“Well, well, well. Merry Christmas to me,” I mutter, watching her.
Mark and I share a look like we’d have given each other in the old days, when we ran into a girl at a party who was a take-home prize. Rebecca Wells, elegant and sophisticated philanthropist, clamors down the dirt, hitting the pavement and stopping to wipe her feet off, and slide them back into her pumps. She throws her head back, her long hair flying as she grins at me.
“Can I still come?”
“Fuck yes, you can come. Again and again and again!” I laugh, walking to meet her. She flies into my arms and I spin her around and kiss her hard on the lips. “We better get out of here before these squares change their minds,” I say loudly enough for all to hear.
Mark shakes his head and she and I jump in the beater, with her waiting for me to open the door first, of course. Women. Gotta love ‘em!
It’s the beginning of a whole new life.
Can’t wait to see what happens.
A leopard can’t get rid of his spots, after all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Brendan
My body is a blanket of warmth for those I love.
I hum Silent Night, rocking us very, very gently. “He’s perfect,” I whisper into her hair, looking at our son.
“He is a very special baby,” she whispers back. “That’s why you needed a very special entrance, isn’t it, my little Jacob?” She’s got her finger under his tiny hand, caressing the soft, pink skin. Jacob’s eyes are closed, but he’s wriggling around, very awake. “Brendan?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I’m so glad it didn’t snow.”
Chuckling, I nod. “Me, too. I think it’s about time we get you to a hospital.”
Annie sighs and leans her head back, tucking her nose up into my neck. “I’m beginning to like it here.”
“Liar,” I chuckle.
She laughs into my skin. “I’m afraid of going down that hill, if you must know the truth. I’m sore and tired.”
Tightening my arms around her, I stop rocking. “I will carry you. Mark will take Jacob.” At the look in her eyes as she unburies her face, I repeat, “I really want to make sure you’re okay. We need to go somewhere where people know what they’re doing.”
She sucks her lips into her mouth and nods, looking down at him again. “He’s finally in my arms. I don’t want to let him go.”
“I know the feeling.”
She looks up at me and closes her eyes for a kiss. I press my lips to hers and feel the sweet waves of being with her again spread throughout my body.
“Merry Christmas, Brendan.”
I kiss her nose and murmur, “Merry Christmas, my love.” Jacob tries very hard to open his eyes and one squeaks open the tiniest bit to look at us. “Hey buddy!” I whisper. “Want to see the great big world that’s waiting for you?” He closes it again, and I laugh. “Fair enough. I have to say, this is very primitive man/woman of us. Having our baby in a cave. A fistfight. No drugs.”
“Grrrr.”
Reaching over for the pillow we brought, I wedge it behind her and slip out. “I’ll be right back.” Walking out to get Mark, I’m just in time to see Rebecca and Tommy climbing into a cracked-out Dodge Colt, circa 1980-something. Waving Mark up, I watch the car drive away. Mark runs up the hill, his pace slower than it was when we first got here.
“What the hell was that?”
He laughs. “Worst decision of her life.”
Shaking my head, I marvel at it. “Wow. Okay then. Ever hold a baby?”
His eyebrows nearly fly off his forehead. Dryly, he asks, “Say what?”
“I have to carry Annie down.”
“No no no…I’ll carry Annie, you take the baby. If I drop that baby–”
“If you drop my wife!”
“I’ll jump off that bridge right there. I know nothing about holding a baby.” He walks in with me following, my objections ignored as he heads for her. “I’m carrying you down, Annie. Sorry, but I need Brendan to carry Jacob.”
She nods, not happy about having to be moved. “Okay, Jacob, Mommy does not want to do this. Just so you know.” She hands him to me and Nicole appears in the entrance, out of breath.
“You guys need help?” Mark cocks an eyebrow at her. “What, like I was going to stay down there?”
Together we gather up all evidence of our having been here. I’ve got Tommy’s duffel bag over my shoulder with the wet things in it; we’ll chuck this in a dumpster, forever forgotten. Jacob, still swaddled in the towel, is firmly in my arms as I make my way down the hill. “I’m glad I’ve done this climb a million times before now.”
