by Shara Azod
The holiday was just around the corner. Not quite believing that he was actually going to take Bill’s advice about anything, he knew that he would be taking time off from work during the holidays. It was time he reclaimed his family.
“Todd, are you still awake,” his lovely wife whispered into the darkness of their bedroom.
Tightening his arm around her waist, he pulled her backside closer to him. His thick shaft brushed her curvy backside and his desire for her spiked. “Yes, baby. But why are you still awake?”
“I’m just thinking. What do you think about going out next weekend? Just me and you. A married couple date.”
“Of course, sweetheart. But what about Miles?” he asked. Kissing her underneath her ear, he began caressing her soft skin as he waited for her to answer.
“I’ll take care of everything for Miles. All I need for you to do is be ready. I have everything already planned,” she said on a sigh as his fingers reached the apex of her thighs. As soon as his fingers rubbed along her warm labia, flicking against her hardened clit, she let loose a low, keening sound. Her legs widened for him, awaiting his next movement.
“Everything’s already planned, huh?” he asked, while sliding one finger inside of her wet channel. Stroking his beautiful wife as she moaned underneath him, he was still amazed that after all these years, how responsive she was to him. And just how much he couldn’t get enough of her.
“I wanted it to be a surprise, but…oh yes...um, with everything...yes...oh, Todd…” words seemed to fail her as he stroked her with his fingers, his mouth sucking on the skin between her shoulder and neck. How could this woman ever think he no longer loved her?
“It can still be a surprise, baby. But let’s talk about it tomorrow. Right now, all I want to hear are your moans of pleasure.” Removing his hand from her body, he positioned his thick shaft at her entrance. Surging inside of her body, he didn’t stop until he was buried to the hilt. Her gasp of pleasure was music to his ears. It was exactly what he needed to hear. Moving slowly as he plunged his cock deeper inside of her body, the only sound he could hear, wanted to hear, were her moans and mewls of pleasure.
Chapter Four
Waking up from a deep slumber, Erica knew that Todd was already out of their bed before she turned her head. Reaching over to pick up the handwritten note, she noted that his side of the bed was cool. He must have been gone for quite a while. Reading the short note letting her know that he and Miles had left to get the Christmas tree, she smiled. Getting out of bed, she quickly gathered some clothes and went to take her shower.
Standing under the cascade of water, she washed away the aches and pains from a full night of lovemaking. Laughing like a newlywed, she couldn’t help but blush at some of the things they had done last night. It was as if they had been making up for lost time. And she was just fine with that. Just thinking about how good it felt to be in her husband’s arms, feeling the passion between them burn hot, got her all hot and bothered again. Too bad her husband wasn’t with her.
Exiting the shower a few minutes later, she took her time moisturizing her skin and pulling her hair into a topknot. Although they would be in the house decorating the tree all day, there was no reason she couldn’t look and feel sexy for her man. Looking in the mirror, she couldn’t help but shake her head at the thoughts that had been running through her mind these past few months. Maybe she’d still been dealing with her own issues from the loss of their baby and hadn’t realized she wasn’t yet whole herself. Thank goodness they’d gotten all that cleared up. Her misgivings and concerns seemed silly and childish now that she’d actually talked to her husband instead of jumping to conclusions. One day, she would learn not to jump to the worst case scenario every time.
Hearing the front door open just as she finished putting on some lip gloss, she knew her men were home.
“Mom!” Miles called out.
Standing up from the vanity table in her bedroom, she made her way downstairs. The holidays were a time for renewal and new beginnings. Today was as good a day as any.
“I’m coming, honey,” she yelled out as she walked out of her bedroom. Doubts and concerns had no place in their life. It was time to put that mess aside.
****
“Our tree is awesome, Mom!” As they sat in the family room, Miles was playing a game on the laptop computer while she and Todd relaxed on the couch. The lights from the Christmas tree brightened the entire room.
