Natasha turned to Eric, tears in her eyes and he simply smiled at her. “Do you like baby?” he asked her softly and she nodded, her throat too choked with tears to answer him.
She threw herself into his arms and he held her as she sniffed and sniffled. Finally she managed to choke out, “I love it Eric. It’s perfect.” Natasha smiled up at him. “How did you manage to get all this done so quickly though?” She had to ask.
“The minute we left here baby for the hotel, the crew came in to start. Bloody Vivian nearly fucked it all up though with us having to come back a day earlier. I wasn’t sure they’d be done in time but fortunately they were.”
“They’ve done an amazing job Eric. It’s just so beautiful. We’re all ready for our babies to be born now.” Natasha hugged him again. “I love you so much. I can’t believe you did this for me and you got all the things I liked too.”
“I love you too baby. I just want you to be happy.” Eric’s eyes glowed with the warmth of his love. Natasha’s smile faltered when thoughts of Vivian flooded her mind.
Somehow Eric knew what was on her mind though. “We’ll get her baby. She’s not going to hurt you. Come on, we’d better get back downstairs. Alice should have lunch ready for us now and in a couple of hours the private investigator will be here.” Eric said.
Together they went downstairs in the lift to go and have their lunch and although Natasha ate, talked and gushed to Alice about the beautiful nursery for the twins, at the back of her mind, Vivian lurked and no matter how hard Natasha tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that trouble was coming in the form of a tall, slim model with ice blue eyes and blonde hair and no matter what was done, it wasn’t going to be enough to stop Vivian from coming after Eric or herself.
It was enough to cast a shadow over her excitement about the nursery and as Natasha gazed at Eric as he ate and talked, all she could do was hope that he was right, that all the effort he was making to keep them safe would work because she hated that their happiness as a couple and their excitement over the impending birth of their babies was marred with the potential trouble that a hateful, angry woman could cause them.
She didn’t want to think about what could happen if Vivian got to them, just how far the other woman might be prepared to go. Eric had to be right, that he could keep them all safe, because the alternative wasn’t something she could bear thinking about.
As her mind turned over with worry, she looked across at Eric again and his eyes met hers. He must have seen the concern in her eyes because he reached over and took her hand, raising it to his lips. “I love you baby. I don’t want you to concentrate on anything other than that. I will keep you safe.” And Natasha gave him a weak smile, secretly praying that he would be right.
Chapter 31.
Two weeks later as Natasha stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her teeth, she watched Eric shaving as he prepared for work. He only had three more days to go and then he was going to be home until after the twins were born. He simply refused to work any longer than that and possibly risk not being there to help when her labour started.
As she finished brushing and rinsed off, Natasha picked up her brush and began to drag it through the tangled mess of her hair. A tiny smile tilted her lips when she thought about why her hair was such mess and images of her and Eric making love filled her head.
“What are you smiling about looking very much like the cat who got the cream I might add.” His eyes held hers in the mirror.
Natasha couldn’t stop herself from blushing. “Nothing, I..I was…just thinking about how you don’t have much longer at work before you’re off until after the twins are born.” She stammered.
Eric snagged her around the waist pulling her against him. “Bull shit baby. What were you really thinking about?” He asked.
Natasha’s colour darkened. “Damn you Eric, can’t a girl have secrets with you?” She complained, squealing when he nipped the side of her neck. “Ok, I was thinking about us, when we made love earlier.” Slowly she lifted her eyes to look into his through the mirror. “Happy now?”
Eric chuckled. “Fuck yes baby, I was more than happy, I was very satisfied.” He whispered his lips against her ear. “You were amazing. I love you sweetheart.”
He turned her in his arms to drop a hard kiss on Natasha’s lips and groaned. “Damn, I don’t want to leave you baby but I’m almost done with work. Things should be at the point where I can leave everyone else in charge soon and just enjoy the time at home with my gorgeous wife before these two decide to make their appearance.” Eric said, before reluctantly releasing her.
