Surrender: Keeping Her in the Dark Vol. 4

by Leslie Sansom

  Nathan looked at Rosa, who looked at Liam.

  “Of course, yes! Let’s do it!” he said. The doctor left the room. “Don’t worry about anything. I will make sure he gets the rest and therapy he needs after this. I will hire a round the clock nurse if I have to.”

  We sat in the waiting room for hours. The surgery itself would take about 1 to 2 hours. The prep time could take 2 to 4 hours. It was urgent so they went straight to work. Another doctor came out and took Rosa, Liam and Nathan to another room to explain the entire process.

  My heart did leaps and bounds when Nathan told the doctor that Rosa was his step mother and Liam was his step brother.

  The rest of us just sat quietly in the waiting room and waited. I looked through three old US weekly magazines and two old Better Homes and Gardens. I crossed and uncrossed my legs several times. I stood up and walked around. I went to the window and looked outside. I even played with Josefina. Playing with her made me think of the baby inside me.

  For a brief moment I thought about wanting a girl. One who would have long brown hair like me. A little girl I could dress up and play tea party with. Maybe someone who would take over my business one day.

  Or maybe a little boy that looked like Liam. One who had dynamic eyes just like his father. He could carry on the family name and maybe one day take over Liam’s business.

  For just a moment I thought about Liam and I taking our child to the park, teaching him to ride a bike, and cleaning crayon marks off the walls. For just a moment, I thought about being a mother and I was happy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Norah

  He wouldn’t leave the hospital. I tried to get him to come home but he wouldn’t. Rosa even agreed to come home after 10pm, but not Liam. The nurses tried to argue with him but since there was a Hastings Medical Center in the right wing of the hospital, they quickly relented.

  Gerald made it through surgery but was still attached to machines helping him breathe as well as keeping his heart beating. Liam made sure he was put in a private room and had the best heart doctor available. The nurses told him he could sleep in the next room because it was empty, but he didn’t want to leave him.

  When I left he was sitting on the very uncomfortable love seat with his head in his hands. I told him I would bring him clean clothes and toiletries in the morning. He gave me a kiss.

  “Norah, I’m so sorry. I hate to leave you right now, but I have to be here,” he kissed my forehead again.

  “Liam, I understand. It’s fine. I’ll see you in the morning,” I kissed his hand and told him to call me if anything happened.

  Nothing happened. Nothing happened for three days. Three days went by and Gerald didn’t improve.

  They couldn’t take him off the machines because when they did his heart would stop and he would stop breathing. But Liam wouldn’t leave his side. He stayed right there with him the whole time.

  Rosa came to the house every morning and gave the other girls instructions on house work, shopping and cooking. She would pick up the food in plastic containers that I had prepared for her and then she was gone. She stayed at the hospital the whole day as did Liam and Nathan. Everyone else popped in and out for a few hours, like myself and Sofia, Nathan’s wife.

  Marcy had started working again from home because Marcus and the girls were going crazy without some sort of direction.

  I dropped by in the morning, gave Liam a change of clothes and looked in on Gerald for a few minutes. I would listen to what the doctor would say, which never changed. Then I would go to work. I brought lunch but I couldn’t stay long in the afternoon. I was still trying to come back from my absence at work. There was so much to be done.

  I wanted to have my hand in everything. I wasn’t trying to micromanage at all. I let Tim, Kelly and Brenda handle most things but I liked to be kept in the know. I wasn’t ready to head my own project yet and everyone knew it.

  Thankfully my morning sickness held off until I got to work. I spent almost the entire hour from 9-10 on my knees with my face in the toilet.

  On day four, Liam took over the room next to Gerald’s. He had his laptop, a phone and all kinds of papers. He paced the floor and talked to people, even the nurses and doctors thought he was CEO of the hospital.

  “Someone has to know something!” I heard him yell as I made my way to the room.

