Sausalito Nights (Montgomery Beauty Book 1)

by Stephanie Salvatore

  I stood and took Christopher’s hand walking down, standing in arm's length of my father. “Thanks, Dad. I appreciate everything you did tonight.”

  He reached out and pulled me into a hug, kissing the top of my head. “A father will always protect his daughter. No matter what she does to go against his word.”

  I smiled, hugging him back before he pulled away and looked to Christopher. We stood in a moment of silence as Chris locked eyes with my father.

  “You take care of my Lorelai,” Father practically whispered, offering Chris his hand.

  I widened my eyes in surprise as Chris shook my father’s hand. “You have my word, Mr. Castillo.”

  ***

  Exiting the front of the building, we walked hand in hand down the wooden dock to the boardwalk. As promised, Cakes and Pies was anchored out front. We made our way onboard and I unlocked the door before we made our way in to be met with the broken glass from the picture frames scattered everywhere.

  “Whoa… What happened here?” Chris asked.

  I turned to look back at him and bit my lower lip. “I kind of lost my shit the night you came to see me.”

  He looked at me with gentle eyes and sighed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I bit my lower lip, sliding down to the couch after making sure it was clear of glass. “I was pissed off, angry at myself for sending you away, I was pissed off that Armani was dead, I couldn’t wrap my head around the miscarriage. I was emotional, I didn’t know where to turn and the picture frames were the easiest thing to throw.”

  Without a word spoken, he stood and walked toward the kitchen and grabbed a broom and started sweeping the glass into a dust pan. Stopping after a moment, “I understand that you were upset, rightfully so.” He spoke standing at the edge of the kitchen. He stayed calm and never rose his tone of voice. “They’re only picture frames. Those are replaceable. You’re not.”

  I watched as he went back to cleaning up the mess, he pulled out the vacuum and thoroughly made sure not even the tiniest shard of glass was left behind.

  Sitting there, I stared off and caught a glance at him every so often. He wasn’t angry, concerned? Affirmative. In that moment, I knew that we made it through some tough waters and that the road ahead of us wouldn’t be an easy one; but we were fighters, we were MontaStillo strong. We offered love and support when it was needed no matter what life threw at us; and one day when we had children, we would be able to pass on that strength to them.

  Repairing the Broken Molds

  Christopher

  Six weeks later

  I placed a hand on Lorelai’s thigh as she read through a magazine in the waiting room at the psychologist’s office. After Santino’s disappearing act, it didn’t take Lorelai long to agree to inquire on going to couples’ counseling. Going into our first session, we started out with why we wanted to seek couples’ counseling; and, at the end of the first session, our counselor could see we had valid reasons to be there. Together, we decided that therapy once a week to start out would be sufficient while we worked through the healing process of the tragic events we went through.

  The door opened and Marlee, our counselor stuck her head out and smiled. “Lorelai? Chris, come on back.”

  Lorelai closed the magazine and looked at me. “Ready?” She offered her hand and I stood up taking her hand before walking in the back to Marlee’s office.

  Once sitting on the comfortable couch, I wrapped an arm around the back of Lorelai’s shoulders.

  “So? What’s going on in Lorelai and Chris’s universe?” Marlee asked as she sat down with a notepad.

  Lorelai looked at me, then Marlee. “Well, we have some good news to start off with.”

  “Starting with good news is always a positive way to start. Let’s hear it.”

  “After everything, we’re both in line to graduate high school. In fact, commencement is this weekend.”

  A smile widened on her face. “That is a huge mile marker! Are you excited?”

  “Absolutely. We’re so over the study sessions and homework. I mean, senior year wasn’t what I expected, but it was better than I ever imagined in some ways.”

  “How so?”

  She placed a hand on my leg and looked back at me. I smiled as she began to speak after a short pause. “Well, I wasn’t around to make memories with my friends or take in all the perks of being a senior, but I met Christopher and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to my life.”

  “And why is that, Lorelai?”

  “He brought a promise to my future. A love that I wasn’t sure existed. He supports me in everyday life goals, and not just my dreams but our dreams. We have plans for after graduation too, but I can’t say anything yet because we’re waiting on the official word.”

  Marlee smiled. “Okay, well I’m sure you’ll keep me informed then?”

  I smiled. “Of course we will.”

  “What about you, Chris? How have things been since our last visit?”

  I brushed my thumb over the top of her hand and caressed it gently. Tough conversations often made Lorelai emotional. “We continue making growth and progress. We’re always open and honest with each other. We have our hard days and nights. Uninterrupted sleep hasn’t exactly been the easiest of tasks.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I looked to Lorelai making sure it was okay I continued, and gave me a nod to elaborate. “She has nightmares about the night Santino was trying to force her to leave for Vegas. I’ll wake up from her tossing and turning. She’s an emotional sleeper, she’ll wake up crying, having a hard time breathing, and realizing it was only a dream. I do my best to make sure she knows she’s safe and that Santino isn’t coming back.”

  “What do you do to comfort her other than verbally tell her she’s safe?”

