Cedric stared at the five enormous cases she’d brought with her. His Aunt tended to overpack, but this was ridiculous. “Um, how long were you planning on staying?”
“Well, until the baby is born, of course! Did you think I would miss the birth of your first child?”
Cedric cringed, and Anna couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she watched him lead his Aunt to her room.
___________
The following day, Anna walked slowly through the garden, stopping here and there to inhale a bloom, the sun warming her skin. She tried to convince herself she was just out there enjoying the weather when the truth was, she was hiding. She didn’t want to run into Cedric’s Aunt, and she had no idea why. The woman didn’t seem mean at all. In fact she was extremely nice, but the truth was that she didn’t have a clue what to say to the woman.
“Anna!”
Anna turned to see Diana Mortimer gliding toward her down the path, arm waving wildly. Anna cursed under her breath. She couldn’t exactly outrun her. She had no choice but to stop and wait.
“Juliet said I would probably find you out here,” she said breathlessly as she caught up.
Anna would have to remember to thank Juliet. Maybe with a garter snake in her bed.
“It is okay if I call you Anna, dear?”
“Of course,” Anna told her. She was surprised she would even ask.
“Good, and you can call me Diana. Phew!” Diana waved a hand in front of her face. “It is warm out here, isn’t it?”
If she was overheated, it didn’t show.
She looked cool and dry in her rose colored blouse and white slacks. Anna doubted people like Cedric’s Aunt even had sweat glands.
“It is warm,” Anna agreed, knowing she probably hadn’t come out here to talk about the weather. There was more coming. Just smile and make nice and agree with everything she says. Grovel if necessary, she told herself. They walked slowly, side by side. Well, Anna waddled and Diana glided.
“I recall being hot all the time when I was pregnant with my son. And sick, right up until the day he was born. That’s why I never had more children.” She waved her hand, as if she could swat the unpleasant thought away like a pesky bug. “I had him late too, but it didn’t matter because I spent a lot of time with Cedric when he was growing up. I’ve always wanted Cedric to have a family of his own. Because he felt lonely growing up even if he won’t admit it. His mother was gone far too much, and his father…. Well, I don’t know how much he has told you, but they didn’t really get along.”
Anna hadn’t wanted a family either, until she married Cedric and got pregnant, and suddenly everything changed. Maybe she’d always wanted one but never admitted it to herself due to the way she’d been raised. Maybe Somewhere deep down, as often as she denied it, she had wanted the fairy tale. The happily ever after. Cedric had told her that he wanted a family when he’d been apologizing to her, but now he seemed to have accepted that they would be apart after the baby arrived, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.
“I only hope that you both remain very happy together. He’s a good man, Anna.” Diana continued,
“I know he is.” Anna replied. If she didn’t know any better, she would think Cedric’s Aunt knew everything about the way their marriage had begun. Did she? Cedric had never mentioned that she did, and she didn’t want to be the first to bring it up with his Aunt.
“He might not look like it, but life has been terribly difficult for him since his childhood,” she went on. “Especially with his relationship with his family. You might not realize this, but your being with him has helped him. I can see it and I’m very glad that you are here. He looks so happy.”
Did he? Anna swallowed hard. “I take it you two have…talked.” She said.
“Yes, we’ve talked. We talked actually… Before you two got married. About the inheritance. He explained the situation, and I encouraged him to go for it at the time not just for the inheritance, but because I knew that it would be good for him. He needed a family, and he was quite convinced that he didn’t at the time.”
“You didn’t agree?”
She laughed. “Heavens, no! I thought he was just being an ass, but I knew if I spoke to him about marriage, I would get a No from him, so when the issue of inheritance came up, I took the opportunity to give him the push he needed, and I was right. Cedric is like a son to me, and that makes it my grandbaby you’re carrying. That makes you a part of this family, and I’m happy to see things working out so well between the both of you.”
Tears burned behind Anna’s eyes. She’d never expected Cedric’s Aunt to be so sweet and accepting. “I guess I thought…well, I thought you…”
She stopped abruptly and took Anna firmly by the shoulders. “I know you’ve both had issues. Cedric told me, but honestly I’m not surprised. You both barely knew anything about one another before you got married so there was bound to be problems, but dear, let’s get something straight,” She let out a long, exasperated sigh, laying a hand gently across Anna’s belly. “If I live to be two hundred, I will never understand men and their ways… Or their egos. My son tells me I can never see my grandchild and thinks I’m just going to nod and agree. I think he’s following in Cedric’s footsteps, but I hope if that’s the case, one day he’ll look at what you and Cedric have and make the right choice, so please, I know you’ve decided to… End it after the baby comes, but I sincerely hope that you reconsider. Cedric needs you,”
Anna looked away. Guess Cedric really did tell his Aunt everything, she thought, and she was mad at him. He’d made her the villain in the story, when he was the one who had pushed her into making that decision in the first place.