by Joz Maxel
"Come on, Leni, I'll take you shopping. Maybe I'll even buy you that pony you've always wanted."
"Dad, I stopped asking for that when I was seven."
"Really? Growing up before my eyes, kiddo." I stand away from the table and hold out my hand for her to take. She looks up at me and smiles, and there's my girl.
Corey
I'm in an uncomfortable piece of hell!
My head is pounding, my palms are sweaty, and I feel nauseous. Each time Leni looks over her shoulder to make sure I'm still standing, I offer her what I think is a reassuring smile, but it probably looks like I ate dog shit. She reaches for a box, then pulls away, repeating the actions a few more times, and I'm just about ready to lose my shit. I pick up a box without looking and show it to her. "What about this one?"
She examines it, and a look of humiliation overcomes her. "Ohmygoddadputitback!" She puts her hands over her eyes, like the store lights are blinding her. "What?" I turn the English wording to me. "Vagisil Prohydrate Natural Feel...what is this?"
"Can I help you?" A feminine voice from behind me asks. I turn around and see an older woman waiting for my response. "Ah, yes, yes you can. My daughter here..." I point to the spot she was standing in, now unoccupied, but she peeks her head around the end of the aisle.
The older lady puts her hand on my arm and gives me a look of concern. "Sir, would you like me to help your daughter? I'm the pharmacist here, and it might help to have a woman who knows a thing or two." Her smile is warm and sincere. "Why don't you shop around, and I'll help your daughter get what she needs."
I drop the basket I'm holding and hug her. She's laughing as she pats my back, but this woman has saved me. Ten minutes later, I'm on my way home with a more confident Leni in the passenger seat, and a bottle of Jack with my name on it.
Nova
The house is quiet when I get home. I check in on each of the kids before I make my way to my bedroom. The lights are off, but I can hear the television. I open the door to find my husband sitting up against the headboard in his boxers, legs stretched out in front of him, and a tumbler of amber liquid in his hand. I raise my eyebrows and smile. "Hello, husband. Rough day?" I look at the TV and ask, "Rambo?"
"I'm trying to regain some of my manhood back. It's been a trying day."
"Aw, baby." I shimmy my black scrubs down my legs and kick them off to the side. "Wanna tell me about it?"
He raises his eyebrows when he sees the black boy shorts I'm wearing. "Well, Matt forgot to order me the colours I needed for my leg piece, so I fired him."
I stop mid-way taking my top off. "You didn't?"
He smiles. "I didn't. Keep going, wife."
I slip my shirt off and throw it to the floor. "Is that all?"
"I made friends with Monica at ballet today. I need to support Lo in her dancing aspirations, so I signed you up for the bake sale, realized you were working that day, and now I'm baking four dozen cupcakes. Decoration theme is my choice."
"Oh, no." I laugh as I take off my remaining sock. I climb on the bed and crawl my way over to straddle him. His hands immediately go to my ass to pull me in closer. "Are you better now?" I give him a gentle kiss on his lips as I bring my arms around his neck.
"Starting to." He runs his hands up and down my back. "Still wearing too many clothes, wife."
Kissing him along his jaw and down his neck, I say, "That doesn't sound so bad."
He undoes the clasp on my bra and slips the straps down my arms, laying kisses on my shoulder. "Oh yeah, Leni started her period today."
"What?" I sit up straight and look into my husband's amused eyes. "Already?"
"I guess it happened at volleyball today."
I lean my forehead against his. "Is she okay? Was she scared?"
He runs his hands up and down my arms. "I don't think I scarred her too much. The lady pharmacist took mercy on me and helped her get what she needed."
"Oh, my poor girl. I'll talk to her tomorrow."
He lifts my chin with his finger and smiles. "Save any lives today?"
I smile while running my hands through his hair. "Always."
His hands slide down my ass, grabbing onto the material that's hiding what he really needs. "Take these off, babe. I need to be inside you, right fucking now."
