Ties That Bind

by Neeny Boucher

  “Apart from the hair,” Riley chuckled. “You look gorgeous and to be honest, I’m getting used to it. It’s kind of kinky when you’re on top of me.”

  Christina slapped his arm. “You are so dirty. I’m not complaining, though. I like that about you. Are you ready?”

  They stood on the water’s edge, with their arms around one another, and on the count of three, lit their papers. As the flames licked around the sins of their pasts, they both said silent prayers before throwing them in the ocean. They stayed until the papers were no longer visible in the waves and Riley felt a sense of relief.

  He’d never had much faith, but maybe he should? He had no idea whether this worked or not, but he was feeling liberated. Staring at the woman beside him, he felt incredibly lucky.

  Twenty-four hours ago, he would have never predicted this. He swore from now on, he would keep count of the things he was grateful for, as well as the ones that pissed him off. He understood the importance of balancing the dark with the light and taking the good with the bad.

  “Well then,” Christina grinned, her eyes sparkling. “What do you want to do?”

  That was easy. Most of them were X-rated. “Why don’t we go have breakfast?” He nodded. “And then we can spend the rest of the day doing bad, dirty things to one another.”

  “Oh yeah,” Christina agreed. “I like the sound of that.”

  **********

  Christina, Rimini, Friday, February 22, 2013

  “Ugh,” Christina groaned. “Who is it?” They’d been woken to the sound of Riley’s phone buzzing, and at first, she’d dreamed big blowflies were attacking her head.

  Looking at the clock, she put the pillow over her head. “It’s 4.00 a.m.,” she whined. “It better be an emergency.”

  Riley grabbed his phone, making shush gestures at her, but she ignored him. “Okay,” he mumbled. “Yes, she’s here. I’ll tell her and we’ll be there.”

  Christina stared at Riley and then it dawned on her. “It’s the baby isn’t it?” Riley’s nod was confirmation. “This is so exciting!” She enthused and then panicked. “I don’t have a present! Oh my god. I don’t have a present. I can’t turn up without a present!”

  “We’ll get a present,” Riley soothed. “The baby hasn’t arrived yet. LiLi’s gone into labor and it could be hours. Your father just wanted to let us know.”

  It was one of life’s ironies that when you wanted to do something quickly, you ended up going in slow motion. Their departure from the hotel was a comedy of errors and illumination. Christina found out that Riley had been the freak biker, sparking an argument about her reckless driving, and his stalking behavior. They resolved it by adding it as an amendment to the ‘sins’ list and let it go.

  Arriving at the hospital flustered, they were greeted by cheers from family and friends. Christina went bright red, burying her face in Riley’s shoulder, and making everyone laugh. For once, she didn’t feel criticized and took it in the spirit it was intended: love.

  **********

  Riley

  “I’m proud of you,” Jed grinned. “You got your girl. I never doubted it for a minute.”

  Riley’s grin stretched his face. “Yeah. I did. I got her.” He let the thought settle in him. He’d finally got his girl.

  “Me neither,” Gabby beamed. “I knew they could do it. They just needed some pushing in the right direction. You know, forced encouragement.”

  Jed folded his arms, scowling at Gabby. “I never picked you for a romantic.”

  Gabby coolly held his eyes. “Where those two are concerned? You bet your ass!”

  Riley watched the exchange with affection. Jack had hugged him and so had Tessa. Andy and Gabby had teased him relentlessly, but underlying it all, was real joy that they’d worked it out.

  Affection or not, he had a bone to pick with Gabby. Tapping her on the arm, he mock-scowled. “I believe you owe me money. The cost of one expensive and possibly maxed out credit card.”

  Gabby stared at him. “Not happening,” she smirked. “You’ll get that money back in like for-never. So, suck it up and deal.”

  Riley pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. He never expected anything less from Gabby, but he had to stand on principle. Looking around the room, he couldn’t help, but smile. He’d come to Italy to say goodbye to Christina and instead, got the other half of his family back. After the nightmare of the last two months, he was finally beginning to feel whole.

