The Ideal Man

THIRTY – ONE

Annie wouldn’t take the test until Ellie arrived.

“What took you so long?”

“It’s nine o’clock,” Ellie said. “And I had to pack and change the sheets and help get everything in the car.”

“Are you riding with Max?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“But didn’t you have a rental car? Isn’t that how you got here?”

“Agent Clark took it last night. He’ll return it to the rental company. Now stop stalling.”

Annie grabbed the pregnancy kits and went into the bathroom down the hall. Ellie waited in her bedroom. She could hear the aunts chatting downstairs. Even with all the commotion, they seemed to be having a good time.

Ellie kept checking the time. Five minutes passed, then five more. No pregnancy test took ten minutes. She knew Annie was getting up her nerve. Just when Ellie was about to go get her, the bedroom door opened, and Annie walked in. She quietly shut the door behind her.

As soon as Ellie saw the smile on her face, she said, “Okay, you’re not pregnant. I know it’s selfish of me, but a tiny part of me was hoping you were.”

“I am pregnant,” she said, and she was smiling about it.

“You’re going to be a great mother,” she whispered.

“And you’ll be a wonderful aunt. Ellie, did you mean it when you said I could live with you? For a little while, anyway?”

“Of course, I meant it, and not just for a little while. I’d love to help raise my niece or nephew.”

Ellie told her what prenatal pills to take and what she could do to help with morning sickness.

“Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”

“Of course,” Annie said. “But not until after the wedding.”

“What about Ava?”

“After her honeymoon. She’ll be there for me, too,” Annie said.

Ellie wasn’t so sure, but she kept her opinion to herself. The bond between twins was different from the bond between mere sisters. Ava used to boast that she and Annie were telepathic, which Ellie thought was ridiculous, but they did have a strange connection as children and could sometimes communicate with each other without speaking. But if they were so alike, how could Annie grow up to be so sweet and Ava such a viper?

“Max is waiting,” Ellie said.

“What about Max? I really like him,” Annie said.

Ellie understood what she wanted to know and decided not to mince words. “I do, too, but…”

“But what?”

“He’s not looking for anything long-term.”

Ellie was walking out the door when Annie said, “One last question and I won’t nag you about him again.”

“Yes?”

“Are you in love with him?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

Her parents walked Ellie and Max to their car. Ellie had lipstick on both cheeks from her aunts’ kisses. They thought they would be seeing her at the wedding, and she didn’t tell them she wouldn’t be back that soon.

Max backed out of the drive, and Ellie watched her parents’ faces as they waved good-bye.

“They look relieved,” she said.

Max had to agree. “They don’t have to worry about Patterson any longer.”

“That’s true, but they also don’t have to worry about me ruining Ava’s wedding.”

“Now that Patterson is out of the picture, how could you ruin it?” he asked. He turned the corner and headed for Highway 169.

“I don’t know. Something would happen, and she’d blame me,” she said. “Max, when we get to St. Louis, will you go back to Honolulu?”

“Yes. I have to get back right away. Are you going to miss me?”

“No, I’ll be too busy.”

Ellie thought she’d handled herself okay. Her voice hadn’t quivered when she’d asked him if he would be leaving, and she thought she’d been very calm and collected after he’d answered. She was getting a little too good at not telling the truth.