by Donna Raider
“We should tell Richie,” Leah leaned her head on Mika’s shoulder. “Maybe tonight, when he comes home.”
“Yes,” Mika grinned. “He is going to be thrilled. He has been driving me crazy wanting a sibling.”
“I know,” Leah laughed. “Me, too. I can’t wait to see his face when he finds out he’s getting two.”
They waited for Richie to return home. They laughed and giggled like teenagers, making plans. They began discussing baby names. Mika kept hugging her and showering her with kisses. They decided to get a sonogram. “As you know,” Leah smiled, “I am really into instant gratification. I want to know the sex of our children as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” Mika agreed readily. “I will call Dr. Strand first thing in the morning.” Anything Leah wanted was fine with Mika.
“How long before we announce our joy to the world?” Mika asked, laying her head back onto Leah’s lap.
“I see no reason to keep it a secret,” Leah grinned. “Why don’t you make the announcement after the sermon Sunday? It’s December fifteenth. I’m about seven weeks along. The babies should be born sometime in July.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t miss Cranky Leah in November,” Mika laughed. “I guess I was too busy enjoying…”
“Yes,” Leah purred. “We both know what you were enjoying.” Her deep, sultry voice sent a shockwave through Mika.
“The floor, tonight,” Mika gasped, “did I hurt you?”
“Only the queen’s pride,” Leah laughed, “On the floor, was that payback?”
“You have teased me mercilessly today.” Mika hung her head slightly. Looking up through long lashes, she gave Leah her best little girl look.
“Um,” Leah hummed, “I do fully intend to follow thru tonight.”
Richie’s ringtone filled the room, and Leah answered her cell. “I will be home in ten minutes,” their son announced. “Try to be decent by the time I get there,” he laughed.
##
Richie was almost as excited as Mika had been at the news. He couldn’t stop hugging his mother and slapping Mika on the back as if the priest had accomplished a great feat.
“We’d like to announce it after the sermon on Sunday,” Mika informed him. “Can you keep it to yourself until then?”
Richie nodded. He wanted a few days alone with the information. His joy at the thought of a brother or sister, or both, was too precious to share outside his family right now. He gave his mother one last kiss and a big hug before running upstairs to shower. “Yes,” he danced a little jig at the top of the stairs. Twins born around the time of his birthday would surely result in a new truck and less of his mother’s smothering attention to his activities. He knew for sure his mother would never let him put two car seats in the rusty green Cuda.
##
Their lovemaking was slow and gentle, reiterating all the promises they had made to each other long ago. Leah clutched Mika to her, moaning her name into the darkness of the night. Mika paid soft tribute to her beauty and thanked her for having her children. Afterward, Leah lay in Mika’s arms trying to slow the beating of her heart.
“You know you don’t have to be so careful with me,” she whispered, cognizant of her son’s presence in the house.
“I don’t want to hurt you or the babies,” Mika said softly. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in this situation before.”
“Neither have I,” Leah sighed. “I’m a little scared. I’ve heard horror stories about childbirth. Whatever you do, don’t leave me alone with Delilah. I am certain she will traumatize me.”
“I’ll be right by your side every step of the way,” Mika kissed her softly. “I promise you it will be the most amazing experience, and I won’t let anything hurt you. I have delivered babies before – Constantine – but I have no knowledge at all about intimate relations during pregnancy. Should we stop...?”
“I am sure celibacy is not called for,” Leah assured Mika, “but if it eases your mind, we can discuss it with Dr. Strand.”
“I love you, so much,” Mika pulled Leah tighter against her and fell asleep in the wonderful warmth of her.
Leah lay quietly in her wife’s arms. Her thoughts traveled in all directions: back in time to her awful life as the wicked queen; to when the curse broke; her brief affair with Emily; and the day Priest Mika Cross walked into her life.
