56 Days (Black) (17 page)

I took it from him and studied it.  “You made this?”

“Yes.  Do you like it?”

It was dark wood with a thin line of pink running through the middle.  “How did you
do
this?”

“Mmm, I used African Blackwood… hole saw.  Um, drum sander…”  He stared at me.  “Do you like it?”

“Yes,” I choked out.

He leaned in closer.  “
I can buy you something else… a diamond… whatever you want.”

“No.  It’s perfect.”

“So… will you?” he asked, looking nervous.

“Yes,” I whispered
.  He slid the band onto my ring finger.

Was I crazy?  I just take one look at some sappy ring and sign up for a husband that I’ve known all of two minutes?

He climbed into bed quickly and pulled at the hem of my dress.  Once it was over my head, he threw it to the floor.  Quickly unbuttoning his shirt, he threw that to the ground as well.

He clutched at the strings of my thong, pulling them down across my hips
while I unhooked my bra.  I reached for the button on his pants and tugged at the material, desperate to remove them.  “My boots, Elsa,” he laughed.

“Well, get them off, dummy.  Now!”

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled at the laces.  After making quick work of removing them, he pulled the jeans off with ease.  He turned and rolled on top of me.

“Socks, baby,” I mumbled.  “Don’t be lazy.”

He sighed audibly and lifted each foot, pulling them off quickly.  “Are we good, Elsa?”

“Oh yeah, we’re good.”

*****

On Sunday morning, I got a call from Rachel.  She was
in hysterics.

“Whoa.  Slow down, honey.  What happened?” I asked.

“We were on our way to Lauren’s… and I was distracting him.  This car came out of nowhere.  It hit his side, El.  Now, he’s just hooked up to all of this shit… and not waking up.”

“Ray, take a deep breath.  We’re on our way, okay?  What hospital?”

“Methodist.”

“I’ll call you
for details once we get there.  Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she whispered.

I hung up and hurried to the bedroom, pulling an overnight bag out of the closet.  Jack was at the store.  I started packing a few of his things.  I dialed him, but he wasn’t picking up.

Shit.

I gave him five minutes and called back.  “Hey,” he answered.

“Get home.  We’ve gotta go.  Vince
and Ray were in an accident.  He’s in the hospital.”

“How bad?”  Jack had a panic to his voice.

“I don’t know… she wasn’t making any sense.”

“Leaving now.”

“I’m packing you.  Anything you want?”

“I don’t care.  I’ll see you soon.”  He breathed in slowly.  “I love you.”

“Me, too.  Be careful.”

*
****

It was the longest three-and-a-half hours ever.  Jack was a wreck. 
Luckily, Gemma and Dan were able to take Buster last minute. 

I wanted to drive, but he insisted.  He just clutched that wheel, keeping quiet.

I twisted my new ring nervously.  “Jack, I think maybe we should put off telling anyone about, you know, us… for now.”

He looked over at me, his jaw tight.  “How long would you like to wait, Elsa?  Forever?”

Oooh, he was pissed.

“No, of course not.  Just until everything is back to normal or whatever.  I want the focus to be on Vince, not on us.  I mean, Rachel knows about us, but I’ve never really come out and said as much, you know?”

We were getting close to the hospital now.  I tried to put my hand on his, but he pulled away.

“You better take off that ring then.  You wouldn’t want anyone to ask you any fucking questions about it.”

“Jack…”

“Stop it.  When we’re at home, it’s all safe and warm… hidden away in your little fucking cocoon where you don’t have to tell anyone about our life.  But when it comes to the people we’re supposed to love the most… share everything with… you want me to shut that down.  So, forgive me, Elsa, if I’m a little fucking irritated right now.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.  “You’re right.  Let’s tell them.”

He put his hand on my leg
, but I could tell he was still bitter.  “No, you’re right.  Just take it off.  It’s not important.  We’ll tell them later… whenever you’re ready.”

“
It
is
important.  Don’t be like that.  I’m ready now.  I don’t know why I brought it up.”

“I’ll tell you what.  Put it on your right hand.  When Vince is up and moving around, we’ll revisit.  Okay?”

