A Heart Reborn

by BK Harrell

  Sarah knew Nicole was right. She’d have maybe twenty-four to forty-eight hours before the shock wore off and Coop was beating down her door or at least she hoped. Her mom had said the same thing. “Can’t do anything about it now. So, enough about me. How are the wedding plans coming along? Did you finish the seating arrangements?”

  “Everything is planned out, but I need to know if you’re bringing a date, so I can finish the seating. So, are you bringing a date?”

  “Harrison will be my date for the wedding, well the wedding reception.”

  “Really. That’s interesting. Isn’t that interesting, Nicole.”

  Nicole smiled and said, “Very interesting. I can see it now on page six of the newspaper. Atlanta Braves superstar and hot Doctor dance the night away. Is this hot bachelor finally off the market?”

  “Shit. I…I…fuck it. I forgot the paparazzi would be covering your wedding. Would they really print that?”

  Sarah watched as Nicole fumbled with her phone and then showed her a picture from her first date with Lincoln including the headline ‘Is Atlanta’s Most Eligible Bachelor Finally Taken’.

  “That was what appeared in the paper the next day. He was flying to Augusta for business and called me to alert me to the news. Life with Lincoln was never boring.”

  “Does Harry read the newspaper?” Nicole asked

  “Not unless it’s sports or the comics.”

  “You should be okay then. Just be prepared. I’m guessing that you two haven’t been out in public yet.” Said Nicole.

  “No, other than the hospital, we’ve been at his place. Well, the first night we met late at Café Intermezzo in Dunwoody.”

  “Well, I’d keep it that way until the big reveal, because it’ll become news when it comes out.” Nicole said.

  Marcie stayed quiet during this exchange. She wondered what Marcie thought about this. “So, Marcie what are your thoughts?”

  “Honestly, you’re screwed either way. My wedding, much like Nicole’s, will be a media circus. I’m marrying the son of a US Senator, and the children of a sitting US President will be in attendance. So, you can either accept the media will get ahold of it and be okay with it, or you can tell Harrison that you can’t go with him and explain the situation.”

  “To be honest, I’m tired of hiding our relationship. If push comes to shove, I can tell Harry that we met through Lincoln and started seeing each other. There are only a few people who know the truth. The problem is he’ll want to meet him, but I can put a hold on that. Unless someone does some serious quick digging into my background and runs across the birth certificate, I think I can keep it hidden for a month or so. If not, then I’ll deal with the consequences. Harry wins either way. Either we end up a family, or he gets the dad he has longed for.”

  “Okay then, Sarah will sit beside Harrison at the reception at the head table. Now, I know I have asked for a low-key bachelorette party, but I know you two and I won’t fight whatever you have planned. I remember Nicole’s bachelorette party, and how the guys thought they could sneak up and watch us without being seen. Unfortunately, they were a lot drunk and were more like a heard of wild buffalos. Then after the night was over, we snuck into their rooms and had great sex after we teased them with a few naughty photos, and text implying we were going to take care of each other’s urges.”

  “Well, I don’t think they’ll be sneaking towards our party, since we’ll be in different locations. You don’t need to know much except that we’ll start with dinner at Rathbun’s and then move forward. We are going to do a wedding shower/bachelorette party. Don’t plan on doing anything the next day.”

  “Great. At least I can drink, unlike Nicole over there who had to stick to non-alcoholic beverages all night.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault my IUD failed. The odds were one in ten thousand. That should tell you something about Lincoln’s virility.”

  They all laughed. Sarah thought she was good so far since her monthly visitor came last week. She was also going to be good when Coop came home this weekend. “Not a problem so far for me, but aren’t you still nursing Nicole?”

  “I’m pumping and storing, so I’ll be good for several days. I’m going to party like a new twenty-one-year-old that night.”

  Sarah smiled and laughed. “Are we ready to go to the dress shop now? We don’t want to be late and then we have our spa appointment. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Elisha to join us this afternoon at the spa. She knows about Harrison, and I know about her and Jeremiah, so she won’t talk. She’s also a lot of fun to be around. She’s studying to be a nurse midwife and used to dance at the Cheetah until Cole and Lincoln told her they would pay for school if she agreed to come to work for them.”

