CHASING DREAMS

Chapter 113:

“Kayti? Sammy? Where are you? Answer Papa. Come into the kitchen and talk to Papa.”

He didn’t waste another minute. He ran out the door, holding tightly to the baby and circled the house hoping to find them playing in the playground. Kayti couldn’t have opened the gate but maybe Sammy did. The sick feeling turned into full blown nausea when he rounded the corner and they weren’t there.

“Sammy… Kayti.” He called again, spinning around in a circle to look around the yard.

He crossed the yard to the main house hoping that maybe they had gone to find Lisa. They both knew that she was in the house. He rushed up to Drew and told him that the children had slipped out of the house without him knowing. Drew saw the panic written all over his face.

“Take it easy. They can’t have gone far.”

“They didn’t come up the steps and go in the house?”

“Nope, I haven’t seen them.” Carson, one of the carpenters told him. “I’ve been on the steps here for over an hour.”

Seb sighed and spun around, wishing to see them somewhere in the yard. His eyes locked on the edge of the woods.

“Mon Dieu. Drew please go in and get Lisa and Mary.”

Without a word, Drew took the steps two at a time and hurried inside, calling for Lisa. When she rushed downstairs, she could see that something was wrong.

“Lisa, Seb says the children came outside by themselves and he can’t find them. We haven’t seen them at all.”

“Oh My God. Mary” She called up the stairs.

When Mary came downstairs they quickly decided that Mary would take Lauren and wait at the house while Lisa, Seb and the other guys searched for the children.

They all spread out, covering the yard so that nothing could be missed, circling both houses and coming back together to meet in between them.

“Well, they are definitely not in the yard. They couldn’t have gotten in the back door of the main house with the staircase disassembled.” Seb said still turning in circles, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. His eyes caught Lisa’s and he saw the fear that mirrored his own.

“I’m sorry, Baby. I was changing Lauren when they asked if they could go play. I thought they meant in their room. I… I never imagined that they would go out alone.”

“I’m afraid Seb. That man may still be wandering through our woods. What if he has gotten them? Should we call the police?”

“I think that would be a good idea. And Urs too. I can’t imagine that Sammy would do that again but maybe they went to Urs and Alex’s.”

He pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial for Urs’ phone.

“Hey man what’s up?” Urs said when he answered.

Seb quickly told him and he could hear Urs fly out the door to look around his yard.

“I don’t see them. Let me tell Alex what’s going on and then I’ll head out and help you look. Let me know if you find them.”

Urs reluctantly told Alex. He knew it would upset her and she would want to be out helping to look and he was right.

“Baby, we’ll find them. Seb said that all of the workers are helping to look. They can’t be far.”

“What about the stranger in the woods?”

“Yeah, I know. Seb said Lisa is concerned about him too. Seb is calling the police right now. Let me go help to search. I’ll call you as soon as they are found.”

Just as he was getting to the edge of their grassy part of the yard, before the entrance to the woods, he stopped and looked at the dog pen. They were very young and had had no official training, but he had been not only playing with Max and Bella, but doing some training as well. He had been reading up on how they trained German Shepherds that were used as police dogs. So he turned back around and opened the latch on the gate and let them out. He stepped back into the house to get their leashes and told Alex he was taken them with him. He kissed her and then ran out the door calling the children’s names.

While everyone else was fanned out starting at the road and working their way towards the woods, Drew had gotten into his truck as well as another worker who had gotten into his and they each took a direction and slowly drove down the street in opposite directions in case they had gone that way. Drew saw two police cars pass him, heading towards the Izambard’s house.

Mary was waiting for the police on the porch, giving them the children’s descriptions and telling them where they had searched already. Lisa had also instructed her to tell them about the stranger in case they hadn’t heard about him. The four officers spread out and joined the search, communicating with each other through their hand held radios.

“Kayti, you have to come home. Member what Mommy and Papa said when I walked to Auntie Alex and Onkle Urs’ the nuther time. We can’t go without a dult. That means a Mommy or a Papa.”

“No Sammy, I play outside.”

“You will have to go in time out, cuz this is being naughty.”

Sammy was getting very frustrated. First of all, he was afraid he would be in trouble for being in the woods alone, well not all alone but with no dult with him. Kayti wasn’t a dult. She was smaller than him. Then he saw the black clouds in the sky and he knew what they meant. When the sky had clouds like that, it was going to rain and make a lot of lightening and scary noise. Sometimes when the clouds were really like black, it looked like it was nighttime when it really was still daytime. He was trying not to cry but he wanted to go home. Something inside of him told him that he needed to stay with his sister. So he kept following her and talking to her, trying to make her turn around. He was glad though that she had stayed on the road that Papa and Onkle Urs had told the men to make. He could still see the sticks beside the road that they had put there before when it was still just woods. It was not as scary to walk in here now as it was before because he knew he wouldn’t get lost if they stayed on the road.

“Kayti, my belly is hungry. I think it’s lunch time and Mommy didn’t give us a snack to bring outside.”

Kayti wasn’t really paying attention. She had seen a large bug and was mesmerized by it as it crawled along a fallen tree trunk. She climbed onto the tree to follow the bug. Sammy had come closer to see what it was that she was looking at when all of a sudden he heard the sound.

It was like one of Lauren’s rattles only not as loud. There on the ground on the other side of the tree trunk was a rattlesnake. Papa had shown him some pictures of some different snakes they might see around where they lived after they found a small snake on one of their walks. This snake was a lot bigger than the one they saw last time.

“Kayti come here.” He yelled and at the same time, he pulled on her shirt making her squeal at him as she fell onto the ground at his feet.

“Stop it Sammy. I play bugs.” She said jerking her shirt out of his grasp as she stood up and tried to go back onto the tree.

“No Kayti, there was a snake, a bad snake. Papa told me to go away very fast from a snake and don’t touch it. It will bite us. We have to stay away from it a long way.”

Kayti saw the tears on Sammy’s face and she knew he was serious.

“Don’t cry Sammy. Snake not bite us.” She said and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“Come home Kayti. We need to get some lunch and a drink now.”

“Kay” she said finally and let him hold her hand like Mommy told them to do when they were walking in the store or in a parking lot.

They turned towards their house and started walking but they had only gone a few minutes when they heard the first rumbles of thunder coming from the approaching storm.

“Hurry up Kayti. It’s gonna get rain on us.” He said and tried to speed up the pace.

Sammy stopped short, wide eyed and Kayti looked way up as the voice spoke to them.

“Hey what are you kids doing out here in the woods all alone. Where are your parents? You’re awfully little to be out by yourselves and it’s about to storm and a pretty nasty one at that. Come here, we’ll hide for a few minutes until the storm goes away.”

“Hi Santa.” Kayti said.

Lisa had to stop to dry her eyes. She couldn’t see where she was going.

“Baby, please go back to the house. Maybe they are there now.”

“NO! Mary would have called my phone if they were.”

“It’s about to storm, Sweetheart.”

“I can see that and our babies are out there in the woods. They could get struck by lightening and then there’s that man out there somewhere.” She said in between sobs.

Seb’s heart was breaking. He knew this was his fault. He hadn’t been paying close enough attention to them. What if something happened to either of them? How would he ever live with himself? How would Lisa be able to live with him? Those questions spurred him on to find them. He couldn’t allow anything to happen to their children. Their lives would be destroyed.

He reached out and took her hand and was grateful when she didn’t pull away. He wouldn’t blame her if she was angry at him.

“Let’s keep looking then. We’ll find them soon.” He said and lifted the back of her hand to his lips.

She threw herself into his arms and the tears that had already been falling came hard and fast now as she clung to him.

“I’m scared Seb. I’m really scared.”

“I know Baby. I’m sorry. Look at me. We are going to find them. They are probably having a great adventure.” He said, not sure if he was trying to convince her more or himself.

Just then Urs came into view, coming from his property and Lisa and Seb both looked around quickly to see if the children were with him. They weren’t.

“You haven’t found them yet?” Urs said looking around like they had just done.

“No, but we will.” Come on. Let’s keep looking.” Seb said.

“Hey there, are any of you the parents of the missing children?”

“We are.” Lisa said hopefully. Maybe he would tell them that they had been found.

“We just want to let you know that we’re here. There are four of us and more coming in the next half hour. Hopefully we’ll have found them by then.” The officer said looking up at the darkening sky.

They moved on, spreading out a bit and each of them were calling out the children’s names but the wind had picked up now and it was beginning to thunder, sometimes drowning out the sound of their voices. Now that Urs had joined them, dashing their hopes that the children had stayed on the paved road they split up further, drifting off into the wooded areas. The officer called the others on his radio, telling the rest to do the same.

Urs’ phone rang, making those within hearing distance, stop and listen to hear if someone had news of the children.

“Hello.”

“Urs, it’s me. Have they found them yet?”

“Not yet, Baby, but we will. Please try to relax.” Urs said and at the same time he shook his head to let everyone know there was no news, so they moved on to continue searching.

“I feel so helpless here. I should be out helping to look.”

“No, you are right where you should be, taking care of yourself and our son. No one expects you to be anywhere else.”

Urs kept moving but also kept Alex on the phone. He knew it would be better than her sitting alone wondering what was happening.

Seb heard the crackle and a muffled voice coming over the officer’s radio and watched from several feet away as the man spoke quietly into his radio.

“What’s going on?” Seb asked him as they approached each other.

The officer took a deep breath and let it out, looking like he was going to tell them something they wouldn’t like.

“Has someone found them?” Lisa asked, wanting to be excited but seeing the look on his face and knowing that if they had been found, they were hurt or worse.

She couldn’t keep the tears from streaming down her face, mixing with the large raindrops that were falling steadily now. She grabbed onto Seb’s arm, knowing she would need his support if it was in fact bad news.

“One of the other officers has come upon a makeshift shelter made out of a tarp and some branches. He hears voices inside if it.”

“Does he hear the children?” Seb asked hopefully.

“He hears what appears to be children’s voices as well as an adult male voice. The officer has not yet made himself known. He’s waiting for us all to get there. Ma’am, I would like for you to stay back as far as possible. I’ve heard that you are expecting.”

“Those are my children. I’m going to be there when we get them out of there.”

The officer knew there was no changing her mind. He’d been through a lot of situations where there were hysterical parents waiting for word of their missing children.

They quietly surrounded the lean to, but were still a good fifty feet away, not wanting to give their presence away. The sounds of the storm were also helping to cover their noises. The officers were huddled together talking amongst themselves. When Seb could stand it no longer, he approached them to find out what they had planned.

“What will we do now?”

“We have more officers arriving. They are already on the property. We’ll wait for them to get here.”

Seb sighed as he was frustrated at the thought of waiting even one more minute. Who knew what was going on in there. He looked over at Lisa who was talking to Urs and cringed when he saw Urs take her into his arms, consoling her when she broke down crying again. He moved over to them and he stroked Lisa’s soaking wet head and down her back and felt her shivering even though it was still in the upper eighties. He wished she would go home but knew it was futile to even ask her. He knew how she felt.

The other officers arrived carrying several blankets in a plastic bag and a bull horn. Seb immediatlely got one of the blankets and wrapped it around Lisa. When he would have stepped away from her, Lisa opened her arms and drew him into her embrace, wrapping the blanket around them both.

“I’m so sorry, Baby.” Seb said again, leaning his forehead against hers.

“Seb, I’m not blaming you. I know it was an accident.”

He wished he felt like that but he didn’t and if this man hurt their babies, he didn’t know what he’d do.

Chapter 114:

“What are we going to do? How long are we going to stand here and wait?” Seb asked quietly, getting very frustrated because they knew the children were in there with the man but they weren’t doing anything about it. It had already been about thirty minutes while they had waited for the other four officers to arrive.

“Mr. Izambard, I know that you would like us to rush right in there and get your children. But we don’t have any idea who this guy is. We don’t know what weapons he might have or if he has a tendency towards violence. Please try to be patient just a bit longer. We want to get your children out too but we want to make sure they come out safely.”

Seb nodded in acceptance and backed away from the officers, rejoining Lisa and Urs, who were huddled together under the canopy of trees. It was at least helping a little to shield them from some of the rain that was still falling heavily. The thunder and lightening had stopped and now they were just getting wet. They were actually way past wet. All of them were drenched from head to toe, their feet squishing inside of their shoes with each soggy step.

As they looked around the area, the officers took inventory of the man’s shelter and its surroundings. He had obviously been here for some time, living here in secret. He had a fire pit built, a good size hole dug into the ground with large rocks surrounding it to keep it contained and wood already expertly laid in it in preparation for a fire to be started. He had a round metal grate covering it all. He had also taken the time to cover it with a tarp and laid rocks on the edges of the tarp to keep the wood as dry as possible and the wind from pulling it off in the storm. In a few milk crates lining the outside of the shelter, he had a collection of mismatched cooking and eating utensils as well as a plastic bag that on closer inspection held perfectly sized pieces of starter wood for his fires, along with old newspapers to help with the initial start up. The shelter itself looked fairly sturdy. It was holding up well in this storm and earlier the wind had been blowing voraciously. He had built it out of logs and branches that had been roughly cut, tied with lengths of rope and twine and had it layered on top with several tarps of different colors and sizes.

He even had built himself an awning held up by four long, thin branches and a large tarp was extended between them, with one corner slightly lowered to allow the water to roll off the edge. Underneath it sat a camping chair and a small makeshift table. It was actually the stump of a good sized tree that was still imbedded in the ground and the shelter had been placed just so the stump would sit under the protective awning, shielding him from both rain and sun. He had filed away at the top of it until it had become fairly level.

One of the officers commented that he believed this guy had possibly been in the military at one time because he was very organized and his shelter looked much like something that they were taught to make in case they were stranded in the woods while on a mission.

They discussed their strategy, what would be the best way to announce their presence. The rain was slowing at least for now and they decided that this was the time to let him know that they were there.

The senior officer raised the bull horn in front of his face, taking a deep breath and hoping that this would end peacefully without any violence on their part or the man’s.

“Hello in there. This is the Clearwater Police Department. Please come out of there with your hands up and release the children.” He said, speaking loud and clear.

After a several second pause, a reply came from inside of the shelter.

“I haven’t hurt them. I just brought them in out of the storm. They were wandering in the woods alone and I was going to bring them home after the storm passed.”

“I repeat, come out of there with your hands raised.”

“I’m coming out. I’m unarmed.” He said firmly.

As soon as the flaps on the shelter moved, all eight officers moved in unison, raising their firearms and pointed them towards the entrance. The clicking sound of all of the safety’s being released reverberated through the woods, making Lisa jump.

The man stepped out of the shelter with Sammy and Kayti standing on either side of him, his hands lying gently on each of their shoulders.

Lisa could immediately see why Kayti had called him Santa. While his age was uncertain, he had a full beard that was primarily gray and was fairly long and a belly that extended just a bit over his belt. His cheeks and nose had a redness to them, whether it was from the sun, too much alcohol or rosacea, a medical condition that causes redness to the cheeks and nose was anybody’s guess.

Everyone stood still, not wanting to spook the man into doing anything to the children. Seb and Lisa had to restrain themselves from running and embracing Sammy and Kayti.

“I swear, I did not hurt these children.”

Urs had watched the scene long enough and was concerned that the children would be further traumatized by the weapons being pointed at them. Their little eyes were looking around at the men pointing guns at them and they looked to be in a bit of shock. This man didn’t seem to be violent at all and probably hadn’t harmed them but they would be frightened with the display they were witnessing now, especially Sammy who had seen far too much violence in his short life.

“Please lower your weapons so you won’t frighten the children.” Urs said calmly but firmly, looking at the senior officer who turned back and stared into the stranger’s eyes.

“Please allow the children to return to their parents.”

“Of course. Children, go to your Mom and Dad and remember what I told you, alright.

“Okay Mr. Jim.” Sammy said with a smile and took Kayti’s hand. They stepped out from under the awning and Kayti giggled when some large drips of water fell from the edge of the tarp and onto her head.

As soon as they were within a few feet of them, Seb and Lisa each wrapped up one of the children in a hug, lifting them from the ground. Then they came together so that Seb could hug Kayti and Lisa gave Sammy a hug from where he was resting in Seb’s arms.

Urs came to them with a couple of blankets and wrapped them around each of the children but they didn’t seem to be very wet at all, giving his own hugs before calling Alex to let her know that the children were safe. They had had to hang up some time ago so that Urs’ phone battery wouldn’t die.

He held tightly to the leashes and let the pups say hello to Sammy and Kayti. After he hung up with Alex he told Seb and Lisa that he wanted to head home to Alex if they were alright now.

“Of course, Urs. Thank you so much for coming out and helping with the search.” Lisa told him as she gave him a hug. “Please tell Alex that I will call her later.”

“I will and I’m so happy that they have been found and are safe.” He said looking towards Sammy and Seb.

“And you little Chickadee, You need to stay at home.”

“I play bugs, Onkle Oooos.”

Urs shook his head and gave Lisa a slight grin and thought that Seb and Lisa were in for quite a time with this little girl who didn’t seem to have any fear. He waved to them and had to give the puppy’s leashes a stern pull to get them to come. They wanted to play with the kids.

“Come Max and Bella, let’s go home.”

Sammy lowered his head when he stood in front of Seb. He looked very upset.

“I’m sorry Papa. I camed into the woods with Kayti. I didn’t want to cuz I don’t like time out. She camed in the woods and I tried to make her come home but she wanted to play with the bugs. I said she would get lost if she went into the woods by herself. She still went and I camed too so she wouldn’t get lost away.”

“Sammy, we’ll talk about it more when we get home. We are just very happy that you are both alright. What did the man tell you to remember?”

“Mr. Jim telled me and mostly Kayti cuz I already knowed it, that we shouldn’t go into the woods without a dult. I said to Kayti, see I telled you that. But me and Kayti was coming home and then it started to thunder and there was lightening too and then it had big rain. But we got to Mr. Jim’s tree house and didn’t get too much rain on us.

While Sammy told Seb and Lisa what had happened, the officers were speaking to the man.

They learned that his name was Jim Fletcher, and as the other officer had thought, he was an ex marine that had had some injuries while on duty, had a hard time getting a job and once he had found one, his lingering pain from the old injuries caused them to let him go several years ago.

They knew that there was much more to the story but after searching the man’s shelter and finding no more than several hunting knives, they came to Seb and Lisa and told them that they thought it would be best to take the rest of the interrogation back to the house to get everyone out of the weather.

Once the officers had led the man away from them, Lisa stooped down and took Sammy’s hands in her own and looked intently into his eyes.

“Sammy Sweetheart, did that man do anything to hurt you or Kayti?”

“No Mommy. We had yummy soup to make our bellies warm. It had potatoes in it and carrots too.”

Lisa was relieved when saw no fear towards the man in Sammy’s expressive eyes but she still felt compelled to ask him the questions.

“Did he touch you or Kayti in your private places?”

“No Mommy. He just told us to keep the blankets on so we wouldn’t catch a cold. I saw a snake.”

Lisa gasped as she heard this. “Where? Does he have a snake in there?”

“Nope, Kayti was watching the bug and it was by the tree near the bug. I pulled Kayti’s shirt to make her get away but she fell down and got mad at me. But I telled her that Papa said to go far away from a snake. Papa, it had the rattly things on the end just like we saw on the picture. It sounded like Lauren’s toy.”

Lisa’s chest constricted with the knowledge that her children had indeed been in danger, not from the man but from the ratlesnake. If Sammy hadn’t seen the snake or listened to Seb’s instructions, either or both of them may have been bitten. She saw the same fear on Seb’s face.

“Sammy, I am very proud of you for looking out for Kayti and for remembering what I told you about snakes. That was very good that you got her away from it.” Seb told him.

“I play bugs Papa.” Kayti told him proudly. She was making sure that everyone knew how much fun she’d had.

The picture was becoming clear to Seb and Lisa. Once outside together, Kayti had decided to go into the woods and Sammy had only gone as he was trying to coax her to come back out and go home.

They headed for the house to get dry clothes and something warm to eat. Even though it wasn’t cold out, the length of time that the adults had been out in the wind and rain had given them all a chill. Seb called the house phone and Mary was very relieved to hear of the children’s safe return. He asked her to put on a large pot of coffee and to see what she could find to make a large tray of sandwiches or something to feed the people who had helped to search for their children.

By the time they arrived on the front porch, Mary, had one pot of coffee ready and in a carafe and had already started a second pot brewing. She had made sandwiches with the various deli meats and cheese in the fridge and had laid out all of the condiments that you could want, had poured a bag of potato chips into a bowl and had cut up some fruit and laid it on a platter. She had also found the cookies that Lisa had frozen and was placing them on a plate to thaw out while everyone ate.

Drew and his crew ate quickly, had a second cup of coffee and went to clean up for the day and go home. It was late enough now that it wouldn’t make sense to try to get anything else done today. He told them to go home, get a hot shower and be back bright and early in the morning.

The four ladies that had been cleaning also ate but decided to change into their extra set of clothes that they always kept in the car and spend at least a couple of hours getting a head start on the cleaning. They thanked Seb and Lisa for the meal.

“No, thank all of you for helping to look for the children, Seb told them with his award winning smile. He even thought there might just have been a Diva among them. He’d have to check on that, but it would have to wait for another day. Today was about his family and the fact that he could have lost two of his children if things had been different.

He’d learned several valuable lessons today. First, to make sure that the doors were secured at all times, second, to listen more carefully to the children when they were speaking to him. Sometimes what they didn’t say was just as important as what they did say and third to listen to his gut. He had thought Sammy’s comments to be odd before he left and he had not listened to what his gut was trying to tell him. He would definitely not make that mistake again.

He and Lisa had quietly decided to wait until everyone else was gone to speak to the children about what they had done. There was too much commotion for them to even begin to pay attention to what was being said to them.

Lisa had ushered them directly into the bathroom and had run them a warm bath even though they never got very wet thanks to Mr. Fletcher. Once they were dried and dressed, Mary fixed them both a plate with a half a turkey sandwich, some chips and a few pieces of fruit. They both ate a fair amount even though Mr. Fletcher had fed them earlier.

Seb went to answer the knock on the door and admitted Detective Garza, shaking his hand and welcoming him in. He told Seb how glad he was to hear that the children were home safe. They had not seen him since the day Jenna had been arrested. He asked for a statement of how the children had gotten away to begin with and Seb told him with a blush to his cheeks and his voice cracking several times as he told the Detective what had happened, assuring him that something like this would never happen again. The Detective had several terrific ideas to assist them in keeping tabs on the children, one of which was a companion to the security system. Two small pieces of plastic that were actually sensors were attached to the door frame and the screen door, alerting everyone any time the screen door was opened from the inside or out. Drew, who was still there, told Seb that he had to make a run to the home improvement store in the morning and would pick them up and install them first thing when he got here tomorrow. They would be installed both here and at the main house.

Detective Garza sat down with Mr. Fletcher and talked with him about his living arrangements and the fact that he had been trespassing for quite some time. He took down all of the man’s information and went to his car to run a thorough check on him just in case he was wanted for any crimes, not only in Florida but the whole country.

Lisa had heard the conversation and hoped that the man had no prior convictions. It would make her feel better about the time he had had her children alone in his company. She fixed a plate of food and carried it to him while he was waiting for the detective to return.

Urs left the puppies out in the pen before striding quickly into the house to check on Alex. He knew that his mother had been there to keep Alex company while they waited for news of the children but that hadn’t stopped him from worrying about her blood pressure going up or labor starting because of the stressful situation.

When he stepped into what had been the den and was now their temporary bedroom, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Alex napping. Her tossled hair spread out over his pillow where he knew she like to sleep when he wasn’t beside her. He wanted to lean down and kiss her but restrained himself. She needed the rest and she was a pretty light sleeper, especially lately in her discomfort. She was healing nicely but still had residual pain in her abdomen from the operation, not to mention the stiffness all over from lack of excersise.

Mami stepped up beside him wearing an apron and flour.

“Mami, are you alright?” Urs whispered while trying to keep the smirk off of his face. His mother looked pretty perturbed and he knew better than to goad her when she looked like that.

“I had a disagreement with the sack of flour that didn’t want to open.”

“Who won?” he smiled unable to help it any longer as he asked her when they had moved far enough away from where Alex was sleeping.

“I did, can’t you tell?” she said breaking into a smile and waving her arm to indicate that the sack of flour was now indeed open.

Urs laughed and drew his mother into his arms uncaring that he would now also be covered in it.

“I’m so glad that you’re here Mami. We haven’t had much time to actually sit and visit since you’ve been here, have we?” he said feeling guilty at how little time he had actually devoted to his mother who had come so far to be here.

“No but that isn’t why I’m here. I came to meet your lady and to help make sure that my Grandson gets here, happy and healthy. The children are well?”

“Yes, they are both fine. Seb and Lisa are going to have fun with their little girl, Kayti. She definitely has a mind of her own. Sammy seems to be doing well at considering the consequences of his actions a lot of the time but, Kayti just gets a notion into her curly head and goes right off to do it.”

“Your sister, Amelia was exactly the same. Being the first child, she got bored when she didn’t have someone to play with and often got herself into trouble when she would come up with something to do on her own, like the time she saw some money on my dresser and decided to go do the shopping. Her heart was in the right place as she walked the road to the market but at four years old so much could have happened to her, of course it wasn’t as dangerous as it would be today. When she walked into the shop, Mrs. Schelling almost had a heart attack when she realized that Amelia was alone. She immediately called me to let me know where Amelia was. I had no idea that she had even left. I thought she was in her bed taking her afternoon nap.”

“You might want to speak to Seb about that and let him know that these things happen. He was feeling very bad about letting the children get out like that.” Urs said after he got done laughing about his sister’s escapade, tucking this little tidbit of information away to use to tease her someday. Usually it was he that wound up on the receiving end of the teasing and he would be tickled to have something to use against her for a change the next time they were together.

Urs and Mami worked side by side finishing preparing dinner and talking like they had not done in quite some time. Urs had been so busy since Il Divo began their adventure, that even when he had managed some time off to visit his family, they hadn’t had very much time together. It always seemed like a rushed visit and he was really enjoying this time of reconnecting with her.

Chapter 115:

“Here Mr. Fletcher, have some lunch. I want to thank you for taking care of my children today.”

He looked at her skeptically. He had seen all of the looks of fear and distrust from everyone today but he was used to it. People generally didn’t trust homeless people. Yes, he’d taken a couple of chickens from a neighbor’s yard but other than that, he had worked and paid for everything else he had in his possession.

“Please eat Mr. Fletcher. I would like to add my thanks to my wife’s. If it wasn’t for your care, they could have become lost or hurt out there.”

He slowly relaxed his posture a bit and reached a tentative hand out for the offered plate.

“Thank you for this and I am glad that I was there when they passed by.”

“We saw you one night last week.” Lisa told him. “Myself and Kayti. I thought you might have been a deer but then Kayti said Hi Santa.”

“Yes, she’s been calling me that today. I suppose I can see why she would say that. I’m still not quite used to the beard myself, but I haven’t had a good razor for a while and I got tired of cutting myself with the dull blade and then the knives when I tried to use them to shave.”

He realized he might be rambling just a tad but he was still nervous that he could be arrested for trespassing on these people’s property.

“Please forgive me if I have frightened you. I have tried to stay out of sight. I am not comfortable living out on the city streets like a lot of the others do. I’ve been aware of the construction going on at both homes and the road being paved and I have been looking for another place to set up. I was just coming back from a walk to scout out a new place on some abandoned property.”

Seb had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask the man but knew this wasn’t the time. As a boy, Seb had spent a lot of time running through the streets of Paris and had become acquainted with many of the homeless there. Some of them had become his friends. When he’d been very young and into his early teens, there were some of them that had taken it upon themselves to look out for the boy who they knew had a very difficult home life and had often taken to the streets for refuge as well as entertainment.

He hadn’t forgotten these kindnesses and wished he could do something to repay them now that he had grown and had the means to help them. When he was in Paris and had gone looking for some of them, he had been mostly unsuccessful in his search. He got word that many of them had passed away. Living on the streets was not conducive to living a long healthy life in most instances.

Detective Garza came back inside and asked to speak to Lisa and Seb in private.

“Well, he has no record, either here in Florida or in any other state as far as we could find. His military record checked out too. It does look like it is as he said. Now, it is up to the two of you what will happen next. We can let him go and tell him to move on or I can take him in on charges of trespassing. He’d have a bed and meals while he was incarcerated. Like I said, it is all up to you.”

Seb looked to Lisa for some sign of how she felt about the situation. Left up to him, he would let the man go but, he had no idea what Lisa would say.

“I can think of a third option.” She said looking out into the living room at the man who was savoring each bite of the simple meal. The contentment on his face as he slowly chewed his food was plain to see. “We could find something for him to do around the property. Maybe Drew has something he could have him doing. He could earn some money here to take care of his needs.

Seb had the same thoughts but never thought Lisa would be comfortable with letting the stranger hang around. He also had concerns to put to rest before he could consent to having the man work for them. They knew nothing about his past except that he’d been in the military. Before he would allow the man access to his family, he would have to have a long talk with him and find out more about him.

“I guess for now we’ll just say that we won’t have him arrested. I am personally very grateful for his presence out there today. As for hiring him, I would like to talk with him and find out more before I commit to anything else.” Seb said to them.

“Alright then. I guess my job here is done. I’ll leave you to relax. I know that you both must be exhausted both physically and emotionally after today.”

“I know I am.” Lisa said, very obviously worn out as they ushered him to the door. He waved to the remaining officers and told them that they could return to duty or go home depending on their schedules.

“Am I free to go then?” Mr. Fletcher asked.

“Yes Mr. Fletcher, the Izambards are not pressing any trespassing charges. You may go.” Detective Garza told him as he was making his way out the door.

You could see the relief that flooded his features. His body relaxed and he stood and took his plate and coffee cup to the kitchen in preparation to leave.

“I guess I’ll be on my way then.” Jim told them, not wishing to push his luck any further.

“Mr. Fletcher, please let me make you some sandwiches to take with you for later. It’s the least I can do for your kindness towards our children today.”

Jim gave her a slight nod, not able to turn down the offer of food, especially when it had tasted so good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had some good deli meats and cheeses.

When Lisa had stepped out into the kitchen, Seb sat next to Jim and saw him stiffen up again.

“Jim, can I ask what you’ve done for work?”

“I’ve done a lot of construction and labor intensive work, carpentry and woodworking and the like. I can also do concrete work and some heating and air although it has been a few years so I am out of touch with the newer technology. You have to stay in training classes to stay current as the technology improves. I’m also not too bad with an engine, at least the older ones and small engine repair is a breeze for me.”

Seb nodded to let him know that he understood.

“You have a great deal of skills, can I ask you what injuries caused you to lose your last position?”

“I broke my back and my leg while on a mission overseas. My leg healed alright but my back has given me fits ever since. I’m not too bad on a day to day basis as long as I’m not doing any heavy lifting or constant bending. I should be in my prime right now instead of a washed up old man.”

“Do you mind if I ask you how old you are?”

“I’m forty four next month.”

Seb’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t sure about what everyone else thought but to him Jim looked a great deal older than he was, probably from the hard life he’d had to lead, especially since he’d been homeless.

“What about any family?”

Jim’s head dropped and Seb thought that maybe he’d overstepped his bounds and that Jim wouldn’t answer him.

“I left them. I figured that they would be able to receive assistance if they were alone. I wasn’t any good to them anyway.”

Seb was almost speechless but since Jim was opening up, he decided to get as much information as he could get him to divulge.

“Do you have any children? You seemed to handle Sammy and Kayti very well.”

“I have three, a girl who is thirteen the day after my birthday and twin boys who are almost eight years old.”

Jim stood and turned away from Seb, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. He hated showing emotion and had let too much of himself spill out.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you. The reason I’m asking you so many questions is that I would like to offer you some work. When Drew arrives in the morning I was going to see if he has anything in particular for you to do. If not, there is plenty of other things that need doing around here and we are going to be so busy here especially until we get moved in and then we will be having a party in a couple of months to celebrate the official opening of he group home. Would you be interested?”

“I….I… Thank you, Mr. Izambard. I appreciate it. I would be grateful for whatever work you can give me. I am a hard worker and I will not disappoint you, at least as long as my back holds out.”

“Well, there is nothing that is so important that you would need to hurt yourself and there are always enough people around that no one has to hurt themselves lifting anything alone. Come first thing in the morning and we’ll see what we want you to do.”

Jim shook Seb’s hand vigorously and repeatedly thanked him. Lisa reappeared just as they stood and she handed him a soft cooler filled with sandwiches, several cereal bars that the children loved to snack on and some fresh fruit and tucked into the remaining space was the rest of the homemade cookies she’d made.

“Thank you ma’am. I appreciate it. I haven’t eaten this good in a long time.”

Seb wanted to know what he’d lived off of if sandwiches was so special to him but, he figured that he’d interrogated the man enough for one day and let him head for the door. They all stepped out onto the porch and Lisa thanked him again for his care of the kids.

“It was my pleasure Ma’am. I will see you bright and early in the morning.” He said with a smile and a wave as he descended the steps.

“If you have a change of clothes to bring tomorrow, you can take a shower here at the end of the workday.” Lisa said to him.

“Yes Ma’am, thank you. That would be wonderful.” He said and Lisa and Seb watched him head back into the woods and noticed the spring to his step as he disappeared from sight.

Lisa and Seb were lounging on the porch, on the swing, relaxing after their earlier ordeal. Lauren had woken up and was now in her bouncy seat at their feet, dry and with a full belly but Sammy and Kayti were still asleep, their excursion having completely wiped them out.

“Are you sure that you are okay with us having Jim hanging around and doing some work here?” Seb asked her.

“He needs work and we can always use another pair of hands around here.”

“He has a family, Baby, a wife and three children, two boys and a girl. He got so low and so depressed that he felt they would be better off without him. I don’t know how long it’s been since he left but, I could hear the pain in his voice as he told me about them. I can’t imagine what would even be left of me if I left you and the children.”

“That’s terrible. It is terrible that things are so bad that people can’t get the help they need. But we can at least give him work, maybe enough so that he could afford an apartment. I hate to think of him having to live like he has been, out in the woods. And you had better not ever think of leaving us, I’ll hunt you down.” She said holding onto him tighter. Seb returned her squeeze and added a kiss to her forehead.

“I don’t think that the out in the woods part has been the problem. He seems to like it better there. But if we can help him, then he will at least have a choice where to live and be able to buy proper food and clothing.”

“We could give him some money to go look for a place.”

“No, Baby.” He said firmly.

“Why not?” Lisa said, sitting up and looking into his eyes, feeling a little perturbed with Seb, thinking he was being unkind.

“I won’t take what little dignity he has left. He seemed very willing to work and I am going to give him that chance. I just hope he doesn’t prove me wrong in trusting him here around you and the children.”

“Alright, I guess I understand what you’re saying. But it would be quite a while before he would have enough to get a place to live. Couldn’t we at least give him some money and maybe call it a reward for finding the children?”

“You know, that isn’t a bad idea, You’re brilliant. Surely, he couldn’t turn that down. Well, he might try but we won’t let him. I’ll take care of that in the morning.” He said and kissed her, excited that they now had a way to help Jim out a little quicker.

“Now, what are we going to do about our little wanderers?” Lisa asked him.

“I’ve been thinking about that. As far as Sammy, I think he did the best he could. I believe him when he said he was just staying with Kayti to make sure she didn’t get lost. I don’t think he really wanted to disobey; in fact, he was very worried that he was in trouble. I think we just need to talk to him and tell him to come get someone if Kayti is getting into trouble. This turned out alright but the results could have been much different. And we need to be clearer with him about rules. He came and asked if he could go play with Kayti and I said yes. I can’t fault him for that. That was my fault entirely. I should have heard her going outside to begin with.”

“Well, that will be taken care of tomorrow. Once those little sensors are installed, we’ll know every time the door opens.

Lisa thought about what Seb was saying and agreed that Sammy didn’t seem to have disobeyed on purpose and they would just have a nice long chat with him about not leaving the yard and not even coming outside unless there was an adult with him. He had very possibly saved Kayti’s life today when they came upon the snake. There was no way she could punish him for wanting to take care of his sister.

“Besides the extra security measures on the doors, what about Kayti? She has a very strong will Seb. I don’t want to break her spirit but she has been very obstinate lately. I feel like if we don’t get a handle on it now, we could be in for some serious trouble later on.”

“Aww honey she’s so cute and very funny. Ouch” he said grinning at her when he got a big shove from her. “Alright, Seriously, I agree. She’s very strong willed. First of all, we need to make sure that she is watched every minute. Today could have been tragic. I don’t think I would have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to either of them. This was a serious thing but she did ask me if she could go play and I did say yes. So again, it seems to me like it was mostly my fault for not paying attention. I know she needs to have some consequences for leaving the yard especially after Sammy kept trying to make her come home. So, maybe that should be our focus when we talk to her, to make her understand that she should listen, even to Sammy, because he is bigger than her.”

That agreed upon, Lisa went inside to begin preparing dinner. The phone rang and when she answered it was Mom. Even though Mom had gotten the news from Alex and knew that the children were alright she was still understandably upset. Lisa assured her that they were both fine.

“You should have called me, honey. I would have been there to help you search.” Marie admonished her.

“I’m sorry Mom I couldn’t even think straight when they went missing. When it became clear that they must have gone into the woods, I just ran in and I couldn’t focus on anything else.”

Lisa told her about Jim and how they were going to try to help him as much as he would let them. Mom told her that she would be by in the morning. She just needed to give the children a hug and a kiss and see for herself that they were fine.

When dinner was over, Seb and Lisa sat the children down on the couch and stood in front of them. They needed to realize how serious this had been.

Sammy looked very worried as he looked up at them. Seb couldn’t stand the look on his face so he went and got two kitchen chairs and he and Lisa sat in front of the children so they wouldn’t look so imposing. She gave him a look, knowing that he was still feeling guilty and hated thinking about what could have happened today. They spoke with Sammy first about the importance of getting an adult if Kayti or any other child was doing something wrong or especially dangerous.

“You were so brave and such a great big brother today Sammy. I am so proud of you.” Seb said sliding off of his chair, onto his knees, coming to rest on the floor in front of Sammy. “You saved Kayti from the snake and that was such a good thing.”

“I membered what you said to go far away from a snake, Papa.”

“I know you did, Buddy.” Seb said drawing Sammy into his arms and hugging him tightly, only releasing him when he heard him grunt from being squeezed so tight.

“Would you go and talk to Lauren while Mommy and I talk to Kayti?”

“Okay Papa cuz I like to be the big brother.” He said obviously relieved that he wasn’t in trouble.

Kayti was a different story. She was trying to slide off of the couch to follow Sammy.

“Oh no, not you little girl.” Lisa said sternly. “You stay right there so Mama and Papa can talk to you.

“I go play.”

“Not right now. You need to listen.”

“I go play, Papa?” she said trying another tactic, even adding tears as soon as she saw him beginning to shake his head no. She was starting to get the message that this was more than the usual time outs that usually resulted from her misbehaving.

“Kayti, when you asked me if you could go out, Papa wasn’t listening very well. I’m sorry about that. Papa would never have let you go play outside alone. You have to wait for Mama or Papa to come out and play with you. That was my fault for not paying attention. But when Sammy came outside with you and you went into the woods, did Sammy tell you to come home?”

“Yup, but I play bugs, Papa.” She said happily.

“You can’t play with the bugs Kayti, not unless Mama or Papa or another adult is outside with you.” Seb said looking serious down into her little face, trying not to grin at how matter of fact she was. She wanted to do something and that was all she cared about. “Mama and Papa would have cried a long time if you or Sammy had been hurt today.”

Seb went on to tell her that she needed to listen to people when they spoke to her, even Sammy because he was bigger than her and knew the rules better than she did. They couldn’t be sure how much she would retain of what she was told but hopefully with the combination of her getting older and remembering things better and their vigilance in watching their little spitfire, they could only hope to avoid anymore serious mishaps like today.

“I want you to go and tell Sammy that you are very sorry for not listening to him today.” Lisa told her and let her slide off of the couch.

They peeked into their bedroom where Sammy was leaning over the cradle, talking to Lauren and watched as Kayti hugged Sammy from behind.

“I sorry, Sammy. I not yissen to you.”

He turned around and gave her a hug in return.

“Mommy can Kayti come and play with me in my tree house?”

“I am sorry Sammy, not tonight. Kayti has to go to bed now. She was naughty today and that is her punishment, no playing after supper. Maybe tomorrow she will listen better and then she will get to play.”

Lisa hated that Sammy was sort of being punished because his playmate was going to bed but Seb quickly picked up on it and told him that he would come and play with him.

“I come play Papa?”

“No Ma Petite, I’m sorry but like Mama said, you have to go to bed because you didn’t listen to Sammy today.”

Kayti turned on the waterworks but Lisa just scooped her up and took her to have her teeth brushed, read her story and put her to bed. She got up twice and came to the gate in her doorway and called out for Lisa and then for Seb. The first time, Lisa just stood in front of her and told her to go back and get into her bed, which she reluctantly did but within a minute she was back at the gate sounding very pitiful.

“Kayti, if Mama has to tell you to get back into your bed one more time tonight you won’t get to play with Jasmine and Maya at all tomorrow.” Lisa told her.

Kayti looked stricken at the thought and quickly ran and flopped onto her bed, still crying but at least she was in bed and within a few minutes she had cried herself to sleep.

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. She had seen Seb’s looks toward her room and knew it was hard for him to hear Kayti so upset. It bothered her too but she knew from experience how important it was to be consistent and let a child know that you were serious the first time or everything would wind up being a major battle.

Seb played with Sammy and then helped him brush his teeth and get into bed. Lisa came in and said goodnight and kissed his forehead.

“Mommy loves you. Sleep well.”

“Love you too Mommy.”

Chapter 116:

First thing the next morning Kayti was up and raring to go.

“I play puppies, Mama.”

“Yes, Kayti you can play with the puppies after breakfast.”

“Baby, I’m going to go into town later and pick some things up. If you make me a list, I’ll get anything else you need.”

“Okay thanks. I’ll have it ready in a minute. I need to check the cupboards and see what we need. Do you have any special requests for dinner? I thought maybe we could invite Jim to eat dinner with us.”

“That would be nice and I’m sure that whatever you fix will be terrific.”

“I like steak Mommy like when you cooker it on the big grill outside.”

“Okay then, steak it is, Papa”

“Sounds good to me, with a great big baked potato and all of the toppings on it.” Seb said, his mouth already salivating as he thought of it.

Jim was at the door just as Lisa was setting the table for their breakfast.

“Good morning Jim. Come on in. We were just sitting down for breakfast.”

“Oh I’m sorry Mr. Izambard. I can wait outside until you are finished then.” He said turning to go back outside.

“No, sit down and have something to eat before we head over to speak to Drew.” Seb told him. “And please call me Seb or Sebastien.”

“Oh okay.” Jim said a little unsure.

Lisa popped another couple of pieces of toast into the toaster and placed the platter of scrambled eggs and bacon on the table. Then she went back for the bowl of cut up fruit and placed it on the table. Sammy had already helped by getting the butter and jelly out for the toast and both children were now seated and waiting anxiously for their plates.

“Hi Mr. Jim.”

“Good morning Sammy.”

“Hi Mr. Santa.” Kayti said making everyone laugh and it helped Jim to relax a bit and he thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast, slowly feeling more comfortable and able to join in the morning conversation.

Seb finished eating and excused himself and went to speak to Drew alone and see if he could use Jim today. If not, he would find something else for him to do.

Drew put Jim to work doing general clean up to start with and helping the other carpenters and masonry workers. At lunch time Lisa brought him out a bag lunch and a large glass of lemonade, setting it on the front porch for him to sit and eat. She told him that they would expect him for dinner tonight.

He started to refuse, stating that he was tired now and still had the rest of the day to work. While he’d tried to keep himself from getting too soft, doing something every day for some excercise, he knew that he’d not done enough and would definitely be feeling it later and even more tomorrow.

“All the more reason for you to eat with us. Then you won’t have to fix anything for yourself. I’ll have dinner ready to eat just a bit after quitting time. I’ll give you time to shower and change and then we will eat so that you can make it an early night.” She said showing her understanding of his fatigue.

Jim could see that Lisa meant business when she left no room for argument, turning and going inside so he couldn’t turn her offer down. He smiled at the good fortune of having been living on their property and not someone who would have been more inclined to toss him in jail for trespassing. He took the last bite of his sandwich and picked up the large red apple and took a generous bite, enjoying the juicy fruit, savoring each bite until he was down to the core. Just as he was finishing his lunch, a car pulled up in front of the guest house. He watched as the woman stepped out, seeming to be in a bit of a hurry.

“I don’t think we’ve met.” Marie said as she approached the steps.

“No Ma’am. My name is Jim Fletcher.

“Jim Fletcher? Aren’t you the nice man that found our babies yesterday?”

“Yes ma’am, that would be me. I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time.”

“Well, thank you so much. My name is Marie Huggins.” She said moving to give him a hug in her exuberance but, he stepped backwards quickly to avoid it.

“I’m very dirty Ma’am.” He said to offer an explanation.

Marie gave him a pat on the shoulder as she passed him and finished climbing the steps.

“Thank you, a million times over.” She said with a smile and then disappeared into the house, turning and looking back at the door when she heard the new ding that happened when she had opened the door.

“Hi Mom.”

“Hello, and where are those naughty children?”

“In Sammy’s room playing. Lauren here is almost finished eating and will be ready for a nap.” Lisa was feeding her some applesauce that she had made and strained so that Lauren could have her first taste of real food other than the baby cereal she’d been eating.

Marie stood in front of Sammy’s room and looked at them playing on the floor with some blocks.

“I was so scared Mom. I kept thinking what if we didn’t find them or if we did and something bad had happened to them.”

Marie hugged her and told her that she understood. She had been restless all night after hearing what had happened.

“Drew has already installed the door sensors as you heard. That won’t happen again. He will also be installing the ones in the main house when he can do it without being in the cleaners’ way.”

“Grandma!” Sammy hollered and jumped up, running straight into her arms.

“Hello you. I heard that you were a Superhero yesterday.”

“I was? What’s a Superhero Grandma?”

“You sure were, saving your sister from the big bad snake and taking such good care of her. A Superhero is like Spiderman and Batman.”

Sammy’s face lit up at the thought of being a Superhero. He ran back and told Kayti.

“Did you hear it Kayti? I’m like a Superhero.”

“We’ll never be able to live with him now Mom.” Lisa said chuckling.

“And you my little Chickadee, were you naughty yesterday?”

“Yup. Grandma I play bugs, but I went in my bed.” She said still sounding thrilled about her little jaunt.

“Oh brother. I don’t know if anything Seb or I said to her last night sunk in at all. I hope so. My heart can’t handle anything like that too often. At least she remembers that she had to go to bed early.”

Lisa and Mom sat and enjoyed a glass of iced tea together and Mom asked more about Jim and what they planned to have him doing around there. Lisa told her what Drew had him doing and that they were trying to feed him as many meals as they could.

Seb came back and Mom and Lisa helped him unload the truck of the groceries.

“What’s all this?” Lisa asked him

“I bought Jim a razor and some supplies for when he takes a shower today, in case he’d like to shave. That beard seems awfully hot in this weather.”

“That was a good idea. I’ll put it all in the bathroom under the sink so Kayti won’t get into it.”

Later when Jim was directed into the bathroom and shown the pile that held a clean towel and face cloth, he also saw the things laid out beside them. There was a brand new Gillette razor and box of refills for it, along with a can of shaving cream. Lying next to them was a new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. “When was the last time he’d had a new toothbrush.” He tried to remember unsuccessfully.

“Seb got those in case you wanted to shave. If not, you can just take them with you.” Lisa told him and then stepped away to let him shut the door. She saw that he was overwhelmed by the simple kindness and didn’t want to embarrass him.

“Thank you Mrs. Izambard, both of you, for all of your kindness.”

“You are very welcome, Mr. Fletcher.”

“Ma’am?” he said stopping her retreat to the kitchen.

“Please call me Jim.” He said with a hint of a smile.

“Alright, and you will call me Lisa, okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am... Lisa.” This time his face broke out into a full blown smile before he shut the door.

Jim took off the dirty clothes he’d been wearing and turned on the water. It had been quite a hot day today, so he adjusted the temperature so that it was just warm enough and then stepped under the spray, sighing out loud at the wonderful feeling. He’d been cleaning himself as best he could in the creeks and in restrooms in town when he could get away with it.

While he could have stayed under the massaging spray of water for much longer, he knew that dinner was almost ready so he forced himself to finish up and stepped out onto the fluffy carpet. The wonderful aromas of the grilling beef finding their way into the house making his stomach growl.

Lisa finished getting dinner ready while Seb helped by washing the children up in the master bathroom.

Four pairs of eyes opened wide at the face that appeared in the kitchen, clean shaven but with a several spots that looked like the razor had won a couple of battles, leaving Jim with some nicks on his cheeks and chin.

“I’ll get you something for those nicks, Jim.” Seb said recovering first and moving into the master bathroom.

“Jim, come sit here.” Lisa said after he’d taken care of the bleeding on his face.

“Thank you Ma’am…. Lisa” he amended with a smile.

“What a nice looking man.” Lisa thought as she went about getting the last of the food on the table. His bright blue eyes had been visible all along but once the heavy covering of the thick beard had been removed, it revealed a face, much younger than the gray hair of the beard allowed you to imagine. Right now, the line where the beard had ended high on his cheeks, showed the striking difference in the darker color from the sun that had colored his face above the beard and the white skin where the wiry hair had shielded his skin.