  “I’ll get her a glass of water; and if staying in bed isn’t an option, we’ll leave the cabin and go lie out on the deck and watch the stars until she’s calm enough to sleep again.”

  Lorelai smiled. “And that’s just one example. He’s made other approaches, too. He’ll hold me, and rub my back until I fall back to sleep. Or he’ll bring me a warm cup of milk and read gossip magazines out loud and make me laugh until I’m in tears. Sometimes, he’ll bring me to the kitchen, cook us a full breakfast, and we’ll sit on the kitchen floor and eat together. He’s very adamant about taking my mind off whatever it is that has me worked up.”

  Marlee wrote some key notes down, and smiled up at us when she finished. “It sounds like you’re a strong support system. What about you, Chris? Have you hit any walls?”

  I paused to think about it. “I think between the miscarriage and almost losing her, I’ve been trying hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’re young, yes;, but Lorelai is my forever and I remind her of that a lot. Lorelai mentioned plans for the future, and I think that’s what I have been working on most. Making sure that we aren’t living on the cabin of her luxury yacht; which is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not a place we should live when we want to start a family sooner rather than later.”

  “Ah! There it is. So future living plans. I think these are all excellent goals. Mental health and communication in your relationship is very important. What about plans for careers or college?”

  There it was, the other million dollar question. “I’ll continue working with my father at the construction company. He’s still booked up a year in advance between working within San Francisco and the surrounding areas, and Lorelai…” I smiled at her. “Why don’t you tell her?”

  Lorelai smiled. “I’m going to be going to work at the Montgomery Winery with his mother.”

  Marlee smiled. “Wow! That’s very exciting. You’re both going to be jumping into careers, successful ones at that. I think as long as you keep your goals in sight, you two will be just fine.”

  Lorelai smiled. “Me too. Christopher and his parents have been so good to me in the last month and a half.”

  “So n
o more hostility there?” Marlee asked.

  I laughed. “I think my parents have grown to love Lorelai more than they do me on some days.”

  Lorelai laughed. “That’s because I don’t walk away grumbling when they want to banter.”

  I nudged her playfully with my elbow and chuckled. “I don’t see the point in useless arguments.”

  Lorelai leaned forward, placing a hand at the side of her mouth. “He’s just grumpy.” She whispered loudly.

  Marlee laughed, “Well that’s wonderful, it’s so great to see you two improving. Have you two considered taking a night to focus on romance? I know we talked about it a few times. I think you guys are in a good place. Maybe we can push our next session out by a few weeks and before you come back. I want you to plan at least two nights, whether it’s going out or staying in, and then we’ll talk about it next time.”

  Lorelai looked at me with gentle facial features. I knew that making love had become a hard act for her to embrace after the miscarriage. She feared that if or when she fell pregnant that we would have to embrace that pain over and over again. This had been talked about over the weeks of coming to therapy.

  She smiled at me and took my hand in hers before looking at Marlee. “I did go talk to a doctor at Planned Parenthood a couple of weeks ago, and they did an exam and they couldn’t find any reason for us not to try again.” She paused and looked back to me. “I think I’m ready to take that step now.”

  I squeezed her hand and brought it up planting a gentle kiss against the back of it.

  Marlee smiled, admiring our progress. “I’m not an expert in that area, but isn’t it around seven weeks that you have to wait before you try again?”

  Lorelai nodded and looked down.

  “Lorelai,” Marlee began. “You were under a lot of stress back then. You’re lives are looking up in a whole different light. Stay positive.”

  She looked up with tears in her eyes and nodded. “I know. I’m ready to try again.”

  I smiled, squeezing her hand and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “It’s okay to be scared, baby; but I know that we’ll have the child we’ve been dreaming of.”

  She looked at me and smiled. “I certainly hope so.”

  The session continued, and Marlee dug a little deeper on educating Lorelai when to take tests, keeping her diet healthy and to start taking prenatal vitamins before we started trying again. I was pleased with how Marlee took an emotional situation and turned it into a positive hopeful mindset for my beautiful Lorelai. Me? I sat and envisioned that pregnancy glow she would gain, talking about plans for us and our future tot to be, and watching our child grow inside of her. Needless to say, I was the number one support system to making Lorelai a mother to my children. I knew her fears and anxieties, but I refused to give up on making her dreams come true.

  ***

  When the session ended, we made an appointment for three weeks out and walked out to the car hand in hand. I opened the passenger door for her and saw that she was in safely before I leaned in and pulled the seatbelt out, pulling it around her thin figure and snapping it into place.

  “What do you say we stop at the drugstore and I’ll buy those prenatals Marlee was talking about?” I asked, stepping back but stayed close.

  She smiled, placing a hand on my cheek. “That sounds wonderful, Mr. Montgomery.”

  I leaned in, planting a gentle kiss against her lips. “I love you,” I whispered against her lips.

  She inhaled a deep sharp breath. “Mmm… I love you, baby. So much.”

  I smiled against her lips leaning in for another kiss. She held onto the kiss for another moment before I broke it and stepped out. We left as the sun began to set, made a short pit stop before heading back to the yacht club where I would make dinner for us, and we would continue prepping for the big celebration weekend ahead of us.

