"Hey, kiddo. Rough weekend?" Rick Anderson greeted AJ as he sat down at the desk facing hers. When AJ started free lancing, Rick was instructed to show her the ropes. They ended up being partners. Well, sort of.
"Anderson, I'm in no mood for your crap."
"You look like hell, Marcetti," Rick said, getting up. He poured himself and AJ each a cup of coffee.
"Yeah, well, I feel like hell."
"That's because you put yourself under too much stress. I still don't understand why you're working two jobs."
"I told you. I need the extra money."
"Marcetti, you're a successful writer for People. Celebrities ASK to be interviewed by you. I fail to believe that the magazine isn't paying you what you're worth."
"They are," AJ responded, massaging her temples.
"So, if you don't mind my asking, what do you need the second job for?" Rick took a sip of his coffee.
"Damn, you're persistent, aren't you?"
He smiled. "That's what makes me the great reporter I am. So, are you gonna answer my question or not?"
"I'm saving up for a ring."
"A ring? For who? Zac?"
"Duh. Yeah. Of course for Zac. Who else?"
"I didn't realize the two of you were getting married."
"We're not."
"Then why the ring?"
"'Cause I wanna ask him to marry me."
"You're gonna propose?" Rick nodded his head in approval. "Good for you."
AJ raised an eyebrow. "You approve?"
He shrugged. "Why not? I say go for it. Think it be cool for the girl to propose." Rick took another sip of his coffee. "So, you gonna quit after the two of you are engaged?"
"I don't know. I mean, I know I'm not gonna be able to keep both jobs, but I'm not sure which one I wanna keep."
Rick just nodded his head. To say he was surprised three months ago when his editor paired him up with AJ would be an understatement. At first, he couldn't understand why The Times would hire her. But after he thought about it, it made sense. AJ is well-known, and once people found out she's writing for The Times, they'll look for her byline, at the very least.
The big surprise in all this turned out to be what a great news reporter AJ is. For the life of him, Rick couldn't figure out why she'd been writing features all this time. Then again, he supposed it was good practice for her. AJ could get just about anyone to open up, and that showed with her sources. Granted she seemed to have a small pool, but they were rather loosed-lipped with her.
"I think you'll miss this job..."
"Anderson, don't pressure me. I gotta take this one step at a time."
He nodded his head. "So," he said, changing the subject, "how did the christening go?"
"Good." AJ nodded her head for emphasis, but she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, Rick or herself. "I got pictures. Wanna see?"
"Sure."
AJ pulled an envelope out of her purse. "I went to that one-hour place on the corner of 54th. They do a good job."
"I'll have to remember that."
Rick began to flip through the pictures. It was a little weird. He knew some of the people in them, although he only knew AJ and Zac personally. He remembered the day Taylor Hanson announced he married Laura. Rick could feel nothing but happiness for her. It's what she deserves.
"This is a cute picture of you and Zac," Rick said, holding up the photo for AJ to see.
"Yeah. Becca took that. She's good with a camera. You should see her house." AJ shook her head. "WALLPAPERED with pictures of her daughter." Becca really did take a great picture, and AJ smiled. She and Zac had their arms around each other's waist. They appeared to lost in one another's eyes, and unaware of the world around them. It didn't last long, though. AJ's pager had gone off. But the feeling was great while it lasted.
"Marcetti! Snap out of it! Your phone's ringing." Rick waved his hand in front of AJ's face, trying to bring her out of her trance.
"Huh? What? Oh." AJ picked up the phone. "New York Times, Amanda Marcetti speaking. Wait! Let me get a paper and pen." She quickly grabbed the materials and began to scribble down some notes. "Uh-huh... Alright... 'Kay... Mmm-hmm... I'm leaving. I'm out the door right now." She hung up the phone, grabbed her purse, and ran for the elevator, shouting, "Anderson! Tell Pete I got a lead!"
He nodded his head. "Sure thing, Marcetti."
As AJ entered the elevator, Rick continued to leaf through the pictures. When he got halfway through them he stopped, his eyes misting. In the picture, holding the newly christened baby was a girl about eight years of age. Her straight, blonde hair hung loose just past her shoulders. Her hazel eyes shone bright and her smile was sweet. Rick immediately recognized the girl. It was the baby Laura decided to keep.
He looked at the picture again. He couldn't get over how much the girl resembled Laura. She was the spitting image. The funny thing was, the girl seemed to resemble Taylor as well. Actually, that was probably for the best, a blessing in disguise. Really, all that matters is that the girl is happy. The picture didn't indicate the opposite.
Against Rick's better judgement, he put the picture of the two girls in his briefcase. He stacked the remaining pictures on AJ's desk.
"Mommy! Mommy! We won! We won again!" Maddy ran through the house, leaving a trail of mud with her cleats.
