The Green Lace Corset, стр. 65
They laughed loudly. The couple at the next table turned around and glared at them. The sommelier brought the ice bucket, popped the cork with a flourish, and poured champagne into each flute.
Sergio clinked his glass with Anne’s. “To her.”
They each took a sip. The bubbles popped in Anne’s nose.
“How about Bella, after your sister?” Anne ate a roll.
Sergio studied the menu. “Maybe.”
“How about Prudence, after my cousin Pootie, or Trudy, after Aunt Tootie?”
“Oh, sure.” He kept studying the menu.
“Princess Genevieve Labrador?” Anne offered.
“We’re naming a girl, not a dog.”
Their waiter came over.
Sergio began, “We’ll each have a gem salad. She’ll have the halibut, and I’ll have short ribs.” He tilted down the menu. “Do you want oysters?”
“They’re off-limits for pregnant women.”
“Really?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Chocolate panna cotta?”
She smiled seductively. A pregnant woman’s libido was supposed to increase in the third trimester. She wasn’t quite there yet, but still . . .
“Okay. Chocolate it is. That’ll be all,” he told the waiter. “How about a chef’s name? Wolfgang?”
“Like you said, we’re naming a girl. Julia?”
“Musicians: Beyoncé, Madonna, Fergie. Cher?” He drank more of the champagne.
Anne started singing, “Love child . . .” She thought about Cher’s wild costumes. The Native American one was Anne’s favorite.
“Would you like another glass?” Sergio reached for the bottle.
“I shouldn’t.” She picked up her water goblet and tilted it toward him. “To the baby.”
“Hey, I’ve got it. Since we met in a gallery and you’re an artist, how about an artist’s name?”
Anne squinted, thinking. “Frida, Georgia, Cindy.”
“Who’s Cindy?”
“You know, Cindy Sherman. That cool photographer who dresses up in different personas and does self-portraits.”
“Hmm.”
“Let’s noodle on it for a while.” In her heart, Anne had a secret name that she wasn’t ready to share yet.
Their salads arrived, and they both dug in.
“So, what’s the plan?” Sergio asked.
“I’m going to work at the museum and do my art.”
“Please come to New York, and let’s be a family.”
What a broken record. She wished that were possible. “We’ll still be a family, but, as I’ve said, New York didn’t work before.”
He looked deeply into her eyes. “But now everything’s changed.”
“I’ll consider it.” He was probably right. A big condominium with a nanny was tempting. She still wasn’t sure. She’d never thought she’d consider living in New York again. Plus, she didn’t want to get her heart broken like before. For the baby’s sake, though, she should probably give it a try. Even though she had grown up without a father, she’d always wished she’d had one.
He leaned toward her and took her hands again. “Let me make an honest woman of you.”
“Are you saying I’m not honest?”
“Well? There was some confusion at the beginning of all this. But let’s get married.”
“What? When?” Here we go again.
“Now. Let’s fly to Vegas. Tonight.”
Oh, and maybe we’ll run into Ray Ray and Mrs. Landenheim at the Elvis chapel. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why so fast?”
“To get you settled. You need to decorate the nursery, hire a nanny.”
“If I were to move, it wouldn’t be until after the baby was born.”
“How come?”
“I like my midwife, and Fay is going to be my coach.”
He got a sad puppy-dog look on his face. “Don’t you want me to be?”
“You don’t even live here.”
“I’ll stay with you, and Fay can be backup if I’m traveling for work.”
That wasn’t a practical situation. “Remember when I cut my finger being your sous chef and you had to take me to urgent care?”
“That’s a night I’ll never forget.”
She recalled how queasy he’d become at the sight of all that blood—he had practically fainted when the wound was being stitched.
“Okay. I’ll think about all these options.”
“Magnifico.” He paused. “How about Portia Parmeggianno?”
If they couldn’t even agree on a name, how would they raise their daughter together?
44
After Sergio left for his flight the next morning, Anne tried to go back to sleep, but her stomach felt like it had fish swimming around in it. Could it have been all that rich food at dinner? She put her hand where she had experienced the movement and felt one again. She waited and felt another one. The baby was doing the bossa nova. She wished Sergio were still here with her.
Anne’s phone buzzed. “Hi, Fay. I had the best time last night.”
“That’s good. So did I.”
“You did?”
“Diana’s here!”
“What?”
“Yes. I went into labor in the middle of the night.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I wanted to be there.”
“I know. It was the middle of the night, though. You were having your reunion with Sergio, and I didn’t want to interrupt. She’s so beautiful.”
“I can’t wait to see her. I’m on my way.”
“No, no! Please wait. They’re releasing me soon. I’ll call you when I get home.”
The next day, George called and told her Mother and Baby were doing fine but needed some time to recuperate.
“Are you sure they’re okay?”
“Yes. Fay will call you later.”
“Send me photos.”
Anne didn’t make it over to Bay Breeze for another week.
“Blimey! Look at you!” Fay gave Anne a kiss as Anne bent down to see the baby.
“Yeah, look at Shamu. I can’t believe I still have ten weeks to blow.” Anne sat on the step stool in the kitchen.
“Here. I just finished feeding her.” Fay passed Diana to Anne.
“What a cutie-patootie!” She ran her hand over the baby’s peach-fuzz head and her adorable floral onesie.
“She’ll be here before you know it. Coffee or tea?”
“Herbal tea. I’ve already had my two hundred milligrams of caffeine for the day.”
Fay put the kettle on to boil.
Diana was so tiny and fragile. Anne couldn’t wait to hold her own daughter. “Are you feeling okay now?”
“Almost fit as a fiddle.” Fay yawned.
“Okay! What’ve you found out?”
Fay chopped mushrooms on the island. “Let me fix brunch, and then I’ll tell you all I know.”
“Come on.” Anne groaned.
“I can’t cook and talk at the same time. Besides, I want to see your face when I tell you.”
“Can