by Tiana Laveen
The move had proved to be the best thing for them. Gina remained resistant until he came clean and told her the whole, sordid truth. After he’d confessed, she needed no further convincing. She got a new nursing job, and it paid double what she made back home, working less hours. April was going to a better school, and he was using his degree – even decided to take up classes in management so that one day, he could own his own computer repair company.
He looked up at the sky, blinking one eye at the blinding sun. It was cold, but he felt warm within, for the brightest star in the sky still shined down on him. He missed home—he wasn’t going to lie—but he was cool with this, too. Matter of fact, he was better than cool with it. His small world ceased to exist as it had previously. The world kept spinning, but everything remained the same, though in some odd way, life became renewed.
He’d gotten word that Go-Go had gotten shot and died on the damn spot. Someone robbed him and sprayed his chest with bullets. Marcus shed a few tears in honor of the Go-Go he remembered from his teenage years—the guy with brains and heart. But then, just like so many caught up in the glitter and illusions of the street life, he was sucked up and away, and the old him lived no more. No one knew who did it, or they just weren’t saying a damn thing as they spent up the man’s blood money. Terence was in jail for a D.U.I. and Corey was still, well, Corey…
Just then, April barreled towards him.
“Daaaadddddy!” Her dark pigtails flopped about.
“Slow down!” He moved out of the way just in time and fell onto his ass as he did. The little girl kept on going down the sidewalk, laughing her head off.
She.was.free.
Gina, his queen, the ruler of his heart, had been emancipated…
And now, that meant he was, too…
THE BEDROOM PROVED strangely colder than usual. The late autumn had definitely bitten West Virginia and left the apple trees in a nearby orchard frost bitten. Matter of fact, autumn had been forsaken as well. The fall had been pushed aside, cut short. French kissed by Old Man Winter, who’d brought forth his icy affections, arriving at the party entirely too soon. Back home was still warm, or at least the Alabama forecast showed as much.
They’d just arrived back from their five-day trip. No, not to Alabama, but to heal in a different sort of way. She missed Georgia already. It was so nice to see Milan, hold her little girl, and meet her husband, Julian.
Much to her surprise, Julian and Aaron really hit it off; so much so, the two promised to keep in contact. Julian was a laid back fellow, easy going, good looking, and a great listener and conversationalist. It was at times hilarious to see the two talking about the oddest of things, from the legalization of marijuana to the reign of Hitler. She and Aaron were experiencing new things together as a couple, growing into their own. Along with that came a new promising chapter, a fresh page to turn. Tomorrow, Laura would be arriving at their home and it would now be her home, too.
Mia’s excitement burst through the roof, and she couldn’t wait to sit the little girl down and talk to her – get to know her on a deeper, more intimate level. She’d spoken briefly to the young girl on the phone and had enjoyed their first visit, albeit brief. She had the voice of an angel and was so articulate and polite. Aaron had warned her in advance that he and Sarah had taught her things that would take some undoing. Aaron had been working on her, loving on her from afar and speaking to her daily.
It was a miracle that she was as well adjusted as she was, not poisoned with hatred and malice. How could she escape such damage? Perhaps she hadn’t, but in time, Mia hoped to be a healing aid to the seen and unseen that may dwell within the child. In Mia’s eyes, the girl was not her husband’s daughter; she was their daughter, and that was how she planned to treat her.
“What’s taking so long, honey?” She ran her hands up and down her arms as she sat inside their boudoir on the edge of the neatly made bed. Their unpacked luggage rested against a wall, and they had only been home an hour or two. She’d begged and begged, but he’d made her wait. Now, it was the time of reckoning.
“I’ll be out in a second,” Aaron called out from the bathroom. The sound of rushing water from the sink faucet soon followed.
A thick, fluffy white robe covered her body, and she could now barely get it around her protruding waist. How quickly she was showing! She’d figured her pregnancy wouldn’t be that noticeable until she’d hit the seven month mark. At least, that was what her mother suspected, but she hadn’t followed in her mother’s maternal footsteps. No, her stomach told on her, outstretched and wide, as her baby made himself nice and comfy within her.