  “It’s been four days and he hasn’t gotten any better! I want to know what our next step is and you need to stop talking to me about final plans!” he yelled again.

  I grabbed him by the arm and held up a finger to the doctor and apologized as I took him down the hall.

  “You have to stop this,” I shouted in a whisper. “It’s been four days and he isn’t getting any better. All they can do is talk about quality of living and that kind of thing. If he can’t come off the machines then he can’t come off the machines. They told you there was a window. He passed the window of three and half days, three hours ago. They are doing everything they can, because they can’t do anything else! Get a grip. Yelling at them won’t make Gerald wake up.” I let his arm go and he grabbed my hand.

  “Norah,” he had tears in his eyes. “This can’t be happening to me.” I hugged him tight.

  The doctors had told us that they expected him to be on the machines for a few hours. But after three hours they were hoping to take him off and that he would be able to breath on his own, that his heart would beat on its own. That hadn’t happened. Three hours had turned into four days. We all knew this wasn’t good. The outcome didn’t look good.

  Liam had lost his father and his mother. There was nothing he could do about either. He had felt helpless and alone. He tried to keep people from getting close to him because he didn’t want to go through that kind of pain again. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing another person close to him.

  “I love you,” I whispered. He pulled away from me. I took his head in my hands. “You guys can talk about those things when you’re ready,” I kissed his forehead and handed him the bag of clothes. “But stop yelling at the doctors,” I added. He smiled.

  “I hate that this is taking me away from you, little one. I know we need to talk and…other things. But I just,” he paused. “I just have to be here,” he looked over at Gerald’s room.

  “I know,” I looked down at the floor. He raised my chin and he had a little smile on his face.

  “Thinking about making love to you again is the only thing that is holding me together right now,” he kissed my lips. I smiled too.

  It had been such a long time since we had been together. When we first got back from our separate adventures neither of us were ready. Well maybe Liam was ready, Liam is always ready. But I was still in my head. His arms around me made me feel safe as they always did and safety was what I needed then. Nick was dead at my hand. I couldn’t stop seeing his eyes staring back at me after I stabbed him in the neck.

  Now this was happening and we weren’t even sleeping in the same bed. I knew he missed me and I missed him too. With so much on our minds a little alone time was exactly what we needed right now. We both needed to just let ourselves go on each other. But there wasn’t time.

  “We’ll have plenty of time for that when Gerald gets better,” I kissed him again.

  Liam

  It was late, after midnight. Everyone was gone. Rosa had stayed most of the day but she left around 8pm but only after Sofia and Nathan begged her to leave. She, like me, didn’t want to leave Gerald’s side. I told her if she would go home tonight, I would go home the next night. Although I wasn’t sure that would be true.

  I paced the floor watching Gerald’s pale face. He had a tube in his nose, another in his throat and two other tubes in his arm. There was a machine with a pump inside that went up and down every time the other machine made him take a breath. His heart rate monitor beeped steadily and a clear liquid dripped in his veins.

  Looking at Gerald laying in the bed brought back memories of when I lost my father
. Memories I would rather forget. It was one of the more painful times in my life.

  I moved the chair next to his bed and sat down. I ran my hands over my face and then lightly touched his chest and legs.

  “I don’t know if I can do this again, old man,” I said out loud. “Losing my father was more than I could bare. I tried to make a deal with God after that. I told him I would do my best to be a good man and carry on my father’s legacy, if he could spare me that kind of pain again. And yet, just a few years later he took my mother too,” I paused and covered my face.

  “You were there with me, right by my side during both of those occasions. I remember crying on your shoulder.”

  “Since then I’ve tried so hard not to get close to anyone. I never wanted to lose anyone ever again. I think that is why I lived the life I have lived. I thought I was pushing people away, but apparently I was keeping the right people close. I tried to walk this world alone, but I have failed miserably,” I chuckled a little.

  “I am now married to a woman I can’t imagine living without and I have made myself a make shift family.”

