"Like shit." He was pretty sure this was the worst he had ever felt in his life. Even his football days could not compare to this agony coupled with the residual heaviness from the pills.
"Oh, well, suck it up. It's Christmas Eve today, there's lots to do. Heaps of food to cook and Mum wants you to help Chad build a chicken coop."
"What for?" Toby groaned, rolling onto his side to bury his face into his pillow. "She has no chickens."
"Daphne has inspired her. And also pissed her off mightily, so she wants her in the backyard and to make building a coop worthwhile she's going to get some chooks for herself. Fresh eggs! It'll be great." Charlotte gave him a poke in his side. "Come on, roll over onto your other side so I can see if you're all bruised." She poked him once again.
With another groan, Toby did as she asked. Charlotte pulled back the covers and ran her hand lightly over his lower back. "I think you're faking. There's nothing here."
"It's all internal. It hurts like bloody hell. Do you think I would fall into bed with you for the first time in months and not make the most of it if I wasn't in extreme agony?" Perhaps if he whined enough about the pain, she might keep running her hands over his skin like that. It had been so long since he had felt her touch him with any intimacy.
"Good point." She placed a kiss onto his shoulder, pulling him back down to lie flat. Sitting up, she straddled his waist, grinning down at him. "You know, I had greater expectations of you for last night."
Settling his hands onto her hips, he laughed at that. "So did I, believe me."
Charlotte shifted, moving herself into place on top of him. He stared at her with wide eyes, his hands grabbing frantically at her hips, firmly holding her just above him. She looked down at him, confused.
"What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you? I can't do that! You've got a baby inside of you. It's right there!" he hissed, attempting to push her off of him.
Charlotte snorted with laughter at him. "Don't be ridiculous." She dismissed his concern by pushing herself down further, grabbing his wrists so he could no longer prevent her.
"No, no, just…oh shit, seriously, don't…" Toby curled his fingers around hers as her grip slipped down from his wrists to his hands. If she inched herself down any further, there was no way he would be able to hold her off.
"Your mouth is saying no, but everything else is saying yes." She moved onto him slowly, careful after so long and seemingly intent on tormenting him just a little bit for just a little while.
"I would prefer that the first head of mine our baby sees is not the one poking away up there right now."
Charlotte tipped her head back and laughed out loud. "It can't see you! Think of a zip lock bag, all sealed away. A dark zip lock bag, with no windows. What were you going to do, just not have sex with me until after the birth?"
"Yes! There are plenty of other things we could do," he replied sulkily.
"Well, I want to do this. Should I stop?" She paused, grinning down at him teasingly.
Toby looked up at her earnestly. "It's really okay?"
"It's perfectly safe," Charlotte confirmed.
"It's not hurting you?" He squeezed her fingers. Her comfort was just as important to him as keeping the baby safe.
Charlotte stopped teasing him then and smiled at him softly, his concern clearly touching her deeply. "It's not hurting me." She pulled his hand up to her lips, kissing his fingers. "I would kiss you properly but I can't reach you over my belly," she said with a smile.
He pulled her hand down to his lips, kissing her fingers in the same manner she had just done to him. He watched her as she began to move on him again, his eyes roving all over her body, taking in every new curve, every smooth expanse of skin laid out in front of him. He sighed deeply; he had missed her so much.
"Toby?" Charlotte looked down at him seriously.
"Yeah?" He let go of her hands then so he grab hold of her waist, taking over in an effort at having her drive him a little less insane in this moment.
"I did something last night while you were asleep beside me." Her tone held a confessional note.
"Did you shave off my eyebrows?" There had been alcohol, prescription drugs, and Jenna present last night. It was a serious question.
Charlotte laughed at that but shook her head. "Nothing like that."
He considered for a few moments. "Just tell me. What did you do?"
"I forgave you."
