Then he’d fallen hopelessly in love with her that day at the Starbucks, when she’d raised that pretty face and told him she wanted to get rid of the garbage in her life so there’d be room for happiness.
Then he’d watched as her courage and sweetness revealed itself. He’d observed how hard she worked to help a beaten-down mutt. And did she ever make him laugh!
Then there was everything else. How his heart came to life when she was near. How her playful sensuality opened the floodgates of his own. She was his complement. He could be himself with her.
Bea was right of course. This was no fluke. Eli and Roxie were supposed to do this. They were supposed to make a go of it. He would be a fool to pass up this opportunity for his soul’s happiness.
Eli pulled into the parking garage and took his automatic ticket, smiling to himself. If it didn’t hurt so much, it would be damn hilarious that Raymond-fucking-Sandberg—of all the male human beings on the planet—turned out to be his father!
He swung the truck into a parking spot, hopped out, and started to run.
* * *
Rachel fell into Bea’s embrace.
“Why are you up here on labor and delivery?” Bea asked Rachel. “What’s going on? Why aren’t you down on the second floor with your mom?”
“You haven’t heard?” she asked, pulling away from Bea. Then Rachel glanced at Roxie. “Nobody’s called to tell you?”
Roxie’s body clenched in fear. “Just tell us what’s wrong.”
“Oh, God.” Rachel took a shaky breath. “Ginger’s almost ready to deliver. She’s doing great. But, um, Josie …” Rachel blew out a breath of air. “Josie was just rushed into surgery. They said they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat.”
Roxie ran. She heard Rachel begin to tell Bea something about her mother’s condition but didn’t stop to listen. She hit the waiting room at full stride. It was packed with people Roxie usually only saw at baby showers or weddings. Ginger’s twin teenage sons were sprawled out on a couple of chairs, accompanied by Larry, Ginger’s physician ex-husband, Ginger’s mother, and Lucio’s father.
Across the room, gathered in a quiet cluster, was Josie’s family. Teeny hovered over them, both of Josie’s sister’s kids asleep in his arms. All the Sheehans looked pale and terrified. Roxie decided not to intrude.
“Larry,” she said. “Can I talk to you a minute?”
Larry got up and walked with Roxie to a corner, where they’d have privacy.
“I hear Ginger’s doing great.”
Larry nodded, his grin widening. “Yeah. She’s fully dilated. Looks like the old girl’s still got it in her.”
Roxie had no time or energy to comment on that vintage Larry Garrison remark.
“I know you’re worried about Josie,” Larry said, patting her arm. “I don’t know for sure what’s going on. I’m a urologist, so this isn’t exactly my forte, but I know that fetal distress was indicated and they took her in for an emergency C-section.”
Roxie nodded, but she felt sick.
“This is not uncommon, Roxanne. The good news is that they got her in there at the first sign of trouble.”
“How long’s she been in surgery?”
“They just took her in. We should know something very soon—it doesn’t take long.”
“It is a girl!” Lucio burst through the hydraulic double doors separating the patient areas from the waiting room, a paper mask dangling from his ecstatic face. “It is a girl! We have a girl! We have a beautiful, healthy baby girl!”
Lucio opened his arms to Ginger’s older boys and they jumped together with joy. Ginger’s mother joined them along with Lucio’s father and they all began to hop and cry and laugh.
“I’ll be damned,” Larry said, his smile spreading across his face. He took long strides to get to Lucio, and embraced him hard. “Congratulations,” he told him.
“Roxanne! You are here!” Lucio ran to her and swooped her into his arms. “I am so happy! I am the happiest man alive today in the city of San Francisco!”
Roxie hugged him back as the tears poured down her face. Some of them were tears of elation for Ginger and Lucio, some were caused by sheer terror for Josie, some were for poor Mrs. Needleman, and yes, some were for Eli.
Why? Why had this happened to them? She’d almost had the fairy tale. But here she was—in the middle of another nightmare.
