"He wouldn't. So, on the off chance that it is Saul's baby, no one will ever know, unless you say something," I said carefully. "But." I stopped so she would listen carefully. "You do need to see Saul, tell him you're pregnant and you just wanted to let him know. See what he says."
"I will. Thanks for that. I didn't even tell Chris yet, I was just too upset with worry."
"Then you need to tell him tonight. We've got some celebrating to do."
I went back to the kids, but didn't tell them the news, figuring if they knew before Chris did and they blabbed before Amber could tell him, then it might bring up some resentful issues. No, I would let Amber tell all of them. I was so happy, that I called Art, wanting to see what he was up to, and wanting to let him know he needed to come home from work as soon as he was done. He had been good lately, he did still have to stay late occasionally, but he always called, and when I called to check on his progress, he answered before it went to voicemail. All good signs, as far as I was concerned. However, this time after he answered, he said he still had one vehicle to get done, so he might be a little late, but not too late. He would call me when he was done and one his way home. On another note, Anne had left the job and was now dating a new guy, so he hardly saw her at all.
I was okay with that, but then I heard what sounded like a female voice just as he hung up the phone, but the line went dead before I could ask who It was. I looked at my watch. It was already almost 4:30 and with the garage usually closing around now and with Anne gone, I wondered who I had heard.
I walked over to Amber, who was now in a much better mood, but didn't want to say anything that might be upsetting, so I just mentioned that I wanted to go to the store and get a cake to celebrate when the boys got home and could she watch the kids for a little while and tell them to get out of the pool at 5, in case I was delayed.
She agreed readily, saying how she wanted as much practice at being a mom as she could get before the baby came. She also told me to hurry up, as Chris was due soon, and she wanted Art and I to be there when she told him the news. I hugged her and said I would get back as soon as I could and would stop by the shop and make sure Art was done as well. Then with a big smile, that I didn't feel, I waved, told at the kids to listen to Aunt Gem, and hurried to the car after getting my pocket book.
On the way there, I was preoccupied with the news and didn't see the cop car until it was too late. He pulled me over for speeding. I was bubbling with excitement and was in such a good mood, that he must have thought I was on drugs or something and asked me if I had been drinking. I laughingly told him that I hadn't and about Amber's news that I just lost track of where I was, and he that he couldn't' ruin the day by giving me a ticket. This one time he had to let me go, and I put a big smile on top of this request. I know, watching him, that he was trying to decide whether I was lying to him, or if I were in such a good mood because it was true. I think that maybe my smile, plus the wink I gave him were enough. I will admit, he was a tough looking cop, but he listened to me quietly, and finally, he said because it was good news, he would just give me a warning. He did say I was familiar to him, and he asked me for my name and phone number, and when I asked why, he said, "I'm letting you out of ticket, and I know your face from somewhere, and now you're going to question my motives?" Okay, I agreed with that, but as I handed the information over to him, he told me it was just a safety device, that if I got into any kind of trouble, he would reconsider.
I thanked him and maybe it was because I was in such a good mood, I kind of said something stupid, like I wished I were single because he was such a great guy, then I carefully headed on my way. Well if I was delayed at Art's shop, I could just say it was because of being stopped by a cop. I didn't lose too much time and carefully pulled into the parking lot of a small shopping plaza across the street from the garage. I could see his car from my spot and that the bay doors were closed. Okay, that meant he was closing up, so I walked up and carefully looked into the bay where one vehicle was up on the jacks, but I couldn't see Art. I thought he might be under the car, so using my emergency key, I entered the waiting area and looked through the small window where customers could watch their car repairs, the same one I had spied on Art and Anne before.
I didn't see anyone waiting, so I walked up to the work window which allowed customers to view their car repair progress and could see no one here either. There were noises though, a piece of metal hitting the ground, and what sounded like grunting, coming from beneath the car. I stood on my toes and looked down, seeing two heads there, Art's with his slowly spreading bald spot and a red head with long hair. Now I knew it might be a guy with long hair, but I wasn't aware of any new employees with this color, and customers weren't allowed in the work pit, so who the hell was this? I grabbed my camera once more and took photo after photo, trying my best to make out a face, but from my angle and the limited space under the car, I simply couldn't tell. I wouldn't have thought anything about it except for that female voice on Art's phone.
I stepped back from the window and tried the door to the work bay, but it was locked and I didn't have a key to this door, so I did the only thing I could, I walked back out and drove to the bakery where I bought a nice cake for Amber. It took a little longer than I liked, but finally I was on my way home, only to have my cell ring. It was Amber, wanting to know how long before I was back. I told her five minutes and then mentioned the cop stopping me.
Well I got home, and to my surprise, Art pulled up as well before I had gotten into the house. I gave him a smile and a wave, but I was bothered by doubt. Still we had a celebration to get ready for, and when Art asked me what he cake was for, I smiled and said, you'll see, wait. Sure enough as we joined Amber and Chris, he was really surprised to see us, but Amber couldn't wait very long and she announced her surprise almost as soon as I walked in with the cake. Well it was a great evening, and the kids were excited, saying they would have a cousin. Not quite, but what the hell.
On Monday as I was finished up at work, my supervisor said there was a phone call for me and it was the police. I was instantly like what happened, but when I took the call, turns out it was the cop who stopped me. He was brief and told me that he ran my record and he was glad to find that I had no prior record. I knew that. So, I asked him why he called me back and then he explained that he was in a bind and supposedly he had a need for someone to accompany him on a date to an awards function and he couldn't find anyone. His wife had been a cop in another town, but they had divorced years back and h3 needed someone to accompany him to this event. I told him this was sudden, and I would need to think about it which he was okay with, as long as I let him know within a couple of days.
That's when the idea hit me. He had run my priors, so he could run others. I told him I needed something as well and gave him the license plate number of the car that was in the shop with my husband Saturday night. He didn't answer for a second, then said he would have to check on this, and I said, "Fine, your answer will probably affect my answer." Then he hung up.
My boss wanted to know what was up, so I just told her about the cop and how he wanted a date. What she asked me then was a shocker. "Does this have anything to do with the auction last month?"
I just smiled and shook my head. "No, not that I'm aware of." But it made me wonder. Maybe this auction was a double-edged sword. He had said, I was familiar. What if he had been at the auction? With my day almost done, I put that thought behind me, and wondered how long it would take for him to get back to me. I didn't have to wait long. I had just reached my house when my cell rang and it was the cop, Doug, who told me that the car belonged to a woman about my age who lived in the same town as Bryan. Her name was Aleisha, and being that I knew how popular Bryan was, I thought I would call him and ask if he knew her. Anyway, Doug said she didn't have a record, but she was someone who seemed to get into issues and used others to get out of them. In fact, though she my age, she had been divorced three times. I asked Doug if there was a photo, and he said no, so it probably was her in the bay with Art, but I couldn't be sure.
Okay, so something was up with Art again. I told Doug I would have an answer for him by tomorrow, I just needed to check one thing, and that thing concerned Chris. I hung up my phone and went over to their house. Amber was working with the kids on a project and Chris was outback studying the porch railing. He saw me approach and said, "I was looking at this railing. It's loose. Can't have that with a kid coming along. What's up?"