  **********

  Christina

  “He’s beautiful, right?” Christina gasped. “It’s not just me being biased. He really is gorgeous!”

  Jonathan Rossi Martin came into the world on a perfect afternoon in his mother’s home city. He was seven pounds, fourteen ounces, long and fine-boned like his parents. His hair was dark like his father’s and he’d inherited his mother’s perfect pouty mouth.

  For two alternative people, Johnny and LiLi followed Martin family tradition. The baby joined the long list of first-born Martin sons named Jonathan, using his mother’s maiden name for his middle one. From day one, however, he was called Jax.

  “He is beautiful,” Gabby beamed. “Perfect, but what do you expect? His mother is a super model and his father is a rock star. Now, if we were aiming for intelligence that might be a different matter.”

  Christina flicked her sister on the arm, making her screech, but they both giggled like schoolgirls, earning a warning glare from their father. They’d each briefly got to hold Jax before a gaggle of Rossi women descended on them and staked their claim. Selfishly, she was glad Jax was going to live in the States and she was already in competition with Gabby to be the favorite aunt.

  Holding Jax called to her soul. She loved the feel and smell of him. He was a living part of her brother and the woman he loved.

  She hoped one day to have a combination of her and Riley to hold in her arms forever, but that was some way off. Making eye contact with Riley, she smiled sadly. He raised an eyebrow, giving her his half-smile that she loved.

  “We’ll have a baby,” he whispered in her ear. “It makes my dick hard thinking about it, but let’s just enjoy each other first. We’re going slow, remember? No pressure.”

  They’d agreed to a ‘go slow’ plan because both of them were impulsive. It was sensible and responsible, mature, and very grown-up. Holding Jax in her arms, however, Christina wanted to flip good common sense the bird.

  Christina tried not to scowl at Riley. “Boundaries,” she hiss-whispered, making him laugh. “I don’t think you should be saying dirty stuff in front of a baby.”

  “That’ll be us one day,” Andy smiled at Gabby. He had his arms wrapped around her from behind. “You and me, spawning a nest of evil trolls?”

  “Yeah,” Gabby nodded. “Definitely.”

  It was the strangest marriage proposal Christina had ever heard and it made Riley and Jed snort out loud. In truth, it appealed to Christina’s dark and twisted sense of humor too, but she had to show solidarity with her sister. Her comment of, “I don’t think you’re being very nice” was met with guffaws.

  Leading Riley and Jed away, she glanced back at her family. It was a whole new era for all of them. A new generation of Martins, a marriage proposal, and a promising, but open future beckoned.

  For once, Christina wasn’t frightened by it. She was going to try to live in the moment. She’d finally worked out that ‘life’ happened when you were busy making plans and worrying about things that didn’t matter.

  This time, she was going to enjoy every single bit of it, and keep a sense of humor about the parts that weren’t much fun. “Hey,” she grinned at Riley. “What shall we do? I was thinking we could stay here for a couple of days, but I’m not sure what the plan is after that.”

  Riley stood in front of her, staring at her with burning intensity. That look always gave her butterflies and then he gave her his panty-dropping killer smile. “I have to be back in Seattle by the end of March, but how about we do so
me traveling? Our world is wide-open, honey. We can do whatever we want.”

  Christina’s smile reflected Riley’s. They really could go anywhere and do anything they wanted. It took a moment for her mind to process that and when it finally sunk in, she began to laugh.

  He looked at her as if she was crazy, which under the circumstances, was a little bit hypocritical. “Don’t look at me like that,” she giggled. “You’re the one with the diagnosis.”

  Riley’s eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He shook his head slowly from side to side. “There is something wrong with you,” he spluttered. “I may have the diagnosis, but you’re the one that’s delusional. If you think you’re normal, sweetheart, you’re lying to yourself and that’s the worst type of lie there is. Trust me, I know.”

