For His Little Girl

Chapter Twelve

At the infirmary he gave Pippa's name to the receptionist.

"On the eighth floor," she said. "But I'm telling you what I've told all the others. You can't go in, and it's going to be a long wait."

"All the others?"

"Ms. Davis seems to have a lot of friends."

The ride up was long enough for him to realize he was walking into the unknown. Josie had known nothing, but she would have been told by now, and some of it would have come from Frank. He wondered if his daughter hated him. For himself, he could bear that burden, as deserved. But when he thought of what it would do to her, the world seemed to grow dark.

As soon as he stepped out of the lift he saw what the receptionist had meant. A crowd had gathered in the corridor. Luke counted seven before he identified Frank, Elly and-

"Josie!"

"Daddy!" The little girl's shriek split the air, and the next moment she'd evaded Frank's detaining hand to dash down the corridor straight into Luke's waiting arms.

'I knew you'd come," she said frantically. "Uncle Frank said you wouldn't. He said you were horrid to Mommy and you'd helped make her sick and you'd never really loved her and-'' Luke's eyes met Frank's over Josie's head. "You've been saying a lot of things, Frank," he said coldly. "Most of them you had no right to say."

"And you have no right to be here," Frank said in a tight voice. "How dare you come barging in, upsetting the child-"

"I reckon she'd be a sight more upset if I hadn't come."

"You're nothing here. If Pippa had wanted you, she'd have stayed with you."

"We'll talk about this some other time," Luke said, giving him a warning glance. "For the moment I'd like to know how she is."

Elly had come to join them. "They're operating. It's been a long job, but they should be through quite soon."

The others drifted across and introduced themselves. They were the current crop of house guests. Luke picked up Harry, Jake, Davina, and his mind refused to take in any more. They regarded him without condemnation, but with a lot of curiosity.

Josie kept a tight hold on Luke's hand to make him sit beside her. "Daddy, why did Mommy leave like that? Were you horrid to her?"

"Tell her everything, if you dare," Frank jeered.

"All right, I will. Yes, darling, Mommy and I did have a quarrel, and it was my fault." A tremor shook him. "All my fault. I came to tell her I'm sorry."

"But why? What did you do?" •

"When I found out that she was ill, I didn't understand why she hadn't confided in me. I blamed her."

Josie's eyes filled with tears. "Me, too. Oh Daddy, I got mad at her on the plane. I didn't mean to but I couldn't help it. And when we landed she collapsed, and it's all my fault-" She burst into sobs.

Luke gathered her into his arms. "It's not your fault, darling. It's mine if anyone's. She should have told both of us, but you see, Mommy's a very strong person. She tends to shoulder all the burdens herself, so that other people can be happy-" his voice wavered "-and then you find out that she's been bearing things alone, and you feel kind of hurt that she didn't share it with you. But you have to understand-you have to understand-that she doesn't mean…" His voice ran down. He tried to hide his despair from the child, but he couldn't do it, and his head sank until it was resting against hers.

They didn't move after that. Nor did anyone else go near the man and the child, enclosed in their own world, needing only each other.

Nobody knew how many hours passed before there was a noise at the end of the corridor as the doors were opened so that a bed could be wheeled through. It was accompanied by a doctor and two nurses, one of whom was holding a drip that was connected to the woman lying on the bed. Everybody stood up tensely to watch the little procession approach and turn into the room opposite. Luke caught the barest glimpse of Pippa's face as she passed, and felt his daughter's hand seek his.

The doctor faced them. "She's not as strong as I'd like, but she's holding on. The next few hours will be vital."

"But she's going to live?" came Frank's voice. "Surely you can say that much?"

The doctor hesitated. "It's too soon to make any promises."

"I want to see Mommy," Josie said.

"In a few minutes," the doctor said, "when they've finished settling her. Just you and one other person-perhaps the next of kin-"

"I'm her next of kin," Frank said through gritted teeth, "since she isn't married."

Luke flinched, but he didn't retaliate, because into his head had come the memory of Pippa's words in the letter. If you fight with Frank it will make her unhappy…

"Daddy-" Josie reached for him, but he forced himself to step back.

"I'll wait," he said.

"No," Elly said, intervening. "You're the one she wants." She laid a gentle hand on her husband's arm, silencing his protest.

