The last couple of days have been a little calmer. Grayson got out of the hospital the next afternoon and seems to be doing better than anyone. It's amazing how resilient kids can be during terrible circumstances.
Caleb decided to take full advantage of my son’s handicap of not being able to play any of his Xbox games. Due to his broken wrist in a cast for a few weeks Caleb introduced him to the wonderful world of Star Wars and all of the super heroes he could think of by piling up in Grayson's room watching movies. Grayson loved every minute of it and aside from making sure he wasn't hungry or in pain I've felt completely in the way of their male bonding.
Mattie and I have been having some major issues on the other hand. As soon as he got back into town he's made comments about rethinking Grayson's future and wondering if maybe he made the wrong decision in allowing me to have full custody of my son. It's not that he's blaming me, because that would be absurd if he did, but he's reevaluating his life and at the thought that we could have lost Grayson he is considering raising him as his own.
I am terrified at the thought of losing him, AGAIN, and trying my best to think positive because the last thing I want is to fight Mattie in court which is what I will do if I have to. I'm nervous as hell at where Grayson's mind is at on who he wants to live with and waiting with bated breath for any indication from him. Am I hoping that getting to know Caleb better will help my case in Grayson wanting not one but two parents for the rest of his life? You're damn right!!
I walk in to Grayson's room and I see a young Christopher Reeve as Superman on the screen and it looks to be the second movie in the Superman series where General Zod is forcing Superman into the chamber to take away his super powers. I see that Grayson is on the edge of his seat and Caleb is just as engrossed.
I sit down on the end of the bed to not distract them and watch as Superman's enemies realize that they are the ones that lost their super powers and not Superman. I turn to look at my boy's face and he's grinning from ear to ear and starts bouncing up and down on the bed.
"I knew it! I couldn't believe that he would willingly walk in there without a plan and leave Lois defenseless against them!" He screamed at the TV and I started giggling at him. "Woohoo Superman! Take em all down buddy! Take that General Zod! You better run Lex!"
Caleb reached over and patted him on the top of his head and looked over at me with so much love in his eyes. I knew he loved Grayson as much as I did in that moment and I had to turn toward the TV to hide the happy tears that were trying to fall. After I composed myself I got up and went around to Grayson's side of the bed and leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"I'm going to go take a long bath and go to bed. I'm going to leave you two gentlemen to Superman. Goodnight baby." He beamed at me and nodded his head.
"Goodnight Claudia. Do you care if I stay up for one more movie? Tomorrow is Saturday ya know." He yawned as he asked me so I knew right then that he would never make it through another movie so I laughed.
"Sure Baby. I'm sure your partner in crime doesn't mind either." I winked at Caleb and he returned the wink and mouthed an "I love you" and I walked out and went to my bedroom to run my bath.
As I was walking in to our room my cell phone was ringing and I picked it up and noticed that it was Amelia. We have been talking a lot lately and have gotten closer throughout all of the craziness in mine and Caleb's lives this past week. I grabbed my phone to answer it and headed to the bathtub to let it start filling up.
"Hello Amelia. How are you doing tonight?"
"Well hello dear. Honey you sound tired. Did I wake you? I didn't realize how late it was getting when I realized I hadn't checked on you all today."
"Oh I'm alright. I've been fighting a headache all day and am running a very hot bath so hopefully that will help. How did the week end up going at work? Anything pressing that I need to take care of?" She let out a big sigh which put me on high alert. "Amelia? Something happened... Didn't it."
"Well... It was easy to get everyone moved around and rescheduled but I did have a problem with one potential client. I don't know how to tell you this and I thought that Caleb and I had it under control but he's very persistent and keeps calling
Okay. So it's a HE and Caleb tried to take care of it personally a couple of days ago. A couple of days ago was when all hell broke loose and Grayson was hurt and Caleb got arrested. The only time he could have talked to whoever it was had to have been before we left for the school when the principal called. Who could it.... Oh my God. It can't be! What does he want?!
