After The Fall

by Ariadne Wayne

  “Do you want some scones to take home with you?” I asked.

  His eyes widened. “That would be awesome,” he said.

  “I am home most of the time at the moment, any time you want to come over you’re more than welcome,” I said.

  “Thanks Natalie,” he said, “and if you ever want me to look after Aaron, I’d be happy to. He’s such a great kid.”

  “That would be great. I don’t know when we’ll ever need a babysitter at this stage but I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “These are great too,” he said, holding up the scone, “Alex is lucky.”

  “Alex hasn’t had any, I only just cooked them,” I said, “so maybe not so lucky.”

  He laughed. “You should take him some for his lunch.”

  “I doubt he wants me to take him homemade lunches to that building.”

  “I can look after Aaron if you want to,” he said.

  That made me smile. I wondered what Lisa would say if I turned up at work to deliver Alex’s lunch. “I think that’s a great idea, I’ll put something together and get over there if you don’t mind. Aaron will probably sleep the whole time anyway.”

  “Sure,” he said, “to be honest I just want the company.”

  I showed him where everything was and gave him the TV remote control. “I won’t be too long, just long enough to interrupt with any luck.”

  He laughed. “If that woman is crazy enough to try to get between you two, she deserves all she gets,” he said.

  Alex’s lunch prepared, I grabbed a taxi and headed over. Some of the staff milling around the lobby recognised me from the evening we’d had out and greeted me by name. By the time I got to the main reception, she was ready to send me up.

  With instructions on how to find my husband, I headed up to his office only to find it empty. I screwed up my face in annoyance mainly because I guessed where he was instead. Turning back, I ran almost head on into Derek.

  “Oh hey Natalie,” he said.

  “Hi,” I said, “you don’t know where I can find my husband do you?”

  “He’ll be up in Lisa’s office, he’s there most of the time at the moment,” he sighed, “I don’t think I need to tell you that’s got tongues wagging.”

  “Thank you for telling me that,” I said, “and I’m really not surprised, as you know she doesn’t like me.”

  He laughed. “That is probably an understatement but everyone also knows what a bitch she can be, especially when she doesn’t get her own way. I can take you to him if you’d like.”

  I grinned. “I would love that. I made Alex some lunch.”

  “Holy shit,” he said and blushed, “sorry it’s just that I think that’s awesome. I doubt anyone here would have a homemade lunch. Who has time for that?”

  I laughed. “Right now, I’m at home with my seven month old and nothing better to do.”

  “That is more than fair,” he said, “and nice. I’m sure Alex will love it. The wicked witch might not, and her trained monkey.”

  “Screw her,” I said and he laughed.

  “Let’s go,” he said and took me into the elevator and up a floor where Lisa’s office was. Caroline, her PA was outside and screwed up her face when she saw me. “Mrs Mercer is here to see her husband,” Derek said.

  She sighed. “Well they are very busy in there.” She made sure to emphasise the word busy to make it sound like something I doubted it was.

  “I have Alex’s lunch that I want to drop off,” I said.

  “Oh that’s so sweet, I think Lisa has ordered in but maybe I can take it so he can have it later.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Please let my husband know that I’m here.”

  She paused but I wouldn’t drop eye contact and she dialled the office. “Yes, I see.” Hanging up she looked up at me. “I’m so sorry Mrs Mercer but they are right in the middle of something.”

  I rolled my eyes and pulled my mobile out of my pocket, dialling Alex’s number myself. He answered straight away and the door flew open with my husband grinning at me, clearly happy to see me. “Babe,” he said, “what are you doing here?”

  “I made some food, thought you might like lunch. Though I hear you’re far too busy to see me and would rather have something ordered in.”

  “Who told you that?” he asked, looking confused.

  “Caroline seemed to think it, though now you are here I can give you this. Even if you do want to keep it for a little snack later, or give it away, whatever you want to do.”

  His eyes lit up when he looked in the bag. “This smells amazing babe, I can’t wait to eat it. Do you want to grab a coffee while you’re here? We’ve just finished our meeting.”

  “That would be lovely, though Caroline seemed to think that you were right in the middle of something.”

  She visibly shrank in her seat and I guessed she wasn’t used to being called out in this way.

  Lisa came to the doorway. “Alex, let’s grab coffee now and…” I can’t even begin to describe the look on her face when she saw me.

  “Hi Lisa,” I said.

  “Natalie.”

  “We’re just going to go and grab a coffee Lisa, I’ll be back soon,” Alex said.

  “We need to go over this proposal,” she said.

  “It can wait 20 minutes,” he said and moved towards me. His arms wrapped around my waist and he kissed me tenderly. “Where’s Aaron?” he asked.

  “I will tell you all about it over coffee,” I said. I looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Always a pleasure Lisa, Caroline.”

  As we left I looked across at Derek who had watched the entire scene. He had a grin on his face and I winked as we passed him.

  The cafeteria was buzzing when we got there and we sat with our coffees, Alex holding one of my hands and squeezing it. “Thank you for this, it’s very cool,” he said, “now where’s Aaron?”

  “At home with Colton. To be honest it was his idea I bring you some lunch.”