Hand in hand, father and daughter slipped into Pippa's room, and Luke couldn't have said which of them was clinging to the other more desperately for comfort. The sight of Pippa horrified him. She lay as still as death, her eyes closed, her face the color of parchment. On each side she was attached to drips or machinery that seemed to overwhelm her. Like any creature that lived mainly through its senses Luke recoiled from illness. But now all he could think of was how small and frail she looked and how he would have liked to gather her protectively in his arms. But he couldn't.

"Can we touch her?" he asked at last.

"Better not," advised one of the nurses.

"What are her chances?"

"Her color's reasonably good, and she's stable. That's really all we can say for the moment, i think you should go now."

Outside in the corridor Luke repeated the nurse's words to everyone, but speaking mainly to Frank, keeping his voice gentle, trying not to react to the open dislike on the other man's face.

Everyone settled down for a long wait. Somebody went for coffee and sandwiches. A silence fell. The clock ticked on as the light faded into darkness. Josie was allowed back in to see her mother.

"Daddy-"

"Take your uncle Frank, honey," he said. "He loves her, too."

He had to force the words out. Only the conviction that he was doing what Pippa would have wanted made it possible. Frank regarded him with suspicion and went on into the room.

"That was very nice of you," Elly said when Frank and Josie had gone.

"It's Pippa, she-" He couldn't say any more, but he suddenly noticed how kind Elly's eyes were. He wondered why he'd never seen it before, and felt ashamed that he'd ever seen her as a person to make fun of. On impulse he pulled Pippa's letter out. "She wouldn't mind my showing you this."

He pointed to the end of the letter where Pippa had written, "Josie loves you, but she loves Frank and Elly, too, and if you fight it will make her unhappy."

"Thank you," she said, giving it back to him. "I'll try to make Frank understand."

Josie slipped out and came to Luke. "She's just the same," she said.

"No sign of waking up?"

"No, they say she won't tonight, because she's being kept under heavy sedation. They'll start lifting it tomorrow."

"They say we might as well go home for the night," Frank said.

"That's a good idea," Jake observed. "Nothing is going to happen for hours. The house is just around the corner. Harry will stay here, just in case, and if anything looks like it's happening he'll call and we can be back in five minutes." He looked at Luke. "Frank and Elly are staying at the guest house. Have you got somewhere?"

"I never thought of it."

"Then you'd better come with us."

"Thanks, but I'm staying right here," he said firmly.

Frank put an arm about Josie. "Come along, darling," he said.

But Josie shook her head. "I want to stay with Daddy."

"It's very late and you ought to go to bed," Frank said firmly. "Come along now."

Josie's eyes filled with tears, and she looked at Luke, silently pleading.

Please, please Luke… don't fight over her.

He didn't know where the voice had come from. He could almost have sworn it was an external sound, but perhaps it had only echoed in his heart. Whatever the truth, it told him what he must do.

"On second thought, I'm going back to the guest house," he said. He turned to Frank and Elly. "Maybe we all need to be together."

It felt strange to be returning after all these years. The inside had been made over to look cheerful and modern, but basically it was the same place where he and Pippa had lived and loved, and lost each other.

Susan, Pippa's assistant, was in charge now. She frowned when she saw Luke. "I'm afraid it's full up."

"What about the room just down the corridor?" Luke asked.

"That's a storeroom."

"Can I see it?"

"But it's full of sheets and pillows," she insisted.

"I'd still like to see it."

He found himself counting the steps down the passage to the room that had once been his and Pippa's. There were exactly eight if you took large strides, or twelve if you took short running steps because you were trying to undress each other at the same time.

The room came as a shock. The walls were now lined with deep shelves on which were the house supplies, bedding, tins of food, detergent. The iron-ing board leaned against the wall, and a large sack of potatoes stood in a corner. Everywhere he looked he saw neatness and order.

"It's very-tidy." It was all he could think of to say.

"Ms. Davis is particular about tidiness," Susan assured him. "She says otherwise we'd never find anything."

"If I can have a few cushions and borrow some blankets, I'll sleep here."

"There's no need. You can have the sofa in the-"

"I'd rather be here," he said quietly.

