I thought I was dead, I should have died, but then the more days I woke up with the sun in my face, the more I wanted to live! I was given a second chance to change things, make amends and make life better for me.
Dr. Dirk Hayward was a Godsend. He was a very caring man and the only man I was able to talk to or willing to speak with lacking being afraid and he helped me see the negativity of my past and how to turn it in to something positive.
Right now I have a progressive attitude, I feel bliss and I have never felt more fulfilled. I feel as if I am walking on air or in a cloud of happiness, I feel loved, secure and warm and actually feel like I did die and went to Heaven.
Chapter THREE
By slow degrees, Amber woke up before sunlight. Her heart was racing and her adrenaline pumped through her veins anxiously. Since leaving Fiji and her cloud nine state, it had been the first real night she and her latest husband had slept together throughout the night—she wasn’t used to it. What she was used to was being at the Palm Desert Treatment Center in a twin bed with starched white sheets that smelled like bleach, that she was used to; with pampered treatment, round the clock nurses and Dr. Hayward, who she could always count on to listen to her insecurities and when she felt restless and confused as she did so now. But…why? She had absolutely everything she’s ever wanted…a man who adored her, spoiling her to the point where his arms were her blanket and the long length of his body had been some source of bedding, but what was this new feeling of foreboding? Like the boogie man was about to pop out from nowhere and frighten her to the point where she would have to wake up from this wondrous dream. The fear felt like foreshadowing and the foreshadowing felt somewhat like a test... a great big test and she was afraid of making a mistake.
She looked over at her husband sleeping soundly. Good Lord, he was beautiful asleep! Like someone had posed him, he was on his back with one arm looped around on his head, she wanted to hug him, kiss him, dive into his chest, swim in his essence, love—fondle him, adore him, praise his glory, but instead she started to weep she was so overwhelmed with emotion and sprung out of bed and found herself outside on the balcony to get some fresh air.
Amber stood over by the edge overlooking the ocean. She still couldn’t believe she was even there!
This was her home now and this was her new life. It was as if she went to sleep one night with an old husband and an old family and woke up in the morning to a new husband with a new family. Like some strange episode of the Twilight Zone: Walking through one door and stepping into a new dimension, one switch to the other, effortlessly with no one to tell her that it had all been wrong. She had awakened up from her coma only to be introduced to a new world, a state-of-the-art frontier and she wasn’t too sure she could handle it and Eduardo had taken care of everything. What a control freak he was! After he whisked her away on a private jet to Fiji, he brought her back to Pacific Palisades in California to present her with their new residence; an exquisite five bedroom, four baths Mediterranean home with a stunning lagoon themed pool, playhouse and play area with swing-set and sandbox for her son and tennis court for Amber. A fricken tennis court…and she didn’t even play tennis, but Eduardo did, and she knew he always wanted one. She guessed she would have to take tennis lessons just to keep up with the pro.
Amber loved the feeling of being sheltered and taken care of. All her life she searched for someone to make her feel complete and now she’s seized it. Her Father Figure had taken care of her needs and she no longer had to worry about her financial future and recalled the conversation she had a couple of nights ago discussing the very same thing. They were in the middle of eating dinner when Amber announced she wanted to go back to work…
“What?”
“I think it’s time for me to look for a new job.”
“Amber, what about Peyton?” He asked, looking over at his son eating his food skillfully with a child’s fork.
“He’ll be fine. He’s got my mother and Mrs. Lopez to look after him while I’m at work.”
“You don’t have to work you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think you need to contribute financially to this marriage?”
“Well sure, don’t I? I mean, look at this house Eduardo, it must have cost you a fortune!”
Eduardo guffawed and rolled up his napkin. “Amber, let me tell you something. Last year, I grossed over ten million. This year, maybe even fifteen. I’ve managed my money very well and have investments in both real estate and stocks. Philip and Martin offered to make me partner, which would only bring in additional income. You never need to work again sweetheart. So by marrying me, you’ve become a woman of leisure.”
Good Lord, she couldn’t believe it! Being able to purchase anything her heart so desired? What would she buy first? A new car, new clothes, furniture, jewelry, china...then she started thinking about all the practical things she would need for the new home…A washer and dryer? No, Eduardo had taken care of that. A refrigerator—nope, he had taken care of that too. Flat screen TV’s in every room of the house? Nope, he bought those too! What the hell could she contribute to this new marriage anyhow?
She was beginning to panic when she felt her husband’s arms drape around her shoulders in a warm loving embrace.
“My bed is cold. Come back to sleep.”
