by Cee, DW
“I want two identical boys who look like their daddy. They’ll be lady-killers when they grow up, just like daddy!”
I had no retort for that comment.
All went well at the OB’s office. The office was technically closed, but Jake’s friend had come into work as a favor to him. There wasn’t much she could do for us at this stage since it was very early, and since it was also the day after Christmas, the ultrasound office was closed. Delaney took a pee-in-the-cup test and the doctor confirmed she was pregnant. We heard a strong heartbeat and after copious questions, the doctor believed Delaney was in good health. She gave us the green light to go ahead with our honeymoon.
“I’m so glad the good doc gave us a thumbs-up. I would’ve been sad if we had to stay home during our honeymoon.”
“Wife,” I called out, “I’m just glad we got in for a checkup. I was worried about leaving without seeing a doctor.”
“Like that was going to happen with you and all the doctors in our families.”
“Speaking of families, we need to make an announcement at brunch.”
“I am not making any announcement!”
“Why not?”
“Because they’ll all know we had sex before we got married! I can’t face my dad and tell him his baby was promiscuous.”
“Um, I think he knew that about you already.”
“He did not!” She was emphatic that her father still believed she was a virgin. This was a losing conversation so I kept my mouth shut and drove to the cul-de-sac.
We walked into a meticulous backyard that didn’t show any signs of a wedding reception the night before except for the mound of food and tables and chairs.
“Hello, everyone!” My wife called out to a completely silent audience.
“Is everything all right?” The chief was the first one to make sure his daughter was not hurt.
“Everything is perfect, Daddy. We stopped by because we have some news.”
“We’re waiting…” Nick wasn’t very patient but I supposed the entire backyard felt the same way. “Well…” Delaney started, “I’m a little embarrassed, but also thrilled to tell you that…”
“Today, Laney! Your Gram and I can die at any moment.” Now it was Roland moving us along.
I decided to give my wife a break and spoke on our behalf. “We were originally going to ride our Ducatis up the coast and fly to South Africa to go surfing for our honeymoon. But, we are forced to change our plans because…”
“We’re having a baby. I’m pregnant.” Delaney whispered, but she might as well have announced it with a loudspeaker. The entire family heard loudly and clearly and descended upon us in droves.
“Oh my gawwwddd!” Ma was the first to freak out and hug Delaney, then me, then the both of us. It was only when Pa pushed her out of the way that the rest of the family got a piece of us.
“How did this happen?”
“Are you OK?”
“How are you feeling?”
“What about the honeymoon?”
So many questions came at us that it took a long while for everyone to be satisfied with our answers. When all the questions were retired, they allowed me to get up and get some food for my bride and our baby.
Jake approached me and said, “Everything go smoothly at the OB?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the help. The OB said there’d be no problem for us to go away, but she wanted Delaney to relax. My active wife will go nuts being on the water and staying inactive, but that’s what the doctor ordered.”
“I’m glad. I wondered if I could ask you for a favor?”
“Sure.”
“I wanted to take Emi and the kids to New York and I think it sounded like Nick was taking Bee there as well. Any chance we can hitch a plane ride and ask you to drop us off in New York?”
“Of course. I called and scheduled us to leave tomorrow morning. Can you round up your family and be ready to leave by then?”
“I can, and I’ll let Nick know. Thanks! It’s a huge help not to lug three little ones through the airport.”
“No problem. See you bright and early.”
I tore my wife away from our families, and we got ourselves ready to leave for a two-week honeymoon.
“Now this is a honeymoon!” Delaney laid on the sand while the tide began at her feet and eventually reached the top of her head and wet her entire backside. “Where shall we dine tonight?”
“How about I ask the resort to set a table for us on the beach? It’s New Year’s Eve, we’ll drink apple cider and have a little surf and turf for dinner.”
“That would be most ideal, Mr. Taylor.”
She was still laying calmly on the sand enjoying doing nothing. After the three months she and I both had—living apart, flying across the world, finishing first semester of med school, as well as getting the company sold, we welcomed this lull in the schedule.
“Do you want to do anything before dinner?”
She laughed at me. “You’ll actually let me do something at this resort? I don’t know if I can take many more months of this, Donovan. You won’t let me do anything for myself. Why I barely have to brush my teeth because you’ll do it for me if asked.”
I laid with her. “Don’t you like the attention?”
“Um...yeah, I did for about the first five minutes. Now it’s just out right annoying. You have to let me do something. Can I participate in a water sport?” She added that in slyly.
“Nope, but I will take you out on a boat and row you along the Indian Ocean.”
“Can’t I do a little more than sit on the boat? How about I row you along the Indian Ocean?”
“I shall consider it, Sweet Wife.”
The rest of the day progressed with us only having moved to a hammock hung on a hunched-over palm tree. This tree was somehow laying parallel to the sand and ocean and a double hammock hung, welcoming its user. At first I thought it might be too dangerous. It looked as if the hammock could throw us over to the other side of the island like a catapult used for war. I suggested a different hammock that sat on the ground, but Delaney only rolled her eyes. She fell in with a giggle as the hammock enveloped her upon contact. She was so beautiful, smiling and enjoying life. I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to be married to her.
