by Mary Peart
Martha nodded and took a deep breath.
“How is your husband?” Christopher asked her pouring a glass of water from the jug there and passing it to her.
She looked at him in surprise and smiled. “He is doing aggressive treatments now and is a better shape thank you Christopher.” Her husband had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two months ago and had declined rapidly. He had had to stop working at the computer firm he had been working at and she had had to take days off to go with him to treatments and Christopher had told her that she would be fully paid for the days she had taken and she should be there for her husband.
“I know someone who is a specialist and I have given him a call. Dr. Wainwright will see him on Tuesday.” Christopher told her.
The woman’s eyes widened in shock. She knew the doctor and his reputation and knew she could never afford him. “Thanks Christopher but I cannot afford him.”
“The company will take care of it and all the other expenses incurred.” He said with a wave of his hand.
Martha stared at him wordlessly and to her horror she felt the tears running down her cheeks. He handed her a box of tissue and she pulled some out embarrassed. “I am sorry,” she sniffed. “I don’t know what to say.” She was trembling from the magnitude of it.
“Nothing to say. Just get him to the office.” He told her.
Suddenly she stood and rushed over to him and gave him a tight hug, stepping back hurriedly. “I had to do that, you are a wonderful man.” She left the conference room swiftly, leaving Christopher to stare after her with an amused smile on his face.
Chapter 12
Sybil opened the door and let him in, careful to contain her expression of nervous anxiety. She had not called him before because she had not known what to say to him at first. Thanksgiving had come and gone with her spending the day with her daughter and her family and being delighted at the antics of her beautiful and vivacious granddaughter and being moved by the love she saw between Sophia and her husband. They were so devoted to each other it was as if they did not need anyone else and even though they made her feel welcome she felt as if she was intruding and she had felt the piercing loneliness and how much she missed Matthew.
She had called him the next day and he had told her he was coming over after work.
“Would you like some hot chocolate?” she asked him. The bookstore had been busy today and she had left there after seven with Lorna coming over to help her out. She could not believe how well the two stores were doing and how much she loved it. He nodded and shrugged out of his jacket hanging it on the peg. He still looked gaunt and pale and his clothes hung off his frame and she knew he had lost weight.
He followed her into the kitchen and sniffed the air appreciatively. He loved that she was always baking up something delicious and he closed his eyes as he recognized the aroma. “Apple pie?” he asked her softly. He had spent Thanksgiving slumped in his study and wondering what she was doing. He had not thought of his dead wife since two days after she had been laid to rest and had realized that she had been dead for years. When she had called him this morning he had been so ecstatic that he had spent the day at work walking on air!
“Want a slice?” she asked him with a gentle smile.
“Please,” he sat on one of the stools and felt the warmth and savory smell of baking surrounded him.
Sybil quickly cut through the pie and cut two slices for him and went about preparing the hot chocolate the way he liked it with a touch of cinnamon and a little bit of whiskey. She sat next to him and they ate and drank the delicious liquid without saying anything. He ate the two slices and drank down the hot chocolate as if he had been starving and Sybil realized that he had probably not been eating that much since her death.
Her heart skipped a beat and she suddenly could not stand it anymore. She slid off the stool and went into his arms. He turned and closed his arms around her with stunning force burying his head in her soft neck and breathing in her scent of raspberry and baking, closing his eyes his body trembling against hers. He had missed her, missed being with her and had suffered so much not being with her. That was not going to happen again. He lifted his head and clasped her face between his hands. “I am sorry,” he said softly, his tone contrite. “Please forgive me for putting us through all that hell.”
“I forgive you,” she touched his dear face, her hands trembling. “I don’t ever want to be without you again. It’s too hard.”
“You won’t ever have to,” he promised her, taking her lips with his in a hungry demanding kiss that slowly raised her out of the sleep induced state her body had been in for the past months. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into him with a sigh and a whisper.
*****
They made their plans. They had no idea how they were going to do it but they made plans. “What about Mexico?” Jeremy suggested one afternoon as they snuggled together in his car. She had called him at work and told him she needed to see him and she could not wait. Merrick was home for a change and he had decided to stay home for the day. She had told him that she was going out for a spin and he had told her indulgently not to finish his money. It was almost Christmas and there were lots of activities happening. They usually had several parties at the ranch and she was expected to plan and be hostess and she usually had such pleasure doing so until now.
They had driven to a secluded spot with the denseness of the foliage giving them cover. She had left her car and climbed into his and she had removed her clothes and climbed onto his ready and waiting penis and had rode him with a desperation that had had them panting with exertion. He had sobbed in her ample breasts as he spilled his seed inside her. She had been checking desperately every week to find out if she was pregnant and it had not happened.
“We could go to the Caribbean,” she murmured. He had taken off his clothes as well and they had moved to the back seat of the vehicle. His hand was between her legs and his fingers were inside her making slicking sounds as he thrust inside her sopping wetness with the combination of both their orgasm. “I want us to do it soon.”