It was a busy day of building a chicken coop, last minute shop runs, and preparing more food than the five of them could possibly eat. With Daphne deposited into her coop, and the house now chicken free, Iris was able to put all of her attentions into badgering Charlotte and Jenna around the kitchen. She seemed intent on making sure both of them knew how to make every single dish she deemed necessary for a successful family Christmas, while issuing random job orders to both Chad and Toby every time either of them looked like they were about to have a little down time. They all fell into an exhausted heap around the table by the time dinner was ready.
Iris beamed from the head of the table. "See, now we're all organised for tomorrow and most of the cooking is done."
"Seriously, Mum," Charlotte complained, exhausted beyond any level of exhaustion previously experienced. "We could have just got KFC and had the day off." She rubbed her belly, a general achiness radiating out from her hips.
Iris looked at her with horror. "Don't say such things. We are not the type of people who eat KFC at Christmas."
Jenna looked over at Iris with interest. "I've eaten KFC at Christmas before."
"Case in point," Iris muttered, gesturing at Toby to start dishing out the meat he was carving up.
"Hey, do you know what this reminds me of?" Jenna looked at them all with wide eyed enthusiasm. "That time Toby sang 'All I Want for Christmas' and fell off the stage onto his arse!" She burst into laughter, the rest of them, minus Toby, joining in rapidly.
He looked at them all, a carving knife in one hand with a serving fork in the other. "Funny. Are you all wanting to eat or will I stop carving now?"
"Keep carving, Toby. They won't make fun of you anymore, I'm sure." Iris reached out and gave his arm a light pat. "Chad, just before you start eating, would you mind turning on the stereo? A little music might make for a nice atmosphere." She smiled warmly at him as he stood up from the table for her.
Toby continued with his carving, just about finished when the sound of 'All I Want for Christmas' blasted out of the speakers. He paused, setting down the knife and fork, taking his seat with his hands up. Iris had her napkin pressed against her mouth she was laughing so hard, while Jenna was near hysterics, Chad hanging onto her with a grin spread over his own face.
Charlotte leaned against Toby, taking his hand into hers, the expression on his face doing little to hold back her own laughter. "You didn't have our view of the entire show." There wasn't much more that she could offer. It had, injury aside, been very funny to witness.
"Merry Christmas, family." His voice was filled with sarcasm as he shook his head at all of them. "So glad I've brightened up your entire festive season," he said, addressing them all with sarcasm.
Iris looked over at him with a twinkle in her eye. "So Toby, did you get what you wanted for Christmas?"
He met her eyes with a grin, clearly deciding to just roll with it. "Yes Iris, yes I did."
She smiled at him happily. "Good boy."
Charlotte squeezed his hand once before letting it go. "Serve me first, I'm starving." She held out her plate to him with a smirk, taking in the sight of his red ears, his embarrassment in this moment evident, and completely endearing him to her even further. "And just for the record, I wasn't in on this little joke of theirs, so I get more crackling for loyalty."
Toby grabbed several strips of pork crackling and dumped them onto Charlotte's plate. "You can always have my share of crackling," he said to her softly, leaning down to kiss her at the table.
"Vomiting over her
e," Jenna called out. "And she is not getting all that crackling!"
Charlotte picked up a strip and looked over at Jenna as she took a bite. "So good," she moaned with exaggeration. Jenna rose to her feet, her intention to lean over and grab at Charlotte's plate immediately apparent. Charlotte reached out and scooped up the crackling Toby had deposited onto her plate, frantically licking at it before Jenna could even reach her.
"You think that's going to stop me!" Jenna roared, tearing a couple of pieces out of Charlotte's hand, shoving it into her own mouth immediately.