Her life before Mika seemed like another lifetime lived by another person. Memories of it were vague and vanished more and more every day. She had married Mika with a great amount of reluctance. Reluctance to reach for the happiness she’d found with her, afraid it would be snatched away from her. Reluctance to allow herself to be happy, knowing all too well happiness never lasted long for her. Reluctance to trust Mika, everyone had always broken her trust and disappointed her. Most of all, she had been reluctant to love. Love was weakness her mother had hammered into her, but her mother had never met anyone like Mika Cross.
With her wife, love was happiness, peacefulness, and respect for one another. Mika had never asked her to love her. She had only asked Leah to let her love her, to adore her. Mika was happy just to be with her.
At first, that had been enough. Leah cared deeply for Mika and used her to satisfy her needs. She had been content to let Mika do all the giving while she basked in her adoration.
Leah couldn’t put her finger on the time when all that changed. She had simply realized that she couldn’t live without her wife. Mika’s love and desires became more important than her own, until she only found true happiness in Mika’s happiness. Mika was her life, the very air she breathed. She couldn’t imagine a day without her in it. Richie was right; Mika was their Savior.
For a long time, she had wanted to carry Mika’s child. Legion’s contract had always been the blemish in her perfect life. She had been afraid to tell Mika about the evil bargain she had struck with Legion. When she did tell her, Mika had simply shrugged as if a contract with the Evil One were of no concern. She knew in her heart that the priest would make everything alright. She always did.
Mika's sheer ecstasy only rivaled her own joy at finding herself with a child. She had never seen Mika so happy. Although Leah knew Mika wanted children, she had never asked her to bear a child. Leah wasn’t sure there was room in her heart to hold all the joy and love she felt for her wife. Mika’s arms tightened around her, and she pushed herself closer into her. That was what it was all about: total and complete happiness in the arms of the woman who loved her as much as Leah loved her.
##
The visit with Dr. Strand was a new experience for both Leah and Mika.
“Are you sure you’re pregnant?” Dr. Strand asked. “If you don’t want me to do an examination, why do you need me?”
“My wife has some concerns,” Leah said quickly.
“We just aren’t sure about intimate relations while Leah is carrying our babies.” The priest smiled. “We’re having twins.”
“How do you know?” Dr. Strand asked.
“Two tiny, rapid heartbeats,” Mika answered.
“You shouldn’t be able to hear them yet,” Dr. Strand argued.
“They’re very strong,” Leah sighed. “Do you want to do a sonogram?”
“Yes,” Dr. Strand handed her a paper gown. “Change into this. I’ll be right back.”
Strand had Leah lay down on the exam table. The cold gel made her gasp then he began moving the ultrasound wand around her stomach. His eyes widened as he picked up the two heartbeats. “You are carrying twins,” he smiled. “Very strong and healthy ones, too. It’s too early to tell the sex. Come back when you are twenty-three or twenty-four weeks along and we can tell.”
Strand left the room so Leah could dress, then returned when she called him.
“About our original question,” Mika blushed. She was very uncomfortable discussing their love life with others.
“You should be able to continue a healthy sex life as long as Leah is comfortable,” the doctor shrugg
ed. “Leah will know when it is uncomfortable enough to stop. Just let her take the lead on that.”
“How often do you engage in sex,” he asked Mika as he made notes on Leah’s chart.
“Three- or four-times a—” Mika stopped as the doctor butted in.
“Three or four times a month or a week?” Dr. Strand smirked.
“A day,” Leah grinned wickedly at Strand, who had dropped his chart and pen on the floor.
“A day,” Dr. Strand glared at Mika daring her to confirm her wife’s statement.
“Yes, a day,” the priest blinked innocently at the doctor.
“I am not talking about how many times per ah…uh…encounter,” Strand clarified. “I am talking how many individual times per day do the two of you get together?”
“Three or four,” Mika said emphatically as if the doctor were deaf.
“How?” Dr. Strand ask incredulously?
“Don’t answerer that darling,” Leah caught her wife’s hand in hers. “We are not providing fuel for Strand’s perverted fantasies.”
