Divorced in Danville

by E. M. Sadler

  Even up until three years ago, Myra and Kevin had what seemed to be the perfect marriage. They had three beautiful girls; Lilly, Emmy, and Rosie. They were both very successful in their careers and always had their hands on each other. That was until shortly after their 14th wedding anniversary when Myra was found in bed with her high school crush, Jeremy, effectively destroying their marriage.

  Being a noted photojournalist, Jeremy and Myra then proceeded to travel the world with the girls in tow, homeschooling them along the way.

  The sudden loss of his family had been devastating to Kevin. Instead of coming home daily to the woman and children that had been his life, he was forced to throw himself into work to combat the loneliness.

  Since then, Kevin had started his own software developing firm and held several patents on education based systems for schools and universities. But I knew that the professional success did nothing to alleviate the loneliness of being thrust into a bachelorhood he didn't want.

  I wonder if she had been diagnosed years ago if Kevin would still be married to Myra?

  "That, in a nutshell, is why we are here. After speaking with Myra's brother Alec and grandmother in England, we all agree that the girls and Myra would be better off here in Danville. Though I have Shelly in New York, here I have a stronger support system for the girls while Myra goes through treatment.

  "Which is another reason why we are at your house today. All of the recommended facilities near us had a waiting list, and after Myra's threat to commit suicide, I wanted to get her into someplace safe. Luckily Danville Recovery Center has an excellent mental health rehab near the retirement village my mom is moving to this weekend," he said with a sigh after pouring through the load of information.

  "Where is Myra now?" I asked.

  "We just helped her set up her bedroom at the facility. That's why we popped over unannounced. The girls love being around little kids, and I knew your multiplying brood would help cheer them up."

  "If your mom is moving to the village this weekend, where are you and the girls planning on staying until you find a place?" I asked, hoping it was with an extended family member and not a hotel.

  If my years of working and mentoring children had taught me anything, it was that a strong support system needed to be established immediately when a crisis hit.

  "We are staying at a pay-by-the-week lodge a few miles away."

  That was not going to work for me. As the God Father to two of his children, if they had no place to go, then they would be staying with me. I just needed to speak with Kelly first before offering up our home.

  Inviting Kevin into the kitchen where the children were all speaking animatedly, I snagged Kelly and Joan and had them follow me into the family room.

  Once I explain the situation, Kelly and Joan immediately went into crisis mode.

  As Kelly said, "They have to stay here!" Her mom said, "They're moving in with me!"

  Taking charge of the conversation, because my mother-in-law was amazing in crisis, it was decided that Kevin and the girls would be moving in with her until after the holidays.

  Fetching Kevin to join our conversation, I was thankful that instead of being offended by Joan's commandeering tone, he was relieved. It was evident amidst all of this sudden responsibility he needed someone who was able to take charge and make some of the decisions for him. Since Joan handled crisis for a living, he was more than happy to let her navigate this part of his life for the time being.

  After Saturday, the next few days fell into a steady routine. In the morning, Kelly would catch up on work, and in the afternoon, Kevin would bring over the girls where Kelly and/or Joan would keep them entertained with Christmas traditions and decorating.

  It didn't take long for all three of Kevin's girls to latch on to Kelly.

  At first, I was concerned that this might overwhelm her in the midst of her healing, but instead, Kelly seemed to thrive as their mother hen, and I adored her for it.

  Though Kelly and I hadn't been intimate since the Friday of her surgery, and even though the doctor had given us the ‘all clear', Kelly and I decided to abstain until our ceremony on Saturday, when we would honeymoon in the lean-to. But every night, we still made time to cuddle and chat, increasing our already deep bond.

  We talked about the identical twins, and how Kelly still wanted to work at least part-time once they were born. We talked about the settlement and how we should use the bulk of it to set up college accounts for each of our six children. After all, sending six children to college was going to cost more than Kelly and I could save within the next 14-18 years.

  We also talked about having my dad draw up a will for us both.

