by Davis, L. D.
When I returned to the room, I found the bed empty but I heard the shower running in the bathroom. I disrobed and joined her in the shower, and then joined with her in the shower, against the tiled wall, creating more steam than the hot water that beat down on our bodies. When we crawled into bed, we were both spent. The evening had been exhausting, but so had the past couple of weeks. I kissed her until she was nearly asleep. We both fell asleep shortly thereafter, tangled together in the middle of the bed.
I woke up first in the middle of the night. I kissed the top of her head and began to untangle myself from her body. I didn’t want to wake her up, but she stretched with a light moan and sat up as I was pulling on a pair of lounge pants. She tiredly scratched at her bed head and then got up, also. She grabbed a pair of panties from her drawer and pulled one of my t-shirts out of my drawer and slipped them on. The shirt just covered her gorgeous ass. She put her hand in mine and together we silently crept down the kitchen stairs.
I put my hands on her waist and hoisted her onto island in the center of the kitchen. I kissed her gently and briefly before I pulled away in search of leftovers. I tapped on the small radio on the counter and turned the volume down to a soft, but audible level. We listened to music as I prepared and heated a heaping plate of food for us. We didn’t speak, but we smiled at each other, and while the food was heating in the microwave, I kissed her until the timer went off. I carried the plate of food to the island after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. I swiped my finger into the mashed potatoes and offered it to Emmy. She met my eyes and opened her mouth. She sucked the potatoes off of my finger. We fed each other little bites of the late dinner with our hands, and with little kisses in between. We talked softly about nothing of importance, laughed, and touched and touched as if we were afraid to stop touching one another.
When the plate was cleared, I didn’t even care to move it before I lifted Emmy in my arms and pulled my pants down just enough for my erection to spring free. I pushed her panties aside and slid into her with her legs wrapped tightly around me. We made love quietly, right there in the middle of the kitchen. We finally fell asleep again in our bed as the sun was rising.
The night had been magical, and there wasn’t anything that could take away from it. I was confident that our day ahead was going to be just as magical. Our plans to take Lucas and Kay Kay to the park and then out to dinner after their naps weren’t really remarkable plans, but we would be together, and that was all that mattered. Later after the kids were in bed, Emmy and I planned to watch a movie and eat popcorn. It’s the simple things in life that bring me happiness. My wife was happy and healthy and so were my children. Beyond that, everything else was a bonus.
When I got home from the airport, I noted that Diana’s car was parked at the curb, but Emmy’s car was missing. I wondered where she had gone. She didn’t mention that she had anything to do.
I walked into the house and found Diana in the living room with the kids. She was sitting on the floor playing cars with Lucas while holding Kaitlyn in one arm. She looked up at me with an “Uh-Oh” expression but was quick to cover it.
“Where’s Emmy?” I asked her after I took Kaitlyn from her arms.
She shrugged a shoulder as she got to her feet. “I don’t know.”
I narrowed my eyes at her until she threw her hands up. “I really don’t know, cousin!”
“She didn’t say anything?”
“Not really,” she evaded, gently kicking one of Lucas’s cars with her flip flop.
“My car!” Lucas shouted and smacked at her toes.
“Sorry, kid,” she said and stepped away towards the foyer. I followed in close pursuit.
“Diana,” I said in warning. Something was up. I wasn’t worried, really. I trusted Emmy, but I was beyond curious.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Look. All I know is that she asked me yesterday if I could make it here at seven-thirty. She said that I couldn’t be any earlier than that and I couldn’t be more than a few minutes late. When I got here she was rushing out of the door telling me she would be home before you. I was under the impression that she didn’t want you to know she was going anywhere.”
“Huh,” I said. I didn’t know what to think about it. There had been a few times in the past two plus weeks where she insisted on running some kind of random errand or another, but I assumed it was to get away from me. Since we were good again, I didn’t imagine that was the case, especially since she wanted to be home before me.
“Did she pay you?” I asked, reaching for my wallet.
“Yes, she paid me. I’m glad one of you got home early though,” she said pulling open the front door. “I have to go buy my books for school.”
“Do you need book money?” I offered. My cousin Stacy, Diana’s mother, didn’t have a lot of money for basic needs, let alone to put her daughter through school. Emmy and I had been helping out wherever we could, including paying Di above and beyond for her babysitting services.
“Nope, I’m good,” she said. “Thank you anyway.”
She kissed my cheek and went out the door.
“If you need anything, let us know,” I called after her.
She walked backward toward her car, looking thoughtful. “Anything?”
I looked at her as if to say get on with it.
“I’ve never been able to go away for spring break,” she said hopefully. Then she broke out into a grin and waved it off. “I’m kidding. You guys do enough already.”
She waved as she opened her car door. I waved back, distracted by my thoughts. Diana was admittedly one of my favorite younger people in my family. She worked her ass off for everything she had, little as it was, since she was thirteen and took jobs babysitting. Now she was putting herself through school and trying to help out her mom and younger siblings, too. She didn’t easily take handouts, and I know if I presented her with a trip to Cancun, she would decline. But if I took her with Emmy and I on our honeymoon to watch the kids…Hmm.
