your doctor, is start thinking up names for the kid.“
Colby forked up a large slice of salmon and regarded Diana across the small restaurant table. “How do you feel about
Bertha Maud if it’s a girl, and Horace if it’s a boy?“
“You can’t be serious.“ Diana was still dwelling on the conversation she’d had with her doctor the previous
afternoon. The pregnancy was becoming more and more real by the day. And Colby seemed determined to make sure
she faced it. Every time she turned around, he was bringing up some subject that had to do with babies. Tonight they
were eating at one of the best restaurants in town, but she could hardly concentrate on the excellent food she had
been served. Now Colby wanted to talk names. “I wouldn’t stick any kid with a name like Bertha Maud or Horace.
Besides, it’s too early to start thinking of names for the baby.“
“No, it’s not. You just want to put it off because you’d rather worry about your career.“
“I understand my career better than I understand babies.“ The hum of conversation at nearby tables and the clatter
of dishes made the words almost inaudible. But not quite. Colby had heard her.
“You’ll learn.“ Colby swallowed another bite of fish. “You about ready to head back to Fulbrook Comers?
We’ve spent enough time here in Portland this week. I’ve still got a book to finish this summer.“
“I haven’t even contacted my boss yet. I was going to call Aaron tomorrow.“
“You can wait until the end of the summer. That’s what you were planning to do, anyway.“
Diana was getting accustomed to Colby’s efforts to sidetrack her every time she began to fret about her career. “I’d
rather settle things as soon as possible now that I know I’m pregnant. I need to know if going back to Carruthers and
Yale is even a viable possibility.“
“You know it is. That Crown character has been pestering you all summer to come back to work for him.“
“Yes,“ she admitted. “You know, I think I’m going to do it, Colby. It’s the perfect solution.“
“The perfect solution is for you to stop worrying about your career until you’ve settled into marriage and
motherhood.“
“Do we have to go through this again? You know how I feel about being financially dependent on a man. I made a
vow a long time ago that I would never expect someone else to pay my way in life.“
“You mean you promised yourself you’d never take the risk of trusting a man to support you either financially or
emotionally. That’s a bit different than saying you don’t want someone else to pay your way in this world. Yeah, I
know how you feel about it.“ Colby pointed his fork at her, scowling. “You’ve made it damned clear you don’t like the
idea of trusting me to take care of you. But I think it’s time you realized that you’ve carried that particular phobia to
extremes.“
“Why are you so opposed to my career plans? Don’t you understand how important that part of my life is to me? I
didn’t think you were a chauvinist in that regard, Colby. You know how you feel about your writing. Surely you can
empathize with me.“
“It’s not a question of being chauvinistic,“ he exploded, trying to keep his voice low. “My writing is every bit as
important to me as your career is to you, but I learned the hard way that there are other things in life. It’s time you
learned the same lesson. You’ve been too self-contained, too focused on your job and your narrow little world for too
long. It’s time to learn what it means to be a woman who’s also a wife and, soon, a mother. You’re going to broaden
your horizons, lady. The amazon bit wears after a while.“
“Ill bet you never gave up a paying job while you learned about the little joys of fatherhood.“
“All right, I had to do it the hard way. That doesn’t make it the right way. Raising Brandon alone and working
full-time to support him and myself was not the ideal
Colby forked up a large slice of salmon and regarded Diana across the small restaurant table. “How do you feel about
Bertha Maud if it’s a girl, and Horace if it’s a boy?“
“You can’t be serious.“ Diana was still dwelling on the conversation she’d had with her doctor the previous
afternoon. The pregnancy was becoming more and more real by the day. And Colby seemed determined to make sure
she faced it. Every time she turned around, he was bringing up some subject that had to do with babies. Tonight they
were eating at one of the best restaurants in town, but she could hardly concentrate on the excellent food she had
been served. Now Colby wanted to talk names. “I wouldn’t stick any kid with a name like Bertha Maud or Horace.
Besides, it’s too early to start thinking of names for the baby.“
“No, it’s not. You just want to put it off because you’d rather worry about your career.“
“I understand my career better than I understand babies.“ The hum of conversation at nearby tables and the clatter
of dishes made the words almost inaudible. But not quite. Colby had heard her.
“You’ll learn.“ Colby swallowed another bite of fish. “You about ready to head back to Fulbrook Comers?
We’ve spent enough time here in Portland this week. I’ve still got a book to finish this summer.“
“I haven’t even contacted my boss yet. I was going to call Aaron tomorrow.“
“You can wait until the end of the summer. That’s what you were planning to do, anyway.“
Diana was getting accustomed to Colby’s efforts to sidetrack her every time she began to fret about her career. “I’d
rather settle things as soon as possible now that I know I’m pregnant. I need to know if going back to Carruthers and
Yale is even a viable possibility.“
“You know it is. That Crown character has been pestering you all summer to come back to work for him.“
“Yes,“ she admitted. “You know, I think I’m going to do it, Colby. It’s the perfect solution.“
“The perfect solution is for you to stop worrying about your career until you’ve settled into marriage and
motherhood.“
“Do we have to go through this again? You know how I feel about being financially dependent on a man. I made a
vow a long time ago that I would never expect someone else to pay my way in life.“
“You mean you promised yourself you’d never take the risk of trusting a man to support you either financially or
emotionally. That’s a bit different than saying you don’t want someone else to pay your way in this world. Yeah, I
know how you feel about it.“ Colby pointed his fork at her, scowling. “You’ve made it damned clear you don’t like the
idea of trusting me to take care of you. But I think it’s time you realized that you’ve carried that particular phobia to
extremes.“
“Why are you so opposed to my career plans? Don’t you understand how important that part of my life is to me? I
didn’t think you were a chauvinist in that regard, Colby. You know how you feel about your writing. Surely you can
empathize with me.“
“It’s not a question of being chauvinistic,“ he exploded, trying to keep his voice low. “My writing is every bit as
important to me as your career is to you, but I learned the hard way that there are other things in life. It’s time you
learned the same lesson. You’ve been too self-contained, too focused on your job and your narrow little world for too
long. It’s time to learn what it means to be a woman who’s also a wife and, soon, a mother. You’re going to broaden
your horizons, lady. The amazon bit wears after a while.“
“Ill bet you never gave up a paying job while you learned about the little joys of fatherhood.“
“All right, I had to do it the hard way. That doesn’t make it the right way. Raising Brandon alone and working
full-time to support him and myself was not the ideal
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