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The Stork Club
The Stork Club
The Stork Club
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The Stork Club

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In the weeks leading up to their wedding, Gabriel Pernoud and Alicia Drummond work to put a number of issues to rest concerning not just themselves, but their family situations. Their mothers, two women who are as different as night and day, become the focus of their lives as they come to grips with Gabriel's mother having been away for so long when he truly did need her while he was being raised by his older brothers, and Alicia's mother being a controlling idealist.

Adding to the drama, the couple discovers that they produced an addition to their little family well before schedule which will force other decisions to be made well in advance of previous plans.

And, as usual in the Pernoud and Drummond clans, family members are constantly underfoot and giving unsolicited advice.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 10, 2018
ISBN9780463515563
The Stork Club
Author

Patricia Holden

A resident of Flyover Country in the Unites States, Patricia Holden, the pen name of a good Catholic girl from the Midwest, is committed to Christianity and traditional social roles, as well as high arts and culture. Watching politics, observing human behavior and writing are some of her long-time interests. The author known as Patricia Holden is a classically trained soprano and proud citizen of Cardinal Nation, although, during hockey season, Bleeds Blue. She lives with family and a cute and charming tyrant...make that a toy dog. She also crochets.Please, visit this writer's Facebook author page @PatriciaHoldenAuthor for reader fellowship and frequent conversations about upcoming books including voting on cover art, and snippets of upcoming offerings.

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    Book preview

    The Stork Club - Patricia Holden

    The Stork Club

    by Patricia Holden

    Published by Susan Sampson at SmashWords

    Copyright © 2018 Susan Sampson

    Cover Photo from Free Images

    Other Titles from Patricia Holden on Smashwords:

    Turn My Head

    Break Through

    Third Time’s the Charm

    Conflict of Interest

    Romeo Night

    Last Man Standing

    Talk Dirty To Me

    Secrets of the Bayou

    High Maintenance

    No Turning Back

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Chapter 1

    Gabriel Pernoud kept a close eye on the door in the screened in porch of his friend Mickey Dolan’s house. At some point in the last hour, Gabe’s fiancé, and the other three members of the string quartet in which she played, disappeared inside. Curiously enough, given that they had met not all that long ago, Mickey’s fiancé disappeared at about the same time.

    Where did they all go? Gabe thought to himself. It was a constant mantra he kept up while the girls were missing. Something about the way they all disappeared into the house at the same time set his teeth on edge. Everyone at the party today had a tour of the interior earlier, and had seen the before of the renovation his friend Mickey and his soon to be bride to be were going to do to the place. They were really going to turn the already almost modern vintage house into a showstopper for themselves, that was for sure. After the tour, once plans were discussed, and all questions were answered as to how Mickey was going to transform the house, the whole gang of guys in the circle of close-knit families and friends of which the Pernouds were a huge part, headed outside to sit around the pool in the notorious St. Louis August heat and humidity.

    That was when the girls disappeared.

    Now that they were outside and sitting down, the guys talked of nothing of import, actually, as all of them were anxious for a good break from reality. So many of their lives had changed so drastically in the last year they needed the respite. So did the ladies, actually, which was why Gabriel was watching the back door of Mickey’s house waiting for an ax of doom or something similar to come through it. He could feel it coming. Something was up with the girls, that was a given, and Gabe had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was. At least when it came to his own fiancé, he was pretty positive of what was going on since he was a stellar medical scientist student having completed rotations in all the specialties. He knew the signs were there. His fiancé was displaying them whether she told him about them or not. And the other four girls that disappeared with her into the house? One of them, anyway, he knew was in the same boat as his fiancé. The other three? Given the state of contentment among the guys who were seated with him and his brothers around the pool, three of whom just happened to be those specific girls’ fiancés, it was a good possibility they were all about to have their lives turned upside down.

    More than likely, they were all about to get the same news, and there was no getting around-

    Staring at the door isn’t going to make her appear any faster, you know, his brother Francis said into his ear. Still, Gabe didn’t look away from the screen where he was sure the girls would exit the house sooner or later.

    No, Gabe told his brother who was not two years older than him, but I’m not sure I like the way they all went into the house together, and haven’t come back out.

    He heard Francis snort. You’re inviting trouble, his brother said just as the first of the five girls, Francis’s fiancé Rosemary, opened the screen door. She exited followed by Gabe’s own fiancé, Alicia. Both wore the same deer in the headlights expression that confirmed for Gabe what the girls were doing while they were in the house, and it wasn’t convening a coven, that was for sure.

    Gabe blew out a deep breath. Yep, just as I thought.

    What? Francis asked as Gabe’s eyes locked with Alicia’s.

    You and I are about to become members of the stork club.

