CHASING DREAMS

Chapter 88:

Two days later, their feelings had taken a decidedly different shift. The joy of the adoptions was still there but today was the day that the guys were leaving for close to two weeks. Seb explained to the children that he had to go to work but, he would be back in a couple of weeks.

“Sammy, would you help Mommy to look after Kayti for me?” He asked the boy when Sammy was watching him shave.

“Yes, Papa. I’ll make sure she doesn’t go near the street too.”

“That is a good idea.” Seb said as he shivered at the thought of Kayti making her way to the road. It was a fairly deserted road and the traffic tended to run pretty fast. “And you help Mommy keep yours and Kayti’s toys picked up when you are done playing, so Mommy won’t have to pick them up, okay.”

“Yes Papa I promise.” Sammy answered from his perch on the edge of the sink where Seb had set him.

“That’s my boy.” Seb said ruffling Sammy’s hair.

Marie came to sit with the children so Alex and Lisa could ride to the airport with the guys.

When Urs and Alex arrived, Seb and Lisa were ready to go. Seb lifted Kayti into his arms and gave her one of their special kisses and hugs that she loved so much and always made her giggle. Even through his smile as he played their goodbye game, Lisa could see the pain in his eyes at having to leave them.

“Papa loves you very much, ma petite. Please be a good girl for Mama.”

He gave her one last kiss, then he stooped down after setting Kayti on the floor and he drew Sammy into his arms.

“I will miss you, Buddy. I will be home soon. I love you. You be a big boy and help Mommy out.”

“I will Papa.”

Seb hugged Sammy and kissed the top of his head and stood up so Sammy couldn’t see the tears that were threatening to fall.

They had left early enough for the four of them to stop for a quick bite to eat before going to the airport and then they knew that the time had come for them to head to the airport and get checked in.

The ride was filled with a lot of small talk but the air was filled with what wasn’t being said, like how hard this parting was going to be and how much it hurt each of them to be separated after this wonderful break they’d had together. Plus, each of the two men was worried about the girls in their conditions.

Seb knew that so far Lisa was feeling just fine and had a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow to confirm the pregnancy and begin her prenatal care. He did worry that no one else knew of Lisa’s condition and they were counting on her to help as much as possible when Alex needed anything and he knew that if Mom and Dad knew that Lisa was also pregnant that they would not let her do too much either.

Urs had his own concerns. He knew that Alex was trying her best to stay relaxed and not do too much. But, he was afraid that once he was gone she would try to do things that he would have done if he was there and that she might not ask for help from the others when she needed something done. He kept thinking of Alex being alone without him if she should begin to feel ill again.

When they arrived at the airport they decided that they would say their goodbyes outside and the girls could go straight home instead of going into the craziness of the terminal.

They stood outside of the car and after their luggage was placed on the cart, Urs hugged Lisa and kissed her on the cheek. Seb did the same with Alex and then they drew their ladies into their arms for a proper goodbye.

“I love you Alex. Take good care of yourself and promise me you will ask for help when you need it.”

“I promise, I’ve promised you a dozen times. Why is it that you don’t believe me?” She said pretending to pout.

“Maybe because I know you so well.” He said just as he began kissing her and not caring who else might be watching.

Seb held Lisa close to him and kissed her lips and her cheeks where the tears that she had valiantly tried to hide had finally escaped.

“Just two weeks, Baby and then I’ll be home.”

“I know. I’ll miss you so much.”

“I’ll miss you and the children too. Please take care and if you decide to tell anyone else, I wouldn’t mind. I don’t really like it that none of the family knows to take special care of you as well as Alex.”

“I’m fine Seb, really I am.”

“I know but I will still worry.”

“Je Taime” she said as she kissed him goodbye once more.

“I love you too, Baby.”

The guys both turned as one just as they went into the terminal and blew their girls a kiss. If they hadn’t known better they would have thought that was planned. It made the girls giggle through their tears.

When the guys were beyond their line of sight, the girls got back into the Escalade and headed for home. As Lisa drove, she thought about what Seb had said about telling the others about her being pregnant. Should she tell them and give them cause to worry about her as well as Alex or should she do as she had planned and keep the news to herself for a while longer?

She continued to weigh the pros and cons of telling her news to everyone. She didn’t want Seb to worry any more than he had to while he was away. She knew that even if she hadn’t been pregnant, he would worry enough about them when he wasn’t there.

“You are awfully quiet. Are you alright?” Alex asked her. “I know it is going to be hard. I miss Urs already.”

“I’m fine, how are you feeling? Has your pressure been good today?”

“Mostly, but it was a little higher a couple of times but I think it was because I was upset about Urs leaving. It is hard to control something like that.”

“I know…. You know, it is going to be so much fun to be able to shop for baby things and set the nurseries up. I can’t wait now for the main house to get finished so I can start on mine.”

Lisa waited for a few minutes after saying that to see if Alex picked up on the word nurseries since she had used the plural form. When it didn’t seem like she realized what Lisa said, she thought of another one. There would be no way for her to mistake this one.

“It is going to be so much fun. We have done so many things together over the years, now we will both be mothers together.”

For a few seconds Alex just thought that Lisa was talking about her being a mother to Sammy and Kayti. Then the idea popped into her head that maybe Lisa was telling her something else. She turned to Lisa and looked hard at her.

Lisa was driving and didn’t turn her head but she could feel Alex’s stare. She began to smile and it got bigger the longer Alex stared at her without saying anything.

“You’re pregnant!”

“Yes, only about four weeks. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to confirm it. We’ve just used the home test so far but we’ve done the tests three times and it came up positive every time.”

Alex squealed. “This is fantastic. Do Mom and Dad know yet?

“No. I wasn’t actually going to tell anyone for a while with so much else going on but, Seb wasn’t comfortable leaving and no one else knowing about it.”

“He’s right. It was because of me that you didn’t want to tell wasn’t it?”

“Yes” Lisa confessed. “It’s just that I feel fine. I haven’t even had any sickness or anything. I have just been really tired. I didn’t want to take any of the focus off of you. You and your baby need special care and I intend to see that you get it.”

“Well, just see that you don’t take such good care of me that you forget to look after yourself. You have two little ones to take up much of your time already.”

“It will be fine and we’ll spend time sitting and looking online at all of the terrific baby things that are out there.”

“That will be fun won’t it?” Alex said.

Lisa was right. They had shared so many things in their lives but this was going to be the most important and special of all.

When they got out of the car, Alex came around and hugged Lisa tightly.

“This is wonderful news Lisa. I am so happy for you and our babies will only be a few months apart in age, so they will grow up together and be the best of friends, just like us.”

She was still speaking when they walked in the door.

“Hi girls, you got the guys dropped off okay?”

“Yes but they just wanted us to drop them off outside of the terminal instead of walking them all the way in.”

Marie was a bit puzzled at the demeanor of the girls. They were both very somber when they left to take Seb and Urs to the airport and she expected them to be even more so when they came back without them. But they looked positively jovial, like they were celebrating something.

”You girls look like you have a secret. I expected two very upset girls when you both came back. You haven’t decided that you would be happy when they are gone, did you?”

“Oh no Mom. I am very upset that Urs has left. It is going to be very lonely tonight to go home without him there.”

Alex looked at Lisa to see if she was going to enlighten Mom as to why they were so happy.

“Mom, I just told Alex some news.”

“Oh okay.” She said sounding like she didn’t want to pry.

“I’m going to have a baby.”

“What?...Already? Are you joking with me?”

“No Mom. I’ve taken three of the home pregnancy tests and they have all come out positive.”

“Are you alright that it has happened so soon?”

“Oh yes, Seb and I had discussed it even before the wedding, that we wanted to try for a baby right away. But, frankly I never thought that it would happen so quickly, especially with the damage I had inside of me. I have an appointment tomorrow morning for confirmation.”

“So, at the most, you would be about four weeks along.”

“Yes, no more than that.”

Mom hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Congratulations Sweetheart, I am happy for you. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m just fine except for being really exhausted at the end of the day, even when I haven’t done very much. There’s been no sickness, not yet anyway. Please don’t worry about me. I am fine and I almost didn’t tell anyone yet because I don’t want you all fussing over me when it is Alex that needs looking after right now.”

“Don’t you be telling me not to fuss over you, young lady. You are both precious to us and we will be fussing over the both of you. That is our right and our responsibility. Seb came to me the other day and specifically asked me to keep an eye on you for him, now I know why.”

Mom left with Alex leaving shortly after. She took the newly paved private road that connected their properties. Each end having its own gate at the road to prevent people trying to use it as a cut through. Even though it was less than five minutes door to door, Lisa made Alex promise to call her once she was in the house and had locked the doors.

The next morning, Lisa dropped the children off at school and went to see her doctor. When she told her why she was there, she was thrilled and immediately sent Lisa to the lab to have the tests run. The preliminary test would only take about twenty minutes.

When she came back into the room, she told Lisa that it was confirmed. She was pregnant. Then she went through the usual information that she always gave to expectant mothers, giving her all of the brochures to read that would explain a lot of the changes that would begin to happen in her body as the baby grew.

“I want to thank you for taking such good care of Alex.” Lisa said to her. Lisa had referred Alex to her since she had been so good with her for all of these years. The doctor specialized in both OB and GYN so Lisa would be able to see her throughout her pregnancy as well.

Lisa called Alex on the way back to work and told her the good news.

“Lisa, I hope that you won’t be upset with me. It kind of just slipped out when I was talking to Urs.”

“That’s alright. I don’t care who knows now.”

Meanwhile, Urs was walking up to Seb. He clapped Seb on the back as he approached him.

“You my French friend have been holding out on me. Alex told me that Lisa is pregnant.”

Seb went on to tell him why Lisa was hesitant about telling everyone else so early. While they were talking about it, the other two joined them and were filled in on the great news. They all congratulated Seb and Carlos vowed to take them all out tonight to celebrate.

Three days after Urs left, Alex sat at the kitchen table while she was waiting for Mom and debated whether to call him or wait until after her appointment today. She had gotten a call this morning from her doctor. She said that after getting the blood tests back and not being able to read the scan completely that she wanted Alex to come back in and repeat the scan for her. This time she would perform the scan herself so she could get a more thorough look. She told Alex not to worry about anything but she already was and was very nervous no matter how hard she tried not to be.

Alex decided to wait until after that scan and then hopefully then she could just tell him it was nothing anyway. She was ready to go when Mom came to get her. She didn’t have much to say while they were riding and that told Marie more than any words could, how nervous and upset Alex was by this. Marie reached across the seat and grasped Alex’s hand. Alex looked up and over at her mother.

“I’m afraid Mom.”

“I know.” Was all she said, but it was enough and Alex was really glad that her mother would be with her today.

She and Mom were led back into the same room that she and Urs had been in less than a week ago. The excitement she and Urs had felt before the first scan was replaced this time with trepidation and Alex just wanted to get it over with so the doctor could tell her that everything was just fine.

The doctor came in shortly after and took the seat in front of the sonogram machine. She spoke to them for a few minutes, met Marie and told Alex that this scan would be the same, only she was going to be trying to get clearer pictures. In the first scan, a lot of what she had wanted to look at was either fuzzy or the baby had been turned the wrong way. She also told Alex that this one extra week further along would help her a lot.

She didn’t tell Alex what she was looking for however and Alex was too afraid to ask. So, she just laid back and stared at the screen while the doctor did the scan.

She thought about her and Urs joking about their little bean. The technician had said that the baby was the size of a kidney bean. So Urs had started calling their baby “Bean” He knew that Alex didn’t like to call the baby “It” so this was what he said they would say instead.

For the longest time, or at least it seemed so to Alex, the doctor didn’t say anything or point anything out like the technician had last week. She couldn’t read the doctor’s face either. Finally the doctor turned the screen a bit more towards Alex and Marie so they could see it better. She went through and showed them the baby again. This was the first time for Marie to get a look at her first Grandchild and she couldn’t stop the tear that fell down her cheek at the sheer joy she felt.

Alex finally couldn’t take it any more and she had to ask her.

“Is something wrong with my baby?

The doctor took a very deep breath and let it out and in that one gesture, Alex knew that there was.

“What is it?” Alex asked her almost not wanting to know the answer.

“Alex, your baby has what is called a neural tube defect. There are two kinds. One is called anencephaly and the other is spina bifida. Anencephaly is a fatal defect, spina bifida is not and thankfully that is what your baby has. Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the bones of the spine do not form properly around the spinal cord during the first month of pregnancy.”

“Thankfully?” How could she say thankfully about this, Alex thought.

“Yes, Alex. With Spina Bifida, the visible defect can be corrected and with therapies, the effects can be lessened in severity in most cases. We have more tests to do and we will watch the progress of the baby much closer than most pregnancies to see how severe the defect is and where it is located.”

She went on to tell them that where the defect was located had a great deal to do with the prognosis. The higher up on the spine that the defect was located the more severe and permanent the damage to the babies nerves, bladder and the ability to walk.

“Your baby’s defect seems to be rather small and very low on the back, almost on the buttocks, which is actually very good news.”

“Is there anything we can do to fix it?”

“There are several therapies and surgeries that are possible. First I would like you to go see a doctor I am going to refer you to. He will tell you what the best treatment will be for your child. In most cases, once the child is born and stabilized, he or she is taken in for surgery to repair the visible defect. Although they can close the defect, whatever nerve damage has been done, is permanent.”

“I have heard of this. Isn’t this the one where they are doing some surgeries before birth to fix it?” Marie asked

“Yes, there have been some cases where they do this. It is very risky. You have to wait until at least twenty one weeks of gestation and there is a high risk of premature labor and then you get into the problems that premature birth would cause including death.”

“Yes, but if they fix it that early, isn’t it better in the long run for the baby’s outlook?”

“In a lot of cases, yes. But there are so many risks to both mother and baby. Look, the best thing you can do now is go see the doctor and he will do another scan and tell you what the course of treatment should be.”

“Alright.”

“Come home with me, Alex. Let’s stop by your house and get you some of your things and then come home. I don’t want you sitting there alone.” Mom said as they left the building.

Alex was in shock too much to even think of arguing with her so she just nodded.

That evening, after dinner, she lay on the couch with her head in her father’s lap just like when she was a child. She felt safe there and comforted. He stroked her head and down her arm repeatedly and she finally fell asleep there.

She dreaded telling Urs and hated that it would be over the phone but, she knew she couldn’t keep this from him for almost two weeks. Tomorrow though, tomorrow she would call him. Tonight she didn’t have the strength to tell him. She just wanted to go to bed and sleep and wake up tomorrow and find that this had just all been a terrible nightmare.

While Alex had been lying on the couch, with her head in her Daddy’s lap, Marie had gone online to research Spina Bifida. She wanted to learn as much about it as possible. She knew that once Alex had gotten past the shock of it, that she would be the same, relentlessly finding out every piece of information she could find on the subject, so she figured that she would get a head start and she bookmarked sites that were informative.

Dan had finally gotten Alex up and made her go into her old bed to get some sleep. Then he went to where Marie was still on the computer. He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them while she read.

“Thank you, that feels wonderful.”

“Is it as bad as she thinks it is?”

“It can be. There seems to be a great degree of difference in the severity of the defect. As the doctor told us today, the placement, or how high on the spine, has a big part in determining how bad it is. But, she said that the baby’s defect seems to be quite low and from what I’ve read, that is a very good thing. The lower it is, the less nerve damage there usually is and less of an effect on the bowels and bladder. But we’ll just have to see what the other doctor says. The appointment is the first of next week.”

He tipped her head way back so he could see her face as he stood behind her, then he leaned down and kissed her forehead, nose and finally her lips. “Come to bed soon.”

“Alright, just a few more minutes here and then I’ll be in.”

Dan left her there, knowing full well it wouldn’t be just a few minutes. She was a woman on a mission and she wasn’t going to be able to stop reading until she felt she had discovered everything she could about the baby’s defect and any possible treatments. By the time she did climb into bed beside her sleeping husband, Marie was armed with loads of information and even more questions for the doctor.

Lisa was beginning to feel an urgency to get Kelly trained to take over soon. There was so much to do to get ready to move into the main house and also helping Alex as much as possible and it would be so much easier when she wasn’t needed at the daycare anymore. She and Mary began sifting through applications to hire a replacement for Mary as well. Only a few days of training would be required to begin with for the receptionist’s position. What other tasks Kelly decided to train the receptionist on was up to her. Mary had become indispensable to Lisa over the last couple of years, taking on several tasks that freed Lisa up to do more for the owner.

Lisa left work and went home intending to make dinner and then take a plate to Alex if she wanted it. When they got home, Lisa tried Alex’s phone and it went straight to voicemail so she just left her a message and started preparing dinner while the children played in the bedrooms.

Chapter 89:

Alex had stalled all day putting off the inevitable. She had to call Urs. He would be upset with her if she didn’t call him and tell him. She had asked Mom to drive her home after breakfast this morning. She promised that she would call if she needed anything but, she really did want to be alone for a while and she needed privacy to call Urs. She had dialed his number several times, hanging up before it could connect. She had never been a coward before and she wasn’t about to start now. She knew that the future of their child depended on her strength and moping around just wasn’t going to cut it. This time she forced herself to allow the ringing to continue until at last Urs answered.

“Alex, hi Baby. I tried to call you last night but it went straight to your voicemail. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling alright.” She said because physically she did feel fine right now. It was her emotions and the growing fear inside of her that was tearing her apart and she just wished he was right here beside her to comfort her.

“Alex, are you sure? You sound funny.”

“The doctor called me back in yesterday for a repeat of the scan and some more blood work.”

“Okay, why did she do that?”

“She found some abnormalities in my blood work from last week and the scan wasn’t clear enough for her to see what she needed to see.” Alex knew that she was beating around the bush but, she was having a hard time saying the words.

