Chapter 31 - A Life Unplanned

As I get closer to finishing my second novel of  A Life Well Loved, I am going to post one last chapter from A Life Unplanned.  Even though I am writing a trilogy, the good thing is that you don't have to read them in order.  In fact, they are kind of out of order, since the first book is about the life of my mom, the second one goes back to her parents and grandparents, and the third will jump to me and my husband and our life that has taken a lot of unplanned twists and turns.  Our life has been very much unplanned, but in a much different way from my mom's. Still thinking on a title for that third book.  So here is one last peek at A Life Unplanned.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/PattySeitzWriter?ref=hl for continuing updates about my next two novels and beyond!  And thanks so much for reading.  Enjoy!

~~ CHAPTER 31 ~~

Kate felt so blessed that her first pregnancy was completely symptom free.  She had felt a little morning sickness with her son, so maybe it was a boy thing, because once again, she had felt wonderful throughout this third pregnancy, so she had an inkling it was going to be another girl. 

Robert was still working at the restaurant, putting in longer hours to try to make a little more money because of the baby on the way. 

“I’ve been thinking about names,” Kate said one rare day that Robert had off.  He seemed to be in a relaxed mood, so she thought it was a good time to bring it up.  “This pregnancy has been as easy as the first one, so I have a feeling this is going to be another girl.  If so, to go along with Pamela Joy, I was thinking of Jacqueline Gaye. What do you think?”  She was so hoping he would be in a good mood to talk about names. She was relieved that she seemed to have caught him in a good moment.

“Jacqueline, Jackie Gaye.  To tell you the truth, I’m not liking it much. I don’t think we need matching names for our daughters, if that’s what you have.”  Robert was actually laughing about it.  “Jackie Gaye almost sounds like a girl band, Jackie Gaye and the Mellows.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.  I suppose we should also think about boy names just in case I’m wrong about this being a girl.  Would you be against Harrison for my dad? Maybe for both dads, Harrison Randall? That doesn’t sound bad.”

“I kind of like that, and I bet our dads wouldn’t be against it either,” he replied.  “But as far as a girl, we have to think of something different. I’d be willing to bet when they grow up, the girls wouldn’t like having names that go together like that.  I could be wrong, and we could ask Pamela Joy what she thinks. She’s old enough to have an opinion.”

“No, I don’t want to get the kids involved with naming the baby. Who knows what they would come up with,” Kate giggled, feeling good that Robert was really in the mood to talk about this.  “Because of our circumstances with Pamela Joy, I didn’t really think about naming her after anyone, but I wouldn’t mind using Mae for a middle name after my mom’s middle name.  We just have to figure out what would go well with that.”

Robert was giving that some thought.  He knew Ella Mae would love having her name used for one of her grandkids, and he would do just about anything for both of his in-laws.  They had been so supportive and loving through all the difficulties Kate and Robert had been going through on and off through the years.  It was so easy for his parents to give them a hard time when anything was going wrong, but not Kate’s parents.  They were and always would be so special to Robert. 

“What about Jacqueline Mae? I’ve always liked the name Jackie, and Jacqueline is kind of old-fashioned and feminine. I just didn’t like putting that with Gaye. So does that sound good?” he asked.

Kate thought about it for a minute and decided it was a good choice.  “Yes, I really like that a lot.  It just feels right. So Harrison Randall if it’s a boy and Jacqueline Mae if it’s a girl.  Well, there’s something we can cross off our to-do list. I feel so good, I think I’ll go bake an apple pie, unless that doesn’t sound good.”

“I think you know the answer to that.  Baby names and apple pie.  A good way to spend the day,” he said. 

Jacqueline Mae came into the world on May 10, 1952.  She was a beautiful baby, just like all her babies, with dark brown hair and eyes.  It was discovered, despite her loud cries, that she was not producing any tears, so the doctor had to open her tear ducts.  Maybe that’s why throughout the rest of her life, Jackie could so easily bring up tears, whether it was something serious, pretty music, or just a cute old man in a commercial—she could cry.  It was a simple procedure, and mother and baby went home a week later.  Kate felt so happy and knew her family was now complete.  By this time, Pamela Joy was 11, Patrick would be 5 a month later, and now they had Jackie.

Robert was still working at the bar and had stopped looking for any sales jobs a long while ago.  Kate wanted to ask him occasionally why he stopped looking, but she thought if he was happy with his job, then why push it.  With a third child added to the family, a better salary would have been helpful, but Kate did not want to be a nag.  They were making ends meet okay, but moving into a house was looking more and more like it would not happen. They would have to think about a little bit bigger apartment once the baby was older, but for now, they would stay put. 

Despite her happiness with the baby and family life in general, there was one thing Kate was terribly worried about and didn’t know how to handle it or what to do about it.  She tried to ignore it, tell herself she was being silly, but her gut was telling her she wasn’t  wrong. 

Robert would come home many nights smelling of perfume.  At first Kate thought nothing of it.  She could also smell smoke in his clothes and even sometimes liquor from spills, but that was to be expected, considering he did work in a bar and restaurant, and often did work the banquet room.  So for a long time she didn’t question it or think anything was out of the ordinary. 

One week during the holidays of 1952, she kept back two or three of his shirts before putting them through the laundry.  You’re being paranoid, Kate, and worrying in your typical fashion, when there’s nothing to worry about. Once she had more than one shirt to compare, her worst fears were realized. His shirts definitely smelled strongly of perfume.  What made her sick to her stomach was that the scent was exactly the same for all three shirts.