  A Man on a Mission

  Christopher

  Spring

  Two weeks later

  Graduation came and went as a large celebration. As a surprise, my parents offered us a room at the winery for a week. Our week was filled with relaxing and exploration in Napa. We spent time with my family and my parents gave a grand tour of the winery, backstage and front and center. The week went by too fast, but watching Lorelai’s face light up with smiles and seeing her sitting comfortable back to her old self was a fresh breath of air.

  Upon our arrival back in Sausalito, I took in a view of Lorelai through a peripheral vision, merely glancing at her. The cool sea air blew through her hair, she wore her favorite pair of sunglasses; and I realized that even though she was torn apart from the inside out, she never stopped smiling. Thinking back to when I first suggested therapy after the miscarriage, she took a few hours to think about it but never said no. She never threw her hands up through the hardships of our forbidden relationship, dealing with difficult parents, feeling the wrath of life and death, feeling numb and done with everything. Watching her take on all of the emotions, and overcoming these struggles, I realized she was the strongest, happiest, most chipper human being I ever had the pleasure of crossing paths with; and I… I was going to make sure I never had to live without her.

  Pulling back up at the yacht club entrance, I put the car in park. “You go ahead back. Maybe we can go out to San Francisco tonight? There’s a place I’ve been wanting to take you.”

  “Oh? What kind of place?”

  “It’s a little fancy, so dress up. I have to run an errand, but I’ll be back soon.”

  She smiled at me and leaned over to press her lips against mine in a sweet kiss. “Okay, handsome. Don’t be long, okay?”

  “I promise I won’t, love.”

  She pecked my lips a few more times, a smile lifting against her lips as she looked me in the eyes. “I’ll see you soon.”

  After she exited, I found myself at the Castillo residence and rang the doorbell.

  A moment later, an older version of Lorelai came to the door. She was lanky and had the same piercing blue eyes and smaller glamour features as Lorelai. “Christopher. How may I help you?”

  I gave her my best polite smile. “Luciana? May I come in? I’d like to talk to you.”

  “Um, sure.” She stepped aside and allowed me to step in. “Sure. What’s with the impromptu visit?”

  I sighed and turned to her. “Can we sit?”

  “Sure.” She led the way to a parlor.

  “What’s on your mind?” she said as we sat.

  I swallowed hard. “Well, I realize that your parents might not like me, or want me near Lorelai; but now that she’s emancipated, I suppose that doesn’t matter. It may sound silly asking this, but from what she tells me, you two are close.”

  She nodded. “We are and just because she emancipated my parents doesn’t mean we won’t continue to stay close.”

  “I understand and respect that, which is why I am here. I want to ask Lorelai to marry me, and I’d like your blessing.”

  Her lips fell open before she looked away from me, her fingers intertwining as her jaw moved into a firm set. “What makes you think I’d give you my blessing?” She spoke in a quiet cold tone.

  I inhaled a deep breath, wondering if I should have gone to Marie first. “You two are close. So you care about what she wants, and who or what makes her happy, right?”

  Remaining silent for a moment, she finally responded. “I suppose…” She turned slowly to look back at me.

  “Then I have no doubts that coming here was the right thing to do.” I wasn’t afraid, I did team up with Luci and their father to bring Lorelai home. Perhaps nothing changed for them? “I love your sister with everything in me, Luci. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her and, if you give me your blessing, you have my word that I will take care of her the best way I can for the rest of our lives.”

  Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she nodded, and quickly wiped the tears away as a moment passed us by before she said. “Then you have my blessing, Chris.” Her wo
rds were barely audible, but I could feel and visually see that she meant every word.

  I smiled at her gently. “Thank you.”

  There was a pause in the room for a moment. “Take care of her, Chris.”

  “You have my word.”

  She stood up and walked be back to the door. “Is that all you needed?”

  “Actually, I was wondering. Do you know if Marie is home?”

  “I don’t, but you’re more than welcome to go check for yourself, Chris. When you exit the building, go to your right. She’s on the top floor in the next building.”

  “Thanks.”

  She opened the door and I made an exit only to enter the next building over.

  Standing outside of the Castillo residence in the building, I rang the doorbell.

  A moment later, Marie came to the door. “Chris! What are you doing here?”

  “Sorry for just stopping by, but I needed to talk to you without Lorelai suspecting anything.” I said, honestly.

  “Oh… well.” She smiled. “Please. Come in.”

  She led us to the kitchen, and we sat down while she got us both a glass of water. “So, how’s everything been going since the Santino Chronicles exploded?”

  I chuckled. “It’s been slow going, but we’re in a really good place. Therapy has helped a lot. We actually just came back from our vacation in Napa and I have the perfect way to end our week, which is why I’m here.”

  She smiled from ear to ear. “Christopher! What is it? Tell me!”

  I chuckled and smiled. “I came here because I know Lorelai is your best friend, and it would only be fair to ask for your blessing before I ask for her hand in marriage.”

  She gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth, tears filling her eyes almost immediately. “Oh my god! Really?”