He spent a few more minutes getting ready before kissing her again and leaving for work. Natasha sighed, feeling the familiar sense of loss she always felt when Eric wasn’t around her. He had some sort of power over her, that was for sure and when he was with her, nothing else seemed to matter but when he left, it always took her a little while to get over what she called the ‘Rothman effect.’
Quickly she changed into one of her maternity sundresses in cream with purple polka dots and headed downstairs to have breakfast. Alice was bustling around in the kitchen as usual, but she turned, greeting Natasha with a warm smile. She handed over a tall glass filled with a fresh, home made banana smoothie, the latest craving that Natasha was experiencing these days. There hadn’t been any strange requests so far, although most involved dairy of some kind.
“I’m just going out on the terrace Alice, it’s such a beautiful day.” She told the older woman and headed out through the living room to the large double doors that opened out onto the terrace where less than three weeks earlier Natasha had walked on her way down the aisle to marry Eric.
She sat down on one of the chairs sipping on her smoothie as she watched the early morning activity that was already taking place on the harbour. Ferries went past, a few speed boats and yachts, there was always something going on, on Sydney Harbour. The sunlight shimmered on the water almost blinding to look at it and she shielded her eyes against the glare.
Natasha felt a tiny cramp go through her stomach and she placed her hands on her hard belly. She was getting more and more of what she’d come to realise were Braxton Hicks, a kind of pre labour or what she referred to as a test run for the real deal.
At her latest check up by her doctor, he’d said she might make it another week, but her babies were so close now, both head down ready for being born although they wouldn’t necessarily stay in those positions until birth. Natasha couldn’t help the mixture of excitement and nerves that chorused through her body. The prospect of meeting her babies thrilled her, the labour not so much. She’d been reading up on what to expect and the whole thing scared the hell out of her. “Thanks to you two, I have to do it twice.” She said, rubbing her stomach.
Still Natasha despite being frightened of childbirth, was relieved that the spectre of Vivian was no longer hanging over her and Eric. A few days after Vivian had stolen the files disc from Eric’s office, it had arrived back at the office, delivered by a courier with a letter from her apologising for her behaviour.
Vivian had explained that she was very stressed with work, all the travelling and she admitted that losing Eric had been hard on her, but despite her behaviour, she did wish them all the best. Natasha had been relieved, but Eric wasn’t so quick to accept Vivian’s apology or explanation.
He had kept Roman, the private investigator on the case, following Vivian when she’d returned to the country a few days ago but he hadn’t found anything in her behaviour to alert them to any more potential problems with his ex girlfriend. He’d even supplied them with photos showing her out with what they assumed was the new boyfriend.
The new boyfriend was actually a younger man than Eric, who had made his fortune in computer programs. Natasha had teased Eric that Vivian had herself a toy boy and he’d been thrown over in favour of a younger, wealthier man.
“I don’t give a fuck baby, just so long as the silly bitch stays away from us
.” Eric had told her.
As far as Natasha was concerned, she was just pleased that it appeared that Vivian was out of their lives for good. After a couple of weeks of quiet and no suspicious activity from his ex, Eric had finally called off Roman, paid his bill and life was returning to normal, or as normal as it could be when they were just a week or so off becoming parents of twins.
Natasha pulled herself out of her daydreaming and after finishing off the last of her smoothie, she went back inside to drop her glass off in the kitchen sink. Alice was upstairs cleaning so Natasha stayed downstairs to keep out of her way. She wandered around the house restlessly. She was still feeling the Braxton Hicks and they were definitely making their presence felt more than she’d experienced so far.
Still feeling restless and unsettled, she headed back out onto the rear terrace and began to walk around the grounds of the home, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on her skin. She stopped a couple of times when more severe Braxton Hicks hit, making Natasha’s stomach feel like a band was tightening around it and once the pain died down, she went back to her walking.
