After The Fall

by Ariadne Wayne

  Mum and Dad were over the moon the next day. “I know it’s early days but you two are clearly so much in love and meant for each other,” Mum said.

  I grinned. “I think so, we need to sort a few things out and save a bit before we actually get married but we’ll get there. The practical side of me is also saying it will help as far as him staying in the country goes.”

  “We’re so proud of you love, a good job and engaged to a man who loves you. All we ever wanted was for you to be happy.”

  “No problems there,” I said, “and if Alex doesn’t have his family around then I will be his family.”

  And I was. A few months later when we’d saved a bit of money we were married. We went home to Mum and Dad’s for a quiet ceremony with just my family and a few friends. I didn’t want anything too big as I didn’t want to remind Alex that he wasn’t part of his own family anymore. All he had was me but we were all the other needed and we settled into our new life together.

  It was a few months later that our world was turned upside down, when I discovered I was pregnant.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A new life

  I was the main breadwinner in the family, Alex had been working on building his own business but it was taking some time and he wasn’t happy at my first suggestion that I go back to work and baby go into daycare.

  “The baby needs you at home,” he said.

  “Thousands of families do this,” I said, “we’ll get by. What’s important is that we have the rent and bills paid and keep ourselves afloat.”

  “It’s all my fault. If I could have got things established things would be different. Maybe Dad will help us out,” he said.

  I sighed. “Alex, we’ll just do what we have to do. You keep working on your business and we’ll get ahead one day. As long as we’ve got each other, that’s all that matters.”

  It didn’t help much and he sulked for days before coming up with a different idea. “Why don’t I stay home and take care of the baby, that way they’ll have one of us with them and you can go back to work. I can just work from home.”

  “That’s hardly practical,” I said.

  “I can do it Nat, give me a chance and if it doesn’t work then we’ll put the baby in daycare but given the costs of that I might as well stay home.”

  “To be honest, I think it’s kind of hot you want to stay at home with the baby,” I said.

  He grinned. “How hot?”

  “Very.”

  “Show me then Mrs Mercer.”

  By the time the baby came he was even more excited, annoyingly so. While I concentrated on pushing all he could do was talk about how we would have the next three months together while I was on parental leave and then he would be the stay at home daddy.

  I wanted to scream at him but it wasn’t fair, but he was excited and so was I. Soon we’d meet our child, conceived in love and it still made my heart ache that Alex’s father hadn’t been in touch with him.

  Alex had talked about letting his father know we were married and having a baby but I didn’t know if he had. I tried to keep out of it. If he resolved things with his father then I would be happy for him. I wasn’t going to push it either way.

  I didn’t know who to watch when Aaron was finally born. My baby was checked and then brought to me to lay on my chest and I stroked his little body in awe of this amazing life that Alex and I had created. Then there was Alex who was right there holding my hand and cutting the cord before kissing me to tell me how much he loved us.

  It was late by the time Aaron was born and I was allowed to stay for two nights in the hospital. I decided to rest for the night and go home the following day. Alex didn’t want to be separated from us but I persuaded him to go and get some sleep. My baby and I needed to be together, and maybe I was being selfish but I just wanted a sliver of time to be alone with him.

  “I love you Natalie,” Alex said, “I’ll get some sleep and be back in the morning to pick you two up.”

  “I love you too,” I said, “Daddy.”

  He grinned and kissed me again. “I’m going to go home and email Dad.”

  That had come out of the blue and I nodded. “Do whatever you have to, he should know he’s a grandfather.”

  “Even if he doesn’t talk to us I think he should know that the Mercer line carries on.”

  I grabbed his hand. “Just don’t be too hurt if he doesn’t reply.”

  “I won’t, I have no expectations either way.”

  He kissed me one more time before he left and then Aaron on the top of his head before leaving and I settled back to feed my baby. I did worry about him as he might hide it but I knew if he emailed his father and received no reply it would have an impact on him.

  When he was gone I pulled my baby close and looked at him. He would be a replica of his father, of that I was sure. Aaron had little tufts of brown hair and his big dark eyes looked back at me.

  “Hello baby,” I whispered, “Mummy and Daddy love you so much.” I kissed his little face and he yawned. “I can’t wait to get you home, and I have no idea how I am ever going to leave you to go back to work.”

  I closed my eyes, up until now I’d been the practical one talking about how I was going to go back to work to support my family. Now my baby was here and I could hardly breathe thinking about leaving him for just a moment. I would have to cope with whatever happened though and Alex would take good care of him but the next three months would be the most precious before I had to really think about going back to work.

  Lying back, I wrapped my arm around him. I didn’t know what the midwives thought of me having him in my bed but I didn’t care, it felt right. He had already shown himself as an enthusiastic feeder and I knew I would not get any real sleep so the closer he was the better.

  We had a good night, he woke and fed as I knew he would and I covered him with kisses every time. This was going to be one loved child.