We’d been on the island for a few days now and thus far, I had not let my wife do anything. I wouldn’t even allow her on a paddle boat. I knew soon she’d feel like a caged bird. While she napped, I called the concierge and changed our villa to a two story one, still on the beach, but with a slide attached from the second story and landing into the water. I also rented us a double canoe.
“Wife.” I woke her up gently. “Our canoes are waiting and I want to show you something.”
“Is it time to eat?”
“Are you hungry again?”
“This baby is going to make me large! Every time I turn around, I think of food. I’m craving a juicy steak with an extra-large lobster.”
I loved it. “Anything for you, Princess. But first, I want to show you something.”
“This is the bomb!” I heard her yell as she came down the slide right after me. My wife had promised only to come down the slide either with me or right after me. She wasn’t allowed to be on the slide by herself. “You’re the best husband, evahhh!” She got out of the ocean, and I had to follow her. Though she verbally promised, I knew she’d come down that slide with or without me.
After a full day of sliding, canoeing, paddle boating, and dinner on the beach, we were in our “open” room, enjoying the breeze.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything, Wife.”
“Do you not find me as attractive anymore?”
“Where would you get such a ridiculous idea?” Who understood the mind of a woman?
“Well...you don’t make love to me the same way anymore.” What? “Before we were married, you couldn’t get enough of me and you could
n’t hold back. Now you take your time with me like you could do this in your sleep.”
“Are you complaining about my technique?” With the way I was cracking up, she knew I was joking.
“You know what I mean. Is it one of those ‘now that you have me, the thrill is gone’ situations because I’m here for life?”
“Princess.” I started making love to her with sweet kisses to her face. “I’m trying my best to be as gentle with you as possible. I don’t want to hurt you or our baby.”
“Seriously? You can’t hurt the baby by having sex with me.” She returned my kisses and suggested we flip over. I obliged and lay underneath her. “If you’re too afraid to attack, I’ll do it for you.” She proceeded to do just that, riding me till we both reached our peak.
As was her de rigueur, she was sound asleep, allowing her body the rest needed for our baby to grow.
“Why are we at Mom’s rather than our own house, Donovan? I’m tired and hungry. I just want to go home and order a pizza,” my wife whined. After a little more than two weeks of spending every waking and sleeping moment with this woman, I would proudly announce repeatedly that I loved every last thing about her. Our honeymoon was over and we were back on the cul-de-sac. As much as I wanted to spend a quiet evening at home, just the two of us, there was one more present that needed opening before we spent our time alone.
“Mom has dinner ready for us, and I have one last wedding present waiting for you here.”
“Another present?” Her eyes bugged-out. “Donovan. I only gave you one gift and that wasn’t even an intended gift. I really did try to come up with a special wedding gift for you, but I couldn’t think of anything. I feel like such a bad wife.”
“You gave me the best gift a man can ask for in his wife. Everything I’ve given you was material. What you’ve given me is the beginnings of our family. I can’t wait until this little one is born. I hope our first baby is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who looks just like her mother. For sure, she’ll be more beautiful than our goddaughter.”
We were still standing on the porch and I knew both sets of parents were inside waiting for us, but I couldn’t help continue the honeymoon spirit. I pulled her into my body as close as we could possibly be and kissed my wife. Even with all that time alone, it was still never enough. It wasn’t going to be easy separating and walking back into reality. School would start in a few days for my bride and I had emails, clients, voicemails, and paperwork all waiting not so patiently for me. I’d push off work for a few more days until we settled into our new home and adjusted back to this time zone.
“Hello!” The front door opened with four soon-to-be grandparents rolling their eyes at us. “Please spare us the play-by-play of your honeymoon and come on in. We’re all starving!” The chief, and my new father-in-law, urged us in.
“Hello Grandparents!” My wife greeted the four, and gave them an all-in-one hug. “What’s been happening around here?”
“Laney!” Gram and Roland walked in and gave us a warm greeting. “How was the Maldives?”
“Gram! What a spectacular place that was. Donovan had to drag me back home.”
“What did you do?” Roland asked after kissing his granddaughter on the cheek.
Delaney fell into a trance when she described our honeymoon life. “We lived in a surreal hut right on the crystal-clear water. We had food delivered to us every morning and whenever we decided to get up, we played in the water, we golfed, we sailed, we read on the beach in our cabana...in short, we did nothing and everything.” She gave her classic Delaney smile. “Oh, and every dinner was on the beach. Some days, the resort would set up a romantic table for two, and on other days, they set up a picturesque picnic on the beach with a fire pit and beach furniture, and we’d eat watching the sunset. It was more romantic than I could have ever dreamed up. My husband is perfect!” She sighed in contentment.
I gave her dreamy face a quick kiss and led us all to the dinner table. “Jake and the family coming?”
“They can’t make it to dinner, but they’ll be here for the big present reveal.”
“What’s the big reveal, Gram?”