I slid my ring off of my left hand and moved it to my right.  “Are you sure?  Maybe they could use some good news right now.”

Jack pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine.  “You’re the most important thing in my life
.  Honestly, I don’t know why this should be a secret.  It’s ridiculous.”

I
pulled the ring off again and put it back where it belonged.  “I agree.  Let’s go see your brother.  We’ll tell everyone tonight.”

*
****

Rachel was sleeping upright in a chair next to Vince.  She was holding his hand.

“Ray,” I whispered.

Her eyes cracked open.  “Oh, God
, El,” she cried, throwing her whole body into my arms.  I pulled her into me, rubbing her back softly while she sobbed.

“Hey… hey.”  I pulled her back and wiped the tears from her eyes.
  She had a small gash above her brow; other than that, she looked beautiful in a sweet white dress with an apple print.  Her short hair was pulled to the side with a rhinestone clip shaped like a fox.  “It’s gonna be okay.  He’s tough, right?  This is just a test.  You got this.  And you look so pretty, all dressed up.”

“He loves this dress, so…” 
She choked on a nervous laugh and walked to Jack.  “Hi, sweetie.  I trust you’ve been taking care of my sister,” she said, sniffling.

“She takes care of
me
,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

“Good.  Well…” she said, taking a seat, “the doctors say that he’s fine, really.  He seems okay and is responding to the physical tests.  They just aren’t sure about any permanent brain damage… but he’s responded to me a few times when I’ve talked to him.  He’s moved a bit.”  Her voice cracked.

Jack took a seat on the other side of Vince.  “Hey, man… it’s me.”  He took his brother’s hand in his.  “I have a million things to tell you, so… you’ve gotta just come back.”  He looked over at me and then down at the bed.

He let go of Vince’
s hand and rose to his feet.  His eyes were glossy and bloodshot.  “Girls, can I get you anything?  I’m going to get a coffee.”

I walked over and placed my hand on his chest.  “I’ll come with.”

“Ray?” Jack asked.

“Nothing for me, thanks.”  She continued to talk to Vince, telling him a terrible joke.  She laughed at her own punch line.

I followed Jack out to the vending machine.  He passed it and sat on a chair in the hallway.  He scrubbed his face with his hands.

“Hey,” I whispered.  “It’s okay.  You heard Rachel.  He’s responding.”

“He’s the only brother I’ve got, Elsa.”

“Yeah, I know, Jack. 
So focus on that, okay?  Just… talk to him.  Let’s tell him.  About us.”

He looked up at me.  “Are you serious?”

“Yep.  And Rachel looks like she could use a pick-me-up.  Ready?”

He took my hand and walked back down to the room.  I could see Rachel’s eyes focus in on our locked fingers, but she stayed quiet.

Jack sat back in the chair again, only this time, I stood behind him.  I rested my hands on his shoulders.

“Hey, guys,” he announced, “we’ve got some news.”  He looked over his shoulder at me.  I rolled my eyes.  “Elsa and I… we’re getting married.”

I wished I had a camera.  The look on Rachel’s face was priceless.  “Wha… when?  I mean, when did you guys even start seeing each other?  I…”

Jack reached across the bed and touched her hand.  “Deep breaths, Rachel.”  He laughed.  “We
’ve been together since pretty much right after we met.  I saw her again on the Monday morning after your trip to Chicago.”

“But… she didn’t even…”  Rachel turned to me.  “Why?  Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You knew, Ray.”

“Did I know you were seeing each other?  Maybe
.  Did I know you were getting married?  Jesus Christ.”

I shot her a look.  “Whoa.  Calm down.  It’s not like we met yesterday, Rachel.”

“Is that the ring?” she whispered.

“Yes.”  I held my hand out for her to take a closer look.

She studied it.  “Is it wood?”

“I made it in the shop,” Jack responded.

“Holy shit, you guys.  This is just… wow.  The ring is amazing and I’m so happy for both of you.  Really.  You just caught me off guard.”  She stood.  “Come here, sissy.”

She pulled me into a tight hug.  “We’re really happy,” I said quietly.

