupied.”

“Well, there was a train derailment,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, the old train derailment excuse,” she teased. “I’ve
heard that one a hundred times.”

He pulled her closer. “I promise you I would have much
preferred to be in the company of you and that sexy black dress,” he murmured,
trailing kisses down the side of her face. “But, as I recall, I did make up for
it later.”

She turned her face, so her lips met his. “Oh, yes, you
did,” she whispered just before she kissed him back.

Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the staircase.
“Why don’t we continue this discussion upstairs?” he suggested, his voice
slightly rough with emotion.

Mary snuggled closer.
“Excellent idea.”

Sometime later Mary lay next to Bradley, her head nestled in
the crook of his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her.
 
“Well, this was a great day,” she sighed
contentedly.

He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Yes it
was,” he answered. “I still can’t believe it.
A baby.”

She smiled softly and slipped her hand down over her still
flat abdomen. “I know how you feel,” she replied. “I can’t believe it either.”

“When do you want to tell your family?” he asked.

“I really think I want to wait until we’re sure,” she
replied.
“After the first trimester.
 
Is that okay with you?”

“Yes, that sounds fine.
 
You know, I’ve been thinking that the baby ought to have an amazing and
distinct name,” Bradley said. “Perhaps a family name.”

“That’s a great idea,” she said. “I love the idea of a
family name.
 
Any ones come to mind?”

“Well, I have a great aunt Berengaria, she’s named after a thirteenth
century queen,” he suggested.

“Berengaria?” Mary asked, not quite believing her ears.

“Yes, Great Aunt Beren,” he replied.

“Okay, well, that’s one name we can cross off the list,” Mary stated.

“We could call her Gari,” he suggested.

“Let me think about that,” she said, and then before less than two
seconds passed added. “No.”

“Okay, well, if we have a boy, I have a great-great uncle Eustace,” he
said.

Mary rolled over to her side and gently placed her hand on Bradley’s
lips. “So, what you are trying to tell me is that if we choose a family name,
we’re using my family.”

She could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest, although he tried
to keep a straight face.
 
“Okay, you try
to do better than Eustace and Berengaria,” he challenged.

“Oh, well, that’s easy,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
“There’s my cousin,
Drizella
, a lovely girl who lives
in County Cork.”

“Didn’t she try to kill a bunch of Dalmatian puppies?” he asked.

“That was
Cruella
,” Mary pointed out. “Not
Drizella
.”

“Oh, well, that’s much better,” he said.
“And for a
boy?”

“Well, I have a great-great uncle
Porick
,”
she suggested.

Bradley shook his head. “Like bacon?”

“That’s pork, not
Por
-ick,” she explained.

“But when he’s little and tells someone his name, it’s going to sound
like we named him after the other white meat, right?”

“Okay, maybe,” Mary agreed with a sigh, rolling back and snuggling
against him. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

“Yeah, and maybe we stay away from family names,” Bradley suggested,
“For the sake of the baby.”

Mary giggled. “I agree.”

Mary opened her eyes and waited, doing a mental inventory of her
physical status.
 
Stomach feels fine
,
she
decided,
no lightheadedness, no nausea and I
really have to go to the bathroom. I think I’m good.

Slipping out from beneath the blankets, she hurried to the bathroom,
optimistic that her bout with morning sickness was over.
 
But once she was on her feet for a few
minutes, her stomach clenched and she bent over the toilet.

Twenty minutes later she was showered, dressed and heading towards the
staircase.
 
She was actually feeling
hungry.
 
This was going to be a great
day. She placed her foot on the first step and stopped.
 
What was that smell?

“Hey, good morning sunshine,” Mike said, appearing next to her. “Taking
it a little easy this morning?”

She smiled wanly at him and nodded. “Yes, I’m, uh…”

The scent of the food drifted upward and she caught a full whiff.
Green peppers and onions?
 
Her stomach spun and she clapped a hand over her mouth, dashing back down
the hall to her bedroom.
 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mike asked, chasing after her. “Are you okay?”

“
Mmmph
,” she muttered, racing through her
room to the bathroom.
 
She made it to the
toilet just in time.

“Oh, gross,” Mike said, gliding into the bathroom and gliding quickly
out.
 
He stood on the outside of the
doorway and cringed. “Hey, are you okay?”

Mary gagged again.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he replied. “Do you want me to get Bradley?”

“No…I’m fine,” she whispered weakly.

Cautiously, he ventured into the bathroom. “Are you okay?”

She straightened up and grabbed a bottle of mouthwash, pouring out cap
full and swishing it around in her mouth. Finally, she spit it out, breathed a
sigh, leaned back against the wall and patted her face with a hand towel. “How
do I look?” she asked.

“Like a woman who just emptied her entire stomach cavity into the
toilet,” he said moving closer and demanding, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Morning sickness,” she said.

“What the hell is…,” he paused and the concern on his face slowly
turned into a grin.
“Really?
Morning
sickness?
Like having a crying, screaming, little brat
in nine months kind of sickness?”

She smiled back and nodded. “Yep, just like that.”

“Wow,” he replied, a wide smile on his face. “That’s so cool! What are
you having?”

“A baby,” she said. “I thought we just established that.”

“No, I mean, yes we did.
But which kind, a boy kind
or a girl kind?”

