“Dad don’t fall for it, she did it for herself, you saw her naked in his bed, a bed that Chris had been out of for two hours. He phoned her and asked her to pass on a message, which she never did. A message that as soon as I’d called him, his jet would come to take me to him and to his sick sister’s bedside. So, I could be of comfort to him, instead when he needed me most, where was I? I was running back here. He thought I was just the spoilt brat Rachel told him I was. She even told him all about my stint in rehab, and she said I would be there again, for more attention seeking.
She picked up the ring and the letter I wrote, and kept it, she probably wears it when we’re not around. After this plane journey, she rides commercial like Luis, and her mum does not get to go on shopping trips in our company jets either. She works at making her job just that and not another excuse to party, it is not a hobby, she has to make her own money Dad, Luis and I do. Really stop falling for her guilt trips Daddy, she’s thirty three, not three and you paid her mum enough money to get her own bloody plane, besides the witch’s new husband is a banker and rich enough. Here’s the Wonder Son now. I was just telling Mum and Dad, that Mel may be tired, what with being pregnant and all.” I winked at them both and Mel smiled.
“Oh I bet you did. Mum and Dad, I’d like you to meet Melissa Yeller, Chris’s little sister and mother of my soon to be daughter, long story and yes, she is grumpy. Mel, meet my mum Maria, and my dad Hugh.”
“Less of the grumpy Luis, and I’d go with tired and in need of the loo. Hello and pleased to meet you both, and no this is not what it seems like and yes we can explain, after I get to the bathroom.” Our mother didn’t know what to do first, hit Luis, hug Mel, or cry. Dad showed her the way to the littlest room and she did the latter.
“Melissa, let me show you where the cloakroom is, you really are having my son’s baby?”
“Really, I am, and yes, I need the cloakroom real fast, she kicks and I need to pee, sorry.” Mum was astonished, and Dad looked like he was steaming mad and I was sure he had vapour coming from his ears, like a kettle, as he walked back towards Luis.
“Son, there better be a bloody good explanation for this, how long have you known and why would you do the same thing to her as Chris did, well he didn’t, but you know what I mean? Your sister had to go through her pregnancy without the father here. Damn it Luis, I thought I raised you better than that? I knew all your partying would come to this, hell I expected it in your teens if I was honest, and definitely in your twenties, but by your thirties I thought you would have grown up a little. Get in the house, Bedford have Miguel and Rodrigo put their bags to their rooms please, Melissa is in the blue room, Chris is in the back cream room.”
“Daddy my husband is stopping with me in my room, and yes I have the paperwork and the new rings.” I flashed my freshly acquired rock and gold band at them.
“Damn my kids are going to kill me today. Wait, just one minute, he and you, no you can’t have can you, you’re not telling me that you got married and it was done today? He only asked if he could marry you, not that he was doing it right away, you must have, because I only gave him my permission this afternoon. Are you really married? What else is going to be sent to try us today?” We headed in to a wonderful sight Ethan was hugging Chris, and giving him squishy hugs and kisses, because Chris was crying.
“Why all the tears Chris, what’s the matter?” My dad asks.
“Daddy say he happy to see me, and then cried. I do something wrong?”
“No Son you did nothing wrong, these are just happy tears, very happy to meet you tears, that’s all. Now show Mummy your puppy, which needs a new name, a Mojo he isn’t, he pees like a fountain, we need to call him Trevi.”
“Nope, I likes Mojo, Mojo good and he likes you, he pee if he like you, see he pee up your shoe, look Daddy he really like you. Mummy why you crying too, you got’s happy tears? Oh you look funny lady, lets me down Daddy, lady crying too she need a squishy hug and kisses.” He ran into Mel’s legs and she bent to pick him up.
“Hello little man. I’m your Aunty Mel.”
“I got’s an Aunty Ratty, who I not seed yet and now I got’s you too? You have a big belly, you smell nice you smell of lemon, apple and chocolate, you got chocolate hidden here in your big belly, you is very big Aunty Smell.”
“I have a big, big belly because there’s a baby in here.” He screamed, wriggled out of her arms and straight to Chris, not to me but Chris, who smiled, what was he worried about again?
