31 Days of Autumn

by Fallowfield, C. J.

  ‘Mother,’ Dan spluttered, trying to regain his composure. ‘He’s not doing whatever you’re imagining he’s doing. Trust me.’

  ‘Trust you? What are you not sharing, Oliver Davenport,’ she demanded, spinning around to fix him with the most intimidating of glares. I grimaced at Dan with a giggle. I knew where he got that look from now and all along, I’d thought it was from his dad.

  ‘Just take my word for it, he’s not having an affair or developed a porn addiction, Mother.’

  ‘Who’s got a porn addiction?’ Brooke called as she opened the baby gate.

  ‘Daniel,’ Luiza groaned, throwing her hands in the air again.

  ‘My best friend’s not good enough for you?’ Brooke demanded, giving Dan a stern look.

  ‘Not me,’ he uttered. ‘My father.’

  ‘Mr. Davenport’s addicted to porn?’ she gasped, then turned to look at Molly heading up the stairs. ‘Molly, would you have imagined Mr. Davenport was addicted to porn?’

  ‘Mr. Davenport’s addicted to corn?’

  ‘Porn,’ called Brooke and Luiza at the same time.

  ‘Well, he doesn’t look the type, if there is such a thing, but I’d never have guessed that,’ Molly replied, shaking her head.

  ‘Guessed what?’ John smiled as he and Edward joined us, too.

  ‘Daniel’s got a porn addiction,’ Brooke nodded.

  ‘With a looker like Ellie for a wife? I have to say I’m surprised, Dan.’ John shot him a disapproving look.

  ‘I haven’t got a porn addition, they’re talking about my father.’

  ‘Really?’ Edward piped up. ‘I’d never have seen that coming either, not with a woman as attractive as Luiza. I’d be tempted to stray from the gay side for a woman that attractive. She’s fabulous.’

  ‘Thank you, Edward,’ Luiza beamed. ‘But I’m still no clearer how I’m going to handle this problem.’

  ‘Has he thought about joining PAA?’ John suggested.

  ‘What’s PAA?’ Molly asked, accepting a glass of champagne off Dan.

  ‘Porn Addicts Anonymous,’ John nodded seriously.

  ‘There’s a PAA?’ Brooke asked, looking surprised.

  ‘Darling, there’s an AA for every type of addiction nowadays,’ Edward confirmed, to a chorus of nods from everyone as I leaned back against the fridge, wondering how Luiza’s probably unfounded concerns had suddenly become the lunchtime gossip for everyone. ‘A friend of ours has a shopping addiction, he can’t stop buying butt plugs. I’ve never seen so many.’

  ‘BPA, butt plugs anonymous, I’ve heard it all,’ Luiza replied, shaking her head. ‘Did they get to the bottom of the problem?’ she asked, her eyes widening as we all roared with laughter. ‘What? What did I say?’

  ‘Butt plugs, bottom of the problem,’ Brooke giggled, spelling it out for her with a tap of her bottom.

  ‘O my,’ Luiza laughed. ‘Then my husband being addicted to porn seems quite tame.’

  ‘My father doesn’t have a porn addiction,’ Dan interrupted.

  ‘You said he did,’ Brooke shot back, snatching the next available glass of bubbly off him. Molly and I gave her a stern look, alcohol and diabetes weren’t a good mix. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and handed it over to John.

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘Yes, you did,’ Brooke, Molly, John, and Edward replied in unison.

  ‘No,’ Dan repeated. ‘I said they weren’t talking about me, they were talking about my father. I never actually said that my father was addicted to porn.’

  ‘Mr. Davenport’s addicted to porn?’ Jenny questioned, as she appeared with Andy and James. I started giggling as I went to get another bottle of champagne from the fridge. This was getting out of hand.

  ‘No,’ Dan replied, as everyone else called back “yes.”

  ‘I think he needs to go to PAA. He’s been jerking in the study,’ Luiza called, complete with hand gesture again, knocking back her entire glass of champagne and holding it out for Dan to top up. I was laughing so hard I had to clutch the granite countertop, while Dan just groaned with embarrassment and poor Andy and James just looked at each other, wondering what they’d walked in on.

  ‘Who's been twerking in the study?’ Magda asked as she appeared carrying a large pan of pasta and a ladle from the utility room, which doubled as an overflow kitchen. ‘I twerk quite well.’

