Chapter 10
Renee’s due date was quickly approaching. She had decided early on in her pregnancy that this time she would take things at a leisurely pace. She knew that Genie would manage The Skin and Hair Boutique salons just fine until she was ready to get back into the swing of things. In the meantime she devoted herself to making sure that she was eating a healthy diet, maintaining a modified exercise routine, and getting plenty of rest. Elliott would have it no other way.
Elliott left his office early in order to be on time for Matt’s and Kayla’s birthday party. He and Renee, along with Elliott’s parents, Kim and Robert, and Matt’s and Kayla’s friends were going to be present at Pizzeria Mozza. “You sure you feel like going out this evening?” Elliott wrapped his arms around Renee’s stomach.
She placed her arms around his neck and stood on tip-toes to give him a kiss. “Absolutely. I’ve had pizza on the brain since I got up this morning.” Just as she was saying this, they both felt the babies moving in her stomach.
Elliott chuckled and said, “Feels like a couple of other little people agree with you.”
“Yeah,” she said, “they’ve been having quite a little game of twist and turn in there for these last few weeks. When we get home from the restaurant, I was thinking maybe we could take a little stroll around the neighborhood. Might make them relax and we can get some real sleep tonight.”
Elliott agreed. “We could stay long enough to have a couple of slices of pizza and then leave. I’m sure everyone will understand that you need to rest. After our walk, we can shower and then go to bed early.”
“Mmmmm, that sounds like a plan to me. It’s a good thing that the shower is big enough for all of us. I feel like I’m the size of this house.” Her follow-up appointments with Dr. Middleton had been excellent. Her vital signs were good and she had not gained too much weight. Try though she may, she still couldn’t help being concerned with how her body would fare after this pregnancy. When she was pregnant with Matt and Kayla, she was so young. Getting her body back to what it had been before had not been an issue. However, this time around, she was at the other end of things. All said, she was much more thankful for things this time around. She was married to the love of her life, had more money than she could spend in ten lifetimes, Kayla and Matt were doing well with their own lives, and she was expecting healthy twins. She didn’t realize that she was smiling.
“Since the idea of pizza, an evening walking, and showering together lights you up like that, I’ve made a mental note to make sure we do those things at every given chance. Did you even hear anything I said after that?” he asked teasingly.
“It’s all your fault, you know? You’re the reason I’m so happy. Everything is just the way I hoped it would be, except better, you know?”
Elliott pulled her close, inhaled her jasmine-scented locs and said, “Yeah, I am kinda fantastic.” He chuckled and added, “But only because I have a reason. Having you and our kids here with me has definitely made me a better man. You make everything beautiful Renee, just like you.”
Renee slipped out of the robe she put on when they had arrived home. Elliott removed his slacks and shirt. She stepped into the shower and Elliott followed behind her. She turned to face him and he began stroking her breasts, lightly palming her sensitized nipples. She placed her arms around his neck and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. She slipped her arms around him, her fingernails lightly scraping up and down on his muscled back. Elliott’s erection grew harder and he pressed Renee against the wall of the shower so that she could feel the effect that she was having on him. “Are you sure we have time for this?” he asked as she stroked his length.
“Don’t know and don’t care. I do know that I want you inside of me. Now.” Elliott was more than ready and willing to oblige.
Elliott turned Renee so that she was facing the wall of the shower. She placed both hands on the stone surface for support. Elliott gripped her hips from behind and as he did so, she placed her leg on the built-in shower seat so that she could raise her buttocks, giving Elliott more access to what he wanted. He reached around her with one hand to caress her breasts and play with her nipples, while using the fingers of his other hand to probe her core and tease her aching clit. She shuddered as he guided himself inside her. Renee pressed her hips back as Elliott’s length and thickness worked its way into her wet, hot, tightness. He heard her breath hitch as he slowly slid his shaft in and out of her. They were both moaning and sighing in ecstasy. The water from the shower mingled erotically with the perspiration and fluids from their heated encounter. Renee felt the warmth of her orgasm spreading throughout her body. “Elliott,” she moaned softly as her inner muscles gripped tightly around his pulsing, throbbing erection. Elliott arched his back and pressed his hips into her soft, round bottom. “Ah, ah, ah, Renee, baby, right there . . . right there, feels so fucking good.” Renee continued to grip him tightly, until they were both spent.
