His Punishment

by Pia Marie

  “Thank you auntie.” Tara smiled back and hugged her too.

  “Oh, don’t call me auntie anymore. Call me mom!” she declared and heard their other parents laugh.

  “Isn’t that too soon?” Tara blushed.

  “No! We’re getting married next week!” James interrupted them.

  “What?!” Tara could not believe what he said. She was excited to get married to him but she never expected that she got one week left of her single status.

  “I could have been more selfish and got the Mayor to wed us right here on the spot, but I want to give you the grandest wedding you deserve.” He kissed her very red cheeks.

  “It doesn’t have to be that grand James!” she objected.

  “Wifey, you deserve the nothing less.” He hugged her by her waist.

  “Anytime you want son! I could have everything sped up for the two of you.” His mother told him.

  “We have a wedding to plan!” her mom exclaimed at her daughter and new son.

  The two mothers exchanged happy glances and excitement is written all over their faces.

  “There’s still something we want to tell you.” James spoke again as he looked at Tara for approval. He saw her nod at him and he held her hand.

  “Would you like your first grandchild to be a boy or a girl?” he asked their parents.

  They all laughed and thought it was what he meant to say but Tara corrected them.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  She heard gasps from all of them when the words left her mouth. Her father was really shocked and didn’t know what to say. Her mother had her hand cover her open mouth. His father just smiled as if proud that his son is a fast worker and his mother blushed and looked at her mom. After a couple more seconds, Tara was sandwiched by their two mothers.

  “Oh my God!” they both exclaimed at her ears.

  “Now we really have to speed up this wedding.” Her mom said.

  “I am happy with your news children, but I wish it would have come after you got married.” Her dad honestly told them.

  “Oh, shut it darling, at least we don’t have to wait too long.” Her mom hit her dad’s arm lightly.

  “I’m gonna be a grandma!” his mother cried out.

  “Another Aguilar! Please let it be a boy.” His father slid his arms on both Tara’s and James’ shoulder.

  “I pray it’s a girl, don’t you Tanya?” his mom called to her mom for second the motion.

  “A granddaughter! That would be sweet.” Her mom held his mom by the hand as if praying together.

  “It’s going to be a grandson.” They heard her dad this time.

  James pulled a chair for Tara to sit down as they happily gaze at their parents guessing their child’s gender.

  He looked at her and saw the happy eyes beaming at the unfolding scene. He held her hand and she looked at him.

  “What do you want hubby? A son or a daughter?” she had to know.

  “Honestly, I couldn’t care less. What matters is you are the mother of my child.” He kissed her lips and suddenly there were no more questions that she needed to ask.

  ***

  She can’t believe what has been happening around her. The day their parents arrived at Subic was the day they all left for Manila. The two mothers were in euphoria as they continuously talked about their children’s upcoming marriage.

  Their parents are both socialites and when they say party, it went even beyond the normal definition of celebration. They tend to overdo themselves when it comes to organizing. Tara insisted on just keeping it simple when she knew the party or the guests wouldn’t matter to her anyway. It was the man who will be standing in the aisle waiting. That would be her only concern.

  But it was a battle between one and five people. Of course both their parents wanted the best for their only children. And James definitely wanted her to have the wedding of the century.

  “I still can’t believe I am fitting my gown for your wedding Hon!” Lyn can’t explain her excitement as she slid in her almost complete maid-of-honor dress.

  Tara didn’t know that James called Christian and asked him to call Lyn to come home immediately, the night she was confined at the hospital. The day after they arrived in Manila, Lyn came home from America.

  “I can’t believe it too.” She said. “From what I remember, he told me three years back that he would never ever like someone like me! And now, God! Hon, he loves me. I know it. I feel it.” She can’t hide her happiness.

  “Oh I am so happy for you BFF!” Lyn hugged her as she went down the ledge after the dressmaker’s assistant finished pinning her dress for adjustments.

  “Watch it! You might poke my wife with your pins!” they heard James entered followed by a laughing Christian.

  “Hey don’t you yell at my fiancée!” Christian teased him.

  “Fiancée?!” the girls both yelled.

  “Well, soon to be.” Christian kissed Lyn.

  “Not soon, babe.” Lyn broke away from the kiss.

  “Don’t you want to be?” he sounded hurt at his girl friend’s hesitance.

  “I still want to have a career you know. I want to be an established accountant with a big accounting firm!” she commented before she went inside the dressing room to change back to her normal clothes.

  Tara and James just laughed at them. It was the first time they saw them argue in front of them.

  “But I want kids too. Like them!” he pointed at the soon to be wed couple. “I want lots and we have to start early.”

  “No! I don’t want lots of children. One or two would be fine.” She kept protesting even inside the changing room.

  “I want a team babe!” he can’t agree on his girlfriend’s terms.

  “Then marry someone else!” she exclaimed. “I wouldn’t want to be a pig giving birth every year!”

  “But babe! I have always dreamed of a big family. Just like mine. We are happy. And I could provide for you anyway.” He still continued on with their argument.

  “Urgh! I’ll see you later Hon!” she kissed Tara and left the three of them in the couturier’s shop.

