Meadowlarks

by Ashley Christine

  She walks down and steps into the pool, the moonlight showering her beautiful body as she slips beneath the water. I take off my khaki shorts and my t-shirt, kick off my shoes and slowly submerge into our own private haven.

  “Your vows were the most beautiful words I've ever heard. I had the biggest lump in my throat while you were saying them to me.” She sits in my lap, her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms resting on my shoulders.

  “I prayed I didn't forget any of them; I rehearsed for days.”

  “It was perfect. All of it.” She touches her nose to mine. “I love you.”

  I kiss her; just like my vows, it isn't passionate enough, but it never will be with her. Each moment is a big deal, so the next has to be doubled just to outdo the first. My mouth sucks her neck and throat; I bite her shoulders gently and take each breast into my mouth.

  She grips my hair and pushes my head harder into her body, making me breathlessly gorge myself on her sweet flesh.

  “I want this inside of me, baby.” Her hand travels down my body and slips under the water, grips around my raging thickness and rubs it against her delicate skin.

  “How badly do you want it?” I breathe and suck her earlobe.

  “Make love to me, Blaine. Please.”

  I lift her with my hands, and she directs me into her, I slowly lower her down, stretching her body so she possesses my own with hers. The water laps over the edge of the pool as she rises and falls rhythmically. The splashing quickens, and I pull her hips down to grind me harder as I enter her deeper.

  “Ahhh!” she cries out and throws her head back. When she looks back at me, her eyes are blazing from the hunger and from the moonlight. Her skin, tanned already from just one day in the sun, has been made white by the night sky.

  “You feel so good, baby,” I hiss, and moan as the intensity builds in my body, spilling out of my pores and filling the pool. She leans back so she’s almost floating. The angle of her body bends me in a way that makes my eyes roll back in my head; I catch my breath and push my hips up and slam against her. My hand runs down her stomach, and I rub her tenderness with my thumb.

  “Ah! Oh…baby!” She reaches for me and holds my thighs as she reaches ecstasy. An orgasm ripples through her, igniting my own climax, and I rumble loudly as I thrust the last of my length as deep as I can go.

  I finally made love to my wife. It's probably cliché to say that it feels different now that we're married, but it really does. For me, anyway. I feel closer to her than ever before, and I don't want this instant to end.

  I make love to her again in the bed in our villa, just like our last night as an unwed couple at Jeremiah's house. This time I have a headboard to hang on to, and we can both cry out as loudly as we want. I couldn't care less about strangers hearing me please my wife.

  The Tortola honeymoon goes by too quickly, and we're both disappointed that we have to return to the real world. On the flight home Addison flicks through the photos we took.

  “Look at your face!” She giggles and points to the screen. I'm puckering while sucking a lemon wedge at the wet bar after throwing back tequila shots.

  “That one's not going on the wall.” I smirk and shudder, remembering the awful bitterness.

  She falls asleep on the flight home from Florida's airport. A lock of hair falls on her face, and I lean over to brush it off, tucking it behind her ear. I sit back in my leather seat and watch her sleep peacefully, a tiny smile on her lips as she must be dreaming of something.

  A pretty blonde flight attendant walks out of the cabin. “Can I get you anything, sir?”

  “I've got everything I need right here.” I smile. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. We'll be descending within the hour.” She whispers once she sees that Addison is sleeping and smiles, moving on to the man on the other side of the plane in a business suit.

  ***

  “Home sweet home!” Addison bounces in her seat when we drive under the banner across the driveway.

  “Yep. That also means back to work.” We both frown, and she laughs at my exaggerated bottom lip. One last day before she goes back to work; I knew the fairy tale had to end sometime, shaking us back to the real world.

  A relaxing night in with pizza and a movie is disturbed when Addison's phone rings, and Riley is on the other end, wanting to know about the honeymoon. She smiles at me, and mouths, “Sorry!” before getting up off the couch and going into the kitchen. She leaves me to watch the movie alone—which I do, right to the end where Bruce Willis gets the bad guy. As usual.

  In the kitchen I find her sitting on a stool, still on her phone. When I open the fridge to get a beer, she turns and smiles, doing the talking motion with her hand, letting me know Riley's chatting her ear off. I'm pouting; I'll admit it. I want my wife all to myself, and learning to share is not something I've really ever had to do.

  “Awe, he did? What a sweetie..I know, he's really excited. My parents can't believe the change.” She must be talking about Alex.

  I point up the staircase. “I'm going to bed.”

  She frowns and holds up a finger, letting me know she'll be a minute. I know she means a girl-minute, which calculates into a man's hour and then some. I could tease her and take my shirt off, or make some other suggestive motion, but she is too wrapped up with Riley, so I just go upstairs. Slowly moping and pouting like a big baby, I undress and fall under the sheets, letting them drift down on me, and I'm out.

  “Blaine!” Her scream pulls me out of bed and in seconds, I'm stumbling down the stairs, my eyes trying to adjust to all the light in the kitchen.

  “Blaine, hurry!” She's frantically standing at the bottom clutching hands together under her chin. The dogs are going crazy at the door. “There's someone out there!”