“Smell gonna eat me too Daddy, send her away, Aunty Smell gonna eats me Mummy.”
“No baby, she didn’t eat a baby she’s going to have a baby, it’s in her belly until it is ready to be born, like when your pony Ginger was in his mummy’s belly, do you remember? She’s called Aunty Mel sweetheart.”
“Mummy, is she not going to eat me? Good, but, how it get in there?”
“Yes, how did it get their Luis Yannis Theodore Humphries? I would like to know too and soon please?” Oh Mum, gave him his full name and now he’s in trouble.
“Not now Mum, please, there’s plenty of time for that later? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Until an hour and a half ago, I didn’t know I was having a daughter, I haven’t seen Mel for six years, we saw each other on the holidays, I spent with Chris, and she was the one who wacked the jewels, with the paint ball gun, do you remember her now, you even met her a couple of times, back in the day. Apart from catching glimpses of her at Harvard, we only met up occasionally after that, then nothing in the last six years. See I told you Mum wouldn’t believe me Bella.”
“I know Mel, she came a time or two to the hotels with you Chris, but you have changed, so much I would not have known it was you Dear.” My mother is straight talking.
“Plastic surgery, I had to have a lot of it, but I am happy with the new face, its growing on me!”
“Yes, yes, it is nice, your old one was nice too. Have the operations finished?” Mum is patting her arm.
“Yes, and though I wanted to wait to have my baby until my leg was stronger, I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“You both studied together in university, if memory recalls?” My father asks.
“Yes, I went to study. Luis used it as an excuse to party if I remember rightly, it’s a small wonder you qualified at all party boy, and he’s right we haven’t seen each other in years.” Luis feigns a look of shock, I wonder if the reason she chose a dark looking donor was because of how she was when they were together? I had seen her a few times at Chris’s place when I was really little. Well we know they have been intimate before, so what’s the game? Chris smiled as he watched me looking at them.
“I wondered about that too, they always seemed to be fighting when she was at my place, after they rowed, they’d sneak into each other’s rooms at night, like they weren’t bloody grown adults. I wonder if he thought I’d be mad at him having sex with my sister? I have to wonder too, why are they were hiding this obvious love thing they have? On a brighter note, I love my son very much he’s cute, thank you Bella.”
“You are welcome want to start practicing for the others we said we wanted later?” His eyebrows rose and he laughed.
“Mum, can this wait, they are hungry and need food, my daughter makes Mel hungry, feed your granddaughter please before her mother goes thermonuclear on me.” Good stall brother, mention granddaughter and she’s whipped.
“Anna has prepared breakfast, a little earlier than we normally have it, but it’s ready when you are.”
“Mummy, do my eggs pleazzzze? Daddy are you having egg and soldiers too?” He smiled as he sliced the top off and the mantra taught to him by Dad.
“I’m sorry Humpty but I can’t put you together again, ‘cos my belly is hungry.” Dad and Ethan looked on in amazement.
“I say’s that too.” He watched and smiled as Chris did his egg for him. I had to leave the table because the tears were starting…
“Bella are you alright?” I nodded my head
and went through to my room and I was followed by Mum.
“Why are you crying Isabella? What has made you so unhappy?” I was wrapped in her arms crying like a baby.
“He missed so much, and I can’t give him the time back, the egg thing, tucking him in at night, reading to him, watching him smile for the first time, lots of things have been robbed from him Mum. I’ll kill her, I mean it Mum, I will kill Rachel for what she’s done.” Two more arms came in to grab my waist.
“Bella, I can have those first times again, I’ve just had to wait until now. Isabella Holland, I’m here now, please don’t cry over something you can’t do anything about, come on, Ethan wants you to eat your eggs.”
“Who taught you Hugh’s breakfast thing?”
“Hugh, a long time ago, at a conference my father dragged me to, he got me to eat my eggs by saying that and making me laugh, it was something very small, but very fondly remembered, and that he was nice to me.”
“Come on my little girl, your husband is right you need to eat and then we talk. Luis has he been naughty Isabella, tell me please?”