After their lovefest, Renee and Elliott rinsed each other off, dried their bodies and got dressed. Elliott said, “You know, there are many things I am really enjoying about you being pregnant.”
“Oh, yeah,” Renee chuckled. She knew exactly where this conversation was going. “You mean you haven’t grown tired of me being tired more times than not, and you haven’t become too turned off by my vastly different appearance?” She was only teasing him. She knew Elliott well enough to know that he was not shallow and that he understood that carrying two babies had to be exhausting. “So, tell me, Mr. James, what has given you such a beautiful glow?”
Elliott helped her to a standing position from the chair she was sitting in and said, “As I said earlier, having you and our kids here with me are definitely the top reasons for my ‘glow,’ but I must admit, I am not even mad at the fact that you are willing to get down and dirty whenever the need arises. He arched his brow and said, “And it arises a lot.”
Renee laughed and said, “You noticed that, huh?” She gave Elliott a look that suggested that she wouldn’t mind having a repeat of their earlier shower session. “You make getting down and dirty so very, very nice.”
“Renee . . .,” he said in a warning voice.
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and said, “Hold onto that thought.”
They got into the car and headed off to the restaurant.
~~~~
When they arrived at the restaurant, Elliott spotted Jonathan. He was seated in a corner of the restaurant with an attractive woman who was flirting shamelessly with him. Jonathan’s eyes fell immediately on Renee. The woman looked over to where Elliott and Renee were standing. She looked questioningly at Jonathan, who recovered quickly, giving her his most charming smile and appearing to give her his undivided attention.
Everyone except Mik was there. “Yeah, hopefully he will be here in a bit. He’s been really busy lately with all of his patients. He was in the process of admitting a child with severe asthma. Maybe Dr. Sokolov will take over for him so that he can at least be here for a little while anyway,” Kayla said. Dr. Sokolov’s recent partnership with Mik was welcome. Having a second doctor meant that Mik could manage to see a lot of patients in his office and at the hospital, which would in turn allow him to have more free time to have a personal life.
After singing “Happy Birthday” to Kayla and Matt, everyone sat around the table talking and generally having a good time. Matt and Sonya had been MIA for a bit and a lot of questions were directed to them about their jobs and new condo.
Lena and Kim were talking to Renee about her upcoming C-section. “So you’re scheduled for delivery in three weeks?” Lena inquired. “I just want to make sure that I have it correct on my device so that Ben and I will be there on time.”
“Yes,” Renee replied. “It is scheduled for early in the morning. I have to be at the medical center early, but I don’t want you all to feel like you have to be there as early as I do. Well, I mean except for you, Elliott, you do have to be there early with me
,” she teased. After briefly joking about who would settle the bill, Elliott gave in and allowed Ben to pay.
As everyone was making their way to the exit, Elliott stopped short. Renee’s mother, Maggie, was walking toward them. She had been sitting in the restaurant at a close enough range to observe them, but far enough away that they were not able to see her.
Renee’s happy mood shifted to one of extreme tenseness. Elliott and Lena were immediately at her side, eyeing Maggie, ensuring that she didn’t do or say anything to upset Renee. Renee’s eyes darkened and her face took on the expression that a person gets when going into shutdown mode.
Maggie took one step toward Renee. Only one step. The look on Elliott’s face told her to stay back. Maggie simply said, “Hello, Renee.”
~~~~
After taking a second to gather herself, Renee glanced around to make sure that the rest of the group was with her and said, “Looks like we chose the perfect time to leave.” Everything that Maggie had said to her when she became pregnant with Matt and Kayla came back to her in that moment. Everything she said about Elliott not loving her came back to her. Everything she said about Renee being stupid enough to allow him to get her pregnant proved she couldn’t possibly be a responsible parent. And then shortly after she had Matt and Kayla, Maggie was still berating Renee, telling her that her she had made the biggest mistake ever and that her life was over.
