Back on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #4)(45)

“Cody will be good with an infant,” I said, picturing my stepson with a baby. “Boy or girl.”

Brad agreed with a quick nod. He’d gobbled down his whole sandwich before I’d had the chance to eat half of mine. I put the second half in the fridge and we went back to bed.

We cuddled close and I felt the even rhythm of his breathing a few minutes later and realized he’d fallen asleep. It took me a while longer as I reviewed our discussion. Adoption.

Brad and I could bring an infant into our lives. I thought about how my family was likely to react. I knew it would please my mother; she’d always wanted more grandchildren.

I could say with certainty that Margaret, however, would insist adoption was a mistake. After making sure I knew she disapproved, she’d list ten excellent reasons why Brad and I shouldn’t adopt a child. But it wasn’t Margaret’s life, was it? I reminded myself that the decision was ours, not my sister’s.

What seemed like minutes later, the alarm on our clock radio was buzzing. The morning news followed. Brad was already out of bed and in the shower. Although I don’t have to be at work until ten, I make it a habit to get up with my husband.

Yawning, I went into the kitchen, started the coffee and dropped slices of bread in the toaster. Cody, lucky boy, could sleep for another hour before he had to wake up.

“Have you done any more thinking about what we discussed last night?” Brad asked me as he took his first sip of coffee.

“A little. What about you?”

“I’ll do whatever you want, Lydia.”

“Let’s talk about it again in a few weeks.”

He nodded. Before he left for work, Brad kissed me with extra fervor, and I took comfort in what he told me so effectively without words. I stepped outside with him, into a spring morning soft with promise. Standing on the deck, I watched him pull out of the garage.

I must’ve done something very good in my life to deserve Brad Goetz.

CHAPTER 16

Alix Townsend

With Jacqueline and Colette’s encouragement, Alix joined Go Figure, an exercise gym for women, which had recently opened on Blossom Street.

Exercise, Alix heard from a variety of sources, was a good tension reliever. As the wedding date grew closer, Alix was in desperate need of something to calm her increasingly frazzled nerves. Knitting just wasn’t doing it anymore, not when this farce of a wedding got more ridiculous with each passing day.

As an added inducement, Colette had signed up with her. Go Figure wasn’t like any gym Alix had ever seen. It had equipment but no mirrors, except in the changing stalls, and no men.

The exercise program was predesigned and set to music. You went around the circle of exercise equipment, spending forty-five seconds on each machine, then you spent another forty-five seconds dancing or running in place on a small platform. After that, it was on to the next piece of equipment, and so on. The goal was to do thirty minutes of exercise, which meant completing the circle twice. Forty-five seconds? Anyone could manage that.

When Colette suggested they try this out, Alix had scoffed. She didn’t want to brag, but she was in good shape. She hoisted twenty-five-pound bags of flour nearly every day. Mixing all that bread dough and lifting it onto a floured board wasn’t for weaklings. Still, the first time she completed the cycle at Go Figure she discovered muscles she didn’t know she had.

After their initial week, during which they were allowed to visit as often as they wanted for free, Colette and Alix had decided to sign up. The gym recommended three to four sessions in a seven-day period. Having an exercise partner was great encouragement. Alix felt the workout had reduced her stress and Colette appeared to be enjoying the benefits, as well.

One drawback was that they couldn’t really chat. Not with the music blaring and the beat urging them on. But Alix and Colette usually found a few minutes before or after their sessions to talk.

“Did he call?” Alix asked when they’d finished the latest round of exercise. She didn’t have to explain who he was.

“No,” Colette muttered. Her face was red from exertion. She draped a small towel around her neck as she moved toward the dressing room. Pushing aside the curtain, she glanced at Alix. “I already told you he wouldn’t. That’s the way we both want it.”

When Colette had first mentioned Christian, Alix had serious doubts about him. Who wouldn’t? He seemed to be virtually blackmailing her into that dinner date. Something was going on between those two, something Colette hadn’t told her. Based on what she’d said earlier, there’d obviously been an incident, maybe a disturbing one. Alix wouldn’t pressure her, though.

After her dinner date with Christian Dempsey, Colette had told her a bit more. From the way she talked, Alix could only assume that Colette had fallen in love with him. But if that was the case, she didn’t understand why Colette chose to avoid him.

“Do you feel like walking down to Pike Place Market with me?” Colette asked as Alix pulled on her jeans.

“Sure.” Alix’s Saturday was mostly free. Her future mother-in-law wanted to meet with her later in the day to go over the menu for the rehearsal dinner. Alix felt her stomach knot at the prospect of dealing with one more wedding detail.

Jordan’s mother meant well, and Alix tried hard not to say or do anything that would have a negative effect on their relationship. She did her best not to feel resentful. It’s just one day had become a mantra that she repeated incessantly. The problem was that Alix wasn’t willing to surrender everything. So far the only battle she’d really won had been over her wedding dress. Every other decision had gone to Jacqueline and Susan, and most of the time Alix’s wishes were ignored.