by Kay, Cherry
*
“Okay, keep your eyes closed,” Andrea told David. “Don’t peek!”
“They’re closed.” He snuck a peek through his hands playfully and Andrea scolded him.
“Don’t look!” She playfully swatted at him.
David closed his eyes and waited for her surprise. It was their last morning in Paris and he wished he could stay longer with her there. She was so free here and he loved to watch her eyes when she looked out over the balcony.
“I’m almost done. Just a minute,” Andrea said as he heard her move something through the room. “Alright, open your eyes.”
He opened his eyes and saw her standing there with a cart full of food.
“Breakfast in bed,” she told him.
“And maybe dessert in bed, after.” He pulled her to him and nibbled on her neck. She laughed and he loved the sound of her happiness.
“Go on, eat. We don’t have much time.” Andrea sat next to him on the bed.
“Okay.” He sat up and reached for the silver top that covered the plate. “Let’s see what we have here to eat.”
Andrea watched him closely as he lifted the lid. He looked down and saw that the plate was empty except for a white plastic stick that was sitting in the middle.
“What’s this?” He asked as he picked up the stick and looked at the two blue stripes on it. “Is this what I think it is?”
“We’re having a baby.” She smiled at him.
David sat still for a moment, staring at the two stripes. He was going to be a dad; he heard the words but he couldn’t quite process it. Andrea was pregnant! Slowly, he felt a surge rise from his chest. He suddenly felt prouder than he had ever been in his life.
“We’re going to have a baby?” He jumped out of bed and to his feet. “I’m going to be a dad! We’re having a baby!”
“We’re having a baby!” Andrea repeated as she stood up.
He reached for her and kissed her. His arms wrapped around her as he held her in his arms and imagined having a child. This marriage may not have been traditional but he was having a baby and he suddenly felt like he had a family. Andrea was better than any wife he could have chosen and their baby would be loved more than any one had ever loved him.
The thought of sharing a life with her and their child made him happy and it wasn’t until he thought about the reality of the situation that he regretted again his situation. The future was unknown and he hated not being in control.
Holding onto her tighter, he pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the present moment. Andrea was in his arms and with child; everything else would just have to wait. He was a husband and a father now, no contract could define the feeling and he promised himself he would not allow the contract to dictate his feelings, either. This woman had his heart, whether he had planned on it or not, and for the first time in his life, he was truly happy.
The Final Chapter
Andrea and David walked through the door to their home and set the luggage down. All she wanted was to take a bath and get into her most comfortable pajamas. Paris had been amazing but she was exhausted and needed some rest.
“I have a few things to do in my office.” David kissed her forehead and put his hand gently on her stomach. “Get some rest, beautiful.”
“Promise you’ll join me in bed soon?” she asked.
“Yes.” He stepped away from her. “How can I resist you?”
Andrea smiled as he left the kitchen and went up the steps to his study. She walked around the counter and found the stack of mail and newspapers the staff had collected and left for them on the table. Most of the mail was for David except for one magazine in her name.
There wasn’t much she had missed in the days she was gone, but as she turned to go, the newspaper caught her eye. There was a picture of a black man with an article titled, “Attacked by Businessman for his Color.” Andrea pulled the rolled paper out from the clear plastic wrap and opened it.
“Frederick Harrison claims that billionaire businessman David Lewis attacked him for racial reasons.”
Andrea couldn’t believe what she was reading.
“The case will be heard in civil court in December.”
The sick feeling of disgust came crawling up through Andrea’s throat. She held onto the paper and ran up the steps to David’s study. Throwing the door open and crashing it against the wall, she stormed into his office and dropped the paper in front of him on his desk.
“Is this the reason you married me?” She smacked down on the paper. “Is this why you were looking for a black wife?”
“Andrea, calm down and let me explain.”
“Did you get me pregnant just so you could win some lawsuit?” Tears filled her eyes as she thought about the baby inside of her belly. “This is all so you don’t look like a racist?”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” David said. “I didn’t intend to…”
“To what?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I didn’t intend to fall in love with you.”
Andrea closed her eyes and let the tears flow down her face.
“We are going to have a child now David, an innocent baby who deserves a better purpose than this.” She shook her head.
“Everything is different now, Andrea. I don’t just want you and the child for that. I want to be a father and a husband. I want to be with you. I love you.”
“How can I believe a word you say David? This scheme is sick; it’s pathetic. You’re pathetic.” She turned to leave his office.
“You can’t go, Andrea,” he begged her.
She stopped walking and stood still for a moment, lost in the confusion of her feelings.
“You signed a contract Andrea, you can’t leave.”
She turned around and walked back to him. As she looked up into his eyes, she no longer saw the man she did before and it hurt her to the core.