Pulling her wife behind her, she glared at Strand. “We will see you in four months, doctor.”
The doctor had heard tales of the mayor’s insatiable appetite, but they were only rumors. He had attributed the gossip of her sexual prowess to myths perpetuated by overactive imaginations. Apparently, he was wrong. He wondered how the priest kept up with her.
##
“What’s up? You three look like you’ve been dipped in a tub of sunshine,” Ruth asked the glowing threesome as they arrived for dinner.
“Just happy to be here,” Richie’s grin covered his face. “Next year is going to be a great year for all of us. I will be starting quarterback. I am getting a car for my birthday. Mika and Mom will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary.”
“Um hum,” the wolf wiggled her nose, and her eyes widened. “I do believe dinner is on the house,” she smiled knowingly at the mayor.
Leah followed the waitress back to the counter. “Ruth,” she smiled shyly, “Mika wants to announce our good news after her sermon Sunday. Please keep our secret until then. She is excited. As am I.”
“Oh, my, gosh,” Ruth hugged her friend. “I’m about to burst, but I will keep your secret. I’m so happy for you. You and Mika have been married for so long; we were beginning to be afraid there was something wrong. That maybe the two of you didn’t want children.”
“It’s just great to know that our reproduction capabilities have been the subject of public conversations,” Leah scowled. “Did it ever occur to anyone that we were just enjoying getting to know each other before starting our family?”
“You know Emily,” Ruth hung her head. “I’m pretty sure she hoped you couldn’t have a baby. She knows how much you love children. Every chance she gets; she makes crass remarks about everything you two do. She is always trying to find ways to diminish the relationship between you and Mika.”
“I can only imagine,” the mayor growled.
The truth was Leah didn’t care. Her life was so happy and complete; no one could destroy her happiness.
Mika and Richie left Leah to place their order while they checked out the new songs Naomi had put on the Jukebox. There was the Choir Boys’ latest album and Christmas music for the season. Mika was surprised to see, All, I want for Christmas is You, by Michael Bublé. She dropped coins into the old jukebox and walked to her wife. She took Leah’s hand and led her to the small, dimly lit dance floor. Holding her close, Mika lost herself in Leah’s softness. The scent of Leah’s hair and perfume caressed her senses as she drank in the feel and smell of her. There were no words to describe what she was feeling.
Leah slipped her hand from Mika’s and entwined her fingers behind her neck, pulling herself as close to Mika as possible and looking into her eyes as they danced. Leah knew Mika shared her feelings. The song stopped, and they stood for several minutes, lost in each other’s arms.
Mika led her back to their table. She wasn’t sure an eternity was long enough to spend with the raven-haired beauty.
##
Sunday seemed to take a month to arrive. All the Crosses were anxious and excited about their announcement. Word had gotten out that the priest was going to make an important announcement, so everyone in town had attended the service.
Mika’s sermon was about commitment. She talked about how import it was to commit one’s life to God and keep that commitment. She spoke of personal commitment, how it was important that others could count on you. She spoke last about the commitment of marriage and how important it was, to be honest and trusting with one another, to be proud of one another. She talked about the importance of working together to resolve issues in life and knowing that one could depend on one’s partner.
After she had finished her sermon, she asked her son and wife to join her in front of the congregation.
“Our family has been incredibly blessed,” the priest said. “The three of us are fortunate to have a loving and respectful relationship in our home. I didn’t think God could possibly bless us any more than he already has.
Our biggest surprise came last Sunday when we discovered that Richie is going to be a big brother.” An excited murmur ran through the congregation. “It seems God has doubly blessed us as we are expecting twins.”
Richie’s smile lit up the hall. Leah was glowing, and the priest’s joy was written all over her face. Everyone in the congregation applauded and made comments like, “Amen or God bless you all. Of course, Levi had to shout, “Way to go Priest.”
The sheriff jumped from her seat and ran for the door, throwing up in the isle as she went. Leah flicked her wrist and the mess instantly disappeared.