While Lisa and Seb were trying very hard not to stare at him, Sammy and Kayti were downright glued to him, Kayti’s eyes showing that she wasn’t sure about this new man in the kitchen.

“Mr. Jim, you don’t look like Santa Claus anymore.” Sammy said.

“No, Sammy, I guess I don’t do I…..It feels much better. Thank you.” He said turning to Seb.

“You’re welcome. I had heard you say that you had been unable to shave for a while and I figured that the beard had to be hot in this weather.”

“Yes, it was and as Sammy pointed out, it made me look very old, the premature graying has always run in my family. I had my first gray hairs when I was only twenty seven.”

The plates were filled and the children’s plates were placed in front of them but Kayti made no move to begin eating, still mesmerized by Jim. His voice sounded the same but he didn’t look the same at all.

“Kayti, sweetheart, eat your dinner.” Lisa told her.

“Where Mr. Santa go?”

Seb reminded her of the times that she and Sammy had watched him shave and told her that Mr. Jim had shaved off his beard and that was why he looked different now. She still stared at him through most of the meal but accepted her Papa’s explanation. Seb smiled his apology several times but Jim didn’t seem to mind really. He even noticed Jim running his hand over his smooth face several times, unaccustomed to it himself.

“This was the best meal I have had in years, Lisa. Thank you so much for inviting me. Steak has been a bit out of my budget, I’m afraid.”

“I’m glad that you enjoyed it and you can thank Sammy. He is the one who decided we’d have steak tonight.”

“It’s yummy.” Sammy said.

“Yes, it was, Sammy. Good choice.” Jim told him.

Jim only stayed for a short time after dinner, knowing that he needed to get some sleep to prepare for another day of work tomorrow.

When Jim was saying goodnight, Seb picked up his car keys and kissed Lisa’s cheek. “I’ll be right back Baby.”

“Mr…Seb, you don’t need to drive me.”

“I don’t mind and I know that you’re tired. Besides, it’s so dark through those woods and there isn’t much of a moon tonight. Eventually, we’ll have some lighting along the road though.”

Lisa finished getting the children ready for bed while Seb was gone. She was hoping that they would have some time alone this evening, if the children all went to sleep on time. Things were happening so fast around here that she and Seb hadn’t had much private time and she knew that for the next few months, they would have to find it wherever and whenever they could. They had both been falling into bed exhausted every night.

She tucked Sammy and Kayti into bed and took a quick shower, lathering up with her lavender scented body wash, then rinsing, careful not to wet her hair and slipped on the red negligee and then put on her robe over it. Then she turned down the bed and lit some scented candles around the room and turned off the bedroom lights, leaving the room in a semi-darkness only broken up by the flickering light of the candles.

Seb pulled up in front of the house and as he stepped out of his car he caught sight of the bedroom windows. There was a red flickering glow that sent him into a panic. He took the steps two at a time and rushed into the house.

“LISA, where are you?”

“Shhhh, I just got Lauren to sleep. Where’s the fire?” she asked not knowing that that was exactly what he had thought there was.

“In the bedroom.” He said breathlessly.

“What?” Where?” she said wide eyed, turning to look in the children’s rooms.

“No, in our room.”

Seb hurried towards the bedroom and stopped short when he saw all of the candles. She lit candles in here before for them but, he’d never seen them from the outside like that. It had truly looked like the house was on fire.

When he explained to her about how the candles looked from outdoors, he took her out to show her and they both had a good laugh before heading back inside.

“Come on Jasmine, Maya. Let’s go back in.” Seb called to them and laughed as they came running as fast as their little legs could carry them, falling over each other.

“Was there a specific reason there were candles lit in here? Were you throwing out a hint about something?” he asked as his arms circled her waist, drawing her close to him. He smiled as he saw the blush creeping up her cheeks and she hid her face in his chest.

“Love me Seb.” She moaned after a particularly long and passionate kiss.

“It would be my pleasure, my Love.” He spoke into her neck as he began with kisses on her neck and not stopping until he had thoroughly loved every sweet inch of her.

Chapter 117:

June had passed by in a blur as things were happening at a dizzying rate. By the first week of July the cleaning had been finished and when she stepped in through the newly built front doorway into the foyer of The Jessie Daniels Home for Children, Lisa could imagine the children running through the halls and all of the activities that would be happening throughout the day.

Furniture had begun arriving as soon as Drew and his crew had the back entry finished. It was the easier entry for moving large objects through and there was only two short steps to get inside compared with the larger staircase out front comprised of five steps.

The main floor rooms were filled with furniture now. This included the enormous dining room, library, the large den, several sitting rooms and the office which was quite large and now held three good sized desks, complete with computers and several bookcases and file cabinets. The rooms had also had their window treatments put in place.

At the back of the main floor, the huge kitchen had already been finished and once the cleaners had gone, Lisa and Mary had gotten the men to move all of the kitchen items out of the storage room and they were now all placed in their cabinets, although Mary had said that she might wind up moving things around until she found the best placement for everything as she cooked their meals. The pots and pans were hanging from the hooks over the island just as Mary had requested. Drew had even gone an extra step by installing the hooks on a track so when she hit a switch, the pans lowered and turned around in a oval so that she could easily reach whichever pan she needed.

They were putting lists together for all of the food that would fill the pantry and freezer. Some things they would buy themselves at the grocery stores and some things would be ordered in bulk to be delivered either on a set schedule or as needed. Sammy had been sitting at the table and made sure that Mommy remembered to put Goldfish on the list too. She assured him that she hadn’t forgotten them.

Even with all of the new foods that he had experienced in the last six and a half months, Goldfish were still his favorites and were always on hand. Sammy had been given a clean bill of health and declared to be within the normal range for weight now. He was still a bit short according to the growth charts but they had no idea how Sammy’s birth father was built so they couldn’t say if that was genetic or from the result of his malnutrition. Only time would tell Sammy’s potential height. Otherwise, he had grown into a happy, healthy child that was constantly stunning them with his memory.

He was now able to have a complete but simple conversation with Seb in French, say several phrases to Carlos in Spanish and was also coming along very well in Swiss German. Whenever Urs took time with Sammy to add new words to his vocabulary, Sammy was always excited to use them whenever he spoke to him. Lisa had spoken to Seb about getting the Rosetta Stone language programs to have available to assist the children in learning whatever languages they were interested in learning. He agreed that they would be well worth the price. It wouldn’t hurt him to increase his knowledge of different languages either, he’d said.

Lisa snapped herself out of her daydreams and continued to take in the view in the foyer. She stepped forward and adjusted one of the little tables in the hall that held one of the vases that Urs and Alex had bought in New York. The vases really did look lovely with the décor.

She was on her way upstairs to see what progress had been made in the bedrooms. She knew that the master bedroom furniture was due to arrive either tomorrow or the next day, otherwise it wouldn’t arrive until after the long holiday weekend. She stepped into the master bedroom and stood in the middle of the floor, turning to take in the whole effect of the new carpeting and the window treatments that had been installed. New lamps sat off in a corner waiting to be set on the cherry bedside tables when they arrived.

Lisa opened the door to the walk in closet and saw the comforter and sheet set that had been placed on the shelf. She stepped out and shut the closet door and peeked into the master bath. She reached in and turned on the faucet in the shower and promptly got her sleeve and part of the front of her shirt soaked by several of the jets. They would need to be adjusted to keep from spraying out the glass door when it was opened.

She had her back to the bathroom door, brushing away some of the droplets of water that hadn’t already soaked into her shirt, when two long arms slowly slid around her waist and warm lips pressed against the side of her neck, nibbling their way down to her shoulder pushing aside the neckline of her to shirt to gain access to her shoulder. Her head slowly fell back to come to rest on his chest.

“This really feels good. I do hope that it is my husband that is making me feel this amazing or I could be in trouble.” She said through her teeth as his hands were reaching around front and unbuttoning her top. He slid his fingers over her growing bump splaying them both across the expanse of her belly.

“You sure waited long enough to ask.” He replied between kisses to her shoulder and back up her neck.

His hands were now cupping her chest pressing her backwards to him so she could immediately feel the effects that she’d had on his physical state.

“Sorry but when you touch me like that, I have an extremely hard time thinking straight.”

“I am so loving this extra burst of hormones you’ve had lately.” He said before running his tongue up her neck and chuckled at the shiver he felt rush through her body.

“Who’s with the children?”

“Mom and Dad are here. I invited them to stay for dinner and called Urs to see if they could come as well. He said that since they would be here all day on Friday for the Independence Day Barbeque, they’d stay home tonight so that Alex wouldn’t be overdoing it.”

“Is Jim staying?”

“Not tonight. He said that he was going into town to do a bit of shopping. I told him I would drive him in but he said the walk would do him good. He’s pretty stubborn sometimes but has turned out to be a valuable worker around here.”

Seb stepped back around and helped her re button her top. He saw the disappointment in her eyes at the stopping of his amorous attentions.

“We’ll pick this up where we left off later tonight. There are too many people wandering around.” He promised with one last lingering kiss and then they headed down the hall together to stop in Sammy’s room.

The rail had already been built around the ceiling for a train to be set on. There was no furniture as of yet in here. Sammy’s existing furniture would be moved over here on moving day. Lisa slipped her feet out of her sandals and pressed her toes into the plush carpeting that they had chosen for the bedrooms, especially for the children’s rooms. They always spent a great deal of time playing on the floor and this would be very comfortable, she thought.

Moving on to Kayti’s room the carpeting was also installed but that was all that was in here. She and Alex had already been shopping for the furniture for Kayti’s bedroom and it was due to arrive the beginning of next week. She and Alex had had so much fun when they went to the children’s furniture store. She’d had to discipline herself because she could have gone crazy in there buying things that were beautiful but very impractical for a child’s room.

In the end, they wound up buying a beautiful princess bed and all of the bedding and curtain’s to go with it. They also found a whole group of princess furniture to finish off her room. The bed was a full sized bed and although she was still in her crib turned toddler bed now, she would sleep in her big bed before they knew it.

“Seb, Lisa come quick.” They heard Dan hollering from outside.

Thinking that something might be wrong with one of the children, they ran out of Kayti’s room and down the stairs, Seb slowing up occasionally to accommodate Lisa’s slower gait. As soon as they exited the house Dan met them holding the house’s cordless phone.

“I can’t come any further or we’ll lose the call.”

“Who is it?” Lisa asked.

“Carlos.”

Seb reached Dan first and took the phone from him and moved back towards the guest house to be sure they didn’t drop the call.

“Hey Buddy. What’s up?”

“Carlos’ booming voice made Seb move the phone away from his ear and his eye brows go up as he absorbed what his friend was saying. He was speaking in mix of Spanish, English and Spanglish.

“Carlos slow down and tell me what is wrong.” Seb said calmly, hoping it would transfer to his friend.

“Wrong? Nada! There is nothing wrong.” He said, his voice still booming. “I am a Papa! My Carlito is here.”

“What, Oh Carlos, that is fantastic.”

“I have a son, Seb. He is absolutely amazing. I can’t wait for your little Jessica to arrive so that you can feel what I am feeling right now.

“Vicki, is she alright?”

“She is perfecto too, my Vicki. She is an amazing woman.”

Lisa was hanging onto Seb’s arm waiting very impatiently for him to tell her what was going on. She was assuming that their baby had been born in Spain but wasn’t sure. Finally Seb realized that he’d better tell Lisa what was going on.

“Vicki just had the baby.” Seb announced.

“OH terrific. I’m assuming it’s a boy like they thought.”

“Yes it is, His name is Carlito.”

Lisa took the phone from Seb. “Carlos, hi Congratulations. Is everything okay with both Vicki and the baby?”

“Hello Lisa, Yes, my family is all very fine. They are wonderful, amazing. And tell Seb that my son’s whole name is Juan Carlos Marin.”

Lisa could hear the emotion building in his voice. “Carlos, go be with your new family. Thanks for calling and letting us know. Tell Vicki to call when she is feeling up to it.”

“Alright, I have to call Urs and David now. I am a very happy man right now.”

“I can tell Carlos. We love you and again congratulations. Oh and Carlos, hurry and send pictures, please. We’ll be waiting.” She said before he hung up.

“He is beside himself. I could hear how emotional he was getting. I’m glad everything went well for them.”

The evening felt festive as they celebrated the safe birth of their friends’ baby boy.

Lisa wasn’t surprised to get a call from Alex later that evening as they discussed Carlos and Vicki’s new bundle. Lisa could hear the wistfulness in Alex’s voice as she talked about the newborn. Alex had every right to be concerned about Aaron’s health. Even with the surgery, they had no guarantees about his condition. While they were of course concerned about his ability to walk and control his bodily functions, their main concern was that he would not have hydrocephalus, where spinal fluid pools in the brain and the baby can have mild to sever brain damage. The doctor did say that Aaron’s head looked normal at the time of the surgery so that was a good sign but not an absolute for the future. Lisa made sure that Alex sounded alright before they hung up that evening.

Lisa kept checking their email throughout the evening hoping to find an email from Carlos with pictures of the baby. When it was finally there, she called to Seb to come and see the tiny boy who looked just like his Papa, already with a head full of very dark hair and big chocolate brown eyes.

The email said that he’d weighed only 5lbs and 11 oz. which is fairly small, but then Vicki was rather tiny woman so it was a good thing that she didn’t wind up having a large baby. The email stated that he and Vicki were both doing very well. Vicki had fed him and then they’d both promptly fallen asleep so that is when Carlos took the time to come and send the pictures, a mixture of solo pictures of the baby, ones with Vicki and the baby, Carlos and the baby and someone had even taken several of the three of them together. Lisa searched for her pack of photo paper and printed out one of the pictures that had all three of them together. She hung it on the refrigerator and wrote on her shopping list to remember to buy a frame for it.

The following day was July the third and as was the norm around there, it was busy. Furniture was being delivered for the master bedroom much to Lisa’s delight. She was so excited to be able to get in there once the furniture was in place and finish putting the room together.

The men were privately chuckling amongst themselves at Lisa’s excitement. She was always careful not to get in their way and cause them to take more time on a project but this time she was hanging right in the room watching every movement.

Once the men from the furniture company were gone, Drew, Seb, and Jim worked on getting the furniture in place and the bed put together. Lisa almost squealed when they said they were finished and she went into the closet and pulled out the comforter set and made the bed. Seb moved to the opposite side to help her so she wouldn’t have to stretch.

Lisa flopped down on the bed and sighed at the comfortable feel of the new mattress.

“This is comfortable. I could take a nap right here.”

“Why don’t you then.” I’ll make sure that no one bothers you for a while.”

“Nope, it sounds great but I am not going to sleep in this bed for the first time without you in it.”

Seb grinned and stretched out along side of her. “I love you.”

“I know.” She replied and kissed his cheek.

“If you won’t sleep here then come back to the guest house and take a nap there. I might just even throw in a foot massage.”

“That sounds heavenly right now.”

“Come on then.” He said taking her hand and assisting her from the bed.

Seb was true to his word, massaging her feet and holding her until she drifted off to sleep and then left the room quietly to help Mary who was in the kitchen with the children.

“Mommy is taking a nap. Finish up your snack and Papa will take you outside to play.”

“Can we swim in our pool, Papa?”

“Sounds good to me. Finish up and we’ll get changed.”

Seb quietly slipped back into the bedroom and got his bathing suit. He and Mary covered the children up with sun block and hats before going out to get into the pool. They had gotten an inflatable pool that was wide and long enough for he and Lisa to sit in with the children but was only two feet deep. Sammy had learned to swim well enough for now and Kayti always wore her arm swimmys. Seb took Lauren from Mary and sat her in his lap as he stretched his long legs out to one side of the pool, taking her tiny hands and showing her how to splash.

Mary came back out to check on them from time to time and when Lauren seemed to have had enough of the water, Mary took her in, fed her and held her while she slept so that she wouldn’t wake Lisa up by going into the bedroom. Seb and the other two children remained out there until Lisa came out and asked them if they had turned into prunes yet.

Chapter 118:

Verbal and phone invitations had gone out the week before inviting all of their friends and family to join them on the fourth for a barbeque. Drew and his guys had also been invited to come if they didn’t already have plans.

Mary and Brenda both arrived early to help in the food preparation. They decided to christen the new kitchen today, making it much easier to organize and prepare the amount of food they were handling today. They had already bought the food and stored it in the large fridge and freezer so they wouldn’t fill up the one at the guest house. The meat was all going to be cooked on the grill outdoors so they busied themselves with the salads, vegetable trays and desserts. Chip bags were set in bowls waiting to be opened at the last minute to keep them fresh and to keep fingers out of them. Seb had already been dipping into the ranch dip and veggies, even though it hadn’t been long since breakfast.

“Sorry, can’t help it. Those fresh veggies that you found yesterday are terrific.” He said stepping over to the window to see who was in the car they could hear arriving. “Hey, David and Grace are here. I didn’t really expect them to come.”

David bounded up the steps and when Seb opened the door to admit them, he held out his hand to shake David’s and was immediately crushed in one of David’s bear hugs.

“Hey Buddy. It’s good to see you. Isn’t it great about Carlos and Vicki?” David said in one breath.

“It sure is.” Lisa said answering while Seb took in a deep breath after the huge hug.

“And how are you doing?” Grace asked her. “You look wonderful”

“Thank you.” Lisa said blushing a bit at the scrutiny she was under.

“She is wonderful. You wouldn’t believe how much she does around here.” Seb said as he put his arm around her and drew her against his side. “I’m so glad that you both could make it.”

“We decided to take advantage of your invitation and at the same time, finish getting the condo set up. Thanks for being there for the bed delivery, by the way.”

“It was no problem, I was glad to do it.” Seb told them both.

Jim came walking out of the woods, saw Drew there setting tables and benches up for dinner and went to help him.

“Hi Jim. I’m glad that you decided to join us. I came a bit early but my family will be joining us in a while. I think a few of the other guys also planned to join us later too.”

“It’s been several years since I celebrated any holiday. I usually have stayed out of the crowds, but everyone has been so kind to me here and I enjoy the company. They are such a wonderful family, aren’t they?” he said looking towards the house.

“Yes, they are Jim. I’ve been so glad to be a part of getting this home done. I started on the house before Seb came back into Lisa’s life and there was only Lisa and Kayti here. Things sure have changed a lot around here since then.”

How many years have you been working on the house then?” Jim asked thinking they must have taken a long time to get all of this done if it was before Sebastien and Lisa got together.

“Oh we just started early in the fall. Seb and Lisa have only been married since the end of January.”

“Of this year?”

“Yup. Just over five months now. He just found her by chance in December. They’d met about ten years ago now I think, but had not seen each other since then.”

“So none of the children are his then?”

“Biologically no, but you could never tell, could you? He loves every one of them as if they were his own from birth. None of them are Lisa’s biologically either you know.”

“Wow, no I would never have guessed.”

As they worked on getting everything in place, Drew went on to tell Jim the rest of the Izambard’s story as he knew it. There was nothing that was too personal, just how Lisa had begun to put the group home together, how Alex came upon Seb and Urs at the TV station and in turn it had brought Lisa and Seb back together, about the event at Christmastime, how each of the children came to be there, including Sammy, who Drew had a soft spot for. Drew knew some of the other more personal details but didn’t elaborate to Jim. It wasn’t his place to do so.

“Now that the house is about to be finished they will be able to actively search for more children. According to Lisa, they aren’t necessarily in a hurry to fill it. They want to find children that will fit in here with their existing family and for them to make this their permanent home.”

“That’s fantastic. It’s too bad there weren’t more places like this one. I know kids get shuffled around a lot when they are in the foster care system.”

“Hi Drew. Jim it’s good to see you. Jim this is my friend and band mate, David Miller and his girlfriend Grace.”

The two men shook hands. Then they all stood around chatting for a bit and as they stood in the yard, Mom and Dad arrived followed by a couple more of Drew’s men. Lisa saw the new arrivals and came out to greet them. Sammy followed her out the door and asked if they could go in the pool.

“Why don’t we wait until Drew’s family gets here and then all the kids can swim for a bit?” Lisa told him. “I need you to be my big helper today and play nice with the other children.”

“Okay Mommy. Hi Mr. Drew and Mr. Jim.”

“Hi Buddy.” Drew said giving Sammy a high five.

“Can I be your worker helper today, Mr. Drew?”

“You know Sammy, I don’t think we’re going to do any work today. This is a fun day today. But tomorrow if it’s alright with your Mom and Dad, you can come help me for a while.”

“Okay Mr. Drew, cuz I like to put moneys in my bank.” He said before running over and letting himself into the playground.

“”He’s obsessed with adding money to his little bank. I don’t think he misses any coins that are on the ground when we are out and about in town. He brings them home and they go right into his bank, not to mention all of the money you’ve given him.” Lisa told him.

“Well, he’s earned every bit of what I’ve given him. I’m usually out of things he can do before he’s ready to quit for the day.”

They heard a car coming from the woods and saw Alex’s car coming into view. Lisa and Mom had already set up a lounge chair for Alex to sit in and stay reclined like she was supposed to be as much as possible.

Urs stepped out of the car, helped Mami out and then went to Alex’s side and helped her out, staying with her and helping her to get comfortable in the chair.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Seb offered.

“That sounds good. Mami, Alex would you two like something?”

The guys took the drink orders and left the ladies to chat. Within a minute Alex was surrounded not only by Mami but also by Lisa, Mom, Brenda, Grace and Mary. Lisa sat Lauren’s seat next to Alex and let Kayti go to the playground where Sammy was playing under the watchful eye of David. They watched until Kayti had been let in and David waved to Lisa and swung Kayti up in his arms and around in a circle making her laugh. Then he set her up high on the top of the slide and stayed beside her until she had slid down to the bottom.

“He is such a big kid. It doesn’t even matter to him if he looks silly. He just loves to play.” Grace said chuckling as she watched him.

“He is going to make a terrific Daddy someday.” Alex said.

When Grace blushed, they all started asking questions at once. Grace put her hands up. “Hold it. No news in the baby department, not yet anyway. We’ve talked about it. We’ve even spoken of marriage. But, now isn’t the right time with both of us so busy. He’s on break now but before we know it the guys will be going full out again and then there’s my career that is crazy right now. I’m loving what I’m doing. I don’t want to stop touring right now and when I get pregnant, I want to be able to enjoy it.”

Those who hadn’t already met were introduced to each other. The discussion was centered around the new arrival in Spain. Lisa promised to show the pictures to those who hadn’t seen them yet. Then Alex wanted to know about the progress in the house. She was dying to go in and take a tour of the house but she couldn’t go up the stairs right now. Lisa told her that when she had to use the rest room to go in there and she could at least see the main floor today if she wanted to.

Some of the guys were saying they were hungry so most of the women went inside and started carrying out some of the snacks and veggie trays with the dip. They’d fire up the grill in just a bit but for now, this would hold them over. Coolers filled with ice were set out filled with a variety of drinks. There was always the chance of afternoon thunderstorms and today actually had a higher than normal chance of storms, the weatherman had said this morning. So they were ready to run things into the main house if need be and they could eat in the dining room.

Jim caught Seb alone and thanked him for inviting him to join them today. He was really enjoying himself. He’d thought that he might be uncomfortable around so many people, when he’d spent so much time avoiding people for so long. Most of the people here today, he’d already met and the few he hadn’t, welcomed him and he was always included in conversations if he was nearby.

“Jim, please tell me if you don’t want to answer but, I was wondering where you were from. Where is your family living?”

Jim hung his head and Seb thought he wasn’t going to answer.

“We lived in Kissimmee, near Orlando. As far as I know Debbie and the kids are still there. I’ve had no contact with them since then. I didn’t feel as if I had the right to try to keep in touch with them.”

Seb just nodded in understanding and watched as Jim moved away, looking very depressed. Seb was sorry he’d brought it up now, causing Jim pain.

The guys fired up the grill and began cooking all of the meat while the girls finished getting the food on the table.

Once Lisa had a plate, she sat next to Alex, checking to make sure that Lauren was alright until she finished eating then she’d feed her and then put her down for a nap.

They discussed what was left to be done in the house. Lisa told them that the biggest thing left was to furnish the bedrooms. Mary was going to be bringing her bedroom set, Sammy’s furniture was being moved over and Kayti’s was going to be here in a couple of days and the other bedrooms could be furnished after they’d moved in.

Alex reminded Lisa of Carla, Alex’s co worker that had done the murals in Aaron’s nursery and asked her if she wanted to have her do some in any of their rooms.

“That sounds terrific. We could have her do all of the Disney princesses to go with Kayti’s bed and maybe a train station or something in Sammy’s room.”

“Okay, I will call her in the morning to see if she can do it.”

“You know Lisa, your nursery would look terrific with a Secret Garden motif to go with the crib and cradle. She could do the garden wall and then a bunch of colorful flowers scattered around the walls, maybe some trees and benches too.” Mom suggested.

“That is an awesome idea. I hope that she is up to doing so many walls.”

The afternoon was filled with games and swimming for the children and the guys threw the football, and kicked the soccer ball around the yard for a bit. Alex and Lisa told Brenda and Grace to go ahead and join the guys if they wanted to.

Late in the afternoon people started heading home. Urs, Alex and Mami were the first to go. The majority of them were going to meet back up later in Clearwater to watch the big fireworks display. Alex knew that this year she’d have to sit that out and it took some doing but she finally talked Urs into going with the others, only after Mami told him that she’d be there with Alex. Urs finally relented and agreed to go. He loved fireworks and had watched them in cities all over the world. Seb told him and Jim to come to the house and ride with them. Parking would be hard to find with the crowd there would be. The threatened rain never materialized. They’d had a perfect day and it looked like the evening would be perfect too.

Everyone found their spot to sit where they would have a good view of the fireworks. Seb and Lisa had brought some blankets for people to sit on. Lauren was snug in her infant car seat that they’d carried her in, with a netting cover over her to keep any insects off of her. Sammy and Kayti were running around them all but being watched carefully so they wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. They all waved to Drew when they saw him and his family getting settled in an empty spot in the grass.

David showed Urs that he’d brought his video camera to film the fireworks so Alex could watch them later.

“Thanks Dave. That’ll mean a lot to her. I know that she wanted to come.”

The fireworks display was amazing, one of the best any of them had seen. It was almost thirty minutes in length and had some of the most creative color combinations and shapes that they had ever seen. They all felt the loss as it ended after a heart stopping finale.

“I’ll upload the show to my computer and send it to yours.”

“That will be good to be able to watch it again anyway. It was a terrific show.” Urs told him.

“Please send it to me too. We’d love to have it and Sammy sure did love it.” Lisa asked David.

Lauren had woken up during them but they didn’t seem to have bothered her. Sammy sat wide eyed from the first explosion until the last and was still sitting there hoping they’d send up just one more. Kayti had jumped and cried a couple of times and Seb took her into his arms and spoke softly into her ear, calming her and telling her to watch the pretty colors. She did seem to be glad though when they finally ended.

When they got close to home Seb took the direction so that he would pull into the front of Urs’ driveway. They dropped him off and he waved to them before heading inside. Then Seb drove through the woods and stopped on the road in the area of Jim’s shelter.

“Thanks for including me today. It was a great day. It’s been a lot of fun.”

“Any time Jim. We were glad to have you join us. Be careful out there.” Lisa told him.

“I’ll be fine. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Seb was quiet for the rest of the ride home and even as they got the sleeping children inside and put to bed.

“Seb, is something wrong?”

“No Baby, not really. I just wish that we could do more to help Jim. I know we’ve given him work and he’s told me that he’s saving his money until he has enough to get an apartment and furniture. Not even the reward worked. I tried to give him money the other day using him finding the children as an excuse but he told me that he knew what I was trying to do and turned it down. I couldn’t force him to take it. When I was talking to him this afternoon, we spoke more about his family and he looked so sad.”

“Well, like you said, we can’t force him to let us help him. Maybe once he is back on his feet with an apartment, maybe then he’ll try to contact them and reunite with them. Even if it is too late for he and his wife, he should at least try to rebuild his relationship with his children if possible.

Seb began to get an idea in his head but didn’t voice it to Lisa right now. Instead, he just took her to bed and loved her, thankful for the wonderful family he had.

Urs stepped quietly into their makeshift bedroom after passing through the kitchen, finding his mother sound asleep with her head lying on her arms on the kitchen table. There was a cup of unfinished coffee sitting in front of her. He had gently woken her and assisted her sleepy wobbly body up the stairs, giving her a tight hug and thanked her for being there for them.

Urs now sat in the chair beside the bed and took off his boots, pushing them out of the way enough so he wouldn’t trip on them when he got out of bed. His lips turned up in a grin as he heard the tiny noise that Alex made when she slept. Some would call it a snore but he thought it was cute. He stood and peeled off his t shirt, tossing it onto the chair that he’d just vacated. Next he began to unbutton his jeans and slid them down his long legs, stepping out of them and sent them to join his t shirt. His socks were peeled off next.

“Urs?”

“Hi Baby, Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t, I was staying awake to wait for you.”

Urs smiled but didn’t tell her that he had heard her little snoring sound. That wouldn’t have been very smart. He had mentioned her cute little snoring sound once before and she huffed around the house for hours after forcefully stating that she absolutely “Did Not Snore”.

He did know that she was wide awake as he lowered his boxers and stepped out of them. Her eyes widened and her tongue poked out of her mouth and she ran it along her bottom lip to moisten it. He lifted the sheet and got in beside her, leaning carefully over her to drop tiny kisses along her jaw and cheek before coming to rest on her eager lips.

Sometimes it got very difficult for him to keep himself under control. He had to be careful not to lean on her belly. Not only was she still a little bit sore from the surgery, but he was nervous about causing any pain to Aaron. He had had surgery too. But, the biggest fear was that Alex would go into labor and at only 29 weeks, that was the last thing they wanted to happen.. So as he showered her with kisses, he had to keep his head. Urs knew that with the state Alex was in, she wouldn’t fall asleep yet. They couldn’t make love in the traditional sense until after Aaron’s birth but that didn’t stop them from showing their affection to each other in so many ways. They had gotten very creative in their loving these last few weeks.

When Alex had finally fallen asleep in his arms, he covered them both and rested his cheek against her head that was nestled in the curve of his neck. As he himself drifted off to sleep, he thought of how he was constantly amazed at just how perfectly she fit in his arms and against his body as if she had been made just for him.

Chapter 119:

Most of Lisa’s days now were spent in the main house assembling and furnishing the individual rooms. She had her lists of what she had envisioned in her head and she was having the time of her life seeing what had only been visions now being completed before her eyes.

She decided to take one of the larger rooms and make it a combination of several activities for the young children. In one corner, Drew had built a short closet and a toy chest and shelves to store all of the dress up clothes and accessories that they had purchased. Another area of the room held all of the musical instruments on shelves low enough for the children to reach everything. Then in the same room they set up Kayti’s dolls, doll furniture, clothes, and kitchen set. Sammy’s cars and big train platform with all of those accessories were set up in the opposite corner. They would probably end up moving these personal items to their bedrooms when other children arrived but for now this would be their playroom and it would keep their bedrooms tidier.

The room beside it was the one she was working on today and was the one that she was most excited about. This was the arts and crafts room. They had placed a plastic lining down to protect the floor, covered by one foot foam squares that fit together like a puzzle. They had the alphabet, numbers and other pictures cut out of them and the parts that fit back in were of a different color. One whole wall had already been painted with medium green colored chalk board paint and a rail had been mounted low on the wall to hold chalk and erasers. Rolls of paper hung on the wall with a child proof sliding cutter that would prevent any fingers from getting cut. Easels were set up along with several table and chair sets of different heights to accommodate the youngest to the oldest artists.

Another wall was filled with shelving that held a variety of baskets, buckets and cans for holding paints, brushes, crayons, markers etc. Lisa had also gotten a lot of other fun craft supplies like glitter, regular and puffy stickers and stencils for cutting out fun shapes. The third wall was covered with a cork board to hang all of the creations to dry and be displayed.

Lisa was putting the finishing touches on the room by mounting several hooks to hang smocks that would protect clothing when Seb entered the room with a woman stepping in behind him. Drew had offered to help her with these tasks but this was something she wanted to do herself and Seb hadn’t argued with her. She had been pretty good about not trying to do things that would be too much for her during the construction.

“Ma Cherie, Carla is here to see the bedrooms and go over what you want her to paint on their walls.”

“Oh Hi Carla. Come on we’ll head right on up. Are the children alright?” She directed to Seb.

“They’re fine. Mary’s gotten them all fed and now all three are taking a nap. I told the kids we’d swim after they took a nap so Sammy and Kayti laid down with no problem. They knew that the faster they took their nap, the faster they’d get to swim.”

“Are the pool guys out there working on resurfacing the big pool?”

“Yes they got here about an hour ago.”

“I can’t wait to be able to swim in it.”

“Me neither. Well, I’ll let you ladies get busy then. Let me know if you need anything, alright Baby?” he said and kissed her lightly and gave her a wink before he left.

“This room is amazing.” Carla said walking around and looking at all of the fun features.

“This is going to be one of my favorite rooms I think. There is no end to what the children can create in here.”

They headed upstairs after Lisa gave Carla a quick tour of the downstairs. Carla showed Lisa a book that held photos of the different murals that she had done. She had not only done the ones in her children’s rooms but she had been asked to do spots in public buildings and restaurants.

Lisa was amazed at the talent she had when she saw the pictures of Carla’s work. She spoke to her about doing some of the other children’s rooms that weren’t filled yet. They made the agreement and Lisa told her she would let her know when we were ready as she wanted to get to know each child and know their interests before decorating their room.

Carla was thrilled to be able to do the murals. They set up a time for the next day where Carla would come over and they would decide on exactly what she would paint. Lisa told her what she had in mind and Carla said that she would come up with some preliminary sketches to show her.

Lisa walked Carla out and saw that the pool guys were also packing up for the day.

“We’ll be back to finish up the pool tomorrow Ma’am. The coating we put on needs to dry.”

“Alright, thank you. Have a good night.”

Seb met her in the yard trailed by Sammy and Kayti in their swimsuits.

“Join us in the pool. You’ve done enough for today. You need to get off of your feet and relax.”

“I think I will. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Hurry Mommy. It’s going to be funnest in the pool.”

“Hurry Mama.” Kayti mimicked.

“I’ll be right back babies. Mommy just needs to put on her swimsuit.”

Sammy was already flipping head first over the side of the nylon pool. He had turned into a fish in the water. Seb had been spending time with both children, teaching them how to float and how to kick their feet in the water. Sammy could swim short distances but Kayti still just wanted to hang on to Seb’s neck as he sat in the pool. She would sit in his lap watching Sammy if Lauren wasn’t out there.

Lisa came outside with her new one piece maternity bathing suit on and a towel thrown over her shoulder. The suit would grow with her over the next months. Seb had told her that she looked just fine in her bikini still but she was very self conscious about her growing belly hanging out for everyone to see. When it was just them home it was a different story but Mary was here as well as Drew and what was left of his crew.

The extra crew had been let go last week when they had gotten down to just a few small jobs left to do and they had had another big job come up. They were going to check with Drew when they were finished there and see if he needed them once they started on the music building.

Seb held her arm as she stepped over the side and sat opposite him with their legs entwined.

“Mary is fixing dinner. I asked her if she would stay for the evening and keep Lauren occupied while we are out here with the children.”

“What rooms have you got left in the house now?”

“Well, besides finishing the kid’s bedrooms, there is the computer room, finishing the library, although it will be quite some time before we fill it up with books. We’ll get them a little at a time. I have several small boxes of Auntie’s books to unpack in there as well as mine to move over and I am saving a shelf for the children’s books. Then we also have to have the home theater system installed in the media room.”

“I’ve taken care of that. The guys are coming out the day after tomorrow to do that room. They will install everything from the flat screen TV that is going on the wall to the stereo system and all of the accessories.”

“Oh good. Thanks. That’s one more thing I can cross off of my list then.”

Seb placed his palm against her cheek when he saw her eyes welling up with unshed tears.

“Ma Cherie, What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just hormones I guess and I am just so excited. It’s almost finished. Soon we’ll be sleeping up there in our new room. I just can’t wait to get moved in.”

“Oh, that’s another thing I’ve gotten set up is the guys to come and help with the little bit that is going to be moved over. I asked some of Drew’s guys if they wanted to come a week from Saturday and help with the final move. There will be five of them coming. It may be overkill but better too many than too few I thought.”

“Good thinking.” She smiled at him and ran her bare foot up his leg and up under the leg of his swim suit.

His eyes met hers and he gave her a look and looked at the children. They weren’t paying a bit of attention to their parents. There were several bugs floating in the pool which of course got Kayti’s attention and Sammy was floating and blowing bubbles just at the water level.

Seb retaliated and slipped his toes along the outside of her leg. He lifted his leg and slid it in between both of hers and ran his foot up the inside of her leg all the way up to the edge of her suit. He grinned as he pressed the skin at the top of her thigh with his big toe and slipped his toes up under the edge of her suit. The smile on his face only grew as he saw her breath hitch as he found what he was searching for. Her eyes were wide as saucers as he began to caress her. She looked around the yard and again at the children, afraid that someone might figure out what was going on.

“Seb?” she whispered in a choked voice.

“Relax baby. No one knows.”

They could see Drew and Jarrod that he was speaking to and then they waved and hollered their goodnights to Seb and Lisa before getting in their vehicles and leaving for the night.

“Now Relax, Baby.” He said again and continued stroking her with his toes.

She really was enjoying what he was doing and the fact that they were out in the open where someone might see them only made it more exciting so she leaned back and tried to block everything else out while still keeping a watchful eye on the children. She could see that Seb was also still focused on them.

She ran her hand up his leg as far as she could reach. The only part of him that was moving was the top of his foot and his toes, making her begin to gasp for air. Her eyes darted around as she felt her release coming. He knew she was close and ran his other foot along her leg getting her attention, telling her with his eyes not to worry. He watched her bite her lip and felt her legs gripping his, her fingers digging into his ankle and knew that he had succeeded. He winked at her and leaned over, kissing her gently.

“You are a very naughty boy, Sebastien Izambard, but I like it.” She said grinning but the blush was still evident in her cheeks.

“Does Papa have to go in the time out chair Mommy?” Sammy asked seriously.

“He just might have to if he is naughty.” Lisa said and she and Seb laughed when Sammy went back to what he was doing.

Seb told Lisa he’d be back and went into the guest house, spoke to Mary and came back out carrying Lauren in her seat.

Mary followed him back out and waved to Lisa as she got into her car.

“I thought she was staying for dinner.”

“She’ll be back. She had to go home for a bit.” He explained, sort of and turned to give his attention to Sammy so Lisa didn’t ask any more questions.

Later they ate dinner and then Seb seemed to be in a rush to get the children ready for bed tonight. He had a grin on his face like a Cheshire cat and Lisa was wondering what he was up to.

When the children were all in their pajamas, and Sammy and Kayti were playing in his room, Seb shut himself into the bedroom, coming out several minutes later carrying a small suitcase.

“Okay, what are you up to?” she finally asked him.

“Come on say goodnight to Mary and the children. We are going up to the house to spend the night.”

“What? Really?”

“Yup come on now. Say goodnight.”

Lisa made the rounds, passing out hugs and kisses, even to Mary whom she thanked for coming to stay with the kids so that they could have this time alone.

“Well, I felt bad that you missed the Dublin trip so this will at least give you a few hours alone.” Mary said to her, hugging her tightly.

“Don’t hesitate to call, Mary, if you need anything.” Seb told her as they just about flew down the steps hand in hand.

Mary just laughed as she watched them hurry across the yard, only closing the door once she’d seen some lights go on.

Lisa sat at her computer the next day with a silly grin on her face, not really seeing what was on the screen in front of her. She was too busy thinking about last night.

They had hurried over to the house giggling like school children and they had the most wonderful night in their new house, not to mention their new bed. Seb had been very sneaky. He had made sure that everything was perfect. Candles were set out around the room and were lit upon their arrival. He had brought her favorite bubble bath over, insisting that she go relax in the tub for a while.

She didn’t argue. She knew that it would feel wonderful to get in and soak away the soreness in her muscles. She didn’t ever tell him when she was achy like this. He would worry and make her get someone else to do what she had been doing. As tired and sore as she had gotten this week, she wouldn’t trade it for anything. There had been so much that she couldn’t do during the renovations either physically or because she wouldn’t have known where to start. Now that there were things she could do to help get it finished, she was like a kid at Christmas and her vision was appearing right before her eyes.

After her bath which Seb had come in and kindly helped her with, turning her to mush, he had dried her off and carried her to their new bed that he had turned down and there were rose petals sprinkled all over it. Upon asking later, she found out that he had asked Mary to stop and pick them up for him.

They had gotten very little sleep that night. It had felt to her like their honeymoon had. Both of them were so eager to show their love to each other and with the children being well cared for, they had the luxury of relaxing and focusing only on one another.

When she had awakened and found an empty spot next to her where Seb had been laying, she had felt a bit disappointed, but only moments later he came into the room carrying a tray of coffee and some pastries and a plate of fruit.

“I don’t know about you, but I was starving and figured we could use some energy.”

“I could eat.” She said sitting up against the headboard.

They finished eating and then Seb had removed the tray and pulled her to him for a bit more loving before they had to greet the new day.

*

Carla came and showed Lisa the sketches she’d drawn after leaving the day before. They were perfect, exactly what Lisa had had in mind for each of their rooms. For the nursery, Carla was going to turn it into the Secret Garden, just as Mom had suggested.

The drawing was fabulous and Lisa couldn’t wait to see it completed on the walls. It had so much color in it. She had sprinkled flowers around, a couple of benches, and it even included the enchanted gate which would be visible when you were exiting the room.

For Kayti’s room she was going to be spreading out all of the Disney princesses around the walls.

Sammy’s room was going to be almost as big a job as the nursery. She had come up with several sketches of train stations and train cars a la Thomas the tank Engine. Train tracks would be painted all over connecting different stations. She was even incorporating her paintings into the existing train shelf that was mounted high on the wall so it would appear to be running on the tracks she had drawn around the walls.

“This is all going to be wonderful. I can’t wait to see it finished.”

“Well, I’ve brought all my gear so I can start right away. I thought since it was going to be the quickest to finish and you will be having her furniture arriving soon, I thought I’d do Kayti’s room first.”

“Sounds good. I’ll just get out of your way. Just let me know if you need anything.”

When Lisa got downstairs she ran into Seb.

“Hi Baby. Is Carla all set to start up there?”

“Yes, she is starting right now. What are you up to?”

“I’ve brought the boxes of Auntie’s books into the library for you and when you have the boxes empty, I’ll go fill them with the books at the guest house and bring them over. I figured since I had nothing else to do, I could start bringing things over that we don’t need right now.”

“Thank you. I was going to ask you to bring those books in. You are always one step ahead of me.”

“If you get tired, go take a nap. I’ll pick Sammy and Kayti up from school later.”

“I love you Seb. You are too good to me.”

“Well, we didn’t exactly get much sleep last night and I could never be too good to you.”

She nestled against him until Drew stepped in to ask Seb a question.

“Oh Sorry you two.”

“That’s alright. I need to get busy.” Lisa said.

Drew had received the copy of the architectural plans for the music building and had some questions for Seb so they went into the dining room that held a long table that was perfect for spreading the plans out. They sat and went over them, making notes for adjustments.

Drew was taking his family on a vacation in two weeks, once the move into the house was complete. They would start construction on the music building in just over a month.

Seb stepped into the library to look for Lisa and found her stretched out on the sofa with a book lying open on her chest. She had obviously been reading and had fallen asleep. He gently slid the book out of her grasp and wished there was a throw to lay over her. He lightly pushed some hair away that had fallen over her brow. He took advantage of her sleep to be able to look over her body. She still blushed frequently when he looked at her so intently.

At just over twenty four weeks pregnant, her bump was now quite visible while not yet very large even though she felt like it was. It was a little past the halfway point of a normal pregnancy and so far everything was looking great. Seb thought as he often did lately about the first time he would get to hold Jessica. He could already feel his heart swell when he thought of her.

Lisa stirred and went to turn to her side and Seb quickly stepped closer and gently woke her reminding her that she was on the sofa.

“Oh hi. I laid down to read and put my feet up for a bit. I guess I fell asleep.” She said looking for the book she’d been reading.

He handed it to her as she sat up and then sat next to her.

“Baby, I have some errands to do tomorrow. Will you be alright without me for the day?”

“Umm yes I guess so. Is it anything I can help you with?”

“No not really and I know that you have a lot going on here. Carla will be here too.”

“Oh yeah right she will be.”

“Okay then. I’ll be back. I’ll pick the kids up, drop Sammy at Dr. Jessica’s and stop at the grocery store and pick him up on the way home.”

“Alright. Call me if you need me to pick him up.”

“Sure thing.” He said and pulled her close to kiss her thoroughly before he left.

The next day Seb was up bright and early, eager to make an early start to his day. He got the coffee going and took care of the puppies and even got things out for preparing breakfast.

He didn’t like keeping things from her but decided to see what happened before he told anyone else what he wanted to do. If it wasn’t going to work out, then he would save others a lot of disappointment.

He heard Lisa stirring in the bedroom and he started a bottle heating for Lauren.

“Hi Papa.” Kayti said from her doorway.

“Good morning, Ma Petite.”

He unclamped the gate from in front of her doorway and she went right into the bathroom. She was doing very well in the potty department. They were down to just using a pull up if they were going to be out in the car for a long time. She was even doing well with it at school. Seb helped her to wash and then he lifted her into her chair, giving her some dry cereal to munch on while she waited for the rest of her breakfast.

Mary arrived taking over feeding Lauren while Lisa finished getting breakfast. They all ate and then Seb said that he would stop and do the shopping on the way home since he would be out anyway.

He decided that he needed to let Lisa know that he would be out of town. He knew that would only bring questions but still felt like he shouldn’t get anyone’s hopes up yet. As he thought, she did ask where he was going and he just asked her to trust him. He left knowing that she was very curious but thankfully she didn’t push him on it.

He stopped to fill up the gas tank before heading out of town. He looked on the front passenger seat to be sure he hadn’t forgotten the piece of paper with the name and directions he’d gotten. Then he programmed the information into his GPS system. He headed for route 60 to cross the Courtney Campbell Causeway, heading into Tampa towards the Florida turnpike. He popped in a CD and tapped on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. Being a Saturday morning, the traffic was pretty light so he moved along at a steady pace.

He hoped that this would work out, that this wasn’t a mistake, but he had felt the need to do this, or at least to try.

After stopping for a break and getting a snack and a drink, he got back in the car for the final leg of the drive to Kissimmee. He followed the directions that were being spoken from his GPS system and got there with no trouble.

He hoped she wasn’t working today. He’d thought of calling ahead but decided against it. She might just refuse to see him at all if he told her why he was coming to see her ahead of time. She still might do that but at least he could see her face to face.

He stepped from the car, hitting the button to lock the car and set the alarm, hearing the usual beep that let him know it was set. He looked around at the little house that was sadly in need of serious repair. He saw signs of children, bikes, a basketball hoop as well as a basket of toys just inside the open garage door. He could hear voices inside the house. He looked at his watch to make sure it didn’t seem too early but it was just past lunch time so he climbed the four steps and pressed his index finger to the bell. He ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture as he waited for the door to be answered.

The inside door opened and Seb looked down into the face of a young boy. It must be one of the twins, Seb thought, eight years old Jim had said. He could see the resemblance to his father in the boy’s face, especially in his eyes.

“Hello, is your mother home? I’d like to speak to her.”

Without a word the boy turned and hollered back into the house.

“MOM, some guy is at the door. He wants to talk to you.”

“Just a minute. I’ll be right there.” She said sounding like she wasn’t thrilled about the interruption.

Seb ran his hand around the back of his neck and turned to look at the surrounding houses that looked about in the same state of disrepair as the Fletcher’s.

Debbie laid down the bill she was holding and moved to stand. She looked at the pile of bills on the table that she was working on. This was her usual Saturday morning routine to do housework, laundry and at least try to work on her bills as best she could. She paid what she could, usually whatever was most urgent that week and the rest would have to wait for the next paycheck when she’d wrestle with them all over again.

“Can I help you?” she said to the back of the man at the door.

When he turned to face her she had to reach out and grasp the frame of the doorway to steady herself.

Chapter 120:

“I surely must be hallucinating.” She thought to herself as she gave him another look.

“Yes, I was hoping I could speak to you for a few minutes.” He said in that unmistakable French accent that had always made her knees weak ever since the first time she had seen him on Oprah. His English had greatly improved since then and his accent wasn’t near as thick as it had been back then.

Seb looked curiously at Debbie through the screen door. She was of medium build and had shoulder length blonde hair with some hints of gray at the temples. She had a funny look on her face and then it hit him that she knew who he was and was even most likely a fan by the dazed look on her face. Just maybe he could use this to his advantage.

Debbie finally seemed to regain her composure and apologized for leaving him standing out there. She opened the screen door and told him to come in but she looked embarrassed by the condition of the house. It was well kept and everything was in its place but to him the house looked more like it should be demolished instead of housing this woman and her children.

“Mrs. Fletcher, my name is Sebastien Izambard.” He said however unnecessarily.

“Umm Yes I know who you are. What I don’t know is why you would be here.” She said in a somewhat shaky voice. “Please, sit down. Could I get you a cup of coffee?”

“You know, that sounds great. Thank you.” He said and then he watched her walk nervously into the kitchen.

It gave him a bit more time to look around and get a feel for this family, Jim’s family. He immediately noticed the picture frames hanging on the walls. There were single photos of each of the three children, some of the three of them together and some of the twin boys together. But the ones that stood out to him the most were the family photos, the ones that had all five of them, Jim included. He hoped that was a good sign that she hadn’t removed his photos from the walls.