“No Mum, he told you the truth. After breakfast, we’ll sort our rooms out and have some time with Ethan. He and Mel will explain what we know, but it’s shocked my brother and us, I can tell you that much.” My mother is so very confused with the fact that she is to get a granddaughter, that didn’t involve Luis having had sex. I am unpacking as Chris comes in looking red and flustered he’s spent an hour with Ethan and Mojo.
“Our son is hyperactive, he can never have sugar, he will kill me, Bella he has accepted me without question, and I’m so… I’m… So…”
“Happy?”
“Err yeah of course I just can’t believe you had my son without me here.”
“I had my stupid reasons and my pride severely dinted, being as I was so not your type.”
“You Bella Holland are my only type, have we got time to work on his brother or sister now?”
“Oh I’d hold that thought Mum and Dad want words, but hell yeah after I sort out Ethan, sorry Chris but being a mum has kicked back in, we now have to snatch time when he sleeps dear, welcome to reality of parenting, are you still sure this is what you want?”
“Hell yes, please Bella what makes you think I don’t? I have wanted and waited for you since you were sixteen. So what, we’ve had a rocky start yes, but from now on, you two and anymore he lets us have time for, I want. I love my wife and my son and hopefully they love me?”
“Umm, hopefully he knows that they do? Well then discussions and plots to reveal, do you really think your dad’s behind this?” He laughed as he hugged my backside and kissed my neck, oh if he doesn’t stop doing that we will be late down to the meeting…
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
Chris.
As I look at my wife coming in fresh from the shower, I smile. Life is perfect, my son is beautiful and for two he’s pretty damn smart, so well advanced, he talks, runs and does everything better than the twins and Thomas did, I may be a little overly proud of my son’s accomplishments. I’d kill to get those years back with them and will kill Rachel if she upsets Bella tomorrow. I highly doubt she will come though. There’s a knock at the door and Bella goes to answer it, it’s Mel in need of clothes.
“Here they are in my winter wardrobe, help yourself, how’s Mum with you?”
“Intense, but in a good way I think? I didn’t sign up for all the added family you know?”
“Sorry, but we won’t be going anywhere soon either. So, Luis what’s he like and has he said anything?”
“Delighted I think? He keeps saying ‘he’s the man’ a lot as he looks at me. He always was weird, in a cute way and his stupid chat up lines were really cheesy.”
“That’s why you loved him.”
“I know… I mean I didn’t love him, I liked him and he was a good fuck buddy, but love? I don’t think I can love a man, or a woman in case you were going there. I am not wired to stay committed to one person like that.”
“Mel, you do realise you will have to love your daughter for a life time.”
“Yes, but it’s a different love, men are hard to figure out and most are self-centred, they think of one of two things, sex and food. They are a whole other species and too hard to figure out, especially as most of them don’t know their arse, from their elbow and only think of their own needs ninety percent of the day.”
“Err I don’t need to know about your bedroom antics.” Chris grimaced as she said it and the pair of them did yucky faces at each other.
“I knew it, you and him have history but what sort of history?”
“Bella, I’m her brother and sat in the bed, do you mind not discussing sex when I’m here, especially sex between your brother and my sister. Who by the way hooked up more than once at my place, did you not? Don’t think I didn’t see you sneaking in his room and vice-a-versa.” She laughed.
“We did as it happens, for mad drunken sex romps and quite a lot too, but he was a dick in University and didn’t give me the time of day, we hooked up once when we got drunk, see the common theme we get drunk and have sex. I don’t even think he knew or cared how hurt I was, as he slept his way through uni with everyone else, after we did it when I first got there. I thought great he likes me, but nope it was just a onetime thing. I went to his room the night after and he had another girl in there and didn’t even see me, I didn’t go there again not at uni anyway. Judging from the comments he made on the way from the plane, he meant what he said when he said he loved me though, shit this love craps hard.”
“You don’t have to tell us about it we know….” Chris and I spoke in unison and laughed.
