Claiming the Night

by Kathryn Vegas

  Marley and Madison were hilarious to watch. Their big brown eyes took up half their faces and they were clumsy as hell. He could see the continuous wheels turning in their brains as they stumbled about having this idea and that. They weren’t identical but they were so similar it took him a few minutes to find the differences and now he could tell them apart.

  “Let’s go get Hazel and make her come down to the party,” Sara said.

  “Wet’s get Haze,” Marley said.

  “She’s been hiding in her room,” Sara got to her feet.

  The girls raced for the door, struggled for a moment with the knob, but were out the door in a flash.

  Adam looked at Sara, “Twins… Dang, that’s a handful.”

  They shut the bedroom door behind them.

  “They sure are.” Sara agreed.

  Adam grabbed Sara’s hand as they walked down the hall. Pressing their palms together felt wonderful. He remembered holding hands with his parents when he was a boy, then girlfriends after he hit puberty. After that, he hadn’t held hands with another person. Rebecca was not a hand holder.

  The girls were already inside the teenager’s room by the time they made it to the doorway. They stood hand in hand watching Hazel get toddler kisses. Hazel stood up wiping the wetness off her face.

  “I’m sure your Dad would like to see you having fun at his party,” Sara said.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming. Hey, Adam.” Hazel said as she bounded out of the room.

  Marley and Madison stumbled after their big sister. Adam and Sara turned and followed them. Hazel took their hands and helped them down the stairs. Hero-worship glowed in their eyes.

  “You ready to party?” Adam asked.

  “I’m ready to take you home.” Sara winked at him.

  Adam stopped their progress toward the stairs and pulled her to face him. He held the back of her head and put his lips softly on hers. He felt her body melt into him.

  He kissed her thoroughly before whispering innocently, “Why do you want to take me home?”

  Sara wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against him. Her eyes were bright with desire as she looked up at him. The promises of the night swam deeply in her gaze.

  “I have this itch I want you to scratch,” Sara said then cocked her head in thought. “Wait that sounds gross. Let me try again… You got me all flustered. I got nothing. I just want to have some orgasms. You can have a couple too. I’m not stingy.” She laughed.

  Adam chuckled. He brushed her thick mass of chestnut hair over her shoulders. His hands roamed her back and found their way to her ass. He grabbed her full cheeks and pulled Sara against his hardness. He pushed himself against her sensitive mound. Sara closed her eyes and smiled.

  “I’ve been like this all day. When can we leave?” He said.

  “12:01” Sara responded. “Count down and bye. Shawn would be hurt if I ditched his party before midnight.”

  Adam sighed. He pulled away and created distance between their bodies. “I’m going to need to calm this sucker down before I enter the party. Let’s walk and talk about, I don’t know… climate change or starving children in Ethiopia.”

  Adam adjusted himself before continuing down the stairs.

  Chapter Five

  Adam enjoyed Sara’s laugh as a couple told them a funny story. She was a good listener and gave everyone at this party her full attention. Which made them feel important when they spoke to her. The couple in front of them was explaining how they found a boy climbing out of their daughter’s bedroom window.

  “We knew he was there. So, I went through the front door pretending to talk to Tanya.” Jackie laughed, her thumb pointed in Tanya’s direction. “I was just chatting away as if we were both in the house, but Tanya was actually waiting outside Addy’s window with a flashlight.” The couple could barely contain themselves as they tried to continue the tale.

  “Of course, they were frantic to get him out the window. Addy pushed him out.” Tanya continued the story for Jackie. “He’s got his clothes in his hands. Addy threw his shoes into the yard. He’s stumbling through the bushes. They made so much fucking noise. It was ridiculous.”

  Jackie chimed in, “It was like a scene from a movie. It’s on our security cameras and we still like to watch it. Tell them what you did.”

  Jackie elbowed Tanya to continue.

