The Widow and the Orphan (15 page)

Sipping champagne and lounging on the couch, Pepper and Gabe watched the cats play amongst the discarded wrappings of their Christmas presents. They chewed on ribbons and shredded paper, frolicking like only kittens can.

Pepper admired the diamond and ruby bracelet on her wrist. “You really outdid yourself this time, pal.”

“Thank you.”

Pepper had done her best to choose gifts for Gabe that would be normal, smacking of hope that life would return to how it once was. Buying things for someone diagnosed with a terminal case of cancer was not easy. She worried and fretted over every decision because she was scared to death of hurting his feelings or making him feel depressed if he wasn’t going to be around to enjoy it.

Trying to keep it simple, but useful, she bought him the latest, greatest iPad with the biggest memory available. She downloaded hours and hours of movies, including all the ones EJR had produced. She downloaded dozens of books and what seemed like a million hours of music. All of it could be at his fingertips to while away the time when he couldn’t be doing what he really wanted to do.

She made cheesy little coupons for kisses and backrubs and other things she knew he would find amusing. Pepper bought him a couple of knitted hats and scarves in case he eventually did lose his hair, though there hadn’t been any signs of that. Gabe had laughed and thanked her for each and every item, insisting that she had done well and he was happy with her choices.

Finishing her drink, Pepper stood up and stretched. “Well, I better get this place cleaned up. Will and Viv will be here soon with the baby.”

“Ah, yes. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when you give them the four hundred thousand presents you bought for Jane.” Gabe smirked and then dodged the ball of wrapping paper she chucked at him.

“Hush. There aren’t that many. Besides, it’s all useful stuff. It’s not like I got her a pony or all clothes.”

Pepper turned to go, but Gabe grabbed her hand and pulled her back down beside him. “Wait, I have one more gift for you.”

She frowned at him, already feeling like he’d gone way overboard. “Too much!”

“No, it’s not.” Gabe reached for an envelope in the pocket of his robe and placed it in her hands. “This one is special.”

Pepper opened the business sized envelope with trembling fingers, unsure of what she would find. When she unfolded the piece of paper, she read the word “Deed” at the top of the page. “What is it?”

“It’s the deed to my ancestral home in England.”

Pepper stared at him, not really comprehending what he was saying. “Ancestral?”

“Yes. It’s a home that has been in our family for more than four hundred years. No one has really lived in it since before my parents were born, but we hold on to it because it was gifted to us by Queen Elizabeth.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be shitting me. And this hasn’t come up before now?” She scanned the words on the deed but none of it really made any sense to her.
If he tells me he’s royalty, I think I
will
faint
!

“Well, I figured we would go see it on our honeymoon.”

She clasped the deed to her chest and gasped. “I thought we’d go somewhere hot with beaches and cocktails.”

“Darling, we have all that here. All the time. I thought perhaps a trip to London would be more fun.”

“Hey! It does sound cool!” Pepper considered it and realized it probably made the most sense. They had never been to England, opting instead for more romantic or tropical destinations. Excitement crept into her brain, only to be squashed by an instant thought. “Wait. Isn’t it cold there in January?”

Gabe shrugged. “Yes, but we can wear coats. And gloves. Yeah?”

Pepper laughed and threw her arms around his neck. “And hats. We can’t forget the hats.”

* * * * *

Pepper clinked her glass against the others’ and then took a healthy drink of her champagne. It was 12:01 a.m. and they had just watched the ball drop in Times Square, but on television, not in person. The year before, she and Gabe had been out on the town with Will and Viv, hitting several well-known celebrity parties, drinking and dancing until dawn. This year was quite different.

Jane was fast asleep in her bed and the four adults were standing in the living room of her home. Viv had offered to have the nanny stay over so they could repeat the previous New Years’ festivities, but Pepper and Gabe had declined. A night of hedonistic revelry wasn’t in his best interests and didn’t really appeal to them anyway. Pepper could have laughed at the look of relief on Vivienne’s face when that decision was made.

