At First Sight (2 page)

“Ridiculous.” Lexie nodded. “And the way they were snapping at each other? Kids can sense the tension. No wonder the parents couldn’t control them.”

“It’s like they had no idea what to do.”

“I don’t think they did.”

“How could they not?”

“Maybe they’re just too caught up in their own lives to take enough time with their children.”

Jeremy, still frozen in place, watched the last of the crowd vanish. “It definitely wasn’t normal,” he offered again.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Okay, so they were deluding themselves. Deep down, Jeremy knew it, Lexie knew it, but it was easier to pretend that they would never be confronted with a situation like the one they’d just witnessed. Because they were going to be more prepared. More dedicated. Kinder and more patient. More loving.

And the child . . . well, she would thrive in the environment he and Lexie would create. There was no doubt about that. As an infant, she’d sleep through the night; as a toddler, she would delight with her early vocabulary and above average motor skills. She would maneuver the minefields of adolescence with aplomb, stay away from drugs, and frown on R-rated movies. By the time she left home, she would be polite and well mannered, she would have received high enough grades to be accepted to Harvard, become an all-American in swimming, and still would have found enough time during the summers to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

Jeremy clung to the fantasy until his shoulders slumped. Despite having zero experience in the parenting department, he knew it couldn’t be that easy. Besides, he was getting way ahead of himself.

An hour later, they were sitting in the back of a cab, stuck in traffic, on the way to Queens. Lexie was thumbing through a recently purchased copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting as Jeremy watched the world beyond the windows. It was their last night in New York-he’d brought Lexie up to meet his family-and his parents were planning a small get-together at their home in Queens. Small, of course, was a relative term; with five brothers and their wives and nineteen nieces and nephews, the house would be packed, as it often was. Even though Jeremy was looking forward to it, he couldn’t quite get his mind off the couple they’d just seen. They’d seemed so . . . normal. Aside from the exhaustion, that is. He wondered whether he and Lexie would end up that way or whether they’d somehow be spared.

Maybe Alvin had been right. Partially, anyway. Though he adored Lexie-and he was sure he did, or he wouldn’t have proposed-he couldn’t claim to really know her. They simply hadn’t had time for that, and the more he thought about it, the more he believed that it would have been nice for him and Lexie to have had a chance to be a regular couple for a while. He’d been married before, and he knew it took time to learn how to live with another person. To get used to the quirks, so to speak. Everyone had them, but until you really knew someone, they tended to be hidden. He wondered what Lexie’s were. For instance, what if she slept with one of those green masks that were supposed to keep wrinkles at bay? Would he really be happy waking up and seeing that every morning?

“What are you thinking about?” Lexie asked.

“Huh?”

“I asked what you’re thinking about. You have a funny expression on your face.”

“It’s nothing.”

She stared at him. “Big nothing, or nothing-nothing?”

He turned to face her, frowning. “What’s your middle name?”

Over the next few minutes, Jeremy went through the series of questions Alvin had proposed and learned the following: Her middle name was Marin; she had majored in English; her best friend in college was named Susan; purple was her favorite color; she preferred whole wheat; she liked watching Trading Spaces; she thought Jane Austen was fabulous; and she would, in fact, turn thirty-two on September 13.

So there.

He leaned back in his seat, satisfied, as Lexie continued to thumb through the book. She wasn’t actually reading it, he figured, just skimming passages here and there in hopes of getting some sort of head start. He wondered if she had done something similar whenever she had to study in college.

As Alvin had implied, there really was a lot about her that he didn’t know. But at the same time, there was a great deal he did know. An only child, she’d been raised in Boone Creek, North Carolina. Her parents had been killed in an automobile accident when she was young, and she had been raised by her maternal grandparents, Doris and . . . and . . . He decided he’d have to ask about that. Anyway, she’d gone to college at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, been in love with a guy named Avery, and had actually lived in New York City for a year, where she’d interned at the NYU library. Avery ended up cheating on her, and she went back home and became the head librarian in Boone Creek, as her mother had been before she’d passed away. Some time later, she’d fallen for someone she referred to vaguely as Mr. Renaissance, but he’d left town without looking back. Since then she’d led a quiet life, dating the local deputy sheriff now and then, until Jeremy came along. And oh yeah: Doris-who owned a restaurant in Boone Creek-also claimed to have psychic powers, including the ability to predict the sex of babies, which was how Lexie knew their baby would be a girl.