  They went off to the dress shop for their final fittings, and Sarah was happy to say that her dress still fit and didn’t need any alterations. The pewter grey dress was form fitting with a sweetheart neckline and a straight A-line skirt. Unlike previous bridesmaid dresses that still hung in her closet she could wear this to another formal occasion. As Sarah was thinking about Marcie’s wedding, her mind drifted to what her wedding would be like, and the thought of a Star Wars themed wedding crept into her mind, and she laughed.

  Nicole looked over at her, “What’s so funny?”

  “I was talking to my mom in Florida and she said Harrison and I should have a Star Wars themed wedding since we both love the movies so much, and I had this sudden thought of my bridesmaids wearing a white Princess Leia dress with the honey bun hair do.”

  Nicole laughed so hard she bent over, and was still laughing when Marcie came out after changing out of her dress.

  “What’s so funny? Did my ass look too big in that dress?”

  “No…No…definitely not. Sarah was just explaining her wedding with a Star Wars theme and how we would be dressed in Princess Leia dresses with the whole hair do to match. I was picturing it in my head and couldn’t help, but laugh. If that’s what we’re wearing, what are the… the…guys wearing?”

  Sarah turned beet red. “I don’t know, probably early Luke Skywalker circa Episode IV. Don’t worry though, he won’t want to marry me after, and I’d never ever make you guys suffer through something like that. I’ll take Marcie’s concept and make sure my bridesmaid dresses are wearable afterward.”

  “Honey, you have whatever kind of wedding you want. Personally, I think I’d look hot like that. We don’t care what you and Harrison plan, because you two will get married.” Marcie said.

  They finished at the dress shop and headed to Spa Sydell for their afternoon appointments. When they arrived, they were met by Elisha and all her five-foot-three energy. Even outside of work, her smile and laugh were infectious. She hoped Nicole and Marcie enjoyed getting to know her as much as she had. Sarah was almost bowled over by Elisha as she ran up and engulfed her in a big hug.

  “Nicole and Marcie, this is Elisha, our favorite OR nurse and soon to be newest midwife when she graduates in June and passes her boards. Elisha this is Nicole and Marcie, Lincoln’s wife and Cole’s be troughed. They are the reason the two of them are usually in a good mood. Believe me, I remember when Lincoln was a pain in the ass to deal with.”

  “Nice to meet you both. Even though your husbands have seen me naked they were perfect gentlemen.”

  Nicole and Marcie laughed out loud.

  “We thank you, because what they did to us that night was nothing short of seeing heaven. I know I called out to God several times.” Marcie said. “Honey, we don’t care where they get their appetite, as long as they come home to eat. Welcome to the group.”

  The rest of the afternoon was one of light-hearted fun and conversation. They talked about the wedding, and Marcie made sure she invited Elisha. She figured, what the hell what was one more when you had a thousand-people invited anyway. Once they were all waxed, buffed, and their nails were done, they finished off their champagne with a nice toast to the future and made final plans for the bachelorette party. Eli
sha helped them with a little trick for Cole that would require the girls to make a side trip to the Cheetah to secretly crash the boys party.

  By the time Sarah got home, she was horny and wanted nothing more than to hold Harrison and make love to him. She still had three more days before he’d get home. As Sarah sat in the kitchen waiting for everyone to arrive home, she posited a plan on how to make Coop’s homecoming more special. She didn’t have any patients Friday afternoon, since they used it for education time for the residents. She knew Coop’s plane was due in at two and the traffic would take him a couple of hours to get home. She could be at his house ready for him. It would require a trip to Starship and Victoria’s Secret.

  Sarah figured that there had to be an extra key somewhere, she just needed to get Coop to tell her where it was and the alarm code. She could have a homecooked meal for him, and then get the party started. She swore no matter what, she was going to keep from relieving her itch until Coop could do it for her. Sarah picked up her phone and called Coop thinking he would be done for the day.