Originally, Pepper thought the quiet evening would be more gloomy with the “c-word” monster hiding in the corner, waiting to jump out and spit on them whenever it wanted to. Somehow, though, they had managed to keep the bastard at bay. Between Gabe relating funny anecdotes of kitten doings and Viv and Will gushing over Jane and how fast she was growing, the four of them had laughed and talked, feeling like the family they had become.

“Only three more weeks till the wedding.” Vivienne raised her glass in a toast.

“Indeed,” Gabe agreed. “I am very excited. I only just booked the travel plans for our honeymoon this past week. We shall spend one glorious month in the country of my birth so I can show my new bride all of the landmarks and historical spots I once visited as I grew up.” Gabe laced his fingers through Pepper’s as they snuggled on the couch.

“It’s going to be so much fun.” She really was getting excited about it all and couldn’t wait to be surrounded by people who sounded exactly like the man she loved. Now that they were going to England, she asked questions constantly about the food and the culture, wanting to know everything she could.

“I am officially jealous,” Vivienne announced, setting down her empty glass. “I want to go back to England more than you could know.”

Pepper pushed out her bottom lip. “I wish you could come along.”

“Believe me, I’d invite myself if I could.” Vivienne gave them both a wink. “We’ll just have to do it again in the spring when Jane’s a bit older. I’ve already thought about how to start clearing the calendar at work so we won’t have any functions that mess up my grand plan.”

Pepper pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! I like your plan.”

“Uh oh.” Vivienne waved her hands for everyone to be quiet. Cocking her head to the side, she nodded. “Yep. Someone’s wet.” She got up to go take care of Jane and Pepper followed right behind. It would give her a couple of minutes alone with her bestie.

“You didn’t have to come.” Viv tiptoed into the bedroom where Jane writhed in her crib witha very squished-up, unhappy look on her face.

“I wanted to.” Pepper grabbed a diaper and wipes to have at the ready, while Viv stripped the baby. “Doesn’t he look good?” It had been two weeks since Gabe’s last round of chemo.

“Yes, he does.”

“No one can explain it, but he’s eating more and his color is better. No more nausea. And he never lost a hair.” Pepper said the words her heart wanted to believe. Her mind kept telling her to be cautious. She hated that because all she wanted to do was be happy and hopeful. Was that so wrong?

“Who cares why?” Vivienne dumped the wet sleeper and crib sheet on the floor, grabbing the wipes and diaper. “Don’t ask questions. Just be grateful.”

“I am.” Pepper chewed on her thumbnail, then reminded herself to stop. She busied herself getting a fresh sleeper that was white with yellow daises all over it. Handing it to Viv, she pulled a fresh crib sheet out of the dresser as well. “I am grateful. But it’s scary too, you know?”

“I know.” Viv passed Jane to her and Pepper grinned down at the wide awake infant. Moving slowly from one foot to the other, she rocked Jane as her mother finished making the bed. She leaned down and kissed the baby on her cheeks and nose, whispering the whole time how pretty she was and how much Pepper loved her. Little by little, Jane’s eyes began to flutter and droop until they finally closed. Before she laid her back in the crib, Pepper looked at Vivienne.

“What if he’s really beating it, Viv? What if he’s one of the rare and lucky ones?”

Taking a deep breath, Vivienne hugged herself. “I hope so, Pepper. I really do hope so.”

The day before her wedding, Pepper was awakened by a sandpaper tongue licking her eyelid. “Criminy!” she shouted, instantly conscious and trying not to reflexively fling the cat away. Glancing to her right, Gabe’s familiar form was beside her and he continued to snore softly.

Wanting him to get the most rest he could, Pepper slipped on quiet feet out of bed and left the room, grabbing Smudge of the eyelid licking, her phone, and bathrobe on the way out. The minute she came out of the room, she was assailed by two other feline voices meowing for their breakfast. “Hey guys.” She led Wolfie, Smudge, and Crank to the kitchen and prepared their little dishes. Glancing at the clock, Pepper was glad it was only a little before eight. Early enough to get in touch with Aiden and late enough to call Vivienne.

Do you need me?

Pepper sent the message off to Aiden while she prepared the coffee maker. His answer was swift and short.

No.

