Denouement

by Kenyan, M. O.

  “It’s fine, I’ll see them.” She felt him begin to shift and grabbed his hand, “Don’t leave okay?”

  “I’ll be right here.” Tobias opened the door for the writing group but only let them in after a stern instruction. “Five minutes only and no one brings up the baby.”

  Marietta stiffened a smile. He was looking out for her. She knew that he probably thought she wouldn’t be able to hear him, but she was glad she had.

  She sat up and tried to look like she wasn’t at the edge of death, though that was how she felt. When Tobias moved to her side and took her hand she felt like the air of strength that she was assuming might just hold up.

  ****

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Elizabeth said.

  Elizabeth’s English accent had survived any American dilution although she had lived in the country for over twenty six years. Marietta thought back to Tobias’ casting and what her co-casting director had said and giggled. ‘He is the best collaboration that Britain and America have ever made.’

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” Marietta reciprocated the smile Edward gave her and thought that was what a true father looked like. She blinked back the tears that blossomed in her eyes. Emotionally, it wasn’t a good day for her.

  “Hey, kid, how are you feeling?” McKenzie cut in.

  “Better than you are, old man,” she teased back. “Don’t think just because I’m in this bed that I’m going to let you ruin my movie.”

  “That reminds me, the studio called, they want to push back the production a month. Give you time to recuperate.” Jessie put in.

  “Call them back. It will start when it was scheduled to start,” she instructed.

  “Sweetheart—”

  She heard Tobias say but cut him off.

  That was when it hit her. How inconsiderate of her. Tobias was playing the male lead and he too had just lost a child. “I’m sorry do you need some time?”

  “I’m worried about you,” he said his voice laden with concern.

  “This is how I deal. We can push it back if you want to, but this is how I deal with this kind of stuff. I built a career on an emotional pit. I’m kind of unstable but—”

  “We are all unstable, kid,” McKenzie piped in.

  “Speak for yourself, old man,” Tobias put in.

  Marietta noticed that he was going to try her way of dealing, but doubted he would be able to handle it. Just by looking in his eyes she could see that he was on the verge of a break down. He needed the kind of support that she didn’t. Marietta wasn’t sure that she would be able to provide that for him.

  “Maybe we should push it back a month. Besides, set equipment doesn’t seem to like me lately,” she joked. She saw Tobias’ expression relax, but everyone else seemed tense. Marietta knew what they wanted to ask, what they wanted to say. But they had been gagged by Tobias’ instructions. She decided to break the gag, “I’m sorry you won’t be able to meet your grandson.”

  Marietta heard Elizabeth gasp just before she took her hand. “It’s okay I heard what your son said to you. We can talk about it if you like.” But when they didn’t take her lead she went on, “He wasn’t that big, because he wasn’t full term. But he was hiding somewhere inside my body. I bet he would have looked just like his dad.”

  “I don’t think so,” Tobias muttered.

  “You look like your dad,” Marietta said.

  “I think his dad is cuter,” Jessie put in.

  “I bet he would have looked like his father but had his mother’s brains.” Edward spoke for the first time.

  “I agree,” McKenzie put in, “but he would have definitely had his mother’s beautiful eyes.”

  “Your five minutes are up.” Tobias announced as he ushered everyone out of the room.

  Marietta felt the tension that suddenly appeared between them. She could see he was angry but he didn’t say anything. Instead he settled at her side and held her in his arms. Marietta didn’t want to cause him anymore discomfort so she lay at his side and didn’t speak for the rest of the night.

  ****

  Six months flew by and Marietta still found herself staring at her belly in the mirror. There was no evidence that there had ever been a baby in there and plus she had nothing to show for it. She had been pregnant but didn’t have a baby in her arms. A baby’s cry didn’t fill the corners of her house and there wasn’t a single toy in sight. She had been pregnant and the only thing she had to show for it was a grave and a tombstone. The baby hadn’t been given a name so the marble stone read, ‘Parks Harden Spencer.’ Tobias had insisted on it, a remembrance of some sort. But Marietta didn’t want to remember the child she lost. It was too painful

  The other man in her life wouldn’t leave her alone for more than an hour. Before he could only go without seeing her for a couple of minutes and gradually the restraints were loosening up. During shooting he always had to have a direct view of her. If she wasn’t in his line of sight he would go into a panic.

