“How about you come along when I go see Al and Nancy, and Bobby. We‘re a team, remember?” he laughed. “But first let‘s go to a fancy restaurant
and celebrate!”
“OK, but…well, just come by right after work.”
It was almost six when Jimmy got to Renee‘s place. She got her purse and they headed for Jimmy‘s truck.
“Where do you want to eat?” Jimmy asked. “Let‘s go someplace special!”
“Oh, anywhere you choose. But let‘s run by the park first, before we eat.”
“The park?” Jimmy said with surprise. “But it‘s going to be dark soon…and isn‘t it kind of chilly?”
“It‘s OK,” Renee insisted with a smile. “Humor me, OK?”
They parked at the usual place and walked back along the pond. It was just cool enough for a light jacket, but otherwise it was a swell autumn evening. They encountered a couple of walkers, but the park was pretty quiet.
As they circled the park they made their way to their favorite bench, nestled under a couple of trees and facing the pond.
“Let‘s sit here for a minute,” Renee said.
As they looked across the pond the fall colors were splashed across the foliage, and falling leaves gently filtered down through the beams of the setting sun.
“Sure is beautiful,” Jimmy marveled.
“It is,” Renee said, and Jimmy heard some tension in her voice. He looked at her, and she was nervously squeezing her hands together in her lap, looking at the ground. Something was obviously bothering her.
It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again.
“OK,” she said, drawing in a deep breath. “I wanted to come out here where we had some privacy. Jimmy, the deal with Meteor, that‘s fantastic. I am so happy for you…you deserve every good thing that happens to you.”
Jimmy looked at her intently. What‘s going on here?
“I want you to know that I would never do anything that could take away from your career, and your success. I don‘t want to cause any problems for you and…”
“Say, wait a minute,” Jimmy said quietly. “Renee, are you…are you breaking up with me?”
“Oh, no,” she said quickly, shaking her head emphatically. “Gosh, no! I…I love you, Jimmy.”
She brushed a tear from her cheek, and her hand was trembling.
“I just…I just…I don‘t want to mess anything up for you.”
“What do you mean? How could you mess anything up? I don‘t understand.”
She stared at him, with tears brimming in her eyes. She stared a long time, and her voice was so soft when she spoke it was almost a whisper.
“I‘m pregnant.”