I stand up on the bed to take off my boy shorts while he slides his boxers off. He puts his hands on my hips and pulls me toward his face. His tongue flicks my clit, sending chills all over my body. I look down to watch him flick the tip of his tongue repeatedly over my sensitive bundle of nerves. He slides his middle finger inside me and makes a 'come to' motion, rubbing the spot that gives me fireworks of pleasure. He begins to palm his cock, keeping the rhythm of his strokes in time with his tongue. Seeing I'm almost ready to lose my control, he removes his finger and grabs my hips.
"Ride me, baby." I lower myself on to him and we both groan out our pleasure. Our kiss tastes like a mixture of me and Jack Daniels, a delicious combination that's adding fuel to my fire. His thumbs are grazing my hardened nipples as I search to find the release we both need. With my arms around his neck, I lean back for him to take his tortuous time sucking and biting my nipples, soothing the sting with a leisurely lick. His hands move to my ass, pushing me harder onto him, and in turn, goes deeper in. I'm almost at the edge. I can feel him growing harder inside me, so I reach behind me and start to play with his balls. "Oh, fuck, babe. Come with me." He slides his hand between us and strums my clit with his thumb for a few strokes, and we both find our release.
I lean into him and press a kiss to his delicious lips and smile. "You feeling like a man now?"
He smacks my ass twice before replying. "I do now." Still entwined with each other, he flips me on my back and braces his weight over me by his arms laying by my head. "Wanna shower with me, wife?"
"I'd love to." He kisses the tip of my nose before sliding out of me and bringing me off the bed with him. Tucking me under his arm, I can't help but be a little curious of his day. "Was it really that bad today?"
He pulls me closer to him before turning the shower on. "I gave the sixty-year-old pharmacist free tattoos for life for helping Len out." I burst out laughing while he shakes his head, smirking at his misery.
Well, there you go.
Dane
Sunday's were reserved for families, dressed in their Sunday best, laughing and enjoying each other's company over sandwiches and tea.
I hated Sundays. Gave me too much time to think about shit.
I'm lying on the couch, arm tucked under my head, the other resting on my stomach with a cigarette, slowly burning up the white paper, contemplating the 'what ifs' in my life. What if Nova was never pregnant? What if that night never happened? What if I never met Crash?
I take a drag of my cigarette, and as I blow out, I watch the smoke billowing above my lips when there's a knock at my door. I direct my attention toward the noise, thinking who it could be, when there's a full fisted banging, followed by, "Dane, you motherfucker! Open the fucking door!"
Speak of the fucking devil himself.
Taking my time sitting up, I plant my feet on the floor, place my hands on either side of my legs and take a few deep breaths. I'm rewarded by not only a full fisted banging, but a few kicks with booted feet. Awesome.
"Just a minute." I take the last few drags of my cigarette and stub it out in the ashtray in front of me.
"Hurry the fuck up, asshole!"
I smile, knowing he's about two seconds away from busting my door down. I open the door to see Crash, dressed in his Sunday best—jeans, black T-shirt, and his cut. His lips curl into a grin as I lean against the open door.
"Hey, buddy! Been a long time. You gonna ask me in?"
"What do you want, Crash?"
"Is that any way to greet your best friend?" He slaps my chest with the back of his hand as he enters the apartment. "Pretty sad when I gotta find out from Jackie you got out."
"What do you want?" I close the door rather
harshly, following the path he's taking as he checks out my stuff. "How did you find me?"
He looks over his shoulder. "It wasn't easy, but I got my ways." He takes a cigarette from my pack and lights up. "Why the fuck did you end up here in buttfuck nowhere?"
"Change of scenery. Nobody knows my shit here."
Crash is picking up random things around the apartment, like he's weighing their importance in my life, and setting them down before falling into the recliner in the corner of my living room. He tilts his head to the side, takes a drag of his smoke, then smiles.
"So, let me get this shit straight. Instead of coming back to the only home and family you've ever known, you just walk out of the pen, grab your bike and head north? Did you throw a dart at a fucking map to decide on this location?" He chuckles to himself.