She smiled when she felt him kick at that moment and observed her stomach wave, move and stretch as he danced about. Then, he simmered down at the touch of her hand smoothing over her taut flesh. “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake aired on the satellite radio station. Mia crossed her legs and bobbed her head to the music.
She’d begun to get into Aaron’s music stash, enjoying his hard rock, alterative music and love of 80’s and 90’s rock bands. She too shared her music, and couldn’t hold her mirth when he’d asked her out of the blue if she had any Biggie Smalls songs.
Just then, the bathroom door swung open. Aaron placed one bare foot in front of the other until he was standing before her. She looked him up and down, eager to see what lay under his dark red robe. His expression was grave, as if an announcement of great magnitude was to be reported at any moment. Reaching for his belt, he slowly untied it and let his housecoat fall softly to the ground, around his feet.
“Oh my God! No way! No way!” She gasped and placed her hands over her gaping mouth.
He’d spent the past twenty minutes carefully removing bandages and oiling his new body art, behind closed doors. And now, he presented it to her, unveiled a new man with different skin and renewed pride. He did a spin for her, his arms extended so that she could take it all in. Instead of horrid, dark Nazi images embedded in his flesh, he was a thing of majestic beauty from the top of his buzzed head to his toes. The Nazi eagle so prominently positioned upon his body was no longer carrying the swastika, gripping it tight in possessive, clenched claws. No. In its place stood a yin and yang symbol and the regal bird flew across a sky with its head held high. The iron cross was now the American flag, tied to the streamer of England, waving in the wind. He turned around, giving her another 360, this one much slower.
The black and red Valknut had become three soaring, resplendent trees surrounded by rippling water and a blazing sun. It looked so real, like a photograph… almost as if you could walk right through it. The number 14 was changed into her name, A beautiful ‘M’ was perfectly drawn in italics font, the 1 turned into an ‘I’, and the 4 turned into an ‘A’. By its side were drawn bright red irises and underneath that, the words,
My Idol Always
The various lightning bolts that dotted his body were completely covered with the sprawling artwork of other designs, beautiful images that made her heart beat like a drum. But there was one more left, one that made her eyes flood with unstoppable tears…
The sinister portrait of Hitler alongside a cracked skull that once graphitized his form, framed in miscellaneous white supremacy paraphernalia, had been coated with rich, new ink and reddened, swollen skin that would soon heal. Right there in the face of hatred, a new image appeared – there, in the darkness, stood a little boy in old-fashioned knickers and a hunting cap. Choppy dark hair sprouted from beneath the flaps and troubled light eyes the color of a freshly lit fire took over his sullen face. Over one shoulder, he was holding a rifle. He looked so lost, lonely, and worried.
His emotions were real, palpable. But on one side of him stood a female angel, an older woman with dark hair and blunt bangs. A twist of humor was woven into the image; the angel wore a Lynyrd Skynrd T-shirt, framed by her expansive wings. On the other side of the boy stood a silhouette of a woman that looked much like herself, holding a little blond haired girl’s hand while, in her othe
r, she cradled a tiny baby. Underneath were these words written by the immortal Mahatma Gandhi…
“Where there is love there is life.”
“Aaron!” She leapt from the bed into his arms and pressed her lips firmly into his cheek. “They are perfect… just perfect. Oh my goodness… Julian is amazing.” She slowly pulled back, but left her arms loosely draped around his neck.
“He did a really good job. I’m real happy with it… real happy with it.” His lips lifted in a smile. He slipped away from her, walking backwards until he’d reached an old record player he kept in the corner of the room. Picking up an LP, he slid it from the sleeve and placed it on the record player. “Big Love” by Fleetwood Mac began to play. He turned back in her direction and pointed lazily to a chair across the way.