  ‘Jerking,’ came a chorus from nearly everyone as Dan looked at me in despair. I was laughing too hard to say anything as I pushed another two bottles over to him.

  ‘My Ollie's been jerking in the study? With young children about? Naughty, Ollie,’ Magda scolded Dan, waving her pasta ladle at him.

  ‘I haven’t been twerking, jerking, or watching porn in the study,’ he protested. ‘They’re talking about my father.’

  ‘Mr. Davenport?’ Magda uttered, her eyes widening in surprise. ‘No!’

  ‘Yes,’ nodded Luiza with a heavy sigh.

  ‘For the last time, no one is a porn addict. Well, some of you might be, some of you might even be looking up pay-per-view tonight after all this talk, but my father is not a porn addict, I can assure you,’ Dan stated firmly, with Luiza trying to explain her problem to Magda, Jenny, Brooke, and Molly.

  ‘Who said I’m a porn addict?’ Mr. Davenport frowned as he came down the stairs and opened the baby gate. Everyone went quiet and turned to look at him.

  ‘Daddy, what’s a porn addict?’ Oliver called as he weaved through everyone’s legs.

  ‘Jesus Christ, I give up,’ Dan huffed, shoving the bottle towards me. ‘Mother, Mother!’ he yelled, making Luiza look around as a hush descended on the room. ‘Father isn’t having an affair. He isn’t twerking, jerking, or watching salubrious material in his study. He’s been working flat-out on planning a surprise, long, romantic getaway for your wedding anniversary. That’s why he’s been holed up in his office. As to why … his steam engine isn’t running at full power, I’d really prefer you discuss that in private. Now, can we please all move on from this topic of discussion and gather around the table and enjoy lunch and each others’ company?’ He cast a stern eye towards his mother and she pulled a face.

  ‘I thought he was having an affair, how was I to know,’ she huffed. Daniel strode over to put his arm around her and kiss her.

  ‘I’d never have an affair, darling. You’re more than enough woman for me to handle, that’s a full-time job in itself. I’m sorry I didn’t say you looked stunning this morning, I didn’t think it needed stating. You’ve always been the most beautiful woman in any room to me.’

  ‘Daniel,’ she moaned, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him, with tongue. Dan screwed up his face and looked over at me as I wiped tears of laugher from my eyes.

  ‘Daddy, what’s a porn addict?’ Oliver repeated.

  ‘Someone who can’t stop eating corn,’ Brooke chipped in, sweeping him up for a kiss.

  ‘I can’t stop, I love it,’ he nodded. ‘Don’t I, Daddy?’

  ‘Yes, you do,’ chuckled Dan, shaking his head.

  ‘Mummy, will I be a porn addict if we have some for lunch?’ Oliver asked, looking confused as everyone burst out laughing.

  ‘That’s it, Mother, you’re never having the children again,’ Dan warned with a pointed finger.

  ‘What did I do?’ she protested, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

  Dan

  I leaned back in my chair, tossed my napkin onto my empty plate, and put my arm around Ellie. She pursed her lips for a kiss and I immediately obliged with a contented sigh. The last couple of days at work I’d found hard. I needed to put it all behind me now and focus on my family, all four of them. I’d never really wanted a girl, but my God, I’d fallen just as much in love with her as I had the boys. If anything, I felt even more protective towards her. I’d be able to teach the boys to stand up for themselves, how to box and fight, away from Ellie’s disapproving watchful eye of course, but Eva? She was going to need her brothers and
myself to watch out for her. Now that this project was in beta mode, Marv could monitor the results from San Francisco and I could sit back and just handle the normal day-to-day affairs of running my company for a while.

  I looked around the table, at all of the animated faces as they talked and laughed. For a guy who spent the best part of three years alone, I was one lucky son of a bitch. I had most of my closest friends and family around this one table. Many of them I’d never have met if it hadn’t been for a winter booking request from a stunning blonde who never gave up on me. I didn’t feel deserving of her. I’d never met anyone who was as kind or generous-hearted as she was. To watch her with my children was an amazing thing. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for any of us, but she wasn’t afraid to lay down the law when necessary, not least with me. Being friends with fiery Brooke for so long had rubbed off on her. I blanked out the chatter and turned to look at Ellie as she tried to get Jonas to eat more of his spaghetti carbonara. My heart raced a little every time I looked at her and I silently cursed as I felt my cock stirring in my trousers. Going without sex with her for this long was torture.