“I used him for my own personal fuck buddy, when I was in town or on holiday like he used me, I got what I wanted without the tears and drama, I wanted to tell him I loved him too, but I remembered the other girls, the hundreds of girls and couldn’t get past it. So I became his female counter part, I enjoyed the variety, but Luis and I had that something else, we always did, well we popped our cherries together, when we were fifteen, so I guess it was special or I thought it was until he came back with some crappy disease from a trip he took for someone’s birthday.” I will kill Luis he took my sisters virginity... Oh wait, I was older though and so was Bella, Bella smiled across at me and winked.
“I always thought he was, he err, shit, that he lost it with the hooker from your party Bella, when I was sixteen. It turns out he’s a bigger player than me. Bella wasn’t overly fond of our guests, were you sweetheart?”
“No I wasn’t, I wanted to bite her, as all little girls do, but in my defence, I was only seven Christopher. That was the first time your big brother broke my heart with a woman.”
“You were in love with Chris at seven, wow, talk about a slow start up Bro, you really liked him? Shit I suppose you did thinking back you did throw me looks when Chris and I fooled around, aww brother she was jealous that’s why she didn’t like me.” I laughed as she took a handful of dresses, and went to change in her room. Chris had rolled himself in a sheet, when Mel entered the room, and was now heading for the bathroom.
“Oh we have delayed the meeting until you two got caught up Mum, Dad and Luis want you downstairs as soon as your dressed. Honeymoon’s over, we have shit to sort.”
“Okay I’m ready we will see you in ten minutes.” I walked to the bathroom and Chris was already lathered in soap. I watched him as his hands caressed his body, wow that’s all mine.
“Like what you see? I’d say get in here too but we have a delayed meeting to attend to and a son to see to, we really should have gone straight down, you and your wonton needs Mrs Holland are gonna be the death of me.” With a rinse off, of those lucky, lucky bubbles I handed him the towel.
“You smell nice, we could ask for another ten minutes or so Chris?”
“Ten minutes? You wound me, nothing gets rushed with you Bella we’re going to have to be fine until the little one is asleep.”
“Umm
, I suppose, so get dressed then, I will see you down there, love you, I love you, I love you, oh and I love you.”
“Seems I love you too, go see to Ethan I’ll be down in a second.” I walked in to see Mojo with my shoe in his mouth the little fucker. I took it off him and scolded him. Ethan was in tears as I clocked the mutt with the chewed shoe on the nose.
“You little mutt bugger you, those were my good shoes. Luis you owe me some major grovelling time, they were my best work pumps you…”
“Mummy he sorry see he wagging his tail…” I saw my cherubs little tears and kissed them away.
“I know and Mummy didn’t hurt him, he just has to learn that shoes are not for chewing, like you learnt that the mud isn’t for eating, he has to learn too.”
“Okay, he like eating his poop I smack tell him no poop not nice, like you did when I eated all the mud, I did good?”
“You did good.” I felt like throwing up, irk dog poop is far worse than nappy poop to shift. “Right folks we need to discuss plans and stuff.” We all sit down in the lounge as Ethan runs to his dad. To be swept up into Chris’s arms, with a snuggle and a kiss.
“Missed me already?”
“I had a nap too, Nana said you and Mummy were tired, so I had a nap, I was tired too. Mojo had a smack, he eated Mummy shoe, he a mutt bugger.”
“Oh really a mutt bugger, that is a naughty word Ethan please don’t say it again. Mummy better not say it again either.” Ouch scolded by my husband, yes please! I winked as they sat on the couch next to me.
“Right first things first, we need to speak to your sister, can you get her on the phone please Mel?” Mel dialled Lorna’s number. We waited with bated breath, as the ring cheeped away.
“Hello, why are you waking me up so early, this better be good, speak god damn it if that’s you Roger or you Catherine, I swear I will get Chris to sort you out. Speak please don’t keep ringing me all night, all bloody night long you’ve been doing this. I do not know where they are, because they wouldn’t tell me and I wouldn’t tell you two if I did, so do your worst stop it, stop it. STOP IT PLEASE. I DON’T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE…” We were all shocked.
Soul Mates. The Beginning. Page 37