I was still thinking about it when Diana pulled away. I was about to close the door when I saw the woman who looked like she was on fire storming across the street from a car that had rolled up while I was talking to Di. She didn’t just look like she was on fire because of her wild, red, wavy hair, but she had a hand on the round bump in her belly and I swear there was smoke coming out of her ears, but I couldn’t ignore the pain that was stitched throughout her features.
She tried to force a smile as she approached. I smiled back. But even with all of this damn smiling, I knew Emmy and I were about to run face first into another obstacle. I had a feeling I knew what was coming, but Emmy was clueless.
“Hello,” she said, her expression turning somber.
“Hello, Lily,” I said.
Despite my better judgment, I stepped aside and let her in.
I led Lily into the kitchen and left Lucas to his cars in the family room. I watched Lily as her eyes wandered around our home.
“You have a beautiful home,” she said as she watched Lucas for a moment from where she was standing.
“Thank you,” I said, shifting Kaitlyn in my arms.
“I live in a penthouse,” she said conversationally. “I never thought I’d ever live in a penthouse.” She looked at me with her steel colored eyes. “Your home feels…like a home. Warm and fuzzy like. My penthouse feels like a penthouse,” she said dryly. “The ‘home’ part of my equation is currently absent.”
I tilted my head with a million questions on my tongue, but I heard the front door open. I could almost sense Emmy’s surprise. I couldn’t see the door from where I was standing, but I knew by how long it took for it to close that she was surprised to see Lily standing in our kitchen. Emmy appeared in the family room as she spoke briefly to Lucas and then she walked into the kitchen, looking both surprised and apprehensive.
It was an awkward few minutes as Emmy nervously chatted with Lily. We offered her something to drink and eat, trying to be hospitable a
nd warm like we were to anyone who walked through our door. Finally after Emmy fetched a bottle of water for each of them, she asked Lily the big question that was hanging in the air.
“So, what brings you to Chi-town?” she asked Lily.
“Umm,” Lily said, glancing at me. “I actually…” She looked at me again and seemed reluctant to speak, but then she sucked in a breath and finished. “I need to talk to you in private, Emmy.”
I frowned as I looked at Lily. This had Kyle Sterling written all over it and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to drag his name into our marriage and I sure as hell didn’t want Emmy dragged into Kyle’s world again. I knew it had to be about Kyle. Emmy may have had an inkling that it was about Kyle, but she didn’t know the details that I knew. She didn’t know that when Kyle initially contacted me about buying the bar property, he had told me he was buying it for Lily. I followed up with Mayson later and found out that the pair were definitely a couple, but Mayson and I agreed that Emmy didn’t need to know that bit of information.
“Oh,” Emmy finally said. She looked at me and back to Lily. “We can talk upstairs?”
“No,” I said, sighing. “I’ll take the kids to Lena’s for a while.”
I didn’t really want to leave, but I felt that they would be able to really talk without any distractions if the kids weren’t there.
“Don’t leave your house on my account,” Lily said with genuine concern.
“It’s fine,” I told her, but I needed Emmy out of the room if only for a minute. “Baby, can you run upstairs and get Kaitlyn’s diaper bag? And make sure Lucas goes to the bathroom. Once he starts playing over Lena’s he doesn’t stop, not even to pee.”
Emmy got up. She looked at us like she knew something was up that we weren’t telling her, but she continued on into the family room. I waited until after she was walking a whiney Lucas up the stairs before I spoke to Lily.
“Is the baby his?” I asked her as I nodded at her belly. “Is it Kyle’s?”
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“Where is he? He did something didn’t he?” I accused. Of course he did something. If he didn’t do anything, Lily wouldn’t have been in my kitchen, knocked up and waiting to talk to Emmy alone.
“He’s in London.”
“What are you about to drag my wife into, Lily?”
“I’m not dragging her into anything,” she snapped. “I have no one else to talk to about this, no one who understands him like Emmy does.”
Though I knew it was probably true, I didn’t like hearing it. I hated knowing that Emmy was so intimately knowledgeable about Kyle.
“If he’s gone, then maybe he actually did something right for a change,” I said icily. “What happened to my wife could easily happen to you and your baby.”
“I’m not going to argue with you about that, Luke,” she said resolutely. “I don’t believe that he ever meant to hurt Emmy and I sure as hell know that he won’t hurt me that way, but you have a right to feel how you want about it. I may even feel the same if I was in your shoes, but I don’t want to hear it, do you understand? This is his child I am carrying,” she gestured towards her belly. “Not someone else’s. I can’t just walk away. I need to know what Emmy thinks, what she would do if she had all of the facts that I have.”
“That’s what I’m worried about, Lily,” I said darkly. I heard Emmy and Lucas descending the stairs behind me, but I asked a question I knew I wasn’t going to get an immediate answer to. “What will she do when she has all of the facts?”
Emmy and Lucas stepped into the kitchen. I turned around and smiled at them as best I could. Now I was back to pretend smiles.
“Thanks, baby,” I said and gave her a brief kiss as I took the diaper bag from her.