“Urs, our baby has a birth defect. It is called Spina bifida. If you go online, you can find out all about it. She wants me to see another doctor about it. She did say that the defect is minimal compared to most of the other cases……Urs. Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here.” He said almost inaudibly as he tried to get his head around what she had just told him. “Are you alright?”

“I…I’m ok physically…..I just wish that you were here.”

Alex couldn’t hold back the torrent that had been trying to fall since yesterday afternoon. She cried until she had no tears left.

“I do too, Baby. When do you go to the other doctor? She told him the date and he promised to try to get away a bit sooner so he could go with her.

“I would feel better if you could, Urs. But if you can’t, I‘ll understand.” She had been determined not to be a clingy fiancé or wife that would make him feel guilty for being away when he had to be and she wasn’t going to change that, even now.

“I’ll do my best.”

They talked for a while longer. Alex tried to change the subject, but no matter what else they discussed, the topic they were trying to avoid was like an elephant in the room, you couldn’t really ignore it.

“Alex, you call me anytime, even if you just need to talk to me and hear my voice, even if it is the middle of the night.”

“Okay.”

When she had dinner ready, Lisa tried Alex once more and still got her voicemail, but several minutes later the phone rang and Lisa knew it was Alex by the ring tone.

“Hi Chick, would you like me to bring you a plate of dinner? I’ve got it all ready and I have just begun feeding the kids. When they are finished, I could bring it over and I’ll eat with you, if that’s okay.” She said happily.

“Ummm..well…I guess that will be alright. I’m not too hungry though.”

“Are you feeling sick again?”

“No.”

“Well, you need to keep your strength up you know and you need to feed the baby, she said chuckling.”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you. See you when you get here.” Alex said and hung up without Lisa even getting a chance to say anything else.

That was really strange, Lisa thought. It was usually the other way around. Alex had so much to say that it was hard to get off of the phone with her sometimes. Lisa figured that maybe she was just bored and irritated that she was stuck in so much and unable to adhere to her normal active lifestyle. So she hoped that having her and the children there with her for a while this evening would help her to feel better. Maybe they would even play a game of cards or Yahtzee if the children were behaving.

When they arrived, Lisa knocked on the door and Alex called for her to come in. She was carrying a foam cooler with their dishes inside as well as a naughty fattening dessert of strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream for all of them. She set the cooler on the counter and unloaded it. Then she went to find Alex and see where she wanted to eat. They could eat outside. It had cooled off considerably in the last couple of hours or they could eat in the kitchen or even in the living room since the children had already eaten.

Lisa was startled by the sight of Alex when she found her. She had obviously been crying, a lot.

‘Sweety, what’s wrong? I know that you miss Urs. I miss Seb so much it is actually painful.” She was sure that that was why Alex was upset.

“Sit down.” She told Lisa and the tone in which it was said gave Lisa great cause to worry that it was something more serious than just that she was missing Urs.

She told Lisa about the diagnosis and everything that the doctor had said about it. She even told her about a lot of the things Mom had shown her online this morning before she brought her home.

Lisa sat there stunned. She didn’t know quite what to say.

“I’m sorry, Alex.” Boy that sounded so lame. Lisa thought to herself. “Does Urs know yet?”

“Yes, I just talked to him a while ago. He didn’t say much but I could tell that he is devastated.”

She drew Alex into her arms and hugged her and let Alex’s tears that had begun to fall again soak her shirt. Lisa shed some of her own and it was close to an hour later when Lisa finally went into the kitchen to heat up their now cold meals.

Their visit was rather quiet. Most of the small talk that would usually flow, now seemed trite and neither of them knew what they could talk about when all that was on their mind was the baby and its defect.

“Do you want to come and stay at the house with us? I’ve left the daybed in Kayti’s room.”

“Thanks, but I just want to sleep in our bed. I feel closer to him there. I can still smell him. I almost pulled the sheets to wash them but then I realized how much his scent clung to them and I couldn’t do it. I just want him to come home and hold me.”

“I know you do. It is only just over a week now until they’ll be home and he will hopefully be home in time for your next appointment.”

Lisa hated leaving her there alone but, the children began getting sleepy and she wanted to get them into the bathtub before they went to bed. She made Alex promise to call her anytime if she needed her.

Alex loved Lisa, she truly did, but it was a relief when she and the children left. It was hard trying to keep up a conversation when she just wanted to go to bed and curl up and cry. She hadn’t set out to get pregnant. She thought of how afraid she was of the thought of being a mother when she first discovered her pregnancy. But as the weeks have passed, she had begun looking forward to the joys of motherhood and watching her baby grow into a happy child and on into an adult. Now, there was no telling what life would be like for her baby. If it turned out to be a more severe case than her doctor originally thought, the baby could be severely handicapped and need special care for the rest of its life. Even if it was just a mild case and was repaired, there was no guarantee that the baby would be without any long term problems. It would just be a wait and see situation.

Lisa got the children to bed and sat down to call Seb. She wanted to know if Urs had said anything to the others. He would need his friends by him through this and Lisa wasn’t sure if he would tell them on his own. He could be rather quiet much of the time. When she got a hold of Seb, the first thing he did was ask her if she knew. So, Urs had told them. She was glad that he wasn’t trying to keep it to himself and all bottled up. This was going to be a very trying time and both Urs and Alex would need all of their support.

“Are you feeling alright, Ma Cherie. With all of this happening with their baby, it makes me even more worried about you.”

“Seb, I am really fine. I promise. I would tell you if I wasn’t. I’m still not even having to deal with the morning sickness at all. The doctor said some women never do. Mary is so funny. I told her about the baby and she has been like another mother hen. She even made me go lie down for a nap when most of the other children were asleep.”

“Oh good, I’m glad you told her. I won’t worry about you so much at work then. I knew I liked that woman.” Seb said cheekily.

“I think that I’ll be able to quit working full time in the next few weeks and just be available if Kelly has any questions as she takes over the full scheme of things on her own. Then I can help Alex more and begin looking for furniture and other things for the house. Drew said they are looking at the beginning of June instead of the end of June for a completion date. All the help that Ty and his crew gave them and since they’ve had the extra crew, it has gone much faster than they anticipated.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’ll let you go so you can get some sleep.”

“Do you have to go right now? I just wanted to talk with you a while longer, unless you are busy of course.”

“No. I’m not too busy to speak to you, Baby. I miss you very much you know.”

“I miss you too.”

“Oh I wanted to tell you about a post I read online yesterday. A fan was talking about us. They had seen the wedding pictures that we posted. They really did come out fantastic. Anyway, one of the ladies called you the Grand Siren, since you are married to me. I guess that makes Vickie the Grand Cutie and Alex will be the Grand Uber.” He said trying to cheer her up. He knew how upset she was about Alex and the baby.

“That’s pretty funny, Grand Siren, Huh. I think I like it.” She said and he was happy when he could hear the smile in her voice.”

By the end of the week, they had hired Mary’s replacement and had her pretty well trained in the basics. The rest would be up to Kelly. Mary hadn’t quit yet, but she worked several half days and took the Friday off. She was meeting her daughter Samantha at the airport. She was also bringing Mary’s Grandson, Michael. He had just had his third birthday in January.

Samantha was coming to help sort through the house and get rid of a lot of things that she wouldn’t need any more. The attic had boxes that hadn’t been touched since before Mary’s husband passed away. Mary wanted to be ready to go when Lisa was ready for her to move. Other than the furniture in the master bedroom, Mary was only going to keep things that were special to her.

On Saturday, Lisa showed up at Mary’s house offering to take Michael for the day so they could concentrate on what they were doing. He could play at the house with Sammy and Kayti. Mary assured Samantha that he would have fun there and he would be fine. Lisa told them that if they wanted to come for dinner and pick Michael up, they could plan on doing that. They would be tired after working all day and probably wouldn’t feel like cooking. By the time they came to have dinner, they had gotten a great deal of it finished and would only have a little more to sift through tomorrow.

Samantha had been concerned for her mother’s welfare when she heard about her taking on this new position. She didn’t know Lisa and hoped that this job wasn’t going to be too much for her to take on this late in life. It sounded like it was going to change everything about her life. As she sat there at Lisa’s house and watched her Mom interacting with Lisa and with the children, she realized that her mother really was happy here. The house looked fantastic. Mary had stayed outside with the children and Lisa took Samantha for a tour of the main house. When they went inside the house, Samantha had taken the opportunity to speak privately to Lisa.

“Lisa, my mother has spoken so highly of you. I have also known about her love affair with Il Divo for the last couple of years and to have met them and now to consider them as friends, I can’t tell what a difference it has made in her. She hasn’t been this happy since Daddy died. Thank you for giving her this opportunity. But please, please look out for her. She will do everything you require and more with no thought for herself.”

“Samantha, Mary is not just an employee to me. We have become very close, especially the last few months. I will definitely look out for her. I want this to be a good experience for her as well. My husband also has a huge soft spot for her and takes every opportunity to speak to her. He knows it makes her day. And then there’s Carlos, he has been so sweet with her.”

“I know. She has told me about all of the times he has made a point to speak to her or dance with her. She really has been acting a lot younger than she used to and that is definitely a good thing. I was worried about her for so long after Daddy died. I had tried to get her to move out with us, but she wouldn’t leave him behind.”

“Please believe me when I say that your mother is part of our family here and we love her. We will take good care of her. She takes such good care of all of us already. As soon as she found out that I was pregnant, she became even more of a mother hen than usual.”

The two women laughed about that. Samantha knew exactly what Lisa was talking about.

When they left, Lisa hoped that Samantha’s mind had been put at ease about her mother’s welfare, especially as it had to do with moving in here and working here with them. She hoped that she had been successful in showing Samantha how much Mary was loved by them all.

On Sunday afternoon, Lisa was doing some light house cleaning while the children were taking a nap. Lisa hadn’t even told them to take one but she went to check on them in Sammy’s room when it had gotten really quiet. She found them sound asleep together on Sammy’s bottom bunk. She drew up a light blanket over them both, shut off the light and shut the door on her way out of the room.

She had some music on and hadn’t heard anyone pulling into the driveway, so when the door opened, she was momentarily startled. Then she squealed and ran into Seb’s open arms. He lifted her off of the floor and kissed her.

“Oh, Ma Cherie, how I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Seb. You guys weren’t due back for a couple more days.”

“I can leave and come back, if you’d like.” He said chuckling.

“No way, you’ll stay right here.” She said pulling him close for a huge hug.

She ran her fingers through his hair and took in a deep breath inhaling the scent of him that she loved so much. She kissed him really fast all over his face, making him laugh.

“Oh my God, I’ll be back!” Lisa said and ran into the bathroom in the hall, kicking the door shut.

“”Baby?...Lisa are you alright?”

Seb stood pacing as he heard the toilet flush and the water in the sink being turned on. He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated that he couldn’t do anything to help her.

“I’m so sorry about that. That is the first time that’s happened. Now I know what Alex was talking about. It comes on really sudden.” She said when she came back out.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I guess so. That’s really the first time I’ve felt nauseous.”

Seb led her over to the couch and they sat down. He rubbed her back as they sat back together.

“Oh here it comes again, Seb please go outside for a few minutes. I’m sorry.”

He was really confused. Why did she want him to go outside? He had no idea but did as she asked. He sat on the porch swing and waited for her to come out and tell him what was going on. When she came outside, she didn’t sit near him. She sat way over in one of the chairs.

“Seb, I hate to tell you this. It’s you, you’re making me nauseous.”

“What?” he looked really hurt by the comment.

“Well, I don’t mean you exactly. I think it’s the cologne. I love that cologne, especially on you, but right now it is making me feel really sick to my stomach. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Baby. You can’t help that. I’ll be right back. I just won’t wear it around you until after the baby is born.” He said stripping his shirt off as he went into the house.

Lisa followed him but kept her distance. She was still feeling mildly ill. Just the few minutes that Seb had been home, the fragrance of the cologne had permeated the living room. She hoped that it wouldn’t last too long. She heard Seb go into their master bathroom and then heard the shower. She briefly thought about joining him but she still felt weak after getting sick twice in just a few minutes, so she decided to wait until later.

When he came back out in a pair of boxers, he was carrying a bag of clothes. He kept right on going into the laundry room and started a wash. If that fragrance was going to bother her, he was going to get rid of any hint of it for now. Once the washer was running, he shut the laundry room door and told her not to go in there until he had the other load in the washer.

“How’s this? Any better?” he said wrapping his arms around her.

“Mmmmm much better, thank you. I hate that. I really do like that fragrance, but I guess the baby doesn’t.”

“Don’t worry about it. Once the baby is here, I’m sure I’ll be able to wear it again. Now, where were we? Ah yes, right here.” He said as he pulled her close and kissed her and moved over her face, kissing everywhere he could reach. He could hear her breathing increasing.

“Where are the children?” he whispered into her ear.

“They both fell asleep on Sammy’s bed.”

“Come on.” He said taking her hand and gently pulling her into the bedroom. “Do you feel alright now?”

“Yes, I’m alright.” She said as he ran his hands down her arms.

She reached out and touched his chest, gliding her open palm up and down. Her eyes moved over his bare skin. Her hands followed where her eyes had been, caressing him. She reached around and caressed his back and moved her hands down over his rear. He had just been standing there, letting her take the lead. She looked up rather shyly to find him smiling down at her. His eyes were smoldering as she stared into them.

“Don’t stop, Baby. I’ve been dying for your touch. I’ve missed it so much.”

“Me too.” She said just before she leaned forward and began kissing a path over his chest.

When she began doing that, Seb couldn’t just stand there anymore. He hurriedly assisted in getting them both undressed.

They took complete advantage of the time that the children were napping, reaffirming their love and exploring the things about being together that made them feel like they’d died and gone to heaven.

When Lisa heard Sammy’s bedroom door open, she slid out from under Seb’s arm. He had fallen asleep as they rested entwined together. She decided that he probably could use a little nap. So she took her clothes into the bathroom, got dressed and quietly slipped out of the bedroom to quiet the children so he could rest.

“Hi Mommy, we tooked a nap in my bed. Kayti fell asleep with me.”

“I know. I saw you both. I am glad you had a nice nap. How about a snack and then we’ll finger paint for a while.”

“YAY!” Sammy yelled.

“I have a game for us to play. Let’s see if we can be really quiet while we paint and then I will have the biggest surprise for both of you.”

“Okay Mommy that is fun. Can I have Goldfish?”

“You sure can. Hop up in your chair.”

Lisa put Kayti in her high chair and played with the children until she heard the water in the bathroom.

“Let’s start to clean this all up and I will start making some dinner.”

“Are we still gonna have a prize Mommy?”

“You sure will, in just a couple of minutes. I think we will just about have time to get this all cleaned up and then the surprise will be here.”

Just as Lisa said, they finished cleaning all the painting things up and laid the papers on the counter to dry and the bedroom door opened and Seb walked out.

Sammy took in the biggest breath. “PAPA! Papa’s here!” he said and ran into Seb’s arms. Seb lifted him high in the air and swung him around. In the beginning, Sammy wasn’t sure if he liked it when his Papa did that, but over time when he saw Kayti giggling so hard when their Papa did that with her, he decided to try it again. Now it was one of his favorite things.

“You came home.”

“Yes I did. I missed you all so much, that I just had to come home early.” He said as he set Sammy down and picked Kayti up for their special hug and kiss.

He looked over Kayti’s head at Lisa and smiled. She blushed and smiled back before turning to continue preparing dinner.

“I hope baked chicken is alright for dinner. It is what I had pulled out for us.”

“Anything you make will be perfect Baby. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just keep them company while I cook. That in itself is a big help.” She said grinning at Kayti who still had her little arms around his neck.

“Can we go outside, Papa?” Sammy asked him, jumping up and down.

“Sure, just let me get my shoes on.” He winked at Lisa, set Kayti on the floor and headed to get his shoes from the bedroom.

“Did you like that surprise, Sammy?” Lisa asked him.

He smiled from ear to ear and nodded. “Oh yes Mommy.”

Later that evening, after Seb had helped her bathe and put the children to bed, they sat out on the porch swing together.

“Seb, Urs did come home too, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he rented a car and dropped me off and then went home by the new road. How is Alex?”

“Scared. I know she will feel much better with Urs home.”

“He has been so frustrated not being able to go right home to her when she called him with the news. I don’t know how he stood it. I kept thinking about if it was you. I don’t think I could have stayed there.”

“It had to have been so hard for him. But, I know that Alex understood.”

Chapter 90:

Alex was sitting out in the back yard on the patio, sipping an iced tea when she heard the car coming through the woods on the new road. She saw the strange car and wondered of Lisa had gone somewhere today and had forgotten to shut her gate at the main road. The car slowed down and then pulled up right behind her car and stopped. She couldn’t see the driver because the sun was putting a glare right on the windshield. The door opened and the long form of Urs stepped out smiling so big that his dimples were showing.

“Hi Baby.”

Alex just stood there looking at him. She had wished so hard for him to come home and be with her so she wouldn’t feel so alone in this nightmare. She almost wondered if she was dreaming that he was standing there.

“Urs?” she said as her eyes began to fill up.

“I’m here Baby.” He said as he quickly covered the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. “I’m here now. It’s going to be alright. We will be alright.” He said as much for himself as for her.

He sat down and pulled her onto his lap and held her there, neither of them saying very much, just feeling the comfort of each other. A while later they were in the kitchen, Urs was helping her to put a light supper together for them.

“So your appointment with the new doctor, it is tomorrow morning right?”

“Yes, at nine o’clock. Will you go with me?”

“Of course. That is why I came home early. I wasn’t going to let you go through this without me by your side if I could help it. I know that your family has been with you and helping you but I need to be here for this appointment so we can find out how the doctor is going to help our little Bean.”

He was so happy that when he said that, Alex smiled the first genuine smile since he’d been home. Hearing him call their baby by their little name, brought back some of the joy they’d felt after the first ultrasound, before the terrible diagnosis of the other day.