She came back several minutes later with a tray of two cups of coffee, some milk and sugar, setting it on the coffee table in front of them.

He could see that she was very nervous, her hands were shaking a bit. He wanted to calm her so they could speak seriously about the subject he’d come to discuss but he knew that he needed to get her past the fact that he was a Divo so she could speak to him.

“So, Mrs. Fletcher, are you a fan?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Debbie’s head snapped back up. She’d been staring down at her shaking hands, afraid of even picking her coffee cup up for fear of spilling it all over herself or even worse on him.

“Yes, I am, and my thirteen year old daughter is too. I love your music. I saw you all the first time you were on Oprah and please call me Debbie.”

“Alright Debbie. Thank you.

“Hannah is going to flip. She just went across to her friend’s house. She’ll be back in a few minutes. She’s a Siren.” Debbie added, grinning finally.

“Oh she is. And what about you then.” He asked, trying to draw her out.

“Umm well, I’m an Uber… Sorry.” She didn’t add that she had a healthy smidge of Siren coursing through her veins.

“Hey they can’t all be Siren’s now can they? We all have our fair share.” He said with a wink.

Seb tried to make small talk with her for several minutes and then the curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask again.

“Seb, please tell me what you are doing here. I don’t remember filling out any kind of sweepstakes form or anything, so I don’t think I won any contest or anything like that.”

Just then the boys both ran into the room so Seb stopped what he’d been about to say. He felt like it should be kept between them for the time being or at least until she felt like telling them.

Boys come here. I’d like you to meet someone. His name is Sebastien. Can you say hello?”

“Hi” they said together.

“Wow, you look exactly alike. Is that fun or is it a pain to look exactly like someone else?” Seb asked them.

“We like it” one of them answered. “Yeah it’s cool.” The other said.

“This is Brandon and this is Blake she said pointing to each of the boys. He couldn’t see how she could tell them apart. He couldn’t see even a mark on their skin to differentiate between them.

“Hello, it’s very nice to meet both of you.”

“Now, you two go find something to do for a while while I talk to Seb alright.”

“Okay Mom but we’re hungry. What can we get?” one of them asked her.

“Please excuse me Seb. I’ll be right back.” She said and ushered them into the kitchen. They ran back through, each of them holding half an apple. He hoped that wasn’t because she didn’t have enough food for them to each have their own.

She sat back down and took a sip of her coffee.

“Okay, hopefully we won’t be interrupted again for a bit.” She said. “You were about to say something before they came through.

“Yes, I was.” Seb said, now afraid to ruin her good mood. “Debbie, I’m going to tell you a story.

Seb went on to tell her about his family who she actually had read about and then he told her about the man that had been found living on the property in a crudely made shelter, living off of the land away from most other human contact for quite a while.

He watched her face falling as she was obviously getting where Seb was headed with this.

“The man you are telling me about, it’s Jim, isn’t it? It’s my husband.”

“Yes Debbie, it is.”

“Did he send you here?” she said starting to sound angry.

“NO, he has no idea that I am here and would probably not be happy about my interfering.”

“Then why are you? I’m sorry, that sounded rude but I don’t understand why you are here. Jim obviously has no desire to have any contact with his family. He left no note, Seb. He just left and forgot all about us. It was bad enough that he left me but, he left his children who idolized him.” She said, finally losing her composure again, only this time she was crying.

Seb pulled her into his arms and let her cry. She had every reason to cry. When she finally was all cried out she sat back and wiped her face, embarrassed to look at him.

“Debbie, you’re wrong you know. I know Jim made a huge mistake leaving like he did, but he thought he was doing you and the children a favor. He thought you would be able to get more help with him being gone. It wasn’t right and I am not saying I agree with what he did but I do understand it. But the biggest thing you are wrong about is that he’s forgotten all of you. Once I got him to talk about it, he’s now constantly telling me about all of you. He loves you, Debbie, you and the children. He just doesn’t think he can fix what he did now. He thinks it’s too late. He’s working for us and he’s a very hard worker.”

“He always was. It was his injuries that kept getting in the way and I knew he was frustrated and angry. I just never would have thought that he would leave us like he did.”

“But is it too late Debbie? Would you at least come and see him and talk to him? Even if you and Jim can’t patch things up for yourselves, the children deserve to know their father.”

Debbie knew Seb’s history from what she’d read in the book. Her friend had a copy and had let her borrow it last year. So, she knew where he was coming from and his motivation for trying to reunite her children with their father.

“Seb, my car probably wouldn’t make the drive over there.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll rent you a car and get you a hotel room for however long you can stay.”

Seb had more that he wanted to say but knew he’d be jumping the gun a bit so he held it back, for now.

“Would you allow me to take you and the children out for lunch?”

Debbie hesitated but couldn’t turn him down. Her children would love it. It had been a long time since they had had a treat like that. She dialed the phone and asked for Hannah. She spoke to her daughter, telling her that she needed her to come home. They were going out to lunch. Seb could hear from Debbie’s responses that the girl must have been surprised at the outing.

“No Sweetheart, I’m sorry just you. Amanda can come over later when we come back.”

“Debbie, she can bring her friend. The boys will have each other and she will just have us older people to talk to.”

Debbie knew that Hannah would love to just have Seb to talk to but she did let Hannah know that Amanda was welcome to come if it was alright with her parents.

When Debbie hung up she called the boys in and told them to change their shirts into something clean and to get washed up. They looked at her like she had two heads. They never did anything on Saturday except for maybe going to the park down the street and they surely didn’t get cleaned up for that. That would be silly.

Seb asked for the use of the restroom and when he came out, Hannah and Amanda were just coming in the door. He knew which one was Hannah since he’d been looking at the family photos.

Hannah looked up at him and the color drained from her face. “OH MY GOD!” she said quite loudly and started jumping up and down making Seb laugh. She made him think that this is probably what Kayti would be like when she grew up as he watched her blonde curls bouncing.

“Hello Hannah. It’s very nice to meet you.” He said and took hold of her hand, kissing the back of it.

“Amanda, pinch me. I think I’m dreaming.” She said not sounding the slightest bit nervous, only very excited.

“What are you doing here, Seb?”

“Well, I’m taking you three lovely ladies and your two brothers out to lunch.”

He was glad that she didn’t ask any more questions. It was up to Debbie to decide what and when to tell them.

While he would have taken them to a nice steak restaurant, the kids all begged for the all you can eat pizza place downtown, so pizza it was and they ate, they really ate. He lost count of how many pieces the boys wound up having and that was before the dessert. The teenage girls didn’t do too bad either.

When Debbie made a trip to the restroom, Seb went back up to the counter and inquired about getting some gift cards for the restaurant. When he sat back down Debbie was just coming back and he slid the cards into his pocket. Not wanting to have her refuse them, Seb waited for a time when she was distracted talking to the boys and he dropped them into the open top of her purse she had set on the floor. He sat up straight and wound up looking straight into Hannah’s eyes. She’d seen him and just smiled at him, never saying a word about it. He figured she was old enough that she probably knew what he had done.

They had had to take two vehicles to the restaurant since Amanda had come and as they were about to head home, Hannah asked if she and Amanda could ride home with Seb.

“Maybe Seb was going to head home from here. He still has a long drive home.”

“I don’t mind if it’s alright with you. I will need to leave soon though..” he said as he hit the button to disengage the alarm and unlock the doors.

“Alright then. You girls sit in the back and make sure you put on your seat belts.”

“Yes, Mom you tell us that every time we get in the car. Don’t I always put on my seatbelt even before you tell me?”

“Maybe you do but it’s my job to be sure that you do.” Debbie said smiling when she saw the grin on Seb’s face.

The girls ran and got into Seb’s car and shut the door.

“Sorry about that. They aren’t very shy.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind.”

Seb followed behind Debbie’s car, all the while hearing the girl’s soft giggles in the back.

“Seb, Did you really get married?”

“Yes, Hannah I did, in January.”

“Oh”

Seb stifled the grin as he heard the disappointment in that one small word.

“Maybe you can come and meet Lisa and our children. We have a boy named Sammy, he’s almost four. Then there’s Kayti who is two and Lauren is almost seven months old, and Lisa is six months pregnant with our little girl.”

“Well alright, I guess maybe we could do that, someday.” She said not really thrilled about meeting the woman who took Seb away from all of his Siren’s but knowing that at least she would get to see him again.

Seb went inside the house just long enough to say goodbye and he wrote down her phone numbers so he could call her and he gave her his so that she could let him know when she could come. He’d wanted to talk more about Jim with Debbie but they hadn’t had any time alone at the restaurant. Maybe it was better that he stayed out of it other than actually setting up the meeting. They really would need to sort things out on their own. He rode back home, happy with the events of the day and hoped that Jim and Debbie could move past Jim’s leaving them. They both seemed to love each other and the children did need their father in their lives.

He called Lisa to let her know approximately what time he’d be home and told her he loved her.

Chapter 121:

The next weekend they had another get together, only this one was filled with a lot of the children from the daycare and their families. Today was Sammy’s fourth birthday and they were determined to give him the best birthday ever. It was doubtful that he’d ever had a party before. Seb and Lisa didn’t even tell him about the party before the day arrived. They wanted it to be a surprise. They had talked about it being his birthday and Lisa had even made his favorite breakfast and had made him the king of the table that morning but that was all.

Just after breakfast, the phone rang and Seb spoke for a couple of minutes.

“Someone called to speak to a birthday boy. Is there a birthday boy here.” Seb said pretending to look around right over Sammy’s head.

“That’s me Papa. I am a birfday boy today.”

“Oh okay. Well, I guess this is for you then.” Seb said and handed him the phone.

“Hello, this is Sammy I am a birfday boy today.” He said before he even knew who he was talking to. He listened for a moment and then his face lit up.

“Hi Grandmere. Are you gonna come and visit me for my birfday?....Oh okay” he said sounding slightly disappointed before brightening right back up as she talked to him.

Lisa took her turn speaking to her mother in law and was happy to hear that she was planning to come before the baby was born. Lisa asked her to consider coming to stay for an extended visit, maybe coming in time for the Grand opening party that was scheduled to be held the end of August and stay until after Jessica was born. Marlene told her that she would consider it and get back to them. If she didn’t do that she might come for the party and then come back again before the baby came.

Although Grace had had to leave the other day, David was still in town and all of their other local friends and family were coming to the birthday party. Urs and Alex had already arrived as well but Alex was in the master bedroom taking a nap so that she could participate fully later.

They rented some of the same type of inflatable’s that they’d had at Kayti’s birthday party. The in ground pool was ready to be used and they still had the smaller pool set up for the youngest ones. But the biggest surprise would be unveiled later in the day.

Mom and Dad had arrived earlier with loads of goodies. Mom had made the cake and also some cookies shaped like trains. That was the party theme..




Seb had asked Lisa to keep the children inside or out in front of the houses until the big surprise was ready. That wasn’t too hard as the inflatable’s were set up out front and the children that weren’t in those were either having fun riding the bikes and power wheels or they were getting all dirty in the sandbox. They’d decided to save the swimming for the children until after the lunch and cake were done with.

Before Drew and the guys had left on Friday, he had had them set up the outside tables so that Lisa could keep most of the mess outside. The tables were set with train themed tablecloth, plates, napkins etc and the chairs had balloons tied to them.




Lisa and Seb called Sammy into the house to open the first of his gifts. When Sammy emerged from the house, he was decked out in his new train engineer’s outfit complete with overalls, hat and bandana. He had to run around and show each and every person there. If that had been his only gift that day, Sammy would have been the happiest boy on the planet.


When it came time to eat, the children were rounded up and fed as were the adults. Cake was to be served directly afterwards and Seb lifted Sammy up and stood him on the table so he could see everyone as they sang happy birthday to him. Seb didn’t bother to tell him that he wasn’t supposed to sing. He just held his hand to make sure that he wouldn’t fall and then after the song, Sammy threw himself into Seb’s arms. Seb hugged him so tight that the little boy grunted.

“Happy Birthday, son. I love you.”

“I love you too, Papa. This is a funnest day in the whole world.”

Seb’s heart swelled as he held his son. He was glad that Sammy had enjoyed his party but it wasn’t quite over yet. Seb tried to be patient as Sammy sat on the end of a table with Seb standing next to him so everyone could see him open his gifts.

Lisa couldn’t help but giggle as she watched Seb. He couldn’t stand still. He kept shuffling from one foot to the other as he waited for Sammy to finish with all of the other gifts before they would show him their big surprise.

When he was finally done, Seb announced that everyone should move out back just past the playground because Sammy had one more gift to see. Seb carried Sammy on his shoulders and he looked to David to make sure that he was still carrying his video camera. David had been filming off and on all day to record the party. By the time everyone made their way out back, the adults and some of the older children could tell what it was but the younger children had no idea.

“Sammy, your Mommy and I love you so very much and we wanted this to be your most special day ever.” Seb said as he set Sammy back down on the ground.

Seb nodded to Dan, Urs and Jim and they lifted the tarps off of Sammy’s gift. Sammy’s mouth just dropped open as he looked at the train sitting on tracks that wound their way around the furthest part of the back yard.



“Papa, that is a train. A big real train.” Sammy said excitedly.

:”That’s right son. We can ride on it.”

“Can I go ride on it now, Papa.”

“You sure can. Come on.”

Seb motioned for Lisa to bring Kayti for the first ride too. As Seb was preparing the train, Sammy jumped up and down and the guests were laughing at him.

Seb lifted up the one final gift for him off of the seat and handed it to him.

“Here you go Sammy. You can blow this whistle and it sounds just like a train.

Sammy blew into it and broke out into the biggest smile as he heard the sound. Then he blew it again and again.

Dan was standing there and shouted “All aboard” as Seb settled into the front seat with Sammy on his lap. Lisa was in the next car making sure that Kayti stayed seated. Sammy kept laughing and bouncing in Seb’s lap as they slowly moved through the yard. They made several rounds on the tracks before Seb told Sammy that they needed to let the other children have a turn.

Sammy stood beside the train content with blowing his whistle and shouting “All aboard.” As the other children had their turns.

The ladies were cleaning up the mess as the guys kept an eye on Sammy and Kayti. All of their guests had left. Urs had taken Alex home to get her feet up. All that was left now was Mom and Dad, Brenda and Mary.

“Are they going to do anything about that picture on the forum, like remove it and the associated posts?” Brenda asked Lisa as they stood side by side washing up the few dishes that remained after the disposables had been thrown away.

“What picture.”

“You know, the one that popped up a couple of days ago, the one that shows some girl kissing Seb.”

“What?” Lisa said and Brenda immediately realized her mistake as Lisa’s face went white. She knew that Lisa frequented the forum and assumed she had seen it or that Seb had told her about it.

“Oh Lisa I’m sorry. I thought you would have seen it on the forum.”

“I haven’t been on there for a couple of weeks. We’ve been so busy in the house.” Lisa said sounding far away.

“Hey, you know it is a fake. Those women are masters at cut and paste. Some of it is terrible when the head doesn’t even come close to fitting the rest of the picture but sometimes they really do a great job and come up with something that looks like it could be a real picture of them.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen some of that.” Lisa said still sounding deflated.

“Please don't worry about it, Lisa. There is no one that knows the two of you that would ever think that was a real picture.”

Lisa changed the subject when Mom and Mary walked into the kitchen and they finished cleaning up.

Everyone said goodnight and headed home. Mom and Mary had given all three kids their bath’s and got them ready for bed. All that was left was for them to have their bedtime stories read to them.

Lisa stepped into Sammy’s room and heard him reciting his ABC’s to Seb.

“That was terrific, Sammy”

“That's cuz I’m big now. I’m four not three now so I can know my ABC’s now.” He said confidently.

“Well, I am really glad that you are four now.” Seb told him.

Seb noticed that Lisa was really quiet and assumed that she was probably really tired after their long day. So, he helped her get them into bed and as soon as they were asleep, he went and ran a bath. When he came back, he found her sitting at her computer.

“Come on and take a bath with me. Let’s relax and get to bed and get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”

“Yes, it has. Go ahead in and I’ll be in in a minute.” She said, never looking his direction.

When he had turned and gone back into the bedroom, she clicked on the link that would take her into the Lounge. If the picture was indeed there, she figured that was where she would find it and any chat concerning it.

Close to the top of the page she found it. It was titled “IS SEB CHEATING ALREADY?”

She paused holding her finger on the mouse button, hesitating about whether or not to continue on and read what was written in the thread. She had to know. She had to see what was being said, true or not. It was not something that she could just forget about. She took a deep breath and pushed on the mouse button.

The first post in the thread was from someone named DoniaDiva. Lisa looked under the avatar and it said she was from Sweden. This was her post:
***********************************************************************
“Here is a picture I found. It was taken while the guys were here recording their new CD. Seb is seen here in total lip lock with someone who is NOT his new wife Lisa.”

Donia

Underneath Donia’s words, she had added the photo. Lisa sat glued to it, first trying to see if it was in fact Seb. The view was from someone standing to the side where they could see part of the left of the man’s face and the back of the woman’s head. But what confirmed that it was Seb was the hand that was on the woman’s upper arm. Lisa had no doubt that the long fingers that were wrapped around the woman’s arm were Seb’s, if for no other reason than that she could plainly see his wedding ring glistening in the sunshine.

She choked back a sob, covering her mouth. Then just as quickly she sat up straight again and scrolled down the page hoping against hope that someone had an explanation of the picture other than that Seb had been out with another woman and right in public. At this moment, it didn’t occur to her to go ask Seb for an explanation. She was glued to the screen. She moved down the page reading more posts.

As she read, something else entered her mind. What about last week when he went out for the whole day and didn’t want to tell her where he was going? He had just asked her to trust him. What would he have been hiding from her? Where did he go and most importantly, who was he with? Her mind began to whirl and thoughts bombarded her of whether or not he had broken her trust and their vows.


I can’t believe that Seb would be cheating on Lisa. Haven’t you seen how happy he has looked since he has been with her and the children? We can’t tell the story behind this picture. We don’t even know who the woman is in this picture. It could be his cousin or something. Don’t attack him without knowing the whole story. I for one wouldn’t want it to happen to me.

Krissy

Men cheat! In my experience they cheat no matter who they are or who they are married to. If they are away they will especially feel free to play. A guy that looks like Seb would get plenty of offers.”

Clara

Not ALL men cheat and hearing Seb talk about his life with Lisa, I can’t believe that he would be cheating, especially so soon after their marriage. I could be wrong, but this is my opinion.

Blanch

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, Blanch,

Donia

QUOTE:
Krissy wrote:
We don’t even know who the woman is in this picture. It could be his cousin or something.

Krissy, I DO know the woman in the picture and it is NOT his cousin or any other relative, and no, it isn’t me.

Donia

On and on the posts went. Some were defending Seb, others were shamelessly bashing him or men in general. Lisa got to the point that she couldn’t read any more, she was getting sick to her stomach and just as she was shutting down the computer, Seb stepped out of the bedroom looking for her.

He was standing there in his boxers and a wet head looking quizzically at her.

“Ma Cherie, what is wrong?” he said taking a few steps towards her. “I was waiting for you.”

As she saw him stepping towards her, she took those same steps back away from him, tears running down her face.

“Don’t Seb. Please leave me alone right now. I need to think.”

“What is it you need to think about Baby? Have I done something to hurt you? You look angry with me.”

“You tell me Seb. Have you done something that I should be angry about?” she said, choking out the words.

“Nothing that I can think of. Please, let’s sit down and talk about this. Tell me what it is that you think I’ve done. Maybe I have without knowing, I surely wouldn’t do anything intentionally. At least let me try to fix whatever it is.” He said reaching his hands out, trying to touch her, but she moved away again.

Lisa laughed a laugh that actually made Seb afraid but she did move towards the couch and sat down, giving him hope that whatever was bothering her could be straightened out before it got out of hand. He knew that whatever it was, had her very upset and he knew he had to fix it. Seb watched Lisa as she sat there looking down at her lap, purposely avoiding making eye contact with him.

“Please look at me, Baby. You’re really scaring me here.”

Lisa’s head snapped up and he almost regretted making her look at him. The look on her face caused his heart to be caught in a painful grip. Something was seriously wrong but he couldn’t for the life of him think of what it could be. They had had a wonderful day today, celebrating Sammy’s birthday. He had been such a happy boy all day, eating up having all the attention focused on him and the train had been a great success. He didn’t think that they could have come up with a more perfect gift for Sammy than the train that he would be able to ride around their yard and it was one that Sammy would be able to ride forever, not just a couple of years and then outgrow it.

The fun events of the day seemed light years away now. It seemed like their happiness was now in serious jeopardy. He knew he had to try to keep calm. He felt a panic rising in him but he knew he needed to keep a clear head because Lisa was obviously very focused on whatever this supposed wrong was and didn’t look like she was going to be able to listen to him. The first thing that he needed to know was what it was that he had done. He couldn’t do anything about it until he knew what it was.

“Alright, I’m listening. Please tell me what I have done.” Seb said in a deceptively calm voice. Inside he was in a panic and he could feel his heart racing.

“Are you really going to make me say it, Seb?”

“Lisa I swear, I honestly have no idea what it is.”

“Then you don’t think it out of the ordinary or a problem for you to be kissing other women now that we are married? Maybe that is how it works in France but not here, Seb, not in my life.”

She stood and began pacing as Seb tried to digest what she was saying. Then he stood and moved to stand in front of her. When she tried to sidestep and avoid him, he reached out and firmly took hold of her upper arms preventing her from going anywhere.

“Stop! Stop right there and tell me why you are accusing me of this. I have not kissed any other woman since I found you back in December. It had actually been several months before that even since Rachele and I had split up.”

“I saw the picture, Seb. Please stop denying it. It just makes it worse.”

Lisa was avoiding making eye contact with him still. He tried to make her raise her face by placing his finger under her chin. She pulled her head away from his touch and as much as Seb was trying to keep calm, he felt his own anger rising. He had done nothing. He had done nothing but constantly show his love for her and the children since they had been reunited.

“Lisa, I am trying to keep calm here because I know there has to be a terrible misunderstanding here but I can’t help to fix things if you won’t sit and have a peaceful conversation with me.”

She didn’t answer and he let go of her and walked around the room speaking in rapid French running his hands through his hair in frustration.

“You know what, I think I’ll go sleep next door while you decide if you want to talk to me or not. I’ll have my phone if you need me. If you don’t trust me, I can’t do anything about it. I have never been unfaithful to you, not even in my mind. I Love you, Lisa. I thought you knew that.” He said, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

He turned and stomped out the door, hoping to hear her call him back so they could talk. But there were no such words spoken. The only sounds were the chime that sounded, announcing the door had been opened and the screen door snapping against the frame. He felt a terrible mixture of anger and sadness at the same time as he headed for the house, while still hoping for her to call for him. He had to keep wiping the tears from his eyes so he could see where he was going.

He let himself into the house and stood in the foyer, wondering what he should do now. There was no way he could sleep in their bed upstairs. The memories of their night alone in the house and their loving stood as a sharp contrast to the feelings he felt now, fear, confusion, anger, but mostly sadness that what they had shared over the last nine months could be slipping away right before his eyes.

He had thought his life had changed. So much of his early life had been filled with these types of feelings and he had been so happy that it seemed like he would have a stable love filled life with this woman and now he didn’t know if it was over. If it was, what would he do? He didn’t think he could survive this loss, it was unbearable. He stepped into the library and sat on the sofa, dropping his head into his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

He sat up straight as a ray of hope entered his heart as his phone rang. She was calling to talk, maybe to ask him to come home. He flipped his phone open without even looking at the screen to see who it was. Then all he heard was, “Seb, Seb are you there?”

“Oh Hi Urs. What’s up?”

“I’m sorry to have woken you but this is an emergency. We think Alex has started having contractions. Alex wanted me to call and let you both know that we were heading to the hospital and we’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as we know anything.”

“Merde, Urs. I’ll tell Lisa. Please call us soon. I sure hope it’s a false alarm.”

“Me too, Seb. Me too.”

Lisa stood where she had been when he walked out the door, at first not even moving to shut the door. She felt numb. He had walked out, left her. Maybe this was what he had wanted. Maybe this had all gotten to be too much for him, her, the children, all of the work on the house. Even through her anger, Lisa didn’t really believe that. She had seen how he had acted all day today. He had been almost more excited than Sammy. What if she was wrong? What if it was a mistake, a misunderstanding as he had called it? If so, she had probably just killed his love for her and ruined her marriage. But, what about the picture? She hadn’t really given him a chance to explain it, had she?

She began to go through her bedtime routine as if on autopilot, not even thinking about it. She suddenly realized that she would need to take out the puppies. Seb usually did it at night if he was home. She put on her robe, got their leashes attached and guided them out and down the steps, heading over to their designated potty spot.

She spun around when she heard the front door of the main house slam shut and heard footsteps running across the yard. She saw him leap up the porch steps and rush into the house. She heard him calling her name and could see through the windows that he was searching for her. She really had mixed emotions about speaking to him. While she felt such a loss in her heart from their fight, she wasn’t sure if she was up to starting it all over right now.

He stepped back outside when he had noticed that the puppies weren’t inside and realized that she must be outside with them.

“Lisa, please, are you out here? It’s an emergency.”

“”I’m here. What’s wrong?” she could hear the urgency in his voice as he ran across to her.

“It’s Alex. They think she’s having contractions. Urs said they are going to the hospital and will call when they know anything.”

“I have to go. She’ll need me.”

“I knew that you would want to go. I’ve called Mary. She’s on her way.”

“Thank you.” She said as she headed back into the house and put the puppies into the laundry room. “Excuse me while I go get dressed.”

He hated the formal way she was speaking to him, almost like a stranger. He knew that there was no way that they could have the conversation they needed to have right now. It would have to wait until they knew that Alex and baby Aaron were both alright.

Lisa stepped out into the living room and her eyes darted around trying to find something to focus on other than him. She hoped Mary wouldn’t be long. She went into the kitchen and fixed a few of Lauren’s bottles so that Mary wouldn’t have to do it and also so she would have something to do as she waited. Then she paced. She kept pacing around the kitchen until she heard the car in the driveway then she headed for the door, opening it before Seb got there. Mary came up the steps and hugged Lisa.

“This is terrible. I hope that they can stop them. It’s so early.”

“I know. She’s only thirty one weeks right now. His lungs probably can’t sustain him yet.”

“Well you two get going and don’t worry about anything here. Please try to call me when you find out anything.”

“I will, Mary and thanks for coming so quickly.”

As she watched them drive away in Seb’s car, Mary mistook Seb and Lisa’s red puffy eyes for fear and worry for Alex and the baby, having no idea of the drama that had been unfolding here earlier.

Chapter 122:

They pulled up to the hospital, neither one of them having spoken a single word on the drive over. Seb put the car into park, took out the keys and moved to open his door, stopping when Lisa finally spoke.

“I don’t want them to know about anything that his happening with us. They don’t need anything else to worry about.”

“I agree.” Seb said low and sounding very tired. He stepped out and found Lisa had already stepped out of the car. She always waited and allowed him to open her door for her. He turned around and pressed the button to lock the doors and set his alarm, waiting for her to reach him before he headed for the elevator bank to head into the main part of the hospital. His hand automatically reached out to press it to the small of her back as they stepped into the elevator but he stopped just short of touching her because he didn’t think he could handle it if she moved away from him again, rejecting his touch. That had been like a knife in his heart when she’d done it earlier.

Seb stepped up to the information desk and asked where they would find Alex Huggins. They weren’t sure if she would be in the emergency department or already moved to the OB ward. He was given the information that she had been moved up to the OB ward and was pointed in the right direction. When they got to the right floor, they asked for Alex’s room and were told the number. They were just getting there when Mom, Dad and Mami stepped out of her room, looking very upset.

“Mom, what’s happening? She’s not going to have him yet is she?”

“It looks like it is a very real possibility. They say she is already dilating. They are trying to stop the contractions but they are preparing for his birth just in case, putting the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) on alert so they’ll be ready to care for him if he does come. They’ve also started giving her a steriod that will help Aaron’s lungs mature faster.”

“Oh Mom, he will be so small. It is too early.” Lisa said breaking down.

“I know, sweetheart, but they are saying that he has a good chance. She’s had excellent prenatal care and they are hoping that the extra calories the doctor has had her consuming will result in a larger than normal thirty one week baby. Every ounce will count. All we can do is wait and see.”

“Can I go in and see her?”

“In just a minute. They wanted us to leave while they examined her again.”

As soon as the door was opened, Lisa asked to go in and was given permission to head on in.

“You can go in too Seb.” Marie told him.

“No thanks, I’ll wait out here for now.”

He went and sat in the waiting room leaning his head back against the wall. As much as he was worried about Alex and Aaron, he couldn’t push what was going on with him and Lisa out of his mind.

Lisa pushed back the curtain and went to Alex’s bedside, hugging her tightly.

“Are you okay?” Lisa asked her.

“I’m alright….. I guess.”

“Don’t try to hide anything from me. I know that you are scared, Alex.” Lisa said and looked at Urs and saw the same fear in his eyes that was shining in Alex’s now tear filled ones.

“I’ll give you two girls a few minutes to talk. Where’s Seb?”

“Umm I guess he’s out in the hall or the waiting room or something, I’m not really sure.” Lisa answered noncomittally, turning back to Alex.

She didn’t see the look that passed between Urs and Alex as he leaned over and kissed her before he left.

Urs wasn’t sure if Seb was sleeping when he entered the waiting room after speaking to Mom and Dad out in the hall for a minute. Seb’s head was tipped back against the wall and his eyes were closed. What finally gave away the fact that Seb was awake was the wiggling of his foot. Seb always wiggled his feet when he was hyper, whether it was from nerves, boredom, excitement or whatever.

“Hey.” Urs said as he sat down and tapped Seb’s thigh.

Seb sat up quickly looking around the room to see who else might be in there. “Hi, how is Alex? Are they going to be able to stop her labor?”

“We don’t know yet. It doesn’t look too good though. She’s already dilated three centimeters.”

“I’m sorry Urs.” Seb said before tipping his head back again.

“Are you okay, Seb?”

“I’m fine, Urs.” Seb said softly.

“Liar”

Seb’s head came up again. “Urs, Lisa and I have had an argument but right now you and Alex’s situation is at the top of both of our priorities. We didn’t even want you two to know. Did Lisa say something?”

“No not exactly. It wasn’t what she said or didn’t say really as much as how she said it. I think Alex could tell too. Lisa looks very sad and it wasn’t just about Alex and Aaron either.”

“No, It isn’t.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“You don’t need to hear my problems, Urs. You have to think about Alex and the baby.”

“Seb, we are here for each other. I could use a distraction right now, not that I want you to tell me just to distract me. I want to be here to listen to you and help if there is any way I can.”

“She thinks I’ve cheated on her.” Seb said ending with a huge sigh before dropping his head down into his hands.

“What? That’s crazy! Why on earth would she think that?”

“I don’t know Urs. She wasn’t making much sense. She was going on about me kissing another woman, about seeing a picture and then she asked me where I went last weekend like I had gone off to cheat on her.”

“Did you tell her where you actually went? Where did you go anyway?”

“Non, I didn’t tell her. It made me angry that she was questioning my actions. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going because I wasn’t sure of the outcome and I didn’t want anyone to be upset or disappointed if it didn’t work out. I went to meet Jim’s wife and their children. He loves her. I think she still loves him too now that I’ve spent some time with her. They just need to talk and see if they can work things out. I offered to help her get over here and stay nearby for a few days so they can talk. Even if they can’t work things out for themselves, they need to let the kids get to know their father.”

“Wow, does Jim know that you went there?”

“Not yet. I wanted to get her over here. If she won’t come, there isn’t any sense in telling him.”

“So, is she going to come?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her. I was thinking of calling her in the next few days if I don’t hear back from her.”

Urs nodded his head in understanding. “What about the picture Lisa was talking about? Where did she say she saw it?”

“She didn’t say.”

“It sounds like you two have some serious talking to do. Could it be an old picture of you with someone?”

“I really don’t know anything else. She wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Oh Seb. I’m sorry. I hate this. You two love each other so much.”

“But don’t you see? This is what is bothering me the most. Doesn’t she know how much I love her? I have never loved anyone the way I love her, not ever.” Seb said and rubbed his hand across his chest. He was feeling pain in his chest as he talked to Urs.

“You have to make her talk to you, Seb. Listen to whatever she has to say, no matter what it is. You have to figure out where she got the idea in the first place. If she thinks you’ve cheated, that explains the look on her face, Seb. She does love you. Don’t you doubt that for a minute. She wouldn’t be so upset if she didn’t.”

He patted Seb on the back and told him that he needed to go check on Alex.

“Don’t give up Seb. This is too important.”

“I won’t. I couldn’t. I won’t have a life without her.”

They both stood and Urs gave Seb a hug, very upset to know of the problems between their best friends.

“Go check on Alex. I’ll be alright.”

Urs nodded and left. When he entered the room, Alex and Lisa were talking.

“Have they checked you again?” he asked Alex.

“No they said they would check me in an hour.”

“Oh okay.”

The waiting was killing them. But every hour they went without Aaron arriving the better it would be for him.

“Lisa, could I speak to you for a minute?”

“Umm sure, Urs.”

Lisa hugged Alex again and told her she’d be back in a while.

“What’s up?” Lisa asked him when they had stepped out of the room.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you. I know it may be none of my business but we love you and we care so much about you and Seb.”

Lisa looked at the floor.

“You’re right Urs. It isn’t your business and you should just be focusing on Alex and Aaron right now. I don’t want her worrying about me.” She whispered, looking to make sure Mom and Dad weren’t within hearing distance.

“I don’t want her worrying either. But it’s written all over your face. Eventually she’ll figure out that it isn’t just her and Aaron that you’re upset about. Go talk to him. Tell him what is wrong.”

“Didn’t he tell you what was wrong?”

“He told me what you said but he has no idea where you got the idea, frankly neither do I. I’ve never seen him so in love with anyone. Please, go talk to him so that you can straighten it out.”

He didn’t wait for her to answer him. He just turned back and re entered Alex’s room.

Lisa stood where he’d left her, not sure where to go. She knew Urs was right about needing to talk to Seb but, she didn’t think this was the time or place. Mom, Dad and Mami came around the corner on their way back from getting a cup of coffee so she tried to snap out of it and she went and spoke to them.

Seb could hear Lisa in the hallway with the Huggins’ and Urs’ Mom. Normally he would have gone out and joined them but he knew he couldn’t pretend. He couldn’t act as if there wasn’t anything wrong between them when he felt as if his heart was being ripped out.

All of a sudden he had the idea that if he went and asked to speak to Lisa in front of them, she probably wouldn’t refuse, not wanting to alert them that something was wrong. He may be playing dirty but he was desperate to clear this up. He stood, took a deep breath, let it out slowly and stepped out into the hallway, stopping just a few feet from them.

“Lisa, could I speak to you for a minute?” he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. He wasn’t sure how well he did but when Lisa turned and as he had suspected, she didn’t refuse, Mom and Dad didn’t seem concerned.

She excused herself and walked slowly over to him, looking at his face but still not quite meeting his eyes.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?”

“I need to be here for Alex, Sebastien.”

“I know. We won’t go far, I promise.” He said, gently sliding his hand into hers, entwining their fingers, again hoping that she wouldn’t pull away, even if it was to keep Mom and Dad in the dark. She didn’t pull away and they headed down the hall until they came to another waiting room. He opened the door and let her enter first and then he followed, shutting the door so they could have some privacy.

“I have something to tell you and then I want you to tell me calmly, if possible, why it is that you think I have been unfaithful to you. It is a mistake Baby because I have never, not one time, ever even thought of being with another woman. I love you Lisa, with everything there is inside of me, I love you and this is killing me that you could doubt my love for you for even a second. I am going to clear up your concern about last Saturday. I only kept it from you because what I did may backfire and I didn’t want anyone to be to blame but me if it did.”

He gestured to the couch and they sat down.

I went to Kissimmee to Jim’s wife’s house, to meet her and their children. I wanted to try to arrange for her to come here and talk to him, to try to see if they could work out their difficulties. I figured if we could keep Jim employed then that would give him his self respect back and allow him to rebuild his life. If he and Debbie can work things out that would be great but even if they can just talk and be civil enough to allow him to have contact with the children, I thought that would help.”

“You should have told me Seb.”

“I told you. I didn’t want Jim to blame anyone but me if he was angry at my interfering in his personal affairs.”

“So what happened when you went there?”

Seb told her about his visit and taking Debbie and the children out for something to eat because he suspected that she wasn’t able to adequately supply their home with food.

“Do you believe me?”

“Yes, I believe you.” She said softly, and she did believe him, because she knew that that was just something that he would do. He had such a big heart and always wanted to help people, especially when there were children involved.

“Now, I want you to explain to me about where you saw a picture of me kissing someone else. Could it have been an old picture from before we were reunited?”

“No”

“Why are you so sure about that?”

“Because your hand was on her arm and I could see your wedding ring, the same one that matches mine.” She said and couldn’t stop the tears that fell as she looked at her ring and turned it around and around on her finger unconsciously..

“God Baby I don’t know what to tell you. Where did you see this?”

“It’s posted on the forum.”

“What?”

“There is a whole thread in the Lounge about it. It says, Is Seb cheating already? Brenda told me about it. She assumed that I had already seen it.”

Lisa broke down and sobbed unable to control it anymore. Seb slid off of the couch and onto the floor in front of her and pulled her into his arms, thankful when she fell against him and let him hold her.

“It’s wrong Baby. I swear it’s something someone made up like you know one of those cut and pastes or something. Believe me I will get to the bottom of it as soon as we get home. I know we have to be here for Urs and Alex right now but, please, please give me the chance to prove that this is not true.”

He placed his hands on either side of her face and lifted it from his chest, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Will you give me that chance Baby, to prove it to you, to find out what is going on?”

Lisa nodded and then told him that they really did need to get back and check on Alex.

“Alright, let’s go.”

But before they exited the room, Seb stopped and turned to her once more, lowering his lips to brush hers softly. “I love you Baby, more than you will ever know.” Then he led her out into the hallway and back towards Alex’s room. It occurred to him, that not only did he have to worry about making Lisa believe him but, if Brenda believed that he was leading that kind of life, it might jeopardize the group home and getting more children.

When Seb and Lisa got back in the hallway in front of Alex’s room, Urs was out there talking to David. Urs looked up and was very glad to see them together. Lisa still didn’t look real happy, neither did Seb but he gave Urs a look that told him they’d at least talked, so hopefully they would be able to straighten it out soon.

“How’s Alex? Any word?” Lisa asked him.

“They can’t stop the contractions. Aaron will be born within the next few hours depending on how fast she finishes dilating, she’s a bit over five centimeters now.. If she hadn’t had the surgery, they would have automatically done a C-Section to protect his defect but since it has been repaired, they don’t have to unless any other problems arise. On the other hand, having the surgery is probably why she is in early labor.”

“I’m sorry Urs. She’s tried so hard to make sure she carried him to term.”

“They say he should be okay, just small and will probably need assistance with his breathing. They have the NICU team ready for him so they can do whatever it takes to give him support.”

Seb saw that David was carrying his laptop with him.

“David, can I borrow that for a minute? Do you think it will get an internet connection in here?”

“Alex’s did when she was hospitalized before.” Urs reminded him.

“Oh yeah.”

David handed him the laptop and followed him into the waiting room.

“Did you talk to him?” Urs asked Lisa who was just about to go see Alex.

She looked up at him and nodded.

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know Urs but we are going to concentrate on Alex and Aaron right now. We will continue to talk when we get home.”

“Good, because I know if you both keep talking to each other things will get straightened out in time.”

He leaned in and kissed her cheek and squeezed her shoulder as she headed into the room. Lisa stopped and gave him a quick hug before continuing on in.

“Hi, we were wondering where you and Seb went.” Mom said. She and Dan were sitting in chairs on either side of the bed with Mami sitting in a chair by the window.

“We just went for a walk. He’s out there with David.”

“Oh David’s here?” Alex said.

“Yeah Urs called him a while ago.” Mami told her..

“How are you feeling?” Lisa asked Alex.

“Oh Boy hang on. There’s another contraction coming.”

Mom stood up and held her hand as she breathed through the contraction.

“They’re coming closer together now.” Mom told Lisa

“Urs said they can’t stop them.”

“Nope, Aaron has decided he wants to come out now.” She said trying to lighten up the atmosphere in the room.

“Please get Urs. I need Urs here. They are really starting to hurt now.”

“I’ll go.” Dan said grateful to be able to leave the room. He couldn’t handle seeing his baby hurting like she was and he knew it was only going to get worse before it was over. He wondered if anyone would miss him if he stayed out here for a while.

“Urs? Alex is asking for you.” He said to him when he found him in the waiting room with David and Seb. He noticed that the room got awfully quiet when he stepped into it, like they had been discussing something and stopped when they saw him.

Chapter 123:

“I’m sorry. Did I interrupt a private conversation?”

“No Dad, come on in. I might as well show you. But we just don’t want Alex to know what’s going on right now. She needs to concentrate on her and the baby.” Seb told him.

David stood and moved so Dan could sit down. David hadn’t even heard the whole story yet but knew it was serious by the looks on Seb’s and Urs’ face.

“Dad, someone has posted a picture on the forum. It looks like it is me and I guess it is but the rest of the picture has to be made up, some creative thing that some of the fans do called cut and paste.”

Seb turned the laptop to show Dan. Dan’s eyes bugged out and his eyebrows squished together. He looked up at Seb with anger turning his eyes an even darker shade of brown than they usually were.

“Seb, show him some of the other cut and paste pictures so he’ll understand.” David told him.

As Seb navigated to the cut and paste thread, Seb promised Dan that it was not a real picture.

“I swear Dan. I have never been unfaithful to her.”

“You made a promise to me that you would never hurt her, Seb.”

“And I intend to keep that promise as much as it’s in my power. Someone did this and is passing it off as the real thing. I will get to the bottom of it if I have to track down the one that did it and bring them here to tell you the truth.”

Dan could see that Seb was really nervous and seemed to be telling the truth and he supposed he’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but he couldn’t rid himself of the uneasiness he felt. And now he had both of his girls in the middle of a major crisis.

Seb’s phone rang and when he answered it he realized it was Carlos.

“Hi Seb. I had a message from Urs’ phone. I can’t get a hold of him now, but I know it’s late there. I just wanted to be sure that everything was okay.”

“No Carlos, it’s not okay.”

Seb told him about Alex going into labor and that the doctors were unable to stop it and Aaron would be born soon, nine weeks early. He walked the halls as he talked to Carlos, asking how their baby was doing. Carlos said they were all doing fine and he couldn’t wait to show him off to all of them.

Then Seb told Carlos about the mess on the forum and that he would be calling and finding out why he hadn’t been informed about something that affected him so personally.

Carlos told him to hold on and he went and sat at their computer and he went to the forum and then to the Lounge to see the thread that Seb was talking about.

They chatted a bit as Carlos looked at the picture and read some of the posts.

“Dios Mio, my friend. This is bad. You say that Lisa is angry at you. She really thinks you did this thing?”

“Maybe she has doubts about it now that we’ve talked but she believed it earlier tonight.”

“O Dios Mio.” Carlos said again. “This is a real picture, Seb.”

“What? How could you say that Carlos? You know how much I love Lisa.”

“No, No listen to me. This says it was in Sweden. This Donia that is posting this picture says it was in Sweden, and it was, my friend. I remember her name. I thought she had said Sonia, remember? The two young girls that were waiting for us outside the studio. The same two girls that tried to get us to meet them and go out the last time we went there, but we didn’t. Remember when we met them and the one girl kissed you right on the lips when her friend, probably this Donia, was taking the pictures?”

“Merde!”

“Si that is what I said, Dios Mio!”

Carlos read through the posts that came after the picture and when he went to go to the next page in the thread, it said that the thread was not available. He went back to the Lounge and found a post from one of the Moderators, saying that the thread had been removed and any further postings of the picture or any posts about it would be immediately removed.

“It’s just been removed, Seb. The whole thread is gone now.”

“It’s about time.” Seb said angrily. “I have to go Carlos. Take care of Vicki and Carlito. We’ll let you know what is happening here when we know anything.”

“Si, alright. You take care my friend. I hope that you can straighten this out with Lisa.”

“Yeah me too.” Seb said before he hung up.

What should he do now? Should he try to explain it to her now or wait until they were home? Would she believe him? Well, Carlos had been right there and it is obvious that they are outside in the photo, not tucked away in a hotel room or something. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or more nervous now that he knew the truth behind the photo. And what should he do about it? What could he do?

The damage had been done, most importantly with Lisa but also to him personally by some of the things that had been written there in the thread. Sure, some of them didn’t believe he had done anything wrong but the majority did believe it or at least believed that it was possible because as they said, all men cheat. Well, he hadn’t, not on Lisa anyway and this was making him angry, angrier than he’d been in a very long time. He could have lost his family because of it, he still might if they couldn’t get it sorted out between them.

He ran into David and told him what Carlos had reminded him of. David remembered Seb and Carlos telling them about these girls and them deciding not to go out with them. He also told them that the thread had finally been removed from the forum. They went and sat in the waiting room, waiting for some word on Alex’s progress.

In her room several hours later, Alex was having contractions one right after another. She was checked and found to be fully dilated. The doctor was called in as well as the NICU staff that would take over Aaron’s care as soon as he was born. She was in an immense amount of pain but had refused any medication. She didn’t want to give Aaron anything else to deal with. Any pain medication could slow his heart rate and make him very sleepy, so she was just determined to deal with the pain, knowing the worst of it would be over as soon as he was born.

The doctor barely got into position and he could see the head emerging. Urs was standing on Alex’s left side and Mom was on the right, holding her hands and helping to hold her legs as she pushed her baby out. Dad was sitting as far away as he could possibly be and still be in the room. Lisa and Mami stood a couple of steps back out of the way but where they could see what was happening.

A nurse laid a warm towel on Alex’s belly in preparation to lay Aaron there when he came out.

“Just one more good push, Alex. He’s almost out.” The doctor told her and he was right. She gave it everything she had and pushed as hard and as long as she could and his head was free of the birth canal.

“Don’t push for a second Alex. Let me suction his mouth and nose first…. Okay, now reach down and grab onto him.”

She could feel his slippery little head when she reached down. Urs also reached out and touched the hair on his son’s head. When she was told to give just a long gentle push, she did and Aaron slid out the rest of the way. Alex had gotten her hands up under his arms and had pulled him up onto her chest.

The nurse helped her to rub him and stimulate him, wiping him off at the same time.

“He’s not crying.” Alex said. She was frantic, thinking that they might have gone through all of this just to have Aaron die just as he should be taking his first breaths.

They kept stimulating him, rubbing him hard and the doctor took his thumb and forefinger and thumped Aaron on the bottom of his foot. That did it. He opened his mouth so wide and let out a wail, showing his displeasure of being treated so cruelly.

Everyone in the room let out the breath they had been holding and were either crying or laughing or a little of both at the same time.

“Dad, do you want to cut the cord?” the doctor asked Urs after it had been clamped with two clamps and leaving a space in the middle for it to be cut.

Urs took the scissors and started to cut and realized that the umbilical cord was tougher than it looked. Finally he cut through, separating Aaron from his mother for the first time.

After giving Alex a second to get a look at him and kiss his nose, the nurse took him over to the place they had set up to check him out. He was still crying heartily and they were listening and watching him for any signs that he needed help breathing. They continued to wipe him off and take his Apgar scores, checking his responses to stimuli and his reflexes etc.. Urs had moved over to see what they were doing.

“Is he alright?” Alex asked them, trying to lean over to see what was happening to her son.

“Give us just a minute while we assess him and see how he’s doing.”

“Wow, he’s heavier than we would have expected. He weighs 3 lbs and 13 ounces.”

That still sounded so little to him but if the pediatrician was pleased with that then they should be too, Urs thought.

“And he’s seventeen inches long. I think he would have been a bruiser if he’d gone to full term.” The pediatrician said as he carried Aaron over to Alex. “Here I’ll let you hold him for just a minute since he seems to be doing alright. Then we need to take him to the NICU and give him a thorough going over to check him out. We need to check his sugar too.”

Aaron was carefully placed in her arms for the first time and she pulled him close to her chest and tears of joy began to fall. She buried her face against him, thanking God for getting them this far with Aaron being delivered safely and even breathing on his own .She watched his eyes open and he looked right into her face. She saw the little bubbles of remaining amniotic fluid sitting on his lips.

“Is this alright? He has bubbles coming out of his mouth.”

“He will continue to rid himself of the amniotic fluid that he was breathing before he was born. Within several hours, you won’t see any evidence of it anymore.”

“You’re so beautiful. You’re perfect.” She stroked his little cheek and placed her index finger against his hand and he immediately grasped her finger with a firm grip. “How does his defect look?” She couldn’t see because they had him tightly wrapped in a blanket to keep him warm.

“From the outside he looks great. That is part of what we’ll be checking when we take him. We’ll check his head for hydrocephalus, which I don’t see any sign of at first look and his muscle tone which may not be great yet just because he is early but we will be able to compare him with other thirty one week babies that didn’t have Spina Bifida. So far he looks good, Alex. We’ll come to you and give you a full report in a while.”

When the doctor was almost out the door with Aaron, he stopped and asked Alex if she had planned to nurse him.

“Yes, I wanted to.”

“Well, we’ll have to see if he’s able to suck and if not we can have you pump and we’ll give him your milk through the tube. Just give us a little while and we’ll talk further about that. Get some rest Mama.” He said to her and gave her a wink before he took her son with him.