Rachel rushed to Vince’s side, kissing his cheek.  “You hear that, Vince?  Wedding bells!”  She kissed him ten more times, laughing and carrying on.

Jack spoke up.  “Hey, Ray, we haven’t told my parents about this.  Can we just keep it locked down until we get a chance to talk to them?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said.  “Hey, they’re at my house now.  Why don’t you guys go?  We can all have dinner later and celebrate.  The hospital food sucks, but we can order a pizza.”  She leaned into Vince, whispering, “Pepperoni… your favorite.”  She brushed her finger along his cheek.

Jack walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.  “Thanks.”  He leaned in and whispered something in her ear.  She took in a breath and looked to me, her
eyes moisture-filled.

She quickly
wiped a few tears away.  “Love you guys.  I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“A
couple of hours at most, Ray.  We just need a little time to talk to them.  We’ll come back with food, okay?”  I gave her one last hug and we walked back to the truck.

“What did you say in there to Rachel?”

He squeezed my hand.  “That you were my one.”

Jack knocked once and opened the door.  Belle was sitting on the couch talking to Anthony.  She immediately rose when she saw Jack.

“Oh, my Jackie.  Thank goodness you are here.”  She rounded the couch and threw her arms around him, feathering his whole face with kisses.

“Mam
ma, I’m fine.  Vince is the one in the hospital.”

She crossed herself.  “My poor baby.”

I walked over to her and leaned in for a weak hug.  “Hi, Belle.”

She hugged
me back hard.  This woman never messed around when it came to affection.  “Oh, Elsa.  My, how is it that every time I see you, you are more beautiful than the last time?  It’s not fair.”  She cupped my face, smiling.

“Thank you,” I whispered.  “You too.”

She laughed.  “Oh, I am an old woman, my love.  But back when I was your age…” she joked.

“Ah, don’t worry.  You’ve still got it,” I responded with a laugh.

Anthony walked over to me and placed a kiss on the top of my head.  “How are my two youngest babies?”

“We’re good, Papa,” Jack answered.  “We wanted to talk to you guys
for a minute.”

“It’s about my Vincent?” Belle asked.

“No, Mamma… it’s about me and Elsa.”

“Oh,” she whispered.  “Well, let’s sit down.  It sounds serious.”

“Well,” he said, looking at me, “it is.  I know it’s fast… and I know what you’ll want to say, but Elsa has agreed to marry me.”

A slow smile crept up Anthony’s face.  “I knew it.  When I look at Elsa, I see
you
.”

Belle was quiet for a moment.  “Are you both sure about this?  Jackie, you just got divorced.”

“I know, Mamma, but I know about Elsa.  I’m 33 years old.  I want a family like you and Papa.  I want you to have grandchildren.  I know things weren’t right with Lana… but Elsa is not her.  You know that.”

“Of course,” she said.  “I know
.”  She turned to me and placed her hand on my knee.  “You are so different, yes.  I just worry that you two are moving a little fast.  But, like your father, I agree.  You and Elsa are alike.  So, if you are here to seek approval, your papa and I give it one hundred percent, okay?”

Jack leaned in and pressed a kiss to Belle’s cheek.  “I want to marry her right away.”

Belle laughed.  “Are you pregnant, honey?”

“No, of course not,” I answered immediately.  “We just… don’t want to wait.”
  I placed my hand in Jack’s lap.

“What’s the rush, then?” Anthony asked.

“Papa,” Jack responded, “when you met Mamma, how long did it take you before you knew you wanted to marry her?”

Anthony smiled.  “Eh… five minutes, maybe?”

“And how long did it take you to marry her?”

Belle answered this time.  “I know, Jackie, but it was a different time.”

“Three months, Mamma.”

“Okay,” she said, throwing her hands up.  “I can’t fight with you, baby.  I wish your Papa would keep his mouth shut every once in a while.”  She turned to Anthony.  “Right, Papa?  You can’t just talk normal to your boys.  You have to tell them everything about us… every story.  How long it took us to get married
… how long it took for us to get pregnant.”

Jack laughed aloud.  “I want to knock her up tomorrow, but she won’t let me.”

“Good,” Belle answered, “it’s good to keep a man waiting.”