    Alicia Drummond closed the dishwasher in the loft she shared with her fiancé in the part of St. Louis known as the Central West End. For some decades now, the CWE was one of the centers of revitalization and regentrification in the city. When lofts became all the rage a few years back, well, places like this old warehouse which was now obsolete in American life and could be converted into living spaces, seemed to attract redevelopers out of the blue. The loft was very modern, very fashionable, and very much a single living room with designated areas defined only by the furniture in them.

    On this particular evening, though, the walls of the open concept space seemed to be closing in on Alicia. The open and spacious loft was, in reality, pretty cozy, truth be told, and right this minute she needed a momentary escape from the closeness to process the piece of information she really needed to tell her fiancé, and didn’t know how. Breathing started to be difficult when she thought about it too much. She needed fresh air, she thought. Not that the air outside would be all that fresh tonight. After all, the local temperatures had reached ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit earlier in the day. The concrete of the city would still hold a lot of that heat since the sun had not been down all that long, and the radiant warmth was trapped close to the buildings as it rose from street level.

    At the moment, it didn’t matter to her, though.

    She needed the quiet stillness of the night to calm her, and the fresh air even if it would be overly warm.

    She looked over her shoulder to the table tucked in the corner of the part of the open space she and Gabriel Pernoud used as a living room. Before he started his dissertation research last year after he was finished with the medical school portion of his medical scientist education, Gabe bought the penthouse loft in this converted warehouse as the building was just blocks from his lab. At the time, it was convenient for both of them being so close to the place they both worked. Tonight, he sat at the table that served as his at home desk and office, all six foot two of him with the black curls, and the Atlas wide shoulders, typing away on his notebook computer. She knew he had notes to get written out from his short trip to the lab when they drove back into the city from their friend Mickey Dolan’s party this afternoon. She certainly didn’t begrudge him the time. No, in fact, it would give her a few more minutes to calm her nerves before she told him the news she wasn’t sure he was ready to hear.

    Alicia left Gabe to his typing, and quietly walked to the French doors that opened onto the balcony that ran along the east wall of the loft. She opened one side of the doors, and stepped into the heat of the night, where the only sounds on the stagnant air were the distant wails of sirens, passing freight trains, the light rail cars of the mass transit system, and the occasional fireworks when a member of the Cardinals hit a homerun travelling from the ballpark downtown. This high off the ground mosquitoes were not a problem, but still, one had to watch out for birds, and every now and then at dusk a bat.

    She lifted her head to look at the night sky. Clouds covered the stars, and reflected the lights of the city. The part of town where she and Gabriel lived was fashionable for being full of what was left of the grandeur of graceful mansions and wealth accumulated in the late nineteenth century when St. Louis was a truly desired place to be and own a business. Much of that grand crystal and lace elegance was torn down or otherwise exported in the name of progress during the twentieth century, though. In a complete switch of circumstances, the historic buildings that remained were now revered for their charm and character, and one by one, they were being restored to magnificence so long as outside investors were fended off as well as the sorts of people who raped beautiful buildings by removing hand crafted original features, and selling them to the highest bidder.

    Alicia took a deep breath, and gradually let it out.

    Slowly, but surely, the warmth and stillness of the night soaked into her body. Her tense, nervous, and oh, so pregnant body.

    Alicia closed her eyes. She tried not to think about what happened this afternoon in that luxury bathroom in the master suite at Mickey Dolan’s house. She tried to forget about it.

    But she couldn’t.

    She and the other four women with her - her cousin Marianne, Rosemary Fallon, Josie Miller, and Mickey’s Tara - all had been drinking from the same well, apparently. They were all knocked up. The EPTs they took one after another this afternoon told the tale.

    Alicia once again felt the panic that took hold when she picked up the test she took and saw the two lines on it start to bubble inside her. It wasn’t that she didn’t suspect it, but-

    She jumped when strong arms surrounded her from behind, and pulled her against a chest that was hard as iron. She took a yet another deep breath, and leaned back into Gabriel’s warm and comforting embrace.

    Come to grips with it yet? he asked quietly in the deep, dark velvety voice that he and his brothers all shared. He put his lips to her temple.

    Alicia rested her arms on his, and asked, Come to grips with what?

    She felt him laugh against her before he said, What you and the rest of the quartet figured out at the party this afternoon.

    He KNEW? The rat. He knew and he didn’t say anything, letting her worry about how to tell him….

    She took courage from his strength surrounding her, and said, How did you figure it out?

    Ali, I have the equivalent of an MD degree, remember? he patiently told her. We did cover reproduction in med school. I know your body well enough to know the signs were there. She stilled in his arms, and waited for the punchline. So while you were asleep the other night, I got out my stethoscope. He kissed her temple again. There’s a tiny heart that is a part of you and me beating away inside you. His arms tightened around her. I listened to it last night, too. He kissed her temple again.

