My knees just give way. Steffen catches me before I hit the floor, and between him and Clint, they get me to the sofa. Next thing I know, there’s a glass of water in my hands and my head has a cold cloth on it. I gulp down part of the water, then look up at them with a silly grin. “She’s home!”
“Yeah. She is. Congratulations.” And my son does something very uncharacteristic of him: He kisses my cheek.
I look up to see a very tenuous Olivia waddling back up the hallway, Trish beside her, and she looks like she doesn’t really know what to think. When she makes it into the living room, I tell her, “Baby, there’s all kinds of food in there. Eat, please.”
“Dave, we need to talk.”
“I know, but . . .”
“Now. In Clint’s room.” Boy, is she going to get a surprise when she opens the door. I turn on the light and she looks around. “What have you done?”
“I got the room ready.” There’s a look on her face that’s less than delighted, and I’m really confused. “You don’t like it?”
She closes the door, then takes the rocking chair to sit down. It’s obvious she’s tired. “So we need to talk.”
“Yes. We do.” I sit cross-legged in the floor in front of her. “You first.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and blows it out. “Dave, I came back here because I want you to know your child. I have no intention of being a burden to you. I’ll pay my own way, do whatever I have to do to be independent, but I don’t want to saddle you with something you don’t want. I can make my own money, find a place, and . . .”
I look up at her with what I’m sure is a sappy grin. “Would you please shut that up?”
“What?”
“I said, would you please shut that up and listen to me for a minute?”
“Wow. Well, that’s rude, but okay. This had better be important.”
“It is. It’s of the ultimate importance.” I crawl to her on my knees and take her hands. “I made a lot of mistakes, horrible, life-scarring mistakes. I’m not going to make them again. The biggest one was not treating you with the respect that you deserved, and I’m sorry for that.” Her mouth opens, but I put a finger to her lips to shush her. “I love you. I loved you the first time I saw you. And you were right. You were right about everything, and you were especially right about me not knowing what I really wanted. And you were right that what I really want isn’t a submissive. What I really, really want is a smart, independent, funny, brave, beautiful woman. I treated you like an incompetent child, and I’m sorry.” Now her mouth is hanging open. “That won’t happen again. I was wrong to try to tell you what you could and couldn’t do. I let my fear rule my life, and that won’t happen again. I’ll trust you to make decisions for yourself, good decisions, and that’ll include our child when it’s a situation where we can’t make a decision together.”
The lines in her face have started to soften, and that gives me the courage to go on. “I need you. I don’t care how old you are and how old I am. Our love knows no ages or time limits. We’re supposed to be together, and anyone who can’t understand that can kiss my ass.” Now she giggles. “I mean it. I’m done with what other people think. It’s us. We belong together.”
Her smile is gentle as she rubs her belly. “I believe you. And I love you. I wouldn’t have worked so hard to get back here if I hadn’t wanted to be with you.”
“Why did it take you ten weeks to get here? Why didn’t you call me?”
“The truth?” I nod. “Because I had your numbers in my phone before. And without the phone, I couldn’t remember them, and I couldn’t remember the name of the club!” And that does it – I start to laugh. I’m laughing so hard that I can’t breathe, and she starts laughing too. “Well, it’s the truth! Damn cell phones.”
I can’t stand it anymore. I stand, pull her to standing, then sit in the chair and pull her onto my lap. When she’s seated, I look straight into her face. “Please marry me. Today, tomorrow, I don’t care, but marry me, Olivia Warren. I love you.”
She drops her forehead to mine and sighs. “I love you too, David Nathaniel Adams.”
“Hey, what’s your middle name?”
She grins. “Danielle.”
“Beautiful. I’ve got another question.” When she nods, I ask, “Boy or girl?”
“Sure you want to know?”
“Yes.”
She takes my face in her hands and whispers into my lips, “Congratulations, Mr. Adams. It’s a girl.”
Then she kisses me. That’s when it finally hits me: It’s real. She’s really here, and she’s really mine. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for this woman, nothing. If she were sixty-five and I were twenty-nine, I’d still want her. Forever.
“For someone who hasn’t had good prenatal care, you’re in very good shape.” The doctor snaps off her gloves from the vaginal exam and Olivia breathes a sigh of relief. “They’ll be in to do the ultrasound in a few minutes. Any questions?”
“I’ve got one,” my voice rings out.
“Yes?”
“We were told she’d never be able to have children.”
The doctor smirks. “Well, someone was obviously wrong.” She gives Olivia a sad look. “I am concerned about your delivery. You’ve got so much vaginal and cervical scarring that neither will stretch the way they should, and I don’t want to see you injured further. I’d like to consider a C-section.”
“She’ll do whatever . . .”
“Dave?” There’s a warning tone in Olivia’s voice.
“Sorry. Go ahead, honey.”
“Thank you. I’ll do whatever you think is best, Dr. Bailey. I just want this baby to be healthy and safe.” She looks at me and gives me a gentle smile that makes my heart flutter. “We both do.”
“I think that’s going to be no problem at all. So let’s calculate your due date. When was your last period?”
