“Um, no. That honor goes to the woman who juggled pies she’d baked.” Pia had always loved Fool’s Gold. The town had traditions and polite residents. People cared about each other. Had a single chapter in a thesis and a busload or two of men really changed everything?
Maybe there was something in the air, she thought. Something promoting change. Look at her. Just two days ago, she’d had embryos implanted. She’d been there for the procedure and had spent the rest of the afternoon lying on her sofa, and she still couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the concept. Being pregnant was just a word. More concept than reality. How could she possibly be pregnant?
Yet Dr. Galloway had put the embryos in her. Were they hanging on as she’d asked them to? Were they growing, getting bigger and stronger?
She touched her hand to her belly, as if she could feel them inside of her.
Scattered applause brought her back to the auditions. She clapped as well, then turned to find Marsha staring at her.
“Where did you go?” the mayor asked. “She was pretty good, so it can’t have been the singing and dancing.”
“Sorry. I’ll pay attention.” Pia picked up her pen and pulled the notepad closer. “Who’s next?”
Marsha continued to study her. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m fine.”
The mayor didn’t look convinced.
Pia drew in a breath. “Crystal left me her embryos.”
Marsha’s face relaxed into a smile. “Did she? I knew someone would get them. You must be very touched, and equally terrified. That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Tell me about it. It’s not about owning the embryos. Crystal expects me to have her babies.”
Marsha nodded. “That’s a lot to ask of a friend. Are you going to agree?”
“I…” Pia drew in a breath. “I had them implanted two days ago. There were three embryos. They all survived the thawing, which I guess doesn’t always happen. We’ll know in two weeks if they were able to embed or implant or whatever it’s called.”
Marsha looked stunned for a moment, then hugged her. “Good for you. What an amazing thing to do. I’m so proud.”
The words made Pia feel good. “I’m mostly in shock,” she admitted. “Nothing about this is real to me.”
“That will take time.”
“I have nine months.” A number that she couldn’t relate to. Knowing the facts about a pregnancy was very different than it actually happening to her. “I guess even now my body could be changing, but I don’t feel any different.”
“You will. Especially if you have triplets.”
Pia winced. “Don’t say that. I can’t comprehend one baby, let alone three. I’m going to have these babies by myself.”
Marsha squeezed her hand. “We’ll all be there for you, Pia. You know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Everything is surreal. I keep going back to the same question. Why would Crystal pick me?”
“Because she loved you and trusted you.”
“I guess.”
The mayor smiled. “I have a personal request.”
“Sure.”
“Can you please have boys?”
Pia laughed. “That part is already determined. Sorry. You should have had the talk with Crystal.”
“I hate being late to anything.” She turned back to the stage where a couple of guys were dragging on two-dimensional cardboard trees. “Dear God, what now?”
RAOUL WALKED THROUGH the main building of the camp. Less than a month ago, the last of the summer campers had headed home, and the cleaning crew had begun the process of winterizing the structures. Now, several hundred kids filled the various rooms, pinning flyers to walls and driving away the silence with their laughter.
He still had ideas for a year-round camp, but until he could make that happen, using the facility for the temporary elementary school was the right thing to do.
The preliminary meeting on repairing and rebuilding the burned school had been grim at best. The damage was extensive, the funds limited. Realistically, the new elementary school wouldn’t be ready for occupancy for nearly two years. Which put his plans on hold for at least that long. His biggest concern was keeping Dakota Hendrix working for him. She was smart and capable. He had a feeling headhunters called her regularly. All he had to offer her was a good salary, work close to her family, running the summer camp and the promise that when they got the camp back she would be in charge of the new program.
The school had contracted her services for a few hours a week. She provided counseling and acted as the liaison between the school and the camp. So far there hadn’t been any problems, and while Raoul didn’t anticipate trouble, he’d learned it was always best to be prepared.
He glanced at the big clock on the wall. It was a few minutes before noon. Now the hallway was relatively quiet, but in about two minutes the bell would ring and children would explode out of their classrooms and head for the cafeteria.