They spent a while on the computer together that evening, going through all of the articles that Alex had saved telling about Spina Bifida, its different levels of severity, its prognosis and the various treatments that were currently available. She told him as much as she knew about the surgery while the baby was still in utero that was still considered experimental. He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of it. It sounded very dangerous for her and the baby. He didn’t say anything to her about his concerns yet. He wanted to wait and hear what the doctor said tomorrow.

He had been holding her in his lap for over an hour now while they sat at the computer.

“Baby, I’m sorry, I need to ask you to get up. I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

Alex got up feeling bad that she hadn’t thought about that. She’d been sitting there for quite a while.

“I’m sorry honey.” She said running her hand along his jaw.

“Don’t worry about it. The needles will stop in a minute.” He said grimacing as the feeling came back into his legs. He began to walk around to hasten the circulation coming back.

“There, that’s better.”

Alex tried to stifle a yawn but Urs saw it.

“Come on Sweetheart, let’s have an early night. We’ll have to be up and ready to go in the morning.”

He took her hand and led her through the bedroom and into the bathroom. They undressed and climbed into the shower together. Urs ran his hands through her hair, helping the water soak it. Then he squeezed a generous amount of the fruity smelling shampoo into his hand, rubbing it between the palms of his hands to warm it up. He raised his hands, rubbing the shampoo into her hair, using all of his long fingers to make sure that he distributed it evenly. Then he just kept massaging her scalp.

Alex tipped her head back, thoroughly enjoying the special attention that Urs was bestowing on her. She was becoming very relaxed and had to be careful not to fall backwards.

When he was finished he moved her under the water and ran his fingers along her scalp and through the long strands of her hair, making sure to remove all of the shampoo. Then he took her loofah and squeezed her bath gel onto it. Starting at her neck, he made sure to cover every inch of her body. He ran his hands over her, helping the gel to rinse off completely.

Alex’s whole body was both relaxed and turned on at the sensual feeling of his hands touching every place they could.

He kneeled down as he was finishing up and placed his open palms over her tiny bump that was just becoming noticeable if you knew to look for it. Leaning forward, he kissed her belly.

“Papi loves you Bean. I love you very much.”

He was glad that the water was running over his head and down his face because he didn’t want Alex to see the tears that were falling down his cheeks just now.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and pressed his head against her belly. When he stood back up, he took her face in his hands and kissed her long and slow, then he opened the shower door, helping her to step out.

“Dry off, dry your hair and I’ll join you in just a couple of minutes.” He said leaning out far enough to kiss her softly for a moment.

While she waited for Urs to finish, she dried off, pulled her robe on and brushed her hair as she dried it. She was trying to be patient but she was about to call out to him to hurry up.

Urs was doing his own washing but the tears that he’d held back all week were falling now. He had been afraid when he’d heard her tell him about the diagnosis, but now coupled with seeing the immense fear in her eyes, he couldn’t hold his emotions in check anymore. He leaned against the shower wall and let them fall. He didn’t want her to be upset by seeing him crying. Finally, he straightened up, finished rinsing off and got out of the shower, drying off and joining Alex in the bedroom.

“Do you want a snack or anything to drink before we go to bed?” Alex asked him.

“Maybe just a drink. Are you going to have something?”

“Yes, I have been trying to have a little snack before bed or I wake up hungry in the middle of the night.”

“Climb into bed. Let me go get us something then.”

Urs came back carrying a small tray with some crackers, cheese and fruits from the fruit salad that Alex had in the fridge. In the middle was a bowl of some homemade dip that she’d made. He climbed onto the bed and stretched out beside her, running his fingers through her hair.

“You smell really good.” He said leaning up to kiss her.

Leaning over the tray, Alex kissed him back and fed him one of the cubes of cheese. He reciprocated by dipping a piece of fruit into the dip and slowly put it in her mouth. He could see her eyes blazing. She wanted him. He took his time feeding her the snack and by the time he got up off of the bed to remove the tray and took it to the kitchen, Alex was about to throw it off of the bed. When he came back and told her that he had to make a stop in the bathroom, she was ready to scream in frustration.

He wasn’t gone long and when he slid between the sheets and pulled her to him, she attacked his lips in a fervor that would have made him laugh if he hadn’t been feeling the same way. But he made her slow down. He took control and ever so slowly made love to her, treating every inch of her with such reverence and care that she thought she might melt away.

They met Mom outside Dr. Jacinto’s office. Dad had an important meeting today but, had told Alex that if she wanted him there, he would cancel it. She told him thank you but for him to go ahead to his meeting. She told him that she knew that he would be there if she asked and that was enough. They would fill him in later.

Urs stood with his arm around Alex’s waist and could feel her trembling. He knew she was afraid of what the doctor might say. So was he. He kissed her temple and they moved forward as one to go in and hear what this specialist would tell them about the prognosis for their baby.

Alex went to check in and was told that it would just be a few moments. She was given a packet of papers to fill out, mostly about her past medical history. She filled them out and returned them to the receptionist. As she looked around, she saw other women in various stages of pregnancy and a couple of women with children beside them or in their arms. There was one mother and her son, who looked to be about twelve years old. He was sitting beside her reading a Harry Potter book. In front of him was a walker like you would see an older person using. When the boy’s name was called he hurriedly put his book away and with his Mom beside him he pushed the walker along in front of him. He moved fairly quickly and stood tall. Other than having to use the walker, Alex thought he looked like a normal child. The biggest thing Alex noticed was the smile on the boy’s face. He looked like a happy child.

Would this be their son or daughter in twelve years or so? Would she look as seemingly unaffected as that mother had? Could you ever get used to having a handicapped child? So many questions swirled around in Alex’s head as she looked around the room. But, she knew that she had to take things one step at a time, find out what the doctor said and move on one step further. She couldn’t dwell on what might be down the road for them. She had to have the strength to get through one day at a time.

The wait was more than a few moments and Urs was getting fidgety. He wanted to get in there and hear what the doctor had to say and come up with a plan of action to help their baby. Alex noticed his unsettled look and took his hand and held it in hers on top of her leg. She was trying to comfort him but also drew comfort from him as well. She was so glad that he had been able to make it home to be here with her today. It would have been so much harder without him.

Almost forty five minutes later, Alex’s name was finally called. The three of them stood and headed for the open door leading back to the exam area. They were led into a sonogram room much like the one at the obstetrician’s office. Alex was instructed to undress from the waist up and put on the gown that was lying on the bed. When the nurse left, none of them said anything but Alex took the gown and headed for the small lavatory that was located in the room and got changed. When she was finished, she took a deep breath and went back out to join Mom and Urs to wait for the doctor to come in.

Urs’ nerves were kicking into high gear as they waited again. He began tapping out a rhythm on his thighs until he saw the look Alex was giving him. It was making her crazy.

“Sorry baby.” He said.

Just then there was a short knock and a tall bald man entered the room and introduced himself.

“I am so sorry that you had to wait so long. I actually took some others before you so that I could take my time in here with you. I do have the reports from your OB but I would like to start from scratch if you don’t mind. I like to have my own complete reports so that when I am reading back on a case as we go along, I know for sure what is happening. So, I am going to do a 4-D sonogram and we’ll see what is going on with your baby. I have the papers that you filled out today. Up until you became pregnant, you seem to have been very healthy.

“She has always been healthy except for the normal childhood illnesses.” Marie told him.

“Yes, and then once you became pregnant, you had severe morning sickness and in just the last several weeks, your blood pressure became high. How has it been this last week?”

“Here is the chart I’ve kept when I take my pressure. I think that some of the spikes are probably because of how upset I’ve been since the diagnosis. I’ve tried to keep calm but it hasn’t been easy.”

“I know it hasn’t. Besides the Spina Bifida diagnosis, everything else is going alright with you then?”

“Well, there have been other things on my mind. For one thing it has been hard to be forced to be out of work but I do understand it. I am just usually so active.”

“Is that all?”

“No.” she said quietly.

“Alex, if you would rather speak to me privately we can do that.”

“No, that’s alright. It is just hard to talk about. You see, there is a question about the baby’s paternity and I…. Urs I know we agreed to just leave it alone but, I really want to know. I need to know whose baby this is.”

“Alright, but we can’t find out quite yet. But when we get further along and if you still want to do a paternity test, we can do that.” The doctor said.

Alex looked at Urs and couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

The doctor told her to lie down and pull up the gown and he spread some of the gooey gel on her abdomen. As with the other two sonograms, there was a stretch of time when the doctor didn’t say anything, he just moved the wand around and pressed buttons on the machine and occasionally wrote notes in her file. He spent a few minutes on one spot just moving the wand a few millimeters at a time and made notes. When he was done there he spread the gel some more and began to show them some of the parts of the baby that they would be able to distinguish.

The baby’s arms, legs, hands and feet were very visible now and even the fingers and toes were able to be seen now. He even showed them that you could see where the nail beds were beginning to show signs of the nails growing on the fingers and toes. The baby’s hands were almost touching each other, looking as if it was praying.

Is there anything wrong with the baby’s head?” Urs asked him as he studied the screen.

“No, most people don’t realize that a baby’s head is such a large amount of its length, even after birth, until the arms and legs lengthen. Especially now, the baby’s head is almost half of its length.”

“Can we tell whether the baby is a boy or a girl yet?” Marie asked him.

“No, not for another five weeks or so. Alex is only about ten weeks along and we can usually tell by fifteen weeks.”

“How sure are you about the number of weeks?” Alex asked him excitedly.

“Fairly sure by the development.” He answered “Why?”

“It makes a big difference. There was a bit more than two weeks in between the time I was with Joe and then when Urs and I were first together. Can you be that sure that I am not more like twelve or thirteen weeks?”

“I would never say that I was 100 percent sure, but if there was that long between dates, I would say that you could be about 80 percent sure that it is Mr. Buhler’s baby. This 4-D sonogram gives us such a complete look at the development that it makes coming up with a due date much closer. But, please remember, if you want to be completely sure, I would still do the paternity test.”

Alex squeezed Urs’ hand and smiled at him. It was a huge ray of hope to her that at least in this one thing they could be fairly sure that she was carrying Urs baby and not Joe’s. He was still concentrating on the screen and Alex couldn’t read his face. He looked very serious.

“What about the defect in the baby’s spine? How serious is it?” Urs asked

“I was just getting to that. I know that the diagnosis has been a huge shock to all of you. It is never easy to hear that there is anything wrong with your child, and especially something of this magnitude.”

“We’ve done a lot of searching for information since the diagnosis. We know a lot about the different types and severity of the defect.” Alex told him.

“That’s good. I always recommend that my patients educated themselves in their child’s diagnosis. One thing with Neural Tube defects is that there is such a wide expanse of severity. Thankfully, your baby has Spina Bifida. It is the more treatable and much less life threatening than the other forms of NTD. Looking at your baby today, I could clearly see the defect and its location. It is very low on the back, actually on the top of the buttocks, which is the best place to have it. It also appears to be fairly small in length. We will of course monitor the baby extremely closely to keep an eye on it and make sure these early scans are correct.”

“I’ve read about the surgery that has been done before the baby is born to correct the defect. Have you done this?”

“Yes, Alex I have. It is a very risky surgery, both to you and your baby. We would have to wait until at least twenty one weeks of gestation. There is a high risk of labor beginning during or right after surgery and twenty one weeks is the earliest possible time we would want a baby born. That is still extremely early and would bring with it many other possible problems for the child, not to mention the normal surgical risks to you.”

“Yes, but I read that the effects of the amniotic fluid cause a lot of problems in the open defect as the baby waits to be born.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I would like to at least consider the possibility of that surgery doctor.”

“Well, we still have eleven weeks before that would be a possibility, so we will continue to monitor the baby and discuss it. You also need to discuss it together amongst yourselves. You say you are having a problem dealing with being on restricted movement. If you were to have this surgery, you would be on complete bed rest until delivery after it was done.”

“What about her blood pressure? Do you think this will be a problem throughout the whole pregnancy?” Urs asked.

“That is hard to say. But, if you went ahead with the surgery, I would say that it would probably go back to its normal level as long as there weren’t any other problems. Just being on bed rest would almost assure that. But, we would not even consider the surgery if your pressure is running too high.”

After a few more small questions, the doctor told Alex to make an appointment for two weeks out and they would do another scan and then they left.

Marie suggested that they go for a coffee and something to eat. She said the she’d been too keyed up this morning to eat.

When Urs and Alex got into the car, Alex turned to him and asked him if he was upset about her bringing up the paternity issue in there.

“No, I understand why you did and I am glad to know that here is such a good chance that this is my child.”

“Are you sure? You were just so quiet in there.”

“I’m sorry. I am just not sure I like the idea of you seriously considering that surgery when they can fix the defect after the baby is born. I understand the reasons to consider it but I don’t like the risks at all.”

“Well, like he said, we have eleven weeks to think about it and talk about it. I’m not totally sure I would do it either, so please don’t worry about it yet.”

“Alright, I’ll try..” He said as he pulled into the little diner behind Mom’s car.

When he got out and came around to open her door, he took her hand and once she was on her feet. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her lightly before pulling her tightly against his chest in a bone crushing hug. Alex could tell how much this was affecting him. She was just glad that he was by her side in this ordeal.

*

Lisa was now just going to work half days most of the time, unless she was desperately needed, but with Kelly and Bonnie, the new receptionist handling their new tasks fairly well, that left Lisa and Mary able to meet quite often to begin talking in greater detail about what was happening and the approximate timeline of when the main house would be finished, at least as far as the contractors were concerned.

Once they had been given the all clear by all of the inspectors, Drew and his teams would clean up their gear and the rest of the construction materials that were lying around and then would come the fun part of furnishing and decorating each of the rooms and then finally moving in. They would actually be able to move in once the master bedroom, the children’s and Mary’s bedrooms were furnished and also once they had equipped the kitchen with the necessary appliances.

If they did that, it would free up the guest house for hopefully a husband and wife maintenance and house parent team. As house parents, they would help however needed with the children, the cooking and cleaning the large house. The house would need to be kept up to all of the fire and health codes and be ready for inspection at all times. Lisa and Mary both knew from experience at the daycare that the inspectors did not call ahead. They just showed up at your door and you were required to let them come in and check whatever they wanted to. Lisa’s standards had always been high and the daycare always got the highest scores on their inspections.

Lisa, Seb and Mary sat and discussed what her duties would be for starters. Things would probably change a bit once they had other help. Right now, Lisa felt silly talking about Mary helping with just Sammy and Kayti but as Mary reminded her, she and Seb had just gotten married and should take some time to be alone whenever possible when he was home. Seb thanked her for saying that and told her that they would probably take her up on that. He said maybe they could go away over night once in a while if Mary would come and stay at the guest house if they decided to do that.

Lisa made sure that Mary knew that she was already on their payroll. She didn’t want her worrying about paying her bills during this transition. She was only working one or two days a week at the daycare now.

Lisa told them that she had spoken to an accountant that seemed to be what they would require to show that their books were being properly handled and said that once Seb spoke with him this week and gave his final approval that the accountant would be given full access to her books from even as far back as the purchase of the house so he could have a complete reconciling of her accounting for every penny she’d spent on the purchase and renovations. Especially now that Syco and Il Divo were involved, she didn’t want there to be any hint of impropriety with the money. She was doing all of her accounting in QuickBooks so it would be easy to connect him to her books via the web.

“Things are really moving along at a dizzying pace.” Lisa said to Seb that evening. “In about four months we should be moving in. I remember the first day I stood in this yard looking around at the sorry state the house was in. It is becoming everything I dreamed it would be. Drew has been really easy to work with too. He seems to know exactly what I want when I talk to him about something.”

“Your plans for the house have been so simple and clear cut Baby. And I know how much he and all of his guys want to see this place fully running and helping as many children as possible. I see when they are working how they talk together and come to agreements on how to make it look the best it can. They have done such a beautiful job so far.”

They heard Alex’s car coming up their little road. Urs and Alex got out and came to sit on the porch with them. Lisa went in and fixed drinks for all of them. Seb and Lisa were filled in on the doctor’s visit and everything that had been discussed there, including the possible surgery.

Lisa told them about hers and Mary’s schedule changes and that they would both be available for what ever they needed. So far, Lisa had felt pretty helpless where Alex was concerned. Before yesterday, Lisa knew that all Alex had wanted was for Urs to be home with her. She definitely understood that but wished there was more she could do to help Alex get through this.

Chapter 91:

Marie had very mixed emotions as she went about her errands that Thursday morning. Dan had surprised her this morning with a weekend getaway for the two of them. They would leave in the early afternoon tomorrow. Actually, it was going to be a very long weekend as they weren’t coming back until Tuesday afternoon. Dan was going to leave work early and come home to shower and change and then they would be on their way. He was taking her to a resort down in the Florida Keys.

They hadn’t gone away together for more than one or two nights in quite a while. He was a very busy man professionally and although she sometimes had wished for them to be able to travel more for fun, she did understand and tried never to make him feel bad for not being able to get away more.

She was doing errands and getting everything in order for their trip. She had gone and done a bit of shopping for some new clothes. She hadn’t splurged on anything extravagant for herself for a very long time. What she bought today wasn’t just for herself. It was for her to wear, but she knew that Dan would appreciate it. For a fifty year old woman, Marie thought she looked pretty good. She got plenty of exercise. She tried to eat right most of the time, even though her love for cooking and baking sometimes made that difficult. She believed that mostly why she still looked good and felt so healthy was that she was happy. She was truly happy with her life. She had seen the lives of a lot of her friends and wouldn’t trade places with them for all of the tea in china. Most of them had been divorced at least once and their relationships were full of discord and distrust.

