Surprise!, Part IV

March 1958

Lois settled back in her chair and watched as the pair headed out the door and down the steps, chattering like excited chipmunks. Her older sister, Florence chose that moment to come out of the house carrying a tray loaded with a sweating, ice and lemon filled pitcher of homemade lemonade, paper cups from the Can, and a plate of fresh baked ginger snaps still warm from the oven.

“Where’d everybody go?” Florence glanced around before setting the tray on the long table that sat against the wall.  “Thought Bill was out here and I though to heard Rainy’s voice too.” 

Lois’s straight white teeth flashed in a laugh. “Oh, you did, but they took off to measure the fish Rainy caught. She barely noticed me, but couldn’t wait to show it off to Bill.”

Florence’s green eyes flashed as she laughed too. She pushed a hand through her short wavy red hair. “She does love him, doesn’t she? I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who was so good with kids.”

Lois nodded.

“And animals,” Florence added. She picked up the pitcher and poured two cups of lemonade, walked over and handed one to her sister. Her eyes fell to the hand on Lois’s stomach. She turned and went back for the plate of cookies, set it down on the little table and settled into the chair recently vacated by her soon-to-be-brother-in-law. She half-turned in her seat to look at Lois. 

“So?  When are you due?” she said and took a long sip of her drink.

Lois’s hand stopped halfway to the cup and her other hand fluttered up off her midsection. Her eyes went wide and she stared at her sister. “I…uh, well, I…” 

Florence laughed and Lois took a breath before continuing.

“How did you know?”


to be concluded...
 

Surprise!, Part III

March 1958

Lois smiled.  “I know we don’t have to explain ourselves, but I’m really thinking of our folks. I don’t want to put them in the position of having to explain it to their friends or feel ashamed at church.”  

Bill watched her for a few seconds while he puffed his cigarette. “And you’re sure about this? Not having a church wedding and all?”

“Yes.” Lois looked down and patted her stomach again. When she looked up her smile was as soft as her eyes. “All I care about is marrying you and getting our family started.”

He got up and walked around next to her. Crouching beside her, he put his big hand on top of hers on her belly. “We’ll do whatever you want sweetheart, because that’s all I care about too.”

The screen door banged and Lorraine came trotting across the floor with a big smile on her pretty pixie face and a big fish dangling from her fingers by its gill slit. “Uncle Bill, look at the carp I caught.” She beamed at him and then glanced over at Lois. “Hi, Aunt Lois.” 

Lois shook her head and laughed. “Hi, Rainy.”

“Wow,” Bill said, standing up. “Man, that’s a beauty.  He grabbed the fish’s slimy tail.  “Would you look at that,” he whistled, “must be over a foot long.”

Rainy nodded and gazed up at her Uncle, adoration shining from her eyes. “Let’s go measure it.”

“You got it, kiddo.” Bill let the tail flop down and put a big hand on the girl’s shoulder. He grinned over his shoulder at Lois who made a shooing motion with her hand.

“Don’t mind me. Go on, you two peas-in-a-pod, and get that fish measured so Rainy can brag to her brothers.” 

to be continued...

Surprise!, Part II

March, 1958

...continued

Bill’s eyes crinkled as his face split into a huge grin, but he lowered his voice. “You bet I do. I’m going to be a daddy and I want to tell the whole world”

He picked up his chair and sat back down. With shaking hands, he picked up the undone cigarette, stuffed it all back together and rolled it up nice and neat. A tear rolled down his cheek. After wiping it away, he let out a shaky sigh, licked the gummed edge of the paper and stuck it between his lips. Laughing, he reached across the table and took her hand.  

“This is just swell,” he said, talking around the cigarette. “You just made me the happiest guy in the world for the second time and I want to shout it out from the rooftops.”

Lois smiled. “I know. I’m happy too, but I think we should keep it to ourselves. Just for now.”

Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Even if we don’t tell anybody, they’ll figure it out.”

“I know, but…” Lois sighed. “I just don’t want to give the gossips something to talk about. Besides, if we get married in mid-April most people won’t do the math. They’ll just assume the baby is a little early.”

Bill lit his cigarette, puffed out a few clouds and settled back in his chair. The chair creaked softly and the river gurgled. Birds whistled and chirped. Mosquitoes flung themselves at the screen, tiny vampires hungry for warm blood. He looked over at his soon to be wife and mother of his soon to be child. “Well, I don’t think we should worry about it. We’re both adults, you’re twenty-three and I’ll be thirty-four when this baby is born.”

Tapping  the ash end of the cigarette into the ashtray on the table, he lifted his eyes to hers. “I don’t think we need to explain ourselves to anybody at our ages.”

to be continued...