“What is all this?” Lucio grabbed her by the shoulders. “Roxanne? What is it?”
Roxie refused to spoil this moment for Lucio. “I’m so happy for you both!” She kissed his cheek.
At that moment, Bea and Rachel joined everyone in the waiting room. Lucio took one look at their solemn faces and went into full-blown Spaniard mode. “What has happened?” he shouted, waving his arms around inside his surgical scrubs. He spun around on his paper booties, taking note of Josie’s huddled family and Teeny’s sad face.
“¡Hostia!” Lucio clutched his heart, his eyes searching Roxie’s face. “Oh, please do not tell me there is something wrong with Josie or the baby. Somebody! Please!”
“She’s in surgery,” Larry told him. “We’re all waiting.”
Roxanne felt him immediately, so it wasn’t a shock when she looked up to see Eli rounding the corner from the elevator lobby, walking toward her.
The shocking part was her reaction.
Suddenly, it was so simple. She had to accept the new order of things. What choice is there? She was standing in the middle of a combined earthquake, volcano, and direct asteroid hit, and when it was all over, the pieces of her world would never fit together the same way again.
Unearthed secrets. New life. Old age. Pain. Joy. Death. Love.
The facts were the facts. How she reacted to them was the only thing in her control.
She watched Eli strolling through the waiting room as if there were no one else present but the two of them. It was so obvious now. The way he moved. The curl in his blond hair. That smile. Those intense eyes. How could she not have seen Raymond in him from the start?
Maybe she had. Maybe the best parts of Raymond had made their way into Eli, and what she’d once found so appealing in the father she now loved in the son.
Mrs. Needleman had been right! The whole damn thing had been out of anyone’s hands from the start!
“You’re mine.”
Those were the only words out of Eli’s mouth. He now stood toe to toe with Roxie, and looked down at her with smoky green eyes alive with confidence, and something else.
“I love you, Roxie Bloom. As God is my witness, I will never rush you. We will take as much time as we both need to figure this out. But here’s the way it’s going to be. Are you listening?”
She gasped.
“You and I belong together. Do you know why?”
She shook her head, too stunned to say anything.
“Because we make each other feel safe. We make each other feel happy.”
Roxanne felt a tentative smile come to her lips.
“So I will be your man. You will be my woman. It’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Eli began digging into the front left pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a ring.
“Yes!” Bea shouted.
“Shhh!” Rachel told her.
Roxie popped out of her daze long enough to notice how everyone in the waiting area had begun circling in slow motion around her and Eli, like a pack of curious dogs.
Eli lowered himself on one knee.
“I know what’s in your heart because you’ve revealed it to me,” he continued. “I know you love me, Roxanne. But I also know that what happened today was a painful shock. For both of us.”
She nodded, tears stinging her eyes.
“We will wait. Because I’m yours and you’re mine, we’ll wait until we’ve come to peace with everything. Wear this in the meantime.”
Eli slipped a pretty, old-fashioned diamond ring onto her finger.
“But what does it mean?” she whispered, glancing from the ring to the ma
n.
“It can mean whatever you want it to mean.”
She stared at the dainty band of gold and diamonds and had trouble breathing. “But—”
“Someday, when it’s time, I plan to be your husband.” Eli stood, still cradling her left hand. “Remember what we talked about, Rox—we’ll always do things our own way. All I ask today is that you keep your heart open to the possibilities and let me love you.”
Roxanne suddenly had the strangest sensation. It was as if something—or someone—just moved right through her. It was a force. A rush of power. Then it surrounded her, swirling, building … and then there was a distinct humming noise, which turned into words … this man will be different … strong enough … brave enough …
She stared at Eli, astounded. The sensation was back, that feeling she’d tried to hang on to when they’d stood together on top of the ridge.
She was ready to answer him.
Rachel’s cell phone rang. “Hello?” she asked, stepping out of the circle.
Eli pulled her tight. “Do you love me, Roxanne? Yes or no.”