All of which, he admitted, everyone in Boone Creek also knew. But did they also know that she tucked her hair behind her ears whenever she got nervous? Or that she was a wonderful cook? Or that when she needed a break, she liked to retreat to a cottage near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where her parents had been married? Or that in addition to being both intelligent and beautiful, with violet eyes, a slightly exotic, oval face, and dark hair, she had seen right through his ham-fisted attempts to charm her into the bedroom? He liked the fact that Lexie didn’t let him get away with anything, spoke her mind, and stood up to him when she thought he was in error. Somehow, she was able to do those things while still projecting a charm and femininity that was underscored by a sultry southern accent. Add in the fact that she was downright stunning in tight jeans, and Jeremy had fallen head over heels.

And as for him? What could she say she knew about Jeremy? Most of the basics, he thought. That he’d grown up in Queens as the youngest of six in an Irish-Italian family and that he’d once intended to become a professor of mathematics but realized he had a knack for writing and ended up becoming a columnist for Scientific American, where he often debunked the allegedly supernatural. That he’d been married years earlier to a woman named Maria, who eventually left him after they’d made numerous trips to a fertility clinic and were finally told by a doctor that Jeremy was medically unable to father a child. That he’d spent too many years afterward trolling the bars and dating countless women, trying to avoid serious relationships, as if subconsciously knowing he couldn’t be a good husband. That at the age of thirty-seven, he’d gone to Boone Creek to investigate the regular appearance of ghostly lights in the town cemetery in the hope of landing a guest commentator gig on Good Morning America but found that he spent most of his time thinking about Lexie. They’d spent four enchanting days together followed by a heated argument, and though he’d headed back to New York, he’d realized that he couldn’t imagine a life without her and had returned to prove it to her. In exchange, she had placed his hand on her belly, and he finally became a true believer-at least when it came to the miracle of pregnancy and a chance at fatherhood, something he’d never considered possible.

He smiled, thinking it was a pretty good story. Maybe even good enough for a novel.

The point was, as much as she’d tried to resist his charms, she’d fallen for him, too. Glancing over at her, he wondered why. Not that he considered himself repulsive, but what was it that drew two people together? In the past, he’d written numerous columns about the principle of attraction and could discuss the role of pheromones, dopamine, and biological instincts, but none of this came close to explaining the way he felt about Lexie. Or presumably the way she felt about him. Nor could he explain it. All he knew was that they fit somehow and that he felt as if he’d spent most of his life traveling a path that led inexorably to her.

It was a romantic vision, even poetic, and Jeremy had never been prone to poetic thoughts. Maybe that was another reason he knew she was the one. Because she’d opened his heart and mind to new feelings and ideas. But whatever the reason, as he rode in the car with his lovely bride-to-be, he was content with whatever might happen to them in the future.

He reached for her hand.

Did it really matter, after all, that he was abandoning his home in New York City and putting his future career plans on hold to move to the middle of nowhere? Or that he was about to embark on a year in which he had to plan a wedding, set up their household, and prepare for a baby?

How hard could it be?

At First Sight

Two

He’d proposed at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day.

He knew it was a cliché, but weren’t all proposals something of a cliché? There were, after all, only so many ways he could do it. He could do it sitting, standing, kneeling, or lying down. He could be either eating or not eating, at home or someplace else, with or without candles, wine, sunrises, sunsets, or anything that might strike someone as vaguely romantic. Somewhere, sometime, Jeremy knew that some guy had already done it all, so there wasn’t much sense in worrying whether she would be disappointed. He knew, of course, that some men went all out-skywriting, billboards, the ring found during a romantic scavenger hunt. But he was pretty sure that Lexie wasn’t the type to require total originality. Besides, the view of Manhattan was breathtaking, and as long as he remembered to hit the highlights-why he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, the presentation of the ring, popping the question-Jeremy figured he had it pretty much covered.

It wasn’t as if it were a total surprise, after all. They hadn’t specifically talked about it beforehand, but the fact that he was moving to Boone Creek, coupled with various bits of we-type conversation in the last few weeks, had left no doubt that it was coming. As in, We should go shopping for a bassinet to put by our bed, or We should visit your parents. Since Jeremy hadn’t contradicted those statements, a case could be made that Lexie had already sort of proposed to him.

Still, even if it hadn’t come as a complete surprise, Lexie was obviously thrilled. Her first instinct, after wrapping her arms around him and kissing him, was to call Doris to let her know the news, a conversation that lasted twenty minutes. He supposed he should have expected that, not that he minded. Despite his outer calm, the fact that she’d actually agreed to spend the rest of her life with him was overwhelming.