  “What? Someone outside?” I run over and whip open the door. Rex and Luca rush out, barking like crazy.

  “I saw something in the window! Please be careful!” she calls from behind me, and I quickly run back inside and grab a flashlight from the top of the fridge.

  The dogs stop barking but sniff all around the house, the hair on their backs standing on end. The hair on my neck is, too. Who would be outside of our house in the middle of the night?

  “Who's out there?” I shout into the darkness. Like whoever it is will show themselves; I highly doubt it. It could have been just an animal. I hope it was just an animal.

  “Well?” Addison stands in the doorway, expectantly, still clutching her hands.

  “There's nothing out there, baby. I think you're just tired, and when you panicked, the dogs did too.” I call them back in the house, closing the door behind them. I lock it, and they follow us back upstairs to our bedroom.

  When they sleep at the foot of the bed again, I think of Reid and the night that Addison came home after he attacked her. Officer Herring or someone would have notified us if he was out, wouldn't they? There's got to be some sort of victim's service that would tell her if he was released on bail.

  Once she's calmed down and tangled tightly in my arms, she falls asleep, but I don't. The dogs and I are on alert. As soon as the morning comes, I decide I'm calling the police station.

  At six AM, the alarm rings, and she wakes up for work.

  “How did you sleep?”

  She stretches and smiles, momentarily forgetting about last night. “Good.” Then she looks around the room like she's expecting to see something frightening.

  “You're okay, Addy. We were here all night protecting you.” I smile and whistle for the dogs who jump up from the floor and stand at the edge of the bed.

  “My brave boys.” She pets them, and they start panting.

  I can relate.

  Breakfast is quick and rushed, like usual on mornings that she's running late. The toaster pops, and she's out the door. I stand and wait for her to come back in.

  “Oops!” She kisses me and laughs. “I think I'm going to take the Mustang today; I miss driving it.”

  �
��Okay, my love. Have a good day.” I wave and she's gone. The Mustang rumbles from inside the garage; the beast has awoken, and it emerges, silver glistening in the morning sun. She leaves one hell of a dust trail today.

  Once she's out of sight, I check all the windows and doors. Nothing looks out of place, no tamper marks or anything unusual. Still, I call Jeremiah and tell him I might be out when they come for work today. I'm going to talk to Officer Herring and find out anything he can tell me about Reid.

  ***

  “Are you kidding me?” I can feel my face flush.

  “I'm sorry, Mr. Blackstock. We tried calling.”

  “We were out of the country! On our honeymoon. Why didn't the hospital call and tell her then?”

  He shakes his head in frustration and apology. “I'm very sorry. He somehow got bail; but he's supposed to be staying with a surety.”

  Addison is going to flip when she finds out.

  “Officer Herring, she thought she saw something outside the window last night. Even the dogs were going crazy.”

  He narrows his eyes. “Did she see anything specific?”

  “No, but she freaked out, and I checked outside. Didn't find anything, but it still gave me the creeps.”

  “Well, I'll check in with his surety this morning. Make sure everything is on the up and up. I'll give you a call when I get word.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I shake his hand. When I get into my truck, I just sit and let it idle. If I turn left, I go home and start work; if I turn right, I head toward the hospital and tell Addison that the douchebag got released. I decide to turn right. If she finds out from someone else that I knew but didn't tell her, she'll be upset.

  Hey, gorgeous. I'm coming by to see you.

  Really?! OK, babe. Text me when you're here.

  Seven minutes later…

  I'm outside. Can you come out? Should I come in?

  I'll come out.

  “Well, isn't this a nice surprise. My husband visiting me at work.” She kisses me. “All the girls swooned when I told them you were coming.”

  I frown and shift in my seat to face her. “Reid's out.”

  Her smile fades into an expressionless face. “When?”

  “Yesterday morning.”

  “I told you, Blaine.” She holds her finger up in the air. “I just know he was out there.”

  “Addy, I don't think he was. Why would he be? If he was smart, he wouldn't come near you again.” We both know he's far from intelligent, but I try and sound reassuring anyway.

  “Why didn't someone tell me?”

  “I talked to Office Herring this morning; he said he tried calling.”

  She takes a big breath and slowly lets it go. “Okay. It'll be okay.”

  I'm not sure if she's trying to convince me or herself.

  “You'll be okay, baby. I promise. If you want to take some time and come home, you can.”

  “No, I'm needed here.”

  I take her hand and kiss it softly just as my phone rings.

  “Hello?”

  “Mr. Blackstock? It's Herring. I've contacted the surety. They tell me he was in the home all night.”

  “Oh, really.” I'm almost hesitant to feel relieved just yet.

  “I've also called a neighbor I know personally, and they told me they didn't see his SUV leave at all through the night.”

  “Well, thank you. That will put us at ease.”

  Addison motions for me to hand her the phone.

  “Addison would like to talk to you.” I hand her the phone.

  “Officer Herring? Yes, well I was so sure...I know, thank you very much...It was lovely, thank you...” She pulls on the fabric of her scrubs nervously. “Okay. Yes, we will...Have a good day. Bye.”