She looked at me as if she knew I was pretend smiling. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I answered quickly. I took Lucas’s hand in mine. “Let’s get Kay Kay in her seat, buddy.”
“I’ll help you get them in the car,” Emmy said.
“I got it, honey. Relax.” When she looked at me with worried eyes, I gave her a reassuring smile, though I kind of needed someone to reassure me.
I got the kids packed up in the car a few minutes later and headed towards my sister’s. I had a strong feeling that our movie night with popcorn was canceled.
*~~~*
There comes a time in a man’s life when he has to stop running to his sister’s house for hot chocolate and cookies whenever life went awry. That time came for me when I got married. I didn’t even talk to Lena after the Iris incident. I wanted to, because I was used to going to my sister with my problems, but I was a grown-ass man, and I had come to the realization that Lena never discussed her personal marital issues with me, and I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that she didn’t have some of her own. My marriage was with Emmy, and no matter how wise I thought Lena was, in the end it was just me and Emmy. Not me, Emmy, and Lena.
So, when I got to her house I didn’t mention Lily. When she asked me why I was there, I told her Emmy was busy at the house and I wanted to get the kids out of her way. When she asked me how things were going, just a normal everyday question, I told her things were fine and didn’t mention our recent issues at all. I was all about pretending again. Lena could see through me like streak-free glass on a sunny day, but she seemed to respect my lack of communion.
I tried not to think too much about what was happening at my home. Lily was determined to talk to Emmy and I worried that she would evoke memories and emotions that Em had finally put to rest some time ago. We just eradicated the Iris ghost. We didn’t need a Kyle ghost, too.
After an hour, the kids and I stopped at Emmet’s and Casey’s. I didn’t spend a lot of time with my brother-in-law outside of work, a problem I planned to rectify. He was a good guy, a great dad and husband and a brilliant attorney. Outside of that, I didn’t know too much about him. Before leaving, we made plans to get together for some drinks in the near future. He and Casey offered to keep Lucas for a little while since he was having so much fun with Owen. I let him stay since our day was already ruined, and honestly, I didn’t know what I would be going home to.
I was relieved not to see Lily’s rental car on the street when I got home. I took Kaitlyn in the house, calling Emmy’s name. When we got into the kitchen, I immediately noticed the bottle of tequila on the counter. There was a significant amount missing. I scowled as I slammed open the cabinet door, slammed the bottle back inside and slammed the door shut. There weren’t any regulations in our home about Emmy’s right to drink; I knew what I was getting when I married her, but the disappearance of the tequila this time was a strong indication of her distress. I had a very bad feeling that Kyle Sterling had just entered my marriage.
And where the hell was she? Her disappearance nagged at me. Did she just pick up and run off with Lily to handle the Kyle problem?
“She wouldn’t,” I muttered as I shifted Kay Kay in my arms and hurried up the stairs.
I found Emmy up there, pacing our bedroom, with the tip of her thumb in her mouth as she nervously chewed on it.
“You got into the tequila,” I said simply.
“Yeah, but there’s milk in the fridge and freezer,” Em said dismissively.
“Why don’t we just get this conversation done and over with,” I growled and sat down the edge of the bed with Kaitlyn.
“Where’s Lucas?” she paused in her pacing and looked at me and then at the doorway.
“We stopped at Emmet’s and he wanted to stay there. They were okay with it. They’ll bring him home in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.” She went back to pacing without answering my question.
I had tried to be very patient since Lily walked through our front door, but my patience was slipping at an alarming rate.
“Emmy,” I said her name in warning.
She stopped pacing and looked at me. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears and she looked like she was afraid to actuall
y speak her mind, but she did.
“I have to help them,” she said.
“Help who? Kyle and Lily? No the fuck way, Emmy!” I exploded.
I felt the baby jump in my arms and saw Emmy start as well. I felt guilty for scaring Kaitlyn. I didn’t want her to see me as some kind of monster, so I tried to speak in a more even and controlled tone.
“Let them take care of their own problems. You don’t need to be dragged into that shit.”
“I told her to fight for him,” she said just above a whisper, looking at the floor deep in a troubled thought. “But he should fight for her, too.”
“Well, I’m fighting for you, and I want you to stay out of it,” I said, getting to my feet.
I didn’t see how Emmy getting involved with their problems could have a good outcome for anyone, especially us.
“You don’t have to fight for me, you already have me,” Emmy said, frustrated.
Why the hell was she frustrated with me? I wasn’t the one talking nonsense. That was all her.
“If you wanted to help, you should have told Lily to stay the hell away from that bastard. She could get the shit beaten out of her, too,” I pointed out.
“He won’t do that to her.” Emmy waved a hand, dismissing the prospect. This pissed me off even further. There was probably a time she thought he wouldn’t do it to her, too.
“The hell he won’t!”
“He won’t do that to her,” she said, setting her jaw stubbornly.
“How the hell do you know, Emmy?” I demanded.
Her eyes closed and her hands balled up into fists, like she was trying not to punch me. Me instead of him. “I know you can’t understand this, I know you can’t, Luke, but I know he will not hurt her like that.”