Alex settled herself back against the pillows exhausted and finally able to relax a bit. She still had her worries about him but, everything seemed to go as well as it could have under the circumstances.

Urs leaned over and kissed her forehead, her nose and then her lips.

“I am so proud of you, Baby. You are so amazing.”

“I was so scared. Urs. I couldn’t stop myself from pushing but at the same time I didn’t want to push him out because he wasn’t supposed to come yet.”

“I know, I was scared too. I think we all were.” He said including everyone in the room.

Just then a nurse popped her head back in asking Urs if he would like to come with them to the nursery.

“You bet I would. Alex, would you mind if I went?”

“Of course not, go ahead and tell him that his Mommy loves him.”

“Alright, I will.”

He kissed her as if they were the only two people in the room and then hurried after the nurse to be with his son.

Mami hugged Alex and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you Alex. He is so beautiful. Thank you for giving me another grandchild and for allowing me to be here to witness his birth. This is the first time for me other than giving birth to my own children.”

“Mine too.” Mom said, her own eyes looking a little misty.

“He looks exactly like Urs did when he was born. All of that hair too. Although, Urs lost all of his for a time before growing that lovely hair he has now.”

Alex’s wide eyes met Mami’s. “Does he really look like Urs, Mami? Are you sure?”

This was the first time in quite a while that anyone even thought about the possibility of Urs not being Aaron’s biological father and Alex felt her heart leap in her chest at Mami’s observation.

“Oh yes, Sweetheart. He looks just like Urs. Just look at his eyes when you see him. He has his eyes, just like Urs’ father. I don’t think there could be any doubt that Urs is Aaron’s father.”

Alex began crying all over again. She had been considering having a paternity test done even though Urs had said as far as he was concerned there was no need, because it didn’t matter to him. Maybe she still would but for now, just hearing the certainty in Mami’s words gave her a measure of comfort that Urs was indeed Aaron’s father. She had prayed so many times for this to be the case. Even though she doubted she would ever see or hear from Joe again, she hoped that she wouldn’t even have to think about him at all. If Aaron was Urs’ child then it would be much easier on them all.

Lisa leaned in to hug and kiss her. “Alex, he is so gorgeous. I’m going to go tell the guys.”

“Okay, I think I am going to fall asleep now. I am a little bit tired.”

“Why, you haven’t done anything.” Lisa said grinning at her friend.

“Oh aren’t you funny. You just wait until it’s your turn and yours probably won’t be only three pounds either.”

Lisa’s grin kind of fell when she thought about the pain Alex had been in and that Alex was right. Her baby would hopefully be full term and therefore several pounds bigger. It made her hurt just thinking about it.

“I’ll see you later. Get some sleep.”

Mom, Dad and Mami told Alex that they were going to get some coffee in the hospital cafeteria. That way Alex would have the room to herself so she could get some rest.

Lisa headed straight for the waiting room to tell the guys the good news, that Aaron was born and seemed to be doing very well.

“We saw him. David was standing in the hall when the doctor passed by and he asked if it was Aaron. So we both got to take a quick peek and took some pictures with our phones. He’s so little.” Seb said.

“He’s small.” she told them but also told them what the doctor had said and that he seemed pleased with how Aaron looked.

David went to the cafeteria to join the others for a coffee, leaving Lisa and Seb totally alone for the first time since their talk earlier.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come back out but things started happening very quickly in there. One minute she was still just having contractions lying back in the bed, the next minute they had her all set up and Aaron’s head started coming out.”

“It’s alright. How are you? You look tired.”

“I am. I guess we’ll go say goodbye if you’re ready and we can go home.”

They waited for the others to come back and said goodbye to them. David gave Seb an extra pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic look when Lisa had her back turned, throwing empty coffee cups in the trash.

Seb knocked lightly on the door to Alex’s room and Urs came and opened it.
Mom, Dad and Mami were sitting in the chairs and Urs stretched back out along side of Alex.

“Hi you.” Seb said to Alex, giving her a tight squeeze.

“Hi.”

“He’s beautiful, Alex. How are you doing?” Seb asked her.

“I’m good, just really tired now but, I don’t want to fall totally asleep until they come back and tell me that he’s okay.”

“Why don’t you close your eyes and rest then and we’ll wake you when someone comes in?” Mom said.

“Well….Alright, if you promise to wake me up.”

“I will.” Urs told her.

“Okay then.” She said and before two minutes were up, Alex had fallen asleep, even with people talking around her.

“We’re going to go. Lisa needs to get some rest too. We’ll come back to visit later after we’ve slept if Mary can stay.” He said, since it was already almost morning.

“Tell her thank you for staying so you could be here with us.” Urs asked them.

“We will.” Lisa told him.

Seb told Lisa to wait for him at the hospital entrance and he went to get the car. It left them both time to think about the night before and what was to come now. Lisa was nervous getting in the car. She was so tired and didn’t want to talk about it anymore and hoped that Seb wouldn’t bring it up right now. Seb was debating whether or not to tell her what he knew now that he had spoken to Carlos. He decided to wait and let them both get some rest first. They could talk later.

They went into the house as quiet as possible. It wasn’t even light out yet but Mary heard them and tiptoed out of Kayti’s room to see if everything was alright.

“She’s fine and Aaron seems okay too. They’ll have a full report later today on his condition.”

“That’s wonderful. Why don’t the two of you go next door and get some sleep. I’ll stay and take care of the children today. You both must be exhausted.”

“We are and thank you Mary. Urs said to thank you too for staying so we could be there for them.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

Seb and Lisa grabbed a few things to take with them and went out to cross the yard. He could feel Lisa’s hesitation as they entered the house. When they got to the bottom of the staircase she had slowed down considerably.

“Do you want me to sleep down here on the sofa? I will if it will make you more comfortable.”

When she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with tears.

“No, I don’t want you to sleep down here.”

He turned in front of her and ran his palms up and down her arms. “I know we have a lot to talk about but, we do need some sleep. Let’s go up and put everything else aside for now…. Is that okay?”

She just nodded and they went up the stairs. Seb kept his arm around her waist and she didn’t seem to mind.

They entered the bedroom and she just sat on the side of the bed letting out a big sigh. They hadn’t been to sleep in almost twenty four hours and had put on that big party. He knew she must be wiped out. He kneeled down in front of her and slipped her sandals off and gently massaged her feet.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know your feet are probably very sore and you have told me how much better you sleep after I rub your feet. So, unless you want me to stop, I’m going to massage your feet.”

She tried to stifle the yawn but it came out followed by several more.

“Stand up.” He said taking her hand. Then he lifted back the covers and guided her to sit back down. “Lie back and relax.”

She did and he lifted her legs and laid them on his lap, continuing the massage.

“I love you Baby.” He said and looked at her face and she had begun to cry again. He lifted her legs and slipped out from under them. He turned and sat beside her on the bed and stroked her hair away from her face. “Come here.”

He pulled her into his arms and wrapped them around her, stroking her back. Her cheek was pressed against his chest. He could feel her tears wetting his shirt but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except for them fixing this and getting back to how it was yesterday morning before that damned picture screwed everything up.

“Baby, I know where the picture came from. Carlos reminded me earlier about some girls we met in Sweden. They were very young and didn’t respect our boundaries. One of them took some pictures and then the other one did and when the second one took some pictures of us, the one standing with me turned very fast and stood up on her toes and kissed me on the lips. I made her stop right away and Carlos and I asked the other girl to please delete the picture. We took her word that she had deleted it. I know now that she didn’t. I saw the picture and I am sure that is where it was from. I don’t know yet what I can do about it. But I will be making some calls later on this afternoon.”

He waited for her to say something, hoping she would believe what he told her. She didn’t say anything, nothing at all. “Baby? Please say something. Just tell me that you believe me.”

Chapter 124:

Suddenly he realized why she wasn’t answering him. She was sound asleep. He hugged her tight against him, kissed her hair and gently laid her back against the pillows. She had on a sun dress that buttoned down the front and at the shoulders so he decided to unbutton it so she could sleep comfortably. He released the buttons and then gently rolled her to her side and slid the dress out from under her.

While they usually slept in the nude, he wasn’t sure how Lisa would feel if he removed her bra and panties so he didn’t. He just covered her up and went around to his side and got in beside her. As he was getting comfortable she slid over in her sleep and laid her arm over his chest. He took a chance and slid his arm up under her and pulled her close to him and she lifted her head and laid it on his shoulder, just like she did every other night.

He smiled and even though he knew that she was unaware right now, he felt that they would be able to straighten things out and put this behind them for good. He kissed her brow and closed his eyes, falling asleep in just a couple of minutes.

When Lisa woke up, she had to rub the sleep from her eyes and look at her watch to see what time it was. “Seven o’clock!” she squealed. She had slept the whole day away. She didn’t even remember falling asleep. The bed was empty beside her. She wasn’t even sure if he had slept with her. As she stood up and stretched, she saw the note lying on the bedside table, held down by a single red rose that had probably been cut from the large rose bush growing on the side of the guest house.

“Good morning Baby. Or evening I guess I should say. It is now just after four o’clock and I’ve just gotten up, had a shower and I’m heading over to see if I can help Mary with the kids. We’ll go back to the hospital whenever you’re ready.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
Seb XOXOXOXOXO

She smiled at his constant use of the X’s and O’s. A lot of people would say that anyone using them was immature, But Seb said he like to say I love you and give Hugs and Kisses in every way and as often as possible.

Lisa went to the guest house after taking a quick shower. She was really hungry. She stopped to think of the last time she had eaten. She had not had anything since she was picking at the last of the veggie tray while they were cleaning up from Sammy’s birthday party over twenty four hours ago. She had been offered a snack while they were at the hospital but she had been too sick to her stomach to eat anything then.

“Hi Mommy”

“Mama!”

Both of the children ran to her and wrapped themselves around her legs making her a bit wobbly. Her sugar must really be low, she thought.

“Alright you two. Let Mommy get in the door.” Seb told them. “Are you alright Baby?” he asked reaching out to steady her.

“I need to eat. I feel really light headed.”

Seb immediately made her sit down and he told the children to go play and they would get their bedtime stories in a few minutes. Mary came quickly with a plate that she had already fixed and had just needed to heat up. They had eaten spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. On the side was a generous slice of fresh garlic bread. Mary came back with a small bowl of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a large glass of lemonade.

“Thank you so much Mary. This tastes wonderful. I probably could have eaten shoe leather as hungry as I am but this is fantastic.”

“Were you wanting to go to the hospital tonight?” Seb asked her.

“Sure, did you? Have you heard anything?”

“I talked to Urs just for a minute earlier to make sure it was okay to come up tonight.”

“So he didn’t say anything about Aaron?”

“No Baby I’m sorry. All he said was that they were both sleeping.”

“I guess no news is good news then.”

He didn’t tell her but, he had mostly spoken to Urs about his phone call to Sony to discuss the photo and the thread that had almost ruined his marriage. They promised to make sure that if the picture was posted again or any other posts about it, they would pull them immediately. He had discussed with Urs his thoughts of posting a message but still hadn’t made up his mind yet.

Lisa spent some time with the children after she ate, reading them their stories and tucking them in. She told them about little Aaron that had been born but that he would probably have to stay in the hospital for a while until he got a little bigger.

“He’ll have a fun time there. He can have popsicles just like I did when I was in the hostible.” Sammy said obviously having forgotten the pain he’d been in.

Lisa laughed out loud and Kayti laughed too, not knowing what she was laughing at.

“I think Aaron will have to get a lot bigger before he can eat popsicles. He’s smaller than Lauren, Baby.”

“Oh then it might not be a very lot of fun at the hostible.” Sammy said seriously.

Lisa saw Seb at the door to Sammy’s room grinning as he listened to the conversation. She couldn’t help but grin back at him.

“Goodnight Sweetheart. I love you.”

“Love you too Mommy” he said hugging her neck really tight.

Seb stepped in and got his hug too. He made sure that Sammy had Bob before they left the room. Then they went to Kayti’s room and tucked her in. Her eyes were already closing as they kissed her goodnight.

“We played in the pool for a while this afternoon.” Seb said in explanation. It always made them extra sleepy when they had been swimming.

They hugged Mary and left to go see Alex and Aaron.

“It’s so late. I would have liked to have brought something for him. I guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow.” Lisa said as they got into the car.

“They’ll understand. You needed that rest, Baby.”

“I must have, I never sleep that long. Thank you for letting me rest.”

“I know this is the last thing you probably want to think about, never mind talk about but, I need to tell you something before we go in.” Seb said as they sat in the hospital parking lot. He watched her face change. She knew what the subject would be and he knew she wouldn’t want to bring it up now but he needed to get this out. He repeated what he had tried to tell her this morning and he watched her expressions for any clues to how she felt and what she was thinking.

“Why do you think they posted it?” she asked him.

“Probably because this last time we were there, we got a note from them asking us to go out to the clubs with them and we turned them down. Carlos and I had already told the other two about our encounter with them and we all decided it would be smarter not to go. Then again they may have just posted it to get attention from the other Divas. They were pretty young, maybe just about twenty or so. They may not have realized how much trouble it would cause.”

“You are being too kind about this. Of course they knew and they probably got the very reaction they were hoping for, trying to break us up because they are jealous.” Lisa said sounding angrier than he had ever heard her.

“I know Baby. You’re right.” I’m not sure what we can do about it. They‘ve deleted the thread but it may not stop them from reposting it somewhere.”

“I guess I need to get used to things like this huh?”

“I wish I could say no, Baby.”

Lisa became very quiet and was looking away from him, staring at something out her window. He slid his hand down her arm.

“I love you, Lisa. Please don’t ever doubt that again.”

The sobbing started again and she buried her face in her hands. “Can you ever forgive me for doubting you? I was awful. I never even gave you a chance to talk to me about it and get it straightened out. I just assumed it was real. I’m so sorry.” She said sounding muffled through her hands.

“Come here, Baby. It’s over, alright? Of course I forgive you. I love you so much and I understand that it was a shock for you to see that and then read the posts that were written. I am trying to decide if I should post a message or not. I’m not sure what I would write if I did.” She turned into his open arms and they just sat there holding each other for several minutes.

“Come on let’s go visit for a bit and then get home and get some sleep. I still feel like I’m jetlagged after not sleeping all night last night.” He said getting out and coming around, smiling when he saw that she was waiting for him to open her door for her. He would take care of the forum fallout after this mess but he hoped that the problem was over for him and Lisa.

She stepped out of the car and directly into his open arms wrapping herself up in his loving embrace. She felt very guilty and hoped that he really could forgive her.

When Seb and Lisa returned from the hospital that night Mary suggested that if some of the guys could help to get her things moved tomorrow that she would just get moved in so she would be available to them at a moments notice. They thought it was a fabulous idea and first thing in the morning, they met with Drew, rounded up a few of the guys that could be spared for a few hours to go to Mary’s.

She had gotten up early and started packing the small amount of things she hadn’t already packed. The guys loaded her bedroom set into the pick up trucks and made a trip to the house and then made one more trip back to pick up the remaining boxes. Seb told Mary not to worry about cleaning her house to get it ready for the closing. He would have the same cleaning crew go in and do it, freeing her up to be at their house.

By lunchtime, Mary was moved in. Her bedroom suit was all in her room. All she had left to do was finish unpacking her boxes whenever she felt like it.

“I feel privileged to be the first to move in here.” Mary said as she and Lisa fixed some lunch for everyone. “Isn’t Alex coming home today?”

“Yes she is and she is really upset at having to leave without Aaron. She understands that he needs to stay for a few weeks but she is going to have a hard time today.”

“I had to leave the hospital without Samantha. It was tough. But it will pass quickly. Now she won’t have to be on bed rest or limited activity, she will be able to go visit him as much as she wants to.”

“He’s doing great though. He’s breathing totally on his own, they said there is absolutely no sign of Hydrocephalus and I saw where they fixed his defect and it doesn’t look too bad. They said they could go back and make the scar less noticeable but Alex said it was fine the way it was. She doesn’t want him to have any more pain than necessary. The only thing he has to do before he can come home is gain weight and keep his own temperature up.”

“I can’t wait to see him. The pictures you took were gorgeous but I am dying to hold him.”

“Me first.” Lisa said laughing.

“Here we are Querida. You can open your eyes now.” Carlos said holding her shoulders from behind.

Vicki opened her eyes and scanned the room. “What is this place, Carlos?”

“I bought it so we would have a place to be when we are here. Our son needs some stability, some familiarity when we travel. Come and see the rest.”

He gave her the grand tour, saving the best part for last. When he opened the door, she stood there with her mouth hanging open.



“Carlos…this is…this is amazing. It’s perfect. I love it.”

He had fully equipped the nursery thanks to Lisa and Alex’s help, making sure he had everything they could possibly need except for diapers and food. The rest of the condo was furnished and had the bare necessities. He had decided to leave the rest so Vicki could decorate it as she wanted it. Carlos had thought of everything. He’d even gotten them an infant car seat to keep here for use in the rental car.

Vicki laid Carlito on the changing table and Carlos brought her his bag so she could change his diaper. She changed his outfit too. She had dressed him warm enough so he wouldn’t get a chill if it was cold on the plane. Now she put one of the little sleeveless outfits on that made him look like a soccer player, complete with socks and tiny cloth sneakers.

She got comfortable in the rocking chair and proceeded to feed him. She found that she enjoyed this part of her time with the baby much more than she could ever have imagined. During her pregnancy she had almost decided to bottle feed him so that anyone could feed him when she was busy but she had read so much about how beneficial it was for the baby to be nursed that she changed her mind and now she was very glad that she had. The time she spent nursing him had created a bond between them that she felt she never would have had if she had decided to go with bottle feeding. She knew she had never felt this close to another human being, not even Carlos. Plus she felt good knowing that she was doing what was best for her baby in helping to build up his immunities through her milk.

Carlos brought her a drink as he always did when she was nursing the baby. The doctor had said to drink lots of extra fluids if she was going to nurse him so that had become an easy way to remember to drink, if she drank a glass of something while he ate.

She lifted him to her shoulder and gently patted his back to help any bubbles escape from his belly. He had already had one time when he had a gas bubble that made him cry until they figured out what the problem was and helped him get rid of it. Now she made sure he burped before moving him to her other breast and then again after he was finished. He let out a burp that made Carlos puff out his chest in pride at the manly sound that had escaped from his tiny son. Vicki laughed and shook her head. This man was going to be impossible. His son would learn all of the things that Carlos had to teach him whether she liked it or not.

She settled the baby at her other breast and rocked him gently as she hummed to him. His eyes that had been closed, opened and locked with hers as he sucked. He was such an easy baby and the little bit that he did get fussy, either she or Carlos would sing to him and most of the time it settled him down or even helped him fall asleep.

After she fed the baby, she rushed them out the door so they could go to Seb and Lisa’s. Then they would call and see if Alex and Urs were home for a visit. As tired as she was from the almost twenty hours of travel, she was too keyed up to sleep. She had gotten several hours of sleep on the flights and now she was just excited to see everyone and show off the newest Marin.

It was now Monday afternoon and almost forty eight hours since the whole picture thing had come out. Lisa and Seb were speaking and on the surface it seemed to be over but Lisa couldn’t move past it. It wasn’t because she didn’t believe him, she did. It was her part in it that she couldn’t let go of and she kept wondering if he really did forgive her for her reaction and the way she had treated him.

They had gone to bed after visiting at the hospital last night and it had been rather awkward to her. He didn’t even attempt to make love to her. He did kiss her goodnight and he told her that he loved her but she felt a distance between them. Maybe it was all in her imagination. He had said tthey needed to get some sleep. It was going to be a really busy week with all of the preparations to finish moving, which was the truth. Today he had seemed fine and really happy that they were getting Mary moved in. That would be one less thing to do on the weekend when they would be moving the last of their own things from the guest house. It was when they were alone that she felt the awkwardness. He didn’t seem to feel it. If he did he hadn’t said anything.

As she looked out at Seb putting away some of the children’s toys she thought about how much he loved to play with the children out in the yard. It always made her smile to watch them all together. He gave so freely of himself and his love showed so plainly. How could she have doubted him for even one second? Her guilt was eating her up inside. She began to cry and turned to go back into the house so no one would see her.

Seb turned as he heard the car pulling into the driveway. He had just finished helping Mary reposition her dresser and was now heading back to see what Lisa needed him to do. He couldn’t see who was in the car because of the tinting on the windows. When the driver’s door opened and he saw Carlos he hurried over.

“What on earth are you doing here?”

“We had to come. Vicki and I both decided we needed to come for Urs and Alex and also for you and Lisa. We were concerned.”

“Alex and Aaron are alright and I think we’re okay. It’s still a bit awkward but we’ll be fine. It was just very painful for that couple of days. But I’m glad you’re here.” He said giving his friend a hug and then he headed for Vicki’s door, which he opened and took her hand to help her out.

“And how are you, Mama?” Seb said winking at her.

“I am fine. I feel great and Carlito is wonderful. We are enjoying him so much. We couldn’t wait for everyone to see him.” She turned to open the back door and started unbuckling Carlito from his seat.

“Lisa is in here I think and Mary is upstairs over there. We got her moved in this morning.” Seb said pointing to the different locations. Sammy and Kayti are at school. I’ll be getting them later. They’ll be so excited to see both of you.”

“Yeah quite a switch from the first time Sammy and I met, I’m happy to say.” Carlos said.

“Sebastien, meet Juan Carlos Marin.” Vicki said and handed him the baby, making sure that Seb was holding his head correctly before she let go completely.

Seb stared down into the tiny face. Lauren had been really small when they got her but Carlito was so little, well, not quite as little as Aaron. It surprised him that he could actually see the difference in the babies.

“It won’t be long before you’ll be holding your own baby, will it?”

“No, almost three months from now.”

“So how early was Aaron anyway?” Vicki asked him.

“Nine weeks.”

“He must be so little.”

“He’s almost four pounds. Or he was when he was born. He’s lost several ounces but they said that is normal for a baby to lose right after birth and he should gain them right back.”

“I’m going to go inside and see Lisa. You two behave out here.” She said chuckling as she took Carlito from Seb and walked away.

“Who us? We always behave.” Carlos said to her.

“Yeah right. You forget, I know you better than you know yourself Carlos Marin.”

Carlos couldn’t even say anything as a comeback as he and Seb stood there laughing. She was right.

Vicki climbed the steps and was just about to knock on the screen door when she heard the crying. She didn’t knock. She just went on in and listened to hear where it was coming from and then turned into the master bedroom.

Lisa looked up when she heard the footsteps and felt a mixture of happiness at seeing Vicki and horror and being caught in this state.

Vicki laid the baby down on the bed behind Lisa and pulled her into her arms and rocked her as she cried all over again.

“I’m so sorry that you had to see me like this.”

“Don’t you worry about it. I know all about that stupid picture. Are you and Seb still arguing?”

Lisa should have been embarrassed at her friend knowing about their argument but she wasn’t. She was glad that Vicki was here. She knew all about this business and the pitfalls that come because of it.

“How do you do it, Vicki. You’ve dealt with this for a long time. How do you deal with all of the women trying to hang all over your husband all of the time. I thought I could handle it but at the first sign of trouble, I turned on Seb and treated him very unfairly without giving him a chance to explain.”

“Don’t forget, Carlos has had to deal with the same type of things. Men have come up to me and think because I am a public figure that they have the right to touch me and sometimes it is in a much too familiar way and it makes me uncomfortable. My security team is around a lot of the time to dispense with those types but there have been times when I have been out alone or with friends and it happens and I have to deal with it alone. So he knows how it feels to have it happen and he is very careful when he deals with the fans. I know his flirting may seem like he is trying to entice women but he is harmless and I trust him completely.”

“I thought I trusted Seb completely too but look how I behaved when the picture showed up.”

“Has he said he was angry at you for that?”

“No, I asked him if he forgave me and he said he did.”

“Then it sounds like it is you that needs to do the forgiving.”

“But he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I mean the forgiving of yourself. Now dry your tears and meet my son.” Vicki said trying to cheer her friend up.

As Vicki placed the baby in her arms, Lisa couldn’t help but see that Vicki was right. She was going to have to forgive herself and move on from this. If Seb could forgive her then she had no reason to hold onto this and be miserable. It would only cause more tension between them.

The girls were each examining the two babies. Lauren had woken up when she heard Carlito cry. Vicki was tickling Lauren and was noticing all of the differences in her over Carlito. Lisa went and got her camera took several pictures of them together.

“They change so much in just a few months, don’t they?” Vicki said.

“It’s incredible how much they change and what they learn every month when they are this little. It seems like every day Lauren is doing something new.

“Just think, in a few months, there will be four little ones once Aaron comes home and your baby is born.”

“Jessica. Her name is going to be Jessica Marie.”

“Oh that is beautiful.”

The chime on the door sounded and Lisa reached up and wiped her face to make sure there were no more tears sitting on her cheeks. She didn’t want Seb to know that she’d been crying again.

Chapter 125:

Urs came out of the bathroom with a towel thrown over the top of his head and one hand was vigorously rubbing some of the water from his hair since he’d just taken his shower. He saw Alex standing in front of the large windows, staring at the bustling world outside. He couldn’t see her face but knew she was crying by the slight shake of her shoulders. He tossed the towel onto a chair and stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She fell back against him and the flood of tears fell in a torrent down her face and onto their arms that were intermingled against her chest.. Urs turned her in his arms and drew her against him, stroking her back and her long hair, whispering words of love and comfort. But he knew that it was going to be very difficult to effectively comfort her today.

All she wanted was to bring their baby home with them and as much as she knew and understood the need for him to stay here until he was big enough and strong enough, it didn’t lessen the ache in her heart at the thought of walking out of here today without him.

They stepped apart and Alex turned around to wipe her tears away when the nurse came in with her discharge papers. Nothing was said about Alex’s tears until all of the papers were signed and the nurse told Alex that she was free to go.

“Ms. Huggins, I know it is hard to think of leaving your son here but, it really is necessary and the best thing for him. They will take excellent care of him in the NICU and you know you can come to be with him whenever you want to, even if it is the middle of the night. The babies’ parents have no set visiting hours. You can come and go as you please.”

“I know it’s just that he’s been a part of me for all of these months and now…. now it is so hard. I don’t want him to be alone. I am so afraid of something happening to him and I won’t be here.”

“They would call you at the slightest change in his condition but from everything I’ve heard, he is doing wonderfully. He’s a beautiful baby.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, you are free to go, so go spend some time with him and then get yourself some rest. He will come home when he is ready and you will be thankful for every bit of sleep you are able to get.”

Alex nodded and the nurse collected the hospital’s copies of the paperwork before leaving Alex to get ready to leave.

“Why don’t you go take your shower and I’ll begin loading the car with some of these flowers and balloons and then we’ll go and spend as long as you want with Aaron.” He said and ran the back of his hand slowly down her cheek.

“Alright. I want to bring him this little teddy bear you brought him. The nurse said we could put it in his isolette with him.”

Thirty minutes later, Alex had showered and dressed and her hospital room was emptied of all of her belongings and they walked down the hall to the NICU together.

As was the normal procedure, they called on the phone that hung just outside the NICU door and requested entry into the secure area. A moment later they heard the buzz that alerted them to the fact that the door was now unlocked for just a few seconds so they could enter. They went to his area and thoroughly washed their hands in one of the many little sinks that were scattered around.

As they approached his isolette, his nurse approached them.

“Hi, he’s doing fantastic today. He’s gained over an ounce in the last twenty four hours. As long as he’s gaining and not losing now, and continues to eat as well as he is, over time he will become able to maintain his own body temperature.

They sat and watched him sleep, occasionally reaching in the isolette and touching his warm skin.

The nurses had shown them that the babies liked to have a firm touch to their skin rather than a stroking motion. When a baby was restless, a firm pressure to their back or chest by someone’s hand, usually helped to calm them.

Urs and Alex took turns holding him when the nurse said they could hold him for a few minutes. Preemies needed to be let to rest undisturbed for the most part but the nurses knew that it was crucial for the parents, especially the mother’s to be able to bond with their babies as soon and as much as possible. They had seen instances where the mothers failed to bond with a preemie and the results were not usually very good.

The nurse had seen Alex’s torment as she had seen it many times before. Mothers that had to leave their babies in the hospital when they had been discharged always had a rough time, at least at first. Like most families, they would fall into a daily routine of coming and spending time with their child and see that the infant was progressing.

This baby would go home, the nurse thought. He was a fighter. He had already struggled through so much. She could also see that this baby was very much loved already and would have a good life once he was allowed to go home in a couple of months.

The nurse allowed Alex to change Aaron’s diaper for the first time. She could see that Alex knew what she was doing but still looked a bit nervous handling the tiny boy.

“I’ve been learning how to change diapers the last year but never on one so little.” Alex told her.

“You’re doing just fine.” The nurse assured her.

After Alex nursed him, Aaron had been placed back in his isolette and was resting comfortably. They visited for almost two hours before Urs suggested that they go home, get something to eat, get a nap and then come back later this evening to visit again. She reluctantly agreed although he could see she wasn’t happy about it.

Urs reached in and placed his large hand on his son’s back, feeling the boy’s heartbeat and the gentle rise and fall of his back as he breathed on his own.

“Rest well, my son. Mommy and I will return in just a little while. Be good for the nurses. I love you.” He said softly before stepping back out of the way so Alex could get close to him.

“Mommy loves you too, Aaron. I will be back very soon but I will miss you every second.” She kissed the tips of her fingers and touched his cheek then wiped the tears off of her own.

Urs took her hand and gently led her out of the nursery.

*
It wasn’t Seb that entered the bedroom, to join Lisa and Vicki. It was Alex and it was obvious that she had been crying too. They all came together in sort of a group hug. Lisa knew that Alex was upset at having to leave Aaron at the hospital.

When they broke apart several moments later, Alex said, “Hi” with a mixture of a grin and the shiny tear filled eyes.

“Hi” Lisa and Vicki said back to her and they all started laughing.

Alex immediately went and picked up Carlito gushing over him.

“Oh Vicki, he is gorgeous, and look at all of that hair. We noticed in the pictures Carlos sent that he has his own little Fernando Jr. going on up here.”

“Yeah, Carlos always gives it a little tug to make it hang down, just like his.” She said rolling her eyes and grinning.

Lisa invited them all to stay for dinner and when Alex said that they would have to go eat and get back so she could feed Aaron at the hospital, Lisa told her that they would get something quick for dinner so they could get back soon. This way Urs and Alex wouldn’t have to cook.

Lisa asked Seb to go pick up the children at school so she could begin getting dinner. He came in and kissed her before grabbing the keys to the truck. He was taking the guys with him.

She pulled him aside out of earshot of the others.

“Seb…I Love you. I love you very much.”

“I know you do Baby and I love you. Please try to let it go. I know you are still upset about the whole thing but please just let it go.” He said and stroked her cheek.

“I’m trying.” She said giving him a genuine smile, the first since Saturday night and a kiss and sent him on his way.

Once dinner was well on its way to being ready, Alex grabbed Lisa’s arm and told her that she wanted to finally go see the completed house. She’d seen most of the downstairs but hadn’t been able to climb the large staircase since being put on restrictions.

Mary told them to go. She would keep an eye on dinner and the babies who were both napping.

The three girls crossed the yard, Lisa and Vicki slowing up a bit when they realized they were going a bit too fast for Alex. She was still tired and a little sore.

“You are looking great Vicki. It hasn’t even been three weeks since you had Carlito and to travel such a long way so soon.” Alex commented.

“Thanks, but there’s still quite a few kilos hiding under here that I am going to have to lose.” She said, patting her almost nonexistent belly.

Lisa and Alex knew that Vicki would have her pre pregnancy body back in short order. She had so much energy and was always on the move and now with the baby to care for on top of everything else, she was sure to lose any extra weight. Although neither of the other girls thought she had near the amount of weight to lose that Vicki obviously thought she did. She actually looked good with the few extra pounds on her small frame and filling out her face a bit. But they knew that she would never believe it.

Lisa gave the official tour of the house, starting on the bottom floor, because Vicki hadn’t seen the progress for several months. They entered each room and especially in rooms like the craft room, Vicki and Alex got as excited as Lisa was about the children having access to so many fun and educational things to occupy them.

The computer room was only half finished. They were waiting for the shipment of the four new computers that would be spread out. The young children would only have a few preschool games and programmes such as the paint program to use on the computer and then as they grew and were learning to read, they would add other programmes for them to access. The two new computers for the office would also be in that shipment. Lisa’s computer was very slow compared to the new ones and they decided to start fresh with the newest technology. Seb still had his laptop that he used and carried with him when he went away.

They paused and saw both the media room that included the large flat screen TV as well as the rest of the home theater system, then at the playroom that was already being used. The toys were already scattered and you could see some of Sammy’s matchbox cars in Kayti’s kitchen sink and one of Kayti’s dolls was sitting in the middle of Sammy’s train platform. The dress up corner was also being used. Several outfits were laying on the bean bag chairs from their play yesterday.

They stopped in the kitchen for a drink and so Vicki could see all of the new appliances that had been installed since she’d been here. She loved Drew’s island and the hanging rack.

They headed up the stairs and stopped at each room, just looking briefly into the rooms that were completed as far as the renovations but weren’t going to be occupied yet so were not painted with their final colors yet. They also passed by Mary’s door. Lisa told them that it was her room but she wouldn’t open Mary’s closed bedroom door without permission. That was her own private place. She had already explained that to the children to always knock and ask permission to enter another person’s bedroom, especially if the door was closed.

Alex was thrilled with the outcome of Carla’s murals in all three of the children’s bedrooms.

They came out of the nursery after seeing Lauren’s crib and the wonderful Secret Garden motif. Everything was blended so well together. It wasn’t only green. Carla had added enough flowers of different colors and light shining through the trees that when you sat in the rocking chair it made you feel as if you were actually sitting in that very garden.

They toured the master bedroom and stepped out on the small balcony just in time to see the Escalade pulling into the driveway followed shortly after by David in his rental car.

“The gang’s all here, well almost.” Vicki said.

“Yeah it’s too bad Grace wasn’t here too.” Lisa said.

“She promised that she has her schedule cleared for the Grand opening party though. You will be able to come, won’t you Vicki?”

“Actually, since we weren’t going to be travelling here yet, just recuperating from the birth and getting adjusted at home with the baby, I think I’ll tell Carlos that I want to stay right at the condo for a couple of months. There’s no sense in us flying home to do what we could be doing here and then I can also be of some help if you need anything in getting ready for the party.”

“Oh yeah. Do you like it, at the condo I mean?” Alex asked her.

“It is wonderful and thank you for all you both did in helping Carlos. It was such an amazing surprise. It will be nice to have our own place to come to when we are here. Carlito will have some place familiar to him.”

Kayti noticed her Mama up on the balcony looking down at them and ran for the steps.

“Wait there, Kayti. Mama’s coming right down.”

Sammy was enjoying a ride on Tio Carlos’s shoulders as they headed into the house.

“See Mommy, I’m very high up here.” He said and waved to her.

“I see you. You just hold on tight, okay.”

As they made their way out the door, Vicki had already gone over to Carlos and was saying hello to Sammy. Alex placed her hand on Lisa’s arm to stop her.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Are you and Seb okay. I think Urs was upset that he’d let it slip. I had to try not to be mad at all of you for keeping it from me but I do understand that you were worried about me and Aaron. I’m fine now and Aaron is doing well so I want you to talk to me, okay?”

“Did he tell you all about it?”

“Yes after he’d slipped about there being a problem. I made him tell me so don’t be mad at him okay?”

“I’m not mad at him. And yes, I think Seb and I are fine. I just feel so stupid and very guilty. I treated him terribly, Alex. I don’t know how he could forgive the way I acted but he says he has.”

“I hope things will be okay between you. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been me seeing a picture of Urs like that but now we’ll have to try to talk to them about the things we see or read on the forum. We already do a lot but something like that could have ended the wonderful relationship you and Seb have. That would have been a tragedy.”

Dinner was ready to be placed on the table and everyone got seated and served their plates.

Seb stood, his wine glass in his hand.

“I’d like to say a few words. First, Carlos and Vicki, I am so glad you made the long trip here and with a beautiful new addition with you. I know I’ll be locking my girls up in a few years with Carlos as his father, I’m sure he’ll be learning how to charm the ladies quite young.”

Carlos put his large hand on his chest and looking wounded, said “Who me?” making everyone laugh.

“Urs and Alex, I’m also glad that you are here. Alex I am so happy that Aaron’s birth went well. We were so worried about the both of you. We can’t wait until he is home so that we can enjoy him along with our own children.

Mary, Welcome home. We couldn’t have found anyone better to become such an important part of our family. We hope that you are as happy to be here as we are to have you.

And to my beautiful Lisa. This has been a rough week. I can’t say that things like this won’t happen again but I just want to tell you again that I love you more than life itself.

And now that I have made everyone cry… Let’s eat.” He said with a bit of a chuckle, raising his glass and taking a sip of his wine.

Everyone started laughing when Kayti raised her sippy cup, copying Seb before she took a drink.

By the weekend, everything that wasn’t being used every day had been moved to the main house, leaving only the bedroom furniture from Sammy’s room, the daybed and toddler bed from Kayti’s room, the last of their clothes and personal effects to move on Saturday when the work crew wasn’t there. The crew only had some last minute clean up left to do in the yard of the remaining construction materials, and those they were just moving to the area where they’d be starting to work on the music building when Drew came back from his holiday.

The few guys that Seb had asked to come help, showed up bright and early Saturday morning and were welcomed to a big breakfast cooked by Mary and Lisa and they ate in the new kitchen before heading across the yard.

It only took a couple of hours to clear out the guest house of everything that wasn’t staying and Lisa made one last pass through to make sure nothing had been left that was supposed to go over.

The bedroom set stayed in the master bedroom and she stripped the sheets off of the bed and threw them into the washer along with all of the dirty towels hanging in the two bathrooms. The bathrooms were now totally empty as were Sammy’s and Kayti’s rooms.

The kitchen still had all of the items that Lisa had brought with her from Auntie’s house and had bought since moving in unless it was something special of Auntie’s that she wanted to keep and the laundry room still had the washing machine and dryer. A new pair of extra large, commercial grade appliances had been installed in the new laundry area. The living room still had the entertainment center including the television, DVD player and stereo system. The new family room had the whole home theater system with surround sound. Everything was hooked up and functional.

She stood in the doorway of the guest house when she was satisfied she hadn’t missed anything. She looked around and remembered what it looked like the day she first came when the neighborhood kids had been using it as a clubhouse. That day, she had had trouble imagining it being able to be lived in, but it had really turned into a home and as excited as she was to finally move into the main house, she felt a small sadness at leaving this little house. This had been her first home of her own and the first house that she had lived with Kayti after Alex’s apartment, Sammy’s first Christmas with them, not to mention that this was where she and Seb had first lived together. It would always hold a special place in her heart. She brushed the tear off her cheek as she turned to go down the steps and saw Seb watching her. He met her at the bottom of the steps and she walked into his arms.

“Stupid hormones.” she said trying to downplay her emotional state.

“You don’t have to hide it from me baby. I loved this place too. It was our first home together. No matter how great it is over there, this will always be the house where we became man and wife and a family. Nothing can be more special than that, no matter how grand it is.”

He hugged her tight and then they headed for their new home together.

Chapter 126:

They decided that since they had finished everything but a little unpacking several hours before dinner time that they would just relax and sit outside at the pool. The guys who helped move were invited to jump in and cool off. Some did stay for a bit and a couple said they wanted to get home early. Soon all of them had left except for Jim who had been invited to stay for dinner.

As they lounged beside the pool watching Sammy and Kayti playing in the small pool that they had moved over into the fenced pool area, they discussed what would be happening over the next week.

“Well, if I have a vote, I say we do nothing. We have been so busy for months now getting ready for today. We’re done now except for getting unpacked and organized and we can do that a little at a time. There really isn’t that much. We, especially you Baby have earned a break. I was thinking that we should go to Busch Gardens one day next week.”

“Seb that is a great idea. I’ve wanted to take Sammy and Kayti there but we have been too busy. Mary, I know that you said you don’t care for that kind of thing since your knees have been hurting. Would you keep Lauren for the day if we go?”

“Sure, you go ahead. Lauren and I will have our own fun day.”

“Jim, would you come with us?”

“Oh I don’t know. It sounds like a family day to me. You should go alone.”

“I’m sure David will come if he’s still in town when we go and maybe even Vicki and Carlos would come. We would love it if you would join us.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“We are sure, so it’s settled.” Seb told him.

That evening as they ate dinner, they explained to Sammy and Kayti that they now lived here in this house.

“Are we going to sleep in our new rooms too, Mommy?”

“Yes we are sweetheart. After dinner we will go upstairs. We saved the surprises for after dinner.”

They hadn’t shown the children their rooms yet. After she’d showered when they came in from the pool, Lisa had gone in and made sure that their rooms were ready for them. They only had a couple of boxes each that needed to be unpacked in their closets. Their big toys were downstairs so they had plenty of space to play on their new carpeted floors.

They had a pack and play downstairs for Lauren during the day using the crib at night in the nursery. She was old enough now that she was mostly sleeping through the night and therefore didn’t need to be right in with them. She had also outgrown the cradle now that she was easily turning over.

Seb played with Sammy and Kayti after dinner, letting them sit at the tables in the craft room and color or draw pictures while Mary and Lisa cleaned up the kitchen and then they all went upstairs for bath time.

First they went into Kayti’s room and she stared around her room, seeing some of her toys set around the room as well as her toddler bed so she knew it was hers. They had stored her new bed in another room until she was ready to sleep in such a big bed. Each of Sammy’s and Kayti’s rooms had a special toy box and then they each had the same toy storage unit and a book case for their own special books that wouldn’t be kept down in the library.




The paintings of the Disney Princesses had been scattered around the room surrounded by some grassy areas and little bunnies and squirrels that looked like they were having the run of the room.

“This is your princess room Kayti. It’s really pretty.” Sammy told her.

She went and picked up her favorite baby doll off of the bed and held it against her chest.

“She doesn’t look too sure if she likes it.” Lisa whispered to Seb.

“She’ll love it. It’s just all new and it will take her some time to get used to it.” He said and then he kneeled on the floor next to Kayti.

“Come here and see where all of your toys are, Ma Petite.”

He showed her where everything was including that the rest of her things were in her big closet and that they would put everything else away tomorrow.

“Seb, Look!”

Seb whipped around at Lisa’s excited words. There where she had been placed on the carpet, Lauren was trying to crawl. She saw the pile of Kayti’s stuffed animals in the corner and was trying very hard to get to them. They watched her but didn’t interfere. Sammy got on the floor on his belly a couple of feet in front of her.

‘Come to Sammy, Lauren. Come play with brother.” He said patting his hands on the carpet. She got very excited, dropping onto her belly and shaking her arms and legs and began laughing.

Seb ran into the master bedroom and then called back to Lisa.

“Baby, where would the video camera be?”

“I think it’s in that box in the closet on the top shelf.”

She heard him shuffling around and then he ran back into the room holding the camera.

Lauren had gotten back up on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth and laughing at Sammy. Kayti got down and laid next to Sammy, patting the floor like her brother.

“Come Lauren.” Kayti told her.

Then all of a sudden she put one hand forward followed by the opposite leg and then her other hand followed by the other leg. That was all it took and she realized that she was moving forward. She continued until she got almost to Sammy and Kayti.

“Sammy, back up some.” Lisa told him.

Sammy backed up a few feet and Kayti scooted backwards with him, giving Lauren more room to follow them.

Seb moved around to get different views of the children on the video, listening to them cheering Lauren on as she slowly inched towards the toys. She hadn’t forgotten her goal even with the obstacle of her brother and sister in her way. When she caught up to Sammy, she turned to try to go around him. He sat up to let her go by and they watched her crawl until she got all the way to the pile of stuffed animals.

She crawled right into the pile, trying to chew on one of Kayti’s bunny rabbits. When Lauren turned around Lisa laughed and told Seb that it looked like the scene from E.T. the Extraterrestrial when E.T.was hiding in Gertie’s closet amongst her stuffed animals. All you could see was her little face poking out. She had the biggest smile on her face, showing her two bottom teeth that had just come in last week.

Kayti had had enough of Lauren chewing on her toys and snatched it away from her. Lisa scolded her and showed her the correct way to gently take something from her sister. Kayti was obviously tired so they moved on into Sammy’s room.

“Are you ready, Sammy, to see your special room?”

“Yes, Mommy. Is my tree house bed in my new room?”

“Well, I guess you need to go find out.”

Seb opened the door and let Sammy go in ahead of them.

All they heard was his cute giggle as he ran around the room. He climbed up to the top of his bed and looked around at the trains and tracks that surrounded the room. Seb set Lauren down and lifted Sammy into his arms and high enough so he could see the train that sat up high on the wall.

Seb turned a switch on and the train began to make its way around the top of the wall only stopping when the switch was turned off.

“Oh Papa, I like my special room and the lots of trains. Can I sleep in my bed in my new room now?”

“Sure, but you have to have a bath first.”

“Come on Buddy. We’ll finish all of that tomorrow and you can tell us where you want to put everything.”

“I want to put my toys into my new toy box.” Sammy said as he pulled the toys out of the cardboard box in his closet

“Seb, I can give the girls a bath if you want to help him. There isn’t that much.” She said quietly.

“Alright, let’s go buddy. Then you need to have your bath and get some sleep.”

Lisa did the girls baths quickly and tucked Kayti into her bed. She had fallen asleep on her shoulder before she had even gotten her into her room. Then she went back to finish dressing Lauren.

Seb helped Sammy finish putting everything in his toy box and in the storage units so he could find everything. Then got him into the bath. Once he was all dried off and dressed, Sammy ran into the nursery after Seb to say goodnight to his Mom.

“I’m all finished Mommy. I’m gonna go sleep in my new room now.”

“Hey, come back here mister. You forgot to kiss Mommy goodnight.” Seb told him.

“Ooops I did forgot. Goodnight Mommy. I love you and I like my new room.” He said hugging her and then running out of the nursery to his room.

“Well, one of them liked it.” Lisa said a bit disappointed.

“Kayti will be fine. She was tired.”

“You like your new room don’t you sweetheart?” Lisa said to Lauren who smiled and kicked her feet as she chewed on a rubber teething ring.

“You look tired too. Let’s get to bed.” Seb said to Lisa.

He took Lauren from her arms and snuggled her for a minute before kissing her and laying her in the new crib. He turned on the mobile that played Fur Elise, and turned out the nursery lights, leaving just the small night light so they could see their way around the room without turning on a big light..

Taking Lisa by the hand, he led her through the door that led out of the nursery right into their bedroom. He pulled the door closed and turned on the monitor that would alert them if she cried.

“How are you feeling? It’s been a pretty emotional day for you, finally getting moved in here.”

“Yes it has. I can hardly believe it. When I bought this house, I couldn’t imagine ever getting to live in it. There was so much to do to get it renovated and now it’s done. It’s a bit overwhelming really.”

“Like I said today, you need a break. I’m worried about you. There has been so much happening. Now that the move is completed and we have all of the prep work done for the party, let’s just take this next week to relax and enjoy things.”

“I won’t argue with you. It sounds wonderful.”

Seb went into the bathroom and ran the water in the tub and added some bath oils for Lisa to relax for a bit. Once he saw to it that she had gotten in safely and that she was settled, he went downstairs to let Mary know that they probably wouldn’t be back down tonight. He helped her with the last of the clean up and took the puppies out for a short walk.

Seb made sure that Mary was at least fairly comfortable with the workings of the TV remotes downstairs. She had her own TV in her room but he wanted her to feel comfortable using whatever she wanted in the house. He said goodnight and went upstairs, peeking in at the children on his way by. All three of them were sleeping like babies. Seb chuckled to himself at his funny.

She’d been in the tub for a while and when he went to check and see if she needed anything, he found her sound asleep. He gently woke her and after helping her to stand, wrapped her in a towel and lifted her out and carried her into the bedroom where he helped her finish drying off.

Barely awake, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“I love you Seb. You are too good to me.”

“I love you and I could never be too good to you. Come on let’s get you into bed before you fall over.”

Thinking she’d just fall right back to sleep, Seb pulled her into his arms and wiggled around a bit getting them comfortable in their new bed..

“Are you comfortable, Baby?”

“Yes,….but…” she leaned up and propped herself on one arm and looked down into his face, searching for what was truly in his heart.

“But what Baby? Is something wrong? Talk to me.” He said reaching up and running his hands down her hair and her shoulders and stroking all the way down her back. He could see that she now seemed to be wide awake as she looked at him so seriously.

“Are you sure you aren’t still mad at me?”

Seb took a deep breath and fought to keep his frustration under control.

“Sweetheart, I told you I wasn’t and I wish you would just let it go. Why do you keep thinking I’m upset with you?”

“Then is it because I’m getting fat?”

“Is what because you’re getting fat?... I mean.. oh brother. First, you are not fat. You are pregnant and the most beautiful vision in the world to me. I’m overwhelmed when I look at you and your growing belly, knowing that my child is lying there safe under your heart. Please tell me what is on your mind.”

Her head dropped so that her forehead was resting on his bare chest and she spoke to him sounding like she used to when they first got married, unsure and hesitant..

“You haven’t made love to me since.. well …since before Saturday. And I’ve been afraid that I’d ruined our relationship with the way I treated you. I really am sorry Seb. I know you keep saying to let it go. And I’m trying, I really am but…. I just haven’t been able to shake the feeling that it’s changed… we’ve changed and it makes me so sad to think that and it’s all my fault.”