  If someone had told me a month ago that Kelly and I would be talking about making wills and planning for the possibility of losing each other unexpectedly, I would have told them that they were being overly cautious. Not anymore. After Kelly’s scare a little over a week ago, it was very important that we make sure that all of our ducks were in a row in case the worst were to happen.

  With the remaining 300k, we decided to pay off any loans we had left over from Kelly's divorce, our van, and the house. We would also make sure to put the deed to our home in both Kelly and my names to ensure that all assets were equally hers if something were to happen to me.

  Since our monthly bills would be significantly reduced by the lack of home and car payment, we would use Kelly's first installment payment after the twins were born to purchase another Toyota Sienna so that both of us could accommodate our large brood.

  While talking about our children nightly, we slowly began to envision our crazy future. Even without the yearly stipend Kelly and I felt blessed that we had been given the opportunity to be the acting parents of six growing children. Not to mention the fact that the idea of Kelly growing our shared life within her made me feel like a king.

  Chapter 68 – Kelly

  Christmas Eve welcomed me with my first bout of recognized morning sickness. I say recognized because I had been feeling nauseous off and on since November, but I had assumed that it was related to stress. The idea that it could have been pregnancy related had never even crossed my mind.

  When Dale, first saw me run for the bathroom that morning he tore out of bed like a bat out of hell, to make sure I was okay. Then, when he realized I was puking and not bleeding, that freaking sadist actually laughed with joy!

  "What is wrong with you?" I moaned through my acidic heaves.

  "I'm sorry, honey! I'm just so happy you're throwing up. My mom always said it was a sign of a strong pregnancy."

  After wiping and rinsing my mouth, I made sure to fix Dale with my best glare, which only made him laugh more energetically.

  "Baby, you really need to work on your ‘stink' face. You just reminded me of a grumpy cat just now."

  Smacking him on the butt in frustration, I was suddenly presented with an extremely playful Dale Wilson that I hadn't seen since before the surgery.

  Giving me a predatory glare, I was swiftly triggered into flight mode, moments before my husband began stalking me through our bedroom.

  "Now Dale, be careful, you know I still have stitches," I said, trying to play the surgery card.

  "Which is why I think it's best if you lay down like a good wife and take your punishment."

  Both thrilled and a little frightened, I chose to play nice and dutifully climbed onto our bed and scooted myself towards the middle.

  With the grace of a Navy Seal, Dale suddenly had me caged beneath him while he held his weight on his forearms. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. Wilson," he said while staring me in the eyes with the adoration of a thousand men.

  After a minute of mutual admiration, Dale slowly shifted his body to my left and captured my mouth with his. Thanking the heavens that I had taken a swig of mouthwash before exiting the bathroom, Dale slowly and methodically began to inch up my nightgown. Breaking our connection, he moved towards my incision and pressed slow passionate kisses
along the outside of my newly placed scars. Careful not to jar or add too much pressure, Dale then found his target, and I suddenly could feel his tongue drawing circles around my apex, stopping to suck at my nub during alternating passes.

  Unable to accept his love without reciprocating, I begged him to shift his growing erection towards the 69 position so that we could find release together.

  As soon as his penis was in place, I gently caress his tip, smoothing a bead of cum over his head. Groaning, he slowly thrusted himself into my waiting mouth wanting me to help guide him at how far he could go. Loving his cock in my mouth, I placed my hands on his hips and helped him find his rhythm. When I felt my release begin to build, I redouble my efforts so that we could release together.

  Removing one of my hands from Dale's hip, I began to massage his balls until I could feel them starting to tense. Knowing how close he was, I finally allow myself to orgasm, which was followed almost immediately by his own release. Moaning into each other's centers, we both began to swallow the fruits of our lovemaking until we finally collapsed to the side, our souls fed by our joint release.

  "Five more days!" I finally heard him say.

  "Hmm?"

  "We just need to wait five more days until I enter you again," he said while panting.