  ‘Pervert,’ whispered Brooke in my ear as she reached over my shoulder to take my empty plate.

  ‘What?’ I tore my gaze off Ellie to look up at her.

  ‘I can see exactly what you’re thinking, it’s written all over your face, even without the bit of tablecloth you’ve draped over your lap rising like Aladdin’s magic carpet.’

  ‘Ali Baba’s carpet, Aladdin had the lamp. Anyway, keep your voice down, I don’t need Oliver asking any more embarrassing questions today,’ I retorted, making her giggle.

  ‘Just keep your hands to yourself until she’s healed. I can’t take seeing my friend in that hospital ever again,’ she warned, her face suddenly turning serious.

  ‘You and me both, Brooke, you and me both,’ I sighed, turning back to look at Ellie. Going without sex was going to be hard, for both of us, as hard it seemed as for my damn parents, whose sex life I never wanted to hear about again. But Ellie’s welfare was more important. I couldn’t take nearly losing her again. First the loch, then the tumble down the stairs, now this. I was Samson and she was my Delilah, except instead of cutting off my hair to remove my strength, she did it every time she was in pain. It crippled me.

  ‘What’s wrong? You look so serious.’

  I blinked, startled as her soft voice caressed my ears, and found her staring back at me. ‘Nothing, baby, just thinking how lucky I am. Kiss me,’ I demanded, clasping the back of her head and gently pulling her closer. I smiled when I heard that little whimper of pleasure she always let out when I kissed her. The day she no longer did that, I’d be an extremely worried man.

  ‘Daddy’s sucking Mummy’s face again. He does it a lot,’ announced Oliver in a loud voice. Ellie and I broke apart, me mortified, her giggling again.

  ‘Sucking face? Where on earth did you hear that awful expression?’ I demanded, tossing a glare Brooke’s way. She held up her hands and shook her head.

  ‘Don’t look at me.’

  ‘Uncle Lucas said sucking face with a pretty girl is nice,’ Oliver nodded, reaching up to take his bowl of dessert from Magda, who was laughing as well.

  ‘Uncle Lucas and I will be having words about his choice of vocabulary,’ I muttered. ‘But he’s not wrong, kissing a pretty girl is very nice. You’ll find out when you’re older.’

  ‘How much older?’ he asked, digging his spoon into his apple strudel and ice cream.

  ‘Much, much, much older,’ Ellie smiled. ‘Not for a long time.’

  ‘Why?’ he moaned, looking up with a face covered in ice cream. I laughed and ruffled his hair.

  ‘Because little boys don’t kiss girls, only big ones do.’

  ‘I am a big boy,’ he nodded.

  ‘You do call him a big boy every day, Dan,’ Jenny laughed, cleaning his face. ‘Can’t have it both ways. Have you seen a pretty girl you’d like to kiss, Oliver?’

  ‘Yes, my Mummy,’ he announced, pursing his lips as he looked over at Ellie.

  ‘Well, I have to say that regardless of your appalling language today, son, you do have excellent taste,’ I grinned as I looked at her. She smiled and blew a kiss to Oliver, who giggled before tucking back into his pudding. He had an appetite just like me, but even the thought of him having my sexual appetite one day was seriously disturbing. Ellie was right, no matter how much I treated him like a big boy, he was still a baby and I didn’t want him to grow up too fast.

  ‘Thanks, Magda,’ I smiled, relieved to be given a big portion of dessert at last. ‘You’re a star.’

  ‘I am. I think I might enter myself on Britain's Got Talent, I twerk real good,’ she smiled, making me laugh as she gave us an impression.

  ‘Who jerks real good?’ called Edward. ‘Handy to know if I trade John in for a younger model.’

  ‘You’re stuck with me now,’ John responded with a scowl.

  ‘Handy,’ giggled Ellie. ‘Nicely punned, Edward.’

  ‘Seriously? What are you lot on today, I give up,’ I laughed. I tried to cover Oliver’s ears as everyone started coming up with sexual play on words and felt the tension in my shoulders leave. Even James and Andy were laughing, which was a rarity given they usually had their serious faces on.