Iris was watching them, laughing at their antics, a look of real joy on her face of the likes that had not been seen for quite some time. Charlotte began to eat the rest of her meal, looking around the table to make sure everyone was set and served. Toby was eating at a pace reminiscent of a last meal before execution. Chad was listening to Jenna as she outlined to Iris her process for making a boiled fruitcake; he reached out for the gravy but missed, his thumb twitching right before he made a grab at the table cloth. Charlotte watched as he fell off his chair, hitting the floor without grace, his body being overtaken with convulsions, the shaking reverberating as his knee repeatedly hit the leg of the table. Toby shot to his feet, racing around to check on him. Charlotte rose also, looking with horror towards the floor where Chad lay convulsing, spit foaming from his mouth now. Jenna had dropped to her knees beside Chad, trying to grab a hold of his head to prevent it from banging against the floor any further.
Toby looked at Jenna, panic creasing his features. "Do I need to call an ambulance?"
Jenna shook her head, tears welling and beginning to slide down her face. "Just get me a pillow for his head." Her hands struggled to hold Chad's head up off the ground. "Chad, honey, it's alright, I'm here with you. It's alright," she soothed tearfully. Toby returned with a pillow and helped her slide it under Chad's head.
Iris stood and then dropped to the floor beside Jenna, her hand coming to rest on her sister's shoulder. She soothed Jenna while Jenna soothed Chad, whose seizure just kept on rolling off him, the minutes sliding by with an agonising drag.
Toby stood, looking over at Charlotte with worry etched onto his face. She came over to stand beside him, her arms going around his body, her face turning the other way so she could no longer see Chad. This was not the first time she had seen him have a seizure, but that did not make it any easier to watch. She began to steer Toby into the kitchen. "We should leave them. He won't want to come out of it in front of an audience."
"We should call an ambulance," Toby insisted.
Charlotte looked up at him sadly. "This is normal for him. There's nothing an ambulance can do."
Toby stared into her eyes, stricken. "There's nothing normal about what's happening to him right now, Charlotte."
"That's his life, Toby." She reached out to pull him into her arms once more. "He has good days and then he has bad ones. I guess he's just had too long of a run of good ones lately." Charlotte listened out, relieved to hear Chad's voice filter out into the kitchen from the dining room, speaking to Jenna hoarsely. "We'll give them a few more minutes before we go back in," she told Toby, quietly.
Toby made no reply. Iris poked her head into the kitchen moments later. "Come back. Dinner's getting cold."
Toby and Charlotte returned to the dining room, taking their seats opposite Jenna and Chad, who had both resumed eating, Chad far slower than Jenna, but still up for the task. Charlotte slid her eyes to the clock, noting that not quite ten minutes seemed to have passed by. Ten minutes for the universe to turn Chad inside out, pull him to pieces, and then put him back together again.
The potatoes were still steaming.
Chad put his hands flat onto the table in front of him. He looked over at Toby with a gleam in his eye, his face breaking out into a wide grin. "Now this," he gestured to himself before hitching a thumb over his shoulder, "this here, totally reminds me of the time Toby fell onto his arse while singing 'All I Want for Christmas'."
Toby stared at him for a long moment before breaking out into laughter, Jenna already having beaten him to it with a case of the giggles that got her started on hiccupping. Charlotte looked over at her mother who was shaking in her chair, a napkin pressed firmly against her mouth again to stifle her laughter, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. Iris reached out to pat Chad on the arm, her face full of an affection for him that was truly touching to witness. Charlotte looked over at Chad once more, marvelling at his ability to embrace humour in the face of his own personal adversity. He was a truly inspirational person, and definitely one of the bravest she had ever met.
PART THREE
Up and Down and Back Again
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Time has a way of bleeding through the seasons when people are happy. One child gives way to another, and before you get too comfortable with that notion, a third comes along, and since that seems to be going so well, a fourth is added.
"You two need to invest in some birth control," Jake bellowed out, entering the hospital room with Ellie following close on his heels.
Toby laughed and flipped him off. "It's evidence of my virility. Why would I stop that?"