Josie, who had slipped in after him, now darted away and returned with the sofa cushions, which she arranged on the floor. Then she took some blankets down and began to arrange them, too. From a cupboard she took a hanger, and indicated for Luke to give her his coat. Together they arranged it on the hanger, and he put it up on a peg.

"Susan's making something to eat," she said.

"I don't think I could-"

"I'll bring you some here, shall I?"

"Thanks," he said, gratefully. She'd known he wanted to be alone. Was that because of an instinctive understanding between him and his child, he wondered? Or because even she felt that he couldn't face things?

She brought him some food, and watched while he ate it. He had no appetite and would have left some, but she said, "Finish everything. You've got to keep your strength up," sounding like a wise little adult. He did so.

"Why did you want this room?" she asked.

He smiled and stroked a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. "Guess."

"You and Mommy?"

"Yes. We lived in here. We used to pay part of our rent by doing some of the cooking. That was the only way we could afford to live. We didn't have anything-but we had everything."

Then he broke completely, putting his head in his hands and sobbing without restraint. Pippa, who had made everything right, was no longer there, perhaps would never be there again. But there was someone else, someone who stretched small arms around him as far as they would go, and kissed him. He put his arms around her, and they clung together, saying nothing, because it was too terrible for words.

At last Elly came to put her to bed, but Josie set her chin. "I want to stay with Daddy," she said.

"Why doesn't Daddy come and put you to bed?" Elly suggested.

She agreed to this compromise, and they all went up to the room Josie and Elly were to share, with Frank in a Box room across the corridor. The events of the past hours had left the little girl worn-out. Despite her fear for her mother she was half-asleep by the time she was ready for bed. She kissed Elly, but it was Luke's hand she clung to until she fell asleep. He gently disengaged his fingers and leaned down to kiss his sleeping child. When he looked up, he found Elly watching him kindly.

"Thank you," he said, and she nodded.

Back in the storeroom the night seemed to close in on him. Restlessly he began to rearrange his few items of furniture. He couldn't put the makeshift bed in the same place as the old one, because the shelves were in the way, but he managed to get it at the same angle. He didn't quite know why he'd done that, except that anything else seemed wrong.

He lay down and closed his eyes, and at once she was there, snuggling up against him, her tousled head on his shoulder, one arm about his neck. He opened his eyes again and sat up. Why had he returned to this room, where so much had once been his, so much that he'd thrown away? It was filled with Pippa, with her love, her joy, her passionate, selfless giving.

You're very good at holding off, aren't you Luke?

He got to his feet and switched the light on. The room seemed to mock him.

Just here had stood the table where he'd first fed her and been enchanted by her wacky nature. Over there had been the sofa with the creaking springs where she'd first kissed him and demolished all the defenses he'd thought he'd put up against her magic.

In that corner had stood the rickety chair that had collapsed beneath her, and she'd lain amid the ruins, laughing too much to move, until he'd pulled her up and into his arms, kissing her madly, adoring her because all life and warmth was in her, as though she'd found the secret of the world. But secretly afraid, too, because to love someone that much was like putting chains on your soul.

That's how you survive, isn't it? By never getting too close to anyone.

"No," he shouted. "No!"

But for all his denials, what they'd had back then had ended in this room where everything was neat, functional, dead. And it was his doing.

They were all there in the corridor again next morning, even the boarders who knew that they wouldn't be allowed into Pippa's room. They were her friends and they cared about her. Luke tried to think who would do the same for him. His family, of course, and Claudia, but not troops of unconnected people. Getting hundreds of hits on your Web site wasn't the same, somehow.

More waiting. More hours crawling by. The doctors had begun to lift the heavy sedation so that Pippa could regain consciousness. But she didn't, which, Luke could tell, worried them more than they wanted to admit.

Frank looked to be at the end of his tether. Luke regarded him with pity, feeling the old antagonism die. Josie made a movement toward him and Elly, but stopped, glancing quickly at Luke, as if torn between them. He touched her gently, whispering, "Go and talk to them." Watching her go, Luke found himself talking to Pippa in his head.

"You see? There'll be no tug-of-war on my side. That's what you wanted, isn't it? Where are you? Do you know?''

His life had contained little that could be called spiritual, but now he tried to believe that Pippa was there, watching him even while she slept in the next room. He had to believe that she knew.

More waiting. Why hadn't she come to? What weren't they telling him?