That’s not to say that she and Dan didn’t argue, of course they did and sometimes quite loudly, although that was rare and frankly, Marie had a hard time remembering when the last time they had a serious disagreement was. Even if they were on totally opposite sides of an issue they worked very hard at trying to come to a place of meeting in the middle. If that wasn’t possible, which was rare, they wound up agreeing to disagree. There were only a couple of times in their almost thirty years that they had been so angry with each other that they had stayed angry for more than a couple of days and even then, when they made up they were both so starved for the others love, that it was usually better than when they had been on their honeymoon all those years ago.

So she was very excited about this trip away from the normal routine but on the other hand, she was very concerned about Alex and was not sure she felt comfortable leaving her for that long. She was glad Urs was here. If he hadn’t been, Marie never would have agreed to go at all. She was going to stop over and check on her as soon as she was finished with all of her other stops and tell her about the trip.

She went straight to Alex’s after the grocery store since she had so many cold items. For the month of March, it was already getting very warm out.

She saw the two of them sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and before she even got out of the car, Marie saw Alex laughing at something Urs was telling her. That did her heart and mind good to see Alex laughing.

Urs rushed over to help her carry the groceries in and told her to just go sit and visit with Alex and he went to put the groceries away and get them all a drink.

“You’ve found a good one.” Marie said after she hugged Alex and kissed her forehead.

“I did, didn’t I.” Alex said smiling towards the screen door the Urs had just disappeared through.

“You look really good today, Sweetheart. That makes me feel better about what I came to tell you.”

“What?” Alex said immediately looking concerned.

“OH Sweetheart, It’s nothing bad. Your father just surprised me with a trip to the Keys. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon and be back sometime Tuesday evening. That is unless you don’t feel comfortable with us leaving town.”

“Wow Mom, that sounds great! Of course you should go. You and Dad don’t get away often enough as it is. You go and have a fantastic time. I have plenty of people to look out for me, almost too many sometimes. I know that you all care about me but, sometimes I feel smothered.”

“I’m sorry honey. We just all want to make sure that you are alright and that you don’t have to do anything that would make you over exert yourself. I was going to cook some dinners to bring over tomorrow but since we’ll be away I bought you some easy meal items.”

“I know Mom and I appreciate every one of you. I also know that I have given you cause to worry about me. But, I am feeling much better today. It feels so good to have Urs here with me. I was so glad that he was there with us yesterday. I am also so glad to know that this baby is most likely Urs’. The thought of it being Joe’s really was upsetting to me after the way he treated me in New York.”

“I definitely understand that. I thought he was such a nice young man too. I just wish I could give him a piece of my mind.”

“Don’t worry about it Mom. I just want to forget he ever existed.”

Urs came out and brought a tray of drinks and sat down to join them.

“Urs, Dad is taking Mom away for the weekend. Isn’t that great? They haven’t been away for ages.”

“That does sound nice. Where are you going?”

Mom and Alex spent the next hour telling Urs all about the Florida Keys, the long string of islands off the southern coast of Florida that bowed back towards the Gulf of Mexico, connected to each other and mainland Florida by bridges and ferries. There were hundreds of resorts there to choose from. Marie said that she wasn’t even sure how far down they were going or which resort they where staying at.



Marie told them she had a couple more stops to make and it was getting late. She always liked to be home and have Dan’s dinner ready when he got home. She kissed Alex and Urs goodbye and told them to please not hesitate to call if they needed them for anything. They both promised they would. They stood waving as Mom pulled ahead through the new road. One of her stops was obviously to Lisa’s.

“I am so glad he is taking her away. I know he’s busy but they don’t get near enough time to just go and enjoy themselves away from everything.”

“I hope they’ll have a wonderful time. They do so much for everyone else.”

Marie made a quick stop over at Seb and Lisa’s to let them know about the trip and ask them to keep in close contact with Alex while she was gone. They assured her that they would and she left after saying goodbye to them and the children who were happily playing in the sandbox.

Lisa had the same thoughts as Alex, it was about time Mom and Dad had time away for themselves.

Marie headed towards home and when she was about to turn onto their street, she remembered that she had wanted to stop by the ATM machine at her bank and grab some cash out of her private account. She knew that she wouldn’t really need it. Dan would take care of everything. He always treated her like a queen. He had set this account up for her years ago so that she would have her own money to spend on whatever she wanted. Every payday, money was direct deposited from his account to hers. In the beginning, she had told him how unnecessary it was but over the years she had used the money to buy special things for him, Alex and other special people and occasionally, like today, she would splurge a bit on herself. This time, she wanted to have a bit of cash to buy some souvenirs and maybe some gifts to put away for Christmas and birthdays.

So she turned around and headed back towards town. She was glad that she had fixed a casserole and stuck it in the fridge. She would be home later than she had planned. All she would need to do was heat it up for their dinner.

It had just gotten dark out. There was still a great deal of traffic, people heading home from work or wherever. Marie dialed Dan’s cell phone to let him know that she was running a few minutes late and if he got home before her, would he turn the oven on and put the casserole in to heat. She didn’t get to speak to him. She knew he had been in meetings a lot today, so she just left a message and got out of her car at the bank.

She had taken her bank card out of her purse while she was still in the car, left her purse in the car, stuck her keys in her pocket and locked the car door. There was no one else here. The bank had closed over an hour ago and the parking lot was deserted except for her car. She had just slid her card into the slot and pulled it back out, slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans when all of a sudden something put great pressure on the back of her head shoving it into the cash machine.

“Don’t try to turn around. Don’t try to look at me. Just do as I say and I won’t kill you.”

Marie was still trying to get her balance. He had shoved her so hard. She felt a trickle of warmth running down over her nose and into her mouth as she gasped for air. He had her head pressed against the machine while he spoke to her.

“Listen very carefully. Don’t try to mess with me. I want you to take out five hundred dollars, right now.”

She was shaking so badly and all she could think of was her family and what if he killed her and she never got to see them again. She began to cry. She never thought of herself as a weak woman but right now she was so afraid.

“Cut that out. Just withdraw the money.” He said, giving her already hurting head a shove into the hard metal machine.

“Alright, just please don’t hurt me.” she said.

“You just do what I said and I’ll be gone.”

She could feel his large body pressing against the length of her and she had to move even closer to him to back up enough to be able to see the key pad to press the buttons for her PIN.

Just as she was about to enter her PIN number, she remembered one of those annoying forwards that someone sent to her email. She didn’t know if it actually worked but she tried it anyway.

The email had spoken of this very scenario of someone robbing you at the ATM. It said that if you entered the number backwards, that the money would still be given to you but the bank and later the authorities would be alerted that you had been robbed. The cameras would have gotten a picture of the event as well.

She entered her number, only in reverse order, hoping it wouldn’t say it was invalid and make him get angry. She sighed a huge sigh of great relief when the screen jumped to the next command asking what transaction she wanted to do. She pressed the correct keys for withdrawal from her checking account and then went to the next screen to enter the amount. She pressed the keys asking for five hundred dollars and pressed the enter key.

When the money came out of the machine, the man reached around her and grabbed it before she ever had a chance to touch it.

“Now, put your hands up high on the machine.”

She did as he instructed but her whole body was shaking.

“I am leaving now. Do not turn around. Count to one hundred before you try to leave. If you don’t do what I’ve said, I will come back and kill you. There is someone watching you to make sure that you are following my instructions.”

She felt his weight move off of her body. She took a deep breath. He had been squishing her against the machine and she hadn’t been able to take a proper breath.

“Don’t forget. You are being watched.”

That was the last she heard from him. She heard his footsteps moving away from her. Then she heard him begin to run. All of a sudden the footsteps stopped and she was afraid he might have turned around to come back. Then she heard them begin again and they were even further away. This happened a couple more times and she finally realized it must be when he hit a grassy area that she couldn’t hear the steps.

She had been so flustered that she hadn’t even started counting. She wondered if he really had someone watching or was he just saying that to frighten her into compliance. Well, it worked. She didn’t dare to try to move. So she began counting in her head and didn’t move away from the machine. She felt her heart almost stop when she heard a car pulling into the parking lot and it stopped right behind her. The headlights were throwing a beam of light onto her back and the machine. She couldn’t be sure it wasn’t the man or an accomplice so she still didn’t move. Her hands were still raised and holding onto the machine. It looked to an observer like she was hugging it.

“Are you alright?” a woman’s voice rang out.

Marie began to cry again and slumped down on the ground.

When the woman saw the condition this lady was in, she immediately dialed 911 and told them to hurry, that she believed a woman had been mugged here. She also told them that the woman’s forehead was bleeding.

The woman tried to talk to her and Marie just lay back on the ground shaking so badly and crying.

“I thought he was going to kill me.” She finally said.

“You’re going to be okay. The police are coming. I won’t leave you.”

Marie struggled to calm herself down. She wanted Dan so badly.

“I need to call my husband.”

“What is his number?”

Marie was still so upset that she couldn’t think of his cell phone number. She didn’t have to know it off the top of her head because it was in her cell phone already. The woman took her car keys and went to retrieve Marie’s phone out of her car and brought it to her.

“Thank you. I am so glad that you came along when you did. For a minute, I thought you might have been him coming back or one of his friends.” She said as she tried to get her fingers to cooperate so she could get his number dialed. Thankfully it was set up on a speed dial so she only had to press a couple of buttons.

She listened while it rang, praying that Dan was home or on his way and would have his phone turned back on.

Dan left work a few minutes early and decided to get his hair trimmed so he would look his best for Marie when they went away tomorrow. He sat in the salon waiting area and picked up several magazines that were mostly styling magazines. He finally found a sports magazine and sat back to wait for his turn. There had been two other names on the list before him.

His name was finally called after about twenty minutes and he went to go sit in the chair. The stylist was a pleasant woman but he could tell that she was tired after being on her feet all day. She made small talk with him and he wound up telling her about their coming trip to the Keys. She told him that she used to live there and gave him some ideas of places to go if they went down far enough.

When she was finished cutting his hair, she brushed the loose hair off of his face and neck and carefully removed the nylon drape that she had used to keep the hair from getting onto his clothes. Dan thanked her and followed her to the register to pay. He thanked her again for the haircut and for the information and left her a generous tip before heading out to his car. He headed home and hoped that Marie hadn’t had dinner sitting waiting for him. It took a bit longer than he’d anticipated.

When he pulled into the garage, the first thing he noticed was that her car wasn’t there. He could probably count on one hand, the amount of times that she wasn’t home when he got here, unless he knew about it ahead of time. She insisted that she should be there and have his dinner waiting for him unless they had made plans to go out to eat. He always felt so pampered and well taken care of and never ceased to feel like one of the luckiest men on the planet having Marie for his wife.

He went inside and noticed that there were no wonderful aromas of dinner as there usually was when he got home. He checked the answering machine but there were no messages and then it dawned on him that he hadn’t turned his cell back on after his meeting had ended.

As he reached for his cell, he turned the TV on. He always watched the evening news when he came home. It was just a long standing habit, so he had automatically turned it on as he passed the TV.

When Dan’s cell phone went to voicemail for the fifth time, Marie gave up and put her phone in her pocket. The police were there as well as the paramedics. They were checking out her wound to her head as well as monitoring her heart rate and pulse. She was lying on a gurney inside of the ambulance. She could see the reporters that were standing around. Some were actually speaking into their microphones and looking into the cameras. Marie really hoped they wouldn’t ask to speak to her. She really didn’t want her face splashed all over the television. Then it hit her, what if her name was broadcast on the TV and one of the girls saw it or Dan. She wanted him to come to her but she didn’t want him to hear about this on TV.

Dan went to press the keys for her cell number in the speed dial and stopped short as he saw Marie’s car or one that looked like it on TV in the background. There were reporters and police and an ambulance and he rushed to turn it up so he could hear what was being said.

They spoke about a woman who was extracting money from the ATM at her bank and was held up by a man who physically threatened her if she didn’t do as he commanded her to do. They went on to say that the woman had some minor injuries but was expected to be alright.

Dan shook himself out of his trance as he watched the report and pressed the number one and enter to get Marie on the speed dial. It was busy. He started to dial it again when the kitchen phone rang. He rushed over with his cell phone still in his hand and answered it.

“Dan?”

“Marie where are you? Are you alright??

“Dan, I need you.” She said and then began to cry.

Dan’s hope that it was just a coincidence that the car looked like Marie’s on the news report slid quickly away.

“Where are you Sweetheart?”

In between her sobs, Marie gave him the location of the bank and he told her to hang up. He would call her back from his cell phone so that he could be on his way. He called her right back and was already getting into his car, impatient as he waited for the garage door to open so he could back out.

“Tell me what happened, Honey.”

Marie recounted her ordeal to him, but assuring him that physically she was fine except for a cut on her forehead that probably needed stitches. She was just really shook up.

“I’m almost there, Sweety.” he told her when she finished telling him the story.

Dan had to restrain himself from jumping out of the car before he had even put it in park. He ran over to the ambulance where he found her lying back with her eyes closed.

“Marie, Honey? I’m here.” He said as he stepped up inside and the paramedic moved over so Dan could get close to his wife.

She immediately leaned forward into the arms he held out to her and the tears began to fall again.

“It’s alright Sweetheart. I’m here.” He said as he rocked her in his embrace.

After a couple of minutes passed, Dan leaned back and asked the paramedic if she was indeed alright.

“Yes sir, I believe she’ll be fine. She should get thoroughly checked by a doctor though, and like she said that laceration on her forehead will most likely need some stitches.

“What are we waiting for? Do the police still need her here?”

“No Sir. Actually, we were waiting for you. Mrs. Huggins wouldn’t leave until you got here. Now that you are here, we can get going.”

”Good! Honey, I’ll be right behind you in the truck.”

He kissed her lips and tasted some of the blood and salt from her tears before climbing down to the ground. “I love you Marie. I’ll see you in just a few minutes.”

“I love you too.”

The ambulance driver shut the back doors and left his partner in the back to keep an eye on Marie.

Dan jumped into his truck. He was torn on whether to call the girls or wait until she had seen the doctor. He decided he might be taking the coward’s way out by waiting but, he was really worried about the effect this would have on Alex’s blood pressure. At least if they had seen the doctor and he said she was fine except for the stitches, he would be able to tell them that.

Coming in by ambulance had the advantage of being taken directly into the examining rooms in the emergency area of the hospital instead of having to sit and wait for hours to be seen. Dan was happy to see that Marie was quickly looked after. The doctor ordered an X ray to make sure that Marie didn’t have a crack in her skull and after they gave the all clear, an intern came in to stitch up the laceration on her forehead. It wound up taking ten stitches. The intern did a great job keeping the stitches small and very close together to try to reduce scarring.

She asked Marie if she had a headache when she noticed that Marie’s eyes were rather bloodshot.

“Yes, I do have a bit of one, but I’m alright.”

“There is no reason for you to put up with a headache.”

After making sure that Marie wasn’t allergic to anything, she went out to speak to the doctor and requested a heavy duty Ibuprophen, telling him about Marie’s headache. She returned to the curtained area where Marie was resting and handed her two tablets and a cup of water.

”They should help soon. If they don’t or the headache gets unbearable, make sure to come and get checked out again.”

“Alright.”

Dan told her about their trip to the Keys and asked if they should postpone it. He saw the disappointment on Marie’s face as he voiced his concerns to the intern.

“I don’t see why you should cancel it. Just take it easy and don’t over do it. Get plenty of rest. Getting away from here for a while will probably be good for both of you after tonight. So keep your plans and have a wonderful time.”

“Thank you.” Marie said.

They waited for the discharge papers and then Dan held his arm out for Marie to hold as they walked out to his truck.

“We need to stop and pick up my car at the bank.”

There was no way the Dan was going to go back to the bank with Marie in the car tonight.

“We’ll worry about that tomorrow. I want to get you home.”

“You must be starving. I have a casserole all ready. I’ll just have to stick it in the oven to heat.”

“How about we just stick that in the freezer and I’ll stop and we can pick up some Chinese take out.”

“That sounds really good right now. I’m pretty hungry too.”

So they picked up the food and headed home. Dan walked beside Marie, insisting that she hold onto him in case she felt faint.

“How’s your headache?”

“It’s almost gone.”

When they got inside she let go of him and proceeded to get plates and cutlery out for them to eat with.

“Sweetheart, Come on, I want to get you settled on the sofa and then I’ll take care of everything else.”

“Dan, I am not an invalid. I feel much better. I am just really glad to be home. You’ve worked all day. I can help.”

Dan cut her off with a look that brooked no argument. “You spend so much time taking car of everyone else. It is your turn to be pampered. Now, please go sit on the sofa and I’ll be right in with our dinner.”

He leaned in and placed a very sensual kiss on her lips to take any sting out of his words.

They ate dinner with Marie propped up on some pillows on the sofa and Dan sitting next to her in his recliner. He cleaned up and came back to sit next to her, lifting up her legs and setting them across his lap after he’d sat down.

“We need to call the kids before they hear it somewhere else.” Marie said to him.

“I know. I’m just worried about Alex, when she hears it.”

“I’m fine and Urs is there with her. If you will hand me the phone, I’ll call her.”

“Let me. I have an idea.”

Chapter 92:

Dan called and hoped that Urs would answer the phone. He did and Dan told him that he was sorry for disturbing them but would they be able to come over for a few minutes. He didn’t go into any detail but Urs got the message that Mom and Dad needed to speak to them about something. He knew they wouldn’t drag Alex out if it wasn’t important so he agreed and said they would be there soon. As far as Lisa and Seb were concerned, they knew that the children were probably in bed already so they weren’t going to ask them to come over so Marie dialed their number and took a deep breath.

She smiled when Lisa answered the phone and heard both of them laughing as she said hello.

“Hi Honey. I’m sorry to disturb you but I needed to tell you something.”

“You didn’t disturb us Mom. What’s up?”

“Have you seen the news this evening?”

“Yes, we saw it, the six o’clock broadcast. Why?”

