Chapter thirty-seven
Jack
Lina:Plan’s changed. Maggie is exhausted, so I’m bringing her to my place for some cheese and crackers. Want to pick her up here so she doesn’t see the house?
Jack:Yes. I’ll be there soon.
***
“Oh, Mike! Be careful lifting that all by yourself.” Mike’s slight groan at lifting the side of a table caused his careful wife to scold him, and Alvita’s warning tone stretched across the length of the house.
“Don’t you worry, Vita. I’m perfectly capable of lifting this all on my own.” He struggled to lift the one side without scratching the wood floors. I hurried over to lift the opposite side of the table, aiding him as we moved it behind the couch. This was where several photos and memorabilia of Maggie’s would be displayed.
I had never planned anything like this in my life. Sure, I could organize seventy horses by their grain, mallet size,temperament, and age without looking at a single document, but planning a birthday party slash life-changing event was a little out of my league. I had already been in contact with the caterers, chair rental company, florist, and my life-savers, Mike, Alvita, and Lina, several times today. If this was anything close to what a blown-out wedding would be like, I was glad Maggie and I hadn’t gone through with anything before coming out here. A fake marriage felt much easier to pull off than actually performing the act of matrimony. Butfakewouldn’t be her memory of our marriage for long.
“Thanks, bud.” Mike clapped my shoulder as he walked toward the refrigerator. “It was just an off day today. I used up most of my strength in the game this morning.”
Alvita chuckled softly and shook her head while she unfolded the white tablecloths that had just arrived. “Such a macho man.”
I couldn’t help but let a wave of relief and calmness fall over me in their presence. I never had this parental dynamic growing up. Alvita was the loving surrogate mother I never thought I needed in my twenties, and, while Mike was technically my client, he was an excellent stand-in father figure to substitute for my long-distance father. The way they bantered with each other…it made me hopeful for Maggie and me’s marriage. One that I could only hope she would let last forever. I wanted her to tease me about being a macho man when I couldn’t admit I was aging with my body. I wanted to take care of the puppy she swore she would watch over all the time, but forgot about as soon as horses came to mind. I wanted to sit on a porch swing with her and gaze out into the yard where our kids played tag with the dogs, the horses grazing in the background.
I wanted my entire life with Maggie.
“Jack!” Alvita called a few steps away, breaking me out of my fantasy future. I whipped my head in the direction of her voice. “The doorbell rang. Twice.”
“Oh,” I shook my head to clear the fog and started toward the front door.
She smiled. “Excited, are we?”
“More than you know.”
The door swung open before me, revealing the two men I didn’t think I could get out here on such short notice between the Pennsylvania and Florida polo seasons. I grinned at their timely arrival.
“Jack, boy, it’s good to see you.” I was pulled into a hug by the family I missed most in my absence, comforted by his familiarity.
“You, too, Dad.” I stepped back. “I’m so glad you guys made it.”
Richard Rynne smiled and shook my hand. “Thank you for inviting us out here for this.”
I nodded. “Of course. You both missed the fake one. I wasn’t going to let you miss the real thing.”
My dad perked up. “So, does she know?”
“Which part?” I asked.
Maybe a surprise birthday party was predictable, but nothing else I had planned would ever cross Maggie’s mind.
I smirked. “Because she doesn’t suspect a thing.”
***
I arrived at Lina’s cottage promptly at five, glad she had taken Maggie back to rest for a while. It was going to be a long, tiring night, and I wanted her fully alert for tonight’s events. She had a pretty high social battery, but as her pregnancy progressed, she opted for earlier bedtimes and shorter times outside the house.
Knocking at the door with a dress in hand, per Lina’s instructions, I waited in the cool air, a chill descending my spine. I hoped it wouldn’t be too cold for the guests to spend part oftheir night outside. Lina opened the door with a smile, turning her head to look at my breathtaking future wife, who sat on the couch with a steaming mug between her palms. God, she was so beautiful. Her dark hair flowed freely in loose waves across her shoulders. Those emerald eyes gleamed even brighter with the sun reflecting off them through the windows. Her plump bottom lip caught between her teeth as she gazed at me in confusion. How lucky was I to have this woman for the rest of my days?
“Jack? What are you doing here?”
I held out the dress in my arms and pointed toward the hallway, where I assumed the bathroom was. “Picking you up for your birthday dinner,” I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Go change, beautiful. We have a reservation at Minolo’s.”