At last the door opened and the doctor beckoned, standing back for Luke and Josie to enter.

"She's beginning to move," he said.

They went quickly to either side of her bed. Pippa was stirring, muttering inaudibly. The next moment she had opened her eyes, looking directly at Josie.

"Hallo, Mommy," the child said joyfully.

"Hallo, darling." She managed to move her arm a few inches in invitation, and Josie laid her head against it. Luke stood back, willing to wait for his moment.

At last it came. Josie said, "Mommy, look," pointing to him, and Pippa turned her head, just a little. Slowly he sank down until he was on his knees beside the bed so that she could see him more easily.

"Didn't you know I'd come, my love?" he asked.

She managed a faint smile. "I guess I did." Her eyes closed again.

"Pippa," he said urgently.

"She should rest now," the doctor said.

He let himself be shepherded out with Josie, but once outside he drew the doctor aside, speaking very quietly.

"How much does it really mean that she came around?"

"It helps," the doctor said after a pause, "but it's not conclusive."

"You're telling me that she could still die?"

"Yes, I am. It's good that she's regained consciousness, but some of the signs aren't as good as I'd hoped."

"I want to see her again, now. Just for a moment."

The doctor was about to make a formal protest, but something in Luke's eyes stopped him. "Two minutes," he said.

As he approached the bed again, he noticed how poor Pippa's color was, almost the color of death. She was slipping away from him.

"Pippa," he said, "listen. I've got something important to ask you." He saw the question in her eyes. "It's this-will you marry me?"

"Ask me again," she whispered, "when I'm out of here."

"No, I mean now, today."

"Oh, yes-of course-Josie-"

"No," he said, becoming frantic with the need to make her understand. "You think I'm just trying to get a legal claim on her, but I'm not. It's not about her, it's about us. We should have been married years ago, and now, if-" he could hardly say it "-if I lose you, I want the world to know you were my wife. Not just my girlfriend, or the mother of my child, but my wife. Please, darling, marry me now. It would mean so much to me."

"Would it-really?"

"Everything in the world," he whispered.

"But can it be managed?"

"Leave everything to me. In the meantime-" From his pocket he took the engagement ring. "This is yours." He slid it gently onto her finger, and had the pleasure of seeing a glow come into her eyes.

"I didn't really want to give it back," she said.

"I'm going to fix everything. You-you be here when I get back, okay?"

"Okay. Luke-"

"Yes, darling?"

"Talk to Harry," she murmured. "He's studying law."

Luck was with him in one way because Harry was right outside. But in another way it was against him, because Frank and Elly were there, too.

"If you think I'm going to allow this you're out of your mind," Frank said harshly. "I'm going to speak to the hospital authorities and have you thrown out. They won't let you pester a sick woman again-''

"Frank." Elly put a gentle hand on his arm. "It's no use. If this is what Pippa wants-how can we deny her, when it may be the last thing-''

Frank's shoulders shook. "Do as you please," he said hoarsely, and turned away.

Harry got to work on a special license, and because of the circumstances was able to get one within an hour. Then he went one better and produced an uncle who was a vicar.

Josie was sitting beside Pippa holding her hand when Luke returned.

"How is she?" he whispered.

"She keeps going to sleep and waking up again. Daddy, she says you're going to get married."

"We are."

Josie's face brightened. "When?"

"Today, just as soon as it can be fixed."

She beamed. "Can I be a bridesmaid?"

"Honey, it's going to happen right here, not in a church."

"But Mommy will still need a bridesmaid, because she's a bride."

"I guess she will."

Josie slipped out of the room, and Luke sat beside Pippa, taking her hand. Her eyes were closed. "You're going to be my wife," he said, "as you should have been all these years. When you're better we'll do it again with all the trimmings. You'll have the best wedding dress you can find, but you'll never look more beautiful to me than you do this minute."

She opened her eyes and smiled sleepily, but he couldn't tell how much she'd heard.

One by one they came in, the friends from the guest house. Harry's vicar uncle slipped in timidly as though hoping not to be noticed. Frank and Elly were there, too, but standing apart, looking unhappy.

"Where's Josie?" Elly asked.

"She vanished," Luke said, looking around in dismay.

But Josie returned at that moment, bearing two small bouquets. "There's a flower shop downstairs," she explained. "Here, Mommy." She put the larger bouquet in her mother's hands as they lay weakly on the sheet.