"Amelia? Text me Jason's phone number please." I was gritting my teeth so hard I was afraid I was going to chip a tooth. How dare he harass Amelia and not leave her alone. There are a hundred other attorneys that he could hire for his divorce and why he is being so persistent for me, of all people, to take care of it for him is beyond me.
"Claudia? I don't think that would be wise. Caleb and I can handle this Honey. You have too much on your plate right now. I didn't tell you this to have you take care of it. I was only telling you the truth and I so regret telling you now. How about you sleep on it and deal with it after the holidays."
"The holidays? What holiday? Oh no! Thanksgiving is next week isn't it."
One of my favorite holidays and after this crazy week I had completely forgotten about it and honestly I have no idea what we will do for Thanksgiving. I have no idea if we should stay here at Mattie's or attempt to take Grayson home to meet everyone in the family. Would Mattie allow me to take Grayson home? Out of state? Would Grayson even want to go with Caleb and I?
First things first! I feel like everything is so out of control in my life and I want to take it out on someone and Jason Anderson sounds like the best person for the job.
"Amelia? Would you please text me Jason's number? I think a quick little call from me will have him tucking his tail between his legs and he won't be bothering you again. I will let you know what we plan on doing for Thanksgiving because I'll have to run it by Mattie and Grayson." I can hear a little bit of hesitation on the other end and I know Amelia is not to be messed with but surely she has enough faith in me to let me handle this. MY way.
"Okay Claudia. I'll text his number to you. I have a funny feeling that he's going to be sorry for harassing you so whatever you give him will be well deserved. Please let me know about Thanksgiving and here's an idea that you could present to Mattie if he doesn't feel comfortable with you bringing Grayson home. We will ALL fly there for Thanksgiving."
"Oh Amelia.... That would be too much on Cash and Olivia with the children. I'll let you know and we will figure something out. Oh and thank you." I couldn't help but grin.
"For what Honey?" She chuckled and seemed shocked at my gratitude.
"For giving me Jason's number and knowing me well enough to know that I will INDEED make him wish he hadn't looked me up!"
"Claudia... There's one thing I do know about you Dear and that's that you're one of the strongest women that I know that doesn't put up with any... Well... SHIT!! Sorry for the language but I wish I could be a fly on the wall for THAT conversation. I'll text you the number and please give my son and grandson a hug from me."
"I sure will and thank you very much. Goodnight. I'll let you know tomorrow how the conversation went. Goodbye."
"Goodbye dear and I can't wait."
I heard her giggling as I hung up. Sometimes she seems more like girlfriend from college instead of my potential mother in law. Last week I was afraid of her and this week I feel like I could tell her anything.
I walk back into the bathroom to see if the tub had filled up and it seemed to be deep enough. I couldn't believe how big the tub was when I first saw it but could definitely picture myself taking a bath in it and lighting some candles and relaxing with a glass of wine and listening to some music. Awwww... Relaxation, oh how I've missed it!
I heard my phone chirp with a text and went to see if Amelia had texted me Jason's number and sure enough. There
it was in black and white. A name I never in a million years thought would ever show up on my phone. I pick the candles up off of the night stand and light them and put them around the tub and grab the wine bottle that I had chilling and grab a wine glass and sit it to the side so that I'll have everything ready for when I get off the phone.
Oh poor Jason. He has no idea what he's stepped in to but he is sure going to find out in the next few minutes. I chuckled to myself because he's going to get a taste of the grown up Claudia and not the poor little misconceived Claudia that he left pregnant and broken hearted.
I was very disappointed when my call to Jason went straight to voicemail and I was a bit taken back when I heard his voice and his greeting of "Doctor Jason Anderson, please leave me a brief message and I MAY get back to you. You may now speak and I MAY listen." What a douche bag! I decided to leave a message because I just couldn't help myself.