Seb finally felt like he understood her mood this past week and hoped that tonight he could help to resolve this once and for all. He rolled them so that he was now looking down at her. He brushed her hair away from her face and leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.

“This was not all your fault. The majority of the fault goes to the girl or girls who posted that picture after they had given their word that it was deleted. I will admit that I was hurt that you could believe that I had cheated on you but once I saw the photo and read the posts, I could understand a little bit why you could be as sure as you were about it. I know that you love me and like Urs said, you wouldn’t have been so upset about it if you didn’t love me so much.

The biggest hurt for me was that you wouldn’t speak to me. You wouldn’t talk to me about what was wrong and that wasn’t fair, Baby. I just didn’t know what to do and I have never been so scared in my life. I thought I was losing you. We need to always be able to talk especially if it is something that concerns our relationship. Please promise me that won’t happen again. If you are angry with me about something tell me so we can talk about it. I know I’m not perfect.”

Seb felt relief wash over him. While he’d been talking to her, she’d been very quiet and unable to look him in the eye until he made the last statement and then she grinned up at him.

“Yes you are. You are the most perfect man on the planet and I love you so much. I was scared I was losing you too and I promise I will never let that happen again.” While she spoke, she was stroking his chest, drawing little circles in the hair. She heard his breathing hitch when she caught his nub with her nail so she continued what she was doing, looking straight into his eyes.

“Make love to me, Seb. Please”

“It would be my pleasure, Madame, my absolute pleasure.” He said as his lips got lost in the curve of her neck as he blazed a trail of hot kisses over her bare skin, making up for this past week when things had felt so messed up.

Much later when they were lying holding each other, Seb made sure to point out that they had had a tremendously busy week, starting with the party for Sammy, Aaron’s birth and most importantly the move. He had in no way intended to make her feel like he didn’t want to make love to her but they had both been so tired that when they had fallen into bed each night, it was sleep that they had desperately needed.

Lisa fell asleep peacefully that night for the first time in over a week.

*
Seb heard the children talking to Mary out in the hallway and slid carefully out of the bed and pulled on his jeans. He opened the door slowly and was thankful that it lacked the squeak in the hinges that the door in the guest house had. He realized he hadn’t put anything on his feet so he turned and went back to grab his sandals and a t shirt. He closed the door without a sound and hurried to the children so they wouldn’t be too loud when they saw him. They were always so excited to see either him or Lisa in the morning. Usually they were ready for something to eat as soon as their little feet hit the floor. They had learned to have something that they could give the children to nibble on if a big breakfast was being prepared.

After saying good morning to Mary, Sammy and Kayti, Seb went through to the nursery through the hallway and checked on Lauren. She was lying there wide awake and happy as can be and chewing on a stuffed animal that was in her crib. When she saw her Papa, she dropped the toy, rolled over and sat up, holding her arms up as high as she could, waiting for him to lift her out of the crib.

“Good Morning, Ma Petite. Aren’t you just the happiest little girl?”

She smiled at the sound of his voice, flashing him a view of her teeth and the deep dimples in her cheeks. Her dark hair was sticking out all over the place. It usually needed to be completely wet every morning to get it to lay down. It was actually just long enough now that Lisa had begun putting it up in two little pig tails that stood up on top of her head. Making her look like Cindy Lou Who in Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, but it kept the front of her hair out of her face as she played.

He changed and dressed her, leaving her hair for Lisa to do. He hadn’t quite gotten the hang of holding onto her and doing her hair at the same time. She was awfully wiggly now.

When he brought Lauren into the kitchen, Mary already had the other two in their seats, content with a half of a toaster strudel each to hold them over while she fixed breakfast.

Mary handed him the bottle that she had already warmed up since she knew he’d be down with her in just a few minutes.

“Thank you Mary.”

“You’re welcome. So how does it feel now that you are all moved in here. It seemed so far away back at Christmas time.”

“I know. It feels wonderful. Now we’ll be able ro relax and enjoy things for a while. Most of the preparations are ready for the party and after that we’ll just get on with our lives here and be ready for more children whenever they come. I know I’m ready for Jessica to be here.”

“Oh I know. I can’t wait to see her. She will be so beautiful. I just know it.”

The phone rang and since Seb was feeding Lauren, Mary went and answered it.

Seb was talking to the children and wasn’t really paying attention to the phone until Mary came and handed it to him. He juggled the bottle, and the phone, getting the phone tucked up under his chin.

“Allo?....Ahhhh Maman! Bonjour……Oui…Cela est fantastique, Maman….Je vous manque…”

“Papa, tell Grandmere I miss her too.”

“She heard you. She says she misses you too, buddy…….Quand viendrez-vous…Je suis heureux…..Oui….Bisious, Maman Je Taime…Au revoir”

“Maman is coming in two weeks and will stay until after the baby is born.” He said after he’d hung up the phone.

“Seb, that will be wonderful for you to have her here. I can’t wait for her to see all of the changes since she left.”

Seb helped Mary finish with breakfast with an extra spring in his step and a grin on his face, one that had been missing the last week. Now that things seemed to be getting better between he and Lisa and now his Maman was coming and the move was complete, he felt carefree and full of energy which translated into a lot getting done this morning.

*
She began to wake up but hadn’t opened her eyes yet. She actually wanted to fall back to sleep but between the light in the room and the feeling of being watched, she reluctantly tried to open her eyes, squinting when her eyes fought against the daylight.

Sitting beside her on the bed were Sammy and Kayti, just watching her. When they saw that she was waking up their faces lit up.

“Oh Goody, I’m glad you woke up Mommy. Papa and Mary made breakfast for us and it was yummy. Papa said we would save you some breakfast and let you sleep until you waked up.”

“Hi Sweetheart. Thank you for letting me sleep.” She looked at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was half past ten. That was okay. They had been awake pretty late last night. She smiled as she thought of their loving. Was that what they called make up sex? If so.. well she didn’t like the fighting part, not one bit but Wow, last night had been amazing and had helped her to feel like they were one again.

Seb stepped into the room with a tray filled with her breakfast and a steaming mug of coffee. He instructed the children to hop off of the bed so Mommy could eat. If they shook the bed, she’d be wearing it instead. As he set the tray in her lap, she captured his head with her hand and kissed him thoroughly, smiling so brightly that he knew she was back to her old self today.

The children ran into Sammy’s room to play and Seb carefully sat on the edge of the bed next to her while she ate.

“Where’s Lauren.”

“She’s already downstairs. Mary’s taking care of her. Oh and Maman called this morning. She’ll be here in two weeks and will stay until after Jessica comes.”

“ Oh good. I had hoped she would come soon. I didn’t want her to miss the party. What’s the plan for today? We just have a small amount of unpacking to do in each room.”

“Well, Sammy and Kayti’s rooms are finished. Remember, Sammy and I did his room last night and Mary and I finished Kayti’s room this morning. If you want to move anything around later that’s fine but the boxes are all emptied anyway. There’s just that small bit in the nursery and our room. I would have done it but I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thank you. I know I did need the sleep.”

“I think we should just relax today and make our plans for our outing this week. Did you still want to go to Busch Gardens?”

“Sure if you do. I love it there and the kids will have so much fun.”

“Good! I have an idea and please tell me if you think I should do it or not.”

“Okay?”

“Well, Jim said he’d go, so I was thinking about trying to get Debbie to bring the children and meet us there. I would tell her that he’ll be there. What do you think?”

“Wow, I don’t know Seb. What if it backfires? What if they start fighting? That wouldn’t be good for any of the children to see.”

“I know. I’ve thought of that but I’ve also thought that it is a neutral place and if they don’t want to be together, they can just go their separate ways. But maybe he will at least get to spend some time with the children in a fun environment. It might help to take some of the awkwardness out of their first meeting after all of this time. I don’t know. I keep going back and forth in my head and I can’t decide if it would be a good idea or not.”

“Why don’t you call Debbie and talk to her and tell her what your plan is and see what she thinks about it. If she won’t come, then it won’t matter.”

“I think I’ll do that unless you’d rather I didn’t do it on our family day.”

“No Seb, it isn’t a bad idea if it works out okay.”

“Okay, I’ll go call her then.”

“Good. I’ll finish up with my breakfast, get a shower and unpack the rest of the nursery and in here. Then there will just be the odds and ends downstairs to put away.”

“So much for you relaxing.”

“Well, I figure I’ll relax more once I know everything is unpacked. If it’s all sitting there I will just keep thinking about what needs to be done.”: she said smiling up at him.

He just shook his head, leaned down and kissed her, tasting the coffee on her lips and left the room to go make that telephone call.

Mary came up several minutes later carrying Lauren.

“Seb told me you were going to be working up here so I thought I’d see if you needed any help.”

“Could you just check on Sammy and Kayti. I just peeked in before my shower and they were playing in his room.”

“I just did. They are playing in Kayti’s room now. The pile of stuffed animals is spread out all over the room now and I made sure the gate at the top of the stairs is secure.”

“Oh good. I don’t ever want to have to worry about kids falling down the stairs. Did I tell you about the time Kayti almost fell down that flight of stairs?”

“Yes, I remember you telling us at the daycare about Seb catching her just in time. That’s a good gate that’s installed now and with it being on a spring, it closes automatically and then with us watching to make sure it closes, that should not be a problem again. ”

Lisa and Mary worked so well together and while Lauren took her morning nap, they finished unpacking in the nursery and the master bedroom. That made the upstairs completely finished.

Not wanting to wake the baby, Lisa turned on the nursery monitor and they all went downstairs. The office door was closed so Lisa figured that Seb must still be on the phone, so she left him alone and went to finish unpacking the last of the boxes containing a mix of things for the office, playroom and kitchen.

Chapter 127:

In the office behind the closed doors, Seb was making his phone call to Debbie. He scrolled to her number in his cell phone and waited for it to connect. He was still rather nervous about arranging their meeting, not knowing how Jim was going to react to his interference in his life. He didn’t want to cause Jim to pack up and disappear again. But Jim had sounded sincere about wishing he could fix the wrongs he had done to his family and Seb hoped that he could in some small way help to bridge the gap between them.

Hannah answered the phone with a cheery Hello and she got even happier sounding when she realized who was calling.

“Hello Hannah. It’s Seb. Is your Mom at home?”

“Hi Seb. Yes she’s right here, just a minute.” He grinned as he heard her giggling.

He could hear the sounds in the background like Blake and Brandon were playing a video game. They were hollering at the game when one of them got killed off. One upset that he’d lost the game and the other boy was cheering because now it was his turn to play.

“Hello?”

“Hi Debbie. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Umm Sure.” She’d wrestled for three weeks, trying to decide what to do but now Seb was calling and she’d have to try to finally come to a decision.

He could hear her moving across the floor and the sound of a door shutting.

“Okay. I just came into my room so we could talk in private. I still haven’t told the children that I know where their father is.”

“May I ask you why?”

“I’m afraid Seb. I’m afraid that if I let him back into our lives that he will hurt us again. I guess I could live with it but I can’t stand to see the hurt in my children’s eyes again. Brandon and Blake cried so hard and Blake told me to find him and tell him that he promised they’d be good if he would come home. Then there was Hannah who had been Daddy’s little girl for all of those years. Imagine me trying to convince them that it was nothing that they did to make him leave.”

“That must have been horrible and I do understand Debbie, I really do. But if you could just see him and talk to him, you might find out that he’s not the same man that left you. He’s afraid too, you know. When I’ve talked to him about contacting you, I can see it. He’s afraid of you and the children rejecting him if he re enters your lives. I’ve had an idea. I wasn’t sure if it was a good one or not. But I wanted to know what you thought about it. We are going to Busch Gardens in Tampa one day this week. Jim has already agreed to come along with us. I was thinking that if you and the children met us there, maybe you and Jim could go off and have a talk, either in the park or even out of the park somewhere and then you can decide if you want to let him speak to the children or not. That will be your decision.”

“The kids would love to go there. I don’t know Seb. Can I think about it for a little while and call you back? I just don’t know if I’m ready to see him.”

“Sure this is a big step, I know. But at least there it is a neutral place and we can take the children off to roam the park while you talk to Jim. Think about it and call me back, okay?”

“Alright Seb and thank you. I know you are trying to help.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye Seb”

After he hung up, Seb sat back in the large office chair, thinking about how they could work this if the meeting was to take place. He’d arrange everything for Debbie so that all she would have to do is drive over to Tampa.

On Debbie’s end, she left her room, saw the boys still totally involved in their video game, but the thing that got her attention was the banging sounds coming from Hannah’s bedroom. She knocked on the door and waited for Hannah to answer. She always tried to give Hannah her space and privacy especially since she had become a teenager. She remembered how important that had been to her as a young girl.

“Hannah, may I come in?”

There was no answer but she could still hear the banging sounds so she turned the handle on the door and slowly opened it, poking her head into the room.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Now? Now you want to talk to me?”Hannah hollered.

“Tell me what’s wrong. Come talk to me. We don’t yell at each other around here.”

“How long have you known where Daddy was? That’s what you were talking to Seb about isn’t it? You know where he is, don’t you?

Debbie saw the duffle bag on the bed and realized that the banging sounds had been the dresser drawers as Hannah had emptied them. She now knew that Hannah had been eavesdropping on her phone call.

“You were listening to my telephone call? I thought we respected each other’s privacy more than that.”

“I just wanted to hear if Seb was coming back to visit us. But then I heard you talking about Daddy. I want to go see him, even if you don’t. I want to go ask him why he doesn’t love me anymore.” Hannah had tears streaming down her face and she wiped them on her sleeve but continued to pack her bag.

She was in quite an awkward spot at her age. She was definitely heading towards being a young woman but still so much of the little girl remained and showed itself every now and again, like now when the subject of the Daddy she’d loved so much had come up.

“I understand that you are upset. I don’t blame you. Let’s sit here and talk. And to answer your question, I found out where your Dad was the day Seb came.”

While Hannah digested that piece of information, Debbie slid the duffle bag down to the end of the bed, not totally out of the way but enough so there was room for the two of them to sit. She patted the bed next to where she was sitting, beckoning her daughter to sit.

“Where is he?” Hannah asked as she finally seemed to calm down a bit and she sat next to her mother.

“He has been living near Seb’s home. He works for them, doing some construction and other things. When Seb found out the story, he decided to try to help your Dad and us by trying to get us back together.”

Hannah had been looking at her fingernails that she was sitting there picking at, scraping the nail polish off. Her head popped up and she looked at her Mom in question.

“Daddy’s coming home?”

“I don’t know about that, sweetheart. Daddy doesn’t even know that Seb has spoken to me. We’ve been talking about us meeting and the phone call today was about a plan of where we might do that. Seb and his family are going to Busch Gardens in a few days and he talked your Dad into going. He thinks it would be a good place for us to meet so your Dad and I can talk.”

“We’re going to go, right? We have to. I have to talk to him even if you don’t want to.”

“I guess we’ll go. I need to call Seb and tell him. I need to think about what to tell the boys. I’m sorry Hannah. I’m really sorry that this has hurt you so much. That is why I didn’t tell you as soon as Seb had been here. I have been so afraid of us being hurt again.”

Hannah watched as her Mom broke down and began crying. She had been terribly angry with her Mom for keeping it from her but seeing her cry made her realize how deeply this was affecting her. She put her arm around her Mom’s shoulder and hugged her. They clung to each other for quite some time.

“It will be alright, Mom. Even if it goes back to being just the four of us. We’ve been okay. If he doesn’t want us, then we don’t want him either.”

Debbie was hearing the extent of the pent up anger that Hannah had in her towards her father. Besides the talking that she and Jim would have to do to even come to any sort of common ground, Jim would have a very difficult time regaining his daughter’s trust. How the boys would react remained to be seen.

After giving Hannah one more tight hug and offering to help her unpack, Debbie went to call Seb back and told him that she was accepting his kind offer if he was still willing to help her and the children get to Tampa.

Seb was filled with a mixture of happiness and nervousness at the prospect of this meeting., especially after she told him of Hannah’s reaction. He told Debbie that they could play things by ear and if she wanted to come back to Clearwater with them and stay for a few days, he would arrange that as well. If she decided to just go straight home to Kissimmee, that would be alright too.

By that evening, he had spoken to Debbie several times as they worked out the details for the rental car. He and Lisa had decided on Wednesday for their outing and he passed that information on to Debbie. That would give them Monday and Tuesday to continue to get settled into the house and maybe relax a little, that is if Lisa would relax at all. She had been non stop all day, rearranging some things in the house and making sure that they had all of the necessities and making a list of things they would need or want to get when they did some shopping.

That evening after Mary had helped them get the children to bed and said goodnight herself, Seb and Lisa sat at the dining room table sharing the last piece of the apple pie that Mary had made for dessert.

“What are your thoughts on looking for more children now?” Seb asked her.

“Honestly, I think that we need to give Sammy and Kayti time to get used to the move. Sammy especially has endured so many changes in a very short amount of time and even though they have been good changes for him, I don’t want to overload him or Kayti. Then again, I wasn’t looking when any of the three of them came so I guess for now we won’t do any active looking for a while but if we find out about a child that seems like they would fit in here, then we can discuss it and decide accordingly.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

*

Urs, Alex and Mami were all sitting quietly in the corner where Aaron’s isolette was situated. It was in a great spot because all three of them could be in there and not be in anyone’s way. There was always a flurry of activity in the NICU as the nurses attended to the needs of each of the babies, plus the doctors and family members scattered amongst the isolettes. That night, Mami got to hold her Grandson for the first time for just a few minutes before Alex would feed him his dinner. Mom and Dad had already been up earlier and had gotten their turn to hold him.

After the initial loss of a few ounces right after his birth, Aaron had begun gaining weight consistently, an ounce or two at a time and was nursing well. He still had to stay in the isolette most of the time to keep his body heat up. When taken out for too long, he still tended to get too cold even when he was bundled up. That was his biggest hurdle right now. Once he could hold his body heat, he would be very close to coming home.

When she was done feeding Aaron, Alex let Urs and Mami give him a kiss and then placed him back in the isolette. This was the time she hated. She had spent a good part of each day here in the NICU. The nights were the hardest. When it was time to go home she felt so torn at having to leave. She knew she was allowed to come in the middle of the night but Urs had convinced her that she needed to get her rest and recuperate, so she didn’t come during the night as much as she wanted to. She had been getting up at night and pumping her milk to bring for them to give him the following night when she wasn’t here.

Mami could see that Alex was having a particularly hard time tonight. She told them she would wait for them down in the lobby. She knew they needed this private time with their son.

Urs sat back down in the rocking chair and pulled Alex onto his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder as he rocked them. He didn’t try to talk her into leaving; they just sat and looked at their tiny baby. He knew she just needed a bit more time and she would be ready to go.

Alex realized what time it must be when she saw the night nurses coming on duty. They had shift changes at seven in the morning, three in the afternoon and again at eleven at night. It was now eleven pm and she knew that Urs and Mami must be tired, she sure was. She forced herself up from his lap, reached in and pressed her hand to Aaron’s back and then told Urs that she was ready.

He said goodbye to Aaron and wrapped his arm around Alex’s waist. They said goodnight to the nurses on their way by and were assured that Aaron would be well cared for.

They had eaten dinner in the hospital cafeteria but by the time they got home, they were all hungry enough for a late snack before retiring for the night. It was quiet as they sat together and had a sandwich. The fatigue of being on the go all week catching up with them all. Mami finished and kissed them both on top of their heads before heading upstairs.

“Sleep well, Children.”

“Goodnight Mami.” They both replied.

Alex leaned her chin in her hand and Urs knew if they didn’t head up soon, she would fall asleep right there.

“Come Liebe. Let’s go to bed.”

Upstairs, Alex undressed and stepped into the shower under the spray that was just short of being too hot, just the way she liked it. She let the water slide down her body. She tipped her head back into the stream to wet her hair, closing her eyes and enjoying the massaging beat that the drops were playing on her scalp. Just as she was about to reach for the shampoo bottle, she heard the shower door open. She looked and saw Urs standing there totally undressed and stepping in to join her. She handed him the shampoo and let him wash her hair for her. It always felt heavenly for his long fingers to be pressing against her scalp and massaging it as he shampooed and then conditioned her hair for her. He said it was his pleasure to do it for her and by the reaction she felt from his body behind her, she knew it was the truth.

When her hair was finished, he took the cloth and put a squirt of her fruity body wash in it, lathering it up and smoothing the cloth over her body. His touch was making her body come alive. She knew that she couldn’t be intimate for another several weeks after delivering the baby but she couldn’t stop her body from reacting to his every touch. She pressed herself against him, reaching up and pulling his head down so she could press her lips to his. Their tongues dueled, hands roamed and their moans mingled until neither of them knew who was making the sounds.

They finished showering and somehow found their way to their bed even though their lips barely parted as they dried each other. Urs was determined to love her body as much as he could for now. She also needed to love him and found she had more leeway in doing so. By the time they finally settled for sleep, they had taught and learned other ways to love each other for during their imposed celibacy.

Wednesday morning, Mary was in the kitchen, getting breakfast on the table while Lisa and Seb got themselves and the two older kids ready to go. Even though Seb had told him it was unnecessary, Jim was out front, giving the Escalade a bath.

By the time breakfast was ready, David had arrived and he pulled Jim inside so they could all eat before they left. It was only a thirty minute drive but Seb said he wanted to be there when the gates opened at nine o’clock. Seb had confided in David about the reunion that would hopefully take place today.

In Kissimmee that morning, Debbie had gotten the children up at six. They had had a quick bowl of cereal and had piled into the rental car that she had picked up the afternoon before. They were on the road at six thirty. She didn’t want to get stuck in rush hour traffic so they got out of the area well before the traffic got heavy with morning commuters.

Debbie convinced the boys to take a nap on the way over so they would be able to have more fun. Her other motive had been to avoid any fighting between them in the back seat. They had gotten up so early that it didn’t take long for them to fall asleep leaning on each other.

The boys knew they were going to Busch Gardens and were so excited but, Debbie had discussed it with Hannah and decided not to tell them yet about their father. That way if Jim didn’t come for some reason, at least the boys wouldn’t be disappointed. They would still have a fun day. Hannah was torn between being excited about spending the day with Seb and maybe some of the other Divo’s and her conflicted feelings about seeing her father.

Part of her was excited about seeing him and part of her was angry that she felt that way. She just wanted to be angry with him for what he’d done to them. She was hoping she could control herself and not let him know how much she’d missed him. She just wanted him to think she hated him.

On the one and a half hour drive, Hannah closed her eyes and tried to push away the memories of her father when she was a little girl. He had spent a lot of time with her especially before the boys came along. When he would come home from work, no matter how tired he was, he would make sure to spend time with her before dinner. Sometimes he would sit in her room and have a tea party with her where he would even bring in real cookies and milk in the place of the imaginary tea or read her a story, sometimes even making one up on his own.

When he would come home late from work and she was already in bed, he would come in and kiss her goodnight and make sure that she was all tucked in beneath her covers. Sometimes she was awake and he would let her get out of bed for just a few minutes and sit with him while he ate his dinner. He listened to all of her little girl chattering, never complaining that she talked too much. He was always interested in everything she had to say, even joining in on her silliness.

Then one day, he was gone. When he’d left, it took a long time for Hannah to accept that her Daddy had left her and would probably never come back. She had gone through so many emotions; sadness, disbelief, fear, desperation and as she had gotten older it had all turned to anger, well, almost all of it. Part of her little girl heart wanted so badly to be in her Daddy’s strong arms again, where she had felt safe and loved once upon a time.

Debbie knew that Hannah was wrestling with all of this. They had had quite a few conversations since Sunday. She let Hannah know that there was nothing wrong with any of her feelings. She had even told her that it was okay for her to even have a mixture of a lot of different emotions. Hannah had been glad to hear that because she had felt awful with all of the thoughts she had.

Debbie felt much the same as Hannah and had gone through many of the same emotions that her daughter had from the day that Jim had gone. She remembered her heartache every time she found the children gathered at the windows together, looking out, watching for their father to come home every night for the longest time.

The big difference with her had been that she had known of Jim’s struggles before he’d left. They had never let the children know of their difficulties. Hannah knew now because in their talks this week, Debbie had felt that Hannah was old enough to handle the truth of what had caused her father to leave.

Debbie knew that Seb was right. She had no idea if she and Jim would ever be able to even be friends again but, she did want her children to have their father in their lives. When he’d been here he’d been a wonderful father to his children. Both times when she’d told him that she was pregnant, he had been so excited and had been an active participant in their upbringing from the minute they were born. While Hannah looked just like her, Blake and Brandon were carbon copies of their father.

Seb had stopped at a store under the guise of getting Lisa a drink and while inside, he made a call to Debbie to find out where she was. She told him that she was only ten minutes from the park and he let her know that they would probably arrive at just about the same time.

As Lisa and Seb had discussed, he let her and David out along with the children, right at the entrance of the park and then he and Jim drove back to the parking area and would take the tram back to the entrance. Lisa had said that getting on the tram with the double stroller would be difficult. Besides, Seb wanted a few minutes to speak to Jim alone. He didn’t want Jim to be totally blindsided by the arrival of his family.

“Jim, I need to talk to you about something while we are alone.”

“Sure Seb, what’s up?”

Jim saw that Seb was looking very nervous all of a sudden, even to the point that he was rubbing his hands up and down the legs of his pants.

“Seb, have I done something to upset you?”

“No” Seb said quickly. “It’s what I’ve done. I hope that when you find out what I’ve done that you can forgive my interference and know that it was only because I have come to think of you as a friend and I only want you to be happy. It was only me that had a part in this, no one else so if you are upset about it, please don’t blame anyone else.”

“Okay Seb, you are kind of scaring me here. What is it that you have done that you think I might be mad at you? I’ve been happier during this time that I’ve been working for you than I’ve been in a very long time.”

“Maybe most of you has been, but I know how much you miss your family and have regretted leaving them, wishing that you could try to fix your relationship with them.”

“Yeah?” Jim said questioning Seb with his eyes. And the tone of his voice. “What have you done, Seb?”

“I contacted Debbie. I actually went to Kissimmee and met her a few weeks ago.”

“YOU WHAT?”

“Please Jim, hear me out.”

“How could you do that Seb? I trusted you with my personal information and you went behind my back and got into my personal business.” Seb couldn’t tell if Jim was more frightened or angry.

“I’m sorry Jim. I’m sorry that you are angry about this but I need to tell you something else….. Debbie and the children are coming here today. She wants to see you.”

“I doubt that.”

“Jim I won’t lie to you and tell you that she jumped for joy and wanted to run right back to you the minute I told her but she is willing to sit down and talk to you and at least try to come to some common ground so that you can rebuild your relationship with your children. They need you Jim.”

“They don’t need me.”

Seb began to get angry. His own feelings of abandonment by his father that he tried to keep buried were struggling to rise to the surface and he knew he just had to make Jim see the deep scars he would leave with his children if he didn’t repair their relationship. He told Jim of his own experience as a boy and the immense hurt that had buried itself inside of him.

“Please Jim. At least try to get to the point where you can be a father to your children again. I know you are afraid that they’ll reject you but you need to try, even if they do reject you at first. They are entitled to their feelings and the only thing that will wipe those feelings away will be your love taking its place in their hearts.”

Jim leaned back and closed his eyes and Seb had no idea what Jim would do. He could see the anguish on his face. He was afraid that Jim would get out and disappear.

Seb saw Jim’s wife and children walking up through the rows of cars on their way to the tram stop that would take them to the park entrance. They were still a ways back. The parking lot was filling up fast on this hot day, just a few weeks before school would be back in session.

He put his hand on Jim’s arm.

“Jim?”

Jim opened his eyes and looked at Seb like a man that had been condemned.

“Can you try to talk with them? This could be the beginning of a new life for all of you, if you’ll only take this chance. I know that you love and miss them. They need you buddy. She’s really struggling.”

“Yes, I do love and miss them. But you’re right. I’m so scared, Seb.”

“Well, it’s time Jim. It’s time to finish the transformation. You are no longer that man that left them three years ago. You have a job Jim. I told you that you have a place to work for as long as you want to stay. You have so many skills that will be invaluable to us…..It’s time Jim.”

At first, Jim thought Seb was just saying that it was time for him to stop running but then he followed Seb’s gaze and saw where he was looking.

Chapter 128:

Debbie had woken the kids up about fifteen minutes before they arrived at the park to let them get the fuzzies out. She was very nervous and almost missed the turn into the park. She would have if Hannah hadn’t pointed it out to her. She parked the car and gave the boys her usual speech about behaving and she also told them that they needed to make sure that they didn’t wander off in this big park but she told them what to do if they did somehow get separated from the group,

They had filled one backpack with an extra change of clothes for later. They would most likely get wet on the water rides. Once out of the car, Debbie loaded the boys’ fair skin up with sun block and then handed it to Hannah. Hannah’s skin wasn’t as light as the boys but they still needed the sun block in this Florida sun. She lightly pinched Hannah’s cheek, trying to get her to smile. When Hannah looked up, Debbie winked at her. Hannah straightened up and forced a smile onto her face. She didn’t want the boys questioning her dark mood.

Seb had told her to meet him at tram stop number two so she and the children followed the signs directing them straight ahead and to the left. She could see the little tram stop that was already full of people waiting for the next tram to come.

She slipped the backpack on and took a deep breath, trying to calm the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’d told Hannah that no matter what happened today, they’d be okay but, she hadn’t been honest. She didn’t think she would be okay. She was going to have to try very hard not to cry and make a scene in front of thousands of people.

“You okay Mom?” Hannah whispered to her.

Debbie just nodded and looked at the boys who were not paying any attention to them. They were too busy looking up at the parts of the roller coasters that they could see rising up above the trees. They were jumping up and down and teasing each other about who would be too chicken to go on them even though their Mom had already told them that there was a height requirement and they were going to be too short for the biggest coasters on this trip. She had assured them that there was at least one roller coaster that they could ride as well as plenty of other rides for them to enjoy.

She caught sight of two men standing up ahead in front of a blue Escalade. That’s the one Seb said to look for. As she got closer and the sun wasn’t shining in her eyes, she saw Seb and then looked beside him and saw that it was Jim standing there looking right at them.

At first she stopped but had to start again because the boys were still moving ahead rather quickly.

“Boys, come here for a minute.” She called to them.

“Come on Mom. We want to get on the rides.” Blake said.

“We have all day to ride, Honey. There’s something we need to do first.”

They looked at her, confused at what they could have to do out here in the parking lot.

Hannah looked around and then she saw them, she saw him, her Dad standing there looking at her. His hair was greyer than she remembered and he wasn’t standing real tall like he usually did. Mom had told her a long time ago that Daddy stood really straight because he had been a soldier and they were taught to stand up straight in the military. He was not standing tall now. He looked like Blake and Brandon looked when they knew they were in trouble, with their shoulders hunched over and unable to fully meet their mother’s eyes.

“Mom?” Hannah said.

“I know Honey. Are you okay?”

“I guess.”

Debbie tried to sound all cheery to the boys and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Boys I have a big surprise for you today.”

“We know we are going to the big park today, Mom.” Brandon said sounding like his Mom was silly for thinking they didn’t know.

“I know but there is another surprise besides that.”

“Wow this is going to be a really cool day.” Blake said and gave his twin a high five.

“Take a look over there and tell me who you see.”

She pointed in the direction of their father and as the boys followed her gaze and where she was pointing to, almost at the same time, they both shouted,

“DADDY!” They both began to run and didn’t stop until they were both wrapped around their father, almost knocking him over, hugging him and his arms were wrapped around the both of them together., tears streaming down his face as he kissed the tops of their heads.

He got down on his knees in front of them, touching their faces and hugging them each again, one at a time. He even knew which was which, calling them each by their correct name, although Seb hadn’t been able to figure it out. Not even Debbie could keep the tears out of her eyes at their reunion. Only Hannah kept them contained as she was still determined not to let him in.

Jim looked up and met Debbie’s eyes first and then Hannah’s. The fact that Hannah hadn’t run to him and still wasn’t coming to him now that they were standing right next to each other had not escaped him. Perhaps it was too much to expect. The boys were still young, only eight years old and all they knew was that their Dad was here. The fact that he’d been gone for three years was not even an issue for them, at least not right now. He could see that it was going to be a different story for Hannah.

“Hello Hannah. My God you are so tall and you look so beautiful and just like your mother.”

He reached out and tried to brush his finger tips along her cheek but she moved away quickly, just out of his reach.

Seb put his hand on Jim’s shoulder in support. He knew this was difficult for him to feel her rejection but he didn’t want Jim to give up.

“Hi Deb.”

“She’s still so beautiful. She looks really tired though.” Jim thought guiltily.

“Hello Jim.”

“He looks older, especially how grey his hair is.” Debbie observed in her mind.

“You look great.” Jim told his wife.

“Thanks.”

Seb could tell this could get really awkward and decided to get them moving towards the tram stop.

He said hello, first to the boys, giving them each a high five and listening to their excited chatter about all of the rides they wanted to go on, as well as lamenting their lack of a couple of inches in height that would prevent them from riding a few of the larger rides.. Then he hugged Debbie, kissing her cheek, looking in her eyes and willing her to have the strength to get through this initial meeting and then hopefully it would get easier.

“I’m really glad you came.” He told her. In return he only received a slight upturn of her lips as she tried to smile but didn’t quite succeed.

Finally he came to Hannah.

“Hello Mon Ami. How are you, my friend?”

Finally a smile appeared on her face.

“Hi Seb. It’s great to see you.”

“It’s great to see you too.”

He kissed her cheek and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Let’s try to make it over to the tram stop before the next tram comes.” he told them all.

“Are you here alone, Seb?” Hannah asked, totally ignoring the fact that her father was right there.

“Well, no. Besides me and your Dad, My wife Lisa and our two older children, Sammy and Kayti are here. Oh one other person came too. Some really tall American guy tagged along with us.”

“David is here?” Hannah squealed rather loudly and jumped up and down.

“Yes David is here.” Seb said with a mock pout on his face. “ and I thought you were a Siren.”

“I am:” Hannah said too quickly and then realized what she’d just revealed, making the red appear on her cheeks in a hurry. “Mom, did you tell him that?”

“Sorry, couldn’t help it.” Debbie said smiling despite the knot in her stomach.

Seb grinned and gave Hannah’s shoulder a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go so you can meet David.”

Hannah was still blushing but hurried along beside him.

Jim was totally confused by now, having no idea what they had been talking about. How did Hannah know David.? Seb hadn’t said anything about David going to meet Debbie and the kids and by the sound of it, they hadn’t met him. He knew the guys were famous opera singers or something but this was a very strange day.

Hannah had obviously been smitten with Seb and knew who David was and was very happy to know that he was here. And what on earth was a Siren? In total contrast, she was not happy to see him at all and it hurt more than he could ever have imagined. He knew he had no one else to blame but himself but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

He had so much to say to Debbie but Seb had told him that he and Lisa would take the children off in a while, giving him and Debbie some time to talk alone.

They all found seats on the tram when it pulled up along side of them. Jim sat in a seat with Blake and Brandon sitting on either side of him. Behind them sat Debbie, Seb and Hannah.

Seb wanted to speak to Hannah but it would have to wait because the wind blowing into the open cars made it too loud for a conversation, especially if you wanted to keep it private.

The tram made one more stop at the next tram stop before making its way to the entrance of the park. Debbie saw each of the boys grasp on to their father’s arm as they moved through the curve that took them through an underpass. The tram did make you nervous that you might fall out of the open car that only had a small chain to hold you in. Jim had placed his arms over the back of the seat and held on to both of the boys.

As they stepped off of the tram, Seb saw Lisa and David sitting on a bench waiting for them. Sammy and Kayti were running around chasing each other and giggling. He could see from Lisa’s expression that she was extremely curious as to how the meeting had gone so far.

When the two groups came together, Seb made all of the introductions. Lisa gave Debbie and Hannah a hug. Debbie’s felt warm if a bit hesitant but Hannah’s had been very cool and she wouldn’t look Lisa in the eye. Lisa figured it was her nervousness at seeing her father so she pushed it out of her mind.

Seb introduced Debbie and the children to David who turned on his abundant charm for the girls. Lisa shook her head and punched him in the arm.

“Alright, you aren’t on stage today.” And to Debbie and Hannah…”He is just a big overgrown kid.”

“Yup, Uncle David likes to play on my tree house bed with me but he has big legs so he has to stay on the floor.” Sammy informed them, making everyone laugh.

Before they had even gotten up to the ticket window, Sammy had attached himself to the two new boys. He kept staring at them.

“Why do you have the same face?”

“Sammy, they are twins. That means that their Mommy had two babies at the same time.” Lisa told him.

“Oh do you got two babies in your tummy, too, Mommy?”

Lisa cleared her throat and hid her grin. “No Sweetheart, there is just one baby in here.”

Tickets purchased for everyone, they moved through the turnstyles and on into the park. Seb pulled Debbie and Jim aside and asked them what they wanted to do.

“Do you want to go off now to talk or wait for a while?”

Jim and Debbie just stood there looking at each other, neither one wanting to speak and say the wrong thing. Finally, Jim spoke up.

“If it’s all right with you, Deb, I’d like to stay together for a bit and be with the children and then we can go.”

“Actually I was thinking the same thing. I think the boys especially would have a problem with us leaving so soon. You’ve just gotten here.”

Seb was relieved that at least in this, they were on the same page.

“Alright then let’s see where we want to go first.. Lisa, you have the park map. Let’s decide where to go.”

Lisa opened the map so that everyone could see it and while the others hovered over it, Seb circled Lisa’s waist with his arm and gave her a squeeze and a smile. “I love you.” he whispered in her ear.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. She knew he had been very nervous at having orchestrated this meeting. So far, it seemed to be going better than they had expected. Although Hannah was still hanging back from the rest of the group.

Seb stepped back and put his arm around Hannah’s shoulder and whispered in her ear.

“How are you doing? I know this is hard for you.”

She struggled to keep the tears from falling and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, shaking her head.

“Give him a chance, Mon Amie. He wants to make things right. He knows he really messed up.”

She just looked up at him, not giving any reply and before Seb moved back over to stand with the others he added one more thing. He knew it might be unfair of him to use this but he wanted them to have a good day and if Hannah was not having fun, it would eventually spread through the rest of the group.

“Please Hannah, do this for me. Be happy and try to have a good time today. “

Without waiting for her to answer, he left her standing there to think about what he’d said.

They decided to head towards the Egypt area. It was the closest. So they all moved to the right, Kayti strapped into her stroller. Sammy could have ridden in it too but he decided he was big enough to walk with the boys. He looked so cute trying to stand up straight enough to be as tall as Blake and Brandon, who were twice his age and several heads taller.

They were stopped by a few park employees that held cameras, asking the patrons if they would like their photos taken to commemorate their visit to the park.

Jim and Debbie looked a bit uncomfortable but Lisa, Seb and David helped to lighten things up and they wound up having several different shots done. One was of the whole group, one of all of the children, then Seb, Lisa and their two kids. Jim and Debbie were even convinced to have one done together with their children.

They were given a card to take to the photo shop later in the day to view the pictures and decide if they wanted to purchase any of them.

They slowly passed the long fenced area on the left, looking at the dozens of crocodiles and many birds of several different species who were taking advantage of the water. There were also bunches of turtles lining the edges of the water and lined up, one in front of the other on the many fallen logs that were scattered in the water and on the land surrounding the pond.

“Horsies Papa. I want to ride Horsies.” Kayti squealed and tried to unbuckle herself from the seat.

Seb stepped in front of her and unbuckled her. “Come My Petite. You can’t ride these horses. But we can go and visit them.”

“Oh Wow, they are huge. Look at how big they are.” Debbie exclaimed when she turned to look at what had Kayti so excited..

“They’re Clydesdales.” Jim offered.

“What is a Clydesdale Mr. Jim?” Sammy asked him, looking straight up into Jim’s face and having to cover his eyes to shield them from the sun.

“Clydesdales are some of the biggest horses in the world. They have been used to pull things. Like before there were fire engines, they were used to pull big tanks of water to help put fires out.”

As they approached the stalls in the barn, David picked up Sammy and held him up so he could get a good look at the horses. The kids and adults alike were amazed at the size of them compared to all of the horses they usually saw in the equine abundant state of Florida.


When Seb was finally able to distract Kayti enough to get out of the barn, they moved on to Egypt. They all walked through King Tut’s tomb, that held hundreds of artifacts in several different rooms, depicting the objects that had been buried with the Boy King Tutankhamen. Exiting through the store at the end of the exhibit, the conversation began as to who would be going on the first of the large roller coasters, Montu.

Brandon went over to the wall by the entrance for the ride and read the information

“Montu - one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world. Experience the thrill of an inverse diving loop and a 60-foot vertical loop while you endure speeds of over 60 miles per hour and a G-force of 3.85. You must be 54 inches tall to ride.”

“Brandon, that is very good reading.” Jim beamed at the firstborn of the twins.

“I read good too, Daddy”

“Great, Blake. You can read me the next one.” Jim ruffled Blake’s hair so he wouldn’t feel left out.

“Okay who’s going on with me?” David asked.

“Are we tall enough to ride on here, David?” Brandon asked hopefully.

“No, buddy. This is one of those big ones that you need to grow taller before you can ride.”

“Blake and Brandon can stay with me and the children while you all ride. I am going to take them over here to the giant sandbox.” Lisa offered.

“I don’t need to go on. You shouldn’t be stuck with all of the kids.” Debbie said

“Nonsense, we’ll be fine. I can’t go on this time. They wouldn’t let me on even if I wanted to.” She said patting her protruding belly.

“If you’re sure?”

“Positive. Come on kids. Wait until you see all of the sand they have here.”

“Oh boy. Come on guys. Let’s go play in the sand.” Sammy said following his mom.

The boys reluctantly followed Lisa and Sammy. Hannah was still standing where she was.

“Hannah, aren’t you coming on the roller coaster?”

“I don’t know if I want to Mom. I’m a little afraid. I’ve never been on one before.”

“We’ll all be together. You’ll be fine. Come on, get in line with us and if you decide not to go on when it’s time, you don’t have to.”

Hannah thought for a minute and decided that she would do that. Then she would get to stay near Seb. She definitely didn’t want to stay with Lisa and the babies.

“Okay.”

Debbie waved to Lisa then she and Hannah rushed to catch up to the guys who were waiting at the back of the line to get on the ride.

Lisa got settled down on the edge of the sandbox and held Kayti’s hand until she was safely down into the sand. Sammy had jumped right in. It was a child’s dream to be able to be in a sand pile almost as big as their playground at home. It was covered by a roof and had columns scattered throughout. The columns were covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics bringing the sandbox into the Egyptian theme of the area.

“Come on boys. You can jump in.” Lisa told Blake and Brandon.

“I’ll just sit here and wait for my Mom and Dad to come back.” Blake said as he sat next to Lisa, followed by his brother.

“It looks like Kayti and Sammy are having an awful lot of fun in there.”

“Yeah, but they’re just little kids. Sandboxes are for babies.” Brandon said.

“Are you kidding? They have a sandbox at home. It isn’t near as big as this one but we all get in and build sand castles and stuff. It is a lot of fun.”

“Do you really? Blake asked hopefully.

‘I sure do.”

The two boys looked at each other for just a second and then without a word they both jumped in and went to play. Lisa smiled at them when they looked up at her.

“Mommy, take a picture in here of my sand castle.”

“Thanks for reminding me, Sammy. I would have forgotten.” Lisa said as she pulled out the camera and took several shots of the four children playing together.

She took the shots just in time before Kayti stood up, lost her balance and promptly fell right on top of Sammy’s castle. The next few minutes were spent consoling Sammy who was upset that his castle was ruined and Kayti who got upset because Sammy was.

Chapter 129:

While in line, Jim finally got some of his questions answered about Il Divo and how Debbie and Hannah knew who they were, even about the forum that they occasionally visited when they went to the library and got on the computers there. He even found out that Urs was Debbie’s favorite Divo. It was very obvious who Hannah’s favorite was.

Jim wondered how Debbie and especially Hannah had reacted when Seb had come knocking on their door. He’d have to ask Seb about that later.

He was glad that at least Debbie was making small talk with him and the other guys. But he really wished Hannah would speak to him or even look at him. He didn’t blame her but he knew that if they didn’t begin to communicate, they would never be able to have a relationship.

The line moved steadily. It hadn’t been all that long. The park wasn’t near as full on a weekday as it would have been on a Saturday or Sunday and it was still early. The park wouldn’t be at its high point of visitors until at least mid-day.

They had moved forward until they were going to be on the next ride.

“Are you coming on?” Debbie asked her daughter.

Hannah struggled with her nerves. She was afraid but realized she didn’t want to look like a scared little kid to David or Seb so she decided to suck it up and go on the ride with them. She just hoped that she wouldn’t embarrass herself by throwing up.

The ride had rows of five seats across which was perfect for their little group. David got in his seat first followed by Debbie. Jim got on next with Hannah and Seb filling up the row. They were all buckled in then the ride attendant checked each rider to be sure they were correctly secured into their seat.They were only a few rows from the front, so they had to wait for the attendant to check everyone else. The longer they sat there, the more Hannah began to regret her decision to come on with them. She had a white knuckled grip on the bars. One of the scariest parts was that their legs were just hanging, swinging free in the wide open space beneath their seats.

“This is going to be great.” Seb said, leaning over to her. Then he noticed how pale she looked.

“Are you okay? We can get him to let you off.”

“No, I’m fine.” Hannah said not sounding very confident.

The attendant came back to the front where the control box was located and after giving one last look at the riders, he threw the switch that started them moving. Hannah gripped the bars even harder, if that was even possible. The train of cars began to slowly move along the track the clicking sound seeming very loud to Hannah. She pressed her head back against her seat and closed her eyes.

“Wow, look at the view.” Debbie said causing Hannah to open her eyes and then she wished she hadn’t.

Jim saw that Hannah didn’t look like she was enjoying the ride very much. He wanted to comfort her but didn’t know if it would make matters worse. It was only after they had reached the top of the first hill and began their rapid descent and he heard Hannah’s frightened scream that he reached across as quickly as he could and took a hold of her hand in his.

Hannah felt two hands, each grasping one of her hands. She was too afraid to even think about who they were at that moment. All she knew was that she felt better with their contact. She tightly gripped each of the hands as they flew through the air, turning upside down and through the corkscrew turn.

As fast as the ride began, it ended, coming to a very rapid stop. The padded bars that were snug against her chest were the only thing keeping her from sailing forward. She stayed still for a few seconds, waiting for her heart to slow down but she heard everyone else beginning to unbuckle themselves and she could no longer feel the bars in front of her. Upon stopping, the bars automatically release and rise up to allow the passenger to get out.

“Are you all right, Princess? It’s time to get off.” She heard coming from her left side.

She opened her eyes and realized that Seb was waiting on her right for her to go so he could get off of the ride.

She looked at her father that had been speaking to her and realized what he had called her. Princess, the pet name he had called her from birth until he had left them. As she stood and moved off of the ride, she felt a mixture of warmth, remembering how close they had been, warring with the anger and sadness she felt towards him. She was trying not to be outwardly hostile to her father. She didn’t want to disappoint Seb. He had specifically asked her to give her father a chance.

She felt Seb’s hands on her shoulders as he came up behind her.

“Well, how did you like that?”

“Um Well, I’m just glad we are still alive.” She said smiling up at him.

Seb threw his head back laughing at the truly honest reply. He knew she had been scared spitless.

“I know it was scary but you were very brave to go on it.”

They exited the ride and headed for the sand box.

“Hey this is cool.” David said when he saw the size of the sand box.

“Son, what happened to your head?” Seb asked Sammy.

While they had been waiting to leave this morning, David had seen a bottle of gel and had spiked Sammy’s hair up. Now the spikes were also covered with a layer of sand. He reminded Seb of the way the boy’s hair looked in “Le Petit Prince, only not quite as long.”

“Papa, Kayti put sand on my head.”

Seb looked at Lisa and she nodded her head. “Yup, I saw that she was going to do it just a bit too late. By the time I spoke to her, he was covered. I was just glad it didn’t go in his eyes.

Seb bent down and looked Kayti in the eye. “Kayti, why did you do that to Sammy?”

It was almost his undoing when Kayti shrugged her shoulders at him then smiled at him like the face of total innocence. “Well, you need to go and tell him that you are very sorry, right now.”

“Come on Buddy. We’ll get you fixed up.” David said after Kayti had told him she was sorry. Then he and Seb took him into the men’s room to wash his hair out. It took some convincing when Sammy realized that the gel was going to be washed out too. David held Sammy out straight, lying on his arms while Seb ran warm water over Sammy’s head. To make Sammy feel better, David ruffled Sammy’s hair up so it was all messy. He promised Sammy that it would dry a little bit spikey.

They left Egypt and headed towards Nairobi, stopping at the train station. They knew there was no way they could skip this ride. The children including the twins were thrilled to get to ride on the train. Sammy told the boys about his birthday train.

“Wow, can we come to your house and play? It sounds like fun there.” Brandon asked.

Jim looked at Debbie, trying to gauge her mood and figure out how she would feel about the children coming to visit him there. Of course, he knew that he would need to have a proper home first.

“I hope that you will all come to visit us soon.” Seb said to Brandon and then he looked at Debbie, asking with his eyes.

“I think we might get to visit someday.” She said, not actually committing to anything specific yet. She could see how much the children needed their father. The logistics of it all would have to be worked out with the great distance, both figurative and literal to overcome.

Jim gently took hold of Debbie’s arm and directed her to a train car further back from where the others were sitting. She looked at him and he didn’t think she was too happy about it.