Aware that Elliott was very, very protective of Renee, Maggie continued cautiously. “Renee, I just wanted to talk with you. I was sitting over there when I saw you come in and . . . “
Renee felt the beginnings of a throbbing headache. She steeled herself and looked Maggie directly in the eye. “Really, Maggie? You want to talk to me? I saw you sitting, no hiding over there with Joan watching us. I don’t have anything to say to you, and you have nothing to say that I want to hear. I told you that 22-years ago, remember?”
Maggie’s spine stiffened and she said, “That’s not fair, Renee. After all this time you should . . . “
Elliott knew that Renee was about to lose it and so was he. His tone of voice was low, but it was clear and effective as he gave an amused little chuckle and said, “Fair?? Maggie, you must be kidding us right now with this. You don’t want to have a discussion about fairness, not with us anyway. Not now, not ever. So, here’s how this is going to happen. You can turn and walk away quietly, or you can keep harassing us and I can make things difficult for you. Easy choices, right? Easier than the ones you gave Renee. And well, damn, isn’t it ironic that I’m giving you the chance to do what’s right here? You sure as hell didn’t give me a chance. I’m way ahead of you Maggie.” He stood there waiting, looking her squarely in her eyes.
“Is everything OK here, Mr. James? Is there something we can assist you with?” The restaurant manager had known Elliott for years and like many other businesses in LA, was more than willing to accommodate his requests.
Elliott gave Maggie a warning look and when he saw that she was not going to take the conversation any further, he said, “No, everything here is fine here. Thank you.”
Maggie was smart enough to know better than to challenge Elliott. She knew that even though outwardly he appeared cool, calm, and collected, his contempt for her knew no bounds. Not wanting to draw any more attention to herself than she already had, she walked back to her table, where her friend Joan was waiting.
~~~~
After returning home from the restaurant, Maggie sat on her sofa replaying the events of the evening in her head. She knew that Renee hated her for what she had done. She sat there remembering the day that she had discovered that Renee was pregnant. When she took the phone call from the doctor’s office that was intended for Renee, Maggie was infuriated. How dare Renee do this to her? How dare she go around with that boy who only was using her for her body and allow him to knock her up? How would she explain this to her friends? Everyone was going to think that she didn’t know how to control her own daughter. She had demanded that Renee terminate the pregnancy. When she refused, Maggie became belligerent. She went as far as to try to force her to go live in Georgia with Maggie’s sister. Again, Renee adamantly refused.
Maggie and Dennis argued ad nauseam about the situation. Maggie accused Dennis of not being a good father. She said he was negligent to the fact that Elliott had been using Renee for sex. She told him that if he had been paying attention, he should have made sure that Elliott never got close enough to Renee to touch her, let alone get into her pants. Dennis had enough of Maggie’s raging tirade at Renee and at him. He told her that she never had been a real mother to their daughter. He told her that if she had been the type of mother who listened and was involved in her daughter’s life, she would have talked to Renee about her feelings for Elliott. Dennis told Maggie that she had purposefully chosen to turn a blind eye to Renee’s obvious emotional and physical attraction to Elliott. He had tried to talk to Renee about it, but she was so uncomfortable in discussing what was going on. She did tell him that she loved Elliott and that everything was under control. She planned on going to college to pursue a degree in business and that Elliott was going to law school.
