by Desiree Hart
"If I'd known beforehand, I would have made reservations at a much fancier place," he said apologetically as he drove to the seafood place we liked best.
"Oh, that's all right!" I replied. "I'm just so happy to be able to walk along beside you again that I don't care where we go to eat!"
Dinner was delicious, and the movie he took me to was very romantic. On my crutches I was able to keep up with him just fine. I never faltered, and he never had to slow down for me.
Back at my place, I invited him in for drinks as I usually did. As we sat on the sofa talking, we began to kiss passionately, and we were soon both very turned on. He picked me up and carried me to my bed.
"How much sensation do you have now?" he asked.
"It's almost one hundred percent back to normal," I told him.
"Great!" he enthused. We continued to kiss as one article of clothing after another was slowly removed. Soon we were both wearing only our underwear. Automatically I reached for the waistband of his underpants, but he shook his head.
"You've certainly done me a lot," he said. "Now it's your turn."
He kissed me all the way down to my panties, then gently removed them. I parted my legs wide for him, and he gently separated my folds as he ran the tip of his tongue all the way up to my most sensitive spot, which was swollen and eager for his touch. Waves of pleasure washed over me as I came almost immediately. Far from finished, he inserted several fingers way up inside me so that he could hit my G spot, which greatly intensified the sensation.
"You like that, don't you?" he chuckled.
I could only nod as the tears flowed down my cheeks.
"That was just the beginning." Quickly he slipped off his underwear and slipped on a condom, and then he entered me and we made love for the first time. At the same time, he used his fingers to stimulate me, making sure that I came again before he did. Afterwards, he lay beside me and we cuddled. "Was it worth the wait?" he asked me.
"It was for me," I replied. "Was it for you?"
"Absolutely!" He pulled me even closer and kissed the top of my head. "I swear to you, Tracy, I'm going to make up for all lost time."
"It wasn't your fault," I said.
Lightly his finger traced my cheek. "Even so, I will. You deserve it."
Chapter 12
I
n the arms of the man I loved, I drifted into a peaceful sleep. I awakened the following morning to look up into his smiling face. "Good morning, beautiful lady," he said.
"Good morning," I replied. "It's so nice to wake up and find you in my bed. It reminds me of being on vacation in New York."
"Me too," he replied. I stretched luxuriously as his fingers moved deliciously up and down my back. "It would be great to wake up like this every morning, wouldn't it?"
"That would be heaven!" I agreed.
He grinned. "Who knows? It just might happen some day."
"Mm. I don't want to get up." I closed my eyes and cuddled closer to him.
He laughed gently. "So don't. There's no hurry."
We lounged in bed for most of the morning, until I finally got up and reached for my crutches.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Mischa.
"Well, aren't you hungry?"
"Oh, no, you don't." He reached for my crutches and took them from me. "I'm doing breakfast. You're going to relax in bed and let me serve you."
I happily acquiesced, and he helped me back into bed. He cooked bacon, eggs, and pancakes for us both.
"This is better than a restaurant!" I exclaimed. "I didn't know you could cook!"
He winked at me. "It's one of my many talents." I giggled.
After breakfast, we went to my parents' to pick up the kids. "Hey, Mischa!" Sage yelled when he saw Mischa.
"Hey there, cowboy!" Mischa lifted him high into the air, which made him giggle.
"Mischa!" Meadow exclaimed.
"Hey there, princess." Mischa picked her up gently and kissed her cheek.
"Are you taking us somewhere, Mischa?" asked Sage.
Mischa winked at him. "Wait and see."
He took us to the pizza parlor that had the video games and the ball pit with the tubes and slides and the indoor Ferris wheel. Sage had a blast in the ball pit while Meadow wanted to ride the Ferris wheel over and over again. After that, we went to the park, where Sage immediately made a bee line for the slides.
"Swing! Swing!" Meadow cried, jumping up and down.
"In just a minute," Mischa told her. "I have something very important to ask your mother first." He led me to the open area where the picnic tables were, then dropped to one knee as he took a small box from his pocket, which he opened to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Tracy Diane Bradley, will you marry me?"
My heart pounded with joy. "Of course I will! When do you want to do it?"
"Whenever you want!" he exclaimed as he slipped the ring onto my finger. "The sooner, the better!"
"How about Valentine's Day?" I suggested. "That sounds romantic!"
"Sounds great to me!" he agreed. He scooped Meadow up and carried her to the baby swings. She squealed with delight as he put her into one of them and started pushing her.
Just then, an obviously pregnant Tina walked past with Debbie and her daughter, Skylar. They saw me at the same time I saw them. Debbie gasped in surprise, but Tina gave a smug grin. I looked at Mischa to see if he'd seen them too. His face was completely drained of blood, so I knew that he had.
✽✽✽
The jovial mood we'd been in all day instantly vanished. We stayed at the park until the kids got tired, then took them home for a nap. After I'd gotten Meadow settled down, I went into the living room to see Mischa staring forlornly at the wall. I sat beside him, and he reached for my hand.
"Of all the people we could have run into, why did it have to be her?" I groaned.
"I'm so sorry, Trace," he said.