“I’m sorry Deb. I just wanted a few minutes to speak to you alone so we could decide if and when we would leave the children with Seb and Lisa and go talk. I actually hate to leave them at all but we do need to talk.”

Jim really did seem to be different and sorry for what he’d done. She owed it to her children to try to come to some kind of middle ground with their father so they could stay connected. As far as the relationship between the two of them, she didn’t even want to go there today. It was still too raw, feeling like a wound that had partially healed being ripped wide open again, making her heart bleed all over again..

“Alright, it’s up to you. You decide when we’ll go.”

“Did you mean it about coming to visit in Clearwater?”

“Don’t push me, Jim. If it wasn’t for Sebastien’s generosity, there is no way I could have gotten here today. I have no extra money.” She said not even trying to mask her anger.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Jim said dropping his head. He was going to have to tread very carefully here to avoid pushing her any further away. “I’ll take care of the expense of getting you all there if you decide to come. You just let me know what you want to do. I haven’t gotten a phone yet but you can always reach me through Seb and Lisa if you need anything.”

Debbie didn’t reply, just nodded her head.

“Look Deb, I know how bad I screwed up. I don’t expect you to forgive what I did. I just want to try to make it up to you and the kids as best I can. I just hope that you can let me try. I will be sending you money faithfully. I’ll talk to Seb later about me getting a bank account and getting a direct deposit set up for you.

Debbie wanted to believe him. She felt her heart jump in her chest at the thought of her finances getting a much needed boost if he did as he was promising her.

“Jim, that will be great. We really could use the help. But one thing I need to say here is that if you do anything else to hurt my children, that will be it. You will never get another chance, not ever.”

“I understand that and I don’t blame you. I promise that I will never break your trust of me again.”

“I didn’t say I trusted you, because right now I am too afraid to do that. I can’t make you any promises here, Jim. I’m still in shock here at you being back in our lives. I also don’t want you having any illusions or getting any kind of idea that there is a chance for you and me. All I want is for the children to be able to have contact with their father. They need you in whatever capacity you will be there.”

Jim felt his heart breaking at her words. She had no room for him in her life anymore and it was all his own fault. The self loathing he had been trying to rid himself of these past couple of months threatened to overtake him once again.

Debbie saw the tears sitting in the corners of his eyes and the raw emotion on his face and she almost felt sorry for what she’d said to him, almost. She had only spoken the truth and it needed to be said. She didn’t want him wasting either of their time by trying to put their marriage back together because as far as she was concerned, it would never happen. The hurt went far too deep for that. Like she’d told him, all she wanted was for their children to have him back in their lives and hopefully him doing his part to support the children he had helped to bring into the world.

“Jim, as far as I’m concerned, we can talk some other time. Why don’t we just all stay together so you can be with the children and we’ll arrange another time to talk? They really are having a wonderful time.”

“I want to spend as much time as possible with them, so yeah that would be great if it is alright with you. You’ve done a great job with them, Deb. They look wonderful and I’m not just saying that to get on your good side either. I really mean it. I know it has been very hard.”

“It has been hard, Jim. But they’ve always been pretty good kids and while they aren’t always angels they have never given me any real grief. I can see how much the boys have attached themselves to you already. Don’t give up on Hannah. She is very angry with you but that is because she loves you so much and she has never understood why you left.”

“Do you? Do you understand what made me think I had to go?”

“I think I know what was going on in your head at the time but I will never say I agree with what you did or how you did it. There is no way that leaving us especially without a word of goodbye for three years and no contact was a good thing for any of us.”

“I know that……now.” He said feeling very ashamed of himself at the pain he’d caused them all. “I really do want to make it up to you, all of you.”

Their conversation came to a forced end as the train stopped and they all disembarked. Jim pulled Seb aside and told him of their decision to wait to talk and just enjoy the rest of the day at the park with their children.

The children began asking for something to eat as they saw all of the food they were passing. They had gotten off of the train in Stanleyville and the wonderful aroma’s coming out of the Zambia Smokehouse helped them to decide to go inside and get something for lunch.

Inside were smoked barbequed ribs and chicken, fries and warm yeast rolls with sides of salad and even a selection of desserts such as apple and lemon pie, chocolate cake or chocolate pudding with a generous dollop of whipped cream. They had chicken tenders and fries for the little ones that came in a special keepsake dish that they could take home with them.

“I can’t eat another bite.” Lisa said leaning back in her chair and giving her belly a bit of extra space.

“You didn’t really eat all that much. Are you feeling alright?” Seb asked, placing one arm around her shoulder and one hand on her belly.

“I am just fine. But please don’t push there right now.” She removed his hand from her belly and excused herself from the table. Before she left for the ladies room, she leaned down and kissed him. Blake and Brandon both began giggling, thinking it was funny.

“Boys behave.” Debbie said sternly but smiled at them to take the sting out. Then she rose to follow Lisa out of the restaurant. The restrooms were just across the way.

“I hope that you and the children are enjoying yourselves today.” Lisa said as they tried to navigate through the busy area. This was one of the more popular areas having this terrific restaurant and most of the water rides were in Stanleyville.

“We are having a wonderful time. It was so generous of Sebastien to do this for us.”

“That’s just how he is but I will tell you that he’s been nervous about it too. He wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing in going to see you.”

“Actually, I wasn’t sure at first either. It just brought so much of the anger and hurt to the surface. But I am glad for the children. The boys are thrilled. It’s like he never left. But Hannah is so angry. I don’t think she’s said a word to him. I thought about telling her that she needed to speak to him but I thought about it and changed my mind. She has to work this out for herself, in her own time. I won’t force her. He hurt her almost as much as he hurt me, but in a different way of course.”

“I know. He told us about when he left and I can imagine how hard it must have been. I would never be a whole person again if Seb ever left like that.”

“Yes, but Seb never would do something like that. I’m sorry, I am presuming to know him personally but I did read the book where he talked about his childhood and that is why I understand his motivation in doing what he’s done for our family.”

Lisa nodded as they went their separate ways to take care of business and on the way back out, Debbie thanked her for being so understanding with all of this and for allowing them to join them on their family day.

“Hey, I’m having a good time today too. The children are having a ball and I think Sammy has found some nice boys to look up to. I’m not too sure if they appreciate it though.”

“They aren’t around too many younger children but they’ll just have to get used to it. I don’t know how this will all work out but when Jim gets a place, I suppose the children will come to spend time with him occasionally.”

Lisa wanted to ask her if there was any chance for her and Jim to get back together but she didn’t feel comfortable doing it. It wasn’t like it was Alex. She would ask her anything.

They all met outside of the restaurant and decided since they were here they might as well hit the water rides and David, Seb and Debbie decided to go on Sheikra, one of the other large roller coasters. Jim declined saying that his back was complaining after the other one and he didn’t want to cause any damage.

“Hannah, how about you? Are you going to join us on this one?” Debbie asked her.

“No, not me. I’ll stay right here and watch you guys.”

So the rest of the group stood along side of the ride, trying to catch a glimpse of the riders. While they waited, they saw that at one section by the railing, when the coaster came down one of the hills, the back of the cars kicked up a wall of water, sending it over the railing and soaking anyone who was standing within what the called the soak zone. There was a spot on either side of the “Soak Zone” that you could stand if you just wanted a bit of the spray or the center where you would get the full force of the splash.

The twins and Hannah ran over and stood right in the center and Jim stepped up behind them.

Lisa saw the look of joy on the young boys faces at sharing such a fun time with their Dad. Hannah was enjoying herself but still wasn’t including her father in her fun.

After a couple of coaster runs, Sammy asked Lisa if he could go with the boys but she thought the full force of the splash might be too much so she picked Kayti up from the stroller and the three of them stood in the lighter spray area, enough to get wet but not likely to knock the children over. It felt wonderful because now that it was after noon time, the temperature was well into the ninety degree range.

After the Stanleyville area had been totally explored, Lisa told everyone that she was going to take her two down to the Land of the Dragons just below Stanleyville, while the rest of them headed up to the Congo section to ride on the Congo River Rapids and Kumba. The twins would stay with the rest of their family because they could ride the rapids and then Jim would keep them while the rest went on Kumba, the third large coaster that they couldn’t ride.

They parted ways and Lisa took her time walking, knowing with the increasing crowd that the lines that the rest of them would be waiting in would keep them for at least an hour, maybe more. Sammy opted to ride and when Lisa looked at the children when she had to stop for a large group of people that were passing in front of her, she chuckled when she found that both Sammy and Kayti had fallen asleep, the heat and their usual nap time approaching, having caught up with them. She sat down when she arrived in the children’s ride area and let them sleep for a while before waking them and letting them ride all of the rides that were scaled down for the small riders. Some of these rides were so small that they were too small for children the size of Blake and Brandon to ride on.

She was holding the camera and snapping pictures of Sammy and Kayti riding on some little airplanes that actually left the ground and rose to about fifteen feet in the air and then slowly dropped back down before going up again.

“Look Mommy, I’m flying a airplane just like Papa.” He yelled to her from up in the air.

She was a bit nervous letting Kayti on without her or Seb to hold her but she’d let her go. Kayti had done well for most of the ride but all of a sudden, she tried to stand up to see her Mama. Lisa felt her heart skip a beat as she hollered up to Kayti.

“Kayti Izambard, you need to sit down on your bottom right now.”

Kayti did sit back down but was still leaning over the side of the plane as it rose up in the air. Lisa was glad when both of the children had their feet firmly planted back on the ground. And then she put them in the line for the miniature teacups.

As she sat on the bench watching them slowly spin in circles, she felt a flutter and then another. Within seconds, it felt like little Jessica was on a ride of her own. Lisa could feel movement all over her belly. She had been feeling movement but mostly at night when she was trying to sleep. She was told by her doctor it was because she was usually so busy during the day that even if the baby was moving, she might not feel it so much if she was moving around herself. Where at night when she was lying still and on her back in bed she would be more likely to feel a lot more movement.

But this was different. As she started seeing the right side of her abdomen rising up in a mound that was even visible through her shirt, she felt movement in several other areas as if the baby was flexing both of her arms and legs, trying to stretch out. She laid her hand on the mound and waited for another movement. She was not disappointed. She felt a hardness to the mound as it pushed against her hand. She knew from the last sonogram that this was likely Jessica’s head that she was feeling. She knew that she was grinning widely as she sat there enjoying this closeness with her child. She was getting anxious to hold Jessica and to see her tiny face. But this was a special time of bonding too.

While she loved all three of the children already entrusted to her, she was so glad that she was also being given this gift of giving birth to her own child.

In her mind, Lisa spoke to Aunt Jessie.

“Oh Auntie, I know that you can see me and my wonderful family. I just wish that you were here to share all of this with me. I miss you.”

She wasn’t going to let herself get emotional here. She was enjoying her day but every now and then she would feel the loss of Auntie very deeply, especially when something important was happening.

When the rest of the group met them in the Land of the Dragons, before he even reached her he could see the smile on Lisa’s face and her hand on her belly. When he stooped over to place a tender kiss on her lips she took his hand and placed it where hers had just been.

“Your daughter didn’t want to be left out of all of the fun so she has been in here doing all kinds of acrobatics.”

Seb sat beside her and left his hand in place for several minutes enjoying feeling the movements of the daughter he was already in love with.

Chapter 130:

Alex, Urs and Mami planned to arrive at the hospital in time to feed Aaron his second bottle of the morning. They called on the phone outside the NICU to be given admittance into the ward. They went through the now familiar ritual of thoroughly washing their hands and headed back to the area that Aaron’s isolette was. When they stepped in and walked over to him, they all looked at each other and Urs could see that Alex was trembling.

“Where’s Aaron? Where’s my baby?” she said shakily.

In the isolette that was in front of them was a baby, just not theirs. It was obviously a girl by all of the pink writing on the name card and flowers and such. But Alex barely noticed. All she knew was that her son was not where she had left him last night and she was becoming very frightened that something had happened to him and they had neglected to call her and Urs.

“Hang on, We’ll find him. They probably play musical babies or something.” He said trying to calm both her and himself.

Urs walked to the first nurse he found and asked where their son was.

“Oh Mr. Buhler. I’m sorry. I know that must have been a shock not to find him where you had left him.”

“Yes, but please, just tell me where he is.” He was trying not to sound too frantic but every nerve in his body was screaming.

“We had to move Aaron into the quarantine room. He’s gotten a fever and showing signs of an infection so we have to keep him away from the other babies. Come with me and I’ll take you to him.”

Urs beckoned Alex and Mami to follow them. Alex rushed over to him.

“Urs, Where is he?”

“The nurse says he has a fever and possibly an infection so they have him in a room away from the other babies.”

Her eyes became huge and filled with tears. She had been doing a great deal of reading on prematurity and the possible problems that could arise. She knew that an infection in a preemie could be fatal and very quickly.

She grasped Urs’s hand as they followed the nurse around through the maze of isolettes until they came to a glass enclosed room with just one isolette inside. There was another nurse inside with him. She was writing something in his chart and looked up when she saw them outside.

The first nurse left them and headed back to what she was doing after telling them that Sherry would take care of them.

“Good morning.” Sherry said.

“Good morning.” Urs replied, not wanting to be rude but anxious to know about Aaron.

“What is wrong with Aaron?” Alex asked.

“Well, we have run some tests and we are waiting for the results to come back. When a baby has an infection, one of the first things we check for is Meningitis and since it takes several days to get even the preliminary results back, we don’t wait for them. We automatically start them on the antibiotic for it just in case. If it was Meningitis and we waited for the results, the outcome would be very bad. You can come in and see him but you’ll need to wear these gowns and a face mask. Oh good I see that you’ve brought your milk for him.”

“Can I feed him?”

“I’m sorry, no. He needs to stay in the isolette. We have inserted a feeding tube because we couldn’t get him to eat for us through the night. But we still want him to have your milk for as long as you are willing and able to supply it.”

They all got into the gowns and rewashed their hands before entering the quarantine room. They were only able to touch him through the little holes in the isolette and then the nurse told them that they shouldn’t disturb him too much. He needed his rest.

Sherry took the milk from Alex and put it into a vile. Then she attached the vile to the tube and they watched as she slowly pushed the milk through the feeding tube, a few drips at a time. The milk traveled through the tube that ran into his nose. He barely stirred as the milk filled his belly.

“Is he going to be alright?” Alex asked her.

“He’s stable right now. The fever has gone down and he’s resting comfortably. Hopefully this is something that will be knocked out quickly by the antibiotics.”

“What if it is Meningitis?”

“As I said, we’ve already started him on the correct medicine just in case.”

“What does Meningitis do?” Urs asked.

“It can cause brain damage, seizures, and hearing loss. But please don’t get yourselves too worried. If it is Meningitis, we’ve caught it early. If not, whatever it is will hopefully be knocked out soon. That his fever has dropped is a great sign.”

Urs made sure that his mother had understood everything that the nurse had told them.

They visited for a while before taking a break to go get some coffee. The nurse said they could come back once an hour and visit for fifteen minutes at a time.

Sitting in the cafeteria with cups of coffee in front of them, none of them was very talkative. Aaron had seemed to be doing remarkably well considering his prematurity and his birth defect. They had all really let their guard down as they had gone through the days visiting and holding him. He had been steadily gaining weight and was even becoming more alert when they held him, often looking them right in the eye.

Alex wiped a tear off of her cheek with the back of her hand as she stared down into her coffee. Then she laid her head onto Urs’s shoulder. He placed his arm around her shoulder and drew her against him.

“He is a very strong child. He has already proven that several times. He will get past this new challenge.” Mami said.

“He has to Mami. He just has to. I don’t think I could make it if we lost him now.” Alex said, still wrapped in Urs’s embrace.

The rest of the day was spent visiting Aaron as much as they were allowed to. Mami went with them sometimes and other times she let Urs and Alex go in alone. Alex had called Mom and Dad and they came up as soon as Dad got off of work and spent the evening with them.

*
The group at Busch Gardens had settled into having a wonderful time. Debbie had chosen to put aside all of her emotions regarding Jim and the future of their relationship and just enjoy this once in a lifetime day. She hadn’t seen her children so happy in a very long time.

Hannah was also having fun but she still refused to speak directly to her father. He was desperately trying not to let it bother him but was failing miserably. Before they left the Land of the Dragons area for the smaller children, Jim saw an opening when he and Hannah wound up alone together for a few minutes and she actually didn’t walk away from him.

“Hannah, could I speak to you for a moment?”

He saw her body tense up and the smile fell from her face as she realized that she was going to be unable to avoid this without being totally rude and just walking away. She didn’t want to ruin the day for the rest of the group so she had just tried to avoid having to speak to him. She had had no idea how obvious she had actually been.

“Listen Princess, you don’t have to speak to me if you don’t want to right now. I don’t want to spoil your day. But please listen to me for just a minute, alright?”

She didn’t answer but didn’t move away either. Her eyes rose to meet his and he could see all of the pain and hurt buried in them.

“I am so sorry, Princess. I wish I could turn the clock back and undo what I did. I have no excuses to give you that would make you understand. I just need to make sure that you know that I love you. I have always loved you and have never stopped for one minute since the day I found out that your Mom was pregnant with you. I know that right now you may not believe me and I don’t blame you. I am just hoping that over time, you might give me the chance to try to make it up to you somehow. You don’t even need to speak to me today if you don’t want to. I deserve it. But, Please know that I love you, Princess.”

Hannah had to look away at last when she saw the tears filling her father’s eyes. She didn’t want to feel sorry for him. He was the one who had done something wrong, not her. She realized though that even her mother had been speaking to him at times throughout the day so far and if her Mom could, then maybe she could too. That didn’t mean that she was any less angry or hurt.

“I missed you Daddy. I looked for you every day for a very long time until I stopped looking because it made me so sad to sit there and have you not come home to me.”

Hannah hadn’t realized what saying those words would do to her. Once spoken, the floodgates opened and the tears fell hard and fast and she was so embarrassed to be standing out in public, crying like a baby. She turned and began to walk away, but Jim put his hand on her shoulder making her stop.

“Hannah, baby, please come here. I’m so sorry. You have every right to be angry and hurt. I hope that I can fix it. I really do. I missed you so much.”

The sad little girl inside of Hannah was at war with the maturing teenager that was filled with anger. Part of her wanted to lash out at him and make him hurt inside as bad as she was but the little girl won out as she turned and threw herself into her Daddy’s arms, longing to feel his love and protection again after so long.

Seb saw the encounter and moved over to where Debbie was with the boys and tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to Jim and Hannah.

Debbie sighed with relief as she saw Hannah clinging tightly to her father. She watched as he stroked her hair and kissed her head, his own tears falling. She was concerned that maybe Hannah would be unable to let her father back into her life. That wasn’t to say that today was going to be a quick fix but, maybe it was a big start. Debbie smiled at Seb and whispered another “Thank you” to him for arranging this whole encounter. Her children had a chance to be whole again.

Seb gathered them all together and told Lisa that she needed to come and bring the kids back up past Stanleyville towards the Congo area and see the new area called Jungala. They had a new enclosure for the white and yellow tigers as well as a new area for the Orangutans.

They arrived just at the perfect times to get to see the animals being fed. And while the keepers were feeding the animals, they spoke to the growing crowd and told them a lot of information about the animals as well as answered questions from the guests.

They had seen the tigers first and then had crossed over to see the orangutans. Their enclosure had a large glass area that allowed the guests to get a great view of the animals and their habitat. Just on the other side of the glass was a wooden walkway for the apes to sit and wait for their lunch. They knew what time it was and were waiting even before the keeper had gotten there. Everyone, especially the children were so excited to get to see them so close up. Kayti wouldn’t go up to the glass. The apes were literally only a few inches away.

Sammy, Blake and Brandon on the other hand weren’t afraid and got right up to the glass to watch them. Sammy had one of his disposable cameras and was enjoying taking pictures of the orange ape. It seemed to be looking directly at him.



Orangutans are very comical animals and while the keeper was feeding them the youngest of them, a baby that was not quite a year old began clowning around as it ate. And once it had had its fill, he rushed off to climb the long rope that took it up to a tower in their enclosure, before swinging down on another rope that took it into the center of the large field.

Sammy was enchanted by the hairy animals and their antics. He was giggling so much that he had others around him laughing.

The next few hours were spent catching some of the other rides that they hadn’t gotten to yet and when it got close to the end of the day and the children were obviously tired, they all took the Safari ride that brought them up close to the animals around Africa and the Serengeti Plain.

Seb and David told the rest of them about the real Safari they’d been on a couple of years ago. By the time they finished on the Safari, it was agreed by all that they had had enough for one day and decided to head to The Red Lobster restaurant that was just outside of the park gates and get some dinner before driving home.

Blake and Brandon begged their father to ride with them to the restaurant. Jim looked to Debbie for an answer. He didn’t want to agree to it and have her get upset about it.

“Sure, Dad can ride with us. Come on.” Debbie said and Jim thought his heart would melt when she gave him a small smile even though he knew it was mostly for the boys’ benefit.

Jim got into the back seat with the boys while Hannah rode up front with her Mom.

“Well, things seem to be going fairly well so far, don’t you think?” Seb said to Lisa and David as they drove over to the restaurant.

“It seems to be, especially since Hannah seems to have relaxed a little with him.” Lisa said.

They enjoyed their dinner and then Lisa took Sammy and Kayti into the restroom to clean them up and change Kayti’s diaper for the ride home. She was doing fairly well potty training but Lisa had left her in her pull ups disposable pants for today.

The next half hour was rather difficult as they went outside to head home. The boys both began crying, clinging to Jim and begging him to come back home with them. They were so afraid they wouldn’t see him again or for a very long time. Jim knelt down in the parking lot in front of the boys and even reached for Hannah’s hand and gently pulled her close to him, not releasing her hand as he spoke to them.

“Listen, I promise you that I will see you all very soon, probably next weekend. I have to go back to the Izambard’s with them so I can work. I will get a phone soon so that you can call me.”

“That’s right and you can always call our house to talk to your Dad.” Seb told them then he winked at Hannah. He saw how hard she was trying not to break down and cry.

The affects of Jim’s absence was just beginning to show in the boys. Up till now, all they cared about was that he was there with them. They hadn’t thought ahead to the end of the day. They had just assumed that he would be going home with them and they would be a family just like before.

“But Daddy, why can’t you come home now?” Brandon cried.

Lisa saw that the boys’ crying was upsetting to Sammy just by the look on his face so she said goodnight to Debbie and Hannah and went to get the children into their carseats.

“I’m sorry Buddy. I just can’t but I promise I will talk to you every day and I will see you soon.”

“No you won’t Daddy. We won’t see you for a long time again.” Blake said to him.

“NO, I promise that is not ever going to happen again, Blake. I will never go away again and leave you. We might live far apart right now but I Love you and I will always be where you can talk to me and if you need me I can come to you.”

“I do need you Daddy. I need you to come home now.” Brandon said still sniffling.

“I know this is hard kids. I am so sorry I ever went away. But I will do everything I can to fix it.”

Jim hugged each of the boys and then he stood up and hugged Hannah who again was rather stiff with him but she let him hug her. Then he went to Debbie and handed her a check.

“Here, Seb wrote this out for you and I will pay him back tomorrow. It is just a start and we didn’t talk much about important things today but we will. And I want you to call and let me know if you need anything, anything at all.

There wasn’t much Debbie could say right now. They did have a lot to talk about. Her house was falling down around her but she had been barely able to pay her bills. Then they would have to discuss his visitation with the children. As far as she was concerned, he could see them whenever he wanted to.
She took the check without looking at it and slipped it into her pocket and just nodded and said thank you before she gently told the boys to say goodbye to everyone, also reminding them to thank Seb for this wonderful day.

“Call Seb’s phone when you get home, so I know that you made it safely.” Jim asked Debbie as she slid into the driver’s seat.

The rest of them waited in the parking lot until Debbie’s rental car pulled out of the driveway and was out of sight. Seb and David went and got in the Escalade, giving Jim a minute to collect himself before they left for home.

On the ride home the wheels were turning in Seb’s head and he was just dying to talk to Lisa about it but he knew he’d have to wait until they were alone. “It would be perfect.” he thought, that is if everyone else agreed. He continued to work through the logistics in his mind as he drove.

Lisa’s cell phone rang and she hurried to answer it so it wouldn’t wake Sammy and Kayti who had promptly fallen asleep in their car seats when they left the restaurant.

Seb and David had been listening and knew that it was Alex by her answers. They waited until she hung up before they began to fire questions at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is Aaron alright?”

“When Urs, Alex and his Mom got to the hospital this morning they found that Aaron had been moved into quarantine. He’s got some type of infection. They are running tests but have already started him on some antibiotics to fight it. Alex sounds really worried. One thing they are testing for is Meningitis and that can be very bad. They’re on their way home. She said she’d call when she knew more.”

Lisa leaned her head back against the back seat. She was sitting in back with Jim and the children so David could stretch his legs up front. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the little boy who had already had to fight through so much adversity and also for his parents who needed to find the strength to deal with each day of challenges with their baby.

The next thing Lisa knew, Seb was gently stroking her cheek and trying to wake her.

“We’re home Baby.”

“That was quick.” She said, still very drowsy.

“You slept most of the way home. It was a long day for you, being on your feet so much. I hope it wasn’t too much for you.”

“Of course not. It was a wonderful day, Seb.”

“It was wasn’t it.”

“It was amazing. Thank you Seb.” Jim said from beside them.

“You are very welcome Jim. I just hope that everything works out now with Debbie and the kids.”

“I think the kids and I will be fine, Debbie, I’m not so sure about.” He said looking pained at the thought of being unable to repair his marriage. “Come on. I’ll carry Kayti up for you.”

Seb and Jim got the children settled in their beds. Seb had woken Sammy to use the potty but left Kayti undisturbed. She probably would have been wide awake after taking that long of a nap.

On his way back in from locking up, Seb almost ran into Mary.

“Hi Mary. Was everything alright today? Did Lauren behave for you?”

“Oh she was an angel as always. She is so happy now that she can get around. Crawling through the house keeps her entertained for a lot longer and also wears her out. By the time she had eaten her dinner and had a bath, she was plenty ready to go to sleep.”

“Thank you for taking care of her. We had a wonderful day but it was pretty hot out there. I’m glad she was here and comfortable. Goodnight” He said as he kissd her cheek.

“Goodnight Seb.”

Seb joined Lisa in their bedroom. She was just coming out of the nursery after checking to make sure that Lauren was alright.

“Is Jim gone?”

“Yes, he said he’d be here in the morning to go over the list for the rest of the arrangements for the Grand opening party.

“I wish he’d come and stay here or something.” Lisa said. She really hated it every time Jim went back out into the woods all alone to the little shelter he’d built, even though he said he was fine there.

“Well, I have an idea and I’ve been waiting to get home to speak to you about it in private.”

Lisa was immediately wide awake as she saw his excitement. “What, hurry tell me. I can tell it is something big.”

“I want you to know that this is your decision. This group home is yours, and I don’t want you to think that you have to do this. It was just an idea.”

“Will you just hurry and tell me and this is our home, yours and mine.” She said giving his cheek a squeeze.

“Okay here it is. I was thinking the same thing as you. I don’t like Jim having to live out there in the woods, even though he says it is alright. What if we gave him a room here in the house.”

“Why not in the guest house? Not that I’d mind him being in the house, but, I think he’d be more comfortable having his own space.”

“Well, that’s the other part. I was thinking that maybe Debbie and the kids could live there if she was willing to take the position that you have been looking to fill. With Jim here as handyman and Debbie here to be a helper to you and to Mary, that would fill the positions we had available. Plus, I’ve seen the house they are living in. Besides being bigger, there isn’t much difference between that house and what Jim is living in. All they would need is bedroom furniture and they could move right in……. So…What do you think?”

Lisa sat there stunned. Wow, he really had been thinking about it.

“Well, it would allow them to be close together. They wouldn’t have the distance to worry about anymore. Do you think Debbie would take the job and move them all here?”

“There’s only one way to find out, Ask her.” He said.

“Maybe we should talk to Jim first and see what he thinks about it.”

“Alright, we’ll sit down with him tomorrow.”

While they had been talking they had been getting ready for bed and once they were settled, Lisa knew she should be falling right to sleep. It really had been a long day, as fun as it was. But now she had so many thoughts running through her head at the possibilities if Debbie agreed to take the job, she felt wide awake. Suddenly Seb was looming over her and placing tiny kisses on her face starting with the tip of her nose and continuing on over her face making her giggle.

“I figured since you seem to be quite awake now that maybe….”

“Hmm, maybe.” She said with a mischievous glint in her eye.”

Seb began running his hands all over her bare skin as he placed the kisses strategically on her most sensitive spots on her neck, making sure his hands and lips would linger in the places that he knew would drive her insane with need for him. She had been so shy and nervous in the beginning but, now they had come to know each other’s bodies and what would bring the other the greatest pleasure. He was rewarded by the soft touch of her hands sliding up his bare back. He felt her passion growing as she firmly pulled him closer to herself. He heard the low moans growing in her throat, and her leg curled around his as she ran her foot up his calf and thigh.

“Have I convinced you yet?” he whispered into her ear.

“Mmmmhmm. Yup.” She said breathlessly.

Their loving had become a study in trying new things as her belly had grown and Seb had become nervous about hurting her or the baby by putting too much weight on her belly. This had proven to in many ways increase the intensity of their releases.

“Seb?” Lisa spoke as they lay in each other’s arms a while later.

“Mmm” Seb answered, sounding sleepy now.

“I Love you.”

“I Love you too, Baby.”

“Goodnight”

He didn’t answer her and she could hear the sound and feel the rise and fall of his chest from his even breathing. She just tightened her arm around his waist and closed her eyes, following him into a contented sleep.

Chapter 131:

They were just finishing breakfast when Jim knocked on the door.

“Good morning Jim. Come sit down and have some breakfast. There’s plenty left.” Mary offered.

“If you’re sure I won’t be intruding.”

“Of course not. Take a seat.”

“Hi Mr. Jim. Can your boys come to play at my house? They’re my friends.” Sammy asked as he finished his last bite of his toast.

“I’m sure they’ll come to play someday, Sammy. I’m glad that you had fun with them yesterday.

Lisa and Mary got the children moved into the craft room. The pack and play had been rolled in there so Mary could keep an eye on all three of them while Lisa and Seb spoke to Jim.

Earlier, they had told Mary their plan and were thrilled when she agreed that it would be great to have the positions all filled and that Jim was a great asset here. If Debbie came on board, then they would be ready for as many children as they could hold and have enough help to properly care for them.

Seb and Lisa waited for Jim to finish with his breakfast before broaching the subject.

“Jim, we have something we need to speak with you about.” Seb said.

Jim’s face fell and they saw that he became quite nervous.

“It’s nothing bad Jim. It’s just something that Seb came up with and I think it is a wonderful idea and I hope that you will agree.”

“Oh okay. Well, what is it?” he said looking visibly relieved.

“We want you to come and take a room in the house here. It has been planned that any staff living in the house would pay no living expenses. It would be written in your contract as part of your salary. The budget was laid out that way to allow for full time staff here.”

Seb and Lisa went on to lay out what his new salary and duties would be if he took the permanent position. Up until now, Jim had been pretty much been paid by the hour and had gotten a lot of hours in but this contract would assure him of a continued paycheck and allow him to make himself a budget and get his life back on track.

Jim was speechless for several moments as he digested what they were offering.

“Jim, this is not charity. You have more than proven to us that you have the knowledge and ability to help us keep this place going when we have repairs come up and you will be able to tell us if something is beyond your expertise and then we will contract out for those issues. But having you here on site will give us quick fixes for most of the things that will come up as well as all of the normal upkeep on the property. Now that Drew and his men are finished with the house they won’t be driving on the lawn area anymore. When they begin the music building they will drive down the side area to keep away from the main house and where the children would be. So we’ve ordered a large lawn tractor to mow with as well as all of the other lawn equipment that will be needed. There is a maintenance budget and when you would need something you would just take the credit card to the appropriate store or order online and we will allot it to that budget.” Lisa explained.

“I don’t know what to say. You have both been so good to me.”

“Everyone deserves a second chance Jim and we’ve enjoyed having you here. What we’ve just offered you is only part of it.” Seb added.

Jim’s eyebrows shot up. “What more could there be?” he thought to himself. They had just offered him a chance that he never thought he could hope for; to be able to pick himself up and begin again and allow him to help support his family as he should be.

“What would you think about us offering Debbie our other position that we need to fill? It would be a combination of several positions, really whatever was needed at the moment, including helping Mary in the kitchen, general cleaning and helping with the children both here in the house and on outings. The position would include a salary which we would discuss with her. She and the children would be able to live rent free in the guest house with full use of all of the facilities here on the property. As you know, the guest house is partially furnished, only needing bedroom furniture for the children’s rooms.” Lisa explained.

“Wow, As far as my position, I would be honored to be part of this home you are assembling. Thank you.”

“Great! Then you are welcome to move in today if you wish.” Seb told him which room was the room allotted for him.

“That room is huge. Are you sure that isn’t one of the rooms for children?”

“No, we want our staff to have their own space to retire to that is plenty comfortable. We know there will be times when the children can get on peoples nerves and you need some time on your own.” Lisa assured him.

“Okay, thank you very much for this. I was going to go into town later today to go apartment hunting. I guess I don’t need to do that. But I do want to go and look for a vehicle and get a cell phone so that Debbie and the children can contact me directly. I need them to know that I am serious.”

“Okay the day is yours today to do whatever you need to do. Let me know when you want to go and bring your things to the house. We can remove the back seat of the Escalade and go pick everything up. I know that you have some personal tools. You can store them in the basement in the maintenance room.” Seb told him.

“What do you think about the offer for Debbie? How do you feel about it?”

“Me? I would love to have her and the children right here with me. It would make reconnecting with them all so much easier. I guess it’s up to her though. It would be a big change and also uprooting the children. I don’t know how they would feel about it.”

“Well, I can tell you that my Aunt moved the two if us to Florida when I was just about Hannah’s age and I was furious with her for a while. But then I met Alex and I forgot about being mad at her. It might not be easy at first if they move here but if they do, they will have a great life here.”

“I know they would. Ask her. See what she thinks. I would love it if they were here with me but this will be totally up to her. I don’t want to influence her decision. She needs to do whatever will make her happy. Whatever she decides, I just want to support her and the children.”

“Okay, We’ll give her a call.”

They all went their separate ways to take care of things. Seb was going to help Mary with the children except for the time he’d go and help Jim pick up his belongings and Lisa was going to take Seb’s car and go to the hospital to see Alex and Aaron.

Later, Seb and Jim finished carrying Jim’s personal belongings into the house, either to his new room or into the maintenance room where the rest of the tools were kept. Jim didn’t have much but he was now looking forward to having a place to call his own and an actual closet to hang his clothes in. He needed to make a list of what he would need, definitely some more clothes for working around on the property. He’d probably go to one of the second hand stores for those. Then he would get some decent outfits for when he went somewhere with any of the others. He didn’t want to be an embarrassment.

He and Seb moved the daybed out of the nursery and into his room until he purchased a bedroom suite.

After Seb and Jim helped Mary feed the children their lunch and got the two girls settled down for their naps, the guys left for town so Jim could purchase a cell phone. The house had a phone system that had a main connection down in the office and then there were extensions scattered all over the house including all of the adult’s bedrooms. The ringers could be shut off if need be at any given location.

He also wanted to open a bank account and set up a direct deposit for Debbie, today if possible. The last thing he needed to do was look for a car to get around in. He didn’t want to have to depend on Seb or anyone else to take him where he needed to go.

To Jim, the biggest thing he’d accomplished today was getting the bank account opened and even the direct deposit was set up. While Jim had been opening his new account, he realized he still had the card with the account number for the old account that he and Debbie held jointly. Just for the heck of it, he decided to see if that was still her account. It was, and that made it possible to set up the direct deposit without even having to wait for Debbie to send him her account information.

Jim felt such a joy at having accomplished so much today. He was eager to go call Debbie and let her know both his new number and also about the money that was now in her account. He hadn’t had to wait for the direct deposit since he was at the bank and he was still listed on the account so he had deposited some money into her account.

He had felt ill when he had seen the measly amount of money she had in the account to live on. He could have very easily slipped back into his dark place if Seb hadn’t been there to encourage him and remind him that he was now doing what he needed to do, that he couldn’t go back. All he could do now was move forward and make things right with them, including doing what he needed to support them.
The salary that he would make at the group home would more than allow him to do that and live very comfortably.

He had been thinking all day about the possibility of Debbie and the children coming to live here as well. He was trying not to get his hopes up but his heart was about to burst in excitement with the hope that he might just be able to live almost with his family again. Getting to see his children every day would be amazing.

After Jim went up to his room to call Debbie, Seb sat on the edge of Lisa’s chair, placing his arm around her shoulder.

“How’s Aaron?”

“I couldn’t go in to see him. Only Urs and Alex and his Grandparents could go in the little room they’ve moved him to. They really don’t know any more. It will be several days before they get the test results back for the meningitis. But his fever has gone way down. So that is good. Alex looks so sad and afraid, Urs too. But I can tell he’s trying to be strong for Alex. You might want to call him and give him a chance to talk.”

“I’ll do that. What about you? Are you alright? You need to be careful. I know that you are concerned for Alex and Aaron. I just don’t want it to affect your health or Jessica’s.” he said as he smoothed his hand over her belly.

“I’m okay….. really.” She said as she saw the concern on his face.

“Have you eaten since breakfast?”

“Yes, Mom and Urs’ mom were there too and we all had lunch together at the hospital. They had a wonderful salad with rosemary grilled chicken cut up in it. I ate too much actually.”

Seb knew better than that. He knew that she never ate very much at once lately.

“It was a pretty big salad though and I brought the rest home for lunch tomorrow.”

“Ah huh.” He said. “Well, I’m hungry so I’m going to go see what Mary’s got cooking for dinner.”

“Are we going to call Debbie this afternoon? I thought we should be together when she is called so we can both answer any questions she might have.”

“Yes, definitely. I want to get an idea if she’s interested. I could tell that Jim is excited at the prospect of them coming here.”

“I don’t imagine she will give us an answer right away.”

“Probably not. It is something she should think about.”

Lisa had been playing with his hand and running her fingertips up from his fingertips and on up his arm and she giggled when she noticed the goose bumps rising on his skin.

Seb leaned down and captured her smiling lips with his own and pressed her back against the over-stuffed chair. He laced his fingers through her thick hair and massaged her scalp as their kiss became more intense. His other hand stroked her cheek and her neck. He could feel her squirming beneath him as they each got lost in the others eyes and the exploration of their tongues. Their kiss came to an abrupt end when one of Kayti’s piercing screams filled the house. One aspect of this large house was that sounds were amplified through the giant rooms.

Seb slid off the chair and held out his hands for Lisa to grasp so he could help her up out of the chair then they both rushed to the playroom to find out what was wrong.

“Okay what happened?” Lisa asked as she scanned the room looking for blood or injuries.

Kayti was now playing happily at one side of the room, holding one of Sammy’s train cars, pushing it along one of the little tables. Meanwhile, Sammy was sitting on the floor beside his train platform looking very sad. Being that he was the one with the bigger vocabulary, Lisa knelt down next to him and took a hold of his hand.

“What happened Sammy? Why did Kayti scream like that?”

“I was playing with my trains. I didn’t want her to take my train off of the track. It was going to Busch Gardens to see the aminals. But she taked it anyway.”

“Did you hurt Kayti?”

“No Mommy I just holded onto my train and she pulled it away from me and yelled very loud. It hurted my ears.”

“Kayti, come see Mama, please.”

Kayti looked up from her play and met Lisa’s eyes but didn’t move.

“Kayti, come to Mama and bring Sammy’s train.”

Lisa knew that Sammy usually did very well with sharing so she was not going to tell him that he should have let Kayti play with the train. He needed to have time when he could have control over his toys and know they belonged to him. Kayti on the other hand thought that she could take what she wanted whenever she wanted it.

Kayti finally came to Lisa’s side. Since Lisa was kneeling, they were almost eye to eye.

“Kayti, did you take Sammy’s train without asking?”

“Yup, I play train.”

Kayti, Sammy was playing with his train and you should not have taken it away from him like that. And it is not nice at all when you scream like you did. Now, I want you to give Sammy his train back and tell him that you are sorry.

She was still holding tightly to the train car and didn’t look like she was going to give it up.

“Kayti, if you don’t do what Mama told you, you will have to go sit in the kitchen in the time out chair and you won’t be able to play with any of the toys. Now give Sammy the train and we will find something else for you to play with.”

They could see the wheels turning in her curly little head, weighing her options. She finally thrust the car back to Sammy and turned to go find something else to do.

“Young lady, you still need to tell your brother that you are sorry that you were not being nice.” Seb reminded her.

She looked up at Seb as she was still walking away and saw that he was serious. Papa had a happy face most of the time but Kayti could tell if Papa was unhappy and she decided that this face meant that she had better do as she was told or she would be in trouble. It made her cry when Papa was cross with her. So she turned around and ever so slowly made her way back to where Sammy was sitting.

“I sorry brother.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. Now, give Sammy a hug.” Lisa said.

Kayti leaned forward to hug Sammy and wound up falling on top of him and they would up lying in a heap on the floor, both of them laughing as they tried to untangle themselves.

Lisa just shook her head and held out her hands for Seb to help her up, knowing the crisis was now over.

After checking with Mary to see if she could keep an eye on them, they went into the office, shut the door and got their information together that they had prepared months earlier to explain the job description and salary information. They heard Jim’s heavy footsteps on the marble staircase, so they knew he was probably off the phone with Debbie.

Seb poked his head out and asked him to step into the office for a minute.

“Did you speak to Debbie? Is she at home?” Seb asked him.

“Yes, I spoke to her and all three of the children. The boys sounded so relieved. I honestly don’t think they believed that I would be calling them.”

“Well, now they know that you will. So, things should get better each day as you talk to them and they know that you will be calling the next day.” Lisa added.

“Did you happen to mention the job offer or the move?”

“No, I figured that that subject was between you and her. I wanted to tell her and then tell her that I wanted her to move them all here, I really did. But I figured I don’t really have the right to ask her anything right now. I just hope that she will.”

”We’re about to call her now. So we’ll see.”

“Thanks,….thank you again for everything. She sounded so happy when I told her about the money in the account and the direct deposit. I told her I was going to set it up but I guess she might not have believed me yesterday.”

Jim left the room, closing the door behind him. He wanted so badly to stay in the room or to listen against the door to try to hear the conversation but he didn’t. These people trusted him and he wasn’t about to do anything that would jeopardize what he had here.

Seb dialed the number and waited while it rang. When it was answered, he could tell it was one of the boys.

“Hello”

“Hi, it’s Seb. Is your Mom busy?”

“Oh I thought you were my Dad again. He said he would call back later before we go to bed.”

“I’m sure that he will then.” Seb assured him.

“MOM” the boy yelled. “It’s Seb on the phone. He wants to talk to you.”

“Hi Seb. Is everything alright? I just got off the phone with Jim.”

“Everything is fine, Debbie. Do you mind if I put you on the speakerphone. Lisa is here with me and we have something to ask you.”

“Well…I guess not.”

Seb pushed the buttons and after making sure that all three of them could hear and be heard he told Lisa to go ahead.

“Debbie, we have a job offer for you. We have one permanent position left here to fill. The position would mean helping with preparing meals and housekeeping as well as helping with the children wherever needed. We already have someone here that does most of the meal preparation. You would just be assisting her or taking over on a day when Mary is off.”

It was so silent on the other end of the line that Lisa and Seb thought they might have lost the connection.

“Debbie, are you there?” Seb asked.

“Yes, I’m here.” She answered. Her voice was very quiet. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything yet. It is a big change if you decide to do this. It would mean uprooting yourself and the children and beginning a new job.” Lisa told her.

Over the next several minutes, Seb and Lisa highlighted the main points of the job duties and most importantly for Debbie about the guest house and her proposed salary. They emphasized that she would not have to worry about the move if she decided to take the job. They would take care of that too.

“Think on it for a few days and get back to us when you have made a decision. I’m going to mail you a copy of the salary proposal and the job description.” Seb said.

Debbie hung up the phone and sat there in total shock at the proposal that had just been made to her. All of the information that had been given to her was flying around inside of her head.

“A new job.. a new house, probably in much better shape than what they were living in now…a salary that was higher with just this one job than she was making at her full time and two part time jobs combined… she’d only have to work the one job and be with her children while she was doing it….the kids living close to their father….being able to get to know Seb and Lisa better and Oh my God, I’d be living near Urs. I’m going to get to meet Urs.” Her addled brain was remembering. These were just some of the many great things if she decided to take it.

Then she sobered up as she thought of the bad points, some of which might only be in her head but she couldn’t dismiss them yet. The children, would they want to move, even if it was going to be near their father? Especially Hannah, she had friends here that she had known most of her life. She and Amanda were like sisters. It would be very hard to separate them when they were just getting to the high school years. Then there was the big issue. Did she want to live that close to Jim? She was serious about wanting the children to be able to have contact with him and the thought of the children getting to see him every day was great and it would take some of the pressure off of her to have him being an active father again. She could already see how much of a difference it had made in the boys in just twenty four hours. They needed their Dad but, could she get past what he’d done and live so closely with him.
Well, if that part didn’t work out, maybe she could go get an apartment off of their property if it made it difficult with them having to be so close all of the time. There were so many pros and cons to this whole thing. It was making her crazy just trying to think about it. Seb said to take a few days to think about it. That was good because she really wanted to see how she felt about the whole thing after getting a good night’s sleep.

Should she talk to Hannah about it? She remembered the reaction she’d gotten when Hannah had found out that she’d kept Jim’s return a secret from her. Not that she felt that Hannah needed to be told everything but, besides herself, she knew that this decision would impact Hannah more than anyone. Debbie decided that she would speak to Hannah about it after the boys were asleep. She really had underestimated the teenage mind.

Chapter 132:

“Mom’s been acting really weird since she spoke to Seb earlier.” Hannah told Amanda over the phone. She’s actually been acting weird ever since we found out my Dad was back.”

“Are they going to get back together?” Amanda asked her. She remembered Mr. Fletcher. He always seemed like a nice man when she saw him a long time ago but she was just a little kid then, she thought.

“I don’t know. My Mom is still so angry with him. I am too and I still don’t think I can forgive him for leaving us the way he did. He should have been taking care of us all this time. Mom has had to work so hard and still we usually can’t afford anything. Mom thinks I don’t know stuff, but I’ve heard her crying lots of times when she’s been trying to pay bills and doesn’t have enough and at Christmas and birthdays when she wants to get us stuff and she doesn’t have the money. She gets very sad. I understand and always tell her I don’t need stuff but the boys aren’t old enough to understand yet.”

“Hannah, what if they do get back together and you move away to where your Dad lives now?”

“That won’t happen.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I’ll just tell Mom I won’t go and I’ll come and live with you. But I don’t think she wants to live with Dad anymore anyway so I’m not going to worry about it.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Amanda said skeptically.

Debbie thought all through dinner and while she got the boys settled for the night about how would she tell Hannah about the job offer and move. She knew Hannah would be upset about moving, that is if she decided to do it. When the house was quiet and the kitchen cleaned up from dinner, Debbie called Hannah out of her room and asked her to sit at the table so they could talk.

Hannah looked at her Mom and got a very bad feeling. Mom only asked her to sit at the table to talk if it was something serious.

Debbie waited for Hannah to sit down before she began to speak to her.

“Honey, how are you feeling now with Dad being back in our lives?”

“I don’t know. I’m still really mad at him. Aren’t you?”

Debbie didn’t think she should get into specifics about her and Jim’s relationship with their daughter but she couldn’t totally ignore the question either.

“Your Dad and I have a lot to talk about. Yes, I’m still upset at him for leaving us like he did.”

“Do you think he is really sorry like he said he was yesterday?”

“Yes, I do Honey. I believe he regrets doing what he did. One thing I do know is that he loves the three of you very much.”

“Yeah maybe.”

“No, no maybes about it. Your father loves you. Don’t ever doubt that okay. He really wants to make things right with you, Hannah. I could see how hard he was trying yesterday. No one can take away the hurt he caused you but you have to decide for yourself to forgive him and let him be your dad again. That is totally up to you.”

Hannah didn’t have a reply to that so Debbie decided it was time to move on to the rest of why she wanted to talk to her.

“Hannah there’s something else I need to talk to you about. I figure that you are old enough that I should talk to you about important decisions that affect the family.”

That nervous feeling was building again in Hannah’s belly.

“I’ve had a job offer, a really great job offer. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. I have a lot of thinking to do about it. But I need to give an answer in a few days.”

“Well, that’s great Mom. Does it pay lots more money for you?”

“Actually, yes it does. I would only have to work that one job instead of three jobs.”

“That sounds terrific Mom. What kind of job is it?”

“Cooking and cleaning and helping to take care of the children.”

Hannah laughed a bit. “Well, that should be easy. That’s what you already do here.”

“It wouldn’t be a difficult job but I’m sure there will be lot’s of work. Maybe there would even be some work for you like helping to baby sit or something.”

“I’d like that. I could help to pay the bills here.”

“Baby, you won’t ever have to do that. Any money you make is going to be totally yours. Your Dad kept his promise and already put some money in my checking account. Tomorrow I’m going to go do a big grocery shopping and we’ll get something really good for dinner.”

“Well, that’s good.” Hannah said, happy that her Dad had done something to make her Mom smile. She looked very relieved when she talked about the money Dad had given her.

“There’s more to this job, Hannah. It would mean moving.”

“MOVING! Where??” Hannah was beginning to panic. When Amanda had suggested the thought of her having to move, she honestly didn’t think it would happen. Now they might move and it had nothing to do with her Dad.

