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“Yay, Sister! And all the other guides were guys?”
“Yep, every single one. And all of them bragging before we started.” Her voice tinkled with laughter. “I said, ‘We’ll see—may the Best woman win.’ And I did, of course. And now I get to pick my crew for the next week.”
Steven laughed. “All men should beware when a Best girl decides to compete.”
“I’ve kind of beaten the odds myself,” said Anne.
“Yeah, Mom. Made it to the second trimester,” said Charlie. “Good job. You’ll make it all the way now, for sure.”
“She’s done more than that. Or she’s going to do something more than that.” Steven’s dimples danced with excitement.
Emily’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Can I say it?” Steven begged.
Anne laughed at her husband’s eagerness—sometimes he seemed like a little boy. She nodded.
“Twins,” he said. “Can you believe it? We’re having twins!”
There was a moment of stunned silence before Charlie said, “I’m gonna be afraid to talk to you on Skype anymore. Ohmygosh! Are you kidding?”
“No way!” screamed Emily, as she rushed to give her mom a hug. “How on earth are you so tiny?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be tiny for long,” Anne said around Emily’s head.
“How on earth could you be pregnant with twins?” Charlie asked.
Steven answered before she could respond. “Women over forty-five have about a one in five chance of having multiples. And,” he boasted, “I’m obviously extraordinarily masculine.”
“Ughh!” Emily groaned, swiping at Steven’s head while he ducked, laughing.
“You make it sound like being extraordinarily masculine is a good thing,” said Charlie.
Anne’s face broke out in a contented smile, watching her family laugh and interact. But her heart broke for Emily. She knew the misery of loving someone when you thought they didn’t love you back.
*****
Spencer struggled with the complicated dance steps. The first night had been relatively easy. He’d quickly conquered the waltz, practicing with a variety of partners, many old enough to be his mother. Then they’d moved on to the cha-cha. He figured he could be passable at this dance after a couple of weeks. But this time the class was all about the tango, a much more intricate and difficult dance.
“I’m never going to get this,” he complained to the teacher.
“It’s your first time to try it,” she said. “It’s a hard dance. You’ll be able to do the basics by the time the wedding rolls around. Why don’t you have your fiancée with you?”
“Oh, I’m not engaged—not yet. But I’m taking my future fiancée to this wedding in five weeks. She loves to dance, so I wanted to surprise her.”
“I think that’s really romantic. When are you planning to ask her to marry you?”
“Soon, I hope.”
“Do you realize you’ve been doing it? You’ve been dancing the tango the whole time you were talking to me.”
He stumbled in surprise. “Shoot! I’m never going to get this.”
“You’ll get it.” She laughed, clapping her hands for attention. “Okay, class is over. You can find pictures on Facebook tomorrow. Good job, everyone. Next Monday, we’ll tackle the salsa.”
*****
It was only nine o’clock, and Spencer wasn’t tired. He was hovering on cloud nine where he’d been floating since Sunday night when he talked to Emily about the future. They were going to be married. Someday. He’d said a year. She’d said longer. But, he could wait a long time. Why not? He’d already waited twenty-five years. And, he was going to get her a ring, maybe even faster than he thought. If he worked one or two more Friday nights, he’d have enough money. Spencer thought Emily might still be at her mom’s apartment. He could surprise her. He decided to check there first and go down to her place if she was gone.