“Don’t I know it,” Mark agrees, Annie cradled in his arms. He’s 6’4” and strong as an ox, so I only look back two or three times to make sure she’s okay. Nicole’s behind the four of us, carting down the last articles we’d brought.
When we’re all tucked into the car, Nicole remembers something. “Hey. Weird. We didn’t need a cab after all. Rebecca’s not here.”
Mark and I share an incredulous look at that unexpected turn of events and I start the car, backing up at a nice, safe speed. The sun has finally gone down and while we can’t see it, its presence is still felt in the light gray sky. The fog is rolling in off the water, creeping up the base of the bridge, and Annie looks out the window at it as we begin the journey back.
We ride in silence, everybody tired. About halfway across the Golden Gate, Annie’s voice is happy. “New memory, honey.”
In the rearview mirror, I meet her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“For the fog. It was foggy the night Jacob first opened his eyes. Reframing the memory of fog.” She smiles.
I twist in the seat. “Did he just open both his eyes?!”
Mark hits me in the arm, his voice happy. “Watch the road, Papa.”
Laughing, I do as he says, but not without muttering out of the corner of my mouth. “Shut it.” And to myself, “I can’t believe I missed that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Annie
Drugs glorious drugs.
“Under the circumstances, I’d say you’re very lucky, Mrs. Clark.” The obstetrician places Jacob back in my arms. “He’s doing fine; a very healthy baby. We’d like to keep him here for a few days.” She slips her hands in the large pockets of her lab coat.
I frown to Nicole, who’s sitting in the weird little chair they have in every room. “Without me?”
Patiently the doctor informs me, “We usually keep newborns here with us for a couple days to ensure everything is okay. And in this situation, with the unusual birthing he went through, I’m sure you understand.”
“Mmmhmm. Nicole, where’s Brendan?”
She rises from her chair. “Let me go check.”
Returning a moment later with Brendan, I can tell by his face that she already told him they want to keep Jacob here. “But it’s Christmas,” he tells the doctor.
She nods and glances to me. “I know. But you two can go home.”
Brendan walks over and looks down at our son’s sleeping face. He reaches for my hand and asks the doctor, “Everything okay with Annie, then?”
Mark walks in and joins Nicole standing by the wall. The doctor addresses all of us, switching focus to include everyone in the group. “She needed a few stitches where there was some tearing. And two on her lip, but other than that, the bruises will fade. Nothing was broken.”
Everyone quietly exhales. Including me, but mine is more of a sigh as I stare at my son’s face, so perfect and rosy, the baby hairs making him appear as though his skin was made of dandelions.
Brendan says, “What if we took him home for a couple hours and then brought him back?”
I glance up to see the doctor’s answer. She blinks, never having considered that option. “Well, that’s never been done before.”
I laugh, “Sounds like us, then.”
Brendan’s staring at her, hoping she won’t say no. Nicole and Mark entwine fingers, their fac
es hopeful also. The doctor couldn’t be in a tighter predicament. If she says no, it’s like she’s ruining Christmas. But she frowns and we all relax our shoulders, disappointed. “I don’t see why not. As long as you bring him back in a couple hours. Or three. I guess that would be okay.”
Brendan lets out a loud “Yes!” And Nicole lets go of Mark’s hand to clap enthusiastically, her happy smile trained on me. I’m tired, so my reaction is more subdued, but I do love the idea of having the little guy see the tree on actual Christmas Day, his birthday.
We promise, assuring the doctor that we’ll be back. Brendan excuses Nicole from the duties of helping me up, taking me in his strong arms and lifting me and the baby to place in a wheelchair. Rolling me out of San Francisco General, I look up at Brendan, his hands pushing the chair out the electronic doors. “We spend too much time here.”
* * *
When we get to the penthouse, I ask where the car is. “I didn’t even think of it when we were driving across the Golden Gate. Why are we in a rental car?”
“I’ll tell you later, baby,” Brendan says, as he picks me up to carry me.
“I can walk!”
