"Will do. Good to see you."

32.

Present Day Beth watched Alex maneuver her small car into a tight space beneath the cover of the Green Hills Mall parking garage. Water streamed down the windshield. Heavy rain had pelted them since they left home almost an hour ago, for what should have been a thirty-minute journey.

"I'm glad you're driving." Beth relaxed into her seat. "That was a trip."

"No problem. I deliver in rain, sleet, or snow." Alex grinned and switched off the ignition. "Besides, it's not every day I can help a friend pick out a Noah award gown."

"Especially a friend who is seven months pregnant." Beth rubbed her rounded tummy and smiled. "Isn't it fun?"

"You and Josh deserve this break. You've had a rough few months."

"I'm excited for him." Beth said. "His face brightens when he talks about the awards." She searched her bag for lip gloss. "It's about the only thing that makes him smile right now."

"You and the baby do too."

"Sure, when he's not letting himself be wound up in worry."

"Out of concern for your health?"

"Yes." Beth rolled the peach-flavored gel across her lips. "He's having problems on the road right now too. But he won't talk to me about it." She threw the tube of gloss back into her purse.

Alex studied her. "I'm no relationship expert. Hey, look at me, I'm a single woman." She blushed. "But it's better to get things out in the open."

"He's trying to deal with them on his own. You know, save me the stress." Beth focused on the massive concrete ballasts that supported the walls of the multilevel parking garage.

"Sharing cuts our worries in half," Alex said. "That includes you too. You need to be talking to someone, getting your fears out in the open. They have a way of growing when you keep them inside."

Beth turned to her friend. "You always make me feel better. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I hope so." Alex reached for the car door.

Beth touched her lightly on the shoulder. "I need to ask for your forgiveness."

"For what?"

"For my moods. My temper tantrums. I've been grumpy and unrealistic . . . and I'm sorry-"

"You're too hard on yourself, girlfriend," Alex said. "You've been through a lot. I'm not sure I could have handled everything as well as you have."

"Thanks, but you're being generous."

"Come on, let's go shopping." Alex said, before turning to exit the vehicle.

Beth hoisted her awkward body out of the passenger seat and straightened her rumpled blouse while she caught her breath. Carrying around twenty extra pounds wasn't easy.

"Where do we go first?" Alex asked.

"Let's start on the far side of the mall and work our way back." A mischievous smile spread across Beth's face.

"Like you can stay on your feet that long."

"I can do anything for shopping," Beth laughed.

"Okay. But, remember, you promised me lunch if I'm a good helper today." Alex placed a hand on her slender waist and sighed. "As if I need it."

"You're such a rail. I was never that thin, even before I was pregnant."

Her friend grinned. "I've always been able to eat anything I want, as long as I don't want too much." She grabbed Beth's arm. "Let's go shopping, Mama."

Two hours later, Beth had narrowed her search to two dresses. Her favorite was an emerald-green, one-shoulder, satin floor-length gown. But she also liked a salmon-colored, mid-calf-length cocktail dress, which would be more practical.

"What do you think?" she asked Alex while modeling the shorter dress.

"They both look great on you. You should buy the one that makes you feel comfortable."

"I love the green one, but I could probably get more use from the cocktail dress."

"How many times in your life will you wear a maternity cocktail gown?"

"A good point." Beth gathered the floor length gown into her arms. "I'll take this one."

After a stop in the Dillard's shoe department for matching flats, they returned to the car with Alex carrying Beth's bags. "So, what do you know about that doctor of yours?"

"Dr. Myers?"

"No, silly. Dr. Abrams." Alex opened the heavy mall door and held it for Beth.

"I don't know much at all. Rather mysterious. And he's kind of a serious person."

"Seriously good looking."

Beth grinned. "And seriously flirting with you the other day in his office."

"Do you think he'll call me?"

"Definitely." Beth had never seen her friend so insecure, almost childlike.

"Anytime you need me to take you to his office again, don't hesitate to ask." Alex's face flushed tinges of red as she clicked the door locks on the Beetle.

They stowed their shopping treasures in the trunk and settled into the car.

"Speaking of Dr. Abrams, I need your help with something."

"Sure." Alex glanced at Beth before putting the car into gear.

"I've been praying for God to help me get off these drugs before the baby is born." Beth took a deep breath. "I have a feeling he is telling me to try it."

"You've tried that once," Alex cautioned. "You weren't ready."

Beth stared into the distance. "Not right now. I want to wait until Josh leaves for the road, after the awards show next week. That will give my artery more time to heal. The results from my scan last time were encouraging. The tear is closing."