  “Babe!” Christian stormed out following her.

  Tara and James were still shocked but laughing at their best friends disagreement.

  “How about you?” James asked Tara.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “How many children do you want?” he asked lingering his lips on her ears.

  “How many can you do?” she asked seductively and definitely affected with his nibbling on her lobes.

  “Woman! Are you mocking me?” he pulled her to embrace her tight with his arms encircled on her waist.

  “That depends . . .” she beautifully looked at him with looks so tempting.

  He stared back at her still not letting go and kissed her hungrily from lips down to her collar bone.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed when she suddenly felt something poke in front of her.

  “I am always ready for sampling wifey.” He still kissed her without moving any inch away from her.

  She laughed lightly at her fiancé’s teasing.

  “Who said I am not?” she teased back.

  “Oh! You are so dead after the wedding! You still haven’t showed me if my engagement gift fit you right.” He was referring to the Victoria’s Secret lingerie he gave her.

  “Miss Tara?” they heard the couturier’s assistant back at the room where they were.

  “Yes Lily?” she asked.

  “Can you get into your inner lining so we can check for adjustments?” she asked.

  “OK.” She moved away from his embrace before kissing him again.

  “Call me if you need help with the zipper.” He teased her lobes with his tongue one more time before he let her go.

  “Not here!” she smiled seductively as she turned away from him.

  Hell! Who said I didn’t have a new wildcat? She is exactly how I hoped she would be. He tried to fix his pants as he felt an i
ncontrollable bulge in front of him. He knows how lucky he is with her. He was so wrong three years back when he said she is not his type. He recently realized she is not just his type. She is his ideal wife.

  Chapter 20

  After they finished the gown and tux fitting, they decided to go straight home as he sensed she was already tired from what they have done the whole day.

  Earlier before their fitting, they went to check for wedding bands. She was the one who chose the rings. It was a simple ring that had continuous diamonds all around its sides, not the top. He didn’t want to agree at first because he really wanted to give the eternity ring with diamonds measuring a carat each.

  After picking their rings, they went to do the photo-shoot with their hired photographer for the video presentation for them at the wedding.

  And their last stop for the day was the couturier.

  “Do you feel heavy?” he asked her as she slid inside his red S-type Jaguar. He didn’t want her to feel any uncomfortable in his SUV while getting up and he knew the jag’s ride was smoother.

  “What?” she asked as she leaned back lusciously at her seat.

  “I mean your tummy? Is it heavy?” he asked concerned.

  She laughed at his question. “James! I am just two months pregnant!”

  “I don’t know. I mean, how would I know when it starts to get heavy? I’ve never been pregnant!” he said defensively. “Do you crave for any food yet?”

  “No. I eat anything. I don’t look for any unusual kind of food yet but I always want to see you. That’s all I have noticed.” She admitted.

  “You mean, you didn’t want to see me when you weren’t pregnant?” he’s faking his pain.

  “Yes. I mean, I want to see you more now. Like, I want to see you when I wake up and see you before I sleep.”

  “What? How about the hours in between?” he asked frowning.

  “That too. I’m not done talking yet!” she said defensively when he didn’t let her finish her first sentence.

  “Well, I can do something about that.” He winked.

  “What do you mean?”

  He pressed Siri and asked her to call his mom.

  “Mom? I’m bringing Tara home tonight OK? She said she wants to see me when she wakes up and before she sleeps, I was thinking if I don’t let her, my child won’t look like me.” He joked.

  “Great! See you soon.”

  He saw him hang up and then he spoke to Siri again and asked her for her mom this time.

  “Mom?” he glanced her way and saw her chinky eyes rounding up. “Can Tara sleep with me tonight? I think she is craving for seeing me instead of food. Would that be okay?” she eyed him while smiling at his words.

  Was he literally telling my mom that I am craving for him?

  “Thanks mom! We will drop by so she can pick up some clothes.”

  “Wifey! This is perfect!”

  “I can’t believe you talked to my mom like that.”

  “What can I say? I’ve got the best mother-in-law!”

  ***

  Tara woke up the next day not finding James beside her bed. She pouted. She thought she would wake up to the handsome face of her husband to be but she was wrong.

  She went to the bathroom to pee and wash her face and brush her teeth still thinking where James was. She can’t believe he left her sleeping and let her wake up by herself.

  She started to go down the stairs to ask for breakfast as the little one growing inside her is unusually hungry these past few days. She held her tummy as she went down to the kitchen. The growling was starting to get louder and she laughed a bit. Her little baby dinosaur is impatient like his father.

  “Good morning.” She was startled when she turned around and found him about to embrace her.

  “Where have you been?” she pouted again. “You left me alone in the room. I didn’t wake up to see . . .” her voice was silenced as he replied with a long kiss.

  “These lips of yours are simply amazing. Whatever you do, it just makes me want to kiss you.” He said after giving her the good morning kiss she was waiting for.

  “How’s my baby today?” he kissed her tummy afterwards.

  “I think we have to go to the doctor for a scan, I am already having a hard time talking to it. I can’t say him or her. I want to know soon.” She felt excited.