"Just as well you're raking in the big bucks. Dude, you have four kids. You're not quite thirty, but you have four kids! You could be mistaken for a Bogan if it wasn't for the wig and cape get up you throw over those expensive pansy arsed suits you're always wearing. Seriously, here." Jake reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled out a condom and flung it at Toby, hitting him in the chest with it.
Toby caught it and threw it back at him. "You still carry a condom in your wallet? How old are you?"
Ellie rolled her eyes and shouldered past Jake so she could lean over the plastic hospital cot. She sighed, reaching out to touch the pink wrapped bundle that held Toby and Charlotte's third daughter. "So beautiful," Ellie whispered.
Toby refrained from making any jokes about Jake and Ellie catching up on the baby front. He had been watching them closely these last few months, Ellie in particular, whenever they were around the kids, and Toby was not so sure their childless state was the lifestyle choice Jake made it out to be. Charlotte was saying nothing at all about it, which made him all the more suspect. If it was the case, and they could not have kids, then he was deeply sorry for them.
Having four was no accident for them; true, Charlotte seemed to fall pregnant at the first hint of a return to fertility after finishing up with breast feeding, but even taking that into account, each new pregnancy was greeted with excitement and a degree of expectancy. It had been easy and trouble free before, so it should be easy and trouble free once again. Putting some space between the babies had not been a consideration for them. Toby had asked Charlotte after their third baby if she wanted a break, he hardly expected her to keep having baby after baby, but she had brushed him off and said she preferred it this way. Her body could return to normal after they were done. Toby liked her body just fine the way it was, stretching and shrinking, over and again; he never tired of it changing and found her all the more beautiful when she was swollen with one of their babies. He would look at their children and wonder at the miracle of them having come out of Charlotte's body. It was incredible and he was not ashamed to admit how much the entire concept of motherhood impressed him.
"You're freaking me out with this alphabet thing though," Jake remarked. "There are twenty six letters; you can't be serious."
Charlotte answered him this time. "It's just the way it's worked out. It was accidental with Ashley and Breanna. Deliberate with Courtney and Danielle. But I'm not having twenty six babies Jake; you can relax."
"Thank fuck for that. I mean, I like being a godfather, but I never intended on being The Godfather."
Ellie hit him in the chest. "Watch your mouth!" She indicated to the baby with a nod.
Jake pulled a face. "She's a day old! She can't even understand baby talk yet, much less swear words!"
"How do you know the
others aren't around?" Ellie demanded.
"Unless they're in the toilet all together then I'd say I'm pretty safe," Jake replied with a roll of his eyes.
"She's so cute, Charlotte," Ellie said, approaching the bed and perching up on the side of it.
"Thanks. She's a bit smaller than the others. I've never had one this small, she only just made it to seven pounds."
As Ellie and Charlotte started talking measurements and clothes sizes, Toby gestured for Jake to join him in the hall. "I need a coffee, let's go for a walk."
"Sure thing."
They headed to the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor where the cafeteria was located. After buying a sandwich and a coffee each, they found a table and sat opposite each other, Jake looking over at Toby with a serious expression that did not bode well for light conversation.
"Iris has asked me to look for Royce again."
Toby frowned. "When?"
"This week. There's nothing there, I tried to tell her but she's insistent on an investigation. There won't be one. There's nothing to investigate. The police don't have the resources to look for people who don't want to be found." Jake continued eating, taking mouthfuls of coffee as he did so.
Toby sighed heavily, weary of this cycle. "She gets like this every time a baby is born. I'll have a word to her. Don't mention this to Charlotte. It's the last thing she needs to start thinking about again. It's been more than eight years. He's not coming back. I don't even think any of us really want him to anymore, despite what Iris might have said to you. I think she just wants closure more than anything else. To know why, and that's not something she's going to get from anyone but Royce."
"Such a fucking coward. I used to like him, back in the day. He was cool, easy to get along with. Not like my old man, intense all the way down the line. I guess he was just that bit too cool and easy; had us all going."
Selling the Drama Page 21