Pepper chuckled and then pressed the speed dial button for her bestie.

“Good morning!” Vivienne sang.

“And good morning to you too! You’re almost more chipper than me.”

“I’m very excited! I can’t believe it’s tomorrow.”

“I know.” Pepper grinned like a fool. It had taken weeks of preparation and inner conversations to get her to this point where she could actually be excited over the wedding. “Our appointment is at noon. Everything ready on your end? Dress is good?”

“Yes, yes, everything is fine. My dress is in a safe place until Aiden sends someone to pick it up. My bag for tomorrow is all packed. The babysitter is scheduled. Stop worrying.”

Pepper laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’re the only thing Aiden left me in charge of. I literally have nothing else to do.”

“Have you written your vows?”

Pepper bit her bottom lips and frowned.
Shit. I gotta do that
.

“Your silence is all the answer I need,” Vivienne muttered, her voice tinged with amusement. “Don’t worry. We can work on that this afternoon.”

“Yes. You can write them.”

Vivienne snorted. “The hell I will! I’m happy to give you some pointers, but you will do the work.”

“You’re the writer,” Pepper sighed.

“Be that as it may,
you’re
the bride.”

“Oh all right, let’s not argue. I’ll pick you up at 11:30.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

Pepper flicked off the screen of her phone and set it on the counter. Vows. She still had to write the vows. She never would have agreed to do it if Gabe hadn’t asked her to. He didn’t want to use the traditional, boring ones. He wanted them to have something personal and from their hearts. Pepper knew she was bad with words. Somehow, she’d have to trick Vivienne into doing most of the work.

She poured two cups of coffee and carried them up the stairs to the bedroom. When she got in the door, Gabe was not in the bed, but she could hear water running in the bathroom. She set the steaming cups down on the bedside table and then went to the closed door, knocking softly. “Hey you… everything okay?”

“
Don’t come in
.”

Gabe’s voice was shaky and insistent, but Pepper ignored it, barging right in. He was leaning over the toilet and scrambled to flush it before she could see anything.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, reaching his side and touching his arm.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I was a little nauseous this morning and didn’t want you to know.”

Pepper frowned at their reflection in the mirror that spread the length of the wall behind the sinks and toilet. He wouldn’t look at her except in the reflective glass. “I can tell you threw up, Gabe, whether you flushed or not.”

Sighing dramatically and flailing his arms to the side, Gabe rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did. Now let’s leave it be.” He stalked over to the sink and turned on the cold water. He leaned down and sucked in a mouthful of water, swished it around and then spit it out. He repeated this two more times as Pepper watched. She tried to notice every single detail. Did his hands shake too much? Was his body moving in any weird way? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and since he had begun to feel so much better, the nausea reappearing gave her the queasies, too. The next couple of days were going to be pretty busy and, even though Aiden was doing his best to handle it all, the pace would still be hectic.

“Maybe we should call the doctor.”

“No.” Gabe shook his head and wiped his mouth on the hand towel hanging from the wall. “I’m fine. My stomach was a little off and I got up too quickly.”

Pepper started to argue, but held her tongue. The look of determination in Gabe’s eyes was pretty daunting. His jaw was set and she knew that usually meant whatever fight they were going to have, she would most likely lose. Seeing as how there didn’t seem to be any other indication that anything was wrong, this was not the hill she wanted to die on, especially the day before their wedding.

“All right. If you say so.” Pepper stepped closer to him and dipped her chin, while batting her eyelashes at him. “Good morning, fiancé.”

Gabe relaxed and pulled her into his arms. “Good morning, fiancée.”

“I brought you some coffee, but maybe tea would be easier on your stomach?”

Gabe nodded and his chin thumped gently on the top of her head. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Pepper grabbed the cooled coffee and Gabe followed her downstairs to the kitchen where she prepared him a cup of lemon ginger tea. They went outside to sit on the patio and enjoy the morning sun.

As hard as she tried, Pepper couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. As if cancer wasn’t bad enough, Gabe’s nausea was surrounding her mind like a sky full of storm clouds. She pretended she was excited and told Gabe all about her plans for the day, asking him about his as well. She smiled in all the right places and threw in a laugh or two, but Pepper’s gut rarely failed her. There was trouble coming and it was driving her crazy that she couldn’t figure out what it was or how to avoid it.