Maggie had been infuriated at Renee for being “one of those easy kind of girls,” and at Dennis for taking Renee’s side. Of course he was not thrilled that his daughter was pregnant so early in her life, but his anger turned into concern for Renee. For him, the wellbeing of her and her baby were more important than anything. Elliott had called Renee during the fever pitch of the argument. Maggie had instructed Renee on what to tell him. She’d told her to tell him that she had changed her mind about him and that they needed to not be together. She knew that Elliott was suspicious and not at all accepting what Renee was saying to him. She saw her daughter crying and distraught at what was happening. To further her own agenda, whatever that agenda was, Maggie took the phone from Renee and told Elliott to never contact Renee and not to come to their house again. Renee would not be there. The rest, as they say, is history. Renee ended up going to New York to live with Dennis’s sister and her husband for a bit. Dennis divorced Maggie and moved to New York.
Her courtship with Dennis had been fine. He was handsome, charming, and truly in love with Maggie. She was beautiful, intelligent and ambitious. Five years into the marriage, things started to fall apart. Dennis wanted at least one child. More would have suited him just fine. Maggie kept putting him off, making first one excuse and then another. They needed to save money, they needed to buy a bigger house, and she wanted time to stabilize herself in her chosen field of accounting. The list went on and on. They were not wealthy, but Dennis always made sure that they had everything that they needed and some of the things that they wanted, and with her job, they lived a very nice life. To outsiders, they seemed to be a stable couple. However, things were really tense at home. Not just because of her unwillingness to have a child or children with Dennis. Maggie had become increasingly controlling and jealous. She would accuse Dennis of having affairs at work. They had very few friends because she was so suspicious of everyone. Maggie finally got pregnant, but only to keep Dennis tied to her. She knew that he was miserable being married to her, and she also knew that he would not leave her since she had become pregnant with his child.
She really had not been a good mother to Renee. She had tried, but it soon became very clear to Dennis that Maggie had no real desire to be a mother. She felt his resentment toward her growing on a daily basis. Sure, she always made sure that Renee was clean and fed. She interacted with her in public places, reveling in the compliments that Renee got for being so pretty, smart, and well-behaved. However, when they were at home, Maggie didn’t have time for her. Dennis, on the other hand, doted on Renee in public and at home. He would truly listen to the things that she had to say, and would take note of things that she didn’t say. He took an interest in the things she was interested in. When Renee was sixteen, Maggie overheard her telling Dennis that she knew that Maggie didn’t want her. She told him tha
t the only reason Maggie had Renee was because other people had kids. Dennis knew this was true, but he still tried to assuage his daughter’s feelings. He told her that Maggie did love her and want her. He said that Maggie had a different way of showing love, but that she did want the best for her. Maggie remembered the disbelieving look on Renee’s face. It was true. Maggie only had Renee to keep her marriage intact so that people would not see her as a failure. Renee had seen through Maggie and she resented her for it. Rather than getting herself the help that she so desperately needed so that she could be a better parent, Maggie had actually become more distant and demanding of Renee. When she started seeing Elliott, Maggie decided she would do whatever she had to do to tear that relationship apart. Things went downhill for Maggie very quickly from that point on. After she disowned Renee, Dennis divorced her, moved to New York to be close to Renee and his sister, Sophie. After a couple of years, Dennis fell in love and remarried. Renee had her babies, received her degree and was able to start her own very lucrative company. Elliott had become the most sought-out attorney in California. His list of clients included some of the state’s most wealthy and elite individuals and corporations. Everything had worked out and Maggie was left out.
So, here she sat, all alone. With each passing year, she became more aware of the fact that things did not go well for her. She had thrown away her only daughter and her grandchildren, and her husband had left her because she had been, as he put it, “an evil, controlling, self-centered bitch.” She went on a few dates a couple of years after the divorce. Even though she had been and still was very beautiful, she never could sustain relationships. There was nothing about her that was warm and loving. While most healthy, adult men could appreciate a beautiful woman, they also wanted someone who was kind, loving and nurturing. Maggie was beautiful, but possessed none of the other characteristics that would entice a man to actually stay with her. She actually did go on to get psychiatric help to help her understand herself better. She had hoped that Renee would give her the opportunity to speak with her, but if tonight was any indicator, she knew that was a task that was going to be easier said than done.
A Couple of Forevers (This Time Forever Book 2) Page 11