"Thank you, darling."

"Are we all ready?" the vicar asked. "If it's all right with you, I prefer to use the old-fashioned service."

"Fine," Luke said. Then a horrible thought occurred to him. The old-fashioned service, which meant…

"Sir," he said in a loud whisper to the vicar, "about this service-she won't obey."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Cut out obey," Luke muttered urgently. "She won't do it."

"No, she flaming won't," Pippa murmured.

"Sorry about that," Luke said.

"No, no, I quite understand," the vicar said. "They none of them do these days."

The sigh that accompanied these words told volumes about the little vicar's domestic life. Luke's eyes met Pippa's and, incredibly, a spark of amusement flashed between them. She was close to death, but even now she couldn't resist sharing a joke with him. Luke closed his eyes for a moment, and a shudder went through him. She was so alive, it simply wasn't possible for her to die. It wasn't possible because he couldn't bear it.

Then he felt the weak movement against his hand and, looking down, saw that Pippa had reached out to him. He twined his fingers in hers and felt the comfort she was offering.

The vicar cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here…"

Luke didn't hear the next bit. He was watching Pippa's face, seeing her eyes fixed on him with a look of joyful wonder that smote him to the heart. In spite of everything, she loved him so much that this moment could make her happy.

The vicar inquired, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

There was an awkward silence, because nobody had thought of it. Some of them looked at Harry, and some at Jake, but before either could speak, a voice from the back said, "I do."

Every head turned to see Frank come forward, pale but determined. "I do," he said again, taking Pippa's hand and offering it to Luke.

Pippa's eyes shone. "Thank you, Frank, dear."

Luke inclined his head to Frank in gratitude, knowing what the gesture would mean to Pippa. Then he realized that the vicar was asking if he would have this woman to be his wedded wife. He felt as if he was in another world as he made the response and listened as Pippa made hers.

Then came the moment Luke had dreaded, because he wasn't sure he could get through it without breaking down.

"I, Luke, take thee, Philippa, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold…to love and to cherish, till death do us part…" His voice shook on the words, but her hand in his kept him safe.

Now it was Pippa's turn.

"I, Philippa, take thee, Luke, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold…to love and to cherish, till death do us part."

When the vicar asked if he had the ring, Luke looked blank. In the agitation, he'd forgotten this part. But Elly was there, offering him her own ring. Then he was slipping it onto Pippa's ringer. "With this ring, I thee wed…"

And she was his wife.

He looked down, hoping to meet her eyes, but Pippa had slipped into unconsciousness again.

"I want to stay with her all the time now," Luke told the doctor. "I won't disturb her, but I want to be with her.''

"All right. Perhaps it'll do her some good, especially if you talk to her."

"Will she hear?"

"It's hard to tell, but we know that hearing is the last sense to go. There are cases of people in a deep coma who awoke and described everything they'd heard. It's not good that she's slipped back like this, and if you talk, it may make all the difference.''

More waiting. Just himself and Josie now, one each side of the bed as the night passed. They took it in turns, one to talk, one to doze, trusting each other for what would happen if Pippa stirred. But the night wore wearily on, and still she didn't come back to them.

In the early hours he leaned over and kissed her while Josie did the same from the other side, but Pippa didn't react. That was the hardest thing, to make no impression on her at all, she who had been as swiftly responsive as quicksilver. It made him want to howl and bang his head against something to cover the fear and despair that were rising in him. But Josie was there, needing him to be strong, so he just smiled and squeezed his daughter's hand.

"Dad, it's like she doesn't know we're here."

"Of course she knows, honey. Remember what the doctor said. She can hear things, even when she's unconscious. Can't you, darling?" He gently brushed Pippa's face. "You know we're here, and you know what we're saying, especially when we say that we love you."

"But how does she know, Daddy?''

"I don't know. It's a mystery, just like love is a mystery. She knows how much we love her, and she can feel that love, wherever she is. And it's making her strong, so that she'll be able to find her way back to us."

"But where is she now?" Josie's eyes were on him, confident that he, too, was strong and wise and could take care of her.

"I'm not sure exactly where she is," he said carefully, "but it's a place where she needs to be until she's well enough to awaken."

"Like a sort of hospital inside?"