“Oh. It’s too early to know about that yet,” she said, putting her
hands on her abdomen.
“Just a baby kind.”

“So, should you be up?” he asked, starting to panic. “Can I get you a
chair or a blanket or something?”

Chuckling, she shook her head and took a deep breath. “Well, if you
could remove the smell of peppers and onions from the house, that would be
amazing,” she said. “I find I’m a little sensitive to odors.”

“Ah, Bradley was making your favorite breakfast, breakfast burritos
with chorizo,” he replied.

Mary clapped a hand back over her mouth and took a deep breath,
counting slowly to ten.

Mike waited. “You okay?”

After another deep breath, Mary nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Hey, you stay up here for another couple of minutes,” he said. “I’ll
run interference in the kitchen.
 
How
does herb tea to go sound?”

“That and a package of soda crackers sounds perfect,” she said.

“You’ve got it,” he said with a quick smile before he disappeared.
 
Immediately, he reappeared.
“Hey, by the way, congratulations.”

“
Thanks,
Mike.”

He faded away once more.
 
And
once more, he reappeared. “Uh, I’m guessing Bradley knows, but how about Clarissa?”

“Oh, thanks for asking,” she replied. “No, she doesn’t know yet.
 
We’re waiting for the right time.”

“Got it!”
He faded away and Mary held her breath,
waiting for him to reappear.
 
After a few
minutes, she figured he was downstairs, delivering her message. Taking a deep
breath, she left the bathroom and hurried down the stairs where Bradley was
standing next to the bottom step with a covered mug in one hand and a paper
sack in the other.

“Hey,” he smiled at her. “Sorry about the breakfast surprise, I wasn’t
thinking.”

“It was really sweet of you,” she said. “But, I’m feeling that it’s
more of a crackers and herb tea morning.”

“Are you sick?” Clarissa asked as she dug into her burrito.

Mary could barely look at the forkful of thick melted cheese and eggs
in Clarissa’s hand. Taking another deep breath, she shook her head quickly and
smiled. “Just a queasy stomach,” she said. “That’s all.”

Bradley put his arm around her and walked her to the front door. “I’ll
air out the kitchen before I go to work, so you don’t have green peppers and
onions greeting you when you get home,” he said. “And I’ll make lunch for
Clarissa. I’m thinking any sandwich combination she
’d like
might
kick morning sickness into overdrive.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, Clarissa and I are fine,” he said. “Why don’t
you head to the office where it doesn’t smell like a taco place?”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, I think I will,” she said.
“Did you tell Clarissa about Dr. Springler?”

“No, I haven’t done that yet,” he said. “Would you like me to mention
it once you’re gone?”

Sipping on the tea, she felt her stomach calm a little. “No, we should
do it together,” she said. “I think I’m fine right now.”

She walked back across the room and stood by the table. “Clarissa,” she
called. “We have an appointment this afternoon with Dr. Karen Springler.”

“Who’s she?” Clarissa asked.

“She’s a lovely lady who talks to people about their feelings,” Mary said.
“And she helps families figure out how to be happier.”

“I thought we were happy,” Clarissa replied, a shadow of concern
crossing over her face. “I’m trying to do better.”

Mary slipped into the chair next to Clarissa and Bradley strategically
moved Clarissa’s plate further away, earning a grateful smile from Mary.

“You are doing a great job,” Mary said to Clarissa. “And we love you so
much. But we realize that a lot has happened to all of us, especially you,
during these past few months.
 
Dr.
Springler is the kind of doctor that helps us fix some of the hurts and worries
we have on the inside.”

Clarissa glanced at Bradley and Mike, and then back at Mary. “Are we
all going to talk to her?” she asked.

Mary nodded. “The first time we meet, we all get to talk to her and
explain how we feel,” she said. “But then we also get to meet with her
individually, in case there are things we need to talk about that we don’t want
someone else to hear.
 
Dr. Springler is
very good at keeping secrets.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stay home,” Mike said. “But, Clarissa, if you
ever need to talk to someone, I’m your guy.
 
And if you want me to go with you, I can do that too.”

Sitting quietly for a few moments, Clarissa seemed to be contemplating
the conversation. Finally she looked up at her parents. “But we’re still good?”
she asked. “We still love each other?”

Bradley reached down and kissed Clarissa on the top of her head. “We
are great,” he said. “But we want to be even better because we want our family
to last forever.
 
And Dr. Springler can
help us learn how to communicate even better and get closer together.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” she agreed.

“Great,” Mary said. “Your dad will pick you up after school today, so
don’t get on the bus.
 
I’ll call the
school and remind them.”

“Okay,” Clarissa said and then she smiled up at Bradley. “Can we drive
with the sirens on?”

Bradley shook his head. “No, sorry, sweetheart,” he replied. “Sirens
are only for emergencies.”

Mary bent forward and gave Clarissa a kiss. “Good try though,” she whispered
with a smile and Clarissa laughed.

“I’ll see you both later,” Mary added, and then she grabbed her coat
and briefcase as she hurried out of the house.

Unlocking the car door, she quickly sat in the front seat of the
Roadster and breathed deeply for a few moments while another wave of nausea
passed. Finally, she ripped open the sleeve of crackers, shoved one in her
mouth and crunched down. “Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun,” she muttered
before putting the car in gear and driving away.