    Well, Alicia thought, all her angst and worry today had essentially been for nothing. The thought kicked up that heartburn that had been bugging her for the last week. He sounded like he was thrilled. Thank Heaven for that small favor, she mused to herself. But, honestly, that wasn’t her only pressing concern at the moment. Your Nonna is going to kill me, she told him. Gabe’s grandmother - the famed Grande Dame of Milan fashion - was making her wedding dress for their nuptials which were scheduled at the end of next month. The old woman had been warning Alicia for over a year to not be pregnant at their wedding since the dress wouldn’t hang right if she was. Maybe being so early in the pregnancy, that wouldn’t be a problem, but Alicia doubted it.

    Alicia closed her eyes and sighed. With Nonna, it was going to be a problem.

    She felt Gabe laugh against her back again before he said, Oh, Nonna is not going to be too mad at you. It’s me she’ll want to skin. I’m actually more worried about my parents’ reaction. I mean, if everything goes right, they’re going to get two more grandkids at about the same time.

    Gabe, your mom and dad are earthy enough, they aren’t going to care when they get grandkids or from who. After all, she thought, Gabe’s older brothers all were busy starting families. Four babies had been born into the Pernoud family since Christmas, and another was due next month. My parents, on the other hand, she paused her heart flipping in her chest. I just hope my mother doesn’t ask where this baby came from.

    It came from your frustration with her at my parents’ Fourth of July party, Gabe said flat out.

    Alicia tilted her head back on his chest. He was probably right. They really weren’t paying attention that night. She was upset, and he consoled her the old fashioned way-

    Gabe went on, Tell you what, you want to keep it quiet for a while, I’m fine with that, but I guarantee you that my brothers will know without either of us having to tell them, and it’s a good bet their wives will as well.

    Alicia moaned. Yeah, when I’m at my parents’ for brunch tomorrow, I won’t say anything unless I have to. She paused for a moment. I wish I was going out to Adam’s estate with you to paint the ice instead.

    She felt him chuckle against her back. I’m sure you do. You, though, are done painting until the baby comes. I don’t want you inhaling those kinds of fumes while you’re pregnant.

    A few hours later, Gabe stirred from a restless sleep and opened his eyes. The light from the street lamps reflected off of the cloud cover outside poured through the series of picture windows in their bedroom despite the light, sheer curtains covering them. He leaned up on an elbow, and looked down at his bride to be. His beautiful inside and out woman who had every right to be thoroughly angry with him, and, he got the idea, really wasn’t. At this point, she was still in shock about their new addition, and feeling the effects of his or her living inside her. She really didn’t feel well enough to be mad at him.

    All along, whenever they started talking about the future, they really had planned on waiting a few years before starting their family, and he…well, when this child was conceived, he knew darn well and good they were playing with fire. And he went ahead and knocked her up anyway.

    And the truth of it was that he was not sorry he did it at all. He was already excited about welcoming their son or daughter and proving to his brothers he was just as much of a man as they were since all of them managed to sire offspring in the last eighteen months.

    Gabe took a deep breath and studied Alicia’s pale skin that turned pink with too much sun. Her long, curly, blonde tresses were spread out on the pillow. Her plump, full lips were slightly open as she slept. Her big, sky blue eyes were closed while her body rested, and grew the baby he knew was nestled inside her, right where Gabe put him or her last month.

    Unable to help himself, just to be able to experience the wonder of it yet again, Gabe quietly reached to his nightstand and opened the drawer. Right where he had stashed it earlier, his stethoscope gleamed in the ambient light coming off the clouds. He lifted it out of the drawer, and put the tips in his ears. Slowly and deliberately, so as to not wake her, Gabe warmed up the diaphragm over the listening device with his breath, and reached under the covers and her nightshirt to put the surface over her womb. Clear as day, he could hear the tiny heart beating away.

    Gabriel closed his eyes when his breath left him, just like it did a few days earlier when he gave into his curiosity, and took a listen the first time. He was awed then, and he was no less awed now.

    The two of them had made a new life together. Deep down, Gabe was more than sure Ali would be in the same place he was as soon as the early pregnancy symptoms she was accumulating were a thing of the past. He also knew his family would be more than welcoming of a new life added to their increasing numbers.

    Her family, on the other hand-

    All bets were off on that score.

    Chapter 2

    Alicia got behind the wheel of her silver Range Rover, a birthday present from Gabriel this year, and plopped the six pack of bottled water she was carrying in a reusable bag from a local grocery store on the passenger’s seat. If there was one thing she was sure her parents would not have at this brunch her mother called for this particular Sunday, it was bottled water not in an emergency preparedness kit. To be blunt about it, Alicia’s mother considered all plastic bottles an abomination, and bottled water a complete waste of money at that. Nothing else mattered in Elise Drummond’s mind…certainly not that tap water wasn’t distilled or purified or that pregnant women shouldn’t drink it.

    After attending Mass this morning, Alicia and Gabe split up for the day and took separate cars to their respective destinations – their family strongholds. He had to run by the lab and check on a couple of experiments before traveling west to his brother Adam’s house, and she was headed to her parents condo just over the city-county line at the eastern edge of the suburbs. It was

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