I smile and put the note on Dean’s pillow so it’ll be there when I go to bed tonight. I return downstairs and, with Joanna’s permission, I use the computer in the library to check my email.
There’s a message from Kelsey asking how things are going and assuring me that all my houseplants are still alive. I tell her about Richard West’s successful surgery and that Dean is on his way back to Mirror Lake for a couple of days.
Then I surf a few pregnancy-related websites, avoiding the When It’s an Emergency links and focusing on the stages of pregnancy, information about ultrasounds, and articles about sex and pregnancy.
Out of curiosity, I click on a link that has illustrations of the most comfortable positions for sex during pregnancy.
Straddle your partner. Okay.
Lie side by side. We can do that.
Get on your knees and support yourself with your elbows while your partner enters you from behind.
I definitely want to try that.
“Oh, sorry.”
I look up with a start to find Paige coming into the library. I quickly fumble to click on another link and hide the pregnant sex website.
“Hi, Paige.”
Good Lord. I hope she didn’t see what I was looking at.
“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes, if you want to go with us,” she tells me.
“Sure. Just checking my email.” I smile brightly.
Paige shrugs and leaves. Just to ensure I wasn’t lying, I log in to my email again. There’s a message from Kelsey:
He’s coming back for one meeting? WTF?
It’s an important meeting, from what Dean said, but Kelsey’s reaction renews my own confusion. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I wonder if the meeting has something to do with Dean’s job or the international conference he’s planning. He’s only been on the King’s University faculty for two years. While the board courted him and offered him a top-level salary, and so far has given him everything he’s asked for in terms of funding, he doesn’t yet have tenure.
Maybe that’s it! Maybe they’re planning to offer him early tenure.
Dean has half a dozen grad students under his advisement, he’s earned an incredible reputation over a very short time, he has numerous publications, and he’s brought a lot of attention to the university and the new Medieval Studies program. The conference will surely cement his reputation, along with his book that’s being published in the fall and the IHR grant…
That has to be it. And he didn’t want to tell me because he wants it to be a surprise.
An unexpected burst of excitement floods me. If Dean is offered tenure, then his professorship is permanent. We really will be in Mirror Lake for the foreseeable future.
Rather than feeling uncertain about the idea, I’m filled with anticipation. I want to stay in Mirror Lake. Finally now I realize how much that town has become home to me in the past two years.
I want to raise our child there, watch him or her attend school, swim in the lake, eat ice cream on Avalon Street, play in Wizard’s Park, bike along all the back roads. I have friends in Mirror Lake, good friends, and even though I don’t have a career, I have a bookstore job and volunteer work that I love.
I can give our child the stable, secure life and the home I never had.
The very idea, its newfound reality, alleviates much of my previous unease. I grab my purse and hurry out to join Joanna and Paige for the trip to the hospital.
I already can’t wait for Dean to get back.
“How was your day?”
His voice is a low rumble. Warmed by the sound, I press my ear to the phone and sit on the edge of the bed.
“Fine. I went with Paige and your mom to visit your dad, who is complaining about the food. I think he’s ready to come home. They’re keeping an eye on that swelling he had in the heart valve, but the doctor says he should be okay for a release on Thursday. How were your flights?”
“Second leg was delayed because of ice in Chicago.”
“I forgot it’s still winter in the Midwest.”
“Ten degrees right now. Roads are slick, too.”
“Are you at home?”
“Just got in a little while ago. Did you get my note?”
“It’s lovely, but why did you draw a volcano?”
“Smartass,” he mutters.
I smile. “Pie love you too, professor. With ice cream.”
“Uh huh.”
“How’s everything in the apartment?” I ask.
“Fine. Kelsey has kept your plants alive.”
“That’s what she told me. She seemed quite proud.”
“You talked to her?”
“Emailed her. I told her you were coming in for a couple of days. She doesn’t get why you had to fly all the way back for one meeting.”
He’s silent for a minute. I can’t help smiling. I won’t pry anymore so I don’t ruin the surprise.
“You should try and see her while you’re there,” I suggest.
“Uh, yeah. I’ll give her a call.” He clears his throat. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“I thought I’d go downtown, look at a few baby boutiques.”