“Like you made
me
wait?” Anthony asked.

“Zip it,” she clipped.

I squeezed Jack’s hand.  “Hey, we should get back to the hospital.  I’m sure Rachel would like some company.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  You two want to come back with us or are you in for the night?”

“Oh, right,” Anthony replied.  “Your Mamma would sleep in the bed with him if they would let her.  The only reason we left is because I had to use the bathroom.  I don’t like to go number two in public.”

Belle looked at us, apologetically.  “I’m sorry, babies.  There’s no excuse for your Papa.  Get your shoes on, Anthony.  Let’s get back to our son.  Jackie, will you play the guitar for him?”

“Mamma, I didn’t bring my guitar.”

“Oh, that’s okay, your Papa brought his.”

“One song, Mamma.  That’s it.”

“Elsa,” she said, ignoring him, “
have you heard our Jackie play?”

“No,” I responded
.  “But I have heard him sing.”

“Like an angel, no?”

“Oh, yes,” I said, looking at Jack.  “He doesn’t sing much, but I wish he would.”

Jack looked visibly embarrassed.  “Can you two just… let’s go.”

I rubbed his back.  “Aw, someone’s embarrassed.  I’ll tell you what.  If you sing, I’ll dance.”

He kissed me hard (right in front of his parents).  “Deal.”

He played that night for all of us.  I decided that when we got back, I was going to drag that guitar out of his closet and dust it off.  He was incredible; he definitely needed to play for me more often.

*****

We stayed until Tuesday morning.  Vince had finally come around in the early hours that day.  Jack was beyond thrilled, but he had a deadline and needed to get back to the city.

Gemma had given me the week off, so I spent most of
my days with Jack at his house.  I moved some of my things in slowly and spent Thursday afternoon painting our bedroom.  Jack admitted that he liked my bedroom at the apartment, so I picked the same shade of cotton candy pink for our new walls.  It looked so much better than the chocolate color already, especially with my white iron bed now moved in.  His giant monstrosity had been moved into Jeremy’s old room for guests.

He had been at the store for most of the day; I was getting ready to
change and walk down there when the doorbell rang.  I was wearing a paint-stained baby doll tee with booty shorts and had my hair pulled into a messy bun, but we were expecting another furniture delivery from my place.  I had to answer it.  Buster followed me; I held his collar.

When I pulled open the door, I knew the woman who stood in front of me immediately
, even though we had never met.  She was about five inches taller than I was, with long, stick-straight caramel colored hair and perfect skin.  She wore a smart, black wrap-dress over her pronounced pregnant belly.  She rested her hand on top of it.

Fucking Lana.

“Hi there, Buster,” she exclaimed, reaching for the dog.  He growled lightly and retreated back a few steps.

(
Who’s a good boy?)

“
I’m looking for my husband.  Jack Conti?”

I
ran a quick hand through my hair.  “Um, no… he’s at the shop.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised.  “I’m s
hocked that he isn’t here to supervise the work.”

“Why would he be supervising me?”

She opened her mouth, confused.  “I assume you’re from the painting company?”

“No,” I said
, letting out a nervous laugh.  “I’m Elsa.”

“Oh
, the cleaning lady?”

T
his bitch was lucky she was pregnant.

“No.  Jack’s fiancée.”

She put her fingertips to her lips, letting a laugh escape.  “Excuse me?”

“Did you not understand?”  I was totally letting Ghetto-Elsa run wild.  I even put my hand on my hip.

“I understood… I just…”  She looked me up and down.  “I’m surprised, that’s all.  Nice ring.  Is that wood?”

She was mocking me.

I glanced down instinctively and caught a glimpse of her wedding set, still adorning her left hand.  It had to be at least three shiny carats.  I almost felt pity for her in that moment.  She still wore his ring even though he was
not
her husband… and that he belonged to someone else.

“Well, you can find him at the shop then.” 

I started to close the door when she put a high-heeled foot into the frame.  “Maybe you can help me.”  She dug through her perfect, pristine handbag and pulled out a disc in a clear plastic case.

Not another
fucking disc.