“You saw the part about someone getting robbed at the ATM?”

“Yes…?” Lisa said with hesitation in her voice.

“That was me.” Marie said very quietly and Dan took the phone when he saw that Marie was getting upset talking about it.

“Hi Honey…. No, she‘s alright. They put some stitches in her forehead but other than that she is okay, just still really shaken up. No honey, I know that the children are sleeping. We’ll see you tomorrow before we leave….Yes, we asked the doctors and they told her to go ahead but to get plenty of rest.”

Sebastien was sitting next to Lisa when she answered the phone and watched as the laughter slowly left her face, turning to fear as whoever was talking to her was relaying some disturbing information. She reached for his hand which he gladly gave her and just held it until she hung up and just stared straight ahead as she processed what she had been told.

“The robbery at the bank ATM…… Seb that was Mom. She said and then she began to cry. Sebastien pulled her arm to make her come to him and she sat in his lap and he held her until she had calmed down.

“Baby, is she alright?” he said, concerned at this disturbing news.

Lisa relayed to Seb what Dad had told her. As they sat there discussing it, Seb knew that Lisa wanted to go even though Dad said he didn’t expect them to come tonight with the children already in bed.

“Do you want to go over?” he asked her.

“Yes, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until I see for myself that she is okay.”

“Go on then. I’ll stay with the children. Just call me when you get there so I know that you are alright. I hate you going alone.”

“Thank you Seb. I love you. You always know what I need.”

“I love you too Baby. Go on before it gets too late.”

So she put her shoes on and rushed out to the car.

“Drive safely Baby, don’t rush.” He said blowing her one last kiss.

Alex kept asking Urs to tell her exactly what Dad had said to him. She was very curious why they wanted to see them. Alex entered the side door and Dad met them there in the kitchen and told them to come in. Alex noticed that he looked very tired as she kissed his cheek.

“What’s up, Dad? What is with all the mystery?”

“Come on in and sit down.” He told them both.

When they entered the living room, Alex saw the bandage on her mother’s head and that she was reclining on the sofa with an afghan thrown over her legs. This was not like Mom. She didn’t sit still. There were still things in the kitchen that weren’t put away yet and Mom would never have sat down before they were finished.

“Mom are you alright?” Alex asked highly concerned. What happened to your head?” Alex said as she kissed her Mom’s cheek.

“Please sit down, Honey.” Marie asked her daughter.

Alex did as she was asked but looked at her parents for some explanation.

“Alex Honey, I was at the Bank this evening, just before six and a man came up behind me and demanded that I remove five hundred dollars and give it to him.” Marie was fighting not to lose control like she had when she had spoken to Lisa on the phone.

“What? Mom, are you alright?” Alex asked and rushed over to her mother.

“Listen to me carefully.” Marie said taking Alex’s face in between her hands. “I am just fine. I had to have some stitches here. But other than that I am fine. I need you to make sure that you don’t let yourself get too upset over this. You have to be very careful about your blood pressure. I am alright.” She said again for emphasis.

Alex turned to look at her Dad for confirmation.

“The doctor said she is fine. They X rayed and they even told us to keep our weekend plans and to have a good time.” He said trying to lighten the mood.

They were all relieved when they saw Alex visibly relax a bit.

“Now Urs, would you do me a favor and ride with me to pick up Marie’s car? Alex can stay here and keep her Mom company till we get back.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

So the men headed out the door and saw Lisa’s car pulling in the driveway. Dan knew that he shouldn’t be surprised that she came.

Lisa kept hearing Seb’s words, “Don’t rush.” So she tried not to go over the limit as she headed to Mom’s. But she was very happy when she finally got there. She dialed Seb’s cell phone as she was getting out of the car and let him know that she was there and that Alex’s car was here too. Then she spotted Urs and Dad watching her.

She ran over to them and hugged Dan.

“Dad, is she really alright?” Lisa asked him with tears in her eyes.

“Lisa, she is okay. We are trying to downplay this as much as possible for Alex’s sake. We were afraid of even telling her because of her blood pressure.”

Lisa immediately understood and told them not to worry and hugged Dan and then Urs before heading into the house through the kitchen.

On the way to pick up Marie’s car Dan told Urs all of the details that they hadn’t told the girls. He told him how the man had treated his wife and Urs could hear the emotion as Dan told him. When they got there, Dan just sat there for a minute and stared at the machine. When he’d been there earlier he hadn’t even gone over there, but now he felt drawn to it. Urs followed him as he walked up to the machine and saw a bit of his wife’s blood a little more than half way up. Most of it had been wiped away but they hadn’t gotten it all.

Urs squeezed Dan’s shoulder as the older man lost control and began to cry.

“I could have lost her tonight, Urs. I couldn’t live without her. She is my life, has been for over thirty years.”

“I know and Alex and I have both said that we hope that in thirty years we can look back and have had the same strong marriage that you both have had.”

Dan gave Urs a quick hug, looking a bit uncomfortable doing it and then handed him the keys to Marie’s car.

Lisa came into the living room and found Mom and Alex talking. She saw the bandage, but it was not unexpected since she knew about the stitches. She took a deep breath and went in to join them.

“Lisa, I didn’t expect you to come out tonight. You didn’t wake the children did you?”

“No, Seb is home with them. He told me to come. He knew I wouldn’t sleep until I saw for myself that you were alright.”

Alex was perched on the edge of the sofa facing Mom and Lisa sat in the recliner next to them after giving Mom a long hug.

The three women talked for a while. Mom gave them as few details as possible, not wanting them to have a very clear picture of all that happened. When Urs and Dad came back, Dad told them that he wasn’t trying to kick them all out but they were tired and he wanted to get Marie to bed. He thanked Urs for his help in getting the car and everyone kissed and hugged Marie as they left.

Lisa drove behind Urs and Alex calling Seb on the way and telling him that she was on her way home.

Three couples snuggled close together in their respective beds that night as they reflected on the event that had put a very big scare into all of them.

Urs handed Alex the Blood Pressure equipment as soon as they got home and she was tucked into bed. He was relieved when it was just slightly elevated. He had her repeat it after she had been lying down for thirty minutes and it was in the normal range. He got ready for bed and then he slid in next to her.

He felt her hot tears as they ran off of her cheeks and slid onto his bare chest. He kissed her head and then rolled them over so that he was looking down into her eyes that were still swimming with tears.

“I could have lost my Mom tonight, Urs. She would have been gone. She never would have seen our baby. I would have had to spend the rest of my life without her.” Alex said as she sobbed.

“I know Baby. It was a terrible thing that happened to her. I just hope that they catch the guy who did it so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

Urs gathered Alex into his arms and held her close as she cried herself to sleep. They were still wrapped around each other when they woke the next morning.

Seb and Lisa had been having a really good night before Mom called. They had gotten the kids to bed with very little fuss and then they were playing a game of cards. Seb was trying to teach Lisa how to play poker. He and the guys played often in their hotel rooms or on long flights. She had never played and he thought if he taught her then maybe they could all play together or at least he and Urs with Lisa and Alex. It would give them something else that was low keyed to do while Alex was limited in her activities.

Now, as they prepared for bed he watched her as she was lost in thought as she went through her nightly rituals. She was brushing her hair out after taking it out of the ponytail. Seb stepped up behind her and gently took the brush from her hand and ran it through the length of her hair, starting at the top and working all the way down to the ends, almost to the middle of her back. He let his empty hand glide down over her hair with each stroke of the brush. He could feel her relaxing under his hand. Her head was falling back and within seconds her whole body was leaning against the front of him.

Dressed only in his boxers now, he sighed as her felt her heat against him. She had the red silky nightgown on that she had received from her coworker at the bridal shower. He tossed the brush onto the nightstand and wrapped his arms around her from behind and he let her lean where she was and he just rocked back and forth. He knew that she was extremely disturbed by what happened to Marie, and rightly so. He was as well. He could feel how tense she was in his arms. He put just enough space between them so he could extend his arms and he began massaging her shoulders, gently but firmly.

“Oh Seb, that feels heavenly.”

“Is it helping?”

Lisa turned around and looked at him, reaching her hand up to stroke his face and felt the bit of stubble that was almost always there at the end of the day. She turned away from him to hide the emotions that were threatening to overtake her. He moved back around so he was standing in front of her again.

“Don’t hide your feelings from me, Baby. I know that you are really upset about what happened to Mom.” He said softly as he stroked her cheek.

“Seb.. I…I am so angry. How dare someone do that? This world is getting worse everyday. People have no thought except for themselves. Do we really want to bring more children into it?”

He knew Lisa was just speaking out of her anger and didn’t really mean it. He knew how much she loved children and he constantly saw her rubbing her belly and smiling when she thought no one was watching her. He guided her over next to the bed and slipped his fingers through the thin straps on her nightgown, sliding them off of her shoulders and letting the material float to the floor around her feet.
She finally gave him a smile and he was looking at her appreciatively. She blushed as she still did sometimes when he looked at her nakedness. He took her hands and placed them on his bare chest. And with his hands on her waist, he pulled her against him. He dropped light kisses on her neck and shoulder as his hands wandered lovingly over her soft skin and he inhaled her scent. As he caressed her, he felt her melting against him and he scooped her up and laid her onto the bed. He lay beside her and hovered over her, his hands threading through her hair as he resumed kissing her all over.

Later, as they lay in one another’s arms, trying to catch their breath, Lisa leaned up and ran her hand through his hair.

“You weren’t trying to divert my attention earlier were you?” she asked him with a grin.

“Did it work?” he said grinning right back at her.

“Umm Well.. Yes I guess it did for a while. But I’m still angry.” She said but her tone wasn’t as harsh as it was earlier.

“I don’t blame you one bit Sweetheart. I’m angry too. I wish I could have five minutes with the guy.”

Lisa could tell that he was serious but could never imagine Seb harming another human being, not even one as despicable as the one that hurt Mom.

Dan followed Marie into the bedroom and all the way to their master bathroom.

“Dan, Sweetheart, I really do appreciate your concern, but I really am alright. I’ll just be a minute and then I’m getting into bed.

“I’m just worried that you might get dizzy and then fall. You had to have hit your head pretty hard to get that cut and it is even starting to bruise around it.”

“Oh is it? I’ll have to try to cover that with some makeup tomorrow.” She said leaning towards the mirror to look at the bruising that was showing even outside the edges of the bandage, thinking only of how bad it would look tomorrow.

Dan just shook his head, grinning at her and went to finish cleaning up the kitchen. He would have just left it for the morning but he was afraid that if Marie came out and saw anything left undone, she would do it herself. After finishing the kitchen, he locked up and shut out the lights and joined his wife in their bed. She looked really tired.

“Are you sure that you’re up to going away this weekend. We can postpone it.”

“I don’t want to postpone it Dan. It has been so long since we’ve been able to get away like this. I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t go.”

“I’m sorry Baby.” Dan said hanging his head.

“What are you sorry for? You haven’t done anything.” She said confused.

“I’ve been neglecting you. We used to do so much together. Short fun trips and even longer romantic ones, but I’ve let work get in the way of those things that are important to me.”

“Dan Huggins, you treat me like a queen. I have never wanted for anything since we’ve been married. You work so hard to give us a good life and you’ve made it possible for me to have stayed home while Alex grew up and you have no idea how much that meant to me.”

“It’s just that I realized tonight that I could have lost you in the blink of an eye. What would I have done without you?” he said. The tears that he had cried earlier at the bank threatened to fall again.

Marie caressed his face. “I love you Dan and I am very glad that I am still here with you but if I wasn’t, you would have been alright. You are a very strong man. You make me feel so safe and loved.” She said as she snuggled against his side, under his arm that held her close to him.

“I am only strong because I have you by my side, my love.” He kissed her with a passion thought only reserved for the young.

“Alright, we’ll still keep our plans to go. But if you wake in the morning and change your mind, please tell me.” He said looking intently into her eyes, trying to gauge how she was feeling.

“I will.” She said sleepily as she draped her arm across his chest where she could feel his strong heartbeat.

Dan stayed awake, keeping watch over her as she slept. He couldn’t sleep anyway. Thoughts of what could have happened plagued him for quite a while and he was glad he was awake later when she began tossing and turning. It seemed she was having a bad dream. He didn’t fully wake her but he stroked her head and arms and whispered words of love, comfort and safety.

When he was sure that she had settled and was once again sleeping peacefully, he slid out of the bed and altered their itinerary just a bit for tomorrow and hoped that Marie would like the changes he’d made. When he climbed into bed an hour later, he was more than ready for sleep and he drifted off holding her hand securely between both of his own.

Chapter 93:

Urs was first to wake in the morning and he just stayed where he was. Her leg was lying in between his and her arm was thrown all the way over his chest. He stroked her arm lightly as he thought about his plans for the day. He wanted to bring the smile he loved back to her face and he thought this would be just the thing. He had been working on the plans for it for several days, making sure that he had all of his bases covered. He knew that she would want to go see her Mom today before they left for the Keys so that would actually help him in getting her out in the car without giving his plans away too soon.

She began stirring and he kissed her forehead and then kept going until he made it to her lips. By now she was fully awake and letting him know that she was more than ready for some morning loving. When they got out of bed, there had only been a few words spoken since she had woken up. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips.

“Good morning.” She said with a giggle.

“Good morning, Liebe.” He said and was so pleased to see her looking rested and happy today. Having the morning sickness gone had done wonders for her. She was getting her energy back which was a double edged sword. He was glad she felt better but then she felt like she could do anything and hated being restricted.

“I need to go see Mom today, Urs, sometime before they leave.”

“I figured that you would. You just let me know when you want to leave.”

“You don’t need to go with me if you’d rather not.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No, of course not. I just know that you have been really busy doing things around here and I would understand if you wanted to stay home, that’s all.”

“Well, thank you, but if it’s all the same, I would like to be with you. I want to check on Mom too.”

“Alright, I’ll be ready in an hour. I don’t know what time they were going to leave.”

They arrived at the Huggins’ house and were happy to find Mom feeling much better. Her headache was gone and at least on the surface, she seemed to be in good spirits as she prepared for their trip. Dan was already loading the car. He had called work first thing this morning to let them know what had happened and he told them he wasn’t leaving Marie alone this morning so he wouldn’t be back into the office until next Wednesday.

Urs helped Dan to finish loading after giving Mom a kiss and a gentle hug and the girls went to sit since Marie was all finished with what she had to do. Alex grilled her on how she felt and was she alright emotionally after the ordeal.

“I guess I’m as alright as anyone can be after something like that. It gave me new insight on Lisa’s fears which were so much greater than mine are. Being attacked in any form just eats at the core of who you are and what you believe the human race to be. What makes a person able to do that to anyone?”

“I don’t know Mom. Have you heard from the police at all? Do they think they’ll be able to catch him? Being in the news business, I see this stuff everyday and I thought that I had become hardened to it to an extent. It sure wakes you up when it happens to someone you love.”

“Yes, a detective called this morning to check on me, which I thought was awfully nice of him. I asked him the same thing. He said they were getting the bank’s security video to watch the outside at the ATM and see if they would be able to get a good enough look at him. We told them that we were going away and he said he would wait to call me again until Wednesday.”

“Good. You don’t need any of that spoiling your trip. I know how much you have been looking forward to going.”

Urs and Dan came back into the house laughing.

“What’s so funny? Alex asked

“Oh nothing. We were just having a chat.” Dan told her and then told Marie he was ready to hit the road.

“So soon? We’ll be getting into some bad traffic if we leave now.”

“Well, that is part of the surprise. I changed plans last night after you went to sleep. We aren’t driving to Miami. We are flying and then renting a car for the rest of the trip. It would have been too long of a trip for you. I want you to be able to relax and enjoy the trip. Well be in Miami after only an hour flight instead of five hours of driving. Then we’ll have more time to enjoy the Keys as well. You aren’t upset that I changed the plans without discussing it with you are you?”

“How could I be upset with you? You always take such good care of me.” Marie said and leaned up to kiss her husband. The kiss lasted longer than the usual peck on the lips and was much more sensual and Alex noticed and couldn’t control the giggle that escaped.

“That’s enough out of you, young lady. Your father and I aren’t too old to enjoy each other.” Marie scolded her daughter but with a grin on her face that made Alex smile. It was good to see them so happy together. She couldn’t imagine how her father would have dealt with losing her if it had gone that way.

“Well, I guess we’ll get out of your way then so you can get going. Have a great trip and get a lot of rest. You both deserve it.” Urs said.

Kisses and hugs went all around and then both couples went on their way.

When Urs didn’t head towards home, Alex asked him where they were going.

“I just have a quick stop to make. You are feeling alright aren’t you?

“Yes, I feel really good today and seeing Mom feeling so much better really helped too.”

“Good.” He said and had a smile on his face. He couldn’t wait for Alex to see the surprise he had in store for her.

He pulled into a driveway and Alex thought he was turning around but he turned the car off and unbuckled his seatbelt and said, “Let’s go.” quite happily.

Alex had no idea what they were doing but she got out, taking his offered hand and then he wrapped his arm around her waist as they headed for the door.

A woman about Mom’s age came out the door wiping her hands on a towel.

“Oh good you’re here. You’ve come at a great time. We’ve just had some new arrivals.”

She held the door until Urs and Alex were inside and then she told them to follow her.

“Alex doesn’t know why we’re here.” He told the lady and then introduced the two women. “Alex, this is Candace Bradley.”

“I’d shake your hand but, they’re a bit dirty right now. Welcome to my home. Come on in and I’ll show you why you’re here.” Candace said, smiling conspiratorially at Urs.

They went through the large house and Alex appreciated the layout and the decorating. This woman had good taste she thought. She’d have to ask her about some of the pieces she had on display. Alex was still trying to decide exactly how she wanted to decorate the house once they got finished doing the little bit of renovating and updating they wanted to do in their new home.

