Soon To Be Brides: The Marrying Macallister / That Blackhawk Bride

Caitlin sat next to one of the windows on the rickety bus that had picked up the group at the Nanjing airport, her gaze riveted on the bustling crowds within her view.

Nanjing, she decided, was absolutely enchanting, an intriguing blend of the old and the new. There were tall, modern buildings next to small, shanty-type houses, and the number of people riding bicycles in the surging traffic seemed to outnumber those in automobiles.

Some of the people were dressed in clothes she might see in Ventura, while others were wearing traditional dark pants and boxy jackets that she’d seen so often in photographs of the Chinese populace. The weather was perfect, warm with a cooling breeze.

“Oh,” Caitlin gasped as she witnessed yet another near miss of a car colliding with a bicycle. “It’s dangerous out there. The people on those bikes are demanding equal space on the roads. Scary.”

Matt leaned forward to look out the window, then immediately settled back again in his seat with a chuckle.

“I don’t think watching that madness is good for my blood pressure. This makes driving in Los Angeles or New York City a leisurely outing. Whew.”

“There are amazingly few accidents,” Elizabeth said, overhearing what Caitlin and Matt were talking about. “It looks awful, but it’s organized chaos, or some such thing. The majority of people can’t afford cars, so the mode of transportation is most often a bike. There is a stiffer penalty for stealing a bicycle than a vehicle.”

“Fascinating,” Matt said, nodding.

“Caitlin,” Marsha said from across the aisle, “you should be taking notes on some of this. I think with your talent for writing you could do some very interesting articles for the magazine from a fashion angle, make our readers feel as though they’ve actually visited China. It would be a nice way to add to your income while you’re working at home, too.”

“In between changing Miss M.’ s diapers.” Matt chuckled.

“Babies do take naps, you know.” Marsha frowned. “But I guess that’s when you take one, too, or maybe get caught up on the laundry and what have you. I don’t have a clue.”

“We’ll find out very soon, sweetheart,” Bud said. “You know, I have to admit I’m getting nervous about meeting Grace for the first time. What if I scare the socks off her? She’s almost a year old, so I imagine she has definite opinions about things…like her father is terrifying.”

Marsha patted Bud’s knee. “We’ll just take it as it comes, give her space, time to get used to us. When we bring her back to the hotel tomorrow we’ll let her call the shots. If she doesn’t want us to hold her, we won’t push it.” She paused. “Oh, dear, now I’m getting nervous.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Just relax. If your new daughters sense that you’re uptight they’ll react accordingly. My years of making these trips allows me to say with confidence that you’ll all be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your girls adjust to you and their new environment. They’re extremely resilient little ladies.”

“Goodness,” Caitlin said. “I never gave a thought to the idea that Miss M. might not…well, like me right off the bat. We’ve all fallen in love with our daughters by just looking at their pictures but…oh dear.”

“Don’t get tense,” Matt said. “Miss M. will take one look at you and it will be love at first sight, Caitlin, you’ll see. I don’t believe in that stuff when it comes to adults, but babies? They know when they’re connected to someone special. Everything will be just fine.”

As conversations started throughout the bus about what they were seeing out the windows, Caitlin cocked her head to one side and studied Matt, who looked at her questioningly.

“What?” he said.

“You believe that babies are capable of experiencing love at first sight, but adults aren’t?” Caitlin asked. “At what point in their lives do they change their view on the subject?”

“Well…” Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. When we grow up and get worldly and wise, I suppose. Love at first sight? Give me a break. Love…adult, man-and-woman love…is something that grows over time, has to be nurtured, tended to, sort of like a garden that eventually produces beautiful flowers and… Jeez, I’m getting corny here.”

“No, you’re not,” Caitlin said quietly, looking directly into Matt’s eyes. “I think you expressed that very nicely, and I agree with you.”

“Which is why,” Matt observed, switching his gaze to the scene beyond the window, “I don’t see falling in love in my near future because I don’t have time for the nurturing, doing my part in tending to the…well, to the garden.”