  Confusion crossed his face. “So Colton came to see you?”

  “He’s lonely Alex. He and his mum moved here only recently and now she is on extended honeymoon with your father. He came to visit because he wanted some company and I think I understand what he’s going through.”

  “I don’t know if I like that Nat, what if he tries something on with you?”

  “Believe me, that’s not going to happen. He doesn’t have a crush on me, I can guarantee that,” I said.

  “How?”

  “I asked him,” I said, “we have to give him a chance Alex, he’s a good kid and he knows no one here. Besides he’s very happy to babysit if we want him to, maybe that means we can get some time alone together.”

  He relaxed at that and nodded. “That sounds great but I’m still a bit uneasy about you being alone with him. Are you sure he’s not interested in you?”

  “Alex. Even if he was I am very happily married. Or would be if my husband paid attention to me from time to time.”

  Alex leaned over and kissed me. “Point taken. Now, let me have a look at the packed lunch my wife made me and see what we have.”

  He walked me to the front lobby of the building when we were finished and kissed me goodbye. “I’ll try to make it home for dinner,” he said.

  “You had better,” I said, “I’m enjoying this cooking thing, I might go and pick up something special before I go home.”

  “Maybe we can ask Colton to stay for dinner,” he said, “if he’s going to get to know my wife then maybe I could give him a chance.”

  I kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” I said.

  “Is that it?” he asked.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  He kissed me on the lips, and there may have been a hint of tongue but it was enough to make me rather hot and bothered. “Might be more of that later Mrs Mercer,” he said.

  “I’ll look forward to it Mr Mercer,” I said.

  The receptionist smiled and waved as I left and I found Derek
out the front of the building having a cigarette. “That was beautiful,” he said, “those two have been insufferable since Mr Mercer senior went away. Caroline is really good friends with Lisa and I’m sure she thinks keeping you two apart is going to somehow make Alex change how he feels but it’s very clear he loves you.”

  “I’m not going to let her get away with anything,” I said, “I can’t control if he has to work but if it takes bringing him lunch every day and disrupting her day with our son then I will. Alex is just so stubborn, he won’t call his father to let him know how unreasonable she’s being.”

  “Not long to go, you two will be fine. It’s nice to see him so happy and settled.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  When I got home with groceries for dinner that night, I found Colton and Aaron playing on the living room floor. Aaron was laughing though Colton reported his nose kept running. “Poor little thing woke up because he was all congested, he’s so pleased to see you.”

  I held my baby close and breathed him in. He still had that new baby smell and I could hear him struggling with breathing through his cold.

  “Aww sweetie, we will just have to get some steam going for you and we will have some lunch. Colton, did you want to stay for dinner?”

  “Can I?”

  “It was Alex’s idea, I told him you were looking after Aaron and reminded him that you were at home alone. We’re family now, you are welcome anytime,” I said.

  “Thanks Natalie. You didn’t tell him about the other thing did you?”

  “Of course not. If and when you feel comfortable telling him then you can if you want. I don’t think he’ll freak out, it might help him understand but you can do that in your own time.”

  “You’re the best Natalie,” he said.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Aaron

  As we neared dinner time I almost held my breath waiting to see if Alex would make it home in time. Colton never said a word, knowing that I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t turn up.

  We didn’t hear from him but he made it home just as I was serving up the food. “Just in time from the look of it,” he said, kissing my cheek as he breezed in.

  “Hey Colton,” he said and went to the high chair where Aaron was sitting, waving excitedly. “How are you my little man,” he said.

  “He’s quite snotty,” I said, “it looks like a cold so I’m going to keep an eye on him.”

  “Good thinking, he seems happy enough for the moment but it might pay to get him to the doctor to check it out.”

  “I’ll do that tomorrow if it’s not better,” I said.

  “Hi Alex,” Colton said. He had been watching us from the corner of the room and I realised he hadn’t wanted to interrupt our family moment.

  I smiled at him. “Colton, do you want to help me serve up dinner? I’m sure Alex wants to spend a bit of time with Aaron.”

  “You bet,” he said, following me back into the kitchen.

  I had roasted a chicken and gone a bit overboard with the trimmings. There was way too much food for 3 adults and a baby. “I think there’s enough here for lunch for the whole week,” said Alex, “and that was lovely by the way. I’m sure I was the envy of the office having my wife love me enough to make me lunch.”

  He started talking to Colton too and all of a sudden I was lost in the sports talk. Alex had adjusted to watching sport in New Zealand and had become quite keen on rugby, falling behind on the latest football and baseball results from the States. I was sure the pair of them discussed every game that had happened since then, it seemed to go on for long enough.

  Aaron loved it, despite me constantly wiping his nose he was excited that Daddy was home and he got hugs from all of us.

  Alex and Colton stacked the dishwasher while I ran a hot shower and took Aaron in for a bath. The steam helped him breathe better and when I came out, I sat with him on the couch feeding him while they watched sports on TV.

  It was good seeing them laughing and joking while they watched it together and Alex moved so he was sitting beside me and put his arm around my waist while we all watched the news and then found a movie.