"You're not going to do anything without talking to Dr. Abrams, are you?"

"Not exactly. He told me I might be able to wean myself off the drugs soon." Beth fudged on the timeframe.

"I don't know."

"Please, help me. I feel so guilty taking the medicine while I'm carrying this baby."

Alex shook her head. "I just don't feel comfortable-"

"Please." Beth pleaded. "I need you to stay with me. Night and day, hour by hour, for at least two weeks until I can get through the worst of it. Dr. Abrams told me it would be hard. Probably the hardest thing I have ever done. But I know I can do it. God wants me to have a healthy baby." Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Or at least I hope he does."

Alex stopped at a red light and turned to her. "You know I'll help you. I have all the confidence in the world in your ability to get through it, and in God's plan to give you a healthy child. But let's pray about it."

"Thanks," Beth said. "I appreciate your help, and your prayers, more than you will ever know. God has brought me this far, and I'm confident he will get me through."

Alex pulled into the parking lot of a quaint little restaurant in the Vanderbilt area. "Is this okay?"

"Works for me. I'm starving." Beth opened the car door, and then turned back to her caregiver. "Remember, it's our little secret."

Alex nodded.

Once inside, they were immersed in conversation and enjoying large glasses of iced tea when Alex's cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID before answering. "Restricted. Probably a telemarketer." She punched the call button on the phone and answered.

Beth watched a smile spread across her friend's face.

"Hi, doctor, I mean Ben. Nice to hear from you. . . ."

Alex opened her mouth in a mock scream, while listening intently to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"I'd love to. What time? Yes, great place. I'll meet you there at one o'clock."

She clicked off the phone.

"That was your doctor asking me to lunch next Saturday!"

33.

Noah Awards Night You look beautiful tonight," Josh glanced at his wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his Jeep as he drove toward downtown Nashville.

She smiled the little-girl smile he hadn't seen in a while. For months now, he had missed the happy-go-lucky woman he had married less than two years ago.

"Thanks, honey. I wanted you to be proud of me. I'm proud of you."

Josh extended his right arm across the console, and she placed her small hand inside his. Silence filled the empty space between them. Not the chilly void that had separated them for weeks, but unspoken contentment only lovers shared.

Incandescent blue streetlights near the Cumberland River softened the near-twilight sky above. Further ahead, amber lights that surrounded Courthouse Square provided an ambience, which warmed, almost caressed, the concrete cityscape.

Depending on nature's mood, April in Middle Tennessee could be fraught with winter or encouraged by spring. Splotches of color and earth tones now shared the landscape. The optimism of this time of year, when dormant vegetation broke free from the bare earth, could be contagious.

"We're going to make it through this," Josh said, while changing lanes to turn left onto Fourth Street.

"I know," his wife whispered.

A few minutes later, the Bridgestone Arena came into view. The structure, which had been completed more than a decade before, fit comfortably within its surroundings on Lower Broadway. The building, with its saucer-shaped roof, sprung like a mushroom from the midst of the city, between the old Ryman Auditorium and the new Schermerhorn symphony hall. A tower of light jutted skyward from the front entrance of the steel and concrete facade.

He and Beth would be entering from the rear of the hall, so he took a right onto Sixth Avenue, then steered his green SUV onto the ramp that led into the arena's underbelly. Performers on the show enjoyed the perk of private parking under roof.

A somber security guard stopped them at the foot of the ramp. Once cleared, he told Josh where to park. They took a place on the back wall, near the entrance.

Stacy Powers, the publicist for Glory Records, greeted them as Josh was helping Beth from the vehicle. She spoke first to Beth. "Great to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Clumsy at times," Beth laughed. "But I'm making it."

"We've all been praying for you." Stacy hugged Beth and then turned to Josh. "Are you ready to do lots of press?"

"Sure. Lead the way." He grabbed his guitar.

They walked through the parking facility to a blue door, which led into the main backstage area. A long corridor in front of them snaked into the distance.

Stacy pointed to an alcove along the concrete block wall. "Josh, if you'll wait right here, I'll make sure everything is set."

Panic threatened to ambush Beth. Her throat tightened, and she fought claustrophobia that had been set off by the hustle and bustle around her. She had attended few social occasions in the past seven months. None where circumstances had been so intimidating.

She leaned against the concrete wall behind her, taking comfort in its cool surface. A tall, middle-aged man wearing a business suit approached Josh.

"Phil! Nice to see you." Josh shook the stranger's hand and then introduced him to Beth.

"Beth, this is Phillip Crandall, my new label mate at Glory Records." Then turning to Crandall, "Phil, my wife, Beth."