Haunted(63)

“You guys have a fabulous honeymoon and take lots of pictures for us,” Beth told them.

Eve and Beth hugged and kissed on the cheek, and I gave Berg and Eve a hug.

Joey was dancing, and I caught his eye and nodded my head to signal for him to come to us.

“Are we leaving?” he asked me.

“Yup.”

“Good, I have a new level to finish on my Batman game.”

Joey ran to Eve and Berg and gave them a big hug. Joey had always called Eve “Aunt Eve,” and he always called Berg “Uncle Berg.” It was as though Joey had known all along that they were meant to be.

Berg and Eve had decided that they didn’t want kids. They told us that if we shared our kids with them, they would be fulfilled enough. Eve and Berg doted on Joey and Laura all the time.

Berg and Eve bought the land right behind ours. We couldn’t see them from our house, but we had a trail through the woods that connected our land to theirs. Eve told Berg she would marry him only if he would build her a house with just as many bookshelves as Beth had, and Berg bought the land the very next day.

“Let’s go, guys.”

I held Laura safely cradled in one arm, and I grabbed Beth’s hand with the other. She put her arm over Joey’s shoulder. Joey loved his mom and he had no reservations about showing it.



Beth



When we got home we piled out of the vehicle. Roman grabbed Laura and snuggled her against him. Roman was a fabulous father. He said having a girl was going to be the death of him. He was sure karma was going to come around and bite him right in the ass, in lieu of revenge of all the girls he screwed and dumped.

“Mama, Ro, can I go up and play on the Xbox for another hour before going to bed?”

I was ready to say no, but Roman nodded his head.

Sucker.

“Thanks.” He kissed Roman and me on our cheeks and ran upstairs. He was almost fifteen and life was going well with Joey. We still took our lives one day at a time.

“Give me Laura, and I’ll get her ready for bed and you can take a quick shower.”

“Really? You’re not too tired?” he said with a gleam in his eye.

“Not too tired,” I told him and then I winked at him.

He smiled and ran up the stairs. He was silly. We still had sex but not as much as he was accustomed to. But we had plenty. I carried Laura up the stairs to her bedroom. I changed her and put her into her pink pajamas. She stared up at me with those huge emerald eyes that she got from her daddy and made cute baby sounds.

“Who’s my silly girl?” I laughed at her and she smiled. “Who’s my silly baby?” I tickled her. She was such an easy going baby. I picked up Mr. Coconuts and gave her fake kisses until she laughed. “You know, Daddy gave this to Mommy when we were dating. Yes… he did.” I smiled at her.

I picked her up and sat in the rocking chair and nursed her. Laura had come two weeks early because the doctor was concerned about my age, and I’d had another C-section. It had been nice, picking the day of the birth. Berg and Eve helped out a lot after Laura came, and it was wonderful to give them a chance to dote on a baby.

I heard Roman come down the hall. He walked in wearing pajama pants. His chest was bare and his hair was slightly wet.

Damn, he looks good.

He sat in the dim room on the floor and watched me nurse Laura. When she was done, I handed Laura off to her Da Da. Roman cradled her against him and sat in the rocker. I showered and finished in record time. I put on Roman’s favorite silky nightie and I left my hair down. I looked at Rhage sitting in my reading chair. I didn’t like cat hair on my chair, but Rhage was spoiled out of his mind. I bent and petted my hairy baby.

When I walked toward Laura’s room, I heard Roman singing the song that was her namesake, “Laura” by Bat for Lashes, a ballad accompanied by a piano only. It was a haunting song and oh so beautiful. We wanted to name her after a song since music meant so much to both of us.

The pregnancy had been difficult for me. There was a reason young girls were supposed to have babies, but it was all worth it. Roman waited on me hand and foot to help me as much as he could while I was pregnant. When we decided on her name, he taught me how to play the song on the piano. Sometimes, I would play the piano and he would sing the song. It always made me cry because he had the most exquisite voice, and he was singing the song we named our baby after.

I sat outside Laura’s room and listened to my husband sing “Laura” to our daughter, and I cried over the beauty of it. I think he must have heard me because he walked out of the room with her. She was asleep in his arms and the sight overwhelmed me. He bent down and held Laura against him.

“Beth, baby, don’t cry. You know I can’t handle seeing you cry.”

“Sorry, you just sounded so beautiful.”

He smiled at me and his eyes held a little pride. I could tell he was pleased that I still loved his voice.

He returned to her room and laid her in her crib. Then he came out into the hallway and held out his hands to help me off the floor.

“I love you. Have I ever thanked you for this fantastic life we have? Beth, you make me so happy. So, so happy.” he said while wiping away my tears. There was a slight grin on his face as he looked into my eyes and kissed me.

“I love you, too, always will. Now come and make love to your emotional wife.” I held his hand and gave him a smile.