Amber closed her eyes and felt Eduardo’s lips on her neck, kissing her with feather-like ardor up and down her crux. “I will in a second.”
“What are you doing out here?” He murmured to her, continually grazing her neck with his velvety lips.
Amber turned around within his arms. “What do you love about me? I mean, really, why would you love someone like me if I can’t be a factor to this marriage?”
Eduardo stared at Amber as if she had three eyes in the center of her head, “A factor? Are you talking about going back to work again? Amber, you know how I feel about the matter.”
Amber wrapped her arms around his neck, “I know, but I still want to do something in this marriage. What can I do?”
“You can contribute by continuing to make your husband deliriously happy, that’s what you can do.”
Amber, for some stupid reason, did not like his answer. “I live to make you happy?”
Eduardo gave her a small kiss on her lips, “Amber, do you even realize how you make me feel?”
Amber gulped; her husband was about to cast out sonnets of love again. “I know you love me—”
“Dear girl...I love everything about you. I love that you’re stubborn, I love that you keep me on my toes and stand up to my big ego and me. All my life Amber, I’ve had this dominant presence, intimidating men and dating women for the simple fact that they succumb to my leverage. But for once in my presumptuous life, someone has actually conquered me. I’m mush when I’m around you and I’m in heaven in your arms.”
Amber’s breath was taken away. She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck tighter and began to cry in his shoulder. Good Lord, she loved his man!
*****
Amber ordered Chinese food one night and setup Peyton’s dinner with Mrs. Lopez and sent him off with her early. Eduardo came home and wanted to go out to eat like they usually did on Fridays, when Amber spat out unexpectedly, “Let’s stay in.”
Eduardo had always been spoiled and wanted to do what he wanted to do, and usually got his way and nodded his head “no”.
“We’re spending too much money eating out,” Amber softly voiced, grabbing his yoke and leading him upstairs to his surprise. “I want to stay home and have you all to myself.”
Mrs. Lopez helped her set up the terrace outside and it was a gorgeous evening with the waves from the ocean in the background as their music and the sea breeze rising up from the ocean as their aroma.
Eduardo was pleased and gave his wife a smirk while he sat down to eat a plate of pot-stickers, ginger beef and lo mein.
After dinner, Amber put in a Kenny G CD and they slowly danced and sw
ayed to the romantic music.
“Where did you learn to dance?” Amber asked Eduardo as if they never danced before. “You lead me like you know exactly what you’re doing, like you’ve taken lessons before.”
“At dance clubs when I was younger,” he nodded, “And the rest just naturally.”
Amber rolled her eyes and felt Eduardo’s hands roaming her lower back and then down to her bottom. She pulled apart from him and ran her hands up his chest. “I’ve never wanted to touch a man the way I want to touch you,” she revealed in a seductive timbre.
Eduardo nearly lost it and slid both hands down to her derriere and squeezed each cheek into his formation. Amber was instantly breathless. “How do you do that?” She respired, catching her breath.
“Do what?” He rejoined in her ear, kissing the back of her earlobe and continuing to sway her to the romantic music.
“Make a woman want you.”
“Skill,” he let go without a hint of shame.
Amber lightly kissed him on his lips, “You are so bad...but I’m so glad you’re all mine.”
Eduardo grabbed the back of her hair then opened her up mouth with his tongue. Amber collected him with her wide-open mouth accepting all he had to offer.
Eduardo broke apart from her immediately, “I’m finished swaying on the balcony, want to dance in bed?”
Amber nearly started to hoot when Eduardo didn’t even wait for her to answer and collected her up and ran with her body back to the bedroom.
Chapter FOUR
Maria Lopez was turning fifty-seven this year. She never had any children and was married only once. But since the death of her husband, she felt lonely and unneeded and decided to become a caregiver. Having filled out job application after job application, she finally came across a friend of hers who had been a private nanny for a prevalent family in Beverly Hills and stroke up a conversation with the Latina in between the cucumber and the zucchini while at the grocery store. The woman told her about an agency that placed women like her in wealthy households on one condition – she needed to pass a series of qualifications: Good credit, fingerprinting, no histories of physical or mental abuse, alcohol free and a clear background check of any criminal history through the Department of Justice and she was in. No problema.
She met Mr. Sanchez through the placement agency when he was looking for a full-time live-in nanny and she moved in with them and had been Peyton’s nanny since the day he was born. So of course she would feel a little overprotective of him, she loved that little boy as if he were her own and felt bad when Mrs. Sanchez (Amber) suddenly appeared after waking up from her coma.
