Chapter 51
They sat down at the dining room table and as Tom carried in plates of scrambled eggs, sausage and toast they heard a door open, saw AJ come out of his bedroom, take one look at them and go down the hall to the study closing the door behind him. With a sad sigh Tom placed the plates in front of them and went back to the kitchen for his own and scraping the fourth plate of food back into the pan that was still on the stove.
"Do you need help packing?" Miranda asked as Tom sat down at the table.
"No, I did it last night," Francesca told her pushing her food around on her plate and not really eating it.
"Cesca, you need to eat," Tom told her placing a hand on hers that was just moving her food around.
"I'm really not very hungry," she told him reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handful of jelly beans.
Tom stopped her before she could eat them saying, "You need real food Cesca."
"I'm not a child Thomas, I will eat what I like," she said popping the jelly beans in her mouth and getting up from the table.
As she headed toward the guest room Tom got up to follow her when Miranda laid a hand on his arm to stop him. "Tom, one thing you should learn about pregnant women right now is that they are very emotional and at times unreasonable."
Tom turned to look at her with an indulgent smile and said, "That is different from non-pregnant women how?"
Miranda glared and said, "Behave!"
"I am..." Tom replied, "I'm just behaving 'badly'."
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head Miranda turned back to the table to clean up the breakfast mess. Finding that there was still more food in the kitchen that Tom had meant for AJ, she fixed him a plate, warmed it in the microwave and took it and a cup of coffee to AJ in the study. Awkwardly opening the door because her hands were full Miranda entered the study.
She found AJ standing at the window with his hands linked behind his back looking out. Sitting the food and coffee down on the desk she walked over to him at the window. Seeing the snow plow clearing the street she didn't know if AJ was watching that or just lost in thought. He looked so far away. She stepped between him and the window and wrapping her arms around him she laid her head on his chest. "Darling, Francesca is planning on moving in with Tom today. You should come out and say good-bye."
"She knows where I am and how to open doors that aren't locked. If she wants to say good-bye she can come in here."
With a heavy sigh Miranda said, "Then will you at least eat the breakfast I brought for you?"
"All I want is coffee, but I can wait for that until Tom is out of the house."
"I brought you coffee too, AJ. You can't go through the rest of your life ignoring him. He's going to be our son-in-law and the father of our grandchild. Unless you're planning on cutting Francesca and the baby out of your life too, you will have to forgive him."
"That will never happen."
"Then you're going to lose more than your best friend, darling," she said, then stood on tip toes, kissed his cheek and left the room.
Tom put Francesca's luggage into him truck while she walked down the hall to her father's study, knocking on the door she told him, "Papa, it's Francesca," when he asked 'Who is it?'
"Come on in."
Francesca entered the room to find AJ staring out the window. He turned to see her with her coat over her arm, "Papa, I want you to know that I love you very much. I am sorry that Thomas and I hurt you, but one day you will have to realize that I am a woman as well as your daughter."
"I love you too daughter, but I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive the betrayal that you and Tom showed me."
"Is it betrayal to fall in love?"
"You can't be in love with a man old enough to be your father."
To be continued…