“No. I’m sorry, but no.” He smiles into my eyes and says, “Get the door!”
Mark runs up and Nicole grins as she follows him in a nice natural pace. With the baby and I cradled in his strong arms, Brendan walks up the stairs to our building like the proudest papa you ever saw.
We all chat in the elevator about New York, about how things have been for them now that they live together. Mark and Nicole share a story with us about running in the rain to go to their favorite brunch place and falling into a huge puddle they didn’t see because everything looked wet and gray. They couldn’t tell when things got deeper. “It was disgusting,” Nicole laughs, looking at Mark.
He grins. “So gross. We didn’t get brunch.”
“Wait a minute!” I cry out. “Is that an engagement ring? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nicole grins and holds it out for me to admire. “You’ve been a little busy, Annie.”
Shocked and deliriously happy for them, I shake my head. “Never too much going on that I can’t be happy for people finding love.”
The doors open and Brendan waits for Nicole to walk out first. She runs out, excited by the secret being out. Mark tosses her his set of keys. “I’ll make us some dinner,” she says with a wink.
“Oh, that sounds nice,” I murmur, looking at Jacob, our bodies bouncing a little with Brendan’s footsteps.
“SURPRISE!!!”
My head shoots up, startled by the joyous cacophony of cheering voices.
Everyone is here. My mom and dad. Brendan’s mom and her boyfriend. Laura, Dan, Manny, and Taryn. A handsome man standing by Taryn’s side. Barb and her son. Bobby and his staff. Margaret and Joe. My widened eyes land on a surprising trio: Mercedes and Manny’s mother and father. And then on a woman I only know from photos; Brendan’s sister. She walks over to me as Brendan sets me down. “I thought it was about time I flew home to meet the woman who landed my brother.”
Laughing, with tears in my eyes, I look around all the happy faces, everyone talking and laughing, coming forward, taking turns meeting little Jacob. My mother and father are the last. They don’t speak at first when they hug me, having been very scared. It’s all over their faces, the pain and the gratitude, like they can’t believe they’re looking at me in person.
I can’t speak either. I hand my son to my mom and choke, “Merry Christmas, Mom!”
“Oh, look at our little Christmas miracle,” she whispers holding his swaddled body, now wrapped in the coziest of baby blankets. “Hello Jacob, I’m your grandmother! Get ready to be spoiled! Very, very, very spoiled.”
Brendan takes my hand and brings me to sit by him on the couch. Everyone’s still looking at me, and I catch a couple people wincing at the bruises on my face. Glancing quickly around the apartment, I see the dining table has been brought into the living room, and it’s covered with food, a lot of it in Tupperware. Everyone pitched in. The coat rack is overflowing, and some coats are collapsed on the floor in an abundant heap. There are presents under the tree now!
And behind all of these people who are kept in my heart, is our very first Christmas Tree, the lights glowing warmly on everyone.
I whisper, “I got my wish.”
“What’s that, Annie?” Laura asks, smiling widely.
“Our first Christmas surrounded by the people we love.” I turn my head to gaze at my husband. “Thank you!”
His eyes are liquid and he laughs, leaning in to kiss me. “We’ve got a couple hours with him.”
“And they’re going to be the best two hours of my life. Well, what are you all staring at? Let’s eat!”
Everyone cheers and spreads out to let the holiday celebration commence. I snuggle into Brendan and my mom lays our son into Brendan’s arms. I wave Manny over because he’s got tears in his eyes.
He struggles to speak, choking, “I should have stayed with you, Boss.”
Throwing open my arms, he falls into them for a big hug and I whisper to him, “Please don’t. Please erase that guilt away from your heart forever. It’s not your fault. He was a bad guy and it’s his fault. Not yours. Not mine. Okay?” He nods and rises up, looking from me to Brendan with hope for forgiveness in his eyes. To change to a happier subject, I ask, “Manny…your momma?”
He gives a lopsided grin, wiping his eyes. “When we were waiting to hear if they found you, she said she was sorry. Family has to stay together, and we all waited at my parent’s house today together for the news. It was a hard day. They invited my girl!”