I know he knows Nova and Rourke are here, but he's fishing for confirmation. He won't get a fucking thing from me if I can help it.
"What are you doing for money, Dane? Back to selling candy?"
"Fifteen years clean. You think I'd go back to that?" I settle into the couch, leaning my head against the wall as I wait for the migraine that having him here will surely induce. "I'm working at a garage, fixing cars again."
Crash purses his lips and nods his head. "So, Dane fucking Matthews is an honest to goodness God fearing man now, eh?" He leans over the arm of the chair to extinguish his cigarette in the ashtray by the couch when he notices the picture.
He picks it up, sits back in the chair and stares at it. I turn my head to see why he's so quiet The hairs on the back of my neck instantly rise. It's a picture I took of Rourke before we cascaded down the fresh powdered mountain on our snowboarding weekend.
"They turn you fucking gay in the joint? Why the fuck you got a pic of a kid?" He narrows his eyes at me. "Who the fuck..." He brings the picture closer to him, and when realization hits, I need him fucking gone.
"All right, time to go. Gotta work early tomorrow." I try to grab the picture from him, but he pulls it out of reach.
"This boy looks an awful like you, Dane, and I fucking know you've never been on any fucking mountain before." He slowly moves the picture into my reach.
As I use more force than necessary to grab it from him, giving him the confirmation he was seeking, he gets up from the chair and walks to the door.
"You know, I quite like it here. Think I might stick around for a while." He opens the door and turns around to leave, but not before I see the smirk on his face.
Nova
After a week of throwing up at everything in sight, yet everyone in the house perfectly fine, it got me thinking. I bought a test at the pharmacy when I got to work and headed right to the staff washroom, where I'm bent over the toilet, dry heaving, while waiting for the results. In my heart, I already know what it will tell me, but my head is a different story. It wants me to believe the only explanation is early onset menopause.
I grab a wad of toilet paper to wipe my mouth off and stand in front of the mirror. I look like death, just the look I want when saving lives.
Usual time for results is three minutes. My time for results? One minute, and I'm staring at two very pink lines.
Corey is going to flip his shit.
I couldn't keep him off me when I carried the girls. If he had his way, I would be pregnant all the damn time, trying to build him a hockey team. He's the definition of doting father, I'll give him that. As soon as he got home from the shop, he held Maybelene and Lola in his arms until it was time for bed. Even then, I caught him on multiple occasions, sleeping in the rocking chair with the girls snuggled on his chest.
I look at my watch and realize it's just about seven. In just over six hours, my husband will learn we are having a baby, again, at my age of thirty-seven.
God, help me.
"Nova, you got the chart for Mr. Sims?"
"Yeah, it's on the top of the pile." I point to the stack of processed charts for my shift's end. Dr. Augestine grabs the top chart and examines it.
"Thanks, Nova. Enjoy your weekend."
"I will." I finish signing off and hand the chart to Gloria, who notices how green I look.
"Honey, are you feeling okay? You don't look so good."
I nod my head, covering my mouth, willing the nausea to subside. When the feeling settles, I offer her a reassuring smile. "I will be, if I don't kill myself first."
Shock registers on her face. "What? Why would you say that, Nova?"
Being the older generation, she doesn't get the younger generation's sarcasm right away. "All day morning sickness, Gloria."
She gasps and starts to clap. "Oh, honey, that's wonderful news! When did you..." I push her chair out of the way to get to the garbage on her other side and empty my stomach contents of the lone cracker I managed to keep down for lunch. "Oh, dear."
I grab some Kleenex to wipe my mouth and sit back in my chair. "Fuck me, I want to die."
Gloria chuckles before rubbing my arm. "I bet Corey's enjoying this."
"On my way to tell him now." I finish cleaning up my work space and get up to leave. "See you Monday."
"Okay, sweetie. Take care of yourself."
After collecting all my belongings, I'm making my way to my vehicle, looking in my purse for the keys when a hard body presses up against me, hand over my mouth, choking out my screams. I start to kick and fight against his hold, connecting with his shins a few times before my legs are grabbed as well. The putrid smell of his breath is making me gag when he brings his mouth to my ear. "Stop fighting or I'll fucking shoot you."