Candace opened the door leading into a large white room. It reminded Alex of a doctor’s exam room with all of the cabinets of supplies and boxes of rubber gloves she saw lying around. But there were also several kennels, large kennels, obviously to hold a large animal. In one corner was like a large shower with a sunken in area, but it had no shower curtain, just a very long coiled hose extending down from the ceiling. Next to the shower was a large sturdy looking table with various brushes and combs lying on it.

They approached an area in the corner of the room where there was a short fenced in area. They couldn’t see anything until they came right up on it and Alex had to stifle her enthusiasm. She didn’t want to frighten the babies or disturb the new Mom.



The Mom looked up at the three people who were intruding on her private bonding time with her new pups. She didn’t look too annoyed though and she finally just looked back down at them as if she were counting to make sure that they were all still right there beside her.

“Oh Urs, are we here to pick out a puppy?” Alex asked, squeezing Urs arm, making him smile.

“Yup, what do you think? I’ve had experience with the German Shepherds and I think they would be perfect for our family. They are very intelligent and wonderful protectors but they also are the best friend a child could have. I have known of them actually herding a child away from danger.” He told her while her gaze was glued to the new babies.

“Oh yes, I have heard dozens of stories just like that.” Candace confirmed.

“They’re perfect, Honey. How long before they will be able to leave their Mom.”

“These puppies won’t leave Naya here until they are six to eight weeks old. We don’t let them leave until they have had most of their puppy shots, a certified clean bill of health by our veterinarian and we also even start working on puppy potty training and some other basic commands. We also have an eight year guarantee on the health of their hips, among other things. In twenty years of breeding top German Shepherds, we have only known of two of our dogs that have had hip dysplasia. If that should happen, we will let you have another pup free of charge.” Candace told them.

Urs could tell that Alex was listening but she looked a bit disappointed. “What’s wrong Sweetheart?”

“Oh nothing. It’s just going to be hard to wait so long to bring one home. Could I hold one or will Naya get upset?”

“No she is not a first time Mom and is fairly tolerant as long as we don’t take the pup out of her sight.”

Candace reached down and picked up one of the pups that wasn’t nursing and handed it to Alex.

“Baby, we aren’t getting one of these new puppies. They have more dogs outside. They have puppies at several different ages right now.”

“Oh really. Does that mean we can get one soon?”

“Is today soon enough?” he said smiling at her, showing all of his dimples.

She threw one arm around him and squeezed him, being careful not to squish the puppy, then she resumed petting it until it began the most pitiful squeaking sound she’d ever heard and saw Naya’s head pop up. She quickly handed the pup back to Candace and Candace laid the puppy up close to one of Naya’s teats so the puppy could eat.

“Come on I’ll introduce you to the rest of the clan.”

They went through another large room that had the cutest beds for the dogs. There were short beds that weren’t much more than thick mats lying on the floor to larger ones that were like miniature bunk beds. Then there were the largest beds that were so cute. They were shaped like a giant dog bone, each one covered with different material.

Alex began laughing and pointed for Urs to look along the other wall. There were three toilets with stairs leading up to them for the dogs to drink out of.

“I got the idea for this room after watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition.“

“Yes, we know they do some great work.” Urs said and he and Alex shared a knowing smile between them.

“They did a house for a family that rescues stray dogs and dogs that are given up by their owners for various reasons and find new homes for them. They did the coolest room for the dogs and after going to their website and seeing how they did everything, we figured we could do it ourselves. It was a bit of a job putting the plumbing in and everything but it was worth it in the end.” Candace told them.

Urs pointed out several wicker baskets full of toys. One had rawhide type chew toys, another one had balls of various sizes, and yet another had both stuffed animals and rope tug toys.

“Some of our older dogs have been trained to put away the toys. Watch this.” Candace said.

She dumped all three baskets out and used her foot to scatter the toys around the room and mix them up a bit. Then she stuck her head out into the yard, calling Jake and Sassy into the house. They both immediately dropped what they were playing with and ran inside, sitting down facing her, their tails swishing back and forth on the linoleum floor, waiting for whatever command she would give them.

“Jake, Sassy, pick up the toys.”

She spoke very clearly, not a mean tone to her voice, but with definite authority and immediately the two dogs went around the room picking up sometimes just one toy, or several at the same time, but always the same type of toy together. Then they took them to the correct basket and dropped them in.

When they were finished, all of the toys were picked up and sorted into their correct baskets. They came directly back to Candace and sat in front of her expectantly. She smiled and said,

“Good job.” Then she went up into a high cabinet and pulled out a canister of dog treats and gave them each one before letting them back outside.

“Wow, that was great.” Alex said.

“As your husband said, German Shepherds are very smart and they really love training. It is like play time for them, but we are teaching them a skill. It may be basic commands such as sit, stay, lay down, how to walk with you instead of taking you for a walk and dragging you along when they are on a leash and even to walk beside you without running off when they are off of the leash. Then once they’ve learned the basic skills, you can move on to other things such as picking their toys up, or guarding your property. I know that you said that that was one of your biggest concerns when you are away, that your family will have some protection. These dogs are one of the best breeds for that purpose.” She finished directing her last comment to Urs.

They stood looking out over the large fenced in property. There was a large divided area that held puppies of different ages. Some were not ready to leave their Moms yet and others were on their way to catching up with the adult dogs in size.

Candace pointed out a number of the larger puppies that were not for sale. They were in with the younger ones to play with them and help to socialize them. She also told them that her three children spent a lot of time playing with them so they were already accustomed to children.

“You two take some time and visit with the puppies and if you aren’t sure if one you are interested in is available, come and I’ll tell you. These three are some that only have about two more weeks before they’ll be ready to go.” She said pointing the three puppies out. “I’m going to go back and check on Naya and the babies. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Urs and Alex watched the puppies playing together.

“How in the world am I supposed to pick just one out of all of these puppies? They’re all so cute.”

Urs was so happy to see her so excited about this. He hoped that having the puppy to take care of would help to keep her mind off of her constant worry about the baby. He knew it wouldn’t disappear altogether, there was no way it could, but if it even helped some of the time, it would be worth it. Besides, they had already discussed the benefits of having a dog for protection and as a warning system that someone was in the yard.

“Maybe we should get two, so they can play together and keep each other company when we aren’t home. What do you think? Would that be too much?” Urs asked her.

“I think you’re right. Two would be good. When I go out to appointments and such, the puppy would be all alone. Yeah, let’s get two.” She said smiling again and went back to studying the frolicking pups.

It took a while, but in the end, they wound up picking out a male and a female, making sure they were not from the same litter, or even the same family. Urs had said he would like to at least let them have one litter of puppies in a couple of years. The male was almost nine weeks old, he was very dark, almost totally black. The female was just eight weeks and had a lot of black but also had some tan mixed in.



They completed the transaction, Candace giving them all of the information they would need to get them registered with the AKC. She told them that the best thing they could do to begin their training was to crate train them. They would come to know their crate as their bed and welcome climbing in there for the night or even if they had to go out and crate them while they were still young enough to be destructive, otherwise they could come home and find quite a mess, especially with two of them. She told them that until they were too big, that one crate would be sufficient. It would lessen their separation anxiety as well. She warned them that the first couple of nights could be difficult with the puppies crying for their Moms and littermates. But hopefully with the two of them together, they would be comforted enough to sleep.

Urs asked where the closest pet supply store was and after they got directions, they got into the car, each of them holding a puppy. Once Alex was settled and buckled, Urs handed her the other puppy.

It helped that they kept reminding each other about only having Alex’s small car with them or they would have bought out the entire pet store. They did get the puppy food that Candace had recommended as well as dishes and quite a few chew toys and some little puppy treats to use during training. They got one large wire crate and a nice thick mat to go inside of it. They also got a few gates to put up in some of the doorways and at the bottom of the stairs to keep them confined to certain areas of the house, for now. They finally forced themselves to leave the store when they realized that the puppies might need to potty. When they got out to the car, they put their new collars on and attached the leashes and found a small grassy area to let them down. Candace said that they were potty trained but to expect a few accidents while they became acclimated to their new surroundings.

When they got home they let the puppies potty again before going inside, then they put the gate up at the bottom of the stairs and watched as they explored their new home. They threw down some of the new toys and watched them playing. They acted like they were attacking the little stuffed animals, shaking their heads with the toys in their mouths. Urs went and brought in the rest of their purchases and set the crate up, throwing some of the toys inside to entice the dogs to want to go inside of it. He left the door open and just left it for them to explore in their own time.

They spent a lot of time laughing at the antics of the pair. They were quite comical, wrestling and running over each other, running and losing traction, making them slide across the floor. They played tug of war with a rope toy, usually with the male winning. He was already larger. The female had been the runt of her litter so she was quite a bit smaller.

Urs called Seb to see what they were doing today. Lisa had worked a half day and was just coming in the door with the children. Urs invited them over for dinner, telling him that they had something to show them all. After he had checked with Lisa to make sure she hadn’t made any other plans, Seb told Urs that they would be there in a couple of hours and they would bring some dessert with them.

Lisa, who liked chocolate but didn’t usually crave it, now all of a sudden had a huge craving for it so she had made some brownies as well as some chocolate chip cookies. Seb didn’t mind her cravings; it meant that there was usually something yummy to eat that is if she hadn’t already gotten it.

Since they’d be going over to Urs and Alex’s, Lisa put the children down for a nap. She hadn’t been giving them one at school when she only worked a half day.

Once the children were both asleep, Seb wrapped his arms around Lisa’s waist and drew her close to him and began laying a path of soft kisses all over her face and down her neck, working his way down and unbuttoning the buttons on her blouse and kissing the flesh that he had exposed as he opened the blouse up fully. He slid the thin material off of her shoulders, catching it and laying it over the arm of the chair in their bedroom.

It didn’t take her long to get into the mood that Sebastien was in. She started running her fingertips down his back and came to the bottom of his t-shirt and slid her hands up underneath it. Then she grasped the edges and lifted it up over his head and tossed it to join her blouse. Within a minute they were both rid of all of their clothes and had climbed onto the bed, making love until they heard the children stirring from their naps.

“Sorry.” Lisa said as she slid out of bed, putting on her robe.

Sebastien slid out of the other side and came around the bed, slipping his jeans back on and grasping her around the waist.

“You have no need to apologize. We’ll just pick up where we left off when we come to bed tonight.” He said, leaving her with one last kiss on her neck before he went to see to the children.

Chapter 94:

When they got out of the truck, Sammy ran as soon as his feet hit the ground and jumped up into Urs’ arms. He had heard them coming and was waiting on the back patio.

“Hi Onkle Urs. We’re gonna eat our dinner at your house.”

“I know. Isn’t that great? I’m so glad that you came. I have a really big surprise to show you and Kayti. But, you have to promise to be very gentle okay?”

“Okay. Can we see the prize now, or do we have to eat our dinner first?”

“I think we have time to see it now. Come on Kayti. Come with Onkle Urs.” He said as he opened the door and they entered the kitchen.

“Alex, we have some visitors that want to see the surprise.” Urs called out.

“We’re in here.” She called back.

With all the running around they’d done today, Urs was trying to keep Alex on the sofa or at least sitting as much as possible. They’d almost had an argument when he told her he would fix dinner alone. But she had relented. She knew he was just concerned about her so she took advantage and went to sit on the floor and play with the puppies. She decided she’d gotten the better end of the deal. She couldn’t stop laughing as she watched them playing and trying to wrestle with each other.

Sammy came around the corner into the living room and saw Auntie Alex sitting on the floor playing with the puppies. He let out a gasp and turned to look at Seb who was right behind him.

“Puppies! Papa look. Look at the cute puppies. Auntie Alex, can I play with the puppies too?” They could tell he was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

“Come on. You two can come and play with the puppies but you have to be very gentle.”

“Uh Huh Onkle Urs said so too and I promised.” He said as he slowly walked over and sat down next to her.

Seb was holding Kayti’s hand so she wouldn’t go over too quickly and sat her down next to him.

Lisa and Urs stood in the doorway and watched as the children and the puppies got acquainted with each other.

“What’s their names, Auntie Alex?”

“Well Sammy, they don’t actually have any yet. We’ll have to do something about that won’t we?”

Yup but we can just call them puppy for now.” He told her logically making everyone laugh.

“Funny puppies.” Kayti said as the female kept licking her fingers.

“Be careful they might bite. They haven’t learned not to yet. If they begin to bite, give them one of their chew toys so they’ll learn that those are what they need to bite on and not you.” Alex told them.

Lisa helped Urs finish getting their dinner and when they called everyone to the table, it was only after Sammy and Kayti were promised some more time to play with the puppies after dinner that they finally decided that they were hungry after all.

Discussion around the table was of course about how they had gotten the puppies and Alex was telling everyone about the great rooms set up for the dogs. Urs said that he was going to check into training classes for the puppies.

“The sooner they start, they less trouble they’ll be.”

When it was time to go, Kayti had a meltdown. She wanted to take the female puppy home. It had attached itself to Kayti and seemed to enjoy playing with her. Now Kayti thought she should be able to take it home with her. She cried and cried. Seb held her, explaining to her that these puppies live here with Alex and Urs but that they would be here and she could come and play with them another day.

“Shhh Ma Petite. Be a good girl and give the puppies a kiss and we will come and visit them again.”

Kayti reluctantly did as she was told but was still sniffling as Seb buckled her into her car seat.

“Sorry about that.” Alex said to Lisa.

“You don’t need to be sorry. She has to learn that she can’t have everything she wants. We’ll probably get a puppy after we get moved into the main house. By then I’ll be done working at the daycare and have all day to be there with it.”

By the time they were home, Kayti forgot all about being upset. She ran to get her pajamas and headed for the bathroom and waited for her Mama to start her bubble bath.

Urs sat at the computer. He was trying to come up with some really great names for the dogs. There were so many to choose from. He had settled on Maximus, Max for short, for the male, named after the character Russell Crowe played in the Gladiator movie. To Urs, it represented strength and honor and he felt that was perfect for the breed. He showed Alex the names he’d come up with for the female and he told her to go ahead and pick one for her. Alex chose Bella. She said that she knew that she would be a beautiful dog when she was fully grown, so Bella fit perfectly. So Bella and Max now had their names and they began using them immediately so the dogs would get used to them.

Alex sat on the sofa and made a call to her parents. She wanted to make sure that they had arrived safely and that Mom was still feeling alright. By the time they ended the call, Alex was relieved to be able to tell Urs that they were down in the Keys at their resort and they were having a great time. She also told them about their new Grandpuppies. They made Alex promise to call if anything important came up. She said she would but unless it was important, she wasn’t going to bother them.

Alex came up behind Urs and wrapped her arms around his neck, bending down and kissing his neck and shoulder. He was sitting at the computer without a shirt on. She ran her hands down over his shoulders and through the hair on his chest. His head fell back and she began to kiss his face. He reached up capturing her behind her head and guided her lips to his. Without breaking their contact, she moved around and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers into his hair, playing with his curls. Within a couple of minutes their breathing was quite ragged and Urs just lifted her and made short work of the stairs as he carried her to their bed.

“Urs, we need to finish cleaning up and take care of the puppies.” She reminded him.

“I’ll come back down to do all of that in a while. I have something more important to take care of right now.” He said before burying his face back into her neck, making her giggle as he hit a ticklish spot.

The month of March was upon them, making Lisa both excited and frantic at the same time. With only three months until the scheduled finish of the main house, they still had to order all of the furniture and decide on colors for the rooms that would be occupied immediately.

Mary came over and together they all went over for a tour of the house to see where the renovations stood. They admired the work that was being done on the mantle in one of the sitting rooms. All but one of the five fireplaces was being removed and the space would be better used since they were not necessary for heating. Lisa had decided to leave the remaining fireplace for its aesthetic value and to have a place for their stockings to be hung at Christmas.

Drew showed them that the master bedroom was finished except for painting, including the master bathroom. When Drew and Mary were out of earshot, Seb whispered to her that the shower she had chosen looked great and he couldn’t wait to try it out, giving her a wink and making her blush. She hoped that neither Drew nor Mary would notice.

They walked out onto the brand new balcony through the French doors and looked out over the back of the property. They could see the playground and beyond, all the way through the fruit trees and part of the way down the newly paved road.

“There is just enough room to put a small table and a couple of chairs out here.” Seb said smiling as he ran his hand over the railing, noting the beautiful work that had been done in this as it was with everything else that had been done here.

Kayti’s room was also finished and Sammy’s only needed some minor work to be completed, then both of the children’s rooms would be painted as well.

Mary’s room was a little further from being finished but it would be done by the end of the month. Her room had a small balcony just like the master bedroom and had been in the same condition, needing to be totally replaced to be safe. Then they needed to finish the trim work in the room as well as replacing the shelving in the large walk in closet. They had chosen an adjustable shelving system for all of the closets that could be changed with little trouble as the user needed it.

When they went back downstairs, Drew told them that the kitchen was only about two or three weeks away from being ready for the new appliances to be installed so now they had to add looking for appliances to their to do list. Lisa had already been looking off and on and had a general idea of what she wanted. The only item that she had no idea about was the large freezer. A large alcove in the kitchen was being prepared with the correct electricity necessary to run a small walk in freezer. So she was going to need to research them, armed with the measurements of the alcove and get one ordered in the next month.

She got to see the almost completed kitchen island. It was 10 feet long and wired for electricity in several places so you could plug small appliances, warming trays or whatever you needed to right into the island. Under the surface of the island was an area for bar stools to be pushed right up under the counter top. It had drawers and cabinets for extra storage, too. One end even had a drop down extension that could be lifted to add extra counter space when needed.

“Drew, this is fantastic. It is so versatile.” Lisa said.