  ‘Thank you,’ Ellie whispered, kissing my cheek.

  ‘For what?’ I asked.

  ‘Cheering up and being sociable. You weren’t yourself yesterday and I know you prefer the peace and quiet, but it’s important to me that we socialise with our friends and family. You never know when it might be the last time you see them.’

  ‘I’m sorry about yesterday, I had a lot on my mind, but I promise things are going to get easier when we get home,’ I said sincerely, meaning every word. Everyone went quiet and looked upstairs when we heard a cry over the baby monitor.

  ‘Finally, she’s awake,’ Mother clapped. ‘I’ve been dying to see her.’

  ‘I’ll go and get her,’ I said firmly, when all of the women made a move at once. They all looked at me surprised. ‘I am a modern man, you know, you all do enough.’

  I bounded up the stairs, three at a time. Truth be told, I just couldn’t wait to see her again either, to have a few moments to stare at her without getting ribbed for going soft. With the exception of Ellie, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen and we seemed to have bonded so fast. I turned off the baby monitor and just watched her for a while as she lay on her back, letting out the odd cry. She was so tiny, so much smaller than the boys had been. I always had my heart in my mouth when I saw anyone other than Ellie holding her, in case they dropped her. When she started crying properly, I scooped her up into my arms and kissed her tiny forehead, and she stopped almost immediately. She scrunched up her nose and yawned and I put one hand on her bottom to support her against my chest.

  ‘Hello, princess,’ I whispered. ‘Are you ready to come and meet everyone again?’ She smacked her lips and tried to open her eyes. ‘I’d better put some earmuffs on you before we go down, as they’re having some conversations that I don’t want you to hear, ever. And if a boy tries to suck your face before you’re a day over thirty, he’s going to have to answer to me. Do I make myself clear, young lady?’

  ‘Thirty, really?’ came Ellie’s amused voice behind me. ‘Even I think that’s a little harsh.’

  ‘I thought I was on my own,’ I muttered, mildly embarrassed as I turned around to face her.

  ‘You’ll never be on your own again, not with a wife and three children. Your days as a hermit are well and truly over,’ she replied, walking over to us and kissing the back of Eva’s head. I put my free arm around her and pulled her close.

  ‘And I wouldn’t want it any other way. You saved me, Ellie, from myself and from a miserable existence. It’s hard to remember how lonely I used to be now.’

  ‘And you save me, all of the time,’ she replied, looking up at me with love in her eyes.

  ‘I al
ways will,’ I confirmed, kissing her again, grateful for no interruptions this time.

  Day Eleven

  Sunday 20th October

  Dan

  ‘Stand still, Ollie,’ I warned as I tried to fit his lifejacket. He was bouncing all over the place, like Tigger, he was that excited to be home.

  ‘Go fast, Daddy,’ he yelled as I lifted him into one of the speed boats. With so many of us living on the island now, we had two, as well as the old outboard.

  ‘I’m sorry, Ollie, I can’t, not with Eva with us. We don’t want to scare her, do we?’

  ‘Daddy,’ he pouted, giving me his best wide-eyed pleading look that was so hard to resist. I looked over at Ellie. She was a lot more relaxed on the water, but speeding fast wasn’t something she enjoyed.

  ‘Go with him and Andy and have some fun,’ she nodded. ‘Chris, Jenny, and I can head over with Jonas and Eva and get settled in.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I asked, trying to contain my grin. She knew how much I loved zipping across the water.

  ‘Boys and their toys, you have it all to come, Eva,’ she smiled, looking down at our daughter and shaking her head. I kissed her and hopped into the boat, Andy following, Ollie clapping his hands with excitement. ‘Be careful,’ she warned.

  ‘You too. No trying to lift cases or babies on your own please,’ I warned. She looked tired, the travelling had taken it out of her.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll load Chris up like Vin Diesel in The Pacifier, Jonas on his back, Eva on his front, with a couple of bottles in his gun holsters,’ she grinned. I laughed and Chris shook his head as he put on Jonas’s lifejacket for him. Poor Chris always got the short end of the straw. I started the engine as Andy cast off and they all waved us off as we pulled away from the jetty.