  “You and Rosa have been parents to me. She gently nudges me in the right direction and constantly nags me about settling down.” I smiled and took Gerald’s hand in mine. Rosa had finally gotten her wish. Now she just moved on to nagging me about grandchildren.

  “And you,” my voice broke and I could feel the tears start to fall down my face.

  “Whenever I need support, guidance, to talk, or anything, really, you are always there. I moved you into my guest house for my benefit just as much as yours.”

  “I leaned on you and came to expect that you would always be there for me. I know I have taken you for granted and I am so sorry for that.” I leaned my head down and wiped my tears.

  “You let me get closer to you than my own father did to him. You have loved and supported me more than my father ever did. It is because of you that I was able to open my heart and my mind to let someone else inside.”

  “I tried to deny it. I tried to make it less than what it was. It took my wife to point it out to me and even then I didn’t want to accept it.”

  “Even my wife adopted you as her father. I was so honored and touched beyond belief when she asked you to give her away at our weddings.”

  “I love you as if you were my own father.” I looked down at him.

  “I cannot lose you too,” I laid my head against his legs and let it all out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Norah

  I stood at my desk looking through the piles of papers. I was trying to organize and make head or tails of them when the door burst open.

  “He woke up! He’s awake. He woke up early this morning, they removed the tubes from his mouth and he even spoke softly. He’s breathing on his own and Rosa is at his side.”

  He walked fast behind my desk and stood in front of me as I turned to face him.

  “Liam, that’s wonderful!” he kissed me and then he kissed me again. Harder and with more passion than I had felt for a long time.

  “Norah,” he whispered. “It’s been almost four weeks, I can’t wait anymore,” he moved me to the desk and tried to pull my skirt up.

  “Ahh, excuse me sir, but this is my office. Can’t you wait until tonight or at least my lunch hour,” I laughed.

  “Oh it won’t take more than a few minutes, I’m sure, but I like your optimism.” He kissed me again and ran his hands up my legs.

  “You didn’t close the door to my office. People walk in and out of here all the time,” I panted. He moved away from me and went to the door. He shut it and locked it.

  “Norah, I have a conference call in an hour and a half, please, little one. Are you wearing underwear? Do you want me to close the blinds?” his lips moved against my neck and his hands found the clip in my hair and pulled it out.

  He pulled off his shirt and I ran my hands over his chest. I wrapped my legs around his body. I heard my skirt rip and his fingers wrapped around the waistband of my underwear.

  “I hope these aren’t a favorite of yours,” he said just before he pulled and ripped them off of me. His fingers ran over my sex. He pulled me off the table and flipped me over while he unzipped his pants. I pulled off my bra as he raised my waist and spread my legs. His hands covered my breasts as he entered me.

  “Oh God,” he panted. He thrusted in me several times. His mouth found my ear and he started to whisper little dirty things.

  “You feel so fucking good, baby,”

  “You’re always so wet,”

  “We fit together so fucking good,”

  His hands ran over my body and found my sex. His fingers rubbed my clit and I shivered.

  “Does that feel good?” He kept moving his fingers against me.

  We moved against each other, holding each other close.

  “Liam, I’m gonna come,” I panted. He shoved himself in me hard three more times and I came hard against his fingers.

  He quickly pulled out and scooped me up to move me to the floor. I was still in a daze when I found myself on my back on the floor behind my desk. He moved on top of me and raised my legs to his shoulders. He entered me again. His movements became fast. He thrusted in me over and over, pulling me to him. I arched my back as I started up the hill to pleasure again.

  His hand found my neck and he held me in place. With his other hand he held my hip and kept pulling me closer. I lowered my hands to my nipples and ran my hands over them. I was so sensitive and I knew this would probably send me over the edge again. I rubbed harder.

  “Oh fuck, Norah,” he panted while he came. He tried to stop moving but I moved myself against him a few more times until I found my second release.