Now, nearly a week later, they were in a cab on the way to his parents’ house, and he noted the ring on her finger. Being engaged, as opposed to dating, was the Next Big Step, one that most men, Jeremy included, rather enjoyed. He could, for instance, do certain things with Lexie that were pretty much off-limits to anyone else in the world. Like kissing. For example, he could lean across the backseat right now and kiss her. More than likely she wouldn’t be offended. She’d probably even be pleased. Try that with a stranger and see how far it got you, Jeremy thought. The whole concept left him feeling rather good about what he’d done.

Lexie, on the other hand, was glancing out the window and appeared troubled.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What if they don’t like me?”

“They’re going to love you. What’s not to love? And besides, you had a good lunch with my mom, right? You said you two really hit it off.”

“I know,” she said, sounding unconvinced.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What if they think I’m taking you away?” she asked. “What if your mom was just being nice, but deep down she feels resentment?”

“She doesn’t,” he said. “And I’m telling you not to worry so much. For one thing, you’re not taking me away. I’m leaving New York because I’d rather be with you, and they know that. Trust me, they’re happy about this. My mom’s been hounding me to get remarried for years.”

She pursed her lips, thinking about it. “Okay,” she said. “But I still don’t want them to know I’m pregnant yet.”

“Why not?”

“They’ll get the wrong impression.”

“You know they’re going to find out anyway.”

“I know, but it doesn’t have to be tonight, does it? Let them get to know me first. Give them a chance to come to grips with the fact that we’re getting married. That’s enough shock for one night. We’ll deal with rest of it later.”

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want.” He leaned back in the seat. “But just so you know, even if it does slip out, you won’t have to worry.”

She blinked. “How would it slip out? Don’t tell me that you’ve already told them.”

Jeremy shook his head. “No, of course not. I might have mentioned it to Alvin.”

“You told Alvin?” she asked, her face paling.

“Sorry. It just slipped out. But don’t worry, he won’t tell anyone.”

She hesitated before finally nodding. “Okay.”

“It won’t happen again,” Jeremy said, reaching for her hand. “And there’s no reason to be nervous.”

She forced a smile. “Easy for you to say.”

Lexie turned toward the window again. As if she hadn’t already been nervous enough, now she had to deal with this, too. Was it really that hard to keep a secret?

She knew Jeremy didn’t mean any harm, and that Alvin would be discreet, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Jeremy didn’t quite understand how his family might view this sort of news. She was sure they were very reasonable people-his mother seemed nice enough-and she doubted that they would accuse her of being a harlot, but still, just the fact that they were getting married so quickly was going to raise eyebrows. Of that, she had no doubt. All she had to do was see it from their perspective. Six weeks ago, she and Jeremy had never even met, and-after the whirlwind of all whirlwinds-they were now officially engaged. That was shocking enough.

But if they found out she was pregnant?

Well, now they’d understand. They’d make the assumption that Jeremy was marrying her simply for that reason. Instead of believing Jeremy when he said that he loved her, they’d simply nod and say, “That’s nice.” But as soon as Jeremy and Lexie left, you could bet they’d huddle to discuss the matter. They were family, a close, old-fashioned family that got together a couple of times a month. Hadn’t he been telling her that? She wasn’t naive. And what did family talk about? Family! Joys, tragedies, disappointments, successes . . . close families shared all of it. But if Jeremy slipped again, she knew what would happen. Instead of the engagement, they would talk about her pregnancy, if only to wonder aloud whether Jeremy really knew what he was doing. Or worse, that maybe she’d trapped him somehow.

She could be wrong, of course. Maybe they’d all be delighted. Maybe they’d find the whole situation completely reasonable. Maybe they’d believe the engagement and the pregnancy had nothing to do with each other, because that was the truth. And maybe she’d just flap her arms and fly all the way home.

She didn’t want in-law problems. Granted, as a general rule there was nothing you could do about them, but she wasn’t eager to get off on the wrong foot.

Besides, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, if she were Jeremy’s family, she’d be skeptical, too. Marriage was a big step for any couple, let alone a couple that barely knew each other. Though Jeremy’s mother hadn’t put her on the hot seat, Lexie could feel her sizing her up as they got to know each other, as any good mother would do. Lexie had been on her best behavior, and at the end, his mother had hugged and kissed her good-bye.

A good sign, Lexie admitted. Or a good start, anyway. It would take time for the family to fully accept her into the clan. Unlike the rest of the daughters-in-law, Lexie wouldn’t be around on the weekends, and she’d probably be on a probation of sorts, until time showed Jeremy hadn’t made a mistake. Probably at least a year or two, maybe more. She supposed she could speed up the process with regular letters and phone calls. . . .

Note to self, she thought. Buy stationery.