  “Hey, stud. How was your day?”

  “Good, just ready to come home. Ready to see you.”

  “About that, I was wondering if you had a spare key. I wanted to make you a home cooked meal and have some fun with you. That is, if you don’t mind me being in your house without you.”

  “I think that’d be a great way to come home. There’s a spare key under the flower pot on the back deck. The alarm code is your birthday.”

  Sarah couldn’t speak. He cared enough about her to use her birthday as his alarm code. Fighting back tears, she was able to speak. “I promise you, it’ll be a night to remember. Oh, and one more thing, don’t pleasure yourself until you’re with me. If you do, I’ll know.”

  “Shit, Sarah. How am I supposed to do that? Just talking to you makes me harder than steel.”

  “You’ll think of something, like baseball stats or your grandma naked.”

  “Crap, now with that thought, I don’t know if I will be able to get it up when I get home.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble whatsoever in that department. I promise, it’ll be epic. Listen, I’ve got to run and get dinner started before mom gets home. Remember no touchy touchy. Talk to you later tonight. Bye.”

  “You’re mean, but bye. Talk to you later.”

  Sarah laughed as she hung up the phone. Now she could put her plan in motion. She grabbed her purse and headed to the mall for the first stop and Victoria’s Secrets. Even though she hated driving in rush hour traffic she was excited to find something super sexy for Coop to ogle.

  Sarah walked into the store and was browsing when she felt someone touch her arm. She turned around and was surprised to see Elisha standing there. She gave her a hug and said, “What’s up girlfriend. Surprised to see you here.”

  “I meant to tell you this afternoon, but I didn’t want to jinx anything by telling the others. Jeremiah finally asked me out, and I wanted to find something extra sexy to wear.”

  “I’m so happy for you. He’s a great guy. I hope y’all have a good time together.”

  “Oh, I plan on it. What brings you back this way?”

  “I’m planning a surprise for when Harrison gets home on Friday, and needed something sexy that I could cook in and make his eyes pop out at the same time. Do you want to help me look?”

  “Definitely.”

  They looked around the store and finally Sarah heard Elisha call her over to a rack of new arrivals. She looked at the outfit Elisha had selected and practically drooled over the intricate design of the bustier, thong, and garter belt. Sarah knew right away that this was the outfit. It was appropriately colored in a nice Georgia Red. The only thing she needed were some fishnet stockings and a pair of high heels to complete the outfit. She took the items and Elisha followed her back to the dressing room. Once inside she tried it on and loved the feel of the soft silk and lace against her skin. Elisha told her she loved the way it hugged her curves and made her look like a nineteen fifties pin-up girl. With that thought in mind, Sarah decided she would go to the salon and get her hair done right after work to mimic that style.

  Standing in the dressing room with Elisha, Sarah decided she wanted to torture Coop. She asked Elisha if she would mind taking off her top so they could take a semi-intimate selfie to send to Coop. She watched the devilish smile come across Elisha’s face, before she said yes and took off her top. Sarah didn’t know what had come over her because she would have never considered it before, but after listening to Marcie and Nicole’s story today she just wanted to wind Coop up a little bit more. With their breasts pressed together, without any nipples showing, and close in for what would appear to be a kiss she snapped the picture giggling the entire time afterwards.

  They both quickly dressed before Sarah sent the picture to Coop. “Let’s see what his response will be? I swear if he sends a pic up next to another dude pressing dicks together we are so done.”

  Elisha laughed at her statement. It didn’t take long for the phone to ring.

  “Hey, baby. Did you get the picture I sent you?”

  “Wha..what the hell, Sarah? You said I couldn’t touch myself then you send me this. I can’t walk or sit right now and I’m in the middle of the locker room.”

  Sarah giggled uncontrollably. “Sorry about that. I thought you’d be alone at this point.”

  “I swear I’m going to get you and it’ll be good. You never cease to surprise me.”