  “Hey buddy,” Alex said to Colton, “either I can take you home afterwards or if you want to you can stay the night in the spare room.”

  Colton didn’t know what to say and just looked at me. I smiled at him. “You’re welcome to stay Colton, it’s probably better than going back to the apartment alone at night.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Alex said, “I would have thought Dad and Maryanne would have arranged something for you while they were away. It’s not exactly been well planned moving you in and then leaving you there alone. If you need anything in the meantime just let Natalie or myself know and we’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you,” Colton said, “and I would appreciate staying. Damian’s apartment is so big and empty. It’s nice to have some company.”

  Aaron was fast asleep and I put him to bed, propping up his mattress slightly so he wasn’t lying flat. “My poor boy,” Alex said.

  “We’ll see how he goes. His temperature is normal and he doesn’t have any other symptoms,” I said, “he could just have this for a couple of days and be fine.”

  “I hope so. I don’t like seeing him like this. You know Nat, it is weird going to work instead of being home with him. Now I know what you must have felt like being separated from him only it would have been worse for you.”

  His arms wrapped around me like a blanket from behind and I leaned back onto his chest. “I did what I had to for our family. Just like you are doing now, except with the added interference from Lisa.”

  “Can we please not talk about her tonight?” he asked.

  “I’d be happy never to talk about her. It did bother me that her PA lied to me to try to stop me from seeing you today.”

  Alex put his hands on my shoulders and turned me towards him. “What do you mean?”

  “She made out that she had called the office and you were far too busy to see me.”

  His nostrils flared. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Nothing is ever more important than you and Aaron.”

  “Thank you,” I said, “I don’t appreciate being treated like nothing.”

  “You are everything to me Natalie, you know that.”

  “Today, I’m just thankful that you were home in time for dinner,” I said.

  He pulled a face. “There’s a dinner with a client tomorrow. Lisa wants me to go. It’s worth a lot of money and she thinks having Damian’s son there is the next best thing.”

  “She would say that,” I said with a sigh.

  Alex kissed me and nuzzled my nose with his. “I’m coming home to sleep in our bed with you. It’s nothing dodgy Nat, I swear.”

  “I know. It’s just frustrating. Anyone else but her I wouldn’t get so upset about. What was your father thinking?”

  “I don’t know babe but he’ll be back before too long and we’ll do something.”

  It just felt like we were having the same conversation over and over again. I sorted out the spare room for Colton and we all went to bed.

  Aaron woke up a couple of times in the night and in the end I took him back to bed with me to get him to settle. My poor baby was not having a good night and I decided to look for a doctor in the morning for him. He was starting to cough too and my heart broke for him as his happy demeanour finally broke and he grizzled.

  Alex wasn’t happy about going to work in the morning but I told him he might as well go and do what he had to and I would take care of Aaron. “I feel so guilty Natalie,” he said.

  “Maybe I just need to get over myself, to be honest I’m tired after last night and just want to go and find a doctor for him. Colton can help me out today if he doesn’t have anything else to do.”

  “I would be happy to help,” Colton said, “I’ll get onto finding the closest doctor.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Alex kissed my goodbye. “You call me if y
ou need anything.”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  He kissed Aaron on the forehead. “You take care little man, take it easy on your mother too.”

  It was clear he still felt guilty when he left but I really was too tired to care. Colton found a doctor and we went down the road to see him. He gave us some antibiotics and told me to keep him warm.

  Alex called me shortly after to check on him and I told him what the doctor had said. “He said that it’s started as a cold but he wants to make sure it doesn’t turn nasty now he’s started to cough. We got in early though and he said they should start working quickly. He’s so miserable Alex and I’m so tired.”

  “I am going to tell Lisa I can’t make it tonight. By then you’ll need a rest and while I really appreciate Colton being around, I think Aaron needs his father.”

  “Whatever you think is best,” I said.

  He called me back an hour later. “Lisa’s insistent the client wants a Mercer there. I’ll be home as soon as I can after dinner.”

  “How convenient,” I said.

  Alex sighed in exasperation. “Sorry babe, I promise I’ll be home as early as possible. I’ll tell them I have a sick son, they’ll understand.”

  Colton offered to stay again but I told him to go home, at least he would get a good nights sleep there. I didn’t hold out much hope for sleep that night.

  Aaron didn’t want to eat, and just wanted to nurse so I went to bed with him after grabbing something quick to eat. It was eleven before Alex climbed in beside me.

  “I got out as quickly as I could babe, they are wanting a huge amount of work. If we can pull off getting this deal, Dad will be over the moon,” he said. He kissed Aaron’s head and Aaron coughed. “Oh my boy, how about we go out to the living room and let your mom get some sleep.”

  He kissed me and lifted Aaron from the bed. “I’ll come and check on him soon.”

  “Relax Nat, I’ve got him. If he wants you, I’ll bring him back in.”

  In the morning I found them both in a recliner chair in the living room. They were both fast asleep and I shook my head at finding them like that but we had all apparently managed to get some sleep. I went to make coffee and came back to find Alex had woken. “I made you some,” I said, placing the cup beside the chair.