They talk about it, get out a calendar, and find the likely date so we know when to expect this little bundle of joy. When they decide the date of conception and say it out loud, I get a lump in my throat. The anniversary of the day Marta and I met. I know exactly where Olivia and I were.
We were at the cabin, that place that’s always been my refuge. We made a child there that day and didn’t know it. I know now that it will forever be the place I love most, as long as she’s there with me.
Before we leave, I turn to the doctor and ask, “Wait. Can you tell me: Is it safe for us to have sex?”
“Of course! For about another month. Then you’ll have to stop until after her delivery; well, the vaginal part anyway. Anything else will be fine.”
I see Olivia blush a deep vermillion, but I just grin. That wasn’t the most important question of this trip, but it was certainly my favorite one.
On the way home, I stop at the mall, and she frowns when I park. “What are we doing here?”
“I’ve got an errand to run. Come on.” I help her out of the car and we walk with her hand in mine. We have to go slowly; she can’t walk very fast right now, and I try to remember that instead of running up ahead of her or dragging her along. We keep going until we get to center court, and there, on the right, we glide into one of the jewelry stores; well, I glide. She sort of lumbers. I walk up to the counter and say, “Sir, we’d like to look at wedding and engagement rings.”
He turns and grins. “Sure, Dave.”
Olivia stares at him. “You two know each other?”
“Oh, yeah! I’m a member of the club.” Bruce is dragging trays of rings out, and then Olivia’s mouth makes an O and she smiles.
“I remember you! The day of the shooting. You were there.”
“Yes, ma’am, I was, and I’m so happy to see you looking so happy and content. Is he treating you right? Because if he’s not, I’ll come over and drag him around the yard by the heels until he mends his ways.”
“No, he’s being super great! I couldn’t ask for better.” Olivia looks down and gasps. “
That’s it right there.”
“Sure? We’ve got a lot more.”
“No. I’m positive. When I’ve always thought of engagement rings, this is what I’ve always pictured.”
I have to admit, I’m a little surprised. The diamonds aren’t very big, and it’s not a flashy ring, but it has a nice white and yellow gold swirl to it, and it’s very tasteful. When she tries it on, it looks perfect on her hand. I make a mental note to give her a gift certificate to a nail salon so she can have her nails done any time she wants. The ring has to be sized, and while Bruce writes up the repair ticket, we pick out a couple of bands. He writes up the repair tickets for those too, I pay for all three rings, and we head back out of the mall. On the way out, I see her eyeing those huge pretzels, so I get us one apiece and a drink, and we sit out in the mall food court and eat them. Neither of us says a thing, and then I look up at her. “Baby, I didn’t even think to ask you. You do want to marry me, right?”
She giggles. “Well, of course not! I schlepped across five states just to turn you down, right?”
I chuckle back, “Okay then! I’ll cancel the purchase.”
“Not a chance, buster! I’m getting that ring.” She takes the last bite of her pretzel, then says around it, “Dave, you do realize we can be as happy as we want to be, right?”
“Yes, darlin’, I know that.”
“And I want to be happy with you.”
“I am happy with you.”
“Good.” Then she asks, “Um, do you think I could do a little something with the house? Make it a little less man cave-ish?”
“You do anything you want to, baby. It’s all yours.”
“Well, it’s not all mine.”
“No, but it’s half yours.”
“No, it’s . . .”
“Half yours. And I don’t want to discuss it anymore. What’s mine is yours. And I think we should have everyone over to have a talk.”
“About?”
“Let’s just wait until then. It’s something important. Trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Want to go home now?”
“Gotta get my maternity vitamins first. Can we?”
“Absolutely.”
Maternity vitamins. Stretchy pants. Long naps and weird food and time spent in the mornings rubbing her belly. I never thought I’d be doing this, and I never dreamed I’d be this happy about it.
“Girls, that was delicious.” Clint leans back and groans, hands on his mid-section. He’s put on about fifteen pounds since he and Trish married, but he needed it. He was too thin before. Now he’s not the least bit heavy, plus he looks healthy and happy.
“Thank you!” Sheila grins and leans down to kiss Steffen on her way to the refrigerator. It’s quiet; Marta volunteered to watch all five kids, so they’re having a blast, I’m sure. When we all finally get together in the living room, I look around at everyone.
“So, I have something I need to talk to all of you about.” No one says a word. “First, you know we’re getting married, right?”
The room is one huge smile as everyone nods. “Good. Now I have something to say. It’s a little sad, but I have to. It’s about me and what’s going to happen when I’m gone.”
“And exactly where do you think you’re going?” Trish giggles out.
I just grin at her, then sober. “You know exactly what I mean. By the time this baby is eighteen, I’ll be eighty-three. My chances of being around that long aren’t that great. And I want to know right now that when that happens, you guys will be here for them, my girls.” There’s a sound beside me, and I turn to find Olivia crying. “Baby, this has to be done. I know you don’t want to think about it, but it’s important.”
“I know, but you’re right. I don’t want to think about it.”
“We have to talk about it.” I look around the room. “What would all of you suggest?”