“Sit down.” She looked over her shoulder, then back at him. Sauntering over to the chair, she sat down on it. He stood there for a moment or two, snapped the elastic band of his underwear against his hip, then snatched the damn things off. He dropped to his knees, crawling on all fours like some hungry animal, causing her to laugh as he licked his lips…but then, he drew serious.
Her pulse accelerated as he neared, closer…closer…closer… Aaron reached her and kneeled as if she were an altar and it was time to pray. He looked into her eyes as he opened her garment, exposing her. Gripping her knees with both hands, he rubbed his face roughly up and down and across her closed thighs.
“Ahhh…” She sighed as he pushed her legs open and looked down between her legs, his chest rising and falling so fast, his expression angry, tense and hungry… And then, like a spinning top, he turned around, his back to her, lifted her legs off the chair, and jammed his tongue deep within her.
“Ahhhh! Oh shit!”
He darted in and out of her, orally fucking her with all of his might.
“Uhhhhhhh….” he moaned. His fingers dug hard into her skin as he held her in place.
Her ass rocked back and forth on the chair until she’d dripped all over the thing, her honey causing a big, nasty, deliciously erotic mess. He released one of her legs, then grabbed his thick, long cock and began to masturbate himself, heightening her excitement to levels unknown. His hand flew faster and faster up and down the shaft, the head of his cock a blur as his mouth moved harder and faster over her pussy. Without warning then, he ceased his movements, snatched her up from the chair, turned it around, and bent her over the thing, her breasts pushing into the back of it. He knocked her thighs apart.
“Mmmmmm! Aaron!”
Without a moment to lose, he plunged inside of her and pulled her hair with one hand, while gripping the front of her neck with the other. He pumped hard and deep inside of her with even, perfect strokes, making her insides shudder.
“You okay, Mia?” he asked breathlessly. “I’m not hurtin’ you, am I? Don’t want to hurt the baby…”
“No, sweetie. It’s good…feels fine.”
He increased his strokes, his chest pressing into her back as he leaned forward. He buried his face into her curls.
“I own your pussy, baby. I own your entire body. It belongs to me.” He whispered in the softest voice he probably could manage.
“Yes, you do, baby! Ahhhh!”
He administered flawless dick caresses until she trickled all over his cock, tightening over and over on his rod as her orgasm released and made her go blind with elation.
“You like how I take you whenever I want you… fuck you all over this house?!”
“Yes!”
“Mmmm! You’re my good girl, baby… Yes you are, but when I fuck you, you become so goddamn bad!”
“Yes I do, baby!”
“You like me to fuck you hard, rough and deep! Make you feel that shit!”
“It’s true!”
“You love this bad boy, dick! Uhhh!”
“Shiiit!”
“I love making love to you, baby! Can’t get enough! Uhhh!”
Suddenly she felt his hands around her breasts and he quickened the pace. Her eyes widened and she gasped as her pussy went into a frenzy of spasms. She reached behind her, latching onto his hips, palming his upper thighs, pushing him even deeper inside her.
“Uhhhhhhhh!” And then, he shot within her, his hip muscles contracting and compressing in rapid speed. Her body jarred and bounced about as he continued to thrust hard and with lightning speed, milking his dick inside of her. “Shit…” he breathed loudly, then slid from her body.
Locked in position, still coming down from her high, she heard a sound as if he’d hit the floor. Peering over her shoulder, she cracked a grin. Aaron was slumped on the floor wearing the biggest smile she’d ever seen on the man. And then, he burst out laughing as he reached upward and caressed her ankle. He winked at her.
“How many men can say that they are married to, living with, and get to sleep with their hero?”
She smiled down at the man as she tucked her leg under her behind and rested her arms on the back of the chair.
“Not many… not many at all. Yeah, you’re my Mia. Love from my life was once Missing In Action, but now, you are just like my new tattoo says: ‘my idol always’…”
Chapter Twenty
…Three months later
“AHHH!” THE PRESSURE and pain merged, stirring in her womb, creating a melee of agony that she’d never encountered in her entire life and wasn’t sure she’d survive. Mia reached for the hospital bed rail to grasp it tight. The coldness from the metal hit her nerve endings and streams of hot sweat and lukewarm, salty tears raced down her face. “Ahhhh!” She huffed, but nothing was helping. “Lamaze ain’t shit! Make it stop!”