“I am going to miss my son.” He told her sorrowfully.
“What are you saying? Don’t you want us to be together?” she looked up at him her blue eyes hurt and her lips trembling.
“You know that’s not true,” he cried bending to capture her mouth with his hungrily and feeling the thrill when she returned the kiss.
He took out his fingers and put them in her mouth and watched as she sucked it off eagerly, her eyes holding his. “I love you Lauren so much.” He slid down on the floor of the car and opened her legs. He bent his head and licked at her slowly, his tongue circling her clitoris and the folds of her vagina and then reaching inside to thrust into her rapidly. She lifted her hips and met his tongue frantically, her body heating up and bucking against him. She buried her fingers into his blonde hair and helped him along as he brought her to an earth shattering release that had her screaming out his name and her body trembling with the release he brought her. He got up and placed his penis inside her and lifting her legs he started thrusting inside her increasing the pace and holding onto her tightly as he gave her all of him.
*****
The pains started the first Saturday in December. Sophia had finished doing the nurseries with the help of her mother and Lorna with Christine getting in the way most of the time and demanding to know when her brothers would be coming out of mommy’s tummy. There was a gigantic Christmas tree in the vast living room and decorations outside that had been put up by the men who worked on the grounds. She was just going to the bathroom to relieve herself when she felt the sharp pain that had her gasping and holding onto the frame of the door.
Christopher had taken their daughter to the toy store to help her pick out something for her baby brothers’ when they got there and she had told the housekeeper and the other two girls employed to go home for the weekend, Lindsey had also gone for the weekend so she was alone in the big ramb
ling house. She took a deep breath and realized that she was going to have to call her husband. Before she could move back to the bedroom to get the phone another pain came on and this time so sharp that it had her crying out, her breath leaving her body. She tried breathing and it ended in a sob as the pain tore through her. It was coming too rapid and she knew that she was on the verge of having the babies without anyone being around. Another pain tore through her and this time she went on her knees and to her dismay she felt the wetness between her legs. “Christopher!” she called out as yet another pain laced through her body causing her to cry out and hunch on the carpeted floor.
*****
He felt her distress when they were in the toy store. Christine was spending a little time trying to pick out the perfect stuffed bears and wanted them to be special. “I like these daddy,” she held up two identical brown bears with white patches on their noses.
“Okay we will have those. What about something for big sister?” he asked her with a small smile. They had been getting admiring looks from most of the women in the stores. Christine was wearing an all in one red and white snow suit with a furry red hat over her thick unruly curls and matching gloves tied to her suit. She had on brown suede boots and looked so adorable that it was impossible to look away from her. Christopher had on a black leather jacket over faded denims and his head was bare with his black hair going onto his forehead and he looked what he was: a handsome rich man and a very indulgent father.
Christine picked out a stuffed elephant and he did not bother to remind her that her room was so filled with stuffed toys that chances are that same stuffed elephant was already there. If her mother was there she would have gently told her to put it back. It was then he felt it. It was as if she was standing behind him and calling out his name in distress. He went for his phone and called her and did not get her. Next he tried the house phone and there was no answer. His heart skidded to a halt and he tried her cell phone again with no answer. He instinctively knew that something was dreadfully wrong. He paid for the purchase and picked up Christine in his arms and practically ran from the store, struggling to put Christine into her car seat in the back. The buckle refused to latch and he almost left it like that.
“Daddy what’s wrong?” her little voice had the effect of calming him down somewhat and he finally got the buckle to hold.
“I am just eager to get home to mommy honey,” he kissed her cheek fondly and then got in and put the car in drive, pulling out of the parking lot. He drove fast and stayed just within the limits as he made his way home. He kept trying her and not getting her and then he called her mother. “Sybil I am not getting through to Sophia have you heard from her?”
Her mother told her no and said she would head out and go to the house.
He finally reached there and hastily unbuckled his daughter and realized with a frown that there was no light in the house. It was just six o’clock but it had gotten dark sometime ago. He bounded up the stairs taking the steps two at a time with Christine in his arms calling out her name and turning on lights as he bounded up the steps. His heart skidded to a halt as he saw her moaning on the floor and the wetness between her legs.
“Mommy!” Christine called out to her fearfully. He set her down on the floor and reached for his phone dialing John’s number quickly as he stooped down beside her. “Hold on baby,” he said soothingly, his heart hammering as she looked up at him with incredible anguish on her beautiful face. He got his friend and told him of the situation.
“I am coming over Christopher; there is no time for her to go to the hospital. Grab some towels and some pillows and make her comfortable, I will be right there.”
“Breathe baby,” he told her trying not to panic as he went to get the pillows and towels. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard footsteps on the stairs. It was Sybil and immediately seeing the situation she scooped up her granddaughter in her arms and went with her out of the room.