“Well,” Steffen begins, “I’d suggest that you name guardians, and then alternate guardians if something happens to both of them.” I nod and squeeze Olivia’s hand. “And as for you, I’d just make sure your life insurance is paid up. And make sure her name is on everything. Once you become terminally ill is too late to do that.”
“Right. As soon as we’re married, that will all take place.”
“And when do you think that will be?” Clint asks.
“We haven’t talked about a particular date, but we picked out our rings Tuesday afternoon, so they’re being sized and they’ll be back soon. After that, it’s all up to her.” I smile at her and she smiles back. “But if it’s agreeable to you, baby, I’d like to get married at the cabin.”
A big, fat, silvery tear rolls down her cheek. “I’d love that.”
We laugh and talk for a couple of hours, and then Trish says, “Oh, god, look at the time! We’ve got to go get the kids and get home. Dave, Olivia, love you both.” She kisses us both and while she goes to get her bag out of the bedroom, Clint says his goodbyes.
“We’ve gotta get going too.” Steffen stands and extends his hand, but I just stand and wrap my arms around him, and he gives me a good, hard bear hug. “Dave, man, congratulations.”
I’m choking up when I croak out, “Thanks. Thanks for being here for me, for us.”
“Nowhere else we’d all be. Babe, got the pie?”
“Yup. Night, sweetie.” Sheila kisses my cheek and then Olivia’s. “See you two soon.”
Everyone is seen out the door, and I sit back down, throw my arm around her, and pull her close. “I’m sorry, baby. I know you didn’t want to have that conversation, but we had to.”
She picks at her skirt and doesn’t look up. “I know. But it upsets me so much. I don’t want to think like that.” When she’s quiet again, I put a finger under her chin, turn her face to mine, and kiss her.
It’s like time just stops. I love her and I want her so much that I ache. We’ve fooled around for the last few nights, just a lot of kissing and touching, but I want so much more. I think she feels me tremble, and she says, “Dave? I’ll help you. I know you’ve never done it before, but I’ll help you. I want you. Can we go to bed now?”
“Yes, ma’am. We most certainly can.” I kiss her again, but this one is different. All of the longing and passion and lust that we feel for each other is there in that kiss, and I can’t wait to get down the hallway with her. “I’m going to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. You?”
She tries to stand but just plops right back down. “Right behind you.”
“No, you’re not. I’m always behind you. I’ll always have your back, baby, always.”
“You’d better. Pretty soon there’ll be two girls in this house. And don’t think for a minute that we won’t gang up on you, Mr. Adams!” We’re both laughing when I help pull her up off the sofa, and we walk down the hall with an arm around each other’s waist.
When she finally comes out of the bathroom, I stop and stare. She’s got on the cutest little sheer babydoll pajama set I’ve ever seen. “Where in the world did you get that?”
“Trish took me to the adult store the other day. Like it?”
“Like it? What’s not to like?”
“Well, it’s supposed to have this slit down the front, but my belly just sticks right through it.”
“No, no, I think it’s supposed to look that way. I think it’s maternity lingerie,” I smirk.
“Oh, yeah, sexy maternity lingerie. Because whales want to look good too.” She starts to laugh.
“Get over here, big girl. I want something I haven’t had in a while.”
“And what would that be?”
I pull her as tightly to me as I can and whisper, “Every delight your body can afford.” My hands wander all over her, and when I get to her nipples, I pinch hard and she shrieks. “Sensitive?”
“Yes. Very.” I bring my fingers to my mouth and suck off the moisture there from her breast’s leakage. I think about the fact that those breasts will be engorged soon with milk for
our child, and my cock hardens to stone. “God, baby, you’re perfect, just perfect.”
“I just hope I’m perfect for you.” She smiles into my mouth as she kisses me, and I want her so much I can barely breathe. “Take me, Dave. I just want you inside me. I want to know we’re back together for good.”
“You don’t want to come first?”
“No, god no. I’m so horny I can’t think.”
“Well, okay then!” As we lie there on our sides, I slide into her and listen to her moan. “Oh, shit, baby, that’s so good. And you’re so damn tight.”
“That’s her taking up too much room.”
I can feel the baby moving around, kicking and squirming. “I think she doesn’t like this very much!”
“Probably not.” When I slip out and thrust back into her, she moans, “Can you please fuck me harder? I won’t break.”
“No, but I will if I hurt you. This is one time that I’m going to insist on doing things my way, okay? I’m just looking out for your safety.”
“Okay, okay. Hey, make me come and watch.” She points to her crotch. “Stroke it and watch.”
I grin. “Stroke what?”
“My clit. And watch my belly.”
I’m wondering what’s supposed to happen, and I work the little nub over. When she lets out a huge groan and comes, I’m shocked.
Her abdominal muscles all contract and there, under her skin, I can see the perfectly-formed baby, the ridge that’s got to be one arm and one leg, and something that I think must be a head. It’s amazing, not to mention that it seems very, very angry. I’ve got to quit thinking “it” and start thinking “her,” my mind barks. I finally let her stop, then pump into her gently but fast, and she’s panting and groaning. After not nearly long enough, we both come, and I’m as exhausted and happy as she is.
I smile down at her. “Did you ever think we’d be here again, doing this?”
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