“Yes, it sure is. You and your dad did a great job picking out the tree,” she said, smiling at her son. They’d found a ten foot Douglas fir that barely fit in their living room. Watching them try to get it in the house had been a hoot. She’d laughed from the time they pulled it from the back of Todd’s four by four truck that he used in the winter, until they finally got it inside the house. But they’d been so proud of themselves and once she actually looked at the tree, she’d realized that they’d done a great job. It was the perfect tree for their family. Everything was just coming together so perfectly.
At that moment, Todd’s cell phone rang. She felt, and heard, him sigh deeply. Family members knew to call him on the house phone on the weekends. That’s how he managed to keep work and home separate. If a call was coming through on his cell phone, on a Saturday night, it definitely wasn’t family. And since she and Miles were both sitting here with him, it could only be one thing. Work.
“Let me get your phone,” she said. It did no good to ignore it. He was a partner at the company. He couldn’t just not answer and hope it would go away.
“No. Don’t,” exasperation filled his tone. They both knew exactly what the call meant. Their attempt to get back to normal was about to be shattered.
“Yes. Todd, you can’t do that. You know it. You’ve never disregarded work before and you sure as hell aren’t starting now,” she countered. Untangling herself from his arms, she stood and walked over to the side table, picking up his cell phone. “Hello? Hi, Steven. Yes, he’s right here. Hold on,” her friendly tone covered up the stress of what she knew was about to happen. Walking back over to her husband, she held the phone out to him. Giving her a look that promised some wicked punishment later, he grabbed the phone out of her hand. At the same time, he pulled her back down so that she was resting on his lap while he spoke.
“Hey, Steven...yes, we’ve been on that account for over a month now...that’s not what the requirements asked for? Hell no!” he responded, getting more agitated by the minute. Todd bristled on the phone with his longtime business partner.
Sitting up, she looked at Todd and nodded her head toward Miles. Their son’s eyes were big. Curious about who had made his dad so upset on the phone, he’d paused his game, more focused on who was on the other end of that call. Shifting from the couch, Todd stood and walked out of the room as he spoke, headed in the direction of his home office. His tone of voice clearly reflecting his displeasure. “Steven, that is unacceptable. Why? Because it’s the goddamn holidays, that’s why!”
Erica had a bad feeling that whatever was being discussed, she wasn’t going to like it one bit. Looking over at Miles, she saw the same look on his face and prayed that she was wrong. “It’s okay, baby. Dad will get it situated. Go on and play your game,” trying to sound cheerful, she hoped her face didn’t betray her real feelings. Trying to keep calm as she waited for Todd to return, her anxiety continued to increase with each minute that passed. The television continued to play in the background, but she had no idea what was playing. All types of thoughts ran through her head. None of them good. Just as she was reaching her limit and about to storm into Todd’s office and demand to know what was going on, he exited. He didn’t come back into the family room, but nodded his head toward the kitchen, beckoning her in that direction.
As she walked in, she saw him sitting at the table. The look on his face told her that she wasn’t going to be happy at all. “What’s going on, Todd? What was that all about with Steven?”
“Baby, I need to go ou
t of town,” reaching out his hand to her as he spoke, he didn’t look pleased at all.
“When?” she asked. Dread was building inside her stomach with every word he spoke.
“I need to be in Munich by Monday morning for a meeting with our client,” he said through thinned lips.
“But why, Todd?” she asked in shock. “Why can’t Steven go, or Bill? Why does it have to be you?” her anger could no longer be hidden. Just when things had gotten back on track, here they went again. When would she get a fucking break?
“Bill will be going with me. Steven is already in Ontario with another client and he won’t be able to break free until the middle of the week. It has to be me” he tried to reason with her. It wasn’t working. Looking at her with stricken eyes, he knew what this would do to them, just as she did. “I’m so sorry, baby. This client has been difficult from the very beginning. Nothing we’ve done has been good enough. The requirements they gave us were wrong. The mock-ups and plans they’d previously approved have all been disapproved. It’s been a nightmare. I’m so sorry, Erica.”