  They have not yet checked for the baby’s gender and they have not done any ultrasound yet even when she was confined overnight. She was just given medicines to help the baby stick stronger in her womb.

  “Yes wifey, we will go to the doctor after the wedding.” He paused a while and gave her a kiss after he breathed deeply. “Come, I have something for you.” He let her lips go and pulled her by the hand to the kitchen.

  She was stunned to see the countertop full of food. Pancakes, toasts, eggs, chicken, ham, bacon, almost everything was there.

  “I cooked.” He said proudly.

  “You did? You know how?” she was happily surprised.

  “Nah. I fried the other food and the chef cooked the real food.” He had to admit as she might request for more than he can ever do.

  She laughed at his confession.

  “Point for effort.” She smiled as he pulled one of the stools to the counter top for her to sit.

  He made her sit in front of the pile of pancakes with whipped cream on top. But instead of a fruit resting on the tip, it was a ring. The biggest ring she has seen in her life. She looked up at him who was smiling from ear to ear.

  “I didn’t fry that one.” He pointed to the ring.

  “Oh my God! James, this is worth millions!” she wasn’t exaggerating. He took the six carat heart shaped diamond ring from the whipped cream and knelt in front of her for the second time.

  “You are priceless wifey. You know I can buy you more of this and it wouldn’t sum up to how much you mean to me. The price tag was tiny compared to how I value you.” He was still kneeling and extending his arm for her to take the ring.

  The solitaire diamond is almost the size of the home button of her iPhone, the glitter of that happy heart shape was glistening and blinding her eyes. She was still shocked that he is giving her something even more expensive than his red Jag outside.

  “I know I already asked you to marry me and you said yes. But I have not yet asked you to stay with me forever.” He took her hand and slowly slid the enormous shining ring on her finger. “Til all my hair falls out and til all your hair turns gray, til I had my third laser treatment for my eyes and til you wear your one inch thick reading glasses, til my skin crumples like prunes and your skin sags like water balloons, til my last breath sweetheart, stay with me.”

  She cried at his romantic words of their future. She was definitely growing old with this man. She wanted nothing less.

  “Yes darling, ‘til my last breath.” She said and kissed him while kneeling.

  “No! I must die first. I’m not sure if I could endure if you die ahead of me.” He cupped her face and kissed her back.

  “Grow old with me. No annulment. No legal separation. No divorce.” He is asking her to promise him.

  “I promise. I’ll be your first, last and only wife in this lifetime.” He stood up and encircled his arms on her when he heard her promise.

  ***

  He can’t sit still. He kept walking around the entire perimeter of his hotel suite.

  “Christ dude!” Howard scolded him.

  “Can you please stop pacing back and forth?” Matt hollered.

  Christian and Paco are getting dressed as they came in later than the two boys.

  “Hey! It’s your wedding day!” Christian trying to calm him down.

  “That makes me giddier.” He admitted.

  “Why? Are you not sure with this?” Paco asked.

  “What?!” he exclaimed.

  “Why are you so nervous?” Paco asked again.

  “I don’t know. What if she changed her mind? What if she doesn’t show up?”

&
nbsp; All the boys laughed at him.

  “Dude, that’s what you call wedding jitters.” Christian patted his back. “I haven’t been married, but I think that’s just normal.”

  “Can we go to the church now?” he asked them.

  “What? It’s still two and a half hours early.” Howard exclaimed.

  “We still have a pictorial in the church.” He tried to convince them.

  “The pictorial could be done in fifteen minutes dude! You don’t need two hours for that.” Matt said.

  “Please . . . Can we just go now?” he asked like a little boy asking for a new Starwars collectible.

  “OK! OK!” Christian stood up.

  “Be thankful it’s your wedding day!” Howard said as he followed Christian to the door.

  Matt and Paco stayed beside him.

  “Congrats dude!” Matt said shaking his hand.

  “Yeah! You’re marrying one of the prettiest girls in school, I’m envious.” Paco patted his shoulder.

  “You’re really lucky man!” Matt said again.

  “And you knocked her up!” Paco was jolly. “Is she better in bed than Rhea?”

  “Fuck you man!” he said. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

  “Can’t believe you chose to fall for your stalker.” Matt still can’t believe they’re getting married.

  “You can never choose who you fall for.” He said dreamily. “It chooses you.”

  “Shit! You’re so cheesy!” Matt exaggeratingly wriggled in his tux.

  They arrived at the church two hours ahead of schedule. They had enough time for the pictorial with the entourage. His palms are sweating in nervousness.

  Now, he literally waited for his bride for hours.

  He went back to the car to wait for the bridal car to arrive and didn’t realize he fell asleep.

  “James! Dude!” Christian nudged his elbow to wake him up.

  “Chris!” he can’t believe he fell asleep while waiting for her.

  “She’s already here. The entrance of entourage is starting in a couple minutes. I’ll see you down the aisle man.” He slapped his hand with his and gripped on it tight.

  He left before James and then he followed and marched down the aisle. He was so excited and he felt like he was walking without recognizing the people around him. He felt like gliding towards the altar.