The next day, when Brenda was released from the hospital, Jerome brought her to his house. "Everything I own is still in my apartment," she protested when they got out of his car in his driveway.
"Not everything," Jerome replied. "I took your keys with me and got Emery to help me move a few things. You're not getting out of it, Brenna. I want you with me so I can take care of you."
"I'm not sure I like the idea of you going through my things without telling me," Brenna said.
"I know, and I wouldn't have done it under normal circumstances. But you were in the hospital, you were sleeping, and I wanted to get things ready for you to come to my place. I took the day off from work to try to make everything good for you."
"You took time off? Jerome, you didn't have to do that."
"I know, but it was worth it." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you, and I want you to be comfortable here. I know you weren't planning to stay here quite yet, but it's time. I can't let anything happen to you or our baby."
"I know. That's what I love about you. I know you'll take care of me."
Jerome escorted Brenna into the house and settled her onto the couch. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?" he asked.
"I'd love some apple juice if you have any."
"I don't, but I can make a run to the store. Tell you what." He got a pencil and pad of paper from his desk. "Make a list of anything you want, and I'll go pick it up. And no fair holding back on listing things because you think they might cost too much or anything like that. You write down anything you want."
"Are you sure?"
"This is your home now, Brenna. You should have what you want here."
She smiled. "All right."
Within a few minutes, she'd covered one side of the paper with items she wanted. "I don't expect you to get everything," she said. "It's more of a wish list. I put stars by the things I really need."
"Your wish is my command, and your wish list shall be fulfilled."
Brenna laughed, a sound that warmed Jerome's heart. After the fear the day before that she might have lost their baby, he needed to hear her laughter. Thank goodness the baby was all right, but the pregnancy, only several weeks along, was already developing complications. "All right, but don't spend all your money on me," Brenna said. "Remember, we need to save for the baby."
"That little one is going to be spoiled rotten," Jerome said. "I'm fifty years old. That's old enough to be a grandfather, but I'm thrilled to be a father again, and I'm going to give our son everything he could ever think of."
"Son or daughter," Brenna corrected. She reached out her hand, and Jerome took it. "I couldn't believe how beautiful the baby's heartbeat looked on the ultrasound yesterday," Brenna said. "It makes it seem real. There's a real, living little being inside me, and in a few more months, he or she will be with us."
"It's like a miracle," Jerome agreed. "Just like you."
"I'm not a miracle, Jerome."
"To me, you are. After Lena left me, I was the walking dead. You gave me my life back. You gave me someone to love."
"You did the same for me." Brenna squeezed his hand. "I don't know how I was so lucky to find you, Jerome, but I'm glad I did. And I still can't believe we're getting married."
"I would marry you even if you weren't having my baby. I love you."
"I love you too."
Jerome kissed her on the forehead and stood. "I'm going to the store now. I'll be back soon. Make yourself at home, but don't be on your feet too much."
"I'll be fine."
The store was crowded with end-of-the-workday shoppers, but Jerome had shopped there for over two decades and was able to navigate easily through the other shoppers. That was, until he heard a voice say, "Jerome?"
It was the last voice he'd expected to hear. As far as he'd known, Lena had moved to another town to be with her lover, the man she'd been seeing for six months before she finally told Jerome about it. So what was she doing at this neighborhood grocery store? Jerome took a deep breath and turned to face her. "Hello, Lena."
"I thought that was you." As though she wouldn't recognize the man she'd been with for thirty years. She scanned Jerome's cart. "Interesting assortment of things there."
"Some are for me, and some are for my fiancée." Jerome heard the pride in his voice on the last word.
"Ah, yes. Gillian called and told me about the young woman you're marrying. She's quite a bit younger than you, isn't she?"
"She's thirty-five." It didn't surprise Jerome much that his oldest child had gone running to her mother about his engagement. Gillian had ranted at him about Brenna, and when she'd invited Jerome and Brenna to dinner to supposedly mend fences, she'd insulted Brenna so badly that Brenna had refused to stay. "That's fifteen years younger, so I suppose you could say quite a bit. But we get along well, and that's all that matters."
"Gillian also tells me the woman's expecting."
"Yes. She's a couple months along."
"You certainly haven't wasted any time moving on, have you?"
Jerome couldn't hold back his anger. "That's quite a comment coming from the woman who shattered her marriage vows for six months by screwing around. You don't have any right to judge me or Brenna."
"I'm not judging you."
"Well, it sounds it to me. I wish I could say it was nice seeing you, Lena, but it wasn't. Good luck with your life and your lover."
"I'm not with him anymore. It didn't last."
Jerome felt a savage rush of satisfaction at that news. It served Lena right; she never should have cheated on him in the first place, let alone left him for the other man. She'd gotten what she deserved. But he managed an almost-gracious, "Sorry to hear that. Good luck with whatever your plans are, then." He pushed his cart past her and didn't look back.
Despite that, Jerome was shaken by the encounter. He'd planned on never seeing Lena again, and even though he was angry, he felt some compassion for her. She'd been convinced when she left that she was going on to something better, and apparently that hadn't been the case. She might have done it to herself, but Jerome was sorry for her.
When he got home, his son Emery's car was parked outside. Jerome went in and found Emery in the kitchen, cooking eggs. "Thought I'd stop by and see how things were going," Emery said. "And Brenna said she was hungry."
"I went to the store to get her some things to eat." Jerome hefted the grocery bags onto the counter. "Thanks for taking over."
"No problem. I'm glad she's doing better and that the baby's all right."
"Not as glad as we are, I guarantee."
Jerome started putting away the groceries while Emery continued to cook. "The store must have been crowded," Emery said.
"Yeah. There was at least one too many people."
"What do you mean?"
"I ran into your mother."
Emery turned to look at him. "That must have been awkward."
"To say the least, especially since your sister evidently got hold of her."