"Everything was going so great until that had to happen," I complained.
"I know." He sighed. "I can't undo the past, Tracy, but I promise you, it'll never happen again." He lifted my chin, looked into my eyes, and gave me a hopeful smile. After a moment's hesitation, I smiled back.
"So," he said. "Now that the kids are asleep, what do you want to do?"
"Do you have any ideas?"
"I've got a great one. How about we take a nap ourselves?"
I yawned. "That does sound like a great idea!" We curled up together on my bed and were both soon fast asleep. It was near dinnertime when we awakened. Mischa offered to do dinner for us instead of going back to his place.
"Are you gonna spend the night with us, Mischa?" asked Sage.
"I might as well, since I'm still here." Mischa laughed. "Actually, you and your sister are gonna be seeing a lot more of me from now on."
"Why?" asked Sage.
Mischa took my left hand into his own and showed it to my son. "See this ring? I gave it to your Mom today when I asked her to marry me and she said yes."
Sage's eyes grew round. "So you and my Mommy are gonna get married?"
"That's right!" I told him.
"So you're gonna be my new Daddy?"
Mischa grinned. "I sure am!"
"Hurray!" Sage shouted, jumping around. Meadow was too young to understand, of course, but she whooped with joy and jumped around with him.
Mischa made spaghetti for dinner. I helped him clean up, and then we all watched 'Aladdin' together and I gave the kids their baths.
"Will you read me a bedtime story, Mischa?" Sage asked when bedtime came.
"Sure," Mischa replied. "What story do you want?"
Sage chose 'The Giving Tree.' Mischa held one child on each knee as he read the story, and I sat beside them looking on.
"That's a rather sad story," Mischa remarked to me later after the kids had gone to sleep.
"It is," I agreed. "But it's also a beautiful illustration of friendship, don't you think?"
✽✽✽
Mischa and I both had to work the following day, but we didn't have to go in until the afternoon, so we had time to snuggle in bed that morning, talking about our future together.
"I might as well finish moving in," he chuckled. "I'm about ninety percent moved in, anyway."
"I was thinking maybe we could find a bigger place," I suggested. "Neither your place nor mine is really big enough for four people."
"I've been thinking the same thing," he agreed. "Especially considering that we might want to add to the family soon."
I frowned. "How soon? Meadow isn't even two yet!"
He laughed. "I didn't mean that soon!" He turned serious. "But you do want to have my baby some day, don't you?"
"I'd love to have a baby with you, Mischa," I told him. "I'd just like to wait at least until Meadow's finished potty training first."
Just then, Sage burst into the bedroom and ran and jumped onto the bed. "Let's go see what Miss Meadow's up to, shall we?" Mischa continued.
We all went into Meadow's room to see her jumping up and down excitedly in her crib. Mischa picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Good morning, Princess!"
By now I was able to get around without braces and crutches. I went to the kitchen and made pancakes for everyone, and later, after cleaning up, I called Mom to tell her the good news.
"Mischa proposed to me last night," I told her. "And I accepted!"
"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Mischa's a good man, and I know he'll take good care of you and the children. I can't wait to tell your father. He'll be thrilled!"
After I finished talking to Mom, Mischa called his mother to tell her. He spoke to her in Russian. "Would you like to say hello to her?" he asked me when they were finished talking.
"How well does she know English?" I asked.
"Very well," he told me. "She used to be an English teacher."
"What do I call her?"
"Alena is fine."
"Hi, Alena," I said a bit shyly over the telephone.
"Hello, milaya," said Alena. Her voice was lovely, with only the slightest Russian accent. "Mischa has told us so much about you. I can't wait to meet you!"
"I can't wait to meet you, either!" I told her. "I hope you can make it to the wedding!"
"I wouldn't miss it for anything!" she told me. "I'm so happy my Mischa has finally found a good woman who will treat him right. I'd just about given up on that ever happening." We talked for a few more minutes before I gave the receiver back to Mischa.
"She sounds so nice!" I told him.
"You're going to love her," he replied.
When I got to the hospital, I couldn't wait to tell all my co-workers about my engagement. They were all very nice to me, hugging and congratulating me and asking when the date would be. All but one.
I was just about to leave for the day when someone stepped right in my path and I looked up to see Debbie glaring at me. "I hear wedding bells are in the air," she hissed.
"Leave me alone, Debbie," I muttered.
"Wait till I tell Tina," she continued. "She's gonna be thrilled to hear her baby daddy's getting hitched."
An image of Tina's pregnant belly swam before my eyes, and tears were in my eyes as I walked to my car.
The next time I went to work, I saw that someone had left a wedding bouquet made of dead, wilted flowers at my work station.
✽✽✽
Mischa had to work the following Friday night, so Lisa and I had a girl's night out. We went to the same club where I'd seen Mischa dancing with Tina before.
"Mischa popped the question," I told her. "And I said yes!"
"Wow, Tracy, that is so cool!" Lisa replied. "Wait till I tell Chris! Who knows? Maybe he'll want to make it a double wedding!"
That was something I hadn't even thought of. Even though Lisa was my best friend, would I really want to share my special day with her?