  They argued and bickered, teasing each other mercilessly, until her father told them to ‘cut it out’.” Meeting the disapproving eyes of the Rossi family, Christina and Riley decided it was time to take their leave. It was a perfect day and a beautiful world, made even better with the man standing beside her.

  Christina felt that all the things that had shackled them had been set free, but the tie that bound them was their love for one another. She was also pretty sure that they would fight and be adding amendments to their sins list until the end of time.

  And it didn’t worry her one little bit. Time hadn’t erased them and never would. Instead, it had given them the luxury and wisdom to work things out.

  “Mine?” She grabbed his arm, giving him a heartfelt smile. Riley stared at her in a way that all women wanted to be looked at, as if there were no one else in the world.

  “Yours,” Riley grinned. “Always.” Pulling her into his arms, he asked. “Mine?”

  “Yes,” Christina laughed, mimicking him. “Yours, always.”

  Epilogue: Unbreakable

  Riley, Seattle, Friday, June 21, 2013

  “Tonight is the night,” Riley nodded, half-singing to himself in the mirror. “Oh, yeah. She promised. She said three months and tonight time-is-up.”

  He rationalized it wasn’t really talking to himself if he was sort of singing. Besides, he had company or should he say custody of Riot and Cartman. Checking his pockets, he grabbed the picnic basket, blanket, and flask of hot chocolate, getting into his truck to go pick up Christina.

  She and Gabby were subletting an apartment five minutes away that Bonnie arranged for them. In accordance with their ‘go slow’ plan, they agreed not to live together officially for the first three months. They spent every night together and almost every day though, but he wanted her official commitment.

  The moving in part was inevitable, but that wasn’t what made him nervous. Still, as Jed always said, ‘if your woman doesn’t scare the shite out of you a little bit, they’re not the one’. Christina: was definitely the one.

  A lot had changed in the last three months. They’d stayed in Europe until the end of March, celebrating his thirtieth birthday in Paris. It was strange to be in the third decade of his life, but he’d finally found a certain peace and tranquility in a crazy, hectic life.

  Riley was on a strict regime of diet and exercise that Jed developed specifically for him. He was also alcohol-free and fitter than he’d been in months. To his surprise, Christina joined him. Not on the exercise, she was still resistant, but on giving up alcohol.

  He was determined to keep his life in balance. It was a long time coming, but he’d finally found the middle ground. Now, he was going to stay there.

  As part of keeping his promise to Dina, he also saw a therapist once a week to discuss his issues. Sometimes, Christina accompanied him and it had helped strengthen their relationship. If he continued his progress, he hoped the day would come where he could live a life free of mood stabilizers.

  Currently, Riley was in negotiations with a German recording company to buy half of R.P.M. Productions, organized through Nate Donovan. The company wanted a foothold in America and was planning to bring a European show to the States. It was a Battle of the Bands meets The Voice format and the kicker was they wanted Riley as a judge.

  He was interested, but still negotiating with Nate Donovan on Lana Hamilton’s involvement, or more importantly, her lack thereof. His main priority, however, was Christina, both personally and professionally. They were working on her first album and people were lining up to collaborate with her, especially her brother.

  Riley had great plans for her, but she had a few of her own and for once, he was listening to what she wanted to do. She was a board member of the Shanwick Organics project and newly named foundation, Uplift & Hope, run by Asha Robinson. Christina and Gabby were also going into a business partnership together. Currently, details were sketchy, but it had something to do with the environment and Christina wanting something of her own, so she wasn’t totally dependent on him.

  There had been a little media interest when they returned from Europe, but it had mainly died down. He and Christina refused to comment, asking for their privacy to be respected. Riley had also threatened lawsuits if anyone mentioned Christina’s name in connection with “Magnificent”.

  **********

  Christina

  “He’s here,” Gabby blurted, possibly more excited than Christina. “You look great! Have you got it?”

  Clutching her present gingerly, Christina nodded. She walked down the stairs steadily, carrying her precious gift. It wouldn’t be good to break it, although, there would be a certain irony if she did.

