Part 13
Tom glanced at his watch again. 'Where was she?' he asked himself. 'Frannie
said she left to meet Evelyn hours ago.' He carried the pasta to the
sink and drained the water out.
He heard the door open and close softly. "Cassy, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me." She entered the kitchen just as Tom was removing the
garlic bread from the oven.
He leaned over and kissed her. "Hungry?"
"Starved."
"Great. Why don't you have a seat and I'll put it on the table."
"I can help."
"No, you can't. This is my dinner for you. You sit and tell me about your
day. How did the shopping for a wedding dress go? Did you find the perfect
dress?"
She sat down at the table and poured drinks. "I think you'll be pleased."
"Honey, you could wear a potato sack and I'd be thrilled." He carried
the spaghetti to the table.
"If we'd wait much longer to get married, a potato sack is all I would
be able to fit in." Cassy filled her plate with spaghetti and took a bite. "This is good."
"Thanks." He sprinkled grated cheese on his plate. "How is Evelyn?"
Cassy sat her fork down. She was no longer hungry. "My mother is fine.
She's in rare form, striking out at her nearest and dearest."
Tom sat his fork down too. "What happened?"
"You were right. You were right about everything." Evelyn's words came
flooding back and Cassy began to cry again.
Tom jumped immediately from his seat and took Cassy to the couch. "What did
she say?"
"She said exactly what you thought she'd say. She said I was making a
mistake in marrying you again."
"Did you tell her about the baby?" He handed her a box of tissues.
"Yeah. To say she was disappointed would be generous."
"And yet you invited her to our wedding."
"Yes." She wiped her eyes.
"Well, what's done is done. Of course she won't come, at least not as long
as I'm within a fifty mile radius."
"Why do I keep trying to impress a woman who will always see the worst in
me."
"Someday she will regret her behavior. But you can't worry about that. I
have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small
velvet box.
Cassy took one look at it and knew the contents. "I told you I didn't need
another engagement ring. The one I have upstairs is perfect."
He handed her the box. "Just open it."
She opened the box and her mouth fell open. "Oh Tom, that's my
engagement ring from before. What did you do to it?"
"I added another small band." He removed the ring out of
the case. "You see these three stones? That one is your birth stone, that
one is mine and this middle one will be our baby's stone. Until he or she
is born, the jeweler has inserted a cubic zircon diamond in its place."
Tears filled her eyes. "It's beautiful."
He looked deep in her eyes. "So are you. I love you Cassy."
"I love you too."
The spaghetti dinner was forgotten.
Derek removed the pictures from his dark room and laid
them on his desk. There were six pictures. Three of Tom Ryan alone, one of
him with his partner, who according to information he had discovered that
day, was also his fiance. They were walking on the beach holding hands.
There was one picture of him with a Captain Harry Lipschitz trying on
tuxedos and another of them with an older woman.
He pulled out the latest letter he received from Client X asking for the
first group of photos and copied the post office box address on to an
envelope. He sealed the envelope and placed it with his other outgoing
mail. He hoped this would be the end of his dealing with Client X, but
he had a feeling that this was just the beginning.
To Part 14