  "We don't have to!" I said hoping for more playtime.

  "I want to make sure you're completely healed before we do anything more extreme. This morning was supposed to be about me pleasing you, and I naturally became a Neanderthal the minute you suggested a 69.

  "No, when we are two weeks out from your surgery, I'll feel comfortable enough to bring out my inner caveman again."

  Though disappointed, I understood. I too was worried about our little game this morning. But he had been so gentle with me and managed to avoid any area that may cause discomfort. However, I also knew how scared he was when I woke up from sleeping for two days. So, I acquiesced with an, "Okay," before leaning over to give him a kiss that spoke of all the promises Saturday would bring.

  For Christmas Eve, the Dalton's and the Wilson's stayed close to home so that we could focus on family time before mass on Monday night.

  Because my mom had decided to drive up to Sadler's Ridge for Christmas Eve, we brought Kevin and the girls over to our house for the night so that they didn't feel so alone. Kevin was set up on an the air mattress in the family room, and the girls were placed on Katie's old daybed where Dale popped up the trundle and created a bed large enough to accommodate all three girls.

  When we awoke on Christmas morning, it was to the delicious smell of pancakes and bacon. Descending the stairs like starving animals, we were surprised to find Kevin whistling around the kitchen while Rosie his 11-year-old daughter acted as his assistant.

  "Merry Christmas you two!" Kevin said, cheerfully. "How is that six out of seven of our children are still in bed? You'd think they'd all want PRESENTS!!!!!" he yelled towards the stairs.

  Unfortunately, the only one who was awakened by Kevin's hoot of excitement was little Mandy, who since my hospitalization had been extremely temperamental in the mornings and had been desperately begging me to be breastfed her due to her need to stay connected with me.

  Leaving Dale in the kitchen, I made my way up to our girls’ room and greeted my sweet Mandy girl. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart! Guess who came to visit last night?" I asked, hoping to elicit a smile.

  Instead, Mandy buried her face in my chest and mumbled, "Booby."

  "What, don't you want to open your presents?"

  Shaking her head Mandy decided to take a more direct approach and began to peel back my nightshirt and was blocked by the bra I had put on before going downstairs.

  Pouting, Mandy then began to cry and claw at the bra she couldn't remove. "Booby!" she chanted between sniffles.

  "I'm sorry, sweet girl. All my milk went bye-bye because you're a big girl now."

  "No want to be big girl!" she cried into my neck.

  Thankfully, at that exact moment, Mandy saw Lilly exit the room down the hall and almost leaped from my arms to run to her squealing "LILLLLEEEEE!!!!"

  God bless Lilly Dalton and her perfect timing.

  Over the last few days, Lilly has proven to be a rock star amongst my children. It must have come from her being the oldest.

  Within minutes of Mandy's excited greeting, the rest of our motley crew began to rise from their sleep and the joint excitement of Christmas morning took hold of the kids who started to barrel down the stairs.

  Once the children had stuffed their faces and opened their presents, Kevin packed up his girls to see their mom before driving up with his mom to meet us at Sadler’s Ridge for my family's Christmas celebration scheduled for later that night.

  With the kids wholly entranced by their new treasures, Dale and I stole a moment to exchange gifts.

  Handing Dale his gift, he admonished me with, "You already gave me your gift!"

  "Well, since I gave it to you so early, I felt you deserved a second gift." Hopefully, he liked it.

  I thought of this gift before I left the hospital, and was relieved to find express shipping available when I purchased it. It wasn’t easy being so sneaky while Dale hovered so closely, but I had been lucky enough to sneak a few moments that Tuesday morning while Dale was in the restroom at the hospital brushing his teeth.

  Chapter 69 – Dale

  Opening Kelly's gift, I wasn't sure what was more adorable, her bounciness or her nervousness. Purposely taking my time, she finally huffed out, "Dale Wilson, if you do not open that present this minute, I will open it for you!"

  God, I loved this woman.

