Diner Girl(31)

Pouring a glass of water, and handing it to Jennifer, Rebecca settled back into the chair next to the bed. “Thanks. I can’t believe you’ve never had a massage. They are so good for you! Especially now that you are pregnant. They help with blood flow, they help relax you...”

Jennifer laughed. “Okay, okay, you are welcome to give me a massage any time you are over. Actually any time you want. I’ll travel. Long distances even. Well, after the baby, that is.” It felt so strange saying that. Months of planning to say goodbye, and overnight everything changed. Good changes, but still very strange.

Rebecca looked around the room. “I love these mobiles. Mark told me you made them.”

“I did.” Jennifer felt very catlike as she arched her back and wiggled her fingers. She’d purr if it didn’t seem wholly inappropriate. And weird. “He left to go get lunch for us, right?”

“Yeah, he should be back pretty soon. So, I have this guy friend that works for Baby Solomon’s. Do you mind if I talk to him about these?”

“That guy you were with the night at Ruth’s?”

Spots of red popped up on her cheeks. “I guess I’d hoped you’d forgotten. I’d been apartment sitting for Ruth that night. Mardi Gras. Usually I don’t bring guys over with me, but he was in the neighborhood.”

“Water under the bridge.”

She smiled and continued, “Yes, the same guy. Baby Solomon is one of the biggest makers of baby products in the US.”

“I don’t know. I mean, what would he want?”

“I’m not sure. His name is Alan. We dated a couple of times, but he wasn’t what I was looking for. Nice guy, just a little too ‘Alpha Male’ for my taste, you know?”

Jennifer cringed. “Yeah, I know. Do you think he’d be interested in these?” She looked again at the mobile she’d just finished. She had worked on it for weeks. They were all colorful and bright, but this one felt especially meaningful. It had feathers, tiny mirrors, sequins. She wanted the baby to be able to stare at it for hours and see something different each time.

“I think he would be interested, and if he isn’t you haven’t lost anything, right?”

Jennifer nodded. “Okay. Sounds like a deal. I guess I just don’t want to get my hopes up, you know? What does he do there?”

Rebecca ran her hand over her skirt, as if to banish an unseen wrinkle. “He’s the head of design. This would be right up his alley. He’s the guy that searches through consignment stores trying to find the next best thing. He found the Baby Solomon Palm Fan at my friend Linda’s store. The woman’s been making them for friends for years, and then Alan came along and now they’re everywhere. That’s where I met him, through Linda.”

“I was looking at those just the other day at Baby Mart. They are a pretty great design. I love how the fan moves up and down rather than turning in circles. Okay. You’ve sold me.” The thought of someone being interested in her design felt exciting, but she still didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. All the same, if she weren’t on bed rest she might just be jumping up and down at the prospect.

“Ladies, I’m home,” Mark called as he walked through front door. “I brought pasta from Rosa’s. Anyone hungry?”

Quickly Jennifer said, “Rebecca, please don’t tell Mark yet, okay?”

Rebecca made a zipped lip motion across her mouth and went out to greet him.

Jennifer heard, “We’re starving! And where have you been?”

Mark walked back into the bedroom, with Rebecca following. “I got lunch, but I also thought it would be a good idea to pick up a movie.”

He sat on the edge of the bed.

“What did you get?”

“That new Rachael Ray DVD.”

Laughing, Rebecca said, “Wow, I’m impressed. You usually don’t go for the soft romantic type movies.”

“Now, now Beck, it is Rachael. What hot-blooded American man can pass up Rachael? She’s got everything.” Putting his hand in the air, he counted down her attributes by saying, “She cooks. She’s beautiful. She cooks. She cleans as she goes. And she’s got that great laugh. C’mon, now.”

Both women laughed.

Jennifer looked into the living room. “Mark, I’m on bed rest, I’m not sure if I should go sit in there.”

“I think it’ll be okay,” Mark said. “We’re just going into the other room. If you don’t feel comfortable, we’ll figure something else out, but it really shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I would like to get out of bed.” She became a cat again as her arms and legs seemed to stretch on their own volition. “Okay, pop in the video. I’m starving, can we eat yet?”