Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1644

When Elysia came out of the hospital room, Winona was on the phone. "…Alright, just do as I said. Be smart about it, and I'll give you all a big bonus later!"

Elysia was puzzled. What was she so happy about?

Seeing her hang up, Elysia walked over. "Winona."

Winona turned around, in an excellent mood. "Elysia, want to see a show?"

"Hmm?"

Winona winked at her. "Just you wait. I'm putting on a big performance for you tonight! By the way, when is Beatrix supposed to wake up?"

Elysia glanced at the time. "If nothing unexpected happens, in about an hour. But I can use my needles to wake her up anytime."

"No need," Winona said immediately. "An hour from now is fine."

Before Elysia could reply, Winona pulled her back into the room. She looked at everyone with infectious excitement. "Tonight, I'm arranging a little show for all of you, but I'm going to need everyone to play along, okay?"

"When people show up later, no matter who they are or what they say, and even if you don't understand, I just need you to smile and act like you're congratulating them."

Keaton was curious. "What kind of show?"

Winona was mysterious. "No spoilers."

"No spoilers? Then don’t count on me to help."

Winona pursed her lips, but before she could snap back at him, Janelle reached out and smacked Keaton's arm. "You'll cooperate or I'll ground you!"

Keaton fell silent. "…"

Janelle shot him a fierce glare, then turned back to Winona with a sweet smile. "Winona, honey, how do we cooperate? Be specific so we don't mess it up."

Winona smiled. "Oh, you can't mess it up, Janelle. When people arrive, just remember two things: smile, and congratulate."

Janelle repeated, "Just keep smiling and offer congratulations, right?"

Winona nodded. "Exactly!"

Elysia shook her head, looking just as clueless. "I have no idea, but she seems to be in a great mood."

Just then, Elysia's phone also rang. It was the kids, video-calling to say goodnight. Elysia and Tarquin stepped out to talk to them.

That left Keaton alone in the room with his parents.

Janelle glanced toward the door and murmured, "It seems Winona really did care about that baby in Beatrix's belly. Now that she knows it's not Keaton's, she's so happy."

Janelle assumed Winona's good mood was because the baby wasn't Keaton's.

Richard let out a long breath. "It's understandable. What woman wants to be an instant mom? If Beatrix really had Keaton's child, things would have gotten so complicated."

"The way Winona acted so magnanimous in front of us, that was all just to make us happy."

"Winona is such a good kid," Janelle sighed.

Richard nodded in agreement. "She really is. The fact that she'd even consider a rascal like Keaton is the luck of his lifetime!"