"Yes, just like that. She'll wake up when she's ready, and she'll be better. Then we can look after her-you and I, you'll see-" His voice broke.

"Yes, Daddy," Josie said softly, taking his hand.

More hours passed, but nobody was counting them now. Still Pippa lay motionless. Josie's head was on the bed. She wasn't crying openly, but her cheeks were wet, and Luke made a desperate decision.

"Josie," he said urgently, "she moved."

Her head came up. "What?"

"Your mother moved. I felt her squeeze my hand."

"Daddy-she's coming round?"

"Maybe not quite that," he said cautiously. "But she's closer."

"She's not squeezing my hand," Josie said anxiously.

"Be patient. She's there, darling. She's coming back to us."

They took a break to allow the others in. Luke went to stretch his legs and drink some coffee. When he returned, Josie slipped out and he had a precious moment alone with Pippa. Settling himself as close to her as he could get, so that his face was near hers, he murmured, "Darling, I told a terrible lie. I told Josie you squeezed my hand. She was thrilled. But it wasn't true. I didn't feel anything. I don't know if I did the right thing-maybe not-now she's longing for you to squeeze her hand, too, and what will she do if you don't? Please, darling, try. Try hard."

He hunted around for something new to say, but his mind was tired and it fixed on the coffee.

"I've just been drinking some really horrible stuff, from a machine. Why don't the English learn to make coffee? When you're well, we'll teach them together. Then we'll leave for home. You're going to love living in Los Angeles. Josie, too. And think how the restaurants will flourish when the Greatest Cook in the World becomes my partner!

"I've got plans for us. We'll change the name to Luke & Pippa's Place, or Pippa & Luke's Place if you'd rather. Mind you, it's only a matter of time before one of them becomes Josie's Place. I expect she's planning it now. We'll do the show together, but I think we should restrict Josie to one show in six, otherwise the little scene-stealer will take over, and where will that leave us? Darling, it's going to be so marvelous, you and me together, for the rest of our lives. Whatever you want, that's what I want to give you. Always."

His throat was getting dry. He'd already talked so much without getting the feeling she was drawing any nearer to him.

"Please, darling," he begged. "Please."

Pictures and words began to run together in his exhausted mind. Their wedding, Frank giving her away, Elly lending him her ring, Elly reading Pippa's letter with its plea for peace between them for Josie's sake.

Luke sat up straight, calling himself a fool. Six words from the letter stood out in his head: if it should come to that… She'd meant, if she should die.

Pippa hadn't been thinking of what would become of her, but beyond that to the welfare of the one who most needed her protection. Not himself, but

Josie. Everything she'd done had been for Josie. Even, perhaps, marrying him. And she was right.

Now she cared about only one thing, to know that her child would be safe when she was no longer there. Then she could be at peace.

He'd told her how much he longed to give her, but all she wanted was this: to die in peace.

"No!" he said with soft vehemence. "Ask me anything else."

But she had nothing else to ask him.

Whatever you want, that's what I want to give you. His own words seemed to mock him. How easy they had been to say, before he knew the price that would be asked.

"If you-if I-if we lose each other,'' he began haltingly, and stopped. He didn't know how to go on. But suddenly the words came. "I won't ever let you down again. Josie will have a real father, I promise. A good father. As good as I know how to be.

"Fine words, right? And you're thinking, does this idiot really know what he's promising? Of course I don't. But I'll pick it up day by day, with Josie to help me. And you'll help me, too, because I'll have all my memories of you. If I try to raise her to be half the woman her mother is, I won't go far wrong. Neither of us will ever forget you, and I'll never stop loving you, as long as I live."

He looked down at her lying on the pillow and bent to kiss her softly.

"Goodbye, my darling," he whispered.

Josie slipped inside the room. "Has it happened yet, Daddy?" she asked urgently. "Has she squeezed your hand again?"

Dismayed, he realized that he'd forgotten his rash promise. Josie took one of her mother's hands in hers. "Mommy," she appealed, "Daddy said you were coming back."

"Josie," Luke reached for her, "there's something-"

"Daddy!" Josie's shriek was deafening.

"What is it?"

"She did it. She squeezed my hand."

And in the same moment he felt the pressure of Pippa's fingers on his, incredibly strong, like someone who'd been saving her strength for this moment.