If she was completely honest, though, even she was a little shocked at how fast things were moving. Was he really in love? Was she? She’d asked herself those questions a dozen times a day over the last couple of weeks and always came up with the same answers. Yes, she was pregnant, and yes, it was his child, but she wouldn’t have agreed to marry him unless she believed they would be happy together.

And they would be happy. Wouldn’t they?

She wondered whether Jeremy ever questioned how fast this all seemed to be happening. Probably, she decided. It was impossible not to. But he seemed so much more relaxed about it than she did, and she wondered why. Maybe it was because he’d been married once before, or maybe it was because he’d been the pursuer during his week in Boone Creek. But whatever the reason, he’d always seemed more certain about their relationship than she was, which was odd, since he was the one who called himself a skeptic.

She glanced at him, noting the dark hair and dimple, liking what she saw. Remembering that she’d found him attractive the first time she’d ever seen him. What had Doris said about him after meeting him the first time? He’s not what you think he is.

Well, she thought, she was going to find out, wasn’t she?

They were the last to arrive at the house. Lexie was still nervous as she approached the door and stopped on the front steps

“They’re going to love you,” he reassured her. “Trust me.”

“Stay close, okay?”

“Where else would I be?”

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Lexie had feared it would be. In fact, she seemed to be more than holding her own, so despite his earlier promise to stay close, Jeremy found himself standing on the back porch instead, bouncing from one foot to the other with arms crossed in an attempt to ward off the chill in the air, watching his father hover over the barbecue. The man loved to barbecue; the weather outside never entered his thinking. As a child, Jeremy had actually seen him shovel snow off the barbecue and disappear into a blizzard, only to reappear inside half an hour later with a platter of steaks and a layer of ice where his eyebrows were supposed to be.

Though Jeremy would rather have been inside, his mother had told him to keep his father company, which was her way of telling him to make sure his father was doing okay. He’d had a heart attack a couple of years ago, and though he swore he never got cold, she worried about him. She would have done it herself, but with thirty-five people wedged into a small brownstone, the place was a madhouse. She had four pots going on the stove, his brothers took up every seat in the living room, and the nephews and nieces were continually being shooed from the living room back to the basement. Glancing through the window, he made sure his fiancée was still doing fine.

Fiancée. There was something odd about that word, he decided. Not that it was odd to think of having one, but rather how it sounded coming from the lips of various sisters-in-law, since they must have said the word at least a hundred times already. Immediately upon entering, before Lexie had even removed her jacket, Sophia and Anna had come rushing toward them, peppering practically every statement with the word.

“It’s about time we get to finally meet your fiancée!”

“So what have you and your fiancée been doing?”

“Don’t you think you should get your fiancée something to drink?”’

His brothers, on the other hand, hung back and avoided the word completely.

“So you and Lexie, huh?”

“Has Lexie enjoyed her trip so far?”

“Fill me in on how you and Lexie met.”

It must be a woman thing, Jeremy decided, since he, like his brothers, had yet to use the word. He wondered whether he could do a column about it, before deciding his editor would probably pass, claiming that it wasn’t quite serious enough for Scientific American. This from a guy who loved articles about UFOs and Bigfoot. Even though he’d agreed to allow Jeremy to continue writing his columns for the magazine from Boone Creek, Jeremy wouldn’t miss him.

Jeremy rubbed his arms as his father flipped one of the steaks. His nose and ears had turned red in the cold. “Hand me that plate, would you? Your mom left it on the rail over there. The hot dogs are just about done.”

Jeremy grabbed the plate and returned to his father’s side. “You know it’s pretty cold out here, right?”

“This? It’s nothing. Besides, the coals keep me warm.”

His father, one of the last of a dying breed, still used charcoal. For Christmas one year, Jeremy had purchased a gas grill, but it ended up gathering dust in the garage until his brother Tom finally asked if he could have it.

His father started piling hot dogs on the plate.

“I haven’t had the chance to talk to her much, but Lexie seems like a nice young lady.”

“She is, Pop.”

“Ah, well, you deserve it. I never did like Maria very much,” he said. “Right from the get-go, she struck me as wrong somehow.”

“You should have told me.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t have listened. You always knew everything, remember?”

“How did Mom like Lexie? Yesterday at lunch?”

“She liked her. Thought she would be able to keep you in line.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Coming from your mother? That’s about the best you’re gonna get.”

Jeremy smiled. “Do you have any advice?”

His father set aside the plate before finally shaking his head. “Nah. You don’t need any advice. You’re all grown up. You make your own decisions now. And besides, there’s not much I could tell you. I’ve been married for almost fifty years, and there are times when I still don’t have any idea what makes your mother tick.”