* * * * *

It was no easy task spending the afternoon with Viv, acting excited and carefree. Pepper put her game face on and did it. She even managed to write her vows with minimal help from Viv. Every time the sense of foreboding or anything depressing tried to bubble to the surface, she swallowed hard and repeated Scarlet O’Hara’s mantra, “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” She wasn’t going to run the risk of ruining anything for everyone.

When she got back to the house, Gabe was just pulling into the driveway too and they met at the front door. He was carrying his tuxedo, wrapped in a bright white plastic garment bag.

“Hello, love.” He greeted her with a warm smile and a solid kiss.

“Howdy.” Pepper returned the affection and they walked arm in arm into the house, greeted by the now familiar sounds of multiple cat meows.

“Are you still worried about me?”

Pepper put on her best surprised face. “No!” She looked away quickly to pay attention to Smudge, Crank and Wolfie.

Gabe snickered and shook a finger at her as he draped the garment bag on one of the dining room chairs. “That is a gigantic lie. You shouldn’t be fibbing to me the day before our wedding.”

Pepper bumped her hip against him and shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “Okay, fine. I can’t help myself. I worry.”

Gabe scooped up Crank and placed him on his shoulder, where the kitten settled himself to be carried around. “I promise you I won’t hide anything, but honestly, I feel fine now.”

Pepper’s heart clenched to see how concerned he was about her state of mind. Once again, she shouted her mantra inside her head. “I see.”

Gabe took her by the hand and led her to the couch to sit down, where they were immediately joined by the other two felines. “Let’s make a promise here and now, darling, that while we’re on the honeymoon, we won’t discuss my health. From the moment the reception is over to the time we return home, I want us to be happy, carefree newlyweds. Can we do that?”

Pepper put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. “Yes. We
will
do that.”

Gabe sighed and relaxed into the couch, pulling her against his side so they could cuddle. “I can hardly believe the big day is tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“It seems I’ve said that to myself a few hundred times today. Have you done that, too?”

Pepper giggled. “Yes, I have. It seemed like it was going to take forever, and now it’s
tomorrow
. How does time do that?”

“I could not say. But I’m glad the wait is almost over. I’ve wanted to marry you since the day we met.”

Pepper inhaled sharply. “Oh, that’s so sweet.” She tilted her head back so she could pull him down for a soft kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Pepper snuggled with him for another few minutes but then sighed and pulled herself up into a sitting position. “I better get going. I need to finish packing the rest of my stuff for tonight and a few last things for the honeymoon.”

Gabe frowned. “I will miss you tonight.”

Pepper stood up and put her hands on her hips. Tilting her chin down, she batted her eyelashes. “I think you can handle one night alone before the honeymoon. What would you have done if I had banned sex for a month before the wedding?”

Laughing heartily, Gabe smiled broadly. “Bah, you could never have held off yourself, you minx.”

Pepper smirked and nodded. “You’re probably right.”

Kissing him one last time, she hurried upstairs to finish getting her things together. She would be spending the night at the Stafford Inn because the wedding was at 10:00 a.m. They had chosen a morning ceremony time because Gabe tended to have more energy early in the day instead of later. The reception would be a brunch from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. She and Gabe would fly to London the next day.

Packing her cosmetics and other incidentals became quite the task, as Smudge and Wolfie both tried to climb into her overnight bag. For every item she put in, she had to remove a cat to make room for more. It was a nice distraction; otherwise her mind might have wandered to things she was trying to ignore.

When she finally had everything packed and the bag zipped shut to keep out any stowaways, Pepper moved on to finishing her honeymoon luggage. She’d already packed most of her stuff, but wanted to double check and make sure she had everything she wanted. After throwing in a couple more sweaters and an extra few sets of socks and underwear, she felt confident about zipping the suitcases closed too. She piled all of her bags near the door and then took a look around the bedroom. When she returned to it next, she’d be Mrs. Gabriel Seigal.