race.
“Well, I’m going to join David and let you two girls talk,” Maud announced. “Want me to make some hot cocoa first?”
“No, thanks, Mom,” Carroll said.
“It’s a better night for apricot brandy.”
Carroll winced, but Nancy had already bounced up. She brought a decanter and two glasses back from the kitchen, and poured brandy for both of them. “Everything fine with Alan?”
“Great.” Carroll looked at the orange liquid in the glass Nancy handed to her, then simply set it down.
“You two do anything special on Saturday night?”
“Yes,” Carroll said, and sneezed. “Believe it or not, after dinner we went canoeing on the river.”
“You what? Your Alan?” Nancy pivoted, took a very good look at Carroll and frowned. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not getting sick on us, are you, Caro?”
“I never get sick,” Carroll reminded her.
“Because we’re never going to get through this wedding if you come down with something.” Nancy’s tone rose in increasing alarm. “After two years in Quebec, I’d forgotten how Mom and I fight when we’re in the same house for longer than forty-eight hours. You can’t get sick.”
“I’m not, I’m not.” She sat up and tried to look perky. “Come on, let’s talk about the wedding.”
Nancy shook her head. “We’ve been talking about the wedding all day, every day for two weeks. Let’s talk about your Saturday night date. Better yet, let’s talk about your wedding.”
“He hasn’t asked.”
“A detail.” Nancy dismissively waved that aside with a gesture of her hand. “The important thing is whether you’re sure you want to spend the rest of your life with him.”
“I’m sure,” Carroll said quietly. The room was vaguely spinning, reminding her that weeks ago that was exactly what she’d been worried about, that Alan never made her head spin. He did now. Regularly. Being in love wasn’t unlike having the flu, one minute dizzy-headed, one minute traumatized by despair…in so many ways, Alan bewildered her lately.
He’d changed, and rationally she kept trying to convince herself she should be worried about the reason for those changes. The sportscar made no sense; Alan needed a practical car. She wasn’t all that happy with the idea of living in a barn; his beard left a chafing rash in embarrassing places; squid was never going to be her favorite food. She had no idea what he was going to do next.
Emotionally, though, she didn’t need to know what he was going to do next. Who really cared if the man took up gourmet cooking? He had prepared the dinner especially for her, and that was the point. Affection, respect and trust had always been part of their relationship. The past two weeks, in really talking together, doing all these different things together, those feelings had simply intensified, and love and the strongest of desires had been added to them.
He loved her. Everything he’d done had shown her that. At core, Alan had her heart and, if he ever got around to taking it, her body. A whimsical smile curved her lips. “I’m going to marry that man,” she said firmly.
“Good.”
Heavens, she felt strange. The room really was spinning. “I’m going to marry a man who thinks I love stuffed animals, who serves me cactus paddles for dinner, and who wants to live in a barn,” Carroll said vaguely.
There was a moment’s silence before Nancy bounced up from her chair and came over to feel her forehead. “I thought so. You’ve got a fever.”
“He chased me around a medical conference. I don’t know if you can understand the monumental difficulties involved in chasing anyone around a medical conference…”
“I’m getting you an aspirin. Immediately.”
“He sat there for three hours, bored absolutely stiff, and practiced all those s’ s and l’ s.”
“Skip the aspirin. I’m calling Mother,” Nancy said firmly.
“Don’t go,” warbled the frail voice. The five-year-old
“Well, I’m going to join David and let you two girls talk,” Maud announced. “Want me to make some hot cocoa first?”
“No, thanks, Mom,” Carroll said.
“It’s a better night for apricot brandy.”
Carroll winced, but Nancy had already bounced up. She brought a decanter and two glasses back from the kitchen, and poured brandy for both of them. “Everything fine with Alan?”
“Great.” Carroll looked at the orange liquid in the glass Nancy handed to her, then simply set it down.
“You two do anything special on Saturday night?”
“Yes,” Carroll said, and sneezed. “Believe it or not, after dinner we went canoeing on the river.”
“You what? Your Alan?” Nancy pivoted, took a very good look at Carroll and frowned. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not getting sick on us, are you, Caro?”
“I never get sick,” Carroll reminded her.
“Because we’re never going to get through this wedding if you come down with something.” Nancy’s tone rose in increasing alarm. “After two years in Quebec, I’d forgotten how Mom and I fight when we’re in the same house for longer than forty-eight hours. You can’t get sick.”
“I’m not, I’m not.” She sat up and tried to look perky. “Come on, let’s talk about the wedding.”
Nancy shook her head. “We’ve been talking about the wedding all day, every day for two weeks. Let’s talk about your Saturday night date. Better yet, let’s talk about your wedding.”
“He hasn’t asked.”
“A detail.” Nancy dismissively waved that aside with a gesture of her hand. “The important thing is whether you’re sure you want to spend the rest of your life with him.”
“I’m sure,” Carroll said quietly. The room was vaguely spinning, reminding her that weeks ago that was exactly what she’d been worried about, that Alan never made her head spin. He did now. Regularly. Being in love wasn’t unlike having the flu, one minute dizzy-headed, one minute traumatized by despair…in so many ways, Alan bewildered her lately.
He’d changed, and rationally she kept trying to convince herself she should be worried about the reason for those changes. The sportscar made no sense; Alan needed a practical car. She wasn’t all that happy with the idea of living in a barn; his beard left a chafing rash in embarrassing places; squid was never going to be her favorite food. She had no idea what he was going to do next.
Emotionally, though, she didn’t need to know what he was going to do next. Who really cared if the man took up gourmet cooking? He had prepared the dinner especially for her, and that was the point. Affection, respect and trust had always been part of their relationship. The past two weeks, in really talking together, doing all these different things together, those feelings had simply intensified, and love and the strongest of desires had been added to them.
He loved her. Everything he’d done had shown her that. At core, Alan had her heart and, if he ever got around to taking it, her body. A whimsical smile curved her lips. “I’m going to marry that man,” she said firmly.
“Good.”
Heavens, she felt strange. The room really was spinning. “I’m going to marry a man who thinks I love stuffed animals, who serves me cactus paddles for dinner, and who wants to live in a barn,” Carroll said vaguely.
There was a moment’s silence before Nancy bounced up from her chair and came over to feel her forehead. “I thought so. You’ve got a fever.”
“He chased me around a medical conference. I don’t know if you can understand the monumental difficulties involved in chasing anyone around a medical conference…”
“I’m getting you an aspirin. Immediately.”
“He sat there for three hours, bored absolutely stiff, and practiced all those s’ s and l’ s.”
“Skip the aspirin. I’m calling Mother,” Nancy said firmly.
“Don’t go,” warbled the frail voice. The five-year-old
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