Page 51 of That Time in Venice
“Well, you know I have two older brothers who live out of state. I miss them, but they have their own lives. My parents married young and my dad was old-fashioned. He was the no-wife-of-mine-is-going-to-work type of man, and in a perfect world he would have lived forever. But hedidn’t.”
“How didhedie?”
“Brain tumor. His deterioration was gradual, and he didn’t tell us what was happening to him. That was my dad. He worried about us constantly but never took care of himself. He had episodes of slurred speech and dizzy spells before my mother finally caught on and convinced him to go to the doctor. That’s when they discovered thetumor.”
“Damn.”
“We had a few lean years after he passed away. Except for a brief period before she married my father, my mother had never worked, so she had no skills and no job experience. After he died, she took whatever jobs she could, usually working as a maid cleaning other people’s houses or watching the neighbors’ kids, that kind of thing. We made it through with help from family. My brothers got jobs and contributed to the household, and so did I once my mom said it was okay. We still help her out, but a few years ago she got her cosmetology license.” Anika smiled then, recalling how excited her mother had been to finally have a piece of paper that indicated she had a skill. And not only did she have a skill, she could now support herself on her own terms. “She works at a salon, which is the perfect job because if there’s one thing my mother knows how to do, it’slookgood.”
They bothlaughed.
“Like mother like daughter.” Reed gave her a quicksqueeze.
“To some degree. But she did instill in me the importance of being able to take care of myself.” That’s why buying into Davenport Design Studio was so important. It was a way to secure her future, especially if there was no husband downtheline.
Anika snuggled closer to Reed. “It was awfully late for Brielle to be up, wasn’t it? Did she think she heard monsterstonight?”
“No. She hasn’t complained about monsters in weeks, to be honest. I think she just couldn’t sleep because she wasn’t in her own bed. She went into my cousins’ room and told them she wanted to talk to me, so they called.” He ran his fingertips across her shoulder blades. “We had a very interesting conversation aboutbabies.”
Anika grew still. “Babies?”
“She wants a baby brother. My other cousin’s wife, Sophie, stopped by with theirlittleboy.”
“Kids love babies. What did you tell her?” A queasy sensation hovered at the top of herthroat.
“I told her that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. She wasn’t happy, but I think I put her off for a while.” She could hear the smile in hisvoice.
Don’t do it.Don’task.
“How many more do you want?” Anikaasked.
“I haven’t thought about it much, but I guess two more would be nice.” His fingers stilled on her skin. “How many doyouwant?”
“I don’t thinkaboutit.”
“But you want kids?” Something in his voice caught her attention. There was an edge—not quite curiosity—more ofconcern.
And why wouldn’t he be concerned. Society dictated that having children was the norm. The baby watch commenced as soon as a couple got married, and magazines were filled with celebrities and their baby bumps. The message was clear: having children was not only expected, it should becelebrated.
Now was the time to come clean, but Anika wanted to enjoy this moment a little bit longer. She dreaded the change in Reed’s attitude toward her. It wascoming.
Anika shut her eyes. She would tell him, but not right now. So she answered the question with her own brand ofhonesty.
“Yes. I would love to be amother.”