“Don’t worry, David. I’ll uphold your precious contract. I’ll stay here for the three years and do everything your damn contract says, but don’t you dare touch me again and don’t you dare lie and say you love me.”
She turned and left his office and ran to her own bedroom, the bedroom she had not slept in for almost two months. After she slammed the door behind her, she broke down. Her tears flooded her face as she sobbed. She had loved David. She had thought that he loved her. It was heartbreaking.
The contract had always been at the back of her mind but the reason for it was what was tearing her apart. If she’d known her and her child would be a pawn to win a lawsuit then she would’ve never agreed. This was not something she would’ve allowed a baby to be part of. That was a cruel reason to impregnate a woman but now it was too late; contracts were signed, money was paid, a baby was made. Andrea sank back against the door and cried as she held her hand against her stomach. She was ashamed to be part of the con.
“Andrea?” David said from the other side of the door. “Please let me in. I just want to talk.”
“Go away,” she yelled.
“Listen, I’m not racist. There was an altercation with that man over business, not race, and when he got hurt, he pinned it on me. The police didn’t even charge me because we were both engaged in the fight, but since he lost, he has made this a vengeance against me.”
“David that’s not even what upsets me the most. I know you aren’t racist, but you should’ve been honest with me. How can you bring a baby into the world so selfishly?” She couldn’t fathom his intentions. “You’re not the man I thought you were.”
“I have been honest. I never lied to you. I just withheld information. Please just come out here and talk to me.”
“Just go away David. I am done.” She picked herself up from the floor.
“Andrea, please.”
“Go!”
Andrea heard David’s footsteps go down the hall further away from her room. She was so angry with him. She was hurt and ashamed, yet as the sound of his footsteps disappeared from her ears
she wished that he wasn’t gone. His arms were the comfort she longed for, his eyes the only thing that calmed her.
No, this was not right, she told herself. What he did was wrong and she needed to keep the space between him. She lay on her bed and closed her eyes. It hurt to see his image, he had been her salvation and the only man to make her feel free, and now her heart was shattered and her future foggy. He was horrible, he was wrong, yet she missed him already.
*
It had been a month since Paris and David felt like his world had been turned upside down. Andrea stilled lived in his house but they lived separate lives again. She stayed in her bedroom when he was home and he had gone back to spending most of his time at work. Long hours and extra meetings helped him stay away from the house. He couldn’t stand to be so close to her yet so far away. When they did cross paths she would only nod or maybe say a few words. She never smiled, that is what was hardest to see. She’d always been so happy and he would forever hate himself for taking that from her.
“Knock, knock.” Kara was standing in the doorway of his office. “Hey, Davey.”
Her long red hair was pushed to one side over her shoulder and her blouse was unbuttoned a few buttons too low.
“Hello Kara, come on in.”
She walked in and closed his door behind her. “Your office is huge.” She paced around the room and observed every detail. “I’m impressed.”
“Is there something you need Kara?” David was not in the mood for his old acquaintance’s sneaky maneuvers.
“Can’t I just be here to see my old friend?” She sat down on the edge of desk. “As I recall, you never used to mind when I visited your office.”
He remembered the flings he used to have with her when they worked together five years before. Kara took a pencil from his desk put it seductively between her lips.
“I’m married now Kara.” He turned away from her and back to his work. The thought of his wife crossed his mind and it hurt to think of the wife that could no longer look at him.
“So are you telling me that you can’t spend some time with an old friend?” Kara got off of his desk and walked behind him. “Work is hard and I am only here to help ease your load.” Her hands began massaging his shoulders. It had been weeks since he had been touched and her hands felt nice on his body.
“No, get off Kara.” He thought about Andrea and couldn’t stand the touch of another woman’s hands. “Leave my office.”
“Fine.” She threw the pencil across the room and swiped a stack of papers off of his desk and onto the floor. “Tell your wife she’s a lucky woman.”
Kara was gone from his office but the pain of needing Andrea was still in his heart. The past month had been horrible, each day was harder than the one before. She was carrying his child and all he wanted to do was kiss her stomach and cuddle her in bed. When he had planned on marrying a stranger and having a baby with her, he had never foreseen falling in love with her. But here he was like a love sick puppy, moping around the office and tossing in bed at night. He would never be the same again.
Before he met Andrea, he was closed off and unable to care about much but himself. He was going through life without living. After meeting her, she showed him what living meant. She made life beautiful. She was his reason for getting up each day and she made each day worth living. Her smile was inspiring and he found motivation to be a better man in her eyes.
David stood up from his chair and punched the wall. What had he done? he thought angrily. He had lost the only woman he ever loved. He had lost his reason. He had lost his beautiful.
*
“The dress is so beautiful!” Jennifer Hollander hugged Andrea and thanked her. “You have no idea how much this means to us. You are a blessing!”