She could hear the vacuum cleaner downstairs, so Alice had obviously moved down there to clean. With the upstairs clear again, Natasha walked back inside, keeping out of Alice’s way and took the lift upstairs to the nursery. She loved to walk around in there, touching things, looking at the tiny baby clothes stacked in the matching cupboards and smell them, trying to imagine their son and daughter in the clothes, what they would look like.
She imagined a little girl with her auburn locks and green eyes and Nathaniel being the image of his father. Natasha sat down on her new rocking chair and hugged her stomach, talking softly to her babies as she rocked.
The vacuum stop downstairs and a few minutes later Alice showed up at the nursery door. She smiled when she saw Natasha rocking gently in her chair. “I’m going back to my house until lunch pet. Are you ok?”
She nodded at the older woman, “I’ve got my phone handy should I need you.” Natasha assured the older woman. “You go and do whatever you want to do for a while, I’ll be fine.”
Not long after Alice left, Natasha’s mobile rang and it was her Mother. “Hi Mum.” She said.
“How’s my baby girl doing?” Kathryn’s excited voice came down the line. “You haven’t had those grandchildren of mine yet, have you?” She joked and Natasha laughed.
“No Mum. Don’t worry, you’ll get the call the minute I go into labour. How could I give birth without my coach there?” She assured her Mother.
“Yes well someone has to be there for that gorgeous husband of yours too baby girl. I suspect he’s going to completely fall apart when he sees you in labour.”
Natasha groaned. “Don’t remind me Mum. You know how much he fusses and worries now. He’s going to be a mess and I hate to think what he’ll be like when he sees his babies coming out. He’ll probably knock the doctor out of the way and try and take over or pass out, one of the two I reckon.”
Kathryn laughed and then began to tell Natasha all about her craft group and the ladies nights out they’d been having. “I’ve met a man too baby girl. He’s lovely, a kind gentle man and I want you to meet him some time but it might have to wait until after the twins are born. I just wanted to see how you felt about me seeing someone.”
“Wow Mum, seriously? That’s great.” Natasha said excitedly. “Why would you be worried about how I feel? You’re entitled to be happy Mum. You’ve been on your own for years now. So tell me, what’s he like? What does he look like?”
Natasha settled in for the next twenty minutes listening to Kathryn describe her new man. His name was Simon, he was 55 years old, tall and had a thick head of amazing grey hair according to her Mother. Natasha couldn’t help but laugh at her Mother’s enthusiastic gushing about Simon. If Kathryn was any indication the man was pure perfection and Natasha hoped that he would be and that her Mother would be happy with him.
They ended up talking for almost an hour until finally Kathryn said she’d better get going as she was meeting Simon for lunch. “I have to get ready baby girl. Can’t turn up for our lunch date looking like I’ve been dragged through a hedge now, can I?” She laughed and Natasha chuckled.
“Ok Mum, you have fun and say hi to Simon for me.” And with that, they said their goodbyes and Natasha hung up.
Suddenly a strong pain rippled through Natasha’s body and she watched as her stomach seemed to tighten for a few moments. She gasped but it eased again and she cursed the Braxton Hicks that were making their presence felt more now.
She glanced at the clock that hung in the nursery, smiling at the sight of it. Eric had surprised her coming home with it one evening after work and she loved it. It was a black and white cat with the clock face on the cat’s belly and as it ticked, the cat’s eyes moved from side to side.
She saw that it was only 10.30am which made her groan. Natasha felt so restless and bored. She didn’t know what she was going to do with herself for the rest of the day. Alice had gone home for a few hours so she contemplated watching a movie or maybe reading, but neither activity excited her enough to actually get up and do one of them.
With a loud sigh, she got up from the rocking chair and wandered back out to the lift to go downstairs. Just as she stepped off it, she heard the peel of the doorbell and waddled to the door, holding her back which was aching. “You two are hard on the body.” She whispered, patting her stomach.
