It was now early December and the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season was well under way. Mary and Andy were celebrating their first anniversary. The last year had been bittersweet for Mary. While she missed Lexi terribly, her marriage was more than she had hoped for. Despite the initial ups and downs of the first year of marriage and learning to live together things were going well and it was about to get even better. Thing at work were going well too. Mary had taken over more of the responsibilities of producing the news and Lou, in his characteristic style, had to grudgingly admit she was damn good on her own. Since their anniversary was on Sunday, they went out to dinner and dancing Saturday night. It was after one o'clock in the morning when they finally got home. They had exchanged gifts earlier in the day. She had given him a beautiful set of cufflinks he had been admiring and he gave her a stunning diamond necklace. Andy unlocked the door and let them in.
"That was a wonderful evening." Mary said as he helped her off with her coat, "And you've got quite the moves Mr. Rivers." She said turning to face him she wrapped her arms around his neck
"Well, I think my date had something to do with it." He pulled her close kissing her long and deep, "I had to keep up with you."
She smiled, "Honey, are you as tired as I am?"
He laughed a little, "Yeah, but I don't feel like sleeping."
"Why don't you fix a drink?" She said, "I'm going to get comfortable."
"Alright." He said walking into the living room over to the bar, "You want a brandy?"
"No, just club soda." She said, "That meal is sitting on my stomach like a brick."
"That's what you get for getting Italian food at a restaurant instead of homemade." He told her. He thought it strange she hadn't had a drink all night
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She said as she walked back to the bedroom
He poured their drinks and sat down on the couch. Mary came out a few minutes later in the black negligee she had worn on their wedding night, holding a small box in her hand. She took a seat next to him and handed him the box.
"Happy Anniversary, Darling." She said smiling
"Honey, you already gave me those cufflinks and they were way too much." He told her
"Well, I know but this is the real gift." She said mysteriously, "Go ahead. Open it."
He gave her a puzzled look but did as she said. He opened the box to find a small silver rattle, "Cute… I think." Maybe the alcohol and fatigue were keeping him from realizing what it was for.
"Read the card." She said
He noticed a small notecard folded over and picked it up. It read 'Mission Accomplished'. He finally realized and looked at her with a huge smile on his face, "You mean you're…we're?"
"Congratulations, Daddy." She said beaming
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her slowly, "You have no idea now happy you've made me."
"I think I have an idea." She said
He couldn't stop smiling, "When did you find out?"
"A couple of days ago, but I wanted to surprised you on our anniversary." She looked at her watch "and since it's after midnight, it is our actual anniversary."
He had a million questions, "When are you due? Are you okay? Should you have danced like that tonight?"
She smiled at his enthusiasm and concern, "Slow down. It looks like early July so about eight weeks." She informed him, "And I'm fine and a little dancing isn't going to hurt me right now. You forget I've been through this before."
It was the first reference to Lexi she had made in a while, "I know you still miss her."
"I know it may be strange but I do." Mary admitted
"Strange? Honey, she's your daughter. You got a taste of knowing her and then it was taken away. I'd feel the same way."
"But don't you see, Andy? She's not really mine." Mary explained, "She doesn't belong to me."
"She sought you out and you were forging some kind of relationship." He pointed out
"Maybe, but the day I gave her away I lost any claim to her. Her parents are doing what they think is right. I feel so lucky that I got to spend the time with her that I did. I know she's okay and she's had a good life. That's more than I thought I would ever know."
"Is that really enough now?" He asked
She looked at him, her eyes slightly moist, "It has to be."
He pulled her into his arms, "Baby, I'm so sorry. When we started talking about having a baby right away, even before the wedding, I didn't expect things to turn out like this with Lexi. Maybe we should have waited."
She pulled back and looked at him, "Oh, Andy, no. I'm happier than I have ever been. I didn't mean for my comment to seem otherwise. I can't wait to hold our son or daughter in my arms. But right now all I want is to go to bed."
He smiled, "Me too." He said and they stood up. He gently slid his hand over her abdomen, "July huh?"
She put her hand over his pressing it closer to her abdomen, "Yeah."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I love you so much."
"Yeah, you say that now." She told him, "Just wait until I'm all fat and hormonal with swollen ankles."
THE NEXT EVENING
To celebrate the good news and their anniversary Mary's parents took them out to dinner. They had decided to wait a few weeks to tell anyone else just to make sure everything was okay. They ate at Chez Nous and Mary quickly realized rich French food would have to be a rarity for her.
"Are you sure you're alright, Honey?" Andy asked. He didn't want to overreact, he knew some things were just a normal part of pregnancy but he worried none the less even if she may know what to expect
She smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine, some club soda should help."
"You better stock up on it right now, Son." Walter said to Andy, "This one drank enough to fill an ocean when she was pregnant." He said gesturing to Dottie
"I think I did too." Mary said without thinking but remembering her first pregnancy was almost unavoidable
There was an uncomfortable silence then Dottie tried to steer the conversation in a different direction, "I saw the most beautiful material, Mary, for the new drapes I want to have made for the living room."