"Mr. Anderson. Oh I'm so sorry. I meant DOCTOR Anderson. This is Olivia Porter, Attorney at law OLIVIA PORTER and I DO NOT wish for you to call me back. NOT THAT IT IS ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS, but I am on holiday for... Well... FOREVER in regards to you and I am not able to be retained by you. EVER which means NEVER and if you do not quit trying to reach me at my office through my secretary I will press charges against you. Please look under the yellow pages for ANOTHER divorce attorney as there are plenty of others that are capable of handling your divorce. Oh and please give your future ex-wife my congratulations and if she is in need of an attorney I would GLADLY represent her. TA TA!"
There! That should get him off my ass! I amaze myself sometimes at how much of a bitch I can actually be and I had forgotten not only how good I am at it but how much I had missed it. I pull my playlist out and add one of my favorite songs to the top of the list to get my relaxation therapy started.
I tossed my clothes in the hamper and poured myself a glass of wine and stepped into the very hot bubble bath and pushed play on the iPod and grinned as Meredith Brooks "Bitch" starts playing. Yes! All is right in the world.
"Sing it Meredith while I revel in my own bitchiness and bask in the candle light and sip on this wine. You know you wrote this song just for me girlfriend."
"Oh did she now?" I jumped and about dropped my glass of wine but managed to stop myself from drowning and not spilling my glass. I looked over and Caleb was leaning nonchalantly against the door frame in his boxers.
"Caleb! Don't you know not to mess with a woman when she's listening to her theme song???"
"Oh baby... I can't think of a better theme song to describe you." I arched my brows at him. "My favorite description of you is "lover" and "mother" though." He flashed a grin and I grinned back at him.
"Nice save but I really was relishing in what a bitch I can be. Is Grayson asleep?"
"Yes. He didn't make it 20 minutes into Superman 3. I didn't think he was ever going to fall asleep but was hoping he would so that I could join you in the tub but I think you are enjoying yourself too much so I will take a rain check." He walks over to the sink and starts brushing his teeth and winks at me. "You do look rather.... Delicious."
Oh man. How does he do that to me? I was one second away from telling him that yes I did want to enjoy my bath alone but the way he said delicious with that smoldering look in his eyes in the candle light had me changing my mind. I lean over to pour me another glass of wine and look into the mirror at him.
"Get naked and grab another glass would ya? I could really use a foot rub. You know what they do to me." He stopped brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth and held a finger at me and walked out of the room. When he came back naked in all his glory he was the one that looked delicious.
"So... Now that we are officially a couple and this is the first foot rub that I'll be giving you since we became a couple... What exactly do my foot rubs do to you?" He stepped into the tub before I had a chance to warn him of how hot the water was and he tried not to yell. "Oh my GOD! This water is so hot!!! Are you kidding me???!! I'm gonna have third degree burns! Owww!"
"Oh you big baby! It's not that hot! It would be better if you just sat down and got your body acclimated to it instead of standing there looking like an idiot." The childish look on his face has me cracking up and reaching for my glass of wine while he inched his way down into the tub. Another glass of wine and couple of songs later he was starting to get used to it and was able to move and talk. I couldn't help but laugh at his situation.
"I'm so glad that you can laugh at my expense. No wonder you never get sick! Any chance of any kind of germ getting on you disintegrates as soon as the water touches you. You will never and I repeat NEVER give our children baths."
"Oh don't be so dramatic and I really don't want any more kids. Grayson is enough for me. Isn't he enough for you?" I'm perfectly content with not having any more kids. If I need a baby fix I'll go visit Olivia and the twins. I moved my feet into his lap as a hint to start rubbing my feet and he's not going for it. "What?"
"What? You ask me what? Hmmm... Let's see. You just tell me that you don't want any more kids and that you're perfectly fine with just Grayson. Okay. I love Grayson as if he were my own. Okay. He's my son too and I would kill anyone for that kid. I'm in love with the guy but seriously?? You're totally pulling a Cash on me here. You do realize that right?" I pulled my feet away but he grabbed them and held on to my legs so that I couldn't move.
"Let go of my legs Caleb and how in the hell am I pulling a CASH?!" He starts rubbing my feet but not in a sensual way like he always used to and the way he's rubbing them is like he's mad at me.
