“Wait a minute,” Mom interrupted. We all turned to look at her as she counted on her fingers. “The baby is due in February.”
“You might end up having a Valentine’s baby instead,” Molly cooed as everyone laughed, including little Annie, who let out a bark.
“Well, we’re just going to have to change it then. How about a fall wedding? October?” Cory turned to me as I smiled and nodded my head. I liked that idea.
***
Two weeks later ...
Cory and I sat in the doctor’s office waiting for the results. The hospital had confirmed my pregnancy weeks ago, but today was the day we would find out my exact due date.
“Sorry to keep you folks waiting. I have babies coming out the ying yang today,” Dr. Stone said as he walked through the door, as a middle-age nurse followed behind. He sat down in front of Cory and me, then handed me a small black and white photo. I stared at it in awe, for in the middle of the black mass was a little, grayish-white peanut. I handed the photo to Cory. I could have sworn I saw a tear forming in the corner of his eye. This made me smile.
“Okay, now let’s see. You’re last period was in April,” Dr. Stone began, humming as he stared at then little circular chart in his hand, twisting and turning it. My heart raced and I think Cory’s did, too, as he reached over to hold my hand. “Doo doo doo, hum hum hum,” he continued to sing. He was a goofy looking thing with gray, balding hair and big green eyes, but I liked him and he made me comfortable. “Okay, it looks to me like you might have to postpone your Valentine’s Day dinner. You’re due February 14,” he said, laughing.
“Oh, my God! Mom was right!” I shook my head, astonished as Cory laughed. We both shook hands with and thanked Dr. Stone, then left.
That evening at Cory’s house, we sat on the couch planning our wedding and the arrival of our baby, while little Annie sat at Cory’s feet snoring. Life was bliss.
***
Look for Remembering Zane, The Unfaithful Widow, and My Haunting Love, also by J.S. Wilsoncroft, published by Write More Publications.
Crazy Love
By: Molly Bryant
The characters in this story are based on the book
Immortal Souls
By: Molly Bryant
Published by Tate Publishing
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Tatum, my gorgeous wife chirped excitedly. The light from the window shone through my eyelids as she opened the curtains. I smiled, imagining her face lit up with excitement.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I mumbled, stretching out my legs. Still with my eyes closed, I heard the patter of little feet trailing behind, padding down the hallway toward us.
“Daddy,” Madeline and Tane said as the bed suddenly moved. I opened my eyes to see my two beautiful, blonde twins smiling brightly at me. As they were ready to pounce on me, I laughed as anticipation sparked within their eyes. Madeline had the brightest Indigo colored eyes—my eyes—and Tane had his Uncle Seth’s emerald green eyes.
“Good morning,” I said, smiling widely. The muscles in my body tensed as they jumped. I huffed as they landed on top of me, rolled over and started tickling them. They laughed hysterically.
“Daddy!” they said, laughing.
“Okay, okay, kids … let’s give your dad a few minutes to wake up.” Tatum stood at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed, smiling.
Madeline and Tane groaned as they hopped off of the bed and made their way out the door. “Otay,” They said in unison.
“Love you,” I said to the children.
“Wuv you too, Daddy,” I heard them say in unison from the hallway.
“So ...” Tatum said sweetly, lying on the bed beside me. I leaned back against the pillows, waiting for her to reach me, then wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she lay next to me in the crook of my arm. “We get to be alone tonight,” she said, raising an eyebrow at me before trailing kisses down my chest.
“We do,” I said, running my hands through her hair, feeling the burn her soft lips left behind upon my skin.
Tonight, I planned to take Tatum to a bed and breakfast with palm trees, a private beach, massages, facials and the greatest breakfast served in all of Hawaii, although I would be happy eating here at home. When I told Tatum where we were going, it was the only thing that she and her friends could talk about. Her best friend, Lainey, insisted on watching Madeline and Tane for us tonight so we could go. I trust her, but I was anxious about it. I mean, honestly, who could blame me after what happened with my brother Seth? Madeline and Tane are nearly three years old we’ve never spent the night away from them.