“God, yes, I love you.”
A newborn’s cry pierced the air.
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life.”
“Then say yes.”
“Yes, Eli. I will wear this ring. I will let you love me. And I will love you back.”
Eli grabbed her face and kissed her with the dominance and tenderness that infused everything he did. By now, she knew it was his signature in all things, including the way he dealt with unstable dogs and even more unstable women.
Roxie kissed him back, knowing that her head might be swirling with questions, but her heart was fuller than it had ever been in her life, and wide, wide open.
“It’s a healthy boy! Josie’s fine!” Rick came stumbling through the double doors, his mask dangling from his hand.
Everyone erupted in cheers and screams of happiness and relief. Josie’s mother fainted. Rick stood in the middle of the waiting room, his eyes wide with awe.
“My God, he’s big! Over nine pounds! Perfect, loud, and really, really big! And Josie is … she was …” Rick suddenly couldn’t speak the words. Tears began streaming down his face. “Josie was absolutely amazing.” Teeny reached Rick in time to catch him in his arms.
In the midst of all the celebrating, Roxie looked for Bea. She and Rachel stood off together, their heads bent and touching at their foreheads.
Roxie took Eli by the hand and they walked over to them. Roxie knew. And she knew exactly when. Because she had felt it.
The last thing Mrs. Needleman did on this earth was give Roxie another nudge.
“She just now passed in her sleep,” Bea said. “The family is downstairs. We’re heading there now.”
Roxie hugged Rachel and Bea and was about to express her condolences when Lucio came up behind them.
He balanced a tiny bundle in his arms. From inside a tightly wound pink blanket peeked a tiny little pink face, surrounded by a shock of thick black hair. “I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Gloria Beatriz Montevez,” he said.
Epilogue
Bea smiled as little Gloria kicked off the wedding procession, scattering petals along the dirt path with wild abandon, her chubby arm sweeping high and wide with each toss. Her parents beamed from their position with the rest of the bridal party, as bewitched by their dark-haired little girl today as the day she came into the world, five years before.
Ring bearer Rocco Rousseau went next. The kid looked about as bored as humanly possible, and kept tugging at his bow tie. Halfway down the path he noticed one of his shoes was untied. He tossed the silk ring pillow into a prickly pile of brush so that he could redo his laces the best he could, which made the crowd gasp. Rocco retrieved the pillow, dusted it off, and announced, “We’re good!”
The rowdy ring bearer’s parents were next. Bea watched Josie and Rick make their way gingerly along the path, Rick escorting the pregnant matron of honor. This would make kid number four for the couple. Uncle Teeny sat in the front row with two squirming toddlers on his lap. Thank God they lived in a big house, was all Bea could think.
Lucio and Ginger stepped onto the dirt path next, somewhat out of place in this wild setting. They were so glamorous in their formal attire that they seemed destined for a Hollywood red carpet instead of the red dirt of Utah. Lucio delivered Ginger to her position as bridesmaid with a soft kiss on her cheek. That man sure knew how to do it, Bea thought with a sigh.
Next, the groom slid into his place to Bea’s left. Eli and Bea exchanged an affectionate glance, and suddenly, Bea felt as though she would cry from the sharp beauty of the moment.
The truth was, everyone she loved most in the world was gathered here that day, in this breathtaking spot in the Utah desert. She’d been to the Dog-Eared Ranch many times over the years, and knew the venue Roxie and Eli had chosen for their ceremony was a bit on the dramatic side. But nothing could have prepared Bea for the magic of it all as it began to unfold in front of her.
The sunset now bathed everything and everyone in a warm blush. A gentle wind ruffled the women’s dresses. Enormous cliffs and mountains shot up from an ocean of rolling pastureland, while Bea stood under a natural arch of rock that would serve as the couple’s altar. And there, at the opposite end of the path, stood the Goddess Bride, waiting for Bea to give the signal that the time had come.