“Let’s bow our heads in prayer,” the priest sighed.
After the prayer the Cross family stood at the front of the church, thanking parishioners for attending. Many hugs and handshakes were exchanged as Mika stood with her left arm around her wife who had her left arm around their son.
##
At the diner, Ruth could hardly contain herself as she beamed at the family. “So, Richie, you’re going to be a big brother?” She grinned at the boy. “When is that going to happen?”
“July,” Richie almost squealed. “Just before I turn sixteen, so they will get to know me before I go away to college. Just think, Rubes, this time next year we will be buying Christmas presents for them.”
Leah smiled. Obviously, her son had been giving a lot of thought to the babies and the impact they would have on their lives. He would be a wonderful big brother.
After lunch, the priest asked Richie to see his mother home. “I have to take care of some church business,” she informed her wife and son.
“How long will you be?” Leah asked, already missing her.
“Not long, honey,” Mika squeezed her hand. “I’ll call you when I head home.”
##
It was a beautiful winter day. It was cloudy, and the temperature was just below freezing. There was no wind or rain, and a thick blanket of snow covered the countryside from the previous day’s storm.
An hour passed, and as promised, Mika called her wife’s cellphone. “Look outside the front door,” she said. “I have a surprise for you.”
Leah walked to the front door and peeked out. A smile lit her lovely face as she saw her wife stepping down from a sleigh. The sleigh was all white and drawn by three matching, white draft horses much like the ones she had used, as queen, to pull her white coach. The sleigh was built for two with a top and sides designed to stave off cold, rain and snow.
Mika ran up to the door, and Leah welcomed her into her arms. “Darling, this is just unbelievable. You are just wonderful,” Leah tiptoed to kiss her. “This,” she gestured toward the sleigh and horses, “is beautiful.”
“Almost fit for a gorgeous queen? Get your coat,” Mika laughed, “Let’s terrorize the countryside.”
##
Leah held Mika’s offered hand as she stepped up into t
he sleigh. Mika sat down beside her then pulled a warm blanket over their legs and lap. Mika clicked to the horses and moved the reins signaling they were ready to go.
The sleigh glided effortlessly over the snow as the horses pranced to the sound of the bells on their harnesses. Leah was surprised to find the temperature inside the sleigh was very pleasant. It was just cool enough to make her snuggle up to her wife, but not cold enough to be at all uncomfortable. She suspected Mika had something to do with the perfect temperature.
They laughed when snow rabbits scampered in all directions as their sleigh sailed through the white powder. Mika had recorded all Leah’s favorite Christmas songs, and they were playing in the background on her iPod. They laughed and sang along with their favorites: Winter Wonder Land, Jingle Bells and their own sexy version of Baby, Its Cold Outside.”
“How about some hot chocolate at the diner,” Mika suggested after much kissing and cuddling.
“Now who’s the tease?” Leah tilted her head so Mika could easily kiss her lips. “Have you ever made love in a sleigh?” She asked, her brown eyes quickly moving to black as desire filled them.
“Remember if I haven’t done it with you, darling,” Mika kissed her full, red lips, “I haven’t done it.” She reiterated.
“I promised Richie he could take the sleigh out for a spin when we finished with it,” Mika grinned as she maneuvered the horses into the trees, hiding them from any curious eyes.
Leah had already unfastened Mika’s slacks and pulled her blouse out of her pants. She ran her soft hands under Mika’s blouse, up her stomach, to her breasts, and around her sides. Mika pulled the blanket tighter around them as Leah pushed her slacks to the sleigh floor to join her own. Leah slid her own sweater up above her bra then moved to straddle Mika and pulling her face between her breasts.
Leah realized Mika’s hands were busy controlling the reins of the horses. “This is almost as good as having you tied up,” she smiled her most evil queen smile and began to torture Mika.
“This isn’t exactly how I had pictured this,” Mika gasped as Leah’s warm breath teased her ear.