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while, and it was already annoying. Plus, this teasing could easily turnto badgering if she didn’t appear before them reciting vows. But every time she thought about making that kind of commitment, her face lit up like a firecracker and her insides twisted into a knot.
    “When’s the wedding?” Harry asked them.
    June stammered so Jim answered, keeping an eye turned to June, who squirmed in discomfort. “We haven’t had time to even discuss the when and where. You’ll have to give us time on that.”
    “Doesn’t look like you have a whole lot of time,” someone said.
    “You’d better step up to the plate, young man,” someone else roared.
    “Now,” Jim said, holding up a hand. “You’re going to have to leave that to June, and it should be clear just from looking at her that she’s still a little stunned by this whole thing.”
    “You’re not hedging, are you?” Elmer asked pointedly.
    “Absolutely not,” Jim assured him. “Patience isn’t really a virtue around here, is it?”
    “Was I mistaken, or did I hear she’s well along?” Elmer asked.
    Jim lifted his cup. “She’s not going to get any less pregnant while we discuss the particulars,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd. “We’ll take care of it when the time is perfect.”
    She couldn’t help but feel warmed by his rescue, when it must be puzzling to him that she wasn’t rushing him off to the altar.
    “What?” a familiar voice demanded. June’s godmother separated herself from the crowd and stood before June. “Did I hear right?” Birdie asked. “You don’t have a wedding date?”
    “Birdie, we’ve barely had time to talk about it,” June repeated. “We’ll come up with something and let you know.”
    “Over my dead body,” Birdie said. “You’re the closest thing to a daughter I have. And there’s going to be a wedding! ”
    June reached for Birdie’s hand. “You know, you really need to leave this up to us,” she said pleadingly.
    “You just leave this to me,” Birdie said, giving her hand a reassuring pat.
    But June was not reassured. She cast a worried glance at Jim, but he only shook his head as if to say, “This is your town…and your hesitation.”
    Then June felt the baby fluttering inside of her. A smile found its way to her lips. A smile that Birdie completely misinterpreted.
    “See?” Birdie said. “Everything is going to be wonderful.”
    About a half hour later, after many hugs and congratulatory kisses, June left the café with Jim. “You held up very well in there,” she said.
    “You didn’t do so well,” he said. “It hasn’t escaped my notice that there’s something you seem to be avoiding.”
    She took his hand. “I’m so sorry. It’s not because it’s you. It’s the very idea.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “Only that I’d appreciate your patience. And that we should talk about it before we do it.”
    “Unlike the way we went about getting pregnant…”
    “I don’t mean to put you in a bad position,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be married, to have a family. But I’ve been on my own a long time. I’m set in my ways. That’s probably why the first time you mentioned marriage, something in me just froze up.” She reached for his hand. “I need to get comfortable with the idea. I do love you.” He didn’t look at her and didn’t respond. “Hey. Did you hear what I said?”
    But he was staring down the street toward Cussler’s garage. Sitting out front, tilted a bit to one side, was the dilapidated old truck, weighted down with all the Davis family’s possessions.
    “Son of a bitch,” he said.
     
    Inside the café the partying died down to a quiet roar, an occasional burst of laughter, the clatter of glassware in the background. Elmer, Sam and Harry sat in a booth, finishing their libations, which by now were down to coffee. People were drifting off, having checked out and toasted June and Jim.
    “I suppose I ought to get over to the clinic