  “The kid’s picking up his shoes, his bare ass shining my direction and I clear my throat. I yelled in my manliest voice, ‘Son, I’m gonna need you to stand up slowly and turn around.’ I got my flashlight shining right in his face. I said, ‘You’ve got the right to remain silent.’” Tanya and Jackie doubled over slapping their knees.

  “If it wasn’t so funny... I’d feel bad about it, but he fainted from the fright. He fell flat out, face first and ate dirt hard! I thought I’d killed him. I ended up having to apologize to his parents.” Tanya finished and wiped tears from her eyes.

  Sara and Adam laughed along imagining the scene.

  “Oh my god!” Sara exclaimed. “Was it a boy I’d know?”

  “Mmmhmm. It was Kaden Tyson.” Jackie whispered.

  “No!” Sara exclaimed. “Hazel didn’t tell me.”

  “Oh, I think Addy and Kaden would keep the incident to themselves. It was more than embarrassing. We were consoling a naked teenage boy in our front yard. He was so scared and he got a bloody nose in the fall.” Jackie shook her head chuckling. “It was a nightmare. I had to call his parents to come pick him up and explain what happened. They didn’t think it was as funny as we did.”

  Jackie and Tanya exchanged a glance before giggling again.

  This simple exchange between parents about their children was the basis of what being human was all about. Adam couldn’t help but smile and imagine himself as that poor teenage boy.

  “I feel for the kid,” Adam said shaking his head.

  “Did you ever get caught climbing out of a girl’s window?” Sara asked.

  “Fortunately no, because my parents would have asked for the footage. I would have never lived it down.” Adam joked.

  The group laughed, their attention turned when Shawn and Ben walked by. They held sleepy toddlers, against their shoulders.

  “We’re saying good night. It’s bedtime for little princesses.” Shawn said. They turned Marley and Maddy toward the group to say good night. Jackie and Tanya waved and blew them a kiss.

  “Good night sweethearts,” Sara said and kissed their cheeks.

  “Good night M and M’s,” Adam said.

  “No go to bed.” Marley poked out her lip and big shiny tears filled her eyes.

  Maddy saw the direction of her sister’s mood and followed suit.

  “Oh, dear. It’s okay honey.” Shawn shook his head patting Marley’s back lovingly. “We’ll be back down when we can.”

  They walked away and comforted the crying toddlers.

  “They’re such good daddies,” Jackie said. She took Tanya’s hand and squeezed it. “I miss those days.”

  “You do? Honey, what about the tantrums, potty training and sleepless nights?” Tanya replied.

  “Stop pretending. You miss that age, too. The snuggling, the innocence, being needed... How utterly adorable Addy was when she woke up so happy to see us. The kisses and love. When she called you ‘MomMom’ so sweetly instead of the new way she yells, ‘Mother!’” Jackie ended with a shrill teenage impersonation making Adam and Sara chuckle.

  “I miss it,” Sara said. Her voice was laced with sadness. “It went by too fast.”

  Adam looked at the moms. Their faces reflected their minds descent into bittersweet memories of their sweet babies, that were now teenagers

  “Let’s get a fresh round of drinks.” Adam suggested. It was all he could think of to turn the tide. He took Sara’s hand and led her away from Jackie and Tanya, toward the bar.

  “Sorry, I swear every time moms get together, we have the same conversations about time going by too fast. We alw
ays wish we could go back to the time when they were babies.” Sara explained while Adam refilled her glass of chardonnay. “I hope you don’t think we’re boring.”

  Adam smiled at her, remembering his mother having the same conversations with her friends over and over again. “It seems that no one feels the passage of time like a parent. The growth of a child; an unyielding force in only one direction. A parent can do nothing but watch as growth compounds upon itself and their child ever-changing becomes more and more an independent human being with each day that passes.”

  Adam paused, deep in his thoughts, before he continued. “Nothing marked the passage of time for me for the past sixteen years, but you’ve watched a baby become a girl, who became a young woman and soon she’ll be an adult. Now that I’m older I can imagine how my mom must have felt. I’ve never had more regretful thoughts about missing out on the human existence for the past sixteen years than I have since meeting you.”