Peyton never looked at his mother, nor asked to be near her and had no apparent bond with his natural birth parent. He oftentimes cried for Sheila Thomas, Peyton’s grandmother, who stayed with Peyton when he was just a few months old, but, then moved out a few months later after Mrs. Sanchez arrived. But, nine times out of ten, Peyton felt most comfortable with Mrs. Lopez, and of course, his father.
‘Mrs. Lopez’ was what she liked to be called, and oftentimes brought Peyton outside in the backyard to play in the sand or swing on his swing set. Mrs. Sanchez would tag along, but would never really enforce her son to hug her or talk to her, even to be near her. Mrs. Lopez wondered about her motives, but soon found out after spending so much time alone with Mrs. Sanchez, that she seemed afraid—afraid of her own son’s rejection? That’s why she didn’t push him to receive her so openly. Mrs. Sanchez would wait patiently until Peyton accepted her touch; acknowledge that she was his mother.
Mrs. Lopez was outside sitting next to Peyton while he scooped up sand with his plastic bucket. In the corner of her eye she noticed Mrs. Sanchez in the doorway, looking over at the two of them. Mrs. Lopez waved her hand to bring her over and Mrs. Sanchez began to walk toward Peyton playing.
Peyton instantly sprung to attention and noticed his mother walking toward him. Alarmed and frightened, he stood up and ran into Mrs. Lopez’s reassuring arms.
Amber froze at the sight of her son running away from her advance and stared at Mrs. Lopez as she gently rubbed Peyton’s black-haired head. Oh how she wished that were she!
Later, Amber tried again by offering him a toy but then Peyton ran toward Eduardo when he arrived through their front door. Peyton was totally at ease with his daddy and his daddy gave his son a big bear hug, unaware of the envy brewing in his wife.
“How was your day?” Eduardo asked his son, kneeling down so that he could meet him eye-to-eye.
“Fine daddy, how wa’ours? Settle cases?”
Amber brought her hand up over her mouth and started to cry and ran up the winding staircase.
Eduardo gazed over quizzically at Mrs. Lopez as she just looked away indecisive.
“Peyton mehiò, come with me to change your clothes for bed,” Mrs. Lopez asked the little boy, extending out her arm so that Peyton could take her hand.
Peyton gazed up at Mrs. Lopez, “OK nanny.”
Eduardo shot a weird look at Mrs. Lopez and raised an eyebrow at her.
Mrs. Lopez was taken-back, what did he just call her? “Peyton mehiò, what did you just say?”
“What does he usually call you?” Eduardo asked uncertain.
“Mrs. Lopez.”
“The lady up-stwhere’s told me to call her nanny,” Peyton innocently responded.
Mrs. Lopez almost fainted at the endearment. How nice of Mrs. Sanchez to ask her son to call her such a personal name. For years now she often wondered if Mr. Sanchez ever considered her part of the family, and now, as tears swarmed her eyes, Peyton just proved how much he really cared.
“Well, you are the nanny,” Eduardo winked at her. “But by those tears in your eyes, I’m thinking you’re hoping it’s a word for grandma.”
Mrs. Lopez shushed him. “Peyton mehiò, let’s go upstairs and try to find the lady.”
“Not before me,” Eduardo halted her. “Wait here, I’ll call for you.”
As soon as he made it upstairs, Eduardo found Amber on the bed crying. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her in close. “What’s wrong?”
“Your son doesn’t even know me.”
“My son? He’s ours dear girl.”
“Yah, you keep telling me that. But he doesn’t even know me. He doesn’t feel comfortable with me; he runs away from me at all the times—do you know how that makes me feel?”
Eduardo wiped the tears away from her face and kissed her lightly on her lips. “It’s only been a couple of month’s sweetheart, it will take some time. Peyton is a strong-willed boy. Just give it some time.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Sure you can. We have all the time in the world.” Eduardo stood up and motioned for Mrs. Lopez to bring Peyton upstairs and to his son’s room. “Now, go and wash your face and get our son ready for bed. Mrs. Lopez has already started his bath.”
Amber looked across from her husband. If this was going to work, then she would have to be adaptable. “OK.”
A few minutes later, Amber filled the doorway to find Mrs. Lopez pulling Peyton’s pajamas over his little tan body. He was a perfect interlock between Eduardo and her, taking after Eduardo physically, with black hair, hands, mouth like his mommy and green eyes, nose and skin tone like his daddy. Oh how she loved him so.
Amber noticed that Peyton was missing a button on his nightshirt, and inquired, “Peyton baby...would you come here?”
“No,” he quickly said.
Amber rolled her eyes, “Come here Peyton, I’d like to button up your jammies.”
Broken Obsession - Part Two Page 3