“Mia!” Aaron called out as he turned her towards him, tried to make her focus on his eyes with the touch of a gentle hand along her chin. “You’re doin’ real good, baby; he’s almost out.” Her abdomen burned, and she now regretted forgoing the epidural, being a brave heart. Aaron Jr. was bursting into the world in a way she’d never forget. The infant was making an appearance a week early, impatient and demanding like his father, and giving her the kind of contractions earlier that morning that shook her out of a fairly sound sleep. Since then, they had not ceased, only increased in frequency and intensity.
“Ahhhh! I’m pushing!”
“Wait!” the doctor screamed out.
“No! I gotta push! I gotta push!” She released the rail and grabbed Aaron’s arm, no longer caring if she ripped the damn thing off him. After all, this was all his fault!
“Ahhhh!”
Her husband didn’t seem to mind her twisting his limb almost into a knot, and his eyes rested now on the mirror that showcased her progress as the baby’s head came in full view. “Uhhhh!” she grunted, her body feeling another burst of pressure.
“Mia, honey, he’s half out now!” Aaron exclaimed with exhilaration, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “I see him. I see our baby!”
“Mia, you’re doing great,” one of the many nurses in the room assured.
“Now go ahead and give us another good push,” the doctor requested. Without a second to lose, she did as ordered. Another wave of pain encompassed her, this one unbelievably worse than the previous.
“AHHHHHHH!” And then… the pressure was suddenly gone. The room grew quiet for a moment or two, a state soon shattered by the abrupt shrillness of a newborn baby’s cries.
“Oh my God…” she blubbered, her body shaking as she fell to pieces from the melodic sound. “My baby…he’s here!”
Aaron moved away from her side and quickly rounded the hospital bed, standing right beside the sitting doctor and towering over everyone, like a giant amongst elves. Like the bully that he was, he demanded entry, pushing himself to the forefront.
“Let me cut the cord… I want to hold my son. Come on, hurry up.” He stared down between her legs, undoubtedly focused on his newborn son as his lower lip slightly quivered with emotion. He waved his hand impatiently towards the doctor, nonverbally asking for the stainless steel surgical
scissors. “Don’t just sit there… come on. I don’t have all day.” This caused a room full of chuckles.
“Mr. Pike, I’m moving as fast as I can. I was examining your wife, making sure she and the baby are okay. We need to stitch her up.” He handed Aaron the scissors, annoyance all over his face, but her husband didn’t notice or seem to care. “Okay…right there…” the doctor instructed. Aaron did as told, his eyes glossy with unspent tears.
“I, uh, got a little ahead of myself. Let Mia see him first.”
“Oh… how kind of you,” one of the nurses joked, causing everyone to laugh, including Aaron.
“I’m sorry, everybody… just a little excited.” He blushed as the nurse picked up the baby and began to clean his eyes.
“First child?” another nurse asked Aaron while she helped the doctor prepare for stitching.
“No. I have a beautiful eight-year old daughter. Her birthday just passed not that long ago, actually. But this is my first child with my wife, and my first son, too.”
She smiled and nodded, then handed Mia her baby. She tenderly cradled the sweetheart, drawing him close, taking him in.
“Ohhhh, Aaron,” she cooed, her eyes filling with joyous tears.
“He looks like both of you.” The nurse smiled as Aaron drew close and hovered above Mia. “Some say all newborns look alike, but no, you can see distinct features.”
Mia heard her husband’s nervous swallow as he looped his arm over the metal rail of the bed, his long, thick fingers dangling close to the side of her face.
“He does…” he responded. “He’s got Mia’s eyes and ears. He has my nose and lips… and a cowlick, just like I had as a little boy… And look, Mia, he’s got my chin, too.” He pointed to the slight dimple in the boy’s chin, just like his own.