  She hands me back the phone. “He said he's sure Reid didn't go anywhere last night. And that he'll look into having surveillance put on him.”

  “Want to take the rest of the day off?”

  She looks like she's almost about to say yes. “I can't. I wish I could, but we're short staffed today.”

  “Okay, call me if you need anything. Promise?”

  “I promise, my darling husband.”

  “I love you, Mrs. Blackstock. So very much.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  It's nearly midnight on May 29, and the sound of the phone ringing startles us both. Addison scrambles to reach it on the nightstand.

  “Hello?” She sits up quickly, and my eyes take a minute to adjust. “Okay! I'm getting dressed now!” She leaps off the bed and almost slips on the floor before she reaches the closet.

  “Addy?”

  “Riley's going into labour! I gotta get over there.”

  My eyes are still trying to focus by the time we pull into Jeremiah's driveway. I get out of the passenger seat and hold the door open for Riley to get in. The three of them were already waiting outside for us.

  “Drive safe, and keep me posted.” Jer looks nervously into the car at Addison and Alex. “Good luck, Riley!”

  “Thank you, Jer.” She breathes, holding her large belly in her small hands. “Thank you for staying with Isaac.”

  Alex and I get into the back, and the tires kick up stones when she throws the car into reverse.

  “Whoa!” Riley grips the door.

  “Sorry.”

  “I don't want to have this baby in a car, Cole!”

  They both laugh, and Riley quickly softens her voice, breathing slowly. She must be having a contraction; I don't know much, but I've seen enough TV to know that.

  “How far apart are you?”

  “She was four minutes about half an hour ago.” Alex leans up and sticks his head between the front seats. “Babe, you okay?”

  She breathes, and I think we all exhale with her.

  “I'm okay.” She smiles back at him, as he reaches his hand through the center and holds hers.

  Addison looks in the rear view, I can see in her eyes that she's smiling.

  Riley and Alex calmly walk up and down the white hallway of the maternity ward, back and forth, stopping every few minutes for a contraction and then starting again.

  “She's doing so well.” Addison smiles at them as they walk away from the row of chairs we're sitting in.

  “Alex looks like he's ready to pass out.” I chuckle, and she elbows me.

  “Hey, that'll be you someday, too.”

  “Can't wait.” I smirk, and she rolls her eyes. “Practice makes perfect.”

  She gapes and shakes her head at me.

  When I come back from the bathroom, only Addison is left in the hallway. She's standing in front of a door, looking through the window.

  “Where'd they go?” I stand behind her and peek in over her shoulder. Alex is standing beside Riley, who's now lying in a bed on her side. I'm not sure if I'm ready to see anything else, so I go and sit back down on the uncomfortable chairs across the hall.

  Minutes turn into hours, and after the hundredth time I nod off, Addy wakes me up and tells me we should get something to eat.

  “What time is it?”

  “It's noon.”

  Riley's been in labour for twelve hours, and there’s still no baby.

  “Nothing's happened yet?”

  “Not yet, but everything is going smoothly otherwise though. Alex is sleeping in a chair beside her bed. It's so sweet.” She smiles, as I take her hand, walking down the hall and into an elevator to eat questionable cafeteria food.

  I eat my roast beef sandwich alone, in my orange plastic chair. I stare at the soda machine, wishing I hadn’t bought this awful sludge they advertised as coffee and instead got a can of pop. Addison sees some co-workers and stands by the window talking to them. Every so often, she looks over and smiles. I just sit and eat and smile back with a cheek full of sandwich.

  At dinner time, I'm exhausted. I'm trying my best to stay enthused about it all, but I really just want to go home. Addison looks tired, too, and when Alex comes out, he frowns. He tells us the doctor think
s it'll be a couple more hours.

  “They'll do a c-section if it doesn't improve.” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

  “As long as she's okay, and the baby's okay. That's all that matters, Alex.” Addison hugs him and he rests his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment of peace.

  “Listen, you guys should go home.” He read my mind. “I'll call you if something changes.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  He smiles and hugs her again. “Love you, too, Addy.”

  Home sweet home; oh, the glory of those three words. My bed almost envelopes around me, and I cocoon into the blankets, feeling comfort at last. Normally I would associate this bed with sex, and having her beside me would make me want to touch her in any way. But right now, all I want to do is sleep. I think I can hear her saying something to me as I drift away, but I'm too far to make out the words.

  Baby Cole is finally brought into the world. Alex called at six AM to tell Addison that Riley had started to push around 4:00. An hour and a half later, he became a father.

  She's crying while she's on the phone with him, smiling and wiping her tears with the corner of the blanket. “Oh, Alex I'm so happy! I just love her name.” She turns to me. “Scarlett Cordelia Cole.”

  I smile, happy that the baby is here and everyone is well. They've chosen a beautiful name for her.

  By eight AM, we're on the way to the hospital to see our new niece. As expected, she's a beautiful baby. She has a head full of jet black hair just like Riley's, but she's got big blue eyes like Alex. He's sitting in a gliding chair, slowly rocking tiny Scarlett in his arms. I try and tune out the gory details of her birth, and wince when I hear words like tear and blood and stitches.