Will nervously set the table while waiting for the timer to go off telling him that the jambalaya was ready. He had invited Annie over hoping to impress her with his culinary skills and by the smells emanating from the kitchen he had done his job. Today was the last day of her vacation and she would be leaving in the morning. The thought made him pause for a second realizing how much he was going to miss her. The only up side was that she lived an hour away. They had spent every night of her vacation together stopping at local eateries and getting to know each other. He had learned about her family and the two older brothers who drove her crazy. He had told her about his family in turn leaving out the part that involved a baby that was on the way.
Checking to make sure everything was as it should be, Will made a mental checklist. The salad was ready and the biscuits were on the table folded into a red cloth to hold in the heat. He had set out the bottle of wine that he had picked up from his parent's special collection. The only thing he had left to do was light the candles and wait for his guest. He wished Ronnie wasn't on his mind but she never seemed far away. Tonight she was mocking him with the fact that he made jambalaya; which was her favorite dish.
Will took a quick check around the house making sure he had put all of their pictures away for the night. Their wedding picture, which had been hung in the front entry, had been taken down leaving an empty nail sticking awkwardly out of the wall. Walking past it a few times he realized that it would look odd to leave it there so he grabbed another picture of his parent's hoping she didn't think he was weird having a picture of his parent's at the front door. In total he had put away six pictures of Ronnie and him.
The doorbell rang inciting Will to check his hair and straighten his shirt before opening the door. Annie stood on his doorstep wearing a sea green baby doll dress with her hair swept up on one side. His breath caught in his throat.
"Do you think you could help me," she asked adjusting the four bags on her shoulders.
Will stepped up dropping a quick kiss on her cheek and took three of the bags. "What is all this?"
"This is the dessert I told you I would bring." Will guided her into his kitchen and dropped the bags on the counter. He watched her with great interest trying to assess what she thought of the place. She ran her hand on the countertop and smiled at him.
"I thought you were bringing dessert for us not a whole football team."
"I'm going to make chocolate fondue with all the fixings. I wasn't sure what you like so I bought a little of everything." Annie reached for the closest bag and started pulling out the contents. "Strawberries, banana, angel food, pretzels. Name it and I brought it."
Will traversed the counter and took her in his arms. There had only been one woman who fit in his arms perfectly but Annie was holding her own. He lowered his lips to hers and his hand reached up to cup her cheek. The timer went off announcing that the jambalaya was done and Will pulled her tight against his body giving her a hug. "Dinner is ready," he said huskily.
"Smells good."
When they were done eating Annie made her fondue and brought it out to the porch where they watched the sun set on the horizon. She shivered slightly and Will pulled her onto his lounge chair where he covered her with the blanket he had taken from the couch. "It must be nice living on the beach. It's so peaceful."
"Hmm," he snuggled her against him. "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I was in New York for a while but nothing can compare to this."
"Why were you in New York?"
Will hesitated not wanting to go into all the details. "I went to school there and then I stayed to open up some shops for my dad."
"I'm glad you came back or else I wouldn't have had the chance to meet you."
Will dropped a kiss on her nose and then placed his chin on top of her head. "I'm glad I got to meet you too."
"You know, I have yet to find a flaw with you," Annie said picking up his hand to play with his fingers.
"I didn't know you were looking," Will chuckled.
"There has to be some reason that you are an eligible bachelor. Why aren't you off the market?"
The waves crashed against the shore and seagulls flew around the deserted beach creating the most picturesque scene. It was a beautiful night and he had a beautiful woman in his arms. Was he on the market? Technically, he could have started dating right after the divorce but it hadn't been him who wanted it in the first place, which begs the question, how long should he wait? "I'm not sure I'm on the market," he answered truthfully.
Annie pouted her lips," Do you think I could change your mind?"
"I think you are doing a good job of that already," he hugged her against him. "What about you? Why aren't you taken?"
"I appreciate you being gentlemanly but we don't have to pretend you don't see it," Annie said trying to act serious. "Everyone can see that my second toe is longer than my big toe. How could a man deal with that? It's a real deal breaker."
"I'm glad you said something and I didn't have to," he cringed.
Annie's mouth opened into an oval and he felt a smack on his arm. "Will Blakelee, you are terrible."
"And you're beautiful," he breathed before tilting her chin up and capturing her mouth with his.
The next day Will went to his parent's Sunday brunch with a little more pep in his step. He didn't know why but the sun seemed to shine a little brighter and the bird's song a little sweeter. It felt good to be out of his funk. For the first time in a long time he looked forward to another day.
Nick, his sister's youngest child, came bounding up to him with a jar of worms and held it up for him to see. "See my worms, Uncle Will? Daddy says we are goin fishin." Will knelt down to his level and messed up his hair. Nick never liked when he did it but his little pout could make any man's heart melt.