“Here.  If you can give this to him, I would surely appreciate it.  It’s the ultrasound for our baby.  He couldn’t make it to the appointment, you know, with his brother being in the hospital and all.  I just knew he wouldn’t want to miss it.  We’re just a few weeks away
!” she squealed.

“Mmm,” I responded, nodding.  I started to close the door again.

“Please see that he gets that.  He hasn’t been able to make the last few appointments and this one is 3D, you know.  You can see our daughter’s face.”  She sighed audibly.  “It’s so amazing.”

“Will do,” I muttered.  This time, I actually slammed the door, not giving her a chance to reply.  I knew it was the response she was looking for.  She was testing me… and I fell right into her trap.

Fuck.

Was it true? 

Had he missed her appointments? 

Or was she just trying to razz me? 

How did she know that Vince was in the hospital?

He had to have talked to her at some point.

I had to get out of there.  Get my head together.  I grabbed my keys and slung my bag over my shoulder.  I zipped up my suede booties, threw the disc on the coffee table and left.

*****

My phone rang three times that afternoon.  All of the calls were from Jack.  He had left a few messages, but it was obvious that he hadn’t seen the disc yet.

El, it’s me. 
Still at the shop.  Kind of hung up here.  Maybe throw some water on around 6.  I’ll make some pasta or something.  Love you.

Els
a, maybe you have the music turned up.  Hope the paint looks good.  I’m sure it’s bright and fluffy in there by now.  Talk to you soon.  Love you.

El, it’s almost six.  Did you get my message about dinner?  Text me if you did.  If not, I’ll just put it on when I get home.  See you in a few.  Love you.

I never got a fourth message.  Instead, I got a drop-by from a very confused fiancé.

“El?” he yelled.

Buster ran to him. 
Traitor.

“In here,” I murmured from the kitchen. 

I was straight-up eating cookie dough batter out of the bowl.  Didn’t even bother to spoon it out onto a fucking pan.  I hadn’t changed clothes, so I still wore my ratty t-shirt and shorts.  I did have to admit, ratty or not, the t-shirt made my tits look fucking awesome. 
Take that, baby mama.

“What’s going on?”  He shook the disc at me.  “Did we get another one?”

“You didn’t watch it?” I drawled, lifting the wooden spoon to my lips.

“No, I ran out the door to check on you.  Why did you
go?”

“Watch the DVD, Jack.”

“Did you watch it?”  He sounded panicked.

“I didn’t need to.  I know what’s on it.”

He marched back into the living room, booted up the laptop and put the disc in.  After a few minutes, I could hear the swishing of a machine.  It immediately stopped.  A minute later, Jack walked into the kitchen.

“Are you pregnant?”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?  That ultrasound is from someone, say, eight and a half months along.  It’s 3D.  You can see your daughter’s face,” I said, my tone mocking.

“What?”

“Are you fucking daft?  That’s your daughter on there.  Lana dropped by.  You know… to show me.”

“Oh, God, El…”

“You know, you missed the last few appointments and she wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss out on this one… since Vince was in the hospital and all.  She knew about the fucking hospital, Jack?”

I was just full-on screaming now… like a crazy person.

“What?” he repeated.

“Oh, come the fuck on, Jack.  I know you’ve been talking to her.”

“I’ve talked to her once, Elsa. 
Once
since that phone call at your place.  And that one time, she told me about appointments… and then called Heather back to confirm. 
Heather
was the one who accidentally let it slip about Vince.  Ask her.  I missed all of the appointments because I know that baby isn’t mine.  It’s all bullshit.  She’s trying to test you.”

“It’s working, Jack.  Can you just go back home?  I need to think.”  I wrapped my dough with
plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

“It’s
our
home, now, Elsa… and I’m not going there without you.”

He moved closer, pinning me against the sink.

“Jack…”  I pushed lightly at his chest.

“No, I’m not doing this with you.  I’m not fighting with you because she
’s trying to split us up.  Not gonna happen.”

He pressed his lips against mine
softly, finding my weak spot.  I opened my mouth, letting him in.  He cupped the sides of my face, brushing the inside of my mouth with his tongue.  I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.  “Jack, I…”