Prayers for the Dying (Pam of Babylon Book Four) Read Online Free Page A

he said. “I just imagined my kids. We can have two if you want. A boy and a girl.” He smiled at her, tightening his arm around her shoulder, not making fun of her as she had feared but agreeing with her. He saw their children in his mind’s eye. Two children who looked like them melded. In a split second he visualized a home they would make together with a sober, involved wife and mother and happy, well-adjusted children. “We should tell your parents. I don’t want to wait.”
    He’d never said anything to her about getting engaged or married. She’d assumed it was what he meant. Now, the night was upon them and she didn’t have a clue what he was going to do once he got to her house. He was aware of their modest circumstances and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. Pam hated to admit to herself that she was ashamed of the way they lived, the shabby furniture and cheap knickknacks, the pervasive food odors. Her grandparents and parents put her through college; she should be grateful, not embarrassed.
    “Genoa, is Pam with you?” Nelda yelled up the staircase.
    “I’m here, Mom,” Pam yelled back.
    “Can you get your shower up there? Ask your grandmother.” It was a constant shuffling of needs, trying to get four girls ready for an evening. “Ask Daddy to come down, will you please?” So their afternoon was interrupted; Frank had to vacuum and get his own shower before the important visitor showed up.
    Miraculously, everyone was ready by six p.m. Genoa made it down the stairs in one piece, the house was neat, and dinner was ready when Jack Smith, son of Bernice and Harold Smith, arrived at the Bensonhurst home of his girlfriend, Miss Pamela Fabian. Pam met him at the door and was surprised when he swept her into his arms for a hug in front of her entire family. He appeared slightly red around the eyes, too. She hoped it was happiness and not regret that was making him cry. Without waiting to see if everyone was present, not really knowing who should be there anyway, he dove right in. He looked over at Frank first.
    “With your permission, sir?” Then, getting down on one knee, he proposed to her. Nelda and Pam gasping, Genoa doing her best not to snicker, and the younger girls sighing in harmony, Jack pulled a ring box out of his side pocket and opened it, facing Pam. Frank almost fainted at the size of diamond.
    “Pam, will you marry me?” he asked, not wasting any time.
    As she had taught herself from the onset of their romance, she took it at face value. He didn’t say anything about loving her, about his feelings for her. Just “will you marry me?” Without hesitation, she answered yes.
    He stood up, fighting back tears, and scooped her up in his arms again. The family clapped and cheered. It was a happy time! They were going to have a wedding.
    “When’s the big day?” Nelda asked. She was sensible enough to know that she and Frank would not be responsible for the financial end of the wedding. If they were, the reception would be held in their Bensonhurst backyard. Jack looked down at Pam, hesitant to answer because Bernice had picked the date without conferring with the bride. Her reaction could determine whether the engagement would move forward.
    “June 15,” he replied.
    Pam’s face broke into a smile. “I’m going to be a June bride!” she said, trying not to jump up and down. She kept her enthusiasm in check as she had practiced since she was a small child until it became second nature, the result being that no one ever really knew what she was thinking, except perhaps, her father. If it crossed her mind that she wasn’t consulted about the date of her own wedding, she hid it well. Nelda was taken aback by the date, taking a surreptitious glance at her daughter’s abdomen. What was the hurry? With her hands behind her back, she counted the months. Not even slightly ashamed of her thoughts, as soon as they were done eating, Nelda got up from the table and started to clear the