“I know,” Caitlin said, then stared out the window again.

Well, Matt thought, he covered that topic very thoroughly, right on the mark. And for some unexplainable reason it had caused his ulcer to start burning with a hot pain as though voicing displeasure at what he had said.

Matt reached in his pocket, retrieved an antacid tablet and popped it into his mouth, frowning as he chewed the chalky circle.

“I saw that, MacAllister,” Bud said. “Whatever you’re talking about over there, change the subject. Your doctor has spoken.”

“Cork it, Mathis.” Matt glared at Bud.

The bus driver made a sudden sharp turn, and moments later they rattled to a stop in the circular driveway in front of a modern high-rise hotel.

“We have arrived,” Elizabeth said. “This is a lovely hotel, and you’ll be very comfortable here. I’ll check us in as a group again and hand out the key cards. It would be best if you’d wait in the lobby, though, while I telephone Dr. Yang and find out what time the vans are coming to take us to the orphanage. That will save me having to call each of your rooms to let you know. Okay?”

Elizabeth received quick, affirmative and excited answers to her request. The group was soon standing in the spacious, nicely furnished lobby with luggage at their feet and key cards in their hands as they waited to hear the outcome of her call.

They were all booked into the fourth floor, Elizabeth explaining that it kept crying babies from disturbing other guests. Matt glanced at Caitlin’s key card, then his own, and nodded in approval that they were in side-by-side rooms.

Good, he thought. He’d be close at hand if Caitlin needed help with Miss M. She didn’t have any experience with babies, while he had years of it due to being a MacAllister.

A MacAllister. Ah, yes, the powerful and well-known family of Ventura, the movers and shakers, the overachievers, who seemed to excel in whatever career choices they made. As each new generation came along, the pattern was repeated. Pick a subject? There was a MacAllister who did it…extremely well. Lawyers, doctors, architects, police officers, the list was endless. If you were a MacAllister, by damn, you’d better be top-notch at whatever you did or…

Whoa. Halt. Enough, he thought, frowning. Where was all this coming from? He was standing in a hotel lobby halfway around the world from Ventura and his clan. Why was he suddenly focusing on something that had hovered over him from the time he was a kid? A kid who wasn’t good at sports in school, who had been an average student not a super brain, a kid who looked at the Mac-Allisters surrounding him and continually wondered why he fell short time after time after…

“Matt?” Caitlin said.

“What?” he said, looking at her.

“Do you have a headache? You’re frowning and rubbing your forehead. Are you okay?”

“Oh, sure, sure, I’m fine.” He forced a smile. “Just suffering from a bit of jet lag like everyone else.” He paused. “Maybe I should figure out the time difference between here and Ventura and decide when I can call the hospital and see if everything is running smoothly.”

Caitlin sighed. “I wondered how long it would take before you felt the need to do that. You’re not focused on a new daughter like the rest of us. You’re centered on your work.”

“That’s not true. I’m really eager to see Miss M., Caitlin, I told you that. Remember? I said there was nowhere else I’d rather be than—”

“Calling the hospital in Ventura,” she interrupted, lifting her chin and meeting his gaze.

“Forget the call. I’m not going to do it. I’m not telephoning the hospital and checking up on things.”

“Right.” Caitlin rolled her eyes.

“I mean it. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. Oh, hey, here comes Eliza beth.”

No one spoke as Elizabeth rejoined the group.

“Okay, we’re on target,” she said. “It’s four o’clock. Go unpack and be back down here at five ready to go to the orphanage.”

“Oh,” Caitlin whispered. “Oh, my goodness.”

Three new mommies-to-be burst into tears.

“Shoo, shoo,” Elizabeth said, laughing and flapping her hands at them. “Go to your rooms. There. I sound like a stern old auntie. I’ll see you all back down here in an hour.”

Everyone collected their luggage, and Caitlin and Matt headed to their rooms.