  Riley stood by his truck, opening the door for her, and as she climbed in, he smacked her on the ass. Nice. You could take the boy out of Shanwick, but never Shanwick out of the boy.

  “Nice hair,” he smirked, making her laugh. He was such a smart ass and for that she was eternally grateful. His teasing kept her grounded and ensured she never took things too seriously.

  The hair had started to turn pink in the magical time they’d spent in France. Red, she could do, but pink? No, and Riley’s less than flattering comparisons to body parts sent her to a hairdresser.

  Currently, the graduated bob remained, but the color was jet black. Riley had gone gaga, saying it reminded him of when they first got together. Men. They were the strangest creatures sometimes, but she wasn’t complaining.

  They parked the truck at the end of 112th Street, making their way to a small hill to watch planes fly-over. She knew tonight was the night they agreed to negotiate moving in together and it was, essentially, a no brainer. The last three months had been an exercise in patience, something neither of them were good at, but this was a marathon and not a sprint.

  Riley laid out a blanket for them to sit on and she started unpacking the picnic baskets, pouring them both hot chocolates. It had become one of their ‘at least’ monthly rituals to come here, watch planes fly over and enjoy the rush of all that power. Sometimes, if they were alone they made love, the chance of being caught heightening the experience.

  “Here,” Christina beamed, handing over her present. “I got this for you. It’s, um, fragile. I thought it would be a good moving in gift.”

  “Huh,” he grinned, casting an impish sideways glance at her. “So, I take it this is your way of saying you want to move in with me?” As if there was any doubt.

  Riley carefully opened the gift and stared. “Wow, Dina,” he breathed. “This is perfect.”

  “It’s Kintsugi,” she explained. “The Japanese art of broken pieces.” She’d given him a small lacquered bowl with gold inlay along its cracks. Andy had told her the philosophy and she thought it a fitting representation of her and Riley.

  “It’s the method of incorporating the history into an object,” she added, running a finger along the golden cracks. “If it gets broken, they don’t try to hide it. They repair it and make it beautiful. I thought it appropriate for us.”

  Riley smiled, grabbed her face, and kissed her on the mouth. She closed her eyes as their tongues danced and fire heated her stomach. This would never get old. She use
d to view their crazy love and lust as a weakness, but it wasn’t. It was a rare gift and she welcomed his touch anytime, anywhere.

  “It’s funny,” Riley grinned. “You and I are on the same wavelength. I’ve got something for you, too.” He rummaged around in his pocket, acting nervous, which was unusual for him. Usually, he was cocky, confident, or intense and introspective.

  She was used to his mood swings, but now she knew there was a deeper meaning, she watched his patterns. On the days he was upbeat, she encouraged him and joined in with his good humor. Conversely, on the days he was intense or introspective, she either gave him space or let him talk. Although it might appear that she did all the carrying, it wasn’t true. They balanced each other and his rock-solid belief in her, in them, made her grow as a person.

  Producing a small black box, Riley opened it and presented it to her. Staring at the ring, Christina blinked. Whoa! It was a large halo diamond in an unusual platinum setting, three stranded figure eights, with repeating black and white stones.

  “Jed gave me the idea,” Riley said quietly. “When I thought we were broken, he told me we weren’t. He said we were just tangled up in knots and needed unraveling.”

  He smiled at the memory and Christina wanted to urge him to go on, but for once she tried to be dignified. “I really liked what he said,” Riley added, “but with a twist. I don’t want to unravel the threads, Dina, so I combined them. These three strands represent our past, present, and future. Together, they make an unbreakable knot.”

  Christina’s eyes filled with tears and she clapped a hand over her mouth. The thought he put into everything never ceased to amaze her. She really needed to up her game.

  “The black and white represents the balance of light and dark,” Riley said, but his voice had gone shaky. “You and me. We balance each other.”

  Sinking to one knee, he held the ring up to a nervous Christina. “Christina Melody Martin,” he asked with luminous green eyes. “Will you marry me?”