  “Feelings mutual stud. I gotta go. See you Friday.”

  Sarah hung up feeling giddy and ready for anything. They paid for the purchases including the stockings, but Sarah realized she was going to have to go shoe shopping as well. So, they went to Sak’s to find the perfect Jimmy Choo high heels. Finally, after an exhaustive search, Sarah spent five-hundred dollars on the perfect pair of shoes. She couldn’t believe that she spent that much, but the red stiletto heels were a perfect match to her outfit. Sarah decided to treat Elisha to dinner at The Tavern at Phipps for her help.

  After dinner, Sarah conned Elisha into a trip to the Davidoff of Geneva store for a few cigars for Coop and then to Starship for the intimate portion of the evening. Sarah had never been inside a store like Starship and blushed the entire time they were trying to find what she needed. She had always shopped on the internet for things like this. Elisha seemed to be quite at home here and was able to get Sarah everything she needed. With all her shopping done, Sarah hugged Elisha and thanked her profusely for her help before heading home.

  ***

  Friday came too slowly for Sarah. When she finally got off work and left the salon, Sarah was bouncing off the walls like Harry before a baseball game. She had everything she needed in the car except groceries and planned to stop at the store on the way to Coop’s house. She decided to keep it simple for dinner and planned roast duck medallions with a port wine reduction, braised asparagus, and roasted red potatoes. Sarah debated a salad but decided against it. She picked up brownies from Café Intermezzo for dessert. As she drove the last few miles to Coop’s, she thought about Harry and how she wouldn’t see him this weekend due to her night out and the bachelorette party.

  As Sarah walked around to the back of the house, she prayed that the key was where it was supposed to be. She was loaded down with food and her toys for the evening. Sarah found the key and went into the house locating the alarm pad and disarming it with her birthday. She was still amazed that he thought so much of her to use her birthday to arm and disarm his alarm. How much had he thought of her over the years? Sarah couldn’t spend too much time dwelling on the past, she had dinner to prepare. Sarah puttered around the kitchen finding all the pans and utensils she would need.

  After Sarah got dinner started, she went to the bedroom to set-up everything she would need. She changed into her sexy outfit and went back to the kitchen to await Harrison’s arrival. She opened a bottle of Opus One, and let it breath before pouring a glass. Sarah l
ooked at her watch and saw that it was getting close to time for Coop to be home. She was standing in the kitchen when she heard the keys rattle in the lock. Sarah walked around to the front door side of the island and leaned over the counter top waiting on Coop to walk in. However, what happened next wasn’t anything she could have prepared for. Just as she was about to turn around and speak she heard a distinctly female voice say.

  “Harrison, it smells good in here. I just dropped by to leave your…” Harrison’s mother said before letting out a yelp.

  Sarah realized she was standing practically naked in front of Mrs. Cooper. She turned red from her toes to her ears enough to match her sexy outfit. Her hands quickly came up to cover her breasts. “Mrs. Cooper. What a surprise. I didn’t know you’d be dropping by.”

  Mrs. Cooper was slightly shielding her eyes. “Sarah, it’s a pleasure to see you again, but I’m a…well I’m guessing you were expecting Harrison. Please tell him I left his mail on the hall table. Please have him bring you to dinner on Sunday. We have a lot to catch up on.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Sorry about this.”

  Mrs. Cooper laughed. “Kids. I remember when I was young and crazy. Please call me Alice. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday. Remember lunch is always at one.”

  “Yes, ma’am. See you then.” Sarah watched Mrs. Cooper…uh Alice retreat through the front door. Sarah was so embarrassed she grabbed her glass of wine sat down on the couch and drained the glass in one long gulp. Setting the glass down she hung her head in her hands and tried to reign in the embarrassment. Just as she got her nerves under control, the front door opened and in walked Coop. She was so excited to see him she stood up and ran into his open arms.

  Coop was shocked to see Sarah in her outfit. He went from flaccid to hard as steel in the blink of an eye. “My God, Sarah. You’re a sight to behold. I never imagined I’d come home to this.”