“Why did you say it like that, Lance?” Tatum asked, stopping her kisses as she lay on top of me, looking into my eyes.
“Like what?” I asked as I looked at her.
“Like you aren’t excited about going away with me tonight,” she said, frowning.
I touched her cheek and sighed. “I am, honey. I’m just nervous about leaving the kids all night.”
“Really? Lainey is good with kids and she loves Madeline and Tane. It’ll be fine,” she reassured me.
“It’s not about Lainey,” I replied, as my eyebrows pulled together in concern.
“Then, what is it?” she asked sullenly.
“I’m just worried that something’s going to happen and …”
“Lance, we go through this all the time,” she said, getting out of bed and heading toward the door. “Nothing’s going to happen! It was three years ago. You need to relax.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want to ruin your Valentine’s Day.” Then, I rose from the bed and walked across the room to Tatum, who looked extremely sexy in her black leggings and T-shirt hanging off of her right shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Will you try to relax? For me? All I’m asking is for you to try,” she whispered against my lips.
I leaned my forehead against hers. “Yes, I’ll try,” I promised reluctantly, kissing her nose. Then, I opened the bedroom door and hollered down the hallway, “Okay, who’s helping Daddy make Momma breakfast?”
Both children ran toward me as I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. “Me! Me!” the twins yelled in unison, jumping up and down excitedly.
I shook my head, smiling, knowing this was going to be the longest Valentine’s Day of my life.
***
“Daddy?” Madeline asked, pretending to help as she fiddled with a dish towel, pretending to wipe down the countertop.
“Yes, honey?” I said, handing Tane a plate. He turned to place it into the dishwasher.
“Auntie Waney is coming over,” Madeline sang as she wiped. The twins have problems saying their L’s.
I groaned. “Yes, she is,” I replied nervously. I took it out on the next plate, scrubbing it vigorously.
“We wike her,” Tane added.
“She likes you guys, too,” I said as Tatum entered the kitchen.
“Okay, we’re all packed up,” she mumbled, writing things down onto a pad next to the phone.
The twins ran into the living room to watch cartoons. I sigh, closing the dishwasher door and leaned back against the counter, watching Tatum concentrate on what she was writing down. She had changed her clothes and was ready to go, which made me even more nervous. I wanted to say something … to tell her that I just wanted to stay home and have Valentine’s Day here with her and the kids, but I didn’t say anything.
“What are you writing?” I asked, trying to look over her shoulder.
She looked up at me for a moment. “Oh, I’m writing numbers down just in case … Dr. Anahua, the police station, the fire station, Poison Control, my parent’s number. Wait … she should know that number.” She laughed, shaking her head.
Dr. Anahua, the fire station, and the police? Oh … and Poison Control? My heart pounded within my chest and my palms are sweating. “Why all of those numbers?”
“Just
in case Lainey needs it for anything, Lance,” she replied, matter of fact. “That’s all.”
That's all? I couldn’t take it. I pushed off the counter with my hip and walked toward the living room where I could have a heart attack in peace.
“It’s the best day ever …” SpongeBob’s voice resounded from the television. I smiled standing behind the white leather couch, watching the twins swing their arms happily and stomp their feet along with SpongeBob, dancing around on the flat screen. A pang pulled at my heart. Ignoring the suitcases setting by the front door, I danced along with the kids, spending what few minutes I had left with them before we had to leave. They laughed hysterically as they watch me.
“Daddy is funny,” Madeline said, laughing.
“Spin, Daddy, spin!” Tane yelled, watching me intently. I spun quickly around as they laughed.
A moment later, Tatum cleared her throat behind me. I turned around to see that she was watching us, trying not to laugh.“Cute,” she said, giving me a sexy smile.
“I try,” I shrugged, then resumed dancing with the kids again.
“Lance, go get dressed. Lainey should be here any minute,” she said, then, as if on cue, the door opened.
“Auntie Lainey is in the house!” she announced, strutting through the entry way. “Hey, kids!”
“Auntie Waney!” the children yelled happily, running to her and clinging to her legs.