He took her hand and Sophia grasped it as if it was a lifeline and tried to smile through the pain that was ravaging her body. Where the hell is John? He thought furiously as another pain shook her body and had her crying out and gripping his hand in a death grip.
The man came bounding into the room just then and with a nod at Christopher he fell to the floor. He opened her legs gently and saw that she was fully dilated. He eased her over on her back and instructed Christopher to place the pillows under her back so that she could be elevated. “Okay Sophia your sons are coming out now so we have no time to get you onto the bed. When I tell you to push, please do so. But first I am going to give you something for the pain.” He hurried into the bathroom to scrub his hands and get fresh towels and came back and gave her a shot. She calmed down as soon as it took effect keeping her hands into her husband’s as he went behind her and rested her upper body against his chest.
*****
The babies came two hours later and an exhausted Sophia rested back against her husband’s chest and closed her eyes briefly. Christopher lifted her and placed her on the bed and cleaned her up himself while both John and Sybil cleaned the babies and then placed them in their parents’ arms. They were identical and tiny replicas of their father with the same broad forehead, straight dark hair and large dark eyes. Christopher Young-su Tang came out first weighing six pounds three ounces and Christian Song-su Tang weighed six pounds even. Both boys were healthy and had a perfectly strong pair of lungs. John stayed to make sure that mother and babies were okay and then left telling them to check in at the hospital in two days’ time. Sybil was staying the night. Christopher and Christine sat on the bed with Sophia and the boys and stared at the beautiful babies in fascination.
“They look alike,” Christine said in wonder as she stared at her brothers. Sophia had fed them and they were closing their eyes ready to go to sleep.
“That’s because they are identical twins sweetie,” Sophia told her gently. She lifted her eyes to look at her husband who was staring at her with such hunger and tender love that she felt her breath catching inside her throat.
Just then her mother came in. “I have prepared their beds honey and I see they are ready to sleep. I will put them down while you get some rest.” She took both babies and Christine jumped off the bed to follow her from the room. Christopher had cleaned her up and put her in a soft cotton nightgown with opening at the front and had put the maternity pad on her himself.
“You are amazing,” he told her huskily. He had not been able to fully let her know how much he appreciated her because there had been no privacy but now when they were alone he wanted to just hold her and express what he was feeling. He had seen her go through agonizing pain like a trooper and had felt his body tremble when she quivered in pain and yet she still managed to look like the most incredibly beautiful woman in the world. She had given him two sons in one go and he could not believe she was his. She reached out her hands and took his and he came closer to her.
“I called out for you when I discovered I could not reach the phone to call you,” she told him, her hands tight on his.
“I heard you,” he lifted her hands and placed them against his lips.
“What?” she looked at him puzzled and he told her how he had heard her calling his name while they were in the store and the urgency to get to her. “I almost killed myself getting to you and it was only the presence of our daughter in the back seat that kept me from flying through the stoplights.”
“You heard me?” Sophia said in wonder, amazed at how connected they were and how that had saved her and their babies. “I felt you here with me when the pain came and that was what kept me from giving in to it.”
“I am sorry you went through that alone and I blame myself, I should not have left you here alone.” He said in remorse, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight against him.
“It’s not your fault,” she burrowed her head in his chest. “Our sons were supposed to have been born closer to Christmas,” she reminded him.
“Manly tears?” she asked him teasingly. “Is there such a thing?”
“Men are not supposed to cry and especially men of Asian descent,” he told her soberly, his dark eyes twinkling in amusement.
“I see,” she said swallowing a laugh. “I had no idea.”
“Now you know,” he whispered capturing her lips with his. He lifted his head and looked at her in concern. “You must be very tired and here I am letting my intense desire get control of me.”
“It’s not your desire alone and I am rested enough,” she whispered tracing his lips with her fingers causing him to shiver against her. He had made love to her early this morning taking her from behind, his hands around her waist heavy with his sons and had emptied himself inside her, sucking on the back of her neck and leaving the skin red and slightly raised.
“Baby,” he whispered. He had seen her breastfeeding his sons and had felt his body tightening. She reached out and pulled his denims open and took out his penis which was already semi erect and ran the rip of her finger over the slight opening. “What are you doing?”
“Giving my husband his release.” She murmured, moving her hand up and down the length of him and rubbing her thumb over the wetness there.
He captured her lips with his, their tongue meeting and touching and sending off explosions in their bodies. He felt his body heating up as she continued to move her hand up and down his erect penis and he started moving his body against her hands. He bore her back against the pillows his mouth devouring hers. With a shattering cry he lifted his body in desperation as she increased the speed and he found his body shuddering against her hands as he came over her hands, his body shattering, and her name on his lips. He kissed her hungrily, his body still trembling as he held her against him.