“Thank you. This has been one of my special projects and I’ve had fun with it. It just needs to have the final countertop added to match your others when the countertops arrive, and the rest of it needs to be painted and then it is done. But my favorite thing about this island is this. Even with its large size, it is not stationary. It is on wheels so that you can move it within this area to suit your needs.” He showed them how far it could be moved before it would bother the wiring.

“Then you just push these levers here and the wheels are locked and the island won’t move.”

“Drew, I love it. You’ve done a wonderful job on it, on the entire house actually. We are constantly talking about the quality of the work being done in here. It just makes us that much more anxious to get moved in.” she told him.

“Well, thank you. It is really a labor of love. I can honestly say that this house has been one of my all time favorite projects, and as much as I want to see you all get moved in, I will miss it when I’m done.”

“Well, don’t forget, we’ll be getting the music building started right away after the house is done.” Seb reminded him.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Good. I’ll be looking forward to that as well.”

They waved goodbye as they went down the front staircase that had yet to be renovated. That would be one of the last things to be done so it wouldn’t get ruined while all of the construction was going on inside.

Marie and Dan came over for dinner to meet their new Grandpuppies as Alex had called them. Marie also brought the discs that held all of the pictures from their vacation. They spoke of the wonderfully relaxing time they had in the Keys. They wound up only leaving the resort once to go shopping and one night to eat somewhere other than the resort restaurant.

Marie told them that her stitches would be removed tomorrow. She was feeling fine. There had been no more headaches.

When Urs took Dan outside to show him where he was thinking of putting some fencing up, Dan took that opportunity to talk to him in private. Urs asked him if the police had been able to come up with any information that might lead to the man responsible for hurting Marie. So far, they had nothing to go on. The man had worn a cap and had it pulled very low and Marie’s body had obstructed the rest of the camera’s view of the man. It seemed like he knew what he was doing. Dan told him that while Marie seemed to be fine physically, there had already been a few times, mostly in the two days they‘d been home, that she seemed jittery. She had waited to go to the grocery store until he got home from work. They ate dinner and then went shopping together. Marie almost always did the shopping alone, at least before she had. He was concerned she was afraid to go anywhere alone. She had always been a very independent woman and that made this change even more noticeable. He hoped it would only be a short term change. It wasn’t that he minded taking her anywhere or going shopping, it was just that he would hate to see her limit her activities out of fear of a repeat of the attack and wind up becoming a prisoner to her fear. He spoke to Urs about his overwhelming anger at the man who hurt her.

“Urs, I remember back after Lisa was attacked by Jeremy, how angry I was. Her Aunt Jessie was angry too, but had all she could handle just trying to take care of Lisa afterwards. She was so fragile for a long time. Even after she healed physically, the emotional wounds were very long lasting. I think even up until recently. I really think Sebastien has helped her to lay the rest of her fears where they’ll never come back. It didn’t hurt the situation when Jeremy died either. But with Marie’s attacker, I have no one to go after. No one to put a face to so I can help make sure he never hurts her or anyone else again. It is just very frustrating.”

“I understand how you feel. I would want to kill anyone who hurt someone I loved. I just keep hoping that they’ll find out who this guy is before he hurts someone else.”

Their conversation came to a halt when Alex came to the door announcing that dinner was ready.

While any cooking was being done, Max and Bella were either taken outside or were confined to another room, but now that dinner was on the table, they were corralled in the kitchen so they wouldn’t be up under everyone’s feet while they were eating. They stayed happy for a few minutes while they explored the kitchen, checking out the appliances and trying to paw at the trash can. After a while, they wanted to come out and play with their other playmates who seemed to be ignoring them just now. So Max let out a howl and what in a few months just might come out as a bark, but for now sounded like a pitiful yip. Bella just sat next to him for a minute watching him and then she joined in.

Urs excused himself from the table and stood in front of the gate and very sternly told the puppies, “NO, go play.”

All they knew was that they had been successful in gaining his attention. That is, until he tried to go back to the table to finish his dinner. Then, when they realized that he had deserted them again, they resumed their howling and yipping.

“I’m sorry.” Urs apologized to Mom and Dad. “We’re trying to train them right from the start. I don’t like dogs begging around the table when I’m eating.”

“Don’t worry about it, Urs. We understand. It will be the same when you have children running around. Sometimes teaching has some unpleasant side effects until the lesson is learned.” Marie told him with a grin.

They did take their desserts out on the patio and let the pups play with some toys in the grass while they enjoyed the cooling evening air. They laughed as they watched Bella become interested in a caterpillar that was slowly moving across the grass. She kept sticking her nose right up to it and then jumping back when it would move the slightest bit. Once, she jumped so fast that she lost her balance in her rounded puppy body and rolled over, needing a minute to find the caterpillar all over again.

Max was too busy lying in the grass teething on a rope chew toy. He had it trapped between his front paws and was giving it a real workout.

“They are a bit of work, but the fun and laughter they bring is definitely worth it. They had a rough time the first couple of nights we had them but, they have adjusted to sleeping in the kennel in the kitchen. We leave the kennel open during the day and they go in and we’ll find them napping, but at night, we close them inside the kennel to ensure that they won’t be snacking on anything they shouldn’t while we’re sleeping.” Alex told her parents.

“Candace gave us a lot of great advice and told us to call anytime if we have any questions. She said that she feels like if her puppy’s new owners are more prepared and have someone to ask questions of, they will be less likely to get rid of the puppy.” Urs added.

“I know a lot of people will get a puppy and then when they realize how much work they are and don’t want to put the time into training them correctly, they just give them up. The animal shelters are full of unwanted pets that people shouldn’t have gotten in the first place.” Dan said.

“As much as I’ve hated being out of work, I’m glad I’m home to help to train them. It really is a learning experience for not only the puppies but for Urs and I as well. We are starting puppy classes the beginning of next week. Since we have two, we’ll both have to go.”

Mom changed the topic of discussion when she asked Alex if Lisa knew what was happening on Friday.

“Not as far as I know, she doesn’t. I don’t even think Seb does. Mary is handling everything with the other girls. I told her to let us know if she needed any help. The time is flying by so quickly. They’ll be moving into the house before we know it.”

Urs insisted that Alex stay out on the patio and relax, just keeping an eye on the puppies while he finished cleaning up. There wasn’t much left to do. Mom had helped with a lot of it before she and Dad had left for the night. She had even gone into the laundry room moved a load of wash into the dryer and started another wash for them when she saw the basket of clothes sitting in there waiting to be washed.

Alex was enjoying the fresh air so much that she didn’t even argue with him. After all she was doing something that needed to be done. The puppies couldn’t be left unattended in the yard.

Lisa woke up on Friday morning and before she had even gotten out of bed, she smiled when she realized that today was her last day of work at the day care. She and Kelly had sat down with the owner last week and decided that Kelly was ready to take over permanently. She felt confident in her tasks and Lisa assured them both that she felt confident in Kelly’s abilities too. She also told them that she would always be available to answer any questions.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work there anymore, but she had so much to do in preparation for the official opening of the group home. After today, all of her time would be spent doing the final ordering of furniture, appliances and even beginning to order supplies, with an actual delivery date put on hold until they had the all clear from Drew. She turned her head and realized that Seb was leaning up on his elbow, watching her with a huge smile on his face.

“And what are you so happy about this morning?” he asked.

“I just can’t believe that today is here already. Now we can put everything into getting the house ready. I feel like getting in there tomorrow with all of the guys and helping to finish it.”

“Whoa, hold on there. I hope you aren’t serious about working over there.”

“Why not? Don’t you think I can swing a hammer?” she said sounding a little offended.

“No, Ma Cherie, of course not. I mean, that’s not what I think.” He said as he placed his open palm on her belly. “I’m just concerned for your safety and that of the baby in all the construction mess. Also, they are doing a lot of the final sanding of the walls in preparation for painting them. I was in there the other day and the dust that’s flying around when they are sanding was making me choke. Please leave all that to them. We have a long list of things we can be doing to get ready so you won’t feel left out.”

Lisa had been all ready to get upset with him but, after hearing the concern in his voice, all of the wind was let out of her sails and she felt nothing except for love and happiness that she had a man that cared so much for her and their unborn child. Not everyone had that.

Seb fixed her and the children breakfast while they got ready. When they sat down at the table, Seb placed a plate in front of each of them before sitting down with his own.

“Thank you Seb. This is wonderful.”

“Yummy in my tummy.” Kayti said as she took another bite.

“Ah huh. Very yummy Papa. I was hungry when I woked up.” Sammy said.

“I guess it’s unanimous. We’ll keep you.” Lisa said leaning over to kiss his cheek but he reached out and cupped her cheek, holding her in place so he could kiss her lips, making the kids giggle, which was not his intention but it made them smile as they saw the kids laughing at them.

Lisa wasn’t actually working today, it was more just a day to pack up what was left of her personal belongings and say goodbye to everyone. She knew it wasn’t like she’d never see these people again. She knew she would have to stop in from time to time to say hello and see how the children were growing. Although in five years, all of the children that were here now would all be gone from the daycare, either moved away by then or they will have started school. Sammy and Kayti would also be coming to school several days a week to keep them busy until the house was finished and it would also give Lisa some free time to be working on tasks that needed her attention.

She hoped that she could just slip out sometime during the day today. She didn’t want to turn into a puddle of tears with all of the goodbyes. It was going to be hard enough. She had spent almost five years of her life here. She had immersed herself in this place as a means of diversion to replace the memories of what Jeremy had done and then when Auntie died and she felt so alone. She had felt a measure of belonging and care among the people here and had let them help her heal some of her emotional wounds.

Lisa kissed Seb goodbye, holding on just a little longer than usual before she let go and turned to go down the steps.

“Are you alright, Love?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I just need to get through today and come home and move on, and then I’ll be fine.”

Seb came down the steps and pulled her close, kissing her, long and slow. “I love you, have a good day.”

“I love you too. I probably will be home early if I can slip out.”

Seb’s phone rang so she kissed his cheek and waved goodbye as he answered it.

She turned around to make her way to the truck and found Sammy had already opened the back door and was giving Kayti’s behind a boost as she climbed up into her seat. Then he climbed up and buckled her in before buckling himself into his own seat.

“Thank you Sammy. You are turning into a really big helper and a great big brother to Kayti.”

“I love Kayti.” He said simply.

“And I know that Kayti loves you, too buddy. You love Sammy, Don’t you, Kayti?”

“I Yuv you, Sammy.” Kayti said with her thumb in her mouth and swinging her feet.

Lisa saw the smile that lit up Sammy’s face as she looked back at him in the mirror. They had truly become a family. In less than a year, she had become a mother to two beautiful children who had brightened her life in so many ways and filled a huge hole inside of her. She had gotten married to the man of her dreams. Every day he was making more of her dreams come true just by being here with her and showing her how much he loved not only her but these two children as well as the one that was lying protected as it grew in her womb.

Chapter 95:

When Lisa and the kids came into the building, Lauren and Mary were standing by what used to be Mary’s desk and they were talking to the new receptionist until they saw Lisa and the kids. Lauren came and took the children and said that she would see Kayti to her class and then take Sammy with her to their class.

Mary told Lisa that she had found a few boxes for her personal belongings that were still in her office. Later today, Kelly would be able to fully move into the office that they had shared for the last several weeks while she was training.

Mary came in to help her pack up.

“How are you doing today?”

“I’m alright Mary. It’s just hard to leave here. This has been a great place to work.”

“I know, I felt the same way on Wednesday. When I got up and realized that it was my last day here, it was such a strange mixture of emotions. I hate leaving here but I am so excited about working for you in my new position. That made it a lot easier, just knowing I’d still be working for you.” She said as she placed one of Lisa’s picture frames into a box.

“I’m glad it worked out for you to come and work with us. Oh, I got the last of the appliances for the kitchen ordered yesterday afternoon. Their delivery dates are just on hold until Drew is ready for them.

“That’s fantastic. I can’t wait to see it completed. It will be the best kitchen I’ve ever cooked in.”

“I want you to come over one day next week and we’ll get looking for pots and pans, bowls and everything else we’ll need. Except for a few special things that I saved from Auntie’s kitchen, everything else will be new.”

“Do you think we could get Drew to install one of those hanging racks for the pots and pans? It would look great hanging up over the island.”

“That is a great idea. I’ll put it on my list to talk to him about right now. If I don’t write everything down, there is no way to remember everything, especially when I am usually out somewhere when I think of something I want to ask him.” Lisa said as she pulled a little notebook from her purse.

Mary looked around and it seemed like all of Lisa’s things were boxed up and ready to go. She knew she had to stall for a few more minutes so she sat down in the chair across from Lisa and tried to think of something else to talk about.

“How is Marie doing? I can’t imagine going through that.”

“Physically she’s fine. Everything is healing on the outside. It’s the inside that I’m worried about. It’s been almost two weeks and I don’t think she’s gone anywhere without Dad yet. I’ve seen that he is worried, and Alex too. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I know from experience that all your loved ones can do is be there if they’re needed but, the healing has to come from within yourself. In my case it took almost five years and I believe that if Seb hadn’t comeback into my life, loving me like he does, forcing me to see that I really didn’t want to be alone forever, I might still be living in the shell I was hiding in.”

While Mary was in the office with Lisa, the large room where the children ate their meals was buzzing with activity. The teachers were corralling the children and getting them into their places. Extra chairs had been set up and the refreshments were all laid out. The children weren’t told what was happening yet, just that they were going to have a special early lunch today. They always loved to have a lunch that was out of the ordinary, like at Kayti’s birthday.

Everything was ready and Kelly nodded to Lauren, who went and poked her head into the office.

“Hey Lisa, could you come to the kitchen with me for a minute? I have a problem I need to show you.”

“Working right up until the last bell.” Lisa thought smiling inwardly as she followed Lauren.

Mary hung back for a minute so it wouldn’t look like she was following them.

Lisa stopped short as she entered the kitchen/eating area. There in front of her was the owner, all of the employees, even the ones who were scheduled off today. Mom, Dad, Alex and Urs were here as well as Brenda Chandler. Then she felt hands on her shoulders and turned her head to find Seb right behind her smiling from ear to ear as he saw everyone.

“Did you know about this? She asked him.

“Nope, not until just as you were getting in the truck when Mary called me and told me to come.” He said and kissed her cheek.

“You guys are awfully sneaky.” She said grinning as she looked around at the banners hung up that said, “CONGRATULATIONS” and “WE’LL MISS YOU!!”

Mary even got a surprise when she noticed that they had her name on them too. When she had left on Wednesday, it had been a quiet departure, just like any other day.

“Hi Papa” Kayti said excitedly from where she was sitting. The children were all sitting in their seats at the little tables waiting to eat all of the special things that had been brought today.

“Hello, Ma Petite.” Seb said bending down and kissing the top of her head. Then he waved at Sammy who was smiling and waving at him, just waiting for his Papa to notice him.

Joan Prentiss, the owner of the daycare came to stand near Lisa and began to speak.

“I won’t take up any of the party time. I just want to wish you well and publicly say how much I have appreciated you over the years that you have been here. It is because of you, with your organization and attention to detail, as well as your willingness to help me come up with easier ways to get all of the business side of running the daycares put into effect, that has allowed me to branch out and add more facilities to our family. You will be greatly missed and I know that your group home will flourish under your care just as this daycare has.”

Everyone clapped in agreement and then they began serving the food, first to the hungry children. Then the adults helped themselves, mingling and everyone making sure to speak to Mary and Lisa.

One at a time, Lisa went around to each table and spoke to the children, especially the older ones. As she approached each table, she was given a card from each class with the teacher’s names and then the children’s names were written underneath their handprint that they had done using the finger paints that they all loved so much.

When it looked like the party was winding down and the children were all getting restless in their seats, Lisa asked for everyone’s attention.

“Thank you so much for this lovely send off. Here I thought that I would slip out without getting all emotional today. I know that Mary and I will both miss it here and miss all of you. It has truly been a pleasure working here. I will treasure these cards forever.” She said holding up the cards that the classes had made for her. Seb put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug when he saw the tears starting to fall.

Lisa made one last round of the room to speak to Joan and the rest of the teachers and she thanked everyone else for coming today to wish her well. She and Seb gathered the children and with one last look around at the children in the room, Lisa headed for the truck..

Seb had already kindly taken the few small boxes from her office and put them in her truck. She peeked in the office once more to make sure she had everything and then they left.

Seb helped her to make sure the children were all buckled in then kissed her.

“I’ll see you at home. I told Drew I’d pick some things up for him while I was out.” Seb told her.

“Do we not go to that school no more, Mommy?” Sammy asked as they drove home.

“Yes, Sweetheart, you and Kayti will still go there sometimes, but Mommy won’t be working in her office anymore. I will just be working at home to get our big house ready so we can move in there as soon as Mr. Drew is finished.”

Dan and Marie headed outside right behind Urs and Alex. They said that they’d drop Mom back at home so that he could go straight to work for the afternoon.

“What are your plans for today? You haven’t had any meetings with your ladies group in a few weeks.”

“Oh, they’ve been meeting. I’ve just been too busy to go. You know all of the projects I have going at the house.”

Dan knew the projects she was talking about. She had decided to get a start on her spring cleaning and she was even going through closets and getting rid of things they didn’t use anymore. She had already had him take a load of things to the Salvation Army drop off. When she was finished completely cleaning and sorting through everything in one room, she moved on to the next. She was almost out of rooms. Once the rooms were all finished, he wondered what would come next because he had a sneaking suspicion that this was all a cover up to keep her from having to go anywhere.

“I love you, Honey. I’ll see you when I get home. I won’t be late.” He said hugging and kissing her once more before he left.

“Mom, do you mind if we stop at the store on the way home for some groceries? If you don’t feel like it, we can drop you off first.” Alex asked her.

“No, Actually I have some things I’ve been needing to get too, so that would be great.” She said happily.