Refusing to show him how upset she was, she held back the tears that threatened to fall. This wasn’t Todd’s fault. It sure as hell felt like he was the one hurting her, but she knew that wasn’t true. One look at his face and she knew he didn’t want to do this. “When will you be home?”
“Until it’s cleaned up, but probably a week.” Hanging his head low, he took a deep breath. After a moment, Todd continued, “I promise, when this is over, I’m taking time off just for us. We’ll go away somewhere. We’ll pack clothes for the three of us and just leave. We won’t tell anyone where we’re going. The first plane we can find that’s headed to a warm location will have us on it. I promise.”
“A week? By the time you get back, it’ll practically be Christmas,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice now. Looking out to the room where Miles sat playing his game, his head swiveling back and forth between them and the visual stimulation on the screen. “We need to go explain this to Miles. He knows something’s up. He’s getting worried that something’s wrong.”
“Something is wrong, baby. I swear, this fucking client is going to pay double. I will never work with them again,” he bristled. Standing up, he pulled Erica into his arms, kissing her softly on the lips. “Come on, baby, let’s go explain to my son how his dad is going to let him down again. Damn, I fucking hate this.”
“It’s okay, he’ll understand. As long as we talk to him, together, he’ll be okay. Plus, you’ll be back before you know it,” she tried to sound upbeat.
“What about our date, sweetheart? You said everything was all planned out.”
“Don’t you worry about that, baby. We’ll just make it for when you return. Miles is out of school for the holiday break as of Friday, so if we need to push it back a week, we can,” trying to remain positive and cheery for Todd, she could admit how disappointed she was that this was happening. They’d just started to make things right with them. This was the worst time possible for him to go out of town.
“I love you so much,” he said to her while holding her within the confines of his strong arms.
“I love you, too,” she responded as they walked into the living room to enjoy their night as a family.
****
It had been a full week since Todd had left. They’d tried to talk every day, at least twice, but it had been difficult. Apparently, the meetings with the customer had not been going well. He’d been working fourteen and fifteen hour days trying to get them what they needed. The few times they’d spoken, he tried to explain what had gone wrong. If anyone was going to help him get this cleared up, it was going to be Bill. While she hated that he had to be away from her, she was thankful he was with someone he trusted and would have his back. He’d called her yesterday to let her know that it looked like they would be headed home later that night or first thing in the morning, which meant he would be home tonight. Good thing too, because their last phone call had been tense.
“I’m just not sure when I’ll get home, Erica,” his voice was weary and tired. Everything in her wanted to reach through the phone and hug him close to her.
“Todd, we need you home. You can’t always be the one saving the day,” she pressed.
“I’m not trying to save the day, but I am trying to save my company. Why can’t you understand that?” tone flaring up in the midst of his anger and frustration, he raised his voice to her. Something he never did.
Surprised and hurt by his tone, she was silent for a minute as she allowed him to think about what he’d just said to her.
“Erica, baby, I’m sorry,” the contrite tone was too little, too late.
“I’m not the enemy, Todd. I’m your wife,” she ground out.
“I know. I’m just stressed right now. And I’m living on three hours of sleep a night,” he tried to explain.
“No excuse. I know you said you have to be there, but you don’t. I need you to hire more senior associates to help with this type of work. You hired Bill. Why not hire more people? It doesn’t make sense that you, Steven and Don are the named owners of the company and yet, you three are the main ones out there firefighting,” her own tone had changed, becoming louder the longer she spoke. Now she was getting riled up, her annoyance and frustration coming through her voice. “You need to think about why you continue to do this. There’s no need for you to be the one to save everyone else. Especially when your family is the thing that needs saving the most.”
“Are we back to that again, Erica? I don’t love my family enough because I work so hard to provide for them?” he asked.