  I was ravenous by morning and more than a little relieved that Alex brought me in food on top of the hospital breakfast. He took Aaron in his arms while I ate.

  “He’s beautiful Nat, I’m sure I can see you in him.”

  I laughed. “I think he’s going to look like you.”

  “Either way he is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, bar you.”

  Watching them together filled my heart with more love than I ever thought was possible. We were meant to be together and now Aaron made our family complete. Sometimes I wondered how much Alex missed his father and now of all times I wished for them to make up.

  “Have you emailed your dad yet?”

  He looked at me. “Not yet. I wanted to get some more photos and maybe some video of you two to send him.”

  “Whatever you want,” I said.

  “I miss him Nat, now more than ever. I want him to see my first born, his first grandchild. If he’s still not interested in us then tough. He’s had more than enough time to reconcile and he knows how to find us.”

  “You’re right, I said, “now to find out when I can get out of here.”

  I had finished eating and he gently handed Aaron to me while he pulled out his phone. I kissed and cooed over my baby for the photos and then he switched the phone to movie and filmed us sitting in bed.

  “And here is my beautiful wife and son,” he said, “Aaron is less than 24 hours old but we hope that we’ll all be together at home tonight.”

  He moved, sitting on the bed while holding the phone at arms length to get all of us into the shot. “Here’s what you’re missing out on dad, we’re happy and we’d like to share it with you.” Then he kissed me tenderly and I giggled before he turned the camera off.

  “You think your dad is going to want to see video of you kissing me?” I said.

  “Well Mrs Mercer, apart from the fact that you’re so damn kissable I want to show him just how happy we are. Everything I ever wanted is right in this room, I don’t need anything or anybody else.”

  “I
love you Alex,” I said.

  “Love you too babe,” he said.

  The doctor gave us the all clear to go and I packed my overnight bag while Alex put Aaron in the carseat. I was still sore and tired but being back in my own bed would do wonders. We also had a crib right next to the bed at home so Aaron would be close to us and I knew already that Alex would be a very hands on dad.

  I was right, he woke up whenever Aaron wanted feeding and helped me as much as he could. The man would have breastfed himself if he were able. It was nice. He was working contracts for a land development company and at home with me most of the time though it made it even harder to go back to work.

  After my parental leave ran out I went back to work. I could have stayed off work for the whole year but unpaid and that was no good for any of us. While the first week was especially hard, the three of us had settled into our routine. Alex brought Aaron in twice a day for feeding and we quickly realised that moving closer to my workplace while I was pregnant was the best decision we’d made.

  Aaron was six months old when I got the phone call. “Natalie, you have to come home now,” Alex said. I was piled high with paper work and sighed.

  “I can’t, I’ve got so much on now.”

  “Then bring it home, there’s something that you have to see right now.”

  I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like Alex to be melodramatic. What could be that urgent?

  “OK Just give me a little while. I’ll bring some work home to do if it’s that important.

  I popped my head into Roger’s office. “Alex says I need to go home urgently to see something. Sorry it’s so vague but he’s insistent and I probably should go just in case it is actually something important.”

  Roger laughed. “I’m sure you two haven’t had much time alone together since little Aaron was born, he probably just wants to screw.”

  Any other boss and I would have just curled up and died at that comment but I poked my tongue at him. “I can take some of the paperwork home to do.”

  “Don’t worry about, I can always get someone else to help out. Just go and make sure that godson of mine isn’t ill or anything bad.”

  “Thanks,” I said and rushed out to the car. Surely it couldn’t have been an emergency, Alex would have told me more. What on earth could it be?

  I ran inside, and Alex laughed when he saw me. “That was quick, come here and I’ll show you.”

  There in the middle of the living room floor was my baby. He was on his knees and rocking. This was fairly normal behaviour for him at the moment as he was just so desperate to crawl.

  “Just watch,” he said. I sat on the couch and my beautiful boy smiled up at me and with one big deliberate movement he pushed himself forward. “You should see the grin on your face right now, I couldn’t let that go by without you seeing it. I know you miss him when you’re at work Nat but there’s no need for you to miss out on the important stuff.”

  I couldn’t help bursting into tears, not so much at what had just happened but that my other beautiful boy, my husband and love had been so thoughtful of my feelings. “Natalie, I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m so sorry.”

  He moved to sit beside me and wrapped his arms around me. “You didn’t upset me, you two just make me so happy I could burst sometimes.”

  “I feel the same way. The best thing I ever did was to pick up that unconscious girl on the sidewalk and carry her inside my house. Even if she thought the whole thing was creepy.”

  That just made me laugh and Aaron looked at me as if he wanted to know what was so funny. I bent over and scooped him up, planting little kisses all over his face.

  It was a beautiful afternoon and we opened the french doors out into the garden. It was autumn but the sun was warm and there was a gentle breeze that wafted through the living room. Aaron, now back on the floor kept his efforts up. That child was determined to keep on crawling.