Marie was really glad that they were stopping at the store. She had a list of things she had needed but was trying to wait for tomorrow when Dan was home and then she was going to ask him to go with her. She hated being afraid but she couldn’t help it. The thought of being alone in a public place was really frightening to her now, especially since the man who robbed her is still out there somewhere.

A look passed between Urs and Alex over the top of the car after Marie had shut her door. They both knew that she was afraid, but felt helpless to do anything about it.

They were almost to the grocery store when Marie’s cell phone rang. Marie was speaking in a monotone voice and saying very little. She was mostly listening to whatever the caller was saying.

“Hang on just a second.” She said to the caller. Then she leaned close to the front seat.

“I need a favor.” She said and when Alex turned to look at her mother, she didn’t like the pasty look to her face.

“Sure Mom, anything.”

“Could you take me to the police station? They want me to identify the man who attacked me.”

“But how, Mom? You never saw his face.”

“He says he wants me to listen to their voices. Apparently he’s been caught after doing the same thing to someone else.”

“Well, that’s great that they’ve caught him.” Urs said as he continued to drive. “Alex, should I take you home to lie down and I’ll take Mom?”

“No, I’m going with Mom. I’ll lie down when we get home. I feel fine.”

Marie called Dan and told him what was happening. At first he was insisting that he should be there with her. He said he would leave work and meet her there. But she told him that Urs and Alex would be there and she wanted him to just finish up his work and come home on time. He reluctantly agreed only after speaking to Alex and telling her to call him if she thought he should come.

They headed for the station where the detective was waiting for them. Detective Garza thanked them for coming and he and Alex spoke for a minute, remembering that they had already met the day that Jenna had been arrested for poisoning Lisa. She introduced him to Urs and told him that this was her mother. He ushered them back into a room where Marie was assured that the men behind the glass could not see or hear anything in this room.

Marie stood flanked on either side by Urs and Alex as Detective Garza called over an intercom for the men to be brought in. A side door opened in the other room and eight men filed into the room and stood in a line against the back wall. They were all dressed differently some with a ball cap, some without. There were also several different nationalities represented among them.

Marie was afraid but she had no idea what he had looked like. She looked from one man to the next and wondered if any of them was the correct one. What if she accused one of them and she was wrong?

The Detective told the men to step forward one at a time and repeat this line.

“Don’t try to turn around. Don’t try to look at me. Just do as I say and I won’t kill you.”

Marie felt a shiver go through her as she remembered that these were the exact words the attacker had said to her.

Alex felt her mother shiver when Detective Garza said the words. She put her arm around her and stood very close so she would be comforted as she went through this ordeal.

The first three men had stepped forward and said the line as instructed and then they stepped back into the line.

“None of them are even close to sounding like him.” Marie said.

“Good, that eliminates them right off then.” He said.

Then speaking into the intercom he called for the next man and they went through him and two more. Then the seventh man slowly took his step forward, looking very nervous to Urs. If he wasn’t mistaken he was even sweating.

“Number seven; please repeat these words back to me. Don’t try to turn around. Don’t try to look at me. Just do as I say and I won’t kill you.”

The man hesitated but then he said the words. “Don’t try to turn around. Don’t try to look at me. Just do as I say and I won’t kill you.”

“Urs!” Alex cried out and he helped her catch her mother as Marie’s legs buckled under her.

Detective Garza pulled a chair over for her to sit in while she caught her breath. “Mrs. Huggins, are you alright?”

“Yes, I guess so. That’s….That’s him” she said shakily.

“Are you 100% certain of that?”

“Yes, I’ll never forget that voice as long as I live.”

“Alright, you’ve done a great job.”

He stepped back up to the intercom and instructed the eighth man to repeat the words. They weren’t sure why he had that man say the words but once the last man was finished, Detective Garza stuck his head out the door and told an officer to take number seven into custody for the robbery and assault of three women.

Marie heard this and asked him if two others had identified the same man..

“Yes ma’am. You were the last one we had to have come in. The other two were as positive as you are when they identified him, so I’m pretty sure we’ll get a conviction.”

Knowing that unless the man confessed to the crimes, she would have to testify and he still might walk away both angered and frightened Marie. But at least this was a start.

“Will he have to stay in jail until the trial?” she asked.

“That will be up to the judge. He will be arraigned probably in the morning. You have the right to be there if you want to be.”

‘Yes, I know. I don’t know whether I’ll come to that or not. I’ll have to discuss it with my husband.”

He thanked them again for coming down and told them that he would keep them posted on any developments in the case.

Alex called her father and told him what had happened and then handed her phone to her Mom. He spoke to Marie and could hear how shaken she was.

“Go to Alex’s. I’ll pick you up there. I don’t want you sitting home alone all afternoon.”

“Alright.” She said. She wasn’t going to argue. She didn’t want to be alone anyway.

After discussing whether they still wanted to go to the store, Marie told them not to change their plans. She still wanted to go, so they did and once they were finished they headed home. Mom put her cold groceries into Alex’s fridge.

Alex was tired and Urs could see it and asked her to please go take a nap. He also told Marie that she was welcome to lie down in the guest room if she wanted to. They had just gotten a bedroom suite delivered yesterday for one of the spare rooms. Marie thanked him and said she would like to rest for a while if they didn’t mind.

While Urs tended to the puppies, Alex went with her Mom to make sure she didn’t need anything before going to lie down in her own room.

Late in the afternoon, Urs and Alex put a nice steak dinner on the table, having it ready when Dad got there. They knew that Mom wouldn’t be up to cooking tonight and this way they could eat and then go home, not having to worry about dinner. Marie came downstairs just a few minutes before Dan arrived and helped to get everyone a drink. Dan showed up just on time, coming in and wrapping Marie up in a huge bear hug and just held her close for several minutes. Today had been tough on him too, knowing that his girl had needed him and he wasn’t there, even though she had told him she would be alright.

They didn’t stay long after they ate. Alex insisted that Mom didn’t need to help clean up. She and Urs walked outside with them, making sure that Bella and Max stayed inside until the truck had left the driveway. Then Urs wrapped Alex up in a hug, knowing that she was worried about her Mom.

“She’ll be alright now that your Dad is home.” He said as he kissed her on top of her head. She had her cheek pressed against his chest and she was holding tightly to him.

Shortly after they had gone and they had the pups outside playing for awhile, Alex came and sat in Urs’ lap in the grass.

“Let’s make it an early night tonight, Urs. I just want you to hold me.”

Alex was feeling quite overwhelmed with everything they had been having to worry about lately.

“Sure Baby.” He said stroking her hair and kissing her cheek.

So they cleaned up, saw to the puppies and headed upstairs, took a nice hot bath together before slipping into bed where Urs made Alex forget all of their worries, even if it was only for a little while.

Chapter 96:

“What do you have planned for today?” Dan asked her.

‘Well, I think I’ll tackle getting the windows washed. I’m done with all of the cleaning out of the closets. It’s been ages since they had all been done.”

“This house is going to be cleaner than it was when we moved in.” he said.

He wanted to sit down with her and tell her that she should start getting back out but, he decided to wait a while. Maybe now that the man was caught, maybe she would begin to feel safe again.

“I’ll get the outside of the windows when I get home. I only have a couple of hours of work to do to make up for the hours I was at the party yesterday. I don’t want you on the ladder out there.” He said as he kissed and hugged her goodbye.

She didn’t answer him and that wasn’t a good sign. She had always been very feisty and did pretty much what she wanted to and usually he let her. She took such wonderful care of him and the house. With one last lingering kiss, he made his way into the garage and left for work.

Marie cleaned up from their breakfast and then got her cleaning supplies out to start on the windows. She was about halfway through when she heard a vehicle in the driveway. She looked out the window she had just washed and was relieved when she saw Lisa’s truck. She dropped the rag she was using to wipe down the window sills and went to welcome her in.

“Hi Mom.” Lisa said, hugging her tightly. “Alex told me about yesterday. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I am so relieved that he has been caught. I just hope they keep him in jail.”

“Alex said there have been several others that he’s attacked.”

“Yes, and the Detective said that with all of us being so sure when we identified him, he believed they would be able to get a conviction. Although I keep hoping that he’ll confess so I don’t have to testify.”

“Mom” Lisa said taking her hand, “I know how you feel. I really do. I know that you are afraid. I also know that you have been avoiding going out anywhere alone because of that fear. Please don’t be upset with me.” She said when she saw the look on Marie’s face.

“I love you Mom. You have been here for me through so much and given me so much love and good advice. I just don’t want you to let that man steal your life from you like I let Jeremy steal mine for so long. Don’t get me wrong. I am so glad that I waited for Seb. If I had been dating, I may have settled for someone else and not been available when he came along but, most of my life for the last five years was controlled by my fears. I don’t want to see that happen to you. You have such a full life. It would be terrible if you gave up your independence and all of the things you love because of him. Remember, you’re the one that told me not to let Jeremy win, when we had that talk back in December. Well, I’m going to say the same to you. Please don’t let this man win.”

Marie pulled Lisa into a hug and began to cry. She cried so hard and uncontrollably that Lisa considered going to call Dad but, she waited. She sat back and held Mom close to her and just let her get it out. Marie always tried to be strong for everybody in her life. It was kind of disturbing to see her so broken. After a while, Marie just sat there with her head still on Lisa’s shoulder. The tears were still sitting on her cheeks but they had stopped flowing.

“Thank you.” Marie said simply, giving Lisa a squeeze. “I love you and I appreciate you caring so much.”

“Mom, we all love you and hate to see what that man did to you, not only in the initial attack but, the fact that he has made you alter your life. Just please think about what I’ve said. Don’t let him keep you from your normal activities anymore.”

A few minutes later, Marie offered Lisa a cup of coffee and she said that sounded great.

“What were you doing when I got here?”

“Washing the windows. I’ve been doing a thorough spring cleaning.”

When she saw the look on Lisa’s face she said, “Alright, yes I’ve been occupying my time with the house cleaning to keep from going out but, I really am glad to be getting such a good cleaning done all at once.”

“Well let me help you finish then since I took up so much of your time.”

Lisa called Seb and asked if he minded her being a bit longer and he assured her that he and the kids were having a grand time in the sand box and for her to enjoy her visit with Mom.

By the time Dan came home from work, all of the inside windows were done and Lisa was helping her to get some lunch ready for her and Dan. She said goodbye to both of them and when Marie walked her out to her truck, she gave her an extra long hug and thanked her for helping with the windows and for caring enough to talk to her about the situation.

As she drove home, Lisa hoped that Marie would go back to the lively, busy person that she had always been. Only time would tell.

Lisa got home and found Seb and the children on the playground. He was on the big side of the playground and was up in the tube leading to the slide. He was crawling right behind Kayti and when they reached the top of the slide, he settled Kayti in front of him, wrapped his arms around her and they went sailing down the curvy slide. She smiled when she heard Kayti’s laughter.

“Again Papa, Again.”

Then they saw Lisa.

“Hi Mommy.”

“Hi Sammy.”

“Fun Mama” Kayti said as she ran back to crawl through the tube to go back to the slide.

“That does look like fun. Is anyone hungry?”

Three yes’s answered her.

“Ok, I’ll fix us some lunch and bring it outside and we can have a picnic.”

“What’s a picnic, Mommy?”

Lisa was still amazed at all that Sammy had missed out on. She explained that she would make lunch and they would have fun eating outside on a blanket.

She made them all sandwiches, cut up some apples into slices and wrapped some chocolate chip cookies in a napkin. Then she filled their sippy cups with some cold lemonade and brought her and Seb some glasses. She was just about to head out with a blanket thrown over her shoulder, the basket of food and pitcher of lemonade when Seb appeared in front of her, taking the basket of food. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, holding her close to him with his free arm.

“You sure looked like you were having as much fun as the children.” She said grinning up at him.

“I was. It was a great idea to have it big enough for us to play in there with them. They love it when we play right along with them instead of just watching. Drew stopped by. He didn’t see us yesterday and he wanted to tell us that the guys would be here to install the new heat pump on Monday morning.”

“That’s great. Once they are done with all of the sanding, they’ll be able to turn on the air conditioning while they finish the house.”

Lisa spread out the blanket in the small section of the playground, under the awning where Seb had left the children running around. They had been confined but there wasn’t anything high for them to climb on and neither of the children could open the latch on the gates.

Lisa gave Sammy the stack of paper plates and asked him to pass them out. He was always so happy to do something to help. She gave Kayti the napkins to do the same. The napkins were a bit crumpled by the time everyone had one but, she had done her job and was smiling, so proud of herself. Lisa firmly believed that even a two year old was old enough to help out and feel their accomplishments. Young children especially loved to help, so it was good to take advantage of it before they got to the age when they looked at it as a chore.

“Picnics are funnest Mommy. Can we have nuther picnic some time?”

“We sure can. I like to have picnics too.”

“Play slide, Papa” Kayti said when she had had enough to eat and was tired of sitting.

Lisa wiped the children’s hands off and let them go play in the middle section on the small slides so she and Seb could talk. They sat up on the benches as they watched the children running together. Seb held her close and kissed her temple.

“Does it get any better than this, Baby?” he said with the biggest smile.

“Yes, in a little over a year, we’ll be teaching our little one to walk and he or she will be trying to keep up with Sammy and Kayti.” She said and watched his face light up even more than before.

He squeezed her and kissed her cheek in excitement. Then as he looked in her eyes, they both felt the pull towards each other and their lips met in a slow kiss of exploration. Seb’s fingers threaded through her hair, pushing the scrunchy out so he could run his fingers all the way through.

Lisa ran her hands over his chest, undoing some of the buttons on his shirt and sliding her hand inside over his bare skin. She leaned down and kissed his neck and was working her way down to his chest. He had his head thrown back, enjoying the attention.

“Alright you two, get a room.” Alex said as they came up to the fence unnoticed. She and Urs had brought the puppies for a walk through the woods.

“Puppies! The puppies are here. Can they come in here and play with us, Auntie Alex?”

“Let us take them over to the side to potty first.” She said laughing at his enthusiasm. The puppies were sure going to have plenty of playmates.

Urs took both leashes and led them to the edge of the woods and let them take care of their business. Both of the children had their faces pressed up against the fence, eagerly awaiting the puppies coming to play with them.

“They have names now, Sammy.” Alex said. “The boy puppy is Max and the girl is Bella.”

“Those are great names, Alex” Lisa said.

Urs opened the gate and came into the playground with the puppies, unleashing them so they could run free. Seb opened the gates between the three sections, since they were all there watching the children and the dogs.

The children chased after the puppies who were exploring every inch of the enclosure. Just when it looked like one of the puppies might be caught, they would head off again to check out another area. They climbed unsteadily up the stairs in the middle section and Max explored the landing at the edge of the slide just a little too far and wound up sliding down head first and plopped off the end onto his nose. He shook himself for a second and then went running off again but stayed away from the stairs.

Sammy and Kayti laughed so hard at the puppies’ antics. Kayti climbed the steps and tried to get Bella to slide down like Max had but Bella had other ideas. She walked between Kayti’s legs and went back down the stairs. Kayti tried to look down and between her legs and lost her balance. She fell down the steps bumping her head on the plastic steps, leaving a red mark but she wasn’t seriously hurt. She had been playing outside for several hours and now she was tired and the injury just added to her fatigue. Seb had run to her when she fell and scooped her up and held her, stroking her hair and her back and kissing the spot on her head.

“Papa’s got you, Ma Petite. You’re alright. Lay your head on Papa’s shoulder and rest.”

Within a couple of minutes, Kayti had fallen asleep on Seb’s shoulder, thumb in her mouth.

Sammy’s health and physical condition had so greatly improved since December. He played and played and only got tired in the late afternoon most of the time.

The adults sat and watched him playing with Max and Bella. The pups had had their fill of exploring and had gotten tired and laid down together, panting.

“Sammy, come with me and we’ll go get the puppies some water to drink.” Alex said to him.

“They can have some of my lemonade.”

“Thank you, that is very kind of you, but they can’t drink lemonade.”

“Okay…. We’ll be right back Max and Bella.” He told them, although they were sound asleep.

Alex held Sammy’s hand as he skipped all the way into the house.

“How’s she doing Urs?”

“Well, her blood pressure has been really good for a couple of weeks. She hasn’t been sick anymore. We both have our moments I guess, when we are thinking about the baby’s future. But, I think having the pups to care for and train has helped both of us. They take a great deal of time, which leaves us less time for worrying. There isn’t anything that we can do right now but wait and that is hard. When are you two going to get a dog?” he asked changing the subject.

“Well, I had thought we’d wait until we got into the house but maybe we should think about it.” She said looking at Seb. “Sammy loves them so much and maybe now that I’m done working at the daycare, we could get a puppy trained before we got in there. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about messes on the new floors.”

“Sure, we can look and decide what kind of dog to get. Sammy would be thrilled, they both would.” Seb agreed.

Alex came outside with a bowl of water for the puppies and let Sammy set it down for them. He called to them and their little heads popped up at their names and they wobbled over to Sammy and their water, drinking at the same time.

“Hey, that’s the first time they’ve acknowledged that they heard their names being called.” Urs said excitedly.

He let them finish getting a drink and then he slipped off the bench and sat on the foamy surface,

“Max” he called. “Max”

Sammy sat next to Onkle Urs and called Max too.

“Come here Max.”

Max looked at the pair of humans sitting there looking him, then he started running as fast as his legs would carry him and all the way into Urs’ lap.

“Call Bella, Sammy. See if she will come to you.”

“Bella, Come to me Bella.” Sammy said clapping his hands.

She didn’t run as fast as Max, but she ran over to Sammy and started licking his face. It made him giggle and pretty soon Bella had him lying back on the ground and she was standing with both of her front feet on his chest as she kept licking his face. He was laughing so hard he almost couldn’t catch his breath.

Urs finally lifted Bella off of him but he just laid there laughing.

“That was very tickly, Onkle Urs.” He said still laughing and panting