  Marietta wondered why he stayed around, no baby meant no obligations. But Tobias had moved in with her and although they slept in the same bed he was reluctant to have sex with her. At first Marietta didn’t mind, her body felt like it had been rolled over by a tank. But knowing that he was more terrified about getting her pregnant once again didn’t settle well with her. Marietta hadn’t had any plans to have a baby but once her son died she became more open to the idea. Although the motivation behind it was to fill the void that had been left inside her, she was looking forward to staring into the face of a little person, a face that had a bit of Tobias and her in it.

  She stepped into the hot shower hoping to shed off the tension that had been building in her body the past couple of days. Closing her eyes she let the light spray beat against her face. The warmth of the water reminded her of the other kind of warmth she missed, Tobias’ arms wrapped around her, his hot kisses sprinting down her neck and lower. But since the miscarriage he was too afraid to make love to her. Her mind floated back to the days when all they both wanted was to fill each other’s sexual needs. Marietta could almost feel his arms around her, thankful for her vivid imagination.

  “You are so soft,” she heard Tobias’ voice rumble in her ear. That was when she realized that it wasn’t her imagination.

  A grin formed on her lips as she leaned back into his strong arms. She had missed feeling him like this, his naked hard body pressed up against hers. Something else she had missed was his hot arousal pressed against her flesh.

  “I was wondering when you were going to join me,” she snickered.

  “I was standing on the outside looking in, watching you. Then I realized how lonely you must be in this huge cubicle and I decided to join you. You being naked only helped me make up my mind faster.”

  Standing under the pounding water Marietta felt Tobias trail his lips down her neck while his hands held her firmly against his body. His large hands massaged her shoulders, and arms, and made their way down her thighs. Then moving upwards his hands covered her breasts and kneaded slowly. She gasped at the feel of his needy hands against her flesh. Tobias grunted in approval then spun her around to claim her lips. Marietta pulled away to catch a breath, she skimmed her eyes down his statuesque form moving down to his manhood as it seemed to respond to her. She moved against him trying to ease the ache that had been building inside her all this while.

  She almost cried out in sheer pleasure when he picked her up, stepping out of the shower and settling her on the vanity her legs stretched apart as he stepped in between them. Tobias sank a thumb inside her and moaned in approval when he found her wet and ready. Positioning himself at her entrance he pushed into her. Marietta cried out as she felt her whole body quake, threatening to release. She had missed feeling him like this, his long length stroking inside her, flesh pounding against flesh, his muscles stiff as he focused all his strength to one organ. She held onto him as tightly as she could as her orgasm rushed through her almost making her s
lide off.

  Tobias tightened his hold on her thighs and settled her back, as he rocked within her. She found herself panting.She didn’t bother trying to mute her cries. To hell with whoever heard, she was ready to shout the glory off the roof top. Her cries seemed to spur Tobias on and when he stopped all of a sudden she whimpered in disappointment. Tobias wrapped her legs around his waist, locking them at his back. He lifted her off the vanity and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and stared at her. Marietta blushed under his intense gaze, but the embarrassment was soon lost when she saw the frown in his eyes.

  Tobias lowered himself over her, but first his hand smoothed over her belly and his lips kissed the tiny scar left from the caesarean. He looked up at her and their gazes locked. Marietta saw the sadness in his eyes but the desire was still there, a desperate need he wanted to quench. He moved to her lips and kissed her deeply. Marietta wrapped her arms around him as she felt him hook her leg around him. The shock of him thrusting inside her made her throw her head back as her satisfied cry escaped her lips. She dug her fingers into his back as her muscles stiffened and she climaxed again. As she tightened around him, she heard him grunt then felt his body shiver as he pounded his release into her.