  Laughing at her incredulous impatience, I quickly finished unwrapping the small box and found that it was full of red t-shirts. "Umm... thank you?" I said/asked missing the meaning.

  "Unfold the shirts!" she said, with an added "ugh!" and an eye roll.

  When I pulled them all out of the box, I saw that there were eight shirts. The largest shirts said "Thing Mom" and "Thing Dad," and then the rest were numbered 1 through 6, with number 5 and 6 being onesies.

  "Oh, I hope your silence means you like it! Your mom told me that the Cat in the Hat was your favorite story growing up and I thought maybe this would..." And then I cut Kelly off with a kiss that I hoped would show how thoughtful I found her gift. Breaking for a second, she asked cheekily, "So you like it?"

  Kissing her hard to overemphasize my pleasure I ended our kiss and began stroking her neck while saying, "You did well."

  "I'm so glad!" she answered with a smile.

  "Now, it's your turn."

  Looking shy, Kelly accepted my small gift with a blush. However, when she opened it, her cautiousness turned to pure joy. Inside her box were two tickets to see Mamma Mia on the Saturday after New Year's tucked into a black and gold ABBA mug.

  "I figured since the kids will be with their other parents that day, we could make a night of it. The city was completely booked for New Year's, but I was able to find a bed and breakfast on Long Island that will accommodate us for the evening."

  Then I noticed a tear rolling down Kelly's face.

  "Baby, what's wrong? Don't you like the present?"

  "It's perfect," she whispered.

  "Then why are you crying?" Was this pregnancy hormones?

  "It's the first present I've ever received on Christmas day from a spouse that I didn't purchase myself," she said still staring at the gift before her as if it was a mythical creature.

  Taking her in my arms, I held her close vowing always to be the one to purchase her gifts from me.

  When we arrived at Sadler’s Ridge later that evening, I anticipated that we would see a classic Christmas scene worthy of a Hallmark movie. Instead, we drove up to see the largest blow-up Elvis lawn ornament ever.

  The sucker was at least three stories high.

  The best part was that when I stepped out of my car I was greeted with the song "Blue Christmas" spouting loudly from rock speakers set up a
long the walkway.

  I was struck speechless. So speechless that I didn't even realize that Kelly had walked up behind me until she whispered, "It's crazy right?" into my ear.

  "Kelly, please explain to me how your Aunt Shawn goes from being the ultimate pioneer decorator to Viva Las Vegas for Christmas?" I asked, a little scared of her response.

  Instead of Kelly, the answer came from Terry, who had snuck up behind us on his way up from the barn. "Because it was Momma and Daddy's favorite song."

  Smiling at her uncle with complete devotion, Kelly added, "The Christmas before Grandpa died, he suddenly became this horrible grump from his chemo's effects, and it about broke Grandma's heart."

  "We were all so, desperate to bring a smile to his face, that I went online and found this eyesore from a Las Vegas Elvis store, and put it on display," Terry added.

  "When Grandpa saw it, it was the first time he had laughed in months and to honor that Christmas, the family puts it on display every year."

  Turning his head so that no one could see the tears that were pooling in his eyes, Terry decided to divert everyone’s attention by tickling the kids who were eagerly waiting for his attention in the van.

  "Alright you hooligans, let's go see what Aunt Shawn and Granny Joan have cooked up for us this evening," Terry said to the four kids he has quickly unbuckling.

  Glancing over his shoulder our way, he added, "Your parents and the Daltons are all inside. If you think your reaction was fun, your dad about had me in stitches."

  Laughing at the look, my dad must have had; I suddenly wished we had gotten there earlier. Very few things shocked my father, but when they did it was hilarious.

  Once inside the Sadler’s home, my original expectations for a pioneer Christmas were made real in true Shawn fashion. Besides the giant 10-foot Christmas tree that was currently centered in the family's great room, there were 6-foot trees situated in both the family room and the dining room. Not to mention that everywhere you went the walls were lined with garland and bright red ribbons.