Houston, We Have a Problem
"What do you think of these?" Jennifer asked as she laid a bridal magazine over Trish's legs while the pair lounged by the pool of the hotel they were staying in for the night.
Trish nodded at the photo in her lap. "They're pretty," she said, examining the tiny rosebud bouquet. "I thought you already had those big, round bouquets, though," she said.
Nodding, Jennifer took the magazine back and considered the picture again. "I do, but this is so cute." She raised her head to look over the water. "I'm thinking of something slightly less dramatic for Keegan's flowers."
As if on cue, her daughter let out a banshee shriek that would put Melina to shame. "DADDY!"
John caught Keegan as Dave tossed her out of the water and through the air a few feet. He dunked her head under the water briefly and then hugged her close when she giggled and slapped his shoulder. "John!"
Trish laughed while Jennifer watched the scene before her unfolding. Since Keegan's release from the hospital a month earlier, Dave had put extra effort into making sure he was home every weekend with his family. John was gone more often, spending a lot of time on the road or at home with Trish. He even begged out of babysitting a few times. And even as everything settled into a comfortable rhythm around them, Jennifer found herself feeling more and more guilty about the secret she was keeping.
"I can't wait until that's our kid," Trish sighed.
"What?" Jennifer asked, whipping her head toward Trish.
Laying back and tilting her head toward the sun, Trish smiled happily. "Seeing John with Keegan just makes me so anxious to find out what our kids are going to look like. I mean, is he going to be as good with ours as he is with yours?"
"Ours?" Jennifer felt her pulse quickening and her throat growing dry. Did Trish know something?
"Keegan?" Turning her head, Trish narrowed her eyes curiously. "Your daughter? Ya know? The one out there in the water?" When Jennifer gripped the arms of her lounger, Trish sat up slightly. "Are you okay?"
Once again, Keegan saved her mother from an uncomfortable moment. "Daddy, I have to pee!" her little voice rang out.
"Keegan, we don't say pee!" Dave laughed as the little girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, come on, Peanut."
Trish stood as Dave was lifting the small child from the pool to set her on the concrete. "I got this one," she offered her hand to Keegan. "I'm headed that way, too."
John and Dave hoisted themselves out of the pool as Trish and Keegan ran off toward the hotel. "I'm gonna grab a beer," Dave announced, grabbing the towel beside Jennifer to wipe his face and chest, dripping on her in the process. "You want anything, man?"
John nodded and sat in Trish's seat, toweling droplets from his own skin as he squinted up at his friend. "Sure. Thanks, man."
With a shrug, Dave leaned over and kissed Jennifer's lips softly. "You want anything, baby?"
She smiled at him, touching his damp face with her palm. God, he is beautiful. "I'm fine. But thank you."
He turned his face and kissed her palm before jogging off toward the bar in the corner of the pool area. He had never been anything but perfect for both herself and Keegan. Dave had never been anything but completely open with her. In three months, they were supposed to pledge their devotion, love, and respect to each other. And she couldn't walk down that aisle knowing she didn't deserve his trust.
"So Keegan's back to her old self, huh?" John asked awkwardly, grasping at some way to fill the awkwardness between them.
"I'm telling Dave the truth," she blurted without thinking, never meeting his eye as she focused on the shimmering pool water in front of her.
John grew quiet for a long moment, trying to figure out exactly what the sinking feeling in his gut was. They had agreed to keep it quiet. It was better that way. He was more than willing to admit that Dave was a great father-figure for Keegan. He had even been keeping his distance to show Jennifer that everything would work itself out.
"I'm getting married in twenty-one days," was all he could think to say.
"I'm telling him when we get home," Jennifer responded, knowing that she had no obligation to tell him her plans, but feeling the same sense of duty that had driven her to introduce him to Keegan's existence five years earlier.
John knew that Dave wouldn't tell Trish - but people would find out. And it would take only hours, maybe minutes, for the truth to get back to his fiancee, whether he said anything or not. "Can I convince you otherwise?" he asked heavily.
Jennifer shook her head sadly. "No."
"Okay then," he sighed, taking a deep breath and resting his head against the back of the lounger, knowing that his life would never be the same again.
They were quiet for another couple of minutes. "John?" Jennifer finally spoke. "Do you ever wish we'd never met up in that bar in Germany?"
"JOHN!" Keegan's voice penetrated the air as her tiny footsteps approached like slaps against the pavement. "Trish says I can be in your wedding, too. Just like I'm gonna be in Mommy and Daddy's!"
Lifting his daughter into his lap with a smile, John answered Jennifer's question. "Not for a second."