  Marietta traced the muscles on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She was trapped against him and it was the best feeling ever. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, relaxed from their coupling. She felt Tobias jostle her awake. In protest she turned away and tried to slap his hands off.

  “Marry me.” It came off sounding more like an order than it did a request.

  Marietta lifted her head so that she could look into his eyes. She supported her weight on her elbow and watched him for a couple of seconds then said, “No!”

  “No! What do you mean no?”

  Marietta was taken aback by the anger in his eyes. Her lips lifted in amusement. “I don’t cook or clean. I am not going to do your laundry or help Peter with your scheduling. I will not read or help you pick your scripts. Basically what I am trying to say is that I am not wife material.”

  “I already know that. I’ve been living here with you for three months and you have never picked up any of my socks or offered to make me coffee.” He grinned back at her.

  Marietta had always wondered what their lives would be like intertwined. But she knew there were parts about herself that no one would be able to handle, “I’m not emotional. I don’t talk about my feelings. I’d rather write about them. I am independent. I don’t give people the burden of being loyal to me. In the end I know they will betray me. I don’t expect much from people that is how I manage to interact with the human race.”

  “I want you to expect those things from me. I want to soak in all your emotions and I will not force you to rely on me although I hope that one day you will.” Tobias flopped back on his back and sighed. “I have already made up my mind. We are getting married.”

  “What?” Marietta laughed. “You are crazy.”

  “You aren’t so sane yourself,” he teased back.

  Marietta traced her fingers along his broad chest. They would get married then what. She needed to know that they would at least be able to be together long enough to build a future together. “Why do you want to shackle yourself to me for eternity?”

  “Because, I love you.” He turned to face her and pulled her closer to him. “I tell you so every single day, but I don’t think you believe me. It’s not just about the baby we lost. I love you and I want a future with you. I want you to be the one I wake up to and yours to be the last face I see before I sleep. I want you to be the mother of my children. I love you.”

  “Fate has a way of taking the people I love away from me. I have lost so much, I barely made it last time, I don’t know what I would do if I were to lose you.” She ran her fingers through her hair but stopped when asparkle caught her eye. She had a ring on her finger, a large diamond with a platinum band. “When did you slip this on?”

  “Your attention was occupied elsewhere.” He brushed his lips against her and kissed her desperately. “I am going to marry you, and no one will take you away from me.”

  Marietta sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Would he have liked this dress, she thought. Her hands smoothed down the white gown. It wasn’t the traditional wedding dress but the short notice didn’t give her time to buy a fancy dress or plan the wedding. They were going to be married at Tobias’ parent’s beach house hours after he had proposed.

  “Are you ready?” Chris poked his head into the room. A gasp escaped his lips as Marietta twirled around.

  “How do I look?”

  “Beautiful.” He took her arm and just before they walked out he asked, “Are you sure about this? I know how you feel about marriage…”

  “I’m sure he’s the one. If he needs to sign a piece of paper to make him feel like my husband I don’t mind,” she took in a deep breath and jumped up and down, shaking her curly hair as she did. Flexing her shoulders she brought her hand up to her face again, staring at the gigantic ring. “I’m ready.”

  “You do know that you aren’t headed into a boxing ring?” Chris teased.

  “That’s where you are wrong. Life is an eternal fight and tying myself to Tobias means I have to fight his battles for him too.” Her lips lifted in amusement at the stunned expression on Chris’ face, “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

  * * * *

  “Let’s do this!”

  Tobias laughed as he heard Marietta’s voice float from the house and into the beach air. He looked around at their guests. There were only five of them and Chris made six. Marietta had wanted it this way, just family. Tobias had to remind his mother not to ask about Marietta’s parents.