“Are we going to have fun or what?” she asked, hugging them both.
“Yes! Yes!” they yelled in unison, jumping up and down. Then, they noticed that she was carrying a bag and tried to look in it.
“Auntie Waney, what did you bring us?” Tane asked.
“What makes you think I brought candy, popcorn, and all the SpongeBob movies we can handle?” she asked, hugging the bag to her chest.
“Yay!” the twins shrieked together, following Lainey into the kitchen.
I looked over at Tatum, who was smiling from ear to ear. “They love her,” she replied.
“Yup, they sure do,” I answered, staring at her.
“Lance, please … go get dressed while I go over things with Lainey,” she insisted, placing a kiss on my cheek. I watched her retreating back as she walked toward the kitchen.
As I walked up the stairs headed for the bathroom to take a shower, I looked at all of our family pictures hanging along the stairwell and hallway. Am I overreacting? Possibly, I thought with a sigh.
***
I quickly slid on my faded blue jeans on along with a light blue polo shirt. Then, I threw some pomade into my hair. I exhaled nervously, trying to relax a little bit. I didn’t want to ruin this for Tatum, but I was having a really hard time.
I walked out of the bathroom then stepped into our huge walk-in closet. The chocolate brown teddy bears I bought for the twins a few days ago were still sitting on the top shelf. I reached up and grabbed them down, then stared into their coal black eyes and red velvet noses.
Now, these aren’t your ordinary teddy bears. These little guys had cameras in them. Oh, yes … I thought, smiling. I took them out of their cozy boxes and threw away all evidence before I brought them into the house, not wanting Tatum to know the extremes I had stooped to. I grabbed my laptop, then downloaded the software for the teddy bears into it. Then, I crept down the stairs and secretly placed the laptop into my suitcase. Ah, technology nowadays, I love it.
“It’s about time, princess,” Lainey said, looking at me from the back of the couch.
“Hey, Lainey,” I said, leaning down to give her a hug.
“Relax, everything’s going to be fine,” she reassured me confidently, smiling.
“Daddy, what are those?” Madeline asked, eying the teddy bears. Tane snapped his head up from his doodle-pad when he heard.
“These …” I said, kneeling down next to them, “are a present from Daddy.”
“Teddy bears!” Tane shrieked. He grabbed one of the bears and squeezed it tightly to his chest.
“I wuv it, Daddy,” Madeline said as she squeezed the life out of hers.
I smiled, watching them admire their new gifts, then stood up when I heard Tatum’s heels hitting the floor, coming from the kitchen.
“Are you ready?” she asked excitedly.
“Yeah,” I said, still watching the kids.
“Lance,” Lainey said to get my attention. “Say goodbye and go.”
Tatum laughed. “Okay, babies. Come walk Mommy and Daddy to the door,” Tatum said, taking their hands.
“You two have fun. Go be teenagers again,” Lainey said with a wink.
Tatum gave her a look of disbelief, then gave the kids a hug and a kiss. “Now, you guys make sure you listen to Auntie Lainey. Don’t cause any problems for her.”
“We won’t, Mommy,” they promised together.
“I love you both,” I said, pulling them into a tight hug.
“Wuv you, too, Daddy,” they groaned. “Too tight.”
“Okay, Lance,” Lainey said, patting me on the back.
“Babe,” Tatum said, pulling on my arm.
“Behave yourselves,” I finally said to the kids, kissing them both on the cheek.
“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll call the National Guard,” Lainey joked.
“Seriously, not funny,” I said, staring down at her as she laughed.
“That’s it, I’m not going,” I said, throwing my arms up into the air.
“Yes, you are,” Tatum replied, watching me, then she turned to Lainey, “and you … stop making him more anxious then he already is!” Lainey smirked in reply, clearly enjoying my discomfort about leaving the kids. “Now, let’s go,” Tatum ordered. Then, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me toward the door.
I picked up the suitcases and followed Tatum out to the truck. As we pull away from the house, Lainey and the twins were standing by the door waving goodbye.