  “He must be tired,” I said after he had been at it for a couple of hours. I was lying on the couch with my head on Alex’s lap. It was tempting to close my eyes and drift off, I was so content.

  “I’m just going to let him wear himself out, then he can have his nap.”

  “Now, that brings back memories” came a voice from the door.

  Alex and I looked up. Standing in the doorway was Damian Mercer. “Alex, Natalie, may I come in?”

  “Sure,” I said, “would you like a coffee or something?”

  The forced smile on his face told me he wasn’t sure if he should even be here. “That would be lovely,” he said.

  I went to the kitchen, something told me it was best if I left him alone with Alex for at least a few minutes. Through the wall I could hear them talking, barely making out the words but what I did hear made me grin.

  “You know your decision cost me a lot of money, Lisa’s father was reluctant to merge companies after you walked out, I had to spent a lot more to convince him of the benefits to go ahead,” the elder Mercer said.

  “I would do it all over again if I had to,” Alex said, “my life has everything I need in it now.”

  “That I can see,” his father said, “you have a fine family Alex but we’ve been apart for too long. I’m here to set things right.”

  “I really appreciate that Dad. Natalie and I have worked hard to build up our life and I’m glad you’re here to see it.”

  The water boiled and I poured out three cups of coffee, carrying it through on a tray with milk and sugar just in case. “Excuse me, former waitress coming through,” I said with a grin.

  Mr Mercer smirked. “It appears you’ve done a fine job of supporting your family.”

  “She does and more,” Alex said, “she’s the main breadwinner so I have to do what she says.”

  His father chuckled. “I would too. You have to start somewhere Alex and while I would rather you come home and work with me, I will understand if you want to stay here.”

  “Are you offering me my old job back?” asked Alex.

  “I want you and your family to come back to New York. I want my son and grandson by my side and the Mercer family to be reunited. No conditions. I just want the three of you to come home.”

  Alex looked at me. “What do you think?”

  “I think we need to talk about it and not make up our mind on the spot.” I could see how much he wanted to say yes in his eyes but we really did need to talk. It would mean that I would give up my job and take my turn to stay at home with Aaron. The thought of that excited me, no more being away from my baby boy.

  “Your wife is very wise Alex. No rush on the decision. I am here for a week to do some business and then I’ll go home but the offer is open ended. I miss you being around Alex and I’m sorry things went the way they did.”

  Aaron fell flat on his face and I went to him, picking him up and kissing his little face better. He grinned at me and we all laughed. “He likes his mom’s kisses,” said Alex, “I can’t blame him really.”

  I blushed and his dad laughed. “It’s clear to me now that you are meant to be together. I have enjoyed the photos and videos. My grandson is just as lovely in real life as he was on video.”

  Carrying Aaron to him, I placed him in a seated position on his lap. Mr Mercer looked at me and there was a look I didn’t recognise at first and then it clicked. He was surprised but had realised his presence had been accepted. “Thank you,” he whispered, putting his arms around Aaron to support him.

  Aaron gurgled and then giggled as they played peek a boo and I settled back down beside Alex on the couch. “What do you think?” he murmured.

  “I think that we have done things this way for six months and maybe it’s time to do something different if that’s what you want,” I said.

  “What I want is to make you happy and for us to all be together. Would you be happy giving up your job?”

  “I won’t pretend it will be easy. I’m settled and Roger has been good to us. But you need your chance to shine Alex, and things shouldn�
��t be the way they have been between you and your father. If you want to go then your family will be coming with you.”

  He kissed me and his dad looked up at us with one eyebrow raised. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I hope you know that.”

  “Just keep telling me that every day and I will.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Flying Away

  Roger was excited for me and then devastated. “Where am I going to find a replacement?” he asked.

  “I don’t know but I’m sure you will find someone,” I said with a smile.

  “Oh Natalie, look at you,” he said, “I am so very proud of you, I feel like my little girl is growing up and leaving home.”

  I hugged him. “I will miss you so much. The best part of this job has been you. But I will be in touch and we’re just on the other end of the phone. We can email each other all the time.”

  “That will have to do,” he said, “I’ll be sure to bring David to the airport to say goodbye too. He’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss him too. It’s hard. I am excited but sad to be leaving all this behind.”

  He grinned. “Who knows what tomorrow might bring. Maybe you’ll hate being rich and come home to work for me again. My door is always open.”

  The trip to New York was exciting. We had to get passports for Aaron and myself but we were soon winging our way to our new life.

  We did go and visit Mum and Dad before we left, to give us all a chance to say goodbye though I promised they could come and stay with us any time. I would make Damian pay for it.

  Sean was crazy jealous but hugged me when we went to leave and made me promise to keep in touch. “I’ll email you photos all the time,” I said.

  He rolled his eyes. “Come on Sis, get with the programme. Just get on Facebook and post photos on there. Even Mum is on it now.”

  “Really?” I said. I wasn’t really into all the social media stuff. “I’ll look into it.”