"You know exactly what I mean by that comment because that's the same thing that he said to Olivia and no…. I'm not letting go of them. You wanted a foot rub and honey you're gonna get one." He must have realized what he was doing so he loosened his hold on me and grabbed a bar of soap and started lathering my foot up and started massaging them the way he used to. I relaxed my body and relished in the feel of his hands on me. I notice that he's still angry by the look on his face and I know that it's more hurt than anger so I give in.
"Can we table this discussion for another time? I'm not saying no but I'm not saying yes. Will that make you feel better?"
The sudden change in his body language alone made my heart jump a little faster and the smile on his face made me pull my legs back and lean up and lay on his chest. He pulled my hair behind my neck and pulled my chin up to place a kiss on my lips and I savored the taste of mint from his toothpaste and wine and went weak in the knees.
"I love and hate what you do to me Nerd Boy." I felt the vibration against my chest when he laughed.
"Oh yeah? What way would that be? The way that I make you tremble at just the touch of my hand like this?" He ran his hand slowly down the middle of my back that gave me such a chill that I shivered and jumped as he cupped water into his hand to run down my back to warm me up. "Or is it the way that I can handle any debate with you? That I'm the only one you willingly give in to even though you hate it but you hate that you finally trust someone enough to realize that I only have your best interest at heart?"
He totally gets me and that's exactly what I love and hate about him. I relax against his body and all of the tears that I had been holding in for the last two days start to fall. He wraps me in his arms and sinks lower into the water as if to form an invisible warm blanket over me as a way to comfort me.
We stayed that way for a few minutes and as weird as it was to have a mini breakdown in the bathtub he didn't make it seem weird at all. He washed me from head to toe and quickly did the same to himself and picked me up out of the tub and gently dried me with the towels and carried me to bed and tucked me in like a child. He crawled into bed with me after putting his boxers on and pulled me close to him. I put my head on his chest and threw my arm over his stomach and listened to his heart beat and knowing that it beat only for me made me smile.
"I love you so much Caleb it hurts and if you want 10 kids I'll give them to you as long as you never
leave me. That's my only condition." I turn my head and press my lips against his chest, right above his heart and look up at him to wait for his response. He gently rolls me over and gets on top of me and softly kisses my lips and each cheek and then my forehead and back to my lips with a lingering kiss that I felt all the way to my core.
"I swear Cru... I will tattoo your name everywhere on my body to prove to you that I will NEVER leave you. All I have ever wanted is for you to let me love you the way you deserved and to be loved in return by you. I could die a happy man right now by what you just said to me because I know how hard it was for you to say it." I nodded at him and buried my face in his neck and whispered in his ear.
"I meant every word of it to and if you don't make love to me right now to shut me up I'll never forgive you Nerd Boy." I heard him inhale his breath.
"Oh it'll be my pleasure Cruella, my lover, my life, and soon to be, my wife!"
He claimed me passionately with his lips and I pulled him closer to me wanting to feel as one with him. I lowered his boxers with my hands and kicked them off with my feet and raised my legs up in anticipation of what was to come.
When he entered me I cried out his name and a waterfall of tears fell down my cheeks. I didn't fight them or try to wipe them away because I knew that with his declaration of love the last wall that I had up protecting my heart had finally crumbled away and I finally completely trusted him to not hurt me. He looked into my eyes and stopped with a worried look on his face and put his hands on each side of my face.
"Oh baby... Shhh... Please don't cry. Am I hurting you?"
"Please don't stop." I started bucking my hips against him and he slowly continued. "I finally feel it Caleb. I feel the love that you have for me and you have my heart... ALL of it and I am so happy that you finally got through to me and never gave up and continued to fight for us."
He looked into my eyes and I saw a pool of tears forming in then and I knew... Right then and there that this was it. No matter what happened with Grayson, no matter where we had to live to keep him or fight for him that we were one in this journey and what he said next would change our lives forever.
Found by Love Page 16