  Tobias looked up when the harpist began to play. Marietta appeared at the end of the aisle and although she was standing there with Chris, she was the only one he could see. He burst out laughing when he watched how she half dragged Chris down the aisle.

  “Are you sure?” Tobias heard McKenzie call from the back row.

  “Can it, old man,” Tobias shouted back.

  “Seven is a lucky number,” the man said once more. “Remember, I am the one who got you two together.”

  Her heart warmed at the memory of their first kiss. McKay was responsible for that. “Thank you for that, but I prefer being number one.” Marietta said when she took her position next to Tobias.

  *** *

  Marietta woke up, dazed. She looked around the room and wondered where she was. Other than Tobias she didn’t seem to recognize her surrounding, “Where are we?”

  “Home, we are at our home, in our bed,” he said as he planted kisses on her back, “and you are my wife.”

  Chapter Seven

  Present time…

  “Our home, our bed,” Marietta gasped out.

  For the past three years this was what she had known this place to be. It was their sanctuary, her and Tobias’ that was why she didn’t understand the picture in front of her. What the hell was going on?

  Marietta never thought that things would escalate to this. They had been fighting, but their fights always revolved around the same thing. Tobias wanted a baby and Marietta at the time had been unable to give him one. After countless doctors’ appointments, six IVF treatments, she had given up. Her body wasn’t ready and emotionally she wasn’t either. But Tobias wanted to push on. He had witnessed how her battered body was being affected by all the treatments but having a baby seemed so important to him. He was desperate.

  She hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks, she had been excited to share the news, but here she was faced with an image she was sure would stay with her forever. Tobias jumped to his feet and dragged his pants up as he threw a cover over his naked female companion. He turned to face her and took slow steps towards her, as if he stalked towards her. Her chest heaved as her hand flew to her mouth and her belly. The overpowering feeling to hurl came over her. Marietta dropped her bag and ran i
nto the toilet.

  Marietta felt as if her guts were spilling out of her. She felt a cool towel being placed on her neck as someone held onto her hair. At that moment she was grateful for the help. She turned around and ended up staring into Tobias’ apologetic eyes. She looked closer and saw a tear glisten in them. Marietta wanted to wrap her arms around him and comfort him, tell him everything would be okay but she couldn’t. She could feel the bile rise up from her belly once more. But this time she didn’t want to throw up.

  “How could you?” She turned her head toward the bedroom as a thought dawned on her. “Was that—” She scrambled to her feet and marched into the bedroom despite Tobias trying to hold her back. Her jaw dropped as she watched the woman get dressed on her bed. “Sarah! Get out of my bed!”

  Marietta was sure that she had finally gone insane. She leaped on the bed as she tried to get her hands on the home wrecker. Sarah yelped as she tried to duck away, but Marietta had managed to get a firm grip on her blonde locks. Marietta felt the hands rain down on her as they tried to loosen her grip on Sarah’s hair. This moment could only be described as that of a rabid dog gone wild on her foe. Marietta snarled at them as she pulled Sarah out of the bedroom, tossing her and her clothes out of the house.

  “Get out! Get out! If I see you anywhere near my home or my family…so help me God, nothing will save you,” she roared then banged the door closed.

  “You need to calm down, Mattie,” Jessie said as she moved to Marietta’s side.

  Marietta knew she had to calm down. But she couldn’t bottle up the rage that was boiling inside her. With Tobias nowhere to be seen Marietta sat down quietly for a moment, dealing slowly with the building anger. But when Tobias emerged from the room fully dressed Marietta shot up to her feet and lunged at him.

  A bit of steel slipping into her tone, she pounded at his chest as she wailed, “I hate you. I hate you so much.” A shadow crossed over his face and his expression immediately closed. Marietta restrained herself from catching the tear that rolled down his cheek. “I’ll catch every tear that falls out of your eyes. I’ll kiss the pain away, my arms will be your source of strength and solitude, my heart a place for our love to grow, my love the only truth that I know, my life a loyal submission to yours.”