"Maddy! There's mud all over the place," Laura said, smiling in spite of herself. Her daughter's enthusiasm was contagious.
"I'm sorry, Mom. But we won!"
"Good for you! Congratulations! Where's your father?"
"Putting the equipment in the garage."
Laura smiled wider. After Taylor started playing soccer with Maddy in the backyard, she had wanted to play for the town. There had been a shortage of coaches, so Taylor volunteered to coach Maddy's team. It's made them even closer, which Laura didn't think was possible. Maddy loved Taylor from the get-go.
"What do you say you change your shoes, and we go out for ice cream to celebrate?" Laura suggested.
"Yes!"
"Okay. You change your shoes and get your father. I'll pack a diaper bag for Jenn."
While Laura went upstairs to pack the bag, Maddy quickly changed her shoes. She then made a mad dash for the garage. "Daddy! Daddy! Hurry! We're goin' for ice cream!"
"Whoa. Whoa. Maddy, slow down," Taylor instructed his daughter. "Now, what's going on?"
"Mommy's getting Jenn and packing her diaper bag. We're goin' out for ice cream to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?" Taylor teased, giving Maddy's ponytail a playful yank.
"Winning. Duh!"
Taylor laughed. "I knew that."
"Sure you did."
"What do you say we wait in the car for your mom and sister?"
"Okay," Maddy responded. She slipped her hand in Taylor's, and the two walked towards the car.
"Please, can I stay up a little later, Mommy? Please?" Kaitlyn begged.
"Honey, I already let you stay up a half-hour later than usual. I'm sorry, but it's time for bed."
"Daddy? Daddy, can I stay up just a little bit longer, please?"
Isaac laughed. "What? You don't get the answer you want from your mother, so you ask me?" He shook his head. "Sorry. Time for bed, Katy-bug."
"Aww, no fair!" Kaitlyn started for the stairs.
Ike stood up and followed Becca to the stairs, his hands on his wife's waist. "Are we being too strict with her, or not strict enough?"
Becca frowned. "Not strict enough. I swear, sometimes, I let her get away with murder. Problem is, I just don't know how to say no."
The two ascended the stairs behind their daughter. "My mom said she had the same problem with me, at first. She said she felt more comfortable with being strict after Taylor was born," Ike said.
As soon as the words were out of Ike's mouth, Rebecca stiffened. She knew where he was going, and she just wasn't in the mood for an argument. "Kaitlyn, all set to be tucked in?" she asked her daughter.
"Yup." Kaitlyn climbed into bed and brought the covers up to her chin.
"Comfy?" Becca asked.
"Uh-huh."
She brushed the bangs out of her daughter's eyes. "Sweet dreams, Honey." Becca kissed Kaitlyn's forehead, as Ike wound up a music box.
"Good-night, Mommy. Daddy, come kiss me good-night."
Ike sat down on the bed, leaned over, and kissed his daughter's forehead. "'Night, Katy-bug."
"Eskimo kiss, Daddy."
Isaac smiled and leaned over again. He and his daughter rubbed noses. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."
Kaitlyn giggled. "I won't. 'Night, Mommy and Daddy. I love you."
"We love you, too," Ike said, blowing his daughter a kiss.
Becca turned off the light and pulled the door shut behind her and her husband. The two descended the stairs.
"Can you believe how much she's grown?" Ike asked his wife.
Rebecca shook her head. "No. It seems like it was just yesterday that I brought her home from the hospital."
"Well, you know..."
"I've been thinking..."
"You have?" Isaac raised an eyebrow. This response surprised him. He's been frustrated because, lately, whenever he raised the subject of having another baby, Becca quickly changed it.
"Yeah. Come the summer, I want to go back to working in the office."
"Work in the office?"
"Yeah. I need adult interaction, and to get out of the house more, without Kaitlyn. And we can enroll her in a day camp or something. It'll be good for her."
"How long have you been thinking about this?" Ike sat down on the living room couch.
"I don't know. Quite a bit of time, I guess. I feel like I'm in some sort of rut, work-wise. I'm an accountant, Ike, and I didn't spend four years in college, plus summer courses, so I could use my dining room table as a desk."
"Rebecca, I hope you don't think..."
"No, no. I don't blame you or think that you want to keep me locked up in the house." She smiled. "But I didn't want to put our daughter in day camp and go back to the office, and not discuss it with you first. So, what do you think?"
"I think it's fine with me."
"Really?" Becca asked hopefully.
"Bec, of course it's fine with me. Why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know..." she mumbled, looking at her hands folded in her lap.
"Hey." Isaac placed his left hand over his wife's folded ones. He used his right hand to raise Becca's chin, so his eyes could meet hers. "You want to go back to the office, and that's fine with me. I support you completely. No questions asked."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Are you okay?" Ike asked, concerned.