“To Clearwater.”

“That’s where Daddy lives now.”

“Yes it is. But it is also where Sebastien and Lisa have their group home for children. It is just opening and they have asked me to come and work for them. We would live in a house on their property. Daddy is living in a room in their house.”

Debbie could see that Hannah was panicking and getting very upset.

“Look Sweetheart, I haven’t even had the time to seriously think about this. I have not made up my mind, not even close. So please give me some time. I will talk to you and let you know what I’m thinking alright?”

“Mom, how could I leave Amanda?” Hannah’s eyes immediately filled with tears and spilled out and ran down her cheeks.

“Hannah Baby, I promise you that even if we were to move, I would make sure that you and Amanda would still get to visit with each other. It wouldn’t be every day but we would work something out. I promise you. I will even make sure that we have a phone plan that will allow you to talk to her every day, alright. I know this would be hard and I wouldn’t even consider it if I didn’t think it could be right for the whole family.”

“Mom, it’s not too late. Can I go to Amanda’s for a little while?”

“It’s alright with me but, call her and make sure it’s alright with her parents.”

Hannah called and got permission and she and Amanda spent the next couple of hours crying and trying to think of ways to stay together, even going so far as asking Amanda’s parents if they would adopt Hannah so she could stay with them.

They calmly and gently told the girls that while they did love Hannah and would miss her if they moved, they knew that Hannah’s Mom loved her very much and would be devastated without her. But they were quick to add that Hannah was very welcome to come and visit whenever it was possible.

*

Over the next several days, Jim got settled in and also helped to get the last minute things arranged for the party in just over a week. It was strange for him, living in a home again after three years of living wherever he could find shelter or as he had here, build his own.

He wanted to ask Debbie what she thought about the job offer but never brought it up to her when he called each night. He did know from Hannah that she knew about the job offer and was very unhappy about moving and leaving her best friend. If they made the move, he was going to have to make sure to make this as painless as possible for her, try to come up with ways for her friend to come and visit or drive her to her friend’s house himself if that would make her happy. She had had enough unhappiness to last her a lifetime.

*

Saturday morning, the house was buzzing with excitement. Sammy had come running into Seb and Lisa’s room just after the sun had come up. He jumped up on the bed acting as if it was Christmas morning. Well, it almost was for him.

“Grandmere is coming today, Papa. Hurry up. We need to go to the airport and get her when she comes on her big plane from France.”

“Sammy, we still have several hours before we need to leave to pick Grandmere up. Let Mommy sleep a while longer.” Seb whispered to him, then he pulled Sammy down, trying to get him to rest for a while.

It was no use. Seb could feel the excitement coursing through his son, and it made him smile when he thought about how his mother had made such a connection with Sammy and Kayti. Now she would get to meet Lauren and she would be here for the party and more importantly, Jessica’s birth. He slid out of the bed and scooped Sammy up and carried him out of the bedroom, shutting the door quietly. He peeked into the nursery and saw that Lauren was already out of her crib.

When he and Sammy reached the kitchen, it was already full of the morning activity. Lauren was in what used to be Kayti’s high chair. Kayti was now in a booster seat at the table in the breakfast nook and Jim and Mary were sitting at the table having a cup of coffee.

“Look at you sitting there like such a big girl.” Seb said as he kissed Lauren’s head making her grin and kick her feet.

“My chair.” Kayti said to him.

“Now it is Lauren’s chair and you get to sit in this big girl chair at the table with Mama and Papa.” He told her.

“Oooo” she said smiling. She liked that idea.

Lisa came down a short time later all showered and dressed.

“You couldn’t have slept long after I left the room.” Seb said to her.

“I was awake. I tried to go back to sleep but it was no use. But thank you for trying. I’m fine. I slept really well last night.”

“Mommy, Mommy, Grandmere is coming today.”

“I know Baby. That is so nice and Grandmere is going to stay for a long time too.”

Lisa and the girls stayed home and let the boys go to the airport. Sammy loved the airport anyway but today he was even more excited to go. The girls could stay home, take a nap and be all rested when they got back.

*

Urs and Alex had slept in Saturday morning. Urs had noticed that Alex hadn’t been sleeping well all week with all of the worry about Aaron. She was also still recovering from giving birth. So he had turned off the alarm when he’d woken up before dawn. Then he slipped back into bed beside her and gathered her into his arms. She had snuggled in close to him and sighed as she got settled against his chest, never really waking up.

She was mad as a hornet when she did finally wake up after sleeping until almost eleven o’clock. She stomped into the dining room where he was sitting with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked, glaring at him. “You know I like to be there early to see Aaron.”

“I know you do, Liebe, so do I but, you have been exhausted. Look at how late you slept. You would have woken long ago if you hadn’t needed the rest so bad.”

“They are probably wondering where we are.”

“I called the NICU to check on him and tell them that I had let you sleep in and we would be there after a while.”

The wind went rushing right out of her sails as she realized that he was right.

Urs noticed her resignation and pulled her onto his lap.

“Now you are awake and we can have a bite to eat and go to the hospital.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, then her cheek and finally a long gentle kiss on her lips that threatened to send them both right back to bed. Only Urs’ mother coming into the dining room doused that fire in a hurry.

*

When they arrived at the NICU around one o’clock, Alex had to admit that she felt better than she had for days, probably weeks. She had gotten to bed late most nights and was up early to head right to the hospital every morning.

They turned the corner to go to the Quarantine room and saw that it was empty. There was no isolette in there at all.

Both Mami and Alex’s breath drew in at the same time.

“Okay, let’s not panic. They’ve just moved him again. I wish they’d call and let us know so we didn’t have to worry every time.” Urs said, hoping that he was right.

They searched for a familiar nurse and when they found one of the nurses that had taken care of Aaron before he had been moved into quarantine, they asked her to help them find their son.

She went to the head nurse in the NICU to ask her where Aaron Buhler was located. With over fifty babies in this NICU they had to keep a book and update it every time a child was moved. So she looked his name up and directed them to a different pod than they had been in before.

They were introduced to Trudy, the nurse on duty in this pod, which was what they called each section of eight babies in the NICU.

“He’s right over here. He’s actually only been in here for about an hour. As far as I’ve seen, he’s doing quite well.”

“He doesn’t have an infection, No Meningitis?” Alex asked her.

“No, no Meningitis and whatever infection may have been brewing seems to be gone now due to the antibiotics he is on. He’s about ready to eat. I was told that you were bringing breast milk in for him.”

“Yes, here it is.”

“He’s back on track now and has been very alert. Well, I’ll put this in the fridge for later when you aren’t here if you want to nurse him.

“Oh yes definitely.” Her face lit up and she went to wash her hands again and lifted him from his isolette.

“Hello my little prince. I missed getting to hold you so much.” She pressed him to her chest and had to make sure not to squeeze him too hard. She gave Urs and Mom each a minute to hold him before settling in to feed her son.

Sammy moved from one window to the next as he watched each plane land and slowly move into the different gates. He asked each time, “Is this Grandmere’s plane, Papa?”

“Not yet Buddy.” Seb would answer and he was very relieved when he finally saw the listing on the screen that announced that her plane had landed. They went down to the baggage claim area and Seb searched for the correct carousel. When he saw his mother coming down the walkway, he got a feeling he was quite unaccustomed to. He had been glad when she got here before he and Lisa got married but their relationship was still a bit stilted then. Now that they had repaired their relationship, he felt like a little boy, so happy to see his Maman. He rushed to her, careful to keep hold on Sammy’s hand and crushed his mother to him in a hug that she had not received from him in a very long time.

“Maman, it is so good to have you here.” He said and kissed her cheeks.

“It is good to be here, Sebastien. I’ve missed you, all of you. And who is this big boy you have with you? It can’t be Sammy. He’s too big to be Sammy.”

“It really is me, Grandmere. I eat all my supper so I am getting big and strong like Papa. I’m four years old now, Grandmere.”

“Come here and give Grandmere a hug. You are going to be big and strong and very handsome just like your Papa.”

Sammy was walking around with a very big smile at her words as they gathered her luggage.

“And where are all of the girls?”

“They are waiting for us at the house. I can’t wait for you to see it. It is so amazing. We have a room ready just for you this time. You won’t have to share with Kayti.”

“I didn’t mind, really. And how is our little peach?”

“Oh Maman, we have our hands full with that one. She is full of such a strong personality and energy. It takes a lot to keep up with her. But she makes us laugh so much too. Sometimes we have to leave the room to laugh because she has done something naughty and we don’t want her to know we think it was funny.”

“I can’t wait to see the newest angel. She looks very beautiful in the pictures and videos you’ve sent.”

“She is an angel, Maman. But she is now crawling and loving to get into everything. So I think she will be showing her own personality very soon.”

Marlene watched her son’s face as he described his children. He was fairly beaming.

“You really love the life you have chosen.” It was not a question but a statement of fact as she looked into his eyes.

“Very much, Maman. Very much.” He said sounding a bit choked up as they got everything loaded into the truck and headed home.

Lisa had been sitting in a chair on the veranda, waiting for them to arrive. Mary was bringing her a glass of lemonade just as the Escalade pulled into the driveway. Lisa took a long drink and set the glass on the table then hurried down the stairs. She was on the passenger’s side and was wrapped up in Maman’s huge hug as soon as she was out of the truck.

“Maman, I am so happy to see you. Thank you for coming.”

“You don’t have to thank me daughter. I am very happy to be here for this exciting time. You look very beautiful. How are you feeling? Is my son taking good care of you?”

“I’m just fine and if Seb was taking any better care of me I’d go crazy from being smothered.”

Sebastien came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

“It’s only because I love you and Jessica and want to make sure that you both remain healthy.”

Sammy ran over and tugged on Marlene’s hand. “Grandmere Grandmere, come and see my birfday train. It’s funnest to ride on and even Grandmere’s can ride on it too.”

“Sammy, let Grandmere rest for a bit and then you can show her your train. It is a long trip coming all the way from Paris. She will be here a long time to play with you.” Lisa told him.

Jim magically appeared to help Seb bring in his mothers luggage.

“Maman, I’d like you to meet Jim Fletcher. He is not only a friend but now he is also one of the staff here. He is living in the house as well as Mary.” Seb told her.

“It is very nice to meet you Mr. Fletcher. I was so glad that it was someone as nice as I’ve heard that you are that found our precious ones in the woods.”

“Thank you. I’m happy to have found them. And please, call me Jim.”

Mary was standing just inside, in the foyer, holding Lauren who had obviously just woken from her nap by the sleepy look on her face. Kayti was standing next to her holding her favorite doll.

“Mrs. Izambard, it is so good to see you. I’m glad that you were able to make it in time for the party.”

“Mary, you know that you can call me Marlene. How are you settling in?”

“Oh it’s lovely to have a family to cook for again. It’s been just me since my husband passed away and the children all grew up and moved away. It is never fun cooking just for one person.”

“And cook she does Maman. She has made so many wonderful dishes. I’m glad we had room to put some exercise equipment or I would have to go to visit Urs and his exercise room everyday to work off all of the calories I eat.” Seb winked and kissed Mary’s cheek.

“And how are you my little peach?” Marlene had bent down to Kayti’s eye level to speak to her.

Kayti jumped behind Seb’s leg and gripped his pant legs in her fists.

“Kayti this is just Grandmere. She came to visit us and play with us.” Sammy told her. But she didn’t budge.

“I’m sorry Maman. It has been a while since she’s seen you and she’s so young and has dealt with so many changes lately. I think she will remember much better after this visit.” Lisa said.

“Maman, I would like to introduce you to our newest little angel, Lauren.” Seb took Lauren from Mary and handed her to his mother.

Marlene walked into the library and sat on the sofa, lying Lauren on her legs and spoke to her, making the baby smile. Sammy went and stood beside his Grandmere’s legs and talked to her and Lauren.

Kayti watched, poking her head out from behind Papa’s leg. Sammy had a happy face and even Lauren was smiling. She didn’t want to be left out of all of this attention so she slowly moved out from behind Papa and went to stand on the other side of Grandmere. She didn’t say or do anything at first, just continued to observe her siblings.

Marlene noticed Kayti studying her and not wanting to frighten her away again she just slowly lifted her face and smiled softly at her. Then she went back to talking to Sammy. The next thing she knew, Kayti was holding her doll out to her.

“My dolly, Gramere”

“Yes, Kayti I remember your special dolly. She’s very pretty. That’s the one that your Papa sent you for Christmas.”

Kayti smiled from ear to ear when Grandmere remembered her dolly from Papa. That’s all it took for Kayti’s shyness to disappear. From that moment on, as long as she was in Florida with her family, she had very few moments when the children weren’t vying for every moment of her attention, and she loved every minute of it.

Maman was shown to her room to freshen up and change out of her rumpled travel clothes and then given the Grand tour of the house. She of course had seen it when it was still under construction but she was amazed at the beauty that shown throughout the entire home. It glowed with elegance and beauty but at the same time it gave invitation to children to have fun and to learn at the same time.

Chapter 133:

“Hello”

“Yes, the parents of Aaron Buhler are here to visit him.” Urs said into the phone in the hall outside of the NICU.

They were buzzed in and Urs opened the door and allowed Alex and Mami to go ahead of him.

It was Monday morning and they could always tell the difference in the nursery from the weekend. There weren’t near as many visitors on weekday mornings. Most of the dad’s only visited at night after they had gotten off of work.

Standing next to Aaron’s isolette was his pediatrician giving Aaron his morning check up. They waited for the doctor to finish writing the notes in Aaron’s chart before speaking to him.

He looked up and smiled at them. “Ah I’m glad you came while I was here. I had a message for the nurses to give you, but now I can tell you myself.

“What? Is everything alright?”

“Well Mama, how would you like to take your son home tomorrow?”

He watched the array of emotions flow over her face as she realized what he’d just said. He always loved this part of his job. In the NICU, there were always so many hard messages to give to parents as their babies fought for their lives. Many times he had to give parents news that would devastate them. But that was part of his job and he had to do it. So when he got the opportunity to give good news, he cherished it.

“Are you sure he’s well enough now? The infection is gone?” Mami asked, voicing what Urs was also thinking.

“He is doing very well. Whatever caused the infection has resolved itself. He has gained sufficient weight and has been maintaining his sugar and temperature so I think he will do just fine at home.”

“What about the Spina Bifida?” Urs asked.

“We have done all we can for now. We will follow him closely to see that he gets any therapies he might need down the road.”

Urs finally began to let himself be happy about this news. He gathered Alex into his arms. She felt his tears wetting her neck and the collar of her shirt where he had his face buried. He’d spent so much time being strong for her. She was glad that he was allowing himself to show his own emotions now.

“Now, tomorrow morning when you come, Aaron will have to sit in his car seat for one hour so we can see that he doesn’t have any trouble breathing in the seat. Their big heads have a hard time staying up and that sometimes cuts off their airways. So we need to see that he does alright in his seat. After that the nurses will complete his discharge papers, set you up a follow up visit for two weeks. But if you have any concerns at all during that time, do not hesitate to call.”

After the doctor had moved on to another baby’s isolette, Alex sat to feed Aaron.

“Hello my little Love. I am so excited right now I can hardly contain myself. Do you know that you are coming home with Mami and Papi tomorrow?” she spoke to the baby as she settled him at her breast.

Urs thought his heart would burst as he heard her refer to them as Mami and Papi. She could have said Mommy and Daddy as her parents were called and he wouldn’t have complained one bit. But it meant so much to him that she would use these words that felt like home to him. When he looked at his mother he saw the same look of happiness on her face as their eyes met.

When they left the hospital, they planned to stop and give Mom the good news but quickly realized that she wasn’t home so they headed for Lisa and Seb’s.

“I’m really glad that Mom is totally back to her old routines again. For a while I was concerned that the attack would make her afraid and she would stay cooped up inside. She would never have been happy living that kind of life. She has always been so active.”

“I imagine that she was afraid to get back to her earlier routines but your mother is a very strong woman. Reminds me of her daughter.” Urs said gracing her with a blinky wink.

They pulled into the driveway and saw why Mom wasn’t at home. She was here. Mary quickly offered them some lunch and went to fix the three of them a plate.

Not only was Mom there with Lisa and Mary but Vicki and Marlene were there as well.

Urs introduced his mother to Marlene. They hadn’t met in person yet, and for Ava, this was not a pleasant meeting but she made sure to hide it well. Sebastien was like a son to her and she knew his history. She had harbored ill feelings toward Marlene Izambard for several years now and even Urs telling her that they had repaired their relationship didn’t take that anger away.

“Where is Seb?” Urs said suddenly feeling out of place among the table full of women.

“He’s already eaten and he, David and Jim are outside making a last sweep of the grounds in preparation for tomorrow. Here eat then you can escape.” Lisa said laughing at the obvious look of discomfort on his face.

“What’s tomorrow?” Alex asked feeling so out of the loop. She’d been so wrapped up in recuperating and being at the hospital that things around here had gotten lost in the shuffle.

“Brenda, her Supervisor and a couple of other state officials are coming tomorrow morning to do the final inspection and evaluation, that if we pass will allow me to finish the papers for the certificate that will classify this as a group home with the state.”

“Oh that’s terrific and I’m sure it will go great.”

“I’m just nervous because I don’t think Brenda’s Supervisor likes me.”

Mom reached across and grasped Lisa’s hand.

“There is nothing she can find fault with in the house or with you. This place is amazing. Whatever her personal feelings might be won’t matter when she can’t find any fault with the house or property. You have already cleared all of the background checks and personal evaluations.”

Alex couldn’t hold in her news any longer and stood so she could see everyone.

“Um excuse me. We have some news.”

“Is Aaron alright?” Lisa asked nervously.

“Well, that’s the news. He’s coming home tomorrow.”

The noise was almost deafening as everyone was talking at once, thrilled with this wonderful news.

When Urs had finished eating, he excused himself and went to find the guys. He stepped out onto the veranda, taking in a deep breath of air into his lungs.

He understood the need for Aaron to stay in the hospital as long as he had and in fact they thought he would have to stay even longer. So this early homecoming was wonderful. But Urs was going to be very glad not to have to spend so many hours sitting in the hospital after tomorrow.

“Seb I hope you don’t mind but I called Debbie today.” Lisa said to Seb as they were preparing for bed that night.

“And why would I mind you calling Debbie?”

“Well, we’ve been together through this whole thing of asking her to move here and take the job. But I got to thinking today that maybe why she is taking so long to decide, besides Hannah being upset is that she has no idea what she would be moving to. So I invited her to come and stay for a few days to see the property and the general area and we could show her instead of just telling her what it would be like to live and work here with us.”

“You’re right. So what did she say?”

“She sounded relieved when I invited her to come to visit with no strings attached. The children will get to visit with Jim and she can decide if she would even like to be here. They’ll come Wednesday afternoon and I’m hoping they’ll join us for the party on Saturday. She said they didn’t have appropriate clothing to wear so I was going to speak to Jim about maybe taking them shopping, at least the children and then Debbie can take care of her dress. I’m glad we’ve decided on cocktail dresses for the ladies, saving the formal party wear for the big Christmas party.”

“She said that she would be worried about her car on a trip.” He said as he pulled her feet onto his lap. He was sitting at the end of the bed where he massaged her feet each night.”

“I remembered that you said that so I told her we’d rent her a car again. I’ll have it ready for Wednesday.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything.” He smiled when he saw her head relax against the pillow and she sighed as he rubbed each foot, helping to take the soreness and swelling down that accumulated each day.

*

In the Buhler/Huggins household as well as the Izambard house, there were two women who were filled with so much anticipation and nervousness, both for different reasons.

Alex woke before the sun was even up and not wanting to wake Urs, she headed down the hall and went into the nursery for the umpteenth time to make sure that they had everything they would need for Aaron. She knew they did, or at least everything they could think of. Maybe they would find something later on that they would need or just want but for now the essentials were taken care of. They had stopped on the way home yesterday, purchasing preemie diapers and a few outfits and pajamas. At just five pounds, the outfits they already had hanging in his closet would swallow him whole.

She ran her hand across the clean sheet that she had put on the cradle mattress last night, worried that since the other one had been on almost a month it might have a layer of dust on it. In just a few hours Aaron would be home sleeping right in it. Of course they would be moving it into their room for a while so they would hear when he cried in the night. With one last turn to look around, Alex stepped out into the hall and shut the door. The puppies were now able to climb the stairs with ease and she didn’t want them in there.

She peeked in to make sure that Urs was still asleep before heading downstairs to the kitchen. She took the puppies outside and then started the coffee, hoping the smell wouldn’t wake Urs and Mami up yet. She was just very restless and if it was up to her, she’d already be on her way to the hospital. But, they had asked them to wait until after shift change in the morning which would be at seven. When the coffee was ready she poured that all important first cup and went to sit outside and watch the sunrise. Maybe this would be the last time in a while that she would have the time to do this. Did she mind that? Not one bit.

As frightened as she’d been when she learned of the unplanned pregnancy, now she was so excited to be a mother. Between Lisa and Mom, they had helped to convince her that she would be a great Mom. Having Kayti around for a year now had really helped her to see that it wasn’t as scary as she’d thought. She had plenty of people around to ask for advice if she came upon a situation that she wasn’t sure how to handle. Even Lisa had things with the children that they had to discuss and decide the best way to handle it.

Heading back for a refill on her coffee, she was momentarily startled when she saw Urs leaning against the counter with his own cup of coffee.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

“I don’t know but it doesn’t matter. This is good.” He said as he took a small sip of the hot liquid. “I guess I don’t have to ask why you are up so early.” he winked at her and wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her over to the table. He sat in a chair and pulled her down onto his lap.

“Can you believe it? He’s coming home today. I’m so excited. I couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s wonderful.” He sat his mug on the table and pulled her close against his chest, kissing her cheek. Alex laid her head on his shoulder.

They both sat there quiet for a time, lost in their own thoughts of what today would bring. They were brought back to the moment when Mami turned on the kitchen light.

“Oh My, what are you two doing sitting here in the dark? You scared the life out of me.”

“Sorry Mami. It’s my fault. I couldn’t sleep. So I came down and started the coffee. I guess it woke the both of you up.”

“It’s alright. I’ll get breakfast started so you two can be on your way.”

She had told them last night that she would wait here for them to bring Aaron home. She had been with them most of the time at the hospital and had decided to let them have this time to themselves. She would have plenty of time to play with the baby once they were home.

“Oh I asked David to meet us here when I call him and tell him we’re on our way. He’s going to bring his video camera and film Aaron’s homecoming.”

“Oh Urs, thank you for thinking of that.” Alex said and squeezed him so hard that he grunted. “I’m going to run up and shower and dress. Then I’ll be down to help you Mami.”

After Alex had just about sprinted out of the room, Urs went to help Mami start breakfast. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Mami, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are here to share this with us.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, son.” She turned and hugged her son and kissed his forehead. “I love you.”

“I know Mami and I love you too.”

“Go on up and get ready. I can handle this.” When she saw that he was going to ask if she was sure, she gave his behind a swat and pointed to the stairs. He kissed her cheek and took the stairs three at a time to join Alex in the shower.

*

Lisa had also gotten up early and after checking to make sure that Lauren looked like she was still sound asleep, she went downstairs. She paced through the rooms, trying to spot anything that might be found lacking during the inspection today. There was nothing else she could do now but wait. They had gone over everything last night making sure that everything was ready. She was both nervous and excited. Nervous because of Brenda’s supervisor who had made her disdain for the wealthy plainly known, and excited because if this inspection went off well, tomorrow she would be completing the papers to classify this as a state licensed group home for children, fulfilling her dream. .

Before long everyone was up and breakfast was dispensed with as quickly as possible and the kitchen cleaned up. They had arranged for the children to go to school today except for Lauren. She would stay home with them. They hadn’t begun taking her to the daycare. The doctor was still being cautious about her catching any germs. So far she had remained healthy and they wanted to keep her that way as much as possible.

*

Four hours after leaving the house to go to the hospital, Urs and Alex pulled back into their driveway with a special package tagging along with them. Aaron had done very well in the car seat test and they had completed his discharge papers and gave both parents all of the standard instructions.

Aaron was eating on his own and had no medications to take except that the pediatrician had told them that he would like Aaron to take a daily dose of Polyvisol, an infant vitamin supplement.

Together, Urs and Alex bathed their son and Alex dressed him in one of the new Preemie outfits they had purchased yesterday.

They were sent home with the diapers that were in his isolette as well as some 2 ounce bottles of formula that they had used to supplement his feedings in between Alex’s breast milk. They were also given a diaper bag filled with samples of a few diapers, sample packs of wipes and trial sized tubes of diaper crème.

David’s rental car was there and when he heard their car he rushed out the door, camera in hand and began filming as soon as he turned it on, catching the new Papi getting out of the car. Urs opened the back door, waiting for Alex to unbuckle Aaron from his seat. Then he took her hand to help her out of the car.

David smiled as he looked at the lovely picture this new family made. Both parents had such wide smiles on their faces as they looked at their son. Mami came outside to welcome them home and David told her to go around and get in the frame. He followed them all inside, filming as they came inside their house for the first time with their firstborn child.

As he watched them, David felt almost jealous of their good fortune and happiness. He and Grace had discussed marriage and children and had both been in agreement that they both wanted these things but now was not the right time. It had actually been a couple of years since their last discussion on that matter and he wondered if she still felt the same way. He’d have to find time to open that topic up again and make sure they were still on the same page. But watching Urs and Alex now, David knew that he didn’t want to wait too much longer to experience this same joy as his friends.

Alex had called Mom to let her know that they were on their way home and it wasn’t long before Grammy Huggins pulled into the driveway and hurried in to welcome her Grandson home.

*

“Lisa, I think they’re here.” Mary said poking her head into the office where Lisa was trying to work to keep her mind occupied until they got here.

“Ok thanks Mary. Here we go.”

“Don’t worry, things will go just fine.” Mary rubbed Lisa's back as they headed out to greet their guests.

Mary had prepared a tray of light cookies and lemonade, coffee or tea to serve to the small group. So while Lisa went to greet them, she set out the refreshments on the island in the kitchen.

Seb had seen the two cars arrive, Brenda alone in hers and two ladies and a man in the other. He had been making sure that the guest house was ready for Debbie and the children tomorrow. Jim had been very excited when he found out they were coming for a visit. He and Seb were going to go and purchase a set of bunk beds for the boys and a bed for Hannah later on this afternoon.

“Welcome, come on in.” Lisa said, holding the front door open for them to enter. She was trying to keep the butterflies steady as she spoke to them and while Brenda introduced the three officials that were with her.

As friendly as Brenda and Lisa were, she knew that this was serious business and their familiarity would have to stay hidden. Not that there was anything wrong with their friendship but Lisa didn’t want the others to think that Brenda had been biased in any way as she had helped Lisa with the preparation to open the home.

Along with Brenda was her Supervisor Patricia Collins, a health inspector named Peter Simmons, who would inspect the kitchen and bathroom areas for cleanliness and that their equipment was sufficient and a safety inspector named Gina Blanchard that would focus her attentions on the entire house, making sure that it was safe, especially for small children.

Brenda had previously given Lisa an idea what would be happening today so she would be prepared.

Unlike Mr. Simmons and Ms. Blanchard, who had seemed very friendly and excited to actually see this home that they had heard so much about, Mrs. Collins looked very stern and never cracked even the slightest bit of a smile as they toured the house and property, making it hard for Lisa to ever relax.

Notes were written in notebooks as they made their way through each room. As Lisa showed Ms. Blanchard through the spaces set up for entertainment and learning, there were a few suggestions on how to make things a bit safer. They were not given to reprimand, only instruct as she knew that Lisa was new at this part of it. Still Mrs. Collins remained quiet and not giving away any of her thoughts.

Once finished inside the house they walked the main property stopping just short of the woods and then went back inside where Mary offered them refreshments.

They sat at the large dining room table where each of the inspectors took their turn going over their observations and revisiting the suggestions that had been made but they also made sure to tell Sebastien and Lisa how much they loved what had been accomplished here and wished them their best.

Mary entered the dining room carrying Lauren who had just woken from her morning nap.

“Hello my angel. Did you have a nice nap?” Lisa asked the baby who responded quickly to her mother’s voice, squealing and showing off her new teeth. Lisa placed her in her lap and Mary brought her a bottle to feed her.

“Mrs. Izambard?

“Finally the woman speaks” Lisa thought and then got nervous. They were heading out to the front yard as the inspectors and Mrs. Collins were leaving. Brenda was sticking around for a few minutes before heading back to work.

“Yes, Mrs. Collins?

“Here is your packet of paperwork to send in for your license. I want to commend you on the fine job that you all have done here in preparing this place. Most of the time when we do these kind of inspections either for new places and even repeat inspections on long standing facilities, we usually have a long list of deficiencies that either hold up the opening or threaten to close these homes. Lauren looks to be doing very well here. She is obviously happy and well fed and seems to have bonded well with you and your husband.”

“Thank you Mrs. Collins. We love her very much. She is such a joy. Our son and daughter love her too. You would never know they weren’t siblings by birth.”

Lisa didn’t want to stand here babbling so she quit while she was ahead. She was just flabbergasted that she had just been complimented by the stone queen.

Once Mrs. Collins’ car was out on the main road and out of sight, Brenda came and hugged Lisa.

“That went terrific Lisa. I told you not to worry.”

“Thank you so much for all of your help along the way. I can’t believe I am one step away from becoming official.” She said as she indicated the papers she was holding.

“I’m so proud of you Baby. You handled yourself so well today. I wanted to make some kind of comment to that woman but I knew it wouldn’t help the situation if I did.”

“Is she always like that?” Lisa asked Brenda.

“Oh she was in a good mood today.”

Seb and Lisa looked at each other both glad that they wouldn’t have to deal with her very often.

“I’ll leave you two lovely ladies to visit. Jim and I are heading to town. Call me if you need me to bring anything home.”

“Just you” she said and kissed him thoroughly, not worried about what Brenda would think.

Chapter 134:

Seb and Jim had gotten everything ready in the guest house, including filling up the cupboards and fridge with food for Debbie and the kids and by mid morning on Wednesday, Jim was pacing the yard like a caged animal as he waited for them to arrive.

Lisa had told him at breakfast that she had spoken to Debbie last evening, confirming that they were all set to come. She had also asked if it was okay to bring Hannah’s friend Amanda. Hannah had begged her so much that she had relented as long as it was alright with the Izambards. Lisa had told her that it was fine. They would just need to figure out the sleeping arrangements after they arrived.

Lisa was in the kitchen preparing some bottles for Lauren when Sammy came running into the kitchen holding his large kindergarten aged book about animals. It broke the words down into syllables and they were written as they would be in a dictionary, with the punctuation and accent marks.

He was amazing them with his reading skills. Since he seemed to love reading so much, everyone encouraged and helped him to progress and found age appropriate books for him to practice with. At first they had thought he was just remembering what they had read to him but over time he had begun reading them pages that they had not read to him before.

“Mommy look. It’s A frikan elephant.”

“What?” Lisa said spinning around to look at him and quite ready to give him a talking to about the language he was using. “Sammy, that is not a nice word at all. Where did you hear that?”

“It says so right here in my animal book, see?”

Lisa sat in the chair and took the book from him. And so it did. Right there in black and white it said A-fri-can Elephant. Lisa’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She was trying so hard not to laugh in Sammy’s face. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“Baby, this says African Elephant.”

“That’s what I said Mommy.”

She decided to leave well enough alone right now and just commended him on his excellent reading before she went back to what she was doing, still trying hard to hold the laughter in. But once he had left the room, she could no longer contain it. Seb came into the kitchen to find out what was so funny. She relayed the story to him and he laughed just as hard. They were still discussing Sammy’s reading when Mary came and told them that a car had just pulled into the driveway.

As they came out onto the veranda, Seb and Lisa witnessed the two boys jumping out of the car and running right to their father and being scooped up together in a giant group bear hug until Jim had to sit from the weight of them.

“You guys are getting too heavy for me to do that standing up.” Jim said.

Debbie stepped out of the car and looked around the property, smiling when she saw Lisa and Seb descending the steps.

“Hi Debbie. I’m so glad that you could come.” Lisa said.

“Thank you for inviting me. It will help I think, to see the area so I can make my decision and maybe this weekend will also help Hannah to feel better about moving. I hope she and Jim can do some talking. At first I was not wanting Amanda to come because I wanted her to be able to talk to him but she has been so upset that I gave in and I’m still hoping they will find some time alone.”

“We can probably help with that somehow.” Seb told her.

Amanda and Hannah were still sitting in the car, so Seb walked over and poked his head in.

“Hi girls. Come on and see the place. Did you bring your swim suits?”

Both girls brightened up at the site of Seb. “Hi Seb. Yeah, Mom made sure we did. Are we going to the beach?”

“Well, we might while you are here, but we also have a nice pool out back.”

“Oh great. Come on Hannah. Let’s go look around.”

The girls finally got out of the car. Hannah smiled at Sebastien as she passed him.

“This move could have its advantages, living so close to Seb. And he also said that Urs lived near here too. Mom will definitely like that. Plus the other guys will be around sometimes. I could be the most popular girl in school.” She thought to herself, not even voicing her thoughts to Amanda.

It would be very hard to leave her best friend but both her Mom and Dad had promised her that if they did move here that they would make sure that she and Amanda got to visit each other as much as possible.

This place is great! I might just have to move here with you.” Amanda said a while later after they had been given the tour of the houses and property. They were now in the guest house changing to go over to the pool.

Hannah stood looking at herself in the full length mirror trying to adjust her one piece bathing suit. She was at an awkward stage of development and she felt funny having people see her. Sometimes she wished she hadn’t starting growing in her chest and sometimes she wanted to be bigger like some of the girls already were at school.

“Come on. You look fine. I’m ready to swim and get some sun.” Amanda said pulling her out the door, grabbing the towels on their way out.

When the girls arrived, they found the twins already in the pool with Jim and Seb, throwing a ball around between them. Lisa and Debbie were sitting beside the smaller pool talking while Sammy and Kayti played in the little pool. Lauren was sitting in a covered play area where she was confined but took no notice of anyone else as she played with her toys.

“Hi Princess, come on in. The water’s great.”

Jim was trying not to be too upset that Hannah hadn’t spoken to him yet today. He knew she had a lot on her mind about the move, plus her friend was here. Maybe it wasn’t cool to talk to your Dad around your friends. He knew things with teenagers had changed a lot since he was one so long ago. Debbie had told him in one of their phone conversations about the children and how they were doing in school, among other things. She told him that Hannah was stuck in an age where she was heading towards being a young lady but also still had times where she acted like a five year old.

The girls both headed for the diving board and Amanda stepped right on and dove in. Hannah waited for her to be out of the way and followed her in.

Almost as soon as she appeared above the water, Seb threw Hannah the ball, trying to engage her in their play, hoping that fun times like this would help to lessen the strain between Jim and his daughter.

“Throw it to me, throw it to me.” Both boys began shouting. Each one trying to get in front of the other to catch the ball once it was thrown.

She immediately threw it to her father, hitting him square in the nose. She saw the tears spring into his eyes, telling her that it had hurt pretty bad.

“Daddy? Daddy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit your face.” She swam quickly over to him.

“It’s alright, Princess. I know it was an accident. I’m fine, really.” To prove he was alright he tossed the ball to Amanda to get the game started again. He smiled at Hannah and put his hand on her shoulder. He could tell that she really did feel bad about hitting him. “That’s a good sign. She could have been happy about it.” He thought.

When Debbie saw the ball hit Jim’s nose, she started to run over to make sure he was alright, but stopped herself. He said he was fine and she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.

Marlene and Mary brought drinks and cookies out to the patio table. Both boys smiled and swam over and jumped out of the pool, staring at the cookies and waited to be told that they could help themselves.

“Go ahead boys.” Mary said. They didn’t need to be told twice, each eagerly taking two cookies in each hand.

“Boys, that’ll be enough. You need to save room for your dinner.” Their Mom said.

“Speaking of dinner, I hope an informal cookout is alright with you, just some steaks and burgers on the grill.” Lisa said to Debbie.

“Are you kidding? That’ll be great.”

Until the past couple of weeks, she hadn’t been able to afford to feed herself or the children something as good as a steak. Now her cupboards and fridge were filled with all kinds of good food and plenty of healthy snacks for the children. The boys especially were enjoying this new bounty. They would eat her out of house and home if she didn’t monitor them.

As soon as Sammy saw that Brandon and Blake had gotten out of the big pool, he got out of his pool and joined them. He hadn’t been too happy about not being able to go into the big pool with Papa and the boys. When it was just them here, Papa took him, and sometimes Kayti into the big pool to swim. But today he had said that there were too many big people in the pool while they were playing and he would take Sammy in later.

Lisa let him take one cookie for each hand then he followed the boys over to the other table where they were sitting.

Kayti climbed her wet behind right up in Lisa’s lap and reached for her own cookie. She wiggled around trying to get comfortable on Mama’s lap but it was getting more difficult as Mama’s belly was getting bigger and took up the space that used to be reserved for her to sit.

Seb and Lisa hadn’t told Debbie or the children that they wouldn’t be eating alone tonight. They were pulling out all the stops in trying to sway them into moving here. Lisa knew that Debbie was an Uber and hadn’t gotten to meet Urs yet so she had asked him and Alex if they would come for dinner. David was coming as well as Carlos and Vicki. This would be the first time they were all going to be together since Aaron was born and Lisa was really looking forward to it. They always had such a great time together and now with the two new babies, it would be even more special.

The kids were playing under the watchful eye of their father, so Debbie decided to take a walk around the property and do some thinking. It seemed such a wonderful place and everyone was making them feel so at home here. She wound up walking on the front walkway and began reading all of the names that had been inscribed on the individual bricks that were placed in the walkway. So many familiar names, so many people had donated their time or money to make this place a reality for them. It must be a special place.

She could see how much the children were loved here, even her own. Her children had been welcomed and taken right under Seb and Lisa’s wing as soon as they had arrived, even before that really. The day at Busch Gardens had been so much fun. But this was home here and they were obviously trying very hard to convince her to move here.

Jim hadn’t pushed her either way and she often wondered why he didn’t ask her to move. Maybe she would ask him. Maybe he didn’t want her here. She would hate to move here only to make Jim disappear again. He had a good life here now, and as much as she hated what he had done, she knew that he was finally at peace and happy here. He had been in so much internal turmoil before leaving and she could see that that was gone. He seemed at home here, like one of the family to Seb and Lisa so he had obviously made a good impression on them.

She was busy still reading some of the names on the bricks and didn’t hear anyone approach her.

“Deb?”

“Oh hi. Who’s watching the boys in the pool?”

“Seb said he’d watch them for a few minutes. I thought this might be a good time for us to talk a bit.”

“Okay.” Debbie decided that she needed to clear some things up with Jim before she could make her decision.

They went and sat in a gazebo, out of the sun and Debbie didn’t wait for him to start.

“Jim, do you want me and the children to move here? If you don’t, please say so now. I don’t want to ruin what you have here.”

“Of course I want you to move here. Why would you think I didn’t?”

“Well, you haven’t said anything to me when we’ve spoken on the phone.”

“Honestly, I thought you might decide against it if I said I wanted you here. It has to be your decision.”

Over the next hour, they sat and talked uninterrupted and while they weren’t even close to becoming a couple again, Jim felt like maybe they would at least one day be friends. Now he had real hope that she might move herself and the children here where he could be an active participant in his family’s life.

The little ones were just waking from their afternoon naps, having gone to sleep very quickly after being out in the sun and swimming. Mary, Marlene and Lisa were in the kitchen preparing the side dishes and a salad to go with their dinner when Debbie knocked. Her children were over in the guest house getting dressed. Finally they had had enough of the pool and the sun for a while.

“Debbie, you don’t need to knock. Just come on in…. So, what do you think of it here so far?”

“It is a lovely home, both of them are and everyone has been so kind. I think Jim and I have come to some kind of middle ground so I feel more comfortable. I just want him to have a good relationship with his children. I have no doubt that he loves them.”

Lisa wanted to tell her that she knew that Jim still loved her too, but she kept that to herself, deciding that that part should just be between the two of them. But she did hope that someday they would find their way back to each other.

All of a sudden there was a lot of commotion out in the foyer so she went to see what was going on.

“Oh I should have known it was you two.” she said with a grin.

Sammy had seen Carlos and David coming up the steps and had run right to them, being lifted high into the air and flown around the room by David. Kayti had followed her brother and Carlos had done the same for her, only a little slower.

Lisa pulled the cradle out for Vicki to put Carlito in. They pulled it right into the kitchen so they could talk while they finished preparing dinner.

Lisa introduced Debbie to Vicki. The look on Debbie’s face was not lost to either of the women as Debbie realized that that meant that Carlos Marin was just in the other room.

“Is Alex bringing Aaron?” Vicki asked.

“Yes, I talked to her earlier. They were just going to get a nap and then they’d be over.”

“I’m so glad that Carlito is already sleeping through most nights. At first I was afraid that he wouldn’t get enough to eat if I didn’t wake him but the doctor said he’s gaining weight nicely so I shouldn’t worry about it. He’ll wake up if he’s hungry.”

“Well, with Aaron’s small size, they are having her wake him every two hours to eat, even if he isn’t acting like he’s hungry. It’s important that he gains weight. He doesn’t have even the slightest bit of fat on him yet.”

Debbie had no idea who Alex or Aaron were so she about had a heart attack when Sammy came running into the kitchen shouting that Onkle Urs and Auntie Alex were here. Sammy had missed them these past weeks since Aaron was born. Most of their time had been spent in the hospital.

Debbie felt like she was frozen where she was standing as she heard the voices getting closer to the kitchen.

Out in the family room Hannah and Amanda and the twins were being introduced to Carlos and Urs. Of course the guys, especially Carlos, turned on every ounce of Divo charm they possessed for the girls.

“Isn’t Urs your Mom’s favorite, Hannah?” Amanda blurted out for everyone in the room to hear.

They could all see the grin that Urs was trying to hide. The muscles in his jaw were twitching.

“Amanda, did you have to say that out loud. My Mom will be so embarrassed.”

She has no need to feel embarrassed Hannah. I’m glad she’s a fan.” Urs said to her, seeing that she was quite irritated with her friend.

In the kitchen, totally unaware of what was being said in the other room, Mary noticed Debbie’s face getting flushed. She stepped close to her and whispered in her ear.

“I know how you feel. The first time I met Carlos I forgot to breathe for a while. Urs is a very nice, regular guy. A gorgeous regular guy but regular all the same. Just be yourself.”

“Debbie gave a slight nod just as all of the guys descended on the kitchen.”

“Hello Mary. And how is my favorite Cutie tonight?” Carlos said as he swept her into his arms dramatically, making her and everyone else laugh.”

“I’m just fine Carlos Marin and if you don’t leave me alone, you’ll have to go hungry tonight.” She said with a wide grin just for him as he set her straight on her feet.

“Oh I wouldn’t want that. I’m a growing boy…. And who is this lovely lady?”

“I’d like to introduce you to Debbie Fletcher. She has been invited to join our staff and she has come for the weekend to get a look around and decide if she’d like the position or not.” Seb said with his arm draped over her shoulder.

“Hello Debbie. It is a pleasure to meet you. You couldn’t ask for a better place to be than here.” Carlos said to her as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Carlos.”

She met his eyes with a shy smile and then Urs moved forward to say hello.

“Hello Debbie. I’m glad that you and the children were able to make it for the weekend. It’s sure to be a wonderful time.”

“Hello. We are already having a great time here and we are looking forward to the party on Saturday.”

“Good. I hope that you will save a dance for me.”

Debbie looked like a fish out of water as her mouth opened and closed several times before she managed to thank him and tell him that she would.

Alex was behind Debbie and grinned at Urs as she witnessed the exchange. He really was a charmer and he was all hers. She had no doubt that she could trust him so she didn’t feel threatened by the woman, who was actually very pretty. She knew this was all part of his work but if Debbie moved here, she would be just like Mary, getting used to seeing the guys all of the time and seeing that they were just people with flaws and all.

Urs directed Debbie over towards Alex, who was holding Aaron.

“Debbie, I’d like to introduce you to my fiancé Alex Huggins and to our son, Aaron Daniel. He just came home from the hospital yesterday. He was born a bit early so he had to stay there for several weeks. But he’s doing fantastic now.”

“Oh isn’t he just beautiful.”

Debbie looked to Alex for permission before she touched her finger to Aaron’s cheek.

“Would you like to hold him?” Alex asked her.

“Oh I sure would.”

Once Aaron was transferred safely into Debbie’s arms she spoke softly saying that it had been a very long time since she’d held a baby.

“The twins were tiny like this when they came home. I was so afraid they would break.”

“I know what you mean. It’s a little scary. You’ll have to tell me how you handled two tiny babies. I feel a bit overwhelmed with just one.”

And with that, they were off. Debbie, Vickie and Alex went into the family room to sit and talk about babies.

The evening was filled with dinner and dessert that left everyone completely sated and then in the time directly after dinner, they played with the children for a while before it was time for Sammy and Kayti to go to bed. Sammy was a bit more difficult to get settled into bed than he usually was until he was promised that Blake and Brandon would still be there in the morning.

Jim approached Debbie when she was alone.

“Deb, if you’d like, I’ll take the kids next door and spend some time with them so you can visit for a while.”

Deb thought for a minute and almost told him it wasn’t necessary, that she’d take them over. Then she changed her mind. How often did she get to do anything and have someone else to completely take over the care of the children? She had gotten a babysitter just a couple of times but this was different. With the babysitter, they were still her children and they were not with family, so she still felt responsible to check up on them. With Jim taking them next door, she would be able to be totally free for the first time in a long time to have a good time.

“Sure Jim. That would be great actually. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s about time I took some responsibility for their care and give you a break.”

She could have agreed that it was about time but she didn’t. It had been such a nice evening. She wasn’t going to spoil it with a nasty remark.

Jim went to the boys and told them to finish up the level they were working on on the video game that David had set them up playing. At the same time, Debbie told Hannah that she and Amanda were going to go next door with her Dad.

“But Mom, we’re not babies. Can’t we stay for a while? Please?”

“You can stay here for another half hour. Then I want you to go next door. You don’t have to go to bed or anything. It is just time for the adults to have some time.”

Debbie could see that Hannah wanted to argue, but to her credit, she didn’t. She thought Hannah probably just didn’t want to get into trouble in front of the guys.

“Papa?” they all heard over the intercom. Kayti had been asleep and had woken up calling for Seb. “Papa?” They heard again and more loudly this time.

“I’ll be back. Let me check on her.” Seb said and left the room.

Hannah got Amanda’s attention and beckoned her to follow as she went out into the hallway leading to the stairs. She gestured Amanda to be quiet and they climbed the large staircase.

They stopped just outside of Kayti’s room where Seb was talking softly to her.

“What’s wrong Ma Petite? Papa is here.”

He picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He could feel the heat from her cheeks so he turned on the light and saw that her cheeks, especially the left one was flaming red.

“Do you feel bad?”

“Papa, owie.”

“Where is the owie, Sweetheart?”

Kayti opened her mouth and stuck her finger inside. He gently moved her finger out and told her to open wide and he saw the culprit. She had a molar coming in and her gum in the surrounding area was all swollen and red.

Hannah felt it coming and had no way to stop it as the sneeze escaped. Seb looked up and saw the girls in the doorway.

“Oh good. Hannah, would you stay here with Kayti for a minute while I go find the Tylenol. She has a tooth coming in and it’s hurting her.”

“Sure Seb.”

Hannah was so glad that he hadn’t asked what they were doing up there. He had been too busy worrying about Kayti.

“Papa.” Kayti cried when he set her on the floor.

“I’ll be right back, Ma Petite. Papa is going to find your medicine.”

He looked where it usually was and didn’t find it so he went down to ask Lisa where it was.

“Seb is she alright?”

“Her face is all red and she has a molar coming in. Her gum is all swollen.”

“Oh Poor Baby.”

“Do you know where the Tylenol went? I didn’t find it upstairs.”

“I’m sorry. We’re going to have to get a couple of bottles to keep in different areas since Lauren is teething now too. I brought it down to the kitchen earlier.” Lisa went to get the medicine and Seb went to ask Debbie a favor.

“Debbie, I know that you were going to send Hannah and Amanda over with Jim, but I was wondering if they could stay up there with Kayti and play with her for a bit. She won’t go right back to sleep now.”

“Sure I guess so. They didn’t want to get sent over anyway.”

“Great thanks.”

He went back up with medicine in hand and asked the girls if they would stay with Kayti until she was ready to fall back to sleep.

“Okay. That would be fun.”

“Just don’t let her get too loud. She’ll wake Sammy up.”

“Alright, we’ll be quiet.”

Seb smiled to himself on the way downstairs. He knew the girls had been following him. He was going to have to be very careful not to get into any sticky situations with the teenage girls. He knew Hannah had a crush. He and Lisa had discussed it and decided to try to ignore it as much as possible, unless something came up that needed to be addressed.

The remainder of the evening was spent just sitting around together talking about the party as well as the coming birth of Jessica and playing with Carlito and Aaron when they woke up to eat. Lisa went and got her camera and took a bunch of shots of the babies together and with their parents.

Chapter 135:

After the busyness of the earlier part of the week, Lisa was so glad that the rest of the week held nothing important. She was confident that everything was ready for the party. So that gave her a couple of days to get some rest and relax. A combination of the normal pregnancy swelling and the heat was making her feet swell even more than they had been.