"Where is you momma," Will asked now towering over the child. "Does she know you are running around the house with worms?" He tried to put on a stern face but he couldn't fault Nick for being excited about spending time with his dad. His father worked a fifty -hour work week and was involved with a sailing team at the Yacht club. The good thing was he made time for his children even if it coincided with a race he was supposed to be in.
"Nicholas, what did I tell you about those worms," Megan asked with a note of exasperation. She looked haggard which struck Will as funny. His prim and proper sister who was always well put together seemed to be falling apart. Her blond hair was sticking up at odd angles because of the new haircut she had and a big splotch on her shirt that looked like dirt. "I'm glad this is so funny to you."
"Did I say anything," he shrugged trying to act innocent. Megan took the worms out of Nick's hands and proceeded out the back door. Will followed close behind noticing the downward cast of Nick's face. He was not happy to let go of his worms. "Don't worry buddy. We'll get you some more worms."
Megan stopped abruptly and glared at Will. "You will not. What has gotten in to you?"
"I met someone," Will grinned.
Megan shoved the jar of worms back into Nick's hands. "Here, take these." Nick accepted the worms with a shout of joy and ran off. "What do you mean you met someone? Do I know her? Why didn't you bring her? Mom, come here."
Will laughed as they both took their seats at the table. He knew his sister would be happy to hear the news. She had tried her hardest to get him to move on but in the end it had happened at the right time. No prodding or pushing could get him to move on when he wasn't ready.
"What is going on," his mother asked.
"Will met someone," Megan beamed seeming even happier than he felt.
His mother, on the other hand, looked as if she swallowed a bug. He watched her slowly sink into her chair. "Well, who is she?"
"Her name is Annie and I met her at Rosette's. She was here on break with two of her friends and we just started talking."
"Have you been out on a date," Megan asked.
"Six, actually. I saw her for dinner every night last week. She likes Chinese food but is really partial to my jambalaya."
Megan's mouth opened into an oval shape. "You cooked for her? That means you took her into the shrine."
Will raised an eyebrow at that hating the fact that she called his house the shrine because he wouldn't take down the pictures of Ronnie. Was it so odd that he didn't want to let go of his wife? "I took down all the pictures while she was there."
"Please tell me you didn't…" his mother questioned not wanting to hear the answer.
"No, of course not. We want to take it slow."
"Which means you are going to see her again." Susan took a long drink of her mimosa. "I don't mean to pry but is this a good time to be starting a relationship? You have a baby on the way, Will. Ronnie is going to need your support."
"Speaking of Ronnie," Megan chimed in. "Annie must be the reason you didn't answer any of her voicemails last week."
"What?" Susan gave him the look that used to make him cower before her when he did something wrong.
"Ronnie decided she was going to move in with me. I will call her tonight to find out when she can fly in or if she needs me to help her move."
"I think it's a good idea for her to move in with you. It's time you two kids put your heads on right. When did people start acting like marriage vows don't matter? She may have been the one to file for the divorce but you should have fought for her."
Will leaned back in his chair admiring the beautiful scenery around him. It was the place he had grown up and where his daughter had been laid to rest. He couldn't blame his mom for being upset. He knew he should have fought for her but now it was to late. Now it was time to move on. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt Ronnie or this baby and I know this is going to be hard on all of us. But I can't pay for this mistake the rest of my life. I need to be able to move on whether that is with Annie or not."
The rest of their brunch went by like it always did with the family huddled around the table enjoying his dad's barbeque. Nick and his dad went out on the water to fish while the woman changed into their bathing suits to suntan. Will excused himself and started walking down the path that led to the family plot.
The gravestones lined up side by side with names of family members Will had known and a few he didn't. He stopped a second in front of his brother's and cleaned of the leaves that were piled on top. It was weird to think that someday he would be right there with him. A while after Emma died he had wished that it were him who had been laid to rest instead of his baby.
On the end was the newest headstone that read Emma Marie Blakelee. Will sat down in front of it and cleaned off the leaves as he had done to the other headstone.
"Hi Emma, it's daddy," Will cleared his throat feeling it closing up on him. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. Mom and I have been going through a hard time. It's not your fault though. Parents sometimes forget that they are stronger together than they are apart." Will wiped away a tear that was rolling down his face. This was the only place he let himself truly feel the pain over losing Emma. "I don't think I've told you but you are going to be a big sister. Mom is going to have the baby in about four months. But you won't have to worry about favoritism you'll always be daddy's girl."
Will put his hand against the cold stone running his fingers over her name. Why couldn't it have been him? Will felt his hands ball into fists before he hit the ground.
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