“That’s so great,” I smile, resting against Brendan’s arm.
“Can I get you anything?” Manny asks.
Thinking on it a second, I nod. “Maybe some hot chocolate?” He rushes off and Brendan kisses me. Looking down at the baby with him, I say in a quiet voice meant just for him, “Look what we did.”
Brendan chuckles. “Oh, we did this now? I didn’t do this to you?”
Pursing my lips, I shrug. “When he lies here looking like a little angel, we did it. When he’s a teenager and he gets all surly and we catch him smoking for the first time, and hiding some girl in his room, you did it”
Brendan cocks an eyebrow at me, his dark blue eyes skeptical. “When is it that you did it?”
A corner of my mouth tugs up. “When he talks back to his pre-school teacher in front of the whole class, I’m afraid that’s all me.”
Brendan smiles at Jacob and touches his little cheek. “Fair enough.”
Epilogue
Rebecca
Tucked in the backseat, Tommy’s hands are slipped up my skirt. Steam covers the windows. We had to pull over somewhere off The 80, because he couldn’t keep his hands on the wheel. I’ve never been so excited in my entire life. The place between my thighs is aching, and the more he touches me the more I want. It’s never enough. “Oh Tommy,” I moan into his ear, taking the pad of his earlobe between my teeth.
He wedges himself between my legs, my skirt naturally sliding up my thighs. Pressing his erection into me, he groans, his voice thick with hunger. “Come on.”
He gets up, and pushes the front seat forward on the two-door Dodge, barreling out of the car. Panting and bedraggled, I look over with smoldering eyes, wondering why he stopped, and where he’s going.
“If the cops drive by and see the windows, they’ll stop us for public indecency. They’ll think it’s a couple of kids on Christmas night… and they’ll get more than they bargained for.”
“Right,” I climb out and he shuts the door, slipping his arm around me as we walk, and under my skirt so that the fabric pulls up and rides over my ass, exposing my panties. I’m loving the cool air against the back of my thighs as we walk away from the dirt road and into a dense Californian forest.
I don’t know what I’m doing with this man. My life will never be the same if I keep going with him a
ll the way out of the country, on the run from the law. They’ll be searching for him. You don’t escape a reputable prison like San Quentin and get away with it. There are too many tax dollars and politicians’ reputations at stake. What would criminals think of the prison system if they knew they could get out? What would the public say if they didn’t feel safe?
And then there’s my money. How will I access my money without leaving a trail? Tommy said that tomorrow when the banks open again, I should take out everything I can and kiss the rest goodbye. The police of course know he called me. When I disappear, they’ll know I’m with him and will freeze my accounts, or at the very least search for us using my credit cards as a map, trailing us. I can’t use them. I’m about to lose all of it...unless I bail out. He said I can if I want to. He gave me the option. Before it got dark, around two hours ago, he turned down the radio and said in a low voice. “If you want to bail out of this. I won’t hate you. I want you to come, but if you can’t…if it’s too much. I understand.”
Tommy turns left and I gasp. There’s a clearing in the center of towering redwood trees, long grass soft on the ground in a large circle. A stump covered in bright green moss is off to the right, and its fallen trunk lies nearby, deep brown and bright green as well.
“It’s beautiful!”
He turns to me and smirks, his brown eyes sparkling with pride. “Do I know where to take the ladies, or what?”
I step forward to slide my fingers into his hair and bring his lips to mine.
He lowers me onto the spongy, cool moss. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.” His fingers slide up my thigh again and this time he slips under my panties and penetrates me, closing his eyes as he feels me from the inside. We kiss, and it’s obvious he hasn’t kissed anyone in a long time. Just like in the backseat of the car, it’s like he’s starving for it, licking and teasing and molding my mouth with his furiously. We move together and he roughly runs his free hand down the length of my body. I moan as his finger works inside me, slipping in and out, then playing with my folds in long teasing caresses, flicking my clit with the tiniest of strokes, the sure sign of a man who knows how to do it. The weight of him on me is so incredible and the sound of us gasping against each other’s lips is a tonic to my body.
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