  We went to the bathroom so we could clean up. He sat on the toilet seat and watched me fix my makeup and hair. His hands ran up my legs and against my sex.

  “Oh, I want to put my mouth on you so bad, little one.” He shoved me against the counter and raised my skirt again.

  “Liam, you have a conference call,” I said hesitantly. Truth be known, I wanted his mouth on me too.

  “Oh, I hate conference calls!” he pulled away.

  “I’ll be home early tonight. I promised Rosa I would come home tonight and sleep in my own bed. I didn’t think I would keep that promise at the time I made it, but now that he is awake,” I touched the collar on his shirt.

  “I understand,” I said. “I’ll see you tonight,” I gave him a long kiss. “We can order Chinese and eat in bed.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” he started out the door and then turned back.

  “I love you, Norah,” he locked eyes with me.

  “I love you too,” I replied.

  I walked out of the bathroom tucking in my shirt.

  “Hey, you might want to go by and see Gerald if you get a chance today. He would like to see you,” he winked.

  “No problem. I think you ripped my skirt beyond repair.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “But I forgive you,” I blew him a kiss.

  The rest of the day was a mixture of paperwork and phone calls. Playing catch up was a real bitch.

  “Tim!” I yelled at my open door.

  “Yes?” he stuck his head inside.

  “I need to hire an accountant,” I paused and laid the papers in my hand back on my desk.

  “Ok?” he said awkwardly.

  “Is that something you can do for me? Or should I ask Kelly?” Tim turned around and walked into my office.

  “Give me the details and I will run some ads, put it online and make a sign for the front office.”

  “Thank you. I keep going over this stuff and I just need help. Liam has been telling me for a while that I needed an accountant. I am willing to bite the bullet now.” I stood up and picked up my last few phone messages and two new events files from my desk and put them in my briefcase.

  “I’m heading out. I’m going to make these calls in the car and then go by the hospital. I’ll be home all weekend
, so if you guys need anything just give me a call.”

  I arrived at the hospital just after dinner had been served. After kissing and hugging everyone in the room, which was just about everyone from the house, I asked if I could talk to Gerald alone.

  “Hey kid, how are you feeling?” he asked in a very raspy voice and touched my hand. It was rare for Gerald to call me anything other than Mrs. Hastings. But I liked to hear some playfulness in his voice.

  “I’m fine. But I should be asking you that question,” I leaned over and kissed his forehead.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel like my chest has been split open and now there is an elephant sitting on top of it,” he smiled. A nurse came in the room and starting looking at machines and asked to take his temperature.

  “Don’t let him talk too much. His throat is still really raw from the breathing tube.” I nodded. After she left I looked back at Gerald.

  “Well now that I have you all to myself and you aren’t supposed to talk, what shall I do with you?” I made my hands move in a witchy way then I pulled up a chair and sat down.

  “I’m so happy to see you are doing better. We have been so worried. Liam hasn’t left your side,” I looked around the room. “Well until now,” I added.

  “He loves you so much, Gerald. He can’t take the thought of losing you,” I touched his hand and then I could feel tears building in my eyes.

  “I can’t either,” I whispered. He put his hand over mine.

  “Gerald, I never told you this, but in my first days with Liam, I was so scared. Somehow having you in the house, I felt safer. Seeing your gentle face around every corner, just made me feel like I was going to be ok,” I said.

  “I never knew my own father. I mean, I remember meeting him once or twice when he would come and have lunch with my mother. I think he brought me a stuffed bear once, but I really don’t know.”

  “I made up stories about him when I was younger. I told my friends that he was a lion tamer in the circus,” I laughed. “When I was a teenager there was a big father/daughter dance at my Jr. High School. I was new at the school, so the kids didn’t know me very well. I had lied and told them I went to see him on the weekends. The truth was, my mom was usually drunk and I had to take care of her. But of course since my friends thought my father was in my life, they assumed he would take me to the dance.” I snorted a little and wiped the tears from my eyes.