***
I smiled, watching Tatum stare at the map with her brow furrowed. “I know where I’m going, honey. We don’t need the map,” I said.
She gently folded up the map and shoved it back into the glove box. She sighed as she laid her head back against the headrest. “I can’t wait until we get there. It’s going to be so much fun,” she said, closing her eyes.
“I think we’ll have a great time,” I replied. And to be honest, I was starting to calm down. Tatum’s mother watched the kids for us a few times when we ran errands or went shopping for the twin’s birthdays or Christmas shopping. I was used to being away for a few hours, but nothing more than that.
Four hours later, I was sitting on the bed in our room, watching Tatum as she admired the sexy ambiance of the room. She picked up each candle and smelled it, taking her time, letting the aroma soothe her. Me? I stared at my suitcase, wanting so badly to turn the laptop on to see what the twins are up to.
“This is so perfect! I’m in heaven,” Tatum squealed as she plopped down onto the bed next to me. “What do you want to do first? Spa, swim, have lunch?” she asked, rubbing her hands together vigorously.
Go back home? Yeah, not an option. I smiled and leaned over to kiss her tenderly until our kisses grew more passionate. She got the hint. After all, what better way was there to release anxiety? She shrieked and laughed out loud as I jumped on her.
Afterward, I lay beside my wife breathing heavily, wrapped only in the white-cotton sheets, staring up at the ceiling with Tatum in my arms … and all I could think about were the kids at home.
“That was truly amazing,” she said, kissing my chest, breathing heavily, too. “Just the way you jumped on me and … and wow!”
Yeah, pent up anxiety will do that to you. I laughed. “Well, thank you.”
“Mmmm, no thank you,” she said, kissing my cheek. “I’m going to take a quick shower, then we can go to dinner.”
I rolled over on my side as she hopped out of bed humming. I watched her perfect body move across the room with pure grace as she made her way to the bathroom. Then, the door
closed. When I heard the shower start, I hopped out of bed, threw on my boxers and ran to my suitcase to grab my laptop. I sat on the bed and quickly turned it on, then clicked the teddy bear icon on my desktop. Within seconds, the screen popped up and I had a view of the flat screen. SpongeBob, I thought, laughing. I can’t see which twin was which. All I can see was a split screen and both views were the same. In the background, I could hear them eating popcorn and laughing.
“Patrick Star is my favorite, what about you guys?” Lainey asked them.
“I wike Sandy.” Ah, that would be Madeline.
“I wike Pwancton.” And that was Tane.
“Plankton? That’s nice,” Lainey added.
“Yeah,” Tane said as his hand reached for more popcorn.
In our hotel room, I heard the shower stop, so I quickly clicked out of the window and slammed my laptop shut. Then, I slid it under the bed and I lay back against the headboard, then crossed my arms just as the bathroom door opened.
“Get up, lazy butt!” Tatum said, laughing as she grabbed a sundress from her suitcase.
After seeing that the kids were doing exactly what we would be doing if we were home, I relaxed a bit … for the moment, anyway.
***
“This pasta is super good! How is your steak?” Tatum asked, eyeing my barely eaten plate of food.
My nervousness returned, as I couldn’t help but wonder what the children were doing now. After all, a lot could change in an hour’s time. “It’s good,” I said with a shrug.
“Lance, you’ve barely touched your food. What’s wrong?” she asked as she took a sip of water.
I frowned, jabbing a fork into my baked potato. “Do you think we should call and check on the kids?” I asked.
“Babe, they’re fine,” she said. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze, noticing that I wasn’t feeling any better. “Okay, you start eating and I’ll step outside and call them.” Then, she took her cell phone out of her purse.
“Okay,” I agreed, sitting up straight.
“I’ll be right back, now eat,” she ordered, smiling, then rose from the table. I watched her as she walked out the door with her cell phone in hand. I dug into my food, knowing that everything would be alright in just a few minutes. And yes, my steak was amazing. A few minutes later and with half the steak gone, Tatum came back to the table a few minutes later, smiling. “Everything’s just fine,” she announced, sliding her phone back ino her purse.
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