When Natasha swung the door open, she stepped back in shock, the colour draining from her face. It was Vivian.
“What do you want?” She asked, eyeing the other woman off warily. Vivian’s eyes flickered as they rested briefly on Natasha’s huge stomach.
“You can relax Natasha. I’m not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to apologise to you. I sent the letter to Eric when I returned the disc as you probably know, but I needed to see you, to apologise to you since I said some horrible things to you at the restaurant that night.” Vivian smiled, but it didn’t quite reach those ice blue eyes of hers.
“Can I come in?” She asked and Natasha reluctantly stepped aside to let her in. As she walked past her, a cloud of the heavy perfume Vivian wore filled Natasha’s nostrils almost making her gag.
She took her guest, through to the living area and they both sat down. Vivian crossed one long slim leg over the other, looking immaculate as always in her pale blue skirt and matching jacket. She had on a silk low cut camisole styled blouse under the jacket and shoes that perfectly matched her outfit with heels that would have had Natasha falling flat on her face they were that high.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Natasha asked.
Vivian smiled. “You’re looking well.” She said. “How long do you have until your baby is born?”
“I’m having twins. One of each Vivian and they’re due in around one to two weeks. It’s supposed to be three weeks, but the doctor suspects they’ll be early being twins.” She told her.
“How exciting for you and Eric.” Vivian gushed and Natasha cringed. Although the woman seemed to be making an effort to be friendly, Natasha wasn’t so sure she could trust her. The hurtful things she’d said in the restaurant restroom that night still haunted her.
“I came here today because I really am sorry for what I said to you. I don’t know what possessed me. I guess Eric’s a hard act to follow, you would know that. You’re married to him after all. I just went a little nuts when he ended our relationship and I took it out on you and for that, I truly am sorry.” Vivian’s eyes filled with tears which surprised Natasha. Maybe the woman really was sorry for what she’d said and done.
“It’s alright Vivian, I forgive you, but what I don’t understand was why you took the staff files disc from the office?”
A quiet sob escaped Vivian. “I don’t know either Natasha. I thought that if I could come and see Eric, I could try and convince him he should be with me.” She watched Natasha flinch at her blunt comment. “I know, it was st
upid of me to think I could come between you and Eric. It’s obvious how much he loves you but sometimes love just makes you do crazy things and I do love Eric very much.” She said.
“You have a new man now though, don’t you Vivian.” Natasha asked and the other woman gave a tiny smile. “Yes I do and although he’s quite a man, he’s not Eric.” Vivian gave herself a shake like she was trying to clear her head and dug around in her handbag. “I brought you a gift, as a peace offering. It’s for the baby. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were having twins, so I only have one.”
She handed Natasha a brightly wrapped parcel. “Thank you Vivian. This is very nice of you to give us a present. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to though to try and show that I really am sorry and that I want there to be no hard feelings between us.” Vivian smiled.
Suddenly another sharp cramp hit Natasha and she gasped, rubbing her stomach. Vivian’s eyes burned into Natasha’s. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, just Braxton Hicks pains.” She assured Vivian. “They’re like practice labour pains or test labour I like to call it.” She started unwrapping Vivian’s gift. “It’s ok, the pain has passed again, fortunately.”
When Natasha finally got Vivian’s gift unwrapped it was a beautiful hand woven baby blanket that was cream at one end, gradually changing to yellow by the middle of it then fading back out to cream at the other end. It was gorgeous and Natasha had to concede that Vivian had great taste.
“Oh it’s beautiful.” She gasped, caressing the delicate fabric between her thumb and fingers. When she looked over at Vivian, something seemed to flash briefly in the other woman’s ice blue eyes but by the time Natasha took a closer look, Vivian was smiling again as she watched Natasha’s hands on the blanket.
“Thank you Vivian. This is simply gorgeous. I love it.” Vivian laughed, the sound grating on Natasha’s nerves despite Eric’s ex’s attempts to make peace.
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