She grinned at her friend, relieved that Roxie had opted for the real deal of a wedding dress and not some boring get-up. She’d had to sit Roxanne down a few months ago and spell it out for her—you’ve made everyone wait too damn long for this day to show up in some off-white pantsuit.
Bea stood a bit taller, thinking that these days she was not only a canine agility trainer and licensed minister, but a fashion consultant, to boot! Who’d’ve thunk?
Bea gave the nod to Roxanne. With great happiness, Bea watched her friend stroll up the path toward the groom. Eli gasped as she came closer, and Bea couldn’t blame him—Roxie looked regal in her creamy strapless gown, her long dark hair loosely pulled off her neck and away from her face, fresh flowers laced through the strands. Roxanne’s dark-eyed prettiness had softened over the years. She was now in the fullness of her beauty, composed and sure of herself and radiating contentment everywhere she went. Bea wiped a tear from her eye and patted her pants pocket, double-checking that she’d brought tissues. She was sure as hell going to need them.
Eli beamed at his lovely bride and offered his arm as she joined him at the altar. Together, the couple took a step forward to stand directly beneath the towering stone arch. Eli whispered something to Roxie and she nodded and smiled.
Suddenly, the bride raised two fingers to her lips and a sharp, high-pitched whistle erupted, surprising everyone. Applause began a moment later, when every dog in the vicinity came running up the path, plopping down in a row behind the bride and groom, tails swooshing in the dirt. Each dog bore the indignity of a black bow tie or a white lace kerchief at their necks, depending on their gender. Even Martina.
Bea laughed with delight and opened her arms, the power and beauty coursing through her. Silently, before she said a single thing aloud, she thanked Gloria for showing the way, and for being right here at her side on this day. Of course she was there. If it weren’t for her, none of this would have come to pass.
“Welcome, everyone,” Bea said. “We are gathered this evening for the marriage ceremony of Roxanne Bloom and Eli Gallagher—finally.”
A wave of laughter and applause moved through the crowd, only to be gathered up in the breeze and carried across the landscape.
“This is a fortuitous occasion, as many of you are aware, but you may not know all the details. That’s where I come in.” Bea scanned the gathering of smiling faces. “Did you know that these two people met almost six years ago to the day, at a wedding ceremony held eight hundred miles from here? Did you know they were instantly drawn to each other but spent another year tr
ying to deny the attraction? Did you know that once they acknowledged their feelings it took only days before Roxie had a ring on her finger, but another five years came and went before this day arrived?”
A few chuckles erupted in the crowd.
“We are here to celebrate Roxie and Eli’s journey. They could have turned their back on love—God knows they had their reasons. But they didn’t. They persevered. They chose each other. They chose to live in the light of their beloved.”
Bea’s eyes found Rachel’s smiling face among the guests, and she was filled with gratitude for how her own life had changed.
“Who would have thought that the four women who stood in the middle of a San Francisco dog park all those years ago and officially gave up on love would be standing here, now, on this windswept ridge, literally surrounded by it? Who could have predicted that the women who’d once vowed to settle for life with their dogs now have a life filled with children, spouses, family, true friends, and their dogs?”
With a barely noticeable hand gesture from Eli, the line of sitting canines began to howl in unison. It took a long while for the noise and laughter to die down so Bea could continue.
“To go back to the very beginning, you’d have to say that Roxie and Eli’s love story began seven years ago, when a man named Ira Needleman passed away. As fate would have it, our Josie, who was an obituary feature writer at the Herald at the time, interviewed his widow, Gloria, for an article. With that single act, a series of events were set into motion, lives were changed forever, and a whole world was brought into being.
“The elderly widow told Josie to be brave enough to ask for what she wanted in life. The very next morning, Josie met Rick and did something completely out of character—she asked him to join her for a cup of coffee. He said yes.”
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Rocco announced. His father leaned down and whispered in his ear. As the words “hold it” floated in the breeze, Bea knew she needed to wrap this up.