Rebecca's Little Secret by Judy Christenberry Read Free Book Online Page B

know they were there. Rebecca came down wearing jeans and a sweater, much as she’d been dressed Monday night.
    She greeted Jeff and Chelsea, adding a compliment about Chelsea’s overalls.
    “Thank you. Someone told me that I was too pretentious, so I thought I’d give overalls a try.” Her expression was triumphant, but Jeff knew he hadn’t made that remark, so who was she planning to show?
    “And they have big pockets for peanuts to feed the elephants!” Joey added knowledgeably. “On TV I saw an elephant who could get the peanuts out of your pocket with his long nose without you doing anything!”
    “That’s called his trunk, Joey, not his nose,” Rebecca corrected.
    “But it’s just like a nose,” Jeff said, “and I’d like to see the elephant do that to Chelsea. Wouldn’t you, Chelsea?”
    “Absolutely not! You’re both being silly. Let’s go.” She turned around and marched back down the hall to the front door.
    Jeff looked at Rebecca, wondering if she understood his fiancée any better than he did. But she shrugged her shoulders and caught Joey’s hand in hers. “We’re ready.”
    In the car, Chelsea chattered nonstop about the plans for their wedding. Joey almost fell asleep in the back seat, since he had no interest in the conversation. Chelsea, however, thought of a role for him.
    “Jeff, Joey can be the ring-bearer. I didn’t have any cousins or friends with children young enough to be cute. But Joey would be perfect. He’ll look darling in a tux.”
    “Just when is the wedding?” Rebecca asked.
    “In June, of course. It’s the perfect month for a wedding.”
    “But how long have you been engaged?”
    “We got engaged last March,” Chelsea said. “And I thought about getting married last June, but I didn’t want my wedding to be all harum-scarum. It takes time to have a perfect wedding. And three months just wasn’t enough time to plan my dream wedding. I was telling Jeff earlier, the cake had to be ordered months in advance, and I just found my dress yesterday. It’s a Vera Wang. But it will have to be made to my measurements, of course.”
    “It’s not ready-made? I mean, you can’t buy it and take it home with you?”
    “A Vera Wang? Well, I suppose she does some pret-a-porter, but I want one made strictly for me.”
    “I see.”
    “Look—there’s a giant giraffe!” Joey screamed.
    “He’s a statue, sweetie,” Rebecca told her little boy.
    “Yeah, Joey, he guards the entrance so we can find it easily,” Jeff told him. “If you get lost, just look around and go to the giant giraffe.”
    “Oh,” Joey said in a long, drawn-out breath.
    Chelsea, too, seemed impressed with the giraffe. Suddenly she was sitting up straighter in her seat, craning her neck to see it.
    “Haven’t you seen the giraffe before, Chelsea?” Jeff asked out of curiosity.
    “Yes, of course, but it’s been a long time.” She continued to stare, but she tried to look nonchalant. Jeff parked the car, and they all got out to walk to the entrance.
    After Jeff bought the tickets, they moved inside the walls of the zoo, where the giant giraffe stood.
    “Why, I believe that’s Bill over there!” Chelsea exclaimed.
    Startled, Jeff looked up in time to see his partner walking toward them.
    “Bill? What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise.
    “Didn’t Chelsea tell you? She invited me.”
    Jeff and Rebecca turned to stare at Chelsea.
    “Well, Jeff spends all his time with his kid, and Rebecca doesn’t mind, but I don’t like to be ignored. I thought Bill could keep me company.”
    Jeff let out a deep breath. “I think it would’ve been polite to at least tell me Bill was going to be joining us, Chelsea.”
    “I thought you’d say no.”
    Jeff knew that this wasn’t the time or the place to address this. Besides, he didn’t want to make a scene in front of Rebecca, Joey or Bill. Instead he just shook his head. “Of course you’re welcome to join us, Bill. Joey and I plan to