Seb came through the kitchen and saw her trying to bend and reach her feet from where she was sitting. He took her hand without a word and led her into the library and had her lie back on the oversized sofa. He pulled her shoes off and propped her legs on some pillows, then knelt on the floor beside her and began gently rubbing her swollen feet, still without a word spoken, only constant eye contact. Lisa shivered at the intensity of his gaze.

“Whatever else needs to be done today, you let someone else do it. There are plenty of other people around to handle things.” He said, finally breaking the silence, his accent becoming more pronounced with his emotion.

She put her hand to her forehead and saluted him. “Yes General.” She said chuckling, trying to lighten him up just a bit.

“I’m serious, Lisa. I hate to see you so uncomfortable.”

“It will all go away as soon as she’s born, Seb. I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can. But you don’t need to be on your feet all day, not even on Saturday. Nobody but our closest friends and family will be here before two o’clock. So I want you to promise me that for the next couple of days, you’ll stay off of your feet as much as possible. I know you and once the party starts, you will be on your feet the entire time guests are here.”

“Alright Seb. I promise.” She said and reached out to stroke his face. She could see that he was serious. He made her feel so loved, cherished and very well cared for. She did sometimes fight against him when he seemed to be overprotective but in this instance he was right. Her feet did hurt and she would have a long afternoon and evening on Saturday.

“I love you Seb.”

He leaned over her and kissed her, slowly at first, gradually building in intensity. His hand traveled from her face down her arm, his fingers grazing her side, slowly stroking her hip and running down her leg. He didn’t resist when she pulled him closer. She moved over so he had just a bit of space on the edge of the extra large sofa to sit next to her while she was almost lying down. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two people in the entire world at that moment.

Seb pulled her up a bit and he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Sometimes Seb felt overwhelmed by the amount of love that he felt for and from this woman.

It was only when they heard voices close by that they broke apart, at the same time each took a finger and wiped her lipstick from each others faces, laughing when they began to hurry as the voices got closer like they were teenagers about to get caught.

Maman poked her head into the library and told Seb that Drew was here and wanted to talk to him about starting on the music building on Monday.

“Alright Maman. I’ll be right out.” Then he turned back to Lisa. “Would you rather be in here or out in the family room?”

“I think I’ll stay here and take a nap. Tell Drew I said hi.”

“Alright. I’ll ask Maman and Mary to keep the children out of here so you can rest.

Lisa slid back down on the sofa and Seb leaned down to kiss her once more before going out of the library and closing the door.

Debbie had taken the girls and gone shopping for a dress for the party for Debbie and Hannah. Amanda had brought a dress that she had worn to a special school function and when they had shown it to Lisa, she said that it was appropriate for how everyone would be dressed on Saturday.

In the beginning they had intended to make it a formal affair. But after realizing that it would still be very hot even in the late afternoon and evening, they decided to go with cocktail dresses instead of the all out fancy party dress. That would be more appropriate in December when it would hopefully be a great deal cooler, although in Florida, even that was not guaranteed.

Jim kept the boys with him even as he worked around the property, giving them little things to do to keep them busy. They didn’t look at the tasks as work. They were just overjoyed to be with their Dad.

Jim had seen Drew come and went to welcome him back from his long vacation. Jim introduced him to his sons as Sammy ran out to say Hi to Mr. Drew.

“Can I do work today Mr. Drew?”

“Sorry Buddy. I’m not here to work today. I’m just here to talk to your Papa. We’ll start working on the music building on Monday if that’s alright with him.”

“It is, Mr. Drew. Papa likes music. He will like a music building.”

Drew and Jim chuckled at Sammy’s assurance. He was ready to get back to work and fill up his piggy bank.

“Hey Drew. How was your holiday?”

“Hi Seb. It was great. We had a wonderful time while we were away and then we came home and my wife put me to work fixing all the things that needed fixing around our house. Now I’m ready to get back to work here.”

“I telled Mr. Drew that you would like a music building Papa.”

“I sure would Buddy….. It’ll be great to have a studio here and to be able to compose, play and record right here and to get the children involved too. Between the four of us guys, we play a wide variety of instruments and we will be able to teach the children when we are available and for the times we are away, we will hire one or more people to come in and do some type of music program with them.” He told Drew and Jim.

“Well the music building won’t take near as long to build since the interior isn’t as involved as the house was. Your recording area will require the most work.

Seb and Drew took the plans and walked back to the area that the music building was going to be located to make sure there were no last minute changes before Drew got the crew out here.

His whole regular crew would be coming out as well as several of the crew that had been added near the end of the house project. They had specifically asked to be included in this project. They had been so excited to be a part of what was being built on this property. Anything involving children always touched hearts in a way that brought out the best in everyone.

Seb later found Lisa in the pool with Sammy, Kayti and the twins. Maman was out there as well but not in the pool, just helping with an extra set of eyes. Lisa floated around the pool and Kayti was in her little inflatable seahorse that she could sit in and be in the big pool. Lisa still insisted that she wear the inflatable swimmies on her arms, just in case.

“Come in the pool, Papa. It’s funnest with my friends.”

“I’ll go change and be right back, alright?”

“Okay Papa but hurry.”

While Seb was in changing, Lisa began to get a bit of a cramp in her side and slowly moved over to the edge of the pool. She asked Maman to pull Kayti out of the pool. Kayti was not happy and struggled against her Grandmere as she tried to pull her out of the seahorse. Lisa firmly took a hold of Kayti’s arm, quickly getting her attention. She looked her directly in the eye.

“Kayti Izambard. You let Grandmere get you out of the pool right now or you won’t swim in the pool for a long time.” Lisa felt like she was being a bit harsh but she was a little nervous because the cramp was getting stronger and moving around to the front of her belly.

“Maman, I think Kayti is going to be a good girl now.”

“Lisa, are you alright?”

“Maman, I have a cramp. It started in my side and is now moving around to the front. I can hardly move. Please call Seb.”

Marlene didn’t waste a second as she scooped a very agreeable Kayti out of the pool and rushed to the door, calling for Seb as soon as her head was inside. Mary came to see what Marlene needed and she told Mary about the cramp and to get Seb quick.

Mary pressed the intercom button and told Seb to come quick. He hurried down the stairs, all changed for the pool and a large towel wrapped around his neck.

“What’s wrong Mary?”

Your mother said Lisa has a cramp and can’t move. She’s in the pool.

Seb didn’t hear the rest as he was already flying out the door to the deck, Mary following after him.

He didn’t even hear Lisa trying to tell him not to panic that she was alright but had a cramp. She wasn’t drowning or anything. But he had dove into the deep end of the pool and swam to the other side and into the shallow end where she was holding onto the side.

He emerged almost right beside her and took her hand.

“What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

“I think it’s just a cramp, but I wasn’t really even swimming. I was just floating around holding Kayti’s seahorse. I just got nervous when the cramp got worse. It’s a little better now.”

He rubbed her back and ran his hands over her belly, waiting for her to feel like she could move.

“Alright, I think I should just get out now, just in case it comes back.”

Seb helped her out and over to a lounge chair. She assured everyone that she was fine. It was just scary being in the water when that happened.

Seb looked to Maman and Mary and asked them if they thought he should take her to the doctor.

“I’d say wait a while and see if there is any more pains coming. It could very well have been a cramp from being in the water. But if it happens again, then yes, take her right away.” Mary told him and saw that his mother agreed.

Seb sat with her and they had a snack that Mary brought out to them all. He only left her when Sammy kept calling for him to come in the pool with them. He got in the pool and played with the boys but he was always watching, looking for even the slightest sign that Lisa was having a pain in her belly. About twenty minutes later, he saw Lisa’s face change, almost imperceptibly, but it changed all the same. He told the boys to get out of the pool and he lifted himself out and stood over her.

:”Are you hurting again?”

“A bit. Not as bad as before.”

“I’m taking you to the doctor. Come on I’ll help you inside.”

She opened her mouth to speak and Seb thought she was about to argue about going to the doctor. “NON, we are going.”

“I know Seb. I was just going to ask you if you would bring me some clothes downstairs so I wouldn’t have to climb the staircase.” She said and her eyes immediately filled with tears at his harsh manner.

He sank to the edge of her seat. “Mon Dieu, I’m so sorry Baby. I didn’t mean to sound like that. I’m just scared for you and the baby. And I thought you were going to tell me you didn’t need to go.” He said and pulled her to him.

“I know I need to go. I don’t want Jessica born early like Aaron was. He’s fine now but it could have been a lot worse.” She said muffled against his chest.

“I’ll go up and get you some clothes, Lisa. Anything in particular?”

“What’s already on the bed from earlier is fine Mary. Thank you.”

Seb helped her up and she walked slowly into the house and into the bathroom just off of the kitchen. He wouldn’t leave her, not even as she got dressed. He poked his head out of the bathroom and asked Mary to get Jim to come and help watch the children at least until Debbie got back. He already could see how active Jim and Debbie’s boys were and didn’t want to leave his mother and Mary with all five children to watch.

Lisa assured him that she wasn’t hurting now and they didn’t have to rush but she could see the look of determination on his face as they left the driveway.

As soon as they walked into the emergency room and told the triage nurse why they were there, Lisa was immediately taken to the back, given a gown and within ten minutes she was hooked up to a fetal monitor to check and measure any possible contractions. Seb was allowed to go back to her as soon as he had filled out all of the paperwork.

“Have they said anything?”

“Seb, we’ve only been here fifteen minutes. I haven’t felt anything else.”

She could see his nerves were jumping as he sat next to her bed. His legs were bouncing and he was tapping on them. He always did that when he was nervous or impatient.

The nurse kept coming in and looking at the narrow strip of paper that was slowly slipping out of the machine. The mostly straight line did have occasional little bumps in it and a few even higher looking hills. She didn’t give them any information, just left the room, making Seb’s legs start bouncing again.

“Why don’t they tell us anything?” He said to no one in particular, just voicing his frustration.

“They will. Seb I’m fine. Really I am. Please try to relax. They’ll be admitting you in here if you don’t.”

He gave her a small grin and stood and began pacing in the small curtained area. He just looked around at the different equipment, trying to distract himself so he wouldn’t drive Lisa crazy.

They had been there about forty five minutes when Mom and Dad came rushing in.

“Hi, how did you know we were here?”

“Mary called me. Are you having contractions?” Mom asked her.

“I’m not sure. They aren’t telling us anything.”

Without a word, Dad slipped back out, coming back a few minutes later with the nurse that had been coming in and a man, who they found was the obstetrician on call that afternoon.

By the time Seb and Lisa walked back into the house that night, they were both exhausted, mostly from the emotional rollercoaster they had been on all afternoon and evening. She had remained hooked up to the fetal monitor for several hours as they watched for contractions that were regular or gaining strength. They never materialized, for which everyone was very grateful. At thirty three weeks, Jessica was pretty much fully developed but her lungs needed to mature and she needed to gain weight and grow a bit more before making her appearance.

It was determined that Lisa probably had had a regular cramp in the pool and the back pain afterwards had been from her tensing up during the cramp. The test did show some of the very tiny contractions that are common late in a pregnancy, Braxton Hicks contractions that the mother doesn’t always feel but do show up on the monitor. They help to get the body ready for the real thing when it is time.

One good thing that came out of their hospital visit, was that they did a sonogram and they got to not only hear Jessica’s heartbeat but also got to see her again as the doctor checked to make sure that everything looked alright with the developing baby. He said she looked perfect and was of a good size and weight for her gestational age. One of the sonogram pictures caught their little girl in the middle of a yawn.



They sat in the deserted kitchen with a plate of dinner that Mary had prepared for them and had left waiting for them in the fridge. They ate quietly for a time, each lost in their own thoughts of today until Lisa reached across the table, placing her hand on top of his.

“Seb, I’m sorry I worried you today. I know that you were afraid for me and for Jessica.”

“I couldn’t live without you now, you know. Every part of me is tangled up with you.” That didn’t come out as romantic as he wanted it to sound but it was the plain and simple truth.

Lisa grinned at him. “Well I’m all tangled up with you too and I like it.” She got up and took their plates to the dishwasher and came back and sat on his lap, placing soft kisses all over his face.

“Let’s take this upstairs.” He said after they had been sitting there enjoying each other for several minutes.

“Mmmm okay.” She said while still kissing him.

When she didn’t move, he slid her off of his lap but made sure to keep a hold on her until she had her feet set under her.

“Sorry, I’d carry you up but that staircase is way too big.”

“It’s too big or I am?” she said with a hint of a smile.

Sebastien didn’t dignify that with an answer. He just gave her behind a gentle swat and headed for the stairs and smiled to himself when he heard her rushing to catch up with him.

Chapter 136:

Urs sat beside Alex in their bed. He never tired of watching her nurse their son. He felt almost jealous at the special, intimate bond they had together, if Alex wasn’t so in tune to him and making sure to include him as much as possible, Urs knew he could feel very left out. But she did include him as much as possible.

It had become somewhat of a routine that Alex would feed Aaron and then after burping him, she would hand him over to his Papi for his morning bath. She would sit nearby and listen as Urs bathed his son, speaking softly to him and frequently singing to him. He would speak to Aaron in Swiss German a great deal of the time, but always told her what he was saying and then he would add what he thought Aaron’s reply would be, making Alex laugh at his silliness.

They had already become a family and Alex felt a joy and satisfaction that her life was in such a perfect place. Not even the uncertainty of Aaron’s future could dampen her spirits.

They spent a lazy morning hanging around the house and after lunch, Alex and Aaron went upstairs for a nap before they would shower and get ready for the party. She hadn’t let Urs see her dress yet. She was thrilled that she could fit into it so soon after giving birth, granted, she had given birth to Aaron early but she had still had a lot of jiggle in the midsection when she had come home from the hospital. She had gotten clearance from the doctor to do certain exercises and had done as much of it as she could to be ready for today. She wanted to knock his socks off.

*

Friday and on into Saturday morning, Lisa was under couch arrest so to speak. She was under orders not to get up for anything unless she needed to use the restroom. This was not ordered by the doctor but by every adult that lived under the same roof she did. She was constantly being asked if she needed anything.

The children were well cared for. Hannah and Amanda were proving to be a huge help in that department. They along with the adults rotated keeping an eye on the older children. Lauren was always under the watchful eye of Grandmere or Mary, except for when Seb relented and let Lisa hold her to give her her lunch time bottle and then she quietly sung her a song until she fell asleep for her mid day nap. Then Seb convinced her to follow him upstairs and take a nap while Lauren was sleeping.

While Lisa had been banished to the sofa, the house was being transformed. Each of the activity rooms were now completely stocked with whatever was needed and everything was in its place so that the guests could walk through and get a feel for what they had to offer the children.

The caterers were coming and going, bringing food to put in the large walk in freezer or the refrigerators. Several of their crew stayed behind and were preparing items that couldn’t be prepared ahead of time.

Deliveries of the wines that Seb had ordered from his favorite wineries in France had arrived during the week as well as champagne and other drinks for the guests to quench their thirst. While the house didn’t have a permanent bar area, they did arrange a temporary bar. But those that were to be working that area were advised to keep an eye on any over indulgence and to let Seb know immediately if there seemed to be a problem. This was after all a children’s home and the last thing they needed was any kind of incident involving alcohol to mar their happy day.

Seb tiptoed down the hall in the upstairs to check on his girls. He slowly opened the bedroom door, expecting to find Lisa still sound asleep but she wasn’t in bed where he’d left her. He saw that the bathroom door was almost shut but not quite so he went over and lightly tapped on it, hoping not to scare Lisa and wake Lauren.

”Baby, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She said sounding anything but fine. He could hear the tears in her words.

“I’m coming in.” he said and opened the door to find her sitting in the chair at the vanity with tears running down her face.

He dropped to his knees beside her and grasped her hands, searching her face for a hint as to what could be wrong. Was she hurting again? Having contractions for real this time? Or something worse?

“What Baby, What’s wrong?” he was breathing heavily now, the fear threatening to suck the breath out of him.

“It’s nothing.” But the tears continued to pour from her eyes.

He forced her to look at him by sitting on the vanity counter and tipping her chin up so she had to look at him.

“This is NOT nothing. Something is wrong. You don’t cry like this for nothing.”

“Oh it’s probably just these stupid hormones again. I was just sitting here thinking that not two years ago, I had this idea of starting a children’s home and giving disadvantaged children a safe and happy home to grow up in. I thought it would be just me and them, and maybe a couple of part time helpers. That dream has grown so much and become more than I could have ever hoped for.”

Seb sat there exasperated but very relieved that it wasn’t something bad that had caused her to cry. Now he sat back and let her get it out. She was obviously having some sort of emotional moment that needed to be released.

“To have you in my life, to already have three beautiful children that call me Mommy or Mama in Kayti’s case.” She said smiling a bit through the tears. “It just overwhelms me sometimes that I have been given so much. I am so blessed to have so many friends and new family in my life, and to be carrying your child as well. I do wish Auntie was here to share today with me but I believe she’s watching and enjoying every minute.”

She seemed to be calming down and Seb stroked her soft face.

“You aren’t the only one who is blessed you know. I imagined that I might be a bachelor forever after my last break up. I had pretty much decided that giving my heart away like I always did was much too painful in the end. I had decided that I would just enjoy the life I was leading and be the best musician I could be.

“And you are, Seb.” She said stroking his cheek.

“Of course you aren’t prejudiced any are you?”

“Not a bit. It isn’t like I’m the only one who thinks it. All you have to do is go onto the forum and especially into the Chateau and see how much you are loved and appreciated all over the world.”

“You go to the Chateau?”

“Sometimes. I don’t log in usually. I just like to read what they are saying. A lot of the time they aren’t even talking about you but discussing their own lives with each other. I think it’s great how you four have brought these women of so many different ages, cultures and languages together. But they always manage to put some comment about you or a picture of you in there. I particularly like it when they greet each other and almost always greet you even though you aren’t even there.”

“I do go there occasionally. I never log in as me but I read it sometimes too.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“You are very bad Sebastien Izambard. If those girls ever knew you were there, the forum would blow up.” She chuckled.

He wiped the remnants of the tears from her face with his thumbs and kissed her forehead.

“Remember, you are the Queen Siren. They’ve said so. They like you.”

“Well, maybe some do but there are still quite a few that would like my head on a platter for taking you out of circulation.”

“Only the ones like Jenna and the girls in Sweden that are living in a dream world. The rest seem to be very happy that I am happy and frequently tell me so.”

“Really?

“Yes, really. Now go lay back down. It will be time for you to get up before you know it and you need to have a bit of a rest first.”

“Alright. But will you join me?”

“As much as I’d like to, I am going to say no and head back downstairs. If I lay down with you, I doubt we’ll be doing much resting.”

“Hmm you’re probably right about that. Okay, well can I have a rain check for later?”

“Absolutely!”

He kissed her longingly and almost changed his mind and stayed with her. His eyes had darkened and Lisa knew that he was weakening. But then he changed gears quite quickly and rushed out of the room after kissing her once more for good measure.

She giggled to herself when she thought of how easy and predictable he was when they touched each other. She didn’t need much of an invitation either. She laid down and closed her eyes, dreaming of past and future intimate moments with Seb, her husband, friend and lover.

Lisa came downstairs later with a dry but thirsty Lauren and found the house bustling with activity. All of their local friends and family had arrived, stepping in to help wherever needed. As soon as Lisa appeared in the family room, Lauren was spirited away by Mom while Dad directed her to the sofa, obviously having heard that that was where she was ordered to stay. She had about an hour before they would gather the children and go upstairs to get dressed for the party.

“Where’s Seb?”

“He’s outside showing some of his family around the property. They arrived only a few minutes ago. Seb seemed very surprised that they had come. Did you know?” Dad asked her.

“No, who is here?”

“Umm, let me try to remember the names. Well Pierre is here and he brought his girlfriend.”

“Claire, her name is Claire.”

“Okay and then there were two women. One is around his mother’s age and one that is very young, maybe her mid twenties.”

“Was it Aunt Cecile?” Lisa asked excitedly.

“Yup, that was her name and I think Adrienne was the other girl.”

“Oh this is fantastic. He must be so happy. We sent invitations to a lot of his family but we didn’t think they would come all this way.”

“Marlene had a smile on her face when they arrived and I think she knew they were coming. She didn’t seem surprised at all.”

Seb was indeed out proudly showing their home and property to them, still in a bit of shock that they had come. He wasn’t too surprised at seeing Pierre. He’d promised to come if at all possible. But when he saw Aunt Cecile and his younger cousin Adrienne getting out of the same taxi, he had been ecstatic. As happy as he was here with Lisa and his new family, he had missed his home and extended family.
He had hugged his aunt to within an inch of her life and Adrienne jumped into his arms, as vibrant and full of life as she always was.

“Oh Sebby, I have missed you so much. That short time we saw you in February after your wedding was not near enough time for us to visit and where’s Lisa? I can’t wait to see her. She is so perfect for you. Oh, and the children, where are they? I am dying to see them. Thank you for sending pictures so often. I feel as if I know them all already.”

Seb laughed as she kept talking and he smiled at Cecile.

“Lisa is upstairs taking a nap before the party. We had a bit of a scare the other day. It looked like Jessica was going to arrive early. It was a false alarm however. The children are being looked after. They are around here somewhere.”

“I am glad to hear that everything is alright. Your mother said you were all very worried for a while the other day.” Cecile said with her hand over her heart. “I’m sure that you are taking wonderful care of your wife.”

“Oh he is, as much as she’ll let him that is. She is rather independent.” Marlene told her.

“She just has to make sure everything is done and that the children are well cared for. Once she knows everything is handled by someone, she goes and takes a rest. As soon as the baby is born though, she will be right back in the middle of everything.” Seb explained.

“Talking about me?”

“Yes we were. We were just talking about what a great Mom you are. Look who came Baby.” Seb said changing the subject.

“Dad told me. I am so happy that you came. This is fantastic.”

Pierre hugged her then she and Claire greeted one another. Cecile gave her air kisses on each cheek but Adrienne wasn’t shy about hugging her just as hard as she had hugged Seb.

Lisa was thrilled that Adrienne had come. She had liked the younger woman and she could tell how close she and Sebastien were. She also knew how much he was missing home sometimes. She hoped this unexpected visit would help.

They all came inside and Seb told Lisa that he would give them the grand tour of the house and with just one look she knew he expected her to stay downstairs. She decided she wouldn’t argue with him right now.

He had just brought them all back downstairs when the unmistakable voice called from outside.

“HELLO IZAMBARD FAMILY!!! SEB, LISA, SAMMY, KAYTI AND LAUREN.”

“Ty’s here Papa. Can I go outside?” Sammy said, while jumping up and down.

“Go ahead buddy. We’re coming too.”

“Do I get to go too?” Lisa asked a bit sarcastically, but was smiling so Seb knew she was joking.

He reached out his hands to help her up from the sofa and they headed to the door. Kayti had run after Sammy and Mom was carrying Lauren. They stepped out on the veranda and saw Ty’s 50 foot motor home over in the yard in front of the guest house, parked along the tree line to leave room for the other guests’ vehicles.

Standing with Ty were Ed, Didiayer, Tracy, Paige, Eduaordo, Rib, and John, meaning that Paul and Michael were the only ones of Ty’s team that hadn’t been able to come.

They all looked quite different than what they usually looked like from week to week on the show. They were all dressed to kill, even Ty who seemed most comfortable in a pair of jeans and a shirt with the sleeves cut or ripped out.

The whole Extreme Makeover Home Edition crew was welcomed back to the area. Lisa especially was thrilled to see them all again. Their presence here held special memories of last Christmas time when they helped to make this home what it had become, beginning with the wonderful, safe playground that the children were enjoying thoroughly.

Just before Lisa and Seb were about to break away from the conversation and head up to get dressed, a taxi pulled into the driveway. Out stepped a very handsome couple. The man had stepped out first, offering his hand to his lady, helping her out of the vehicle before leaning back in to pay the driver. Then he turned around and laid his long arm around her shoulders and they both walked to where the rest of the group was standing, each of them looking down at the bricks that were laid along the walkway. Laray squeezed Tom’s arm as she saw the brick inscribed, “Mr. and Mrs. Tom Brady.”

“Laray, Tom, We are so glad that you could make it.” Lisa said, thrilled that they had come to help celebrate this day of days. “Tom I know it wasn’t easy for you to be able to come so I am extra thankful that you are here.”

“I wouldn’t miss this.”

It was the middle of the preseason games for the NFL but it had worked out perfectly that the Patriots did not have a game this week and Tom had arranged with the team to be gone for this one weekend. Lisa frequently spoke to Laray and even up until mid week, they hadn’t been sure if Tom would be able to join her.

After several minutes of talking with everyone, Seb and Lisa finally made their excuses and left the others while they went inside, taking the children with them, much to Sammy’s dismay. He hadn’t forgotten how much fun it was to have Ty here. Ty promised him that he would be right here when Sammy came back after he went and got dressed. Lisa was glad that Brenda had stepped in to talk with Laray while she went to get ready.

Debbie was about at her wits end. She was not only helping the two girls with their minor emergencies as they got dressed, but she was trying to get the boys to get dressed in their suits. They were both grumbling that they never had to wear suits before and they wouldn’t be able to play in them.

“Yes you can play in them. There are other boys arriving and they will have suits on as well. Sammy will be in one.”

“Yeah but he is just a baby.”

“He is not a baby and don’t you let me hear you saying that anywhere around him. You will hurt his feelings. He is trying so hard to be big like you two. So please act big for Mom and get dressed so we won’t be late.”

At the knock on the door, Brandon took that opportunity to get out of that conversation and was happy to see his Dad at the door.

“Hi Dad. Mom says we have to wear some dumb old suits.”

“Well, I guess you better get moving and get it on then. I’m wearing a suit too.”

And he was. He had gone out and bought the first suit he’d worn in over five years. It felt very strange but he wasn’t about to complain. This was an occasion that would likely never be repeated and he felt privileged to be a part of it.

“Go on son. Do as I said and get dressed.”

Jim met Debbie’s eyes and he saw the unspoken thank you for his assistance.

“Deb, you look very pretty. Is that a new dress?”


“Yes, I bought it yesterday. Do you think I look alright, you know compared to all of the fancy women next door.”

“You listen to me Debbie Fletcher. I know I haven’t got much right to put my two cents in here but to me you are the most beautiful woman here, no matter what you are wearing. But as for the dress, yes you look lovely and I’ve seen a lot of the ladies dresses next door and you will fit in just fine.”

“Thank you for saying that. I was worried.”

“Well don’t be. Are the girls ready?”

“I hope so. They have been putting on makeup for almost an hour. I had to make them both wash their faces and start all over. They looked more like hookers than teenage girls going to a party. I’ll go see if they got the message about toning it down a bit. I told them if they couldn’t wear it conservatively, then they couldn’t wear any at all.”

Just then, Hannah and Amanda came out and much to the adults relief, both girls looked much more their age this time.

“Hi Daddy. Do I look okay?”

“You look much better than okay, Princess. You look like, well, a princess.” He said with a chuckle, happy to get a laugh in return from his daughter.

Jim helped the boys finish getting dressed including their ties. He had struggled, even with his own earlier, being so out of practice, but by the time he got to the third tie he just about had it down.

He wouldn’t say it out loud to Debbie for fear of upsetting her but; he was just about to burst with pride as he walked beside his family over to the main house. This was the closest they had been to being a real family in over three years and he hoped it was only the beginning.

Lisa was glad that Mom, Maman, and Mary had come up to help dress the children because Seb dressed quickly then kissed her cheek and told her he had something to take care of and disappeared.

Urs had come dressed in his Armani but Alex came upstairs carrying her dress in a garment bag and proceeded to get dressed.

“Oh Alex, You look amazing.” Lisa told her friend.

“Do you like it?

“Like it? I love it. You look so happy Alex and the dress is wonderful. Has Urs seen it?”

“No, that’s why I wanted to dress here. I can’t wait to see his face.”

“Oh I wish I could see it too.”

“Don’t worry. I asked David to get a picture of his face when I make my entrance. He’s just gotten back from picking Grace up at the airport. Her plane was delayed almost two hours. We thought she might not make it.”

Alex gave Lisa a light hug so they wouldn’t mess each other up. Then Alex went out of the bedroom and down the hall, catching David’s eye before she came into Urs’s line of sight. She saw David ready his camera then she proceeded to slowly walk down the steps.

Urs felt like he was in a tunnel, and he and Alex were the only two people he was aware of at that moment. He’d been standing in the foyer talking to people when Dad tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the stairs. He was speechless when he turned and saw her. Alex was coming down the stairs very slowly; almost seductively it seemed only to him as their eyes were locked on each others.

She looked so beautiful. If people didn’t know that she had just given birth to their son just a month ago, you wouldn’t have known it by looking at her. Her perfectly flat belly was evident as her dress skimmed down over her curves. He was enjoying the growth of her breasts that had swelled even more since the milk had come in and she looked like a goddess to him. Her hair was swept up on her head with a few tendrils hanging loosely around her neck and the sides framing her beautiful face.


When she reached the next to last step, Urs had reached out to take her hand. He slowly raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, before leaning in and kissing her cheek, knowing better than kissing her lips and messing up her lipstick.

“You take my breath away, Liebe. I have no words to describe how beautiful you are.”

Alex’s cheeks reddened at his compliment.

“Thank you Urs. I had hoped that you would like it.”

He leaned in close to her ear and spoke so that only she could hear.

“I’ll show you later just how much I like it.”

He heard the intake of her breath and he smiled and gave her a blinky wink before turning with her on his arm and smiling to the crowd that had gathered to see the entrances that were being made from the upstairs. Then they walked together to the side of the room, making way for the others that would come down behind them. Alex stayed pressed closely to his side as Mom handed Aaron to her and she felt a warmth inside at this moment, standing with Urs and holding their son against her breast. She was beginning to think about when they could start planning the wedding. They had agreed months ago that getting Aaron here safely was their priority and now that he was here safe and sound and as healthy as they could have hoped for under the circumstances, she wanted to be married to Urs, to be one with him in every way possible.

The children had been kept in Kayti’s room and kept occupied until Lisa was ready to go downstairs. Just as she was about to head down, Seb reappeared, apologizing for deserting her earlier. She told him that everything was fine and the children were ready for them to make their entrance.

“You look so beautiful, My Love.”

“I’m not sure about this dress Seb. My belly is poking so far out in it.”


He took her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheeks and placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose, looking into the depths of her eyes as he spoke to her.

“Your belly is supposed to be poking out. You are carrying a baby, my baby and I for one am very proud and happy to show you off to the world. Is it comfortable?” he asked referring to the dress as he skimmed the palm of his hand from just below her breasts and down her belly.

“Oh yes it feels lovely. And the way it is designed, it should even still fit me for the rest of the pregnancy if I should care to wear it again.”

“Well, then please don’t worry about a thing for the rest of the night. You are so lovely and everything down there is being handled. All that we need to do now is go down there and smile and look good. Do you think we can pull that off?”

Seb got the desired result when she laughed and hugged him.

“Yes, I think we can handle that, at least for tonight.”

“Most of the rest of the guests have arrived. The Gilmour’s are here including all seven children and you wait until you see how much they’ve grown since Christmas. Young Thomas looks like he’s going to grow to be as tall as his father and the sextuplets have also grown several inches. Drew and his wife are here as well as Dr. Harrison. A lot of your coworkers from the daycare are here and Jeff Sanborn is here with Shayla and Donovan to cover the evening for the station. They assured me that they will be as unobtrusive as possible.”

They hadn’t wanted a lot of press here. But had compromised and agreed to just Alex’s coworkers, giving them an exclusive and being assured that the coverage would be handled in a manner that would show the happy event without exploiting either the children or the celebrities in attendance.

“I guess I’m ready then. Let’s get the children.”

Chapter 137:

As soon as Marie stepped out to the edge of the stairs a hush came over the crowd downstairs as they looked up to see the family descending the steps.

Marie carried Lauren who was in a pink ruffled dress with flowers sprinkled over it.

Behind them Maman held Kayti’s hand. Kayti’s dress was very similar to Lauren’s, but with a bit less ruffle to it.

Mary held up the rear, holding Sammy’s hand. He was wearing a light blue suit with short pants so he wouldn’t get too hot. They would remove the jacket after their entrance into the old ballroom where the buffets were going to be set up. He had to be asked to go a little slower. He wanted to run down the staircase as he usually tried to do. They hadn’t thought to coach him on this special entrance. He was ready for a party and to play with all of the kids who were here.

Everyone clapped once the children were all at the bottom with their adults. Lauren laughed and clapped her hands, sensing the happy atmosphere.

There was just a few second’s pause before the master bedroom door opened and Seb took Lisa’s arm and led her to the top of the stairs. He gave her arm a squeeze and they began their descent down the stairs. He took it slowly. He knew she was in flats because heels were bothering her back during the pregnancy but he still wanted to make sure she didn’t lose her footing, knowing she was a bit nervous being on display in front of everyone. They stopped just a few steps from the bottom while the cameras were all flashing, then they continued to the bottom where Seb held up his hand, asking for quiet.

“This was not planned that I make a speech or anything but I wanted to say something.”

Seb turned to face Lisa, taking her hands in his, holding them up against his chest and engaged her eyes.

“I love you, Lisa. I am also so very proud to be your husband and part of this dream you had for this home. This is just the beginning, the beginning of a long happy life that we will fill with as many children as God decides to bless us with, either through fostering, adoption or the old fashioned way.”

He winked at her and she turned crimson.

Then Seb turned to the crowd gathered around them.

“To all of our friends and family that we are thrilled to have celebrating with us today, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for whatever part, large or small that you have played in helping Lisa and I to make this home a reality. I know that I speak for both of us when I say that I sincerely hope that each of you will continue to be involved in whatever way you can be in the raising and nurturing of the children that live in this home now and in the years to come. Now that the main house has been completed, the next phase will begin next week when a music building will be built on the property. Our children will have the opportunity to learn instruments, train voices, or even learn the technical areas of creating music, whatever they wish. The four of us in Il Divo will play a major part in that area as much as our schedule allows. When we are unavailable, outside help will be sought to fill in those gaps. I am excited to have that building completed.”

Seb turned and asked Lisa if she had anything to add.

“Yes, First of all, I want to say publicly how much I Love you Sebastien Izambard. You have made me the happiest woman in the world. As this dream took shape in my mind, I could not ever imagine myself married, least of all to a man who would share my dream and help to create this wonderful place. Thank you, My Love.”

Lisa leaned up to place a kiss on his lips, holding him close to her for a moment before reluctantly letting the contact of his lips leave hers.

I want to introduce a few people. I hope they aren’t shy because I didn’t tell them I would be doing this to them. First, Mom and Dad, would you come up here? Most of you know that Dan and Marie Huggins are not my biological parents. But, when I lost my last living relative, my Aunt Jessie, they reminded me that they were there and actually I realized they had been there for me for quite a few years already, through a lot of events in my life, both good and bad. So I just want to say that I love you both and thank you for adopting me into your family.”

Both Mom and Dad had tears running down their faces as Lisa finished. They hugged her together for several moments, until they had their emotions under control.

Urs had his arm around Alex as she held their son and also had tears in her eyes.

“Alex, you know that you are my sister. You have been, since the day that silly kitten of yours came visiting in my house. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister or friend than the one I have in you. We have shared so much together. This year has given us both so much and I am so happy to have had you to share mine with me and I am so happy for you.”

Alex stayed where she was mostly because of the amount of people crowded in the foyer but she blew Lisa a kiss across the room.

“Brenda, you have been in my life since the day after Anna asked me to take Kayti after her passing. You began as a public official that was very helpful to me but now you are so much more than that. You are a very dear friend.

Mary, we worked together for two years but didn’t know each other too personally until last fall and I am so glad that our relationship took that turn and that you decided to join us here. I hope you know that you are not only an employee but, a member of our family. We all love you dearly.

Urs, Carlos and David, I feel like I have three new brothers this year. You are each very precious to me and the same goes for Grace and Vicki.

Please, all of you feel free to roam through the house and see the marvelous work done by Drew Williams and his crews. In the family room, there is a Power Point presentation of photos that will be on a continuous loop throughout the day that shows the progression of the house after I bought it and will take you on the journey as it was transformed into the home it is today. The catering staff with be circulating both inside and out with food and drinks. Help yourselves and we hope that everyone enjoys this evening.

Oh, one more thing before you all disperse. Everyone here is invited to come in December. We will let you know the exact date in a couple of months. We will be having an open house for Christmas. There will be no start or ending time. You can come and stay the entire time or drop in for an hour, depending on your schedule. We hope that you will all be able to join us to celebrate our first annual Christmas open house at the Jessie Daniels Home for Children.”

Everyone clapped vigorously and then began spreading out, some going outside or wandering around inside the house. Seb and Lisa were held up long enough for Donovan to get some professional shots of them with the children.

It had been prearranged that Mary would be checking in with the caterers throughout the party in case they had any questions, Maman, Mom and Dad would be supervising the three children so Seb and Lisa would be free to mingle and visit with their guests.

Lisa took the time to make the rounds and speak to everyone that she hadn’t been available to greet when they arrived. Then she went to check on the children. She knew they were fine but she still wanted to see for herself. Then she could enjoy herself.

Lauren was in the family room with Maman and Aunt Cecile. Vicki and Alex were there as well, all talking about babies. Maman and Aunt Cecile giving the younger women their wisdom of experience in dealing with their new tiny people.

As she was heading outside, where she was sure that she would find Sammy and Kayti, Lisa saw Adrienne standing talking to Donovan Michaels, Alex’s co worker from the TV station. Adrienne was smiling widely at something Donovan was saying to her. He seemed to be flirting with her. Lisa thought they made a cute couple, but hoped they wouldn’t start something and then Adrienne would get her heart broken when she had to return to Paris. She also decided to ask Alex about him. She had just met him briefly last December but knew nothing about him personally.

After seeing that Sammy and Kayti were just fine, outside in the playground with plenty of supervision, she went back inside to mingle, enjoying the freedom now from her banishment to the sofa.

She caught Seb’s eye from across the room. He smiled and winked at her but also silently asked her if she was okay. She gave him a barely perceptible nod before striking up a conversation with Laray.

For the first hour, hors d oeuvres were passed around to the guests and then with almost no notice by the guests, the buffet tables were filled almost to overflowing with food. While there were plenty of selections for the adults, there were also items chosen just for the younger guests. Besides the large dining room, there were several places to sit indoors. Outside, they had rented some tables and chairs for the ones who wanted to enjoy the fresh air and didn’t mind the heat. They were covered by the little cabanas like they had used for the wedding on the beach.

The food had been marvelous and everyone seemed to be having their fill, the caterers keeping the trays on the table full until the guests began to slow their trips to the tables. Then they quietly removed them to the kitchen in preparation for the desserts that would later be served.

Seb kissed Lisa’s cheek and told her he’d see her in a few minutes. As he walked away, she noticed Urs doing the same with Alex. The two women looked at each other, both wondering what their men were up to.

About twenty minutes after Seb and Urs had disappeared; the caterers went around inside and out and told everyone that their presence was requested around the back of the house.

They found that in the last couple of hours, a small staging area and chairs had been set up. There were large speakers set on each side of the stage and four microphones lined up along the front. Behind them sat a small orchestra of about fifteen people.

Lisa and Alex both squealed like teenagers when they realized that the guys were going to sing, then they wondered how they had arranged and set this all up without them knowing. The rest of the guests began to see what was about to happen as the four men, who had now put their suit jackets on, stepped up on the stage in front of their microphones. Pierre was over to one side at the rear of the crowd, handling the sound system. Part of the music was recorded with the orchestra accompanying them.

Debbie sat there in a state of shock. She had been listening to Il Divo for several years but hadn’t been able to afford going to a concert. She had believed that she would probably never get to hear the four talented singers perform live. But there they were about to sing and she was right here, privileged enough to get this opportunity. She looked over to where Amanda and Hannah were sitting and saw the same excitement on their faces.

“This is a bit of a surprise. We only decided to do this a couple of days ago. We hope that you will enjoy it.” Seb spoke to the small gathering.

Seb knew that Isabel was Lisa’s favorite song of Il Divo’s. So they sang that one first and he couldn’t help smiling as he watched her face while they sang. She looked so happy and he loved that he was the man that was bringing her this joy.

After Isabel, they sang Musica, Passera and Mama, and then took a short break.

Lisa hugged Sebastien and thanked him for this wonderful surprise. “Someday I will get to see you all in a full concert.”

“Oh definitely. I am hoping that you and the children will be able to travel with me for at least some of the U.S. dates on next year’s tour. I know that it will take some planning to travel with the children but I couldn’t stand to be away from all of you for the whole tour.” He said with his arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her as close to him as her belly would allow.

“What else are you going to sing today?”

“Not telling. You’ll just have to wait and see like everyone else.” He kissed her quickly as he saw the other guys heading back to the stage.

He laughed at her pretend pout as he backed away. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Seb”

He jumped back up onto the stage and with an introduction by David, they sang Caruso, then The Man You Love and Notte De Luce and finally Senza Catene, leaving very few dry eyes among the ladies.

After a bit of shuffling around, with Urs, Carlos and Seb standing off to the side for a bit, David held out his hand and introduced Grace to those who didn’t know her and they sang a couple of songs together in an unexpected treat. Watching these two sing together was incredible. You could see the love flowing between them. Their eyes saying what their lips had not.

After David helped Grace off of the stage, the children as well as the adults were given a rare treat as Carlos and Vicki performed a couple of scenes, complete with the songs of Beauty and the Beast. Perhaps the one who enjoyed it the most was Hannah who had never been to any kind of play before. She was mesmerized by the intricacies of their characters without even being in any costumes. She had seen the Disney film and it had always been one of her favorites. The children, except for Lauren, had sat quietly through the whole performance until the end where they clapped along with the adults who enjoyed it just as much.

The orchestra had left the stage, followed by Urs, Carlos, David and Vicki. A bar stool was placed in the front and center of the stage and Seb stepped to the microphone with his acoustic guitar in his hand.

“I wanted to take Lisa back today, to when we first met in Paris a decade ago.” Seb said as he got comfortable on the stool, checked the tuning of his guitar and adjusted the mic. He nodded to Pierre who was still at the back and after the music began, he started with Si Tu Savais and then went right into Loin d’hier.

Lisa sat directly in front of him as he sang, and he was right. As she locked eyes with him as he was singing to her, she felt like she was transported right back to Paris. Only this time, there was no language barrier standing between them. In fact, she never had felt more completely and totally connected with another person in her entire life.

Seb continued singing as he watched the emotions changing over her face. She was unconsciously rubbing her hand over her belly until she realized what he was looking at and she smiled at him. He winked as the song ended and he introduced the next song, Un coin d’enfance. He ended his set with Jt’en veux, Lisa’s favorite of all of his solo tracks.

“I believe that the desserts should be laid out by now. If everyone would like, please join us back in the house.” He said as he handed his guitar to Pierre.

Lisa didn’t speak at first when he stepped down off of the stage. The applause was still drowning out any words she might have said. She just melted into his arms and laid her head on his chest.

Sammy came up to them at looked up at his Papa.

“That was good singing Papa.”

“Thank you Sammy. I’m glad that you liked it.” He said smiling down on his son.

“Yes, Papa, that was very good singing and you can sing to me anytime you want to.” She said taking his hand in hers as they headed for the house.

Parents helped their children get settled at a table with some dessert and then helped themselves to their choice of sweets. Besides several different kinds of cookies and tarts and other sweets, there was a very large cake with “Congratulations” written on the top. Mom had ordered the cake and Lisa thanked her for the nice touch. The cake dwindled quickly as everyone lined up for a piece.

Seb noticed Lisa standing over near the wall, arching and rubbing her back. He collected two pieces of cake and directed her to the library.

“Seb, I can’t hide away in here. We have guests.”

“I’m not closing the door. I just want you to be able to put your feet up for a few minutes.”

“Just a few minutes?”

“Yes, I can tell you are feeling uncomfortable.”

“My back and feet are just a little sore. But I figure I can keep off of them all day tomorrow to make up for today.”

“Please rest for a little while. Everyone here will understand.”

“All right. I guess I can’t argue with you when you gave me that wonderful surprise of the music today. I had no idea.”

“Good because it was supposed to be a surprise.”

After they finished their cake, Lisa laid the side of her head against the couch as Seb rubbed her feet and before she could stop herself, she had drifted off to sleep. Seb stood and bent to lightly kiss her temple and then he went back to join the party. He knew Lisa would be upset with him for letting her fall asleep. But she definitely needed it judging by the speed with which she drifted off. He’d just let her get a short nap in. It would also allow for her feet to be up for a little while.

Brenda stopped him, asking where Lisa had gone. She wanted to speak to them both about something.

“She’s taking a short nap. She didn’t intend to fall asleep but I’m going to let her rest for a bit. Why what’s up?”

“Well there is an orphanage in the northern part of the state that is about to be shut down because of the age of the facility. The state does not want to spend the money to renovate it and there are about sixty boys and girls that will either need to find foster homes, be adopted or be sent to other facilities in the state. So they decided to have a get together in a park near the facility to try to interest families in at least some of the children. Most of the facilities are so close if not already at capacity so it would really help if they can find some homes to take a lot of the children. If you decided to take a child, I’m sure that you could probably take them right home. You guys are in the position that you wouldn’t have to wait for any kind of a check of your home.”

“When is this get together?”

“Next Sunday at two o’clock”

“Well, we’ll talk to Lisa and see what she says.”

*

“So Deb, what do you think of this place?”

He really wanted to get an idea if she had made a decision yet. He had so enjoyed having his family together. Well, almost together. But he felt like if they were here on the same property, he had a much better chance of trying to make everything up to Debbie as much as he ever could. She was being cordial to him, but he felt like that’s all it was. She was polite to him, speaking to him; especially when it came to something about the children but, where did that leave the two of them on a personal level?
He knew he still loved her. He had no doubt about that now that they had spent a few days together again. Before their lives had started turning upside down, they had had a very wonderful relationship. They had always had very good communication in their marriage and their intimate times were more than satisfying to both of them and even though they had been young sweethearts when they married and had only had some minor relationships with other people before they had gotten together, they had both been sure that they had found their soulmates.

That was the big problem now. He knew how deeply Debbie had loved him once and therefore the depth of the hurt he had caused her went so deep into her soul, he wasn’t sure that she could ever forgive him or trust him enough to reconcile.

Debbie looked him in the eye and answered him.

“I love it here, Jim. It’s a beautiful place and the people….well, the people are the best. I think I could be very happy working here. I’m just not sure yet. Hannah has been so adamant about not wanting to move. I am so afraid of alienating her and having her turn into an angry teenager that won’t talk to me anymore. I think the boys would be fine with the move. They are so happy to be here with you. It’s going to be hard to go home tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I thought you knew that I was just staying until Sunday.”

“No, I didn’t know. But I guess you need to get back to work so it makes sense. I guess I just hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

Debbie saw the agony on his face at the thought of them leaving. Since they had gotten here on Wednesday, he had looked and acted like the old Jim, her Jim that she had fallen in love with so long ago and she didn’t take any pleasure in causing him any pain. But she did have to return to work on Monday so there was no way around it at the moment.

“I’m sorry, Jim. Hopefully I’ll be able to make my final decision this week. And if I don’t decide to take the job, we will work out some sort of visitation. Actually, I don’t need to work anything out. I want you to see the children whenever you can. No matter what happens with us, I know that you love your children.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he still loved her just as deeply as he had the day he’d married her but, he didn’t say it and then the moment had slipped away.

*

Hannah and Amanda were sitting out on the guest house porch, watching the party from where they were sitting. They had enjoyed themselves but Amanda could tell that Hannah had something on her mind.

“Spit it out.”

“What?”

“Whatever you are thinking about.”

Hannah let out a big sigh and looked at her friend for a long moment before she spoke.

“Would you hate me forever if I told my Mom that it would be okay for us to move here?”

Amanda hadn’t answered so Hannah continued.

“It’s just that Mom has looked really happy here, happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. She and Dad aren’t back together or anything. I don’t know if that will ever happen but I think she’s glad just to have him around and I know she would like the job here. I’ve missed my Dad, Amanda. I’ve really missed him and even though I’m still mad at him for leaving like he did, I don’t want to lose him again. It also would be so cool to be able to be near the Divos all the time. I just don’t want you to be mad at me for wanting this.”

“I don’t want you to move Hannah. We’ve been best friends for so long but, I understand. I wouldn’t want to be this far away from my dad if he and Mom weren’t together. Our parents have promised to make sure that we can get together. It won’t be the same but we just have to make sure that we never have another best friend. You will always be my best friend and I will always be yours… I hope.”

“Of course you will and my dad said he was going to get me a prepaid cell phone so I will be able to talk to you on the phone and there’s always chatting on the computer.”

“Yeah those computers they have over in the house are top of the line and have really fast internet on them.”

The two girls hugged and then Hannah told Amanda that she was going to talk to her Mom for a minute and she’d be right back.

Jim saw as Hannah approached her Mom and spoke to her. He saw Debbie’s face as she listened. Whatever Hannah was telling her mother had left her in a bit of shock by the look on her face. He watched as Debbie squished Hannah in a big hug before Hannah turned and went back to the guest house, laughing and shaking her head at her Mom’s exuberance.

Debbie looked around with the biggest smile on her face and then she spotted him watching her. She came up to him, still smiling.

“What was that all about?” he asked her.

“I’m not sure what happened to change her mind but, Hannah just told me it was okay for us to move here if that was what I decided to do.”

“Really!! That’s great. I mean, I know that that was one of the biggest things holding you back on your decision. I guess now you just have to decide if this is what you want to do, for you.”

“I know.” Debbie said sounding distracted. “I’ll talk to you later.” She said as she turned and walked away, deep in thought.