I know that voice.
Corey
Rob Watson, the Police Chief, is sitting in my chair, getting the last of his touch-ups done to his back piece. It's of a guardian angel with his wife's features, who passed away from cancer four years ago. We've been building on this piece for about a year now, so I've gotten to know Chief Watson pretty well. The reason behind the tat isn't fun, but the art work is pretty fucking good, if I do say so myself. His son is also good friends with Rourke, so we've been chipping back and forth on whose son is tougher, all in good fun, when there's a quick knock at my door before Matt enters the room.
"What's up, man?"
"Wow! Sick piece, dude. Make sure you charge him a mint. Can't get work like that."
Turning his head to the side, Rob smirks. "Don't I have a warrant for your arrest? Something about unpaid speeding tickets?" I shake my head and laugh, knowing damn well the guy stuffs them in his glove box.
Matt's face drops. "You have a warrant?"
Rob smiles, trying not to laugh, while I'm still tattooing him. "No, but get those fucking tickets paid, you speed demon."
"Jesus, don't do that to me." He places one hand on his chest and the other on the door frame to brace himself. "I'm too young to die of a heart attack."
"You need something?" I wipe off the line I just finished, leaning my head from side to side to admire my work.
"Right," he says over his shoulder. "Leni's school is on the phone."
In turning to face Matt, I notice the time on the clock above the door that reads three twenty. Leni's school lets out at five after three, and Nova's the main contact, so I'm not sure why I'm getting called. "Put the call on speaker, please."
"Yeah, sure." He walks over to the phone on the table and picks up the line and puts it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Mr.Spencer? I'm Mrs. Tatchery, the Vice Principal at Aspen Ridge Elementary. I have your daughter, Maybelene, in my office. She informs me that her mom was supposed to pick her up."
"Yeah, she said she would. She hasn't shown up yet?"
"No, and I've tried all three numbers provided to the office a few times. No answer at the house or on her cell, and the hospital said she left around one."
With everyone's schedule rapidly running through my mind, I inform Mrs. Tatchery that I'll be there to get Leni before I disconnect the call. "Sorry, Rob, I'll have to get Matt to reschedule you."
; "Already on it," Matt yells from down the hall.
"Nova must have fallen asleep." I finish cleaning off his back and get the bandages ready.
"No worries. I know the life of shift work."
Placing the last of the bandages on, I take the gloves off and throw them in the garbage. "You know the drill. Matt will take care of you out front." I hold my hand out for him to shake.
"Sure thing. Catch you later, Corey."
I'm already dialing Nova at home, not noticing Rob leaving the room. No answer. I try her cell phone and it goes to voicemail after a few rings. I grab my keys off the counter and make my way out the back where my SS Nova is parked, still trying Nova on her cell and at home.
By the time I pull up to the school, and with no response from Nova, I have a bad feeling something's wrong. Taking the stairs two at a time, I smile at my poor girl who looks worried standing beside Mrs. Tatchery out front.
"How's my girl?" I run my hand over her hair and kiss the top of her head.
She looks up at me with a somber look on her face. "Mom was supposed to pick me up. Why didn't she come?"
"Still trying to figure that out, baby. You ready to go?" I grab her bag off the ground and take her little hand in mine. "Mom probably fell asleep in the bathtub again." We walk down the steps to the car and I open the passenger door, throwing her bag on the back seat.
Placing her left foot in the car, she turns to me before getting in. "Is Mom okay?"
I cup the side of her face, rubbing her cheek with my thumb. "Let's go home and we'll ask her, okay?"
Using my hands-free feature in the car, I keep trying the house and cell with no answer, and no return on the messages I've left her. I'm trying to remain unaffected for Leni's sake, but I can tell she knows something's not right. When we pull up in the driveway, I notice Nova's SUV isn't there. As we walk into the house, I tell Leni to go upstairs to her room so I can call Brenda's cell phone.