“Kellie looks gorgeous in it. I’m just glad to be a part of her happiness.” Andrea smiled as she parted from the mother.
“Andrea is starting an organization that will help people like your daughter,” Nikki told Jennifer.
“You’re an angel Andrea, you really are.” The woman’s eyes teared up.
“I hope your daughter enjoys her prom, tell her to take lots of pictures for me to see.” Andrea said her goodbyes and left the apartment with Nikki.
When she volunteered to make the dress for Kellie, she never knew how inspired she would be by the smile on the teenager's face. Now, after Nikki’s suggestion, she knew she couldn’t just ignore all the other girls who needed dresses or boys who needed suits. It touched her to be able to bring happiness with materials. Andrea decided she would now start a program to help with such needs, maybe even more.
“Has your morning sickness gone away?” Nikki asked as they got into her car.
“Pretty much so, I still have it every once in a while.” She started her car and began driving.
“I bet David is so happy. What is he hoping for, a boy or girl?” Nikki asked.
Andrea’s heart ached at the sound of his name. She missed David so much. Seeing him was hard so she stayed in her room mostly and tried to keep a distance between them. When they did run into each other in the house she wanted to say so much to him but could find no words. At night she would fight the strong urge to go to his room and crawl into his bed. It was so difficult staying away from him.
“Do you think I should take Fifth Avenue or McMillon?” Andrea attempted to change the subject as she sat at a red light. “I don’t want to run into traffic.”
The light turned green.
“I think Fifth Avenue should be fine if…”
They never saw the car run the red light and slam into the driver’s side of Andrea’s SUV. Glass shattered, metal crashed, and the airbag popped, but Andrea only saw black as she was knocked unconscious.
*
David ran into the hospital. He was losing his mind and on the edge of going insane as he rushed to find his wife. Nikki had called and said there was an accident. She didn’t say much, except that Andrea had been hurt and he needed to get to the hospital right away. It sliced through him like a sharp knife. Andrea needed to be okay, their baby needed to be okay, he thought in his panic.
He threw the door to the emergency room open and hurried to the front desk. “I am here to see my wife, Andrea Lewis.” He waited impatiently as the woman looked on her computer.
“Room 202.” The words had barely left her mouth when his feet began moving.
He ran down the hall and hit the elevator button. It felt like an eternity as he waited for the elevator. Not being able to wait another minute, David found the stairwell and made his way up, tackling three or four steps at a time. The second floor came not soon enough, and he threw the door open, determined to get to Andrea.
He was only steps away from her room and he feared what he might find as he entered. He saw Nikki standing there and turned to see Andrea laying in a bed with bandages wrapped around her head and a machine hooked up to her arm. The look in her eyes when he saw her face was unbearable: she was in pain.
“I’ll give you two a minute.” Nikki left the room.
David walked around the bed and took Andrea’s hand in his. She didn’t speak and he knew what he feared the most had come true.
“You lost the baby, didn’t you?” He broke down, tears falling. “Oh Andrea, I’m so sorry.” His head fell beside her. She put her head on his head and ran her fingers through his hair.
“David.” Andrea’s voice was weak. “David, look at me.”
He brought his head up and his eyes to hers.
“The baby is fine,” she said. “I didn’t lose the baby.”
“Oh thank God!” He dropped his head down and kissed her stomach. “I thought we lost it, I thought I lost you.”
“David.” Her voice was a weak whisper. “Look at me.”
He looked up again.
“You didn’t lose us; you haven’t lost me.” There was so much in her words; he found hope in them.
*
When Andrea signed the contract to her fa
te she never knew she would be the one to make the rules. Meeting David was anything but business. She was still not happy about the situation that had brought her to him, but she knew things happened for a reason. Everything in her life had changed but she was happy. She was married to the man she loved and they would be bringing a child into the world in a matter of months. To her, it didn’t matter how their relationship had started, as long as it was genuine and real.
“Are you ready?” David asked her.
“Yes.” She threw her paper into the fireplace and David followed with his. “There goes our contract,” Andrea said. “I’m no longer a contracted bride.”
“You were always so much more.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “You were always more to me than a contract.”
She watched the fire as his arms held her. David still had to get through his nasty court battle; it was not going to be easy, but she would be by his side as a true, supportive wife now. She pushed the future out of her head and focused back on the fire. They watched the contracts burn. Andrea looked up into his blue eyes. She loved him, she loved everything about him, and each day, she found she loved him more. The flames danced in front of them like a final ballet act and as she kissed his lips, she hoped that chapter in their lives was ended.
“I love you, David.”
“I love you too, my beautiful wife.” His lips kissed her once more and as she turned back to the fire one last time, she promised herself she would let her memories of the contract burn in those flames as well. This was her husband, nothing more to the story except their love, and it would withstand any fire that may come their way.
THE END
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