  Sara looked at him, his sadness reflected up at him through her eyes.

  “Are you unhappy?” She whispered.

  “I’m not sure anymore. I thought I was so lucky to be given this gift. Youth and strength forever. It sounded magical at the time. My parents had just passed and I was all alone. It seemed like the greatest escape. A death of my own... I couldn’t go on as a human without them. I chose to let the hopes and dreams they had for my future die with them. I thought it was the best choice. I told myself I was happy with it. After meeting you, things shifted in my soul.” Adam said earnestly.

  Sara put her hand on his chest and he covered it with his own.

  “I’m sorry.” She said.

  Her kind blue eyes moved him. Sara was sorry. She was the kind of person that could put herself in another’s position and understand their feelings. He felt her compassion pouring over him.

  Adam brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm before saying. “I’ve spent the last year since leaving Rebecca hoping to find meaning. Looking for a connection. Looking for someone to bring me to life. You are a beacon to my humanity, Sara. I’ve been feeling so many emotions coming to the surface in the last few weeks. Sadness for the time I’ve lost. The chances I won’t get back… but happiness when I look at you. Joy when we’re together.”

  Sara’s eyes turned from sympathetic to dreamy.

  Adam smiled. “I wish I would’ve met you sixteen years ago.”

  “We wouldn’t have been ready for each other,” Sara stated wisely.

  “You’re probably right. Funny how things work out.” Adam replied. “I can’t change the past, but I’m looking forward to the future.”

  “Five-minute warning! Grab a glass of champagne!” Ben shouted to the house full of drunken guests.

  “Hallelujah,” Sara whispered to Adam as they made their way to the counter covered with champagne filled glasses.

  Adam tapped her butt in response.

  Sara couldn’t wait for the countdown. She was going to drag Adam out of here one minute after midnight. Just looking at him made her throb. They waited behind a line of people until it was their turn to pick up a flute of champagne.

  Adam pulled her against him and wrapped his long arms around her. He put his face into the side of her neck and nuzzled her. Tingles tumbled along her spine and ignited goosebumps that covered her body.

  Sara caught eye contact with an old college friend she only saw every New Year’s Eve. The gal raised her eyebrow and nodded a salute to Sara with the glass of champagne. Sara smiled in return. Adam on her arm was pretty salute worthy.

  Finally, it was their turn to pick up glasses. They made their way to a free corner of the kitchen and waited. Shawn walked up beside them and sat the video baby monitor he was holding on the counter.

  “I can’t hear them with all the noise. So, I have to make sure to keep one eye on them. You never know when one might wake up. Normally we’d already be upstairs in the bedroom next to their’s if they needed us. It’s out of the ordinary for us to be down here this late.”

  Sara thought Shawn must have felt the need to over-explain his monitoring to a younger man without children.

  Adam nodded.

  “It was a great party,” Sara told him. “We are going to countdown and skedaddle.”

  Shawn gave her a pursed lip look.

  “I figured. I’m surprised you made it this long. I owe Ben a blowjob.” Shawn joked.

  Adam and Sara laughed.

  “You should know by now to never bet against me. I’m offended.” Sara said.

  “I knew I’d lose.” Shawn winked at them.

  “There you are,” said Ben as he approached Shawn and took his hand. “The countdown is about to begin!”

  Shawn grabbed the monitor and let Ben drag him away.

  “One minute!” Ben yelled to the crowd.

  Sara and Adam held their glasses at the ready.

  “I look forward to spending the next year with you,” Adam said.

  “Me too,” Sara said sincerely.

  Adam put his arm around her and they waited silently.

  “Ten! Nine! Eight!” Shawn chanted and everyone else joined in.

  Sara and Adam’s eyes locked. They didn’t join in with the other’s, they only stared at each other. The countdown continued all around them.