"Daddy, look. Her eyes are opening."

"Pippa? Pippa!"

"Hello, Luke. You really were there, all the time?"

"All the time," he said huskily.

He stood back to leave mother and daughter alone. Besides, he needed to be unobserved for a moment, because suddenly his eyes were blurred and his throat ached. Josie hurried out to spread the good news, and he went to kneel by Pippa again.

"I heard you," she whispered.

"Then you know how much I love you, Pippa."

She smiled. "I always wondered."

"How much did you actually hear?"

"A lot, especially at the end."

"I didn't want you to leave, but I thought maybe you had no choice."

"I thought I didn't. But then I heard you, and I knew I couldn't bear to leave you. I never thought you'd make it easy for me."

"I told you I'd do anything you wanted. I was even going to promise to let Frank and Elly be a part of her life. They could teach her all the sensible things I don't know about, at least until I've had a chance to learn them. But I'd much rather you taught me."

Her lips twitched. "I wouldn't dream of it. One of us being sensible is enough. Never change, my darling."

"Never," he promised. "For the rest of our lives.''

"For the rest of our lives."

Josie stood at one of the plate-glass windows at LAX airport, staring at the planes basking in the April sun. She was frowning as though the sight displeased her, which it did. For despite the bustle of activity there was no sign of the plane she wanted.

"I hate it when things are late," she said fretfully.

"Only half an hour, darling," Pippa said, laughing at her daughter's disgusted face.

"But Uncle Frank, Aunt Elly and Sam are only going to be here two weeks, and we've lost half an hour."

"Don't worry, it'll probably be late leaving, too," Luke soothed her. "So it'll work out even."

"I'm going to find out," Josie said. "No, you stay here, Mom. You shouldn't walk any more than you have to."

"Darling, I'm only four months gone. It's not for ages yet."

"Josie's right," Luke said. "We'll all stay here. There'll be another announcement soon."

"Mom, if it's a boy, can we call him George?"

"You want to call your brother after a dog?" Luke demanded.

"He was a nice dog," Josie said defiantly.

"Just the same-"

"Will you two hush?" Pippa said. "I don't want to hear this argument again until he or she is born."

"He," Luke said firmly. "I want a boy."

"You're a male chauvinist whatsit!" Josie informed him.

"No, I'm not," he defended himself. "It's just that I've already got one daughter, and my nerves couldn't stand another." But he kissed the top of her head as he said it.

"I wonder what Sam's like," Josie mused.

"I only know what Elly told me," Pippa told her. "He's eleven years old, they've been fostering him since Christmas, and it's working out very well. Apparently he's quiet and a bit shy, but Elly thinks you'll soon change all that."

"You bet!" Josie confirmed. "I'm going to see what's happening." She bounded away.

Pippa turned to say something to her husband and found him brooding. It was unlike him, and had happened once or twice before, she realized.

"What is it, darling? Worried about the restaurants?"

"Nope. Profits are up. Your Siberian cherries are a big hit. Yesterday somebody congratulated me on my 'brilliant creation.' I came that close to taking the credit."

She chuckled. She believed him.

"And Ritchie's over the moon at the impact you made on the TV program," Luke added.

"So what is it?"

"Just a passing thought."

"A thought? You?" she teased. "Best let it pass, then. You wouldn't know what to do with it."

"You're so clever, Mrs. Danton. Funny how good that sounds. 'Mrs.' It used to sound like a padlock. Now I don't care if they lock the door and throw away the key, as long as I'm on the inside with you and Josie and George."

"So what's on your mind?"

"Just that I wonder how it happened. Or rather why. I've sometimes had this strange feeling that you only married me for Josie's sake."

"Really? Well, it probably does you a lot of good to wonder."

"I thought you'd say that. You might even be right. Keep him on his toes. Let him worry that he's only second best."

"You're forgetting George."

"Third best." He waited for her to deny it.

"Darling," she chuckled, "you really must get out of this habit of thinking joined-up thoughts. You're not used to it, and it's scrambling your brains."

"So?"

"So who says you're third best?"

"Well, you haven't said I'm not," he told her.

"Maybe that's because I can't get a word in edgewise."

He looked at her. She looked at him.

"You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Pippa kissed him tenderly, and smiled.

"Probably not," she said.