Rebecca sniffed. "Yeah, sure, everything's fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"It's just... well... I know you're emotional and I know you love your work, but I've just never seen you cry about it. That's all."
"I'm not crying."
Isaac hid a smile. "Bec, don't tell me you're not crying. Your eyes are all misty."
"Sorry."
"It's okay." Ike gently stroked his wife's hair. "What's got you all worked up?"
"I don't know. I guess I was just... nervous."
"Nervous? About what? Telling me that you want to go back to the office? Bec, I meant what I said. I support you completely. And you can tell me ANYTHING. Don't ever forget that."
"I won't," Becca whispered. She brought Ike's hand from her hair to her face. She gently kissed the palm of it. "Are you mad at me?" she asked tentatively.
"Mad? No." Ike shook his head. "But I am a little worried."
"Because I didn't tell you sooner. Right?"
"Yeah. Is this a sign of things to come? You keeping things from me?"
"No." She shook her head. "Never."
"I love you, Rebecca Hanson."
"And I love you."
Becca placed her head in Isaac's lap, resting her feet on the arm of the couch. Ike stroked his wife's hair as she drifted off to a restless sleep.
"Zac! Have you seen those picture frames I bought while we were in Tulsa?"
"I thought you put them in the closet," Zac shouted from the bathroom.
"I thought so, too, but now I can't find them, and... Aha!"
"Got 'em?"
"Yup. Here, take these," AJ said, holding out the frames to Zac as he entered the bedroom.
"Be careful," he instructed as she stepped down from the chair she had been standing on.
"Always am."
"What are you gonna put in the frames?" Zac asked.
"Pictures. One of Madeline and Jennifer, and one of you and me."
"You got them developed already?"
"Yup. I went to the one-hour place on the corner of 54th."
"They do a good job?"
"Uh-huh."
"So, let me see the pictures."
"Okay." AJ grabbed Zac's hand with her free one. She led him into the computer room, which served as her office. "They're in my briefcase."
Zac flicked on the light and sat in the chair by the desk. AJ dug an envelope of pictures out of her briefcase, and then settled in Zac's lap. She immediately began to sort through the pictures. "Oh, look. Here's the one of us."
"It came out beautiful," Zac said softly. To him, if you could take a picture of love, it would look just like the one AJ had in her hand. "Becca took that picture."
"How'd you guess?" AJ asked, already knowing the answer.
"Well, let's see. Ike prefers video cameras as opposed to snapshots. And whenever Tay has a camera in hand, a nostril shot is usually involved. Besides," he added softly, "Becca's the only one who could make us look so in love."
"You say it like we're not anymore." AJ's voice was low, like Zac's. There was also a quiver in it. She knows Zac's been a little frustrated lately with her work situation, and all.
"No, I didn't mean it like that." He wrapped his arms around AJ, tightly. She leaned against his chest. "Just look at the picture," Zac instructed. "The only thing we're aware of is each other. It's beautiful." He kissed AJ's neck.
She closed her eyes. "It is." AJ put the pictures on the desk, next to the keyboard, and adjusted herself so she was straddling Zac. She ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you... so much."
"I love you, too," he responded, his hands up the back of her shirt. There was a moment of silence, then Zac broke it. "AJ, what is it?"
"Tomorrow... just... Be prepared."
Zac sighed. "Is the shit going to hit the fan?"
"Possibly."
"So, I guess this article is going to be refrigerator material, huh?" He flashed a wry smile.
"You better believe it," AJ responded boastfully.
"How much longer do you think you'll be working two jobs?" Zac asked, his tone once again serious.
"I'm not sure. Not long, I hope."
"I still don't understand..."
"Zac, I told you, this is just something I need to do."
He nodded his head. "I understand."
"Do you?" AJ asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Thank you." AJ delivered a soft, sweet kiss to Zac's lips.
AJ stepped off the elevator and walked towards her desk at The Times. Article or no article, she was as high as a kite. Last night was the first night, in a long time, that the phone didn't ring. Her pager didn't go off. There were no interruptions, and she and Zac spent the entire night together.
"Have a good night last night, Marcetti?"
"Huh?" AJ shook her head to bring herself out of the dream-like state she was in.
"I asked if you had a good night last night," Rick said, a sly smile on his face.
"Yeah. I did." AJ blushed as she placed her briefcase on her desk.
"Somebody got..."
"Anderson, don't be a pig."
Rick held up his arms in an 'I surrender'-like manner. "Alright. Alright. No need to throw insults." He lowered his arms and sat on the edge of AJ's desk. "So, how does it feel to be a front page reporter?"
"Front page?"
"Yup." Rick dropped a copy of the day's New York Times on AJ's desk.
"You're in the big-time now, Marcetti."
AJ smiled at the headline.
Rick let out a low whistle. "That's some story you got there. You know, now, that every reporter is gonna be all over this like flies on roadkill."