"Here's your club soda, Ma'am." The waiter approached and put the glass on the table
"Thank you." She said taking a sip, "Did you buy it yet?" She asked her mother
"No, not yet, I'm always afraid I'll buy it and then see something I like even better." Dottie said
"Which means she'll never actually pick out anything." Walter said
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later that night Mary was reading in bed when Andy came in from the bathroom. He slid in bed beside her.
"Are you feeling any better?" He asked
She looked up from her book and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much."
He moved closer to her and gently slid his hand over her abdomen again, "I can't help it."
"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn to live with a kind, attentive, supportive husband." She said leaning in to kiss him, "I mean we all have to make sacrifices in life."
"Hmm." He mumbled, "It is for a good cause."
They turned out the lights and Mary drifted into what began as a peaceful slumber but soon the visions began. She was right back where she had been and Nick's words rang in her ears
You little tramp….handle it yourself
She woke up with a start in a cold sweat, "No!"
Andy woke up and sat up next to her, "Hey, what's wrong?" He put an arm around her
Her breathing was rapid and shallow, "Nothing, sweetie, just a dream, probably all the hormones."
He rubbed her back, "You want some warm milk to help you sleep?"
"Ugh, I hate warm milk." She said
He pulled her into his arms and laid back down, "You want to tell me about it?"
"I don't think I can." She said. She didn't want to tell him she'd had a flashback. It would worry him too much
"You can tell me anything." He assured her
She knew he was right. She had to trust him to understand. He had been wonderful about everything so far, "I had a flashback, Andy, to when I told Nick about Lexi. But I'm sure it's just hormones."
He pulled her closer, "How long has this been going on?"
"Oh, just tonight." She assured him
"I don't want you going through this the entire pregnancy. You can't let these memories start eating you up again and I want you to remember that I'm not Nick."
She pulled away again and looked at him, "Believe me, I know you're not." She kissed him, "I love you."
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Spring was in full bloom and so was Mary. She had just reached twenty four weeks and her hormones and emotions were unpredictable at best but she was healthy and feeling good. It was Saturday night and she and Andy were settling in to watch a movie, once they found one they could agree on among the limited choices on the TV. She was in the kitchen getting popcorn ready when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it, Babe." Andy said getting up off the couch. He opened the door to find Bess and he date for the junior/senior prom, "Hey Bess, I thought you'd already be partying the night away."
"We're on our way but wanted to stop by and see you and Aunt Mary." She explained, "Oh, this is my date, Jason Foster. "
Andy shook Jason's hand, "Nice to meet you Jason, I'm Andy." He said, "Mary, Bess is here."
Mary came down the hall from the kitchen, "Bess, honey, don't you look beautiful." She hugged her
"Thanks, Aunt Mary." She said, "This is my date Jason."
Mary extended her hand, "It's nice to meet you Jason."
"You, too, Mrs. Rivers." Jason said politely
"Well, can you come in for minute?" Mary asked
"Actually, Aunt Mary, there's someone else who wants to see you." Bess explained and she and Jason stepped away from the door and Lexi and her date appeared in their place
"Hi, Mary." Lexi said smiling
Mary immediately pulled her into a hug, "Oh, my goodness, is it good to see you."
Lexi pulled back, "I've missed you." She said, "Oh, this is my date Brian Parker."
"Hi, Brian, I've heard a lot about you…from Bess." Bess had been keeping Mary informed on how Lexi was doing over the past year
"I know. Lexi told me who you are." Brian said, "It's really nice to meet you."
"Can you come in for a minute?" She asked
"Lexi, we'll wait in the car, it's okay." Bess told her and she and Jason headed to the car
Mary shut the door behind them, "Brian, do you mind if I steal your date for a minute?" She asked, "I need to talk to Lexi alone."
"Sure." Brian said
"Brian, why don't you and I sit in the living room?" Andy suggested, "This might take a while."
"Very funny. " Mary said, "Come on Lexi, let's go in the bedroom." She led her down the hall to the bedroom and shut the door. They sat together on the bed
"I'm afraid to ask but, do your parents know you're here?" Mary asked her
Lexi looked down, "No, and I don't care."
"Honey, you know that I'm glad to see you but I don't want you disobeying them."
"Well, how will they know?"
"That's not the point." Mary told her, "You shouldn't lie to them."
"I can't help it if Bess decided to come see you after she picked me up." Lexi rationalized
Mary turned to look her in the eye, "Well, I guess what's done is done and I can't say I'm not glad you did it." She didn't want to spend this little bit of time scolding her, "So this Brian, he's pretty special huh?"
"Yeah, he's really nice. He wants to be sports caster just like Andy." She told her
Mary laughed, "Well, Lexi I gotta warn you, sportscasters are nothing but trouble." She joked, "I mean look at the mess I'm in." She patted her rounded abdomen
"Yeah, Bess told me. Congratulations." Lexi said, "I guess Andy is hoping for a boy, huh?"
"Probably, at least he would have someone to watch sports with who might actually like it."
Lexi smiled, "I'm sure Brian would love to come over and watch games with him."
"Honey, all joking aside. I know you're mom has probably already talked to you but don't let yourself get caught up in a relationship so young. You've got so much going for you."
"I know." Lexi said, "I promise."
"Good." Mary said looking at her watch, "Well, you better get going. I'm so glad you stopped by but promise me you won't lie to your parents again."
"I won't. I just wanted to see you."