My wife was doing her best ferreting information.
“How have you been feeling, Sweetheart? Are you ill at all?”
“Does sleeping and eating all the time count as being ill, Mom? All I did during our honeymoon was sleep and eat. My poor husband was probably bored every time I went comatose.”
“It worked out perfectly. There was still work to be done with the sale of the company so whenever Delaney slept, I took care of what I’d left back in London.”
“You worked during our honeymoon?”
“Someone had to pay for the surreal huts, naps in the cabanas, and dinners on the beach.” I gently pulled her into my body and kissed her cheek. “I got it all done while you took your siesta, Mrs. Taylor.”
Delaney did a cute shrugging of the shoulders. “I love that moniker. Ma, we have the same name!” she declared.
“It’s good to be young and in love.” Ma declared. “Our future Taylor is happy and healthy, I assume?”
“We believe so.” I answered proudly, and placed a hand on my wife’s stomach. “We have an appointment with the OB tomorrow. We’ll bring home pictures.”
“Not to push my own cause,” Delaney placed her hand over my hand that was caressing our baby and pulled me up from my seat, “but I believe I’d like to be done with this night so I can go home and sleep.” She then asked me, “Shall we get on with wedding gift numero one million and one?”
“Sure.” I held my woman by the waist and we proceeded to walk out to the cul-de-sac. “Perfect timing. Jake and Emily are coming over.”
“Hi Laney!” The happy couple greeted us. “I trust you had a splendid honeymoon?”
“Emily...it was better than splendid. Whenever I can unpack and catch-up on sleep, I’ll bring over gifts for all three babies.”
“You do that and we’ll catch up on life, and you can tell me all about your pregnancy.”
“I assume the babies are sleeping?”
“They are, and Grandma and Grandpa are watching them so Jake and I can join you in this big surprise.”
After Emily’s words of a “big surprise,” Delaney was even more excited. “Well?” She shook me. “Let’s get on with it!”
I pulled her back into my body and walked her to the house next door. “You remember how I had to work so many hours selling Roland’s company?”
“Yes...” She crinkled her face in the cutest way. “Grandfather.” By the tone of her voice, I had a feeling she’d regret what she was about to say to him. “I’m admitting now that I was seriously upset with you during the month of December.”
Roland only indulged her tantrum. “Is that so, Granddaughter? Care to elaborate?”
“You knew I was stressed with wedding preparations and med school finals, and yet you wouldn’t let Donovan come home!” We were all waiting on the porch to go in the house but my wife stopped us to notice the swing. “Hey. This wasn’t here before. When did Aunt Deb add a swing? It’s unusual to see a swing here but somehow it fits. Ooh! I love the finish on the wood. It adds to the French overtone of this home. Nice touch.”
We all laughed at the non-sequitur comment. “I think my wife needs sleep. Let’s finish this.”
I led all of us into the home and Delaney immediately noticed the changes. “When did Aunt Deb change the decor in here? Oh my gosh! She picked out the same curtain fabric I did. Oh, and I love the sofa. It goes beautifully with the window coverings.” It hadn’t dawned on her yet what was happening. Our procession led into the kitchen. “Aunt Deb and I have the same great taste. Look at her countertop. I wanted that white Carrera marble, and oh my gosh, Donovan! She got the exact same French stove we saw in Giverny.” I could see all the women holding back their giggles. My sleepy wife was not her usual smart self.
“I think you’ll find
your present up in the master bedroom.”
By the way Delaney kept looking around the house, she was opening her eyes to what was happening. At one point, she stopped on the landing and turned to ask me a question, but shook her head in denial and continued up the steps. “This way?” She pointed to right.
I veered her to the left. We all stood in the newly remodeled master bedroom where two bedrooms were turned into one. Delaney gasped and looked to me for an answer. By the tears rolling down her face, I knew she finally understood.
“Welcome home, my beautiful bride. This is my final gift to you.”
The room immediately cleared once she started bawling. “How did this happen? And how could I have had no knowledge of this happening when I lived next door?”
“It all started with the sale of Roland’s company. I’ll tell you all about it after we go back down, I carry you over the threshold, and then make love to you. You will finally understand why I showed up at dawn the morning of our wedding day.”
I did exactly as I promised and carried my bride and our baby over the threshold and laid her on our bed. No matter how many times we made love, it was never enough and always better than the last. I was eager to christen our new bedroom, but my wife wanted answers first.
“I want to know what happened, and how the hell I was so clueless to something this major.”
“Well, my sweet bride and mother of our unborn child, it started that Tuesday night you were my arm candy at the company function.”
“Way back then?”
“Remember us talking about the Eggleston Group and how they showed keen interest in the firm?”
“Yes...”
“Well, they were interested but in order to drive up the price, I courted another buyer from Germany. That was the same week you left me, against my wishes I might add...”
“Sorry...” She did her best to show penitence.
“It all worked out for the best...I think?” I really wasn’t sure what would happen between the new marriage, baby, position at the law firm, and med school. We had our work cut out for us, doing our damnedest to make time for us.