AJ rolled her eyes. "What a lovely picture you paint, Anderson."
"I know. But seriously, you did a great job, even if your source IS anonymous."
"Well, it was that or no story."
Rick nodded his head. "I figured as much. And I have to say, I'm a bit jealous, too."
"Good. Now I KNOW I did a good job." AJ giggled.
Rick nodded his head. "You did. So, how does it feel to have your first front-page story? Feel like a real reporter?"
She rolled her eyes. "Shit, Anderson..."
"Well, do you?"
She smiled. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Suppose what? Come on, I wanna hear you say the words," Rick teased.
"Alright. I feel like a real reporter."
"You should," said Pete, News Editor for The Times. "Great article, Marcetti. And I don't regret running it either. Would've been a shame to sit on it. And yes, you are now OFFICIALLY a 'real reporter.' For not only do you have your first front-page, but you also have your first lawsuit." Pete dropped a manilla envelope on AJ's desk. "Congratulations, Marcetti."
"Shit, man! Laura, did you see this?" Taylor was sitting at the computer.
"See what?" Laura called from her post on the living room couch.
"AJ's front-page article for The Times."
"Front-page!?!" Laura sat up.
"Yeah, come here."
Laura entered the computer room. Taylor had his right hand on the mouse, and his left was rubbing Jennifer's stomach, who was in the seater on the desk.
"What's it about?" Laura asked, standing beside her husband.
"Take a look." Taylor's right hand left the mouse long enough to pull his wife into his lap.
"VLS Mob Ties Revealed," Laura read the headline. "Whoa! That's some major stuff."
"VLS has stock in EVERYTHING. And now," Taylor shook his head slightly, "I guess 'everything' REALLY means everything."
Laura read the story intently. "Oh, man! I always knew AJ was too, I don't know, impulsive, for her own good, but... Where did she get all this information? The source isn't named..."
"And can you blame 'em? If I was the source, I wouldn't want my name revealed. I'd end up dead in a gutter somewhere."
"Maybe you should call Zac. See what's going on," Laura suggested.
Taylor snorted. "What makes you think he knows anything?"
"Well, he DOES live with AJ."
"So? It's not like she tells him anything." The conversation he had with Zac on the front porch when he was in Tulsa ran through Taylor's mind.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Just what it sounds like. AJ doesn't tell Zac anything. Zac hardly ever SEES her. And it's not fair. He REALLY loves her. He wants to marry her. And AJ's just stringing him along in this relationship that's going nowhere."
Laura stood up. "That is not true AT ALL. AJ loves Zac VERY much. And she DOES want to marry him."
Taylor stood up, too. "Oh, well, it's nice that YOU know that. Too bad Zac doesn't. He told me when he was here that AJ doesn't tell him anything. Hell, they can't even get through a night together without SOME sort of interruption. Why the hell is she working two jobs in the first place?"
"So, she can buy a ring and propose to Zac, for your information."
The tension and anger in his body fled, and Taylor stood there, stunned. "What did you just say?" he asked softly.
Laura sighed. "I wasn't supposed to say anything. Promise me you won't tell Zac."
Taylor nodded his head.
"No. Say it."
"I promise I won't tell Zac."
"Alright." She took a deep breath. "When they were here for the christening, AJ mentioned that she was working two jobs, and that she and Zac were having problems communicating. I asked her why she was working two jobs in the first place. She was real hesitant to say anything, but Becca and I dragged it out of her."
"Wait. So, Becca knows this, too?" Taylor asked.
Laura nodded her head. "Yeah."
"Does Ike?"
"I doubt it. AJ swore Becca and I to secrecy. So the only way he knows is if Bec slipped, like I did. And that means you can't tell Ike, either."
"I won't." A smile crept up on Taylor's face. "So, AJ's really gonna ask Zac to marry her, huh?"
"Yup."
"You know, with any other couple, I'd be surprised if the girl proposed. I can't imagine my sisters proposing. But, with AJ, it makes sense. You know?"
From her seater, Jenn began to coo, fascinated by the sound of her own voice. Taylor picked her up and rubbed her back. "Did you hear that?" he asked his daughter in a soft voice. "You're gonna have another aunt. And maybe you'll have another cousin, too."
Jenn blew her father a raspberry.
Laura laughed. "Stay right there. I'm gonna get the camera from the living room."
Taylor groaned. "Honey, not ANOTHER picture."
"Oh, shut up! You know you love it," his wife said from the living room.
He smiled. She was right. He loved every single minute of it. Raising Madeline and Jennifer was proving to be the greatest joy in his life. Taylor wouldn't trade it for anything.
"Smile!" Laura said, returning with the camera.
Taylor adjusted Jenn in his arms so she was facing the camera. "Smile big for Mommy," he told his baby girl.
"Ready? One, two, three." Laura snapped the picture and smiled. "Perfect."