“Think about it, Todd, is it really us that you’re working so hard for?” her whispered voice carried over the phone lines and she knew he’d heard. His breath caught and she could hear him breathing deeply on the other end.
After a few minutes of tense silence, she’d let him off the hook. Erica wasn’t really angry at him. Not much anyway. But Todd always liked to go in and save the day. Not in a bad way, but if someone needed help or if something needed fixing, he was usually the one to do it. He could see it with everything outside of their home, but he had a blind spot when it came to fixing their family. Just last weekend, things had seemed so perfect. She knew he hadn’t wanted to go on this assignment. She wasn’t so selfish that she would ask him to put his company at risk because she was feeling lonely. But, he did need to set some boundaries.
Coming fully awake, she heard the beeping of her cell phone. Reaching over to pick it up, she saw a text from Todd that had come through during the night.
“I’m coming home. We’re finally done. I’ll be home tonight. Love you.”
Thinking quickly, she hoped Gloria and James were interested in hanging out with a ten-year old today. Calling her mother-in-law, she pleaded her case.
“Of course we’ll watch Miles, honey. I’m just glad he’s on his way home. The holidays are just around the corner. Being away from his family is no way to spend Christmas,” she said through the phone.
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate you doing this for us. I’ll have him there by four o’clock this afternoon,” she said in a hurry. Hanging up the phone after she thanked Gloria profusely for coming through, she began gathering all of the things she would need to create the atmosphere she wanted. Somewhat nervous at what she had planned, she knew this was what they needed. Todd was an amazing husband, but he wasn’t perfect. It could be difficult for him to understand that it was okay to slow down. That he could still be a little bit of everything to everyone. But she and Miles were the priority. Just his luck, he had a wife that would help him remember.
Several hours later, she had Miles packed up and off to his grandparents’ house. Dinner had been prepared, candles lit, and outfit set out. The Christmas tree twinkled in the background, the lights in the house turned low so that it was the only glow within the downstairs living area. Everything had been planned to perfection. Earlier that day, he’d written to her from
the plane, letting her know that he and Bill would be getting a car home, so there was no need to pick him up. Perfect!
She’d left a trail gingerbread cookies and sugarplums that led upstairs to their bedroom. Along the way, she’d dropped items of clothing, a shoe...a stocking...her sheer robe. All signs that Todd would recognize were for him to follow. She knew exactly what she wanted for Christmas and his name was Todd.
Hearing the downstairs door open, she listened closely from her position upstairs. Lying on the bed, she was spread out and ready for him to unwrap his gift. Not sure how she managed to do it, she’d tied a big red bow around her breasts and another one around her hips, with the bow covering her freshly waxed mound. After a few moments, she heard the door click close and the sound of his suitcase as it fell to the floor. Smiling to herself, she knew he had picked up on her little game of hide and seek.
His footsteps could be heard walking across the hardwood floors. Every so often he would pause, which she knew signaled that he was reading the notes she’d left for him.
“I love you.”
“Tonight is for us.”
“I’m waiting for you.”
“Come unwrap your special gift.”
“It’s our time for a restart.”
And the last one just before he got to their bedroom had made her cry when she wrote it…”What God has joined together, let no man (or woman) put asunder.”
Hearing his footsteps outside of their bedroom door, she knew he was reading the note she’d left. The pounding of her heart was almost deafening. These past few months had been difficult for them, for her especially. But she had learned something during this experience as well. Unless she was willing to let her husband walk away, then she needed to fight for him. Fight for their love. Her family was her life. The breath in her lungs. The reason why she got up in the morning. Never would she give up on her child or her husband. If she had to humble herself for her man, she would do it. That doesn’t mean she would allow him to dismiss her or disregard her feelings. But her pride and stubbornness would not be the reason for the downfall of her marriage. Maybe it was wholly selfish of her, but she refused to give up on their love. Tonight was just beginning.