Lisa must have read my thoughts, because she suddenly looked a bit hurt. "That would be OK with you, wouldn't it?"
"I'd have to run it past Mischa first, but I don't see why he'd mind," I told her.
"Good!" she said. "Say, how are the kids taking it?"
"Meadow's too young to understand, of course, but Sage is all for it," I told her. "I also talked to his Mom on the telephone for the first time."
"Neat! What does she sound like?"
"She speaks English really well, just like Mischa does. She only has the slightest hint of a Russian accent. She says she's coming for the wedding."
"When's it gonna be?"
"Valentine's day."
"Gosh, how romantic!"
That night as I lay in bed, I imagined that Mischa was holding me in his arms. He and I both worked a long shift the following day, so we were able to eat lunch together. "I told Lisa about our engagement," I said. "She wants to make it a double wedding with her and Chris."
"So they're engaged now as well?"
"Well...not exactly. She's hoping that when she tells him about us being engaged, he'll propose to her too."
Mischa laughed. "Isn't that being a bit presumptuous?"
I shrugged. "I suppose so, but I promised I'd ask you if it would be all right."
His eyes twinkled. "Let's wait and see whether he actually proposes first, shall we?"
I didn't tell him about the confrontation with Debbie or the dead flowers. I really hoped that that would all blow over soon.
Chapter 13
L
isa called me several days later, in tears. "I told Chris about you guys getting engaged," she sobbed.
"And?"
"And all he said was 'that's nice'!"
"Well, what did you expect him to say?"
"Tracy! You know I was hoping he'd suggest we make it a double wedding!"
"Well, he can't read your mind, Lisa," I said patiently. "Sometimes it takes more than a subtle hint to tell someone what's on your mind."
"I can't propose to him!" she exclaimed.
"Why not?" I asked. "It isn't the nineteen fifties anymore."
"You really think it would be all right?" she asked.
"Sure! Why not?"
The next time Mischa picked me up to take me out to dinner, he was all excited and carrying the classified section of the newspaper. I saw that he'd circled several ads in red. "I called about this one," he told me. "Three bedrooms, two baths. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? I told them we'd look at it tomorrow."
"You are spending the night tonight, right?" I asked him.
"Sure, if you want me to. I was hoping you would."
"We'll go right after we pick the kids up after breakfast, then."
He took me to our favorite restaurant and then to a romantic movie. Then we went back home and made love, and I fell asleep with Mischa's arms around me.
The following morning, he made pancakes for breakfast and then we went to my parents' to pick up the kids. "Where are we going today, Mommy?" Sage asked when he saw me.
"To look at a house," I told him. "Since Mischa and I are getting married in a few weeks, we need a bigger place to live."
"Do I get to take all my stuff when we move?" He sounded worried.
I laughed. "I don't know about all your stuff, but you can take the stuff that's most important to you."
"My Shining Time Station trains?"
"Definitely those."
The house turned out to be red brick and in a quiet neighborhood. We pulled into the driveway beside the realtor, who unlocked the door for us.
"Wow!" I gasped when I saw the living room. It had a plush carpet, the walls were white, and in one corner was a charming fireplace with a mantel above it. Right next to the living room was a charming little kitchen with a tile floor. The walls were painted yellow, and there was a sink agai
nst the far wall, a stove in the opposite corner, and a refrigerator across from the sink. I could easily imagine myself standing there doing dishes and looking out the window at the back yard, which had one large tree and several small bushes. "We could put up a swing set for the kids back there," I told Mischa, and he agreed.
The realtor led us down the hallway to show us the rest of the house. The two smaller bedrooms were on the left, and the utility room, larger bathroom, and master bedroom were on the right. The smaller bathroom was attached to the master bedroom in the back.
"Well, what do you think?" Mischa asked me when we were finished looking at the house.
"I love it!" I told him.
"There's only one problem," he told me. "The down payment. I had most of what I'd need saved up, but it's gone now."
"What happened to it?"
"I spent it on our trip to New York City to see the Bolshoi Ballet," he said sheepishly. "But it was worth it," he added quickly. "If I had to do it over again, I would in a heartbeat."
"Well, maybe we could take out a loan," I suggested.
"I'd hate to start our new life together in that kind of debt, with all the interest we'd have to pay back and all," Mischa said. "I'll ask my Dad for a loan. I wouldn't have to pay him back interest."
"Maybe you could borrow half from your Dad, and I could borrow half from mine," I suggested.
"Great idea!" he exclaimed.
We went back to the pizza parlor with the video games for lunch, then hung out at the mall for a couple of hours. Mischa bought us ice cream at the ice cream parlor and toys for the kids at the dollar store. In the video store, he bought a video but wouldn't show me what it was. "It's a surprise," he told me.
For dinner I made fried chicken and baked potatoes for myself and Mischa and chicken nuggets and fries for the kids. Later I put in 'The Lion King' for Sage and Meadow to watch and then got them settled for the night. Mischa read Sage's bedtime story to him again, then took the video he'd bought that day from its wrapper and put it into the VCR.
I squealed with delight when I saw that it was 'Ghost' starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. "This is one of my favorite movies of all time!" I exclaimed.