  “Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

  The room exploded into cheers and applause.

  Adam and Sara were oblivious to the raucous around them. Sara put her whole heart into the kiss she shared with Adam. Her hands held his face. Her fingertips felt the hardness of his square jaw. He caressed her hair and held her in place as he made promises with his mouth slanting against hers.

  Sara didn’t know how she ended up there, but she found herself sitting on the counter with Adam standing between her legs when he pulled away. The crowd moved around them in her peripheral vision like a mass of colorful blobs. She stared into his glittering eyes and sighed.

  “Cheers,” Sara whispered. “I don’t know what happened to my glass.”

  “Cheers.” Adam smiled down at her.

  He plucked their glasses from the counter where he put them. He handed one to her and offered his for a tap.

  This was the best New Year’s Sara had ever celebrated. She was riding high filled with a new hope for love. Her heart pumped high voltage blood, electrifying her mind and body. Sara could no longer contain her smile. Her happiness was a palpable aura around her.

  Unfortunately, the crowd interrupted their moment offering loud, “Happy New Year’s” drunken well wishes and opportunities to clink more glasses together.

  Sara shared bear hugs with Shawn, Ben, Pam and Hazel. She told them how much she loved them and how thankful she was to have them in a blur. It was their chance to finally leave and spend the rest of the night alone. They both wanted out of there as quickly and politely as possible.

  Adam and Sara yelled bye, waved bye and walked backward out of the great room escaping the party as quickly as they could.

  “You promised 12:01, it’s 12:10.” Adam teased.

  They rounded the corner to the two-story foyer entrance with the balcony overlook. It was empty, the sounds of the party echoing throughout the home.

  “I need to get my purse and jacket,” Sara said. Rubbing her ringing ears as she headed for the coat closet. The surrounding neighborhood’s illegal fireworks cracked and popped outside. Loud booms collided with the raucous of celebration.

  Sara and Adam heard the bellowing cries of scared toddlers. Maddy and Marley were running as fast as their little legs would take them out of their room one right after the other.

  Both screamed, “Daddy!!” Between full meltdown sobs.

  The sounds of the party below and fireworks must have woken them and scared them to death. They veered toward the banister when they saw Adam and Sara below. Their arms outstretched, their cries increased in volume.

  Without slowing Maddy ran straight into the wooden spindle rai
ling. She hit one with all her body weight. Marley didn’t pump the brakes as she barreled into the back of her sister. The spindle couldn’t take the sudden weight and the focused tension popped the bottom forward.

  Sara gasped. Adam took the scene in that second, time slowed for him. He was never more grateful for his enhanced abilities than at this moment. They were standing fifteen feet away near the door and the balcony four yards above the first floor.

  Shawn stepped around the corner, baby monitor in hand, the split-second Sara’s scream began to materialize. The same moment another barrage fireworks outside muffled Sara’s agonizing wail.

  “Fuck,” Adam blurted. He was already in action when his eyes made the briefest contact with Shawn’s. There was nothing he could do about Shawn witnessing this. He would never choose to pretend to be human in this moment even if the foyer was filled with guests. No one else could have gotten to them in time. Sara and Shawn would have been forced to watch as their tiny bodies fell to the unforgiving marble tiled floor.

  Adam jumped to meet the falling girls before they had a chance to free fall. He expertly cradled them, one on each side of his chest, as he landed with a soft almost inaudible thud on the foyer floor.

  Sara’s scream abruptly ceased. Shawn’s baby monitor fell out of his hands hitting the floor at the same time his knees did.

  Adam turned around to face them. Shawn and Sara stood in stunned silence. The girls stared up at him with open and quiet mouths. He swallowed hard as he looked into Sara’s eyes. He shook his head at her and tried to convey that Shawn seeing this was a big fucking deal. He didn’t know what to do about it. The party in the house seemed to go on with no interruption to its revelry. The fireworks still blasted throughout the neighborhood, unbeknownst to anyone that this momentous event occurred.