Daphne chuckled. “I guess we do. Jack’s such an open-hearted man and he loves to show his affection. I’ve got used to it.”
“Did you show up for any reason other than to embarrass us, Mom?” Iris asked.
“Yes, yes I did. Thanks for reminding me. I want to order some baked goods for the Fall Harvest Fair meeting on Thursday.” Her gold curls, threaded lightly with gray, bounced as she looked from one to the other of her daughters. “Embarrassing you both is just one of the joys of being a mother.”
Geoff chuckled but Iris and Marguerite rolled their eyes in unison.
“I’d like three dozen muffins and a dozen lemon bars and a dozen cookies. Assorted, whatever you have.”
Iris grabbed a notepad and scribbled the order. “What time for pickup?”
“Ten in the morning?”
“Sure. I’ll have the stuff ready. Ten on Thursday.”
“Fantastic.”
“Do you want some tea or something, Mom?”
She checked her watch, a silver piece with an enormous face. “Can’t. I’ve got to pick up an order of clay. I’m nearly out. Well, I'll let you two girls get back to whatever you were really talking about when I came in." With a wave she headed back out the way she came. Once she was gone Iris let out a breath. "That freaks me out. I swear she knows everything."
Marguerite nodded. "She always did. Why don't you just tell her?"
Geoff said, “I agree. And why don't you sit down?" He motioned with his hand. "I can put on an apron and man the counter while you two settle down and talk this out." The glance he sent Marguerite suggested that she was supposed to talk Iris into putting her feet up for the next nine months, which she knew, as well as Geoff probably did, was never going to happen.
“Now that Mom’s gone, can I just say, congratulations,” she said to Geoff, opening her arms wide.
His infectious grin was so bright it almost cast a shadow. “You sure can,” he replied and enveloped her in a bear hug.
“I am so happy for both of you.”
Iris nodded. “Thanks. I’ll get our drinks."
Geoff walked around the back of the bakery case and physically pushed Iris out from behind it towards where Marguerite was watching in amusement. "I’ll get it. What do you want, Marguerite?"
She was tempted to walk behind the counter and get their tea herself since she was perfectly capable of operating the fancy barista machine, but she understood that he needed to prove to Iris that he was the kind of man who could make tea. Hopefully, he was also the kind of man who could change a diaper, feed a kid a bottle and whatever mysterious other things new parents had to do, all of which they were going to have to figure out pretty soon. She said, "Whatever kind of green tea there is would be perfect, thank you."
“Now go and sit down,” he ordered.
When the two women had settled at their favorite table in the back by the window, Iris said, "That man is going to turn into a control freak, isn't he?"
"I think he wants you to be healthy," Marguerite said. “He might be a bit overprotective at first while he gets used to the idea.”
“I guess.”
Then she repeated her question from earlier. "Why aren’t you telling Mom? Do you have any idea how thrilled she’ll be? She knows how much you've always wanted a baby.”
Iris ran a hand over her face. “It's so hard to explain. I know how happy she’ll be but this news is so new and Geoff and I have barely had time to take it in ourselves. I'm not ready to tell everybody. I mean, what if something went wrong? Things can go wrong, right?"
She heard the note of anxiety in her sister’s tone and had no idea how to respond. She took a moment before saying, “Of course they can. But, you’re a healthy woman. Why do you think something would go wrong?"
“Because I want this baby so badly. Because if I tell Mom and the rest of the family then it's not a happy secret any more, it's planning baby showers and picking out names and everybody secretly wondering if Geoff and I will get married and—and suddenly it's real and then if it doesn't work out it will be so much bigger a disaster.”
Marguerite reached over and took her sister's hand. Sometimes, she knew, there was no easy answer, no promise she could give that everything would be all right. All she could do was give her silent support. No, not silent. She said, “I will always be there for you. I know there are no guarantees in life but I think it's going to be okay. I do.”
Iris squeezed her hand. "God, I hope so. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this. Well, maybe I wanted Geoff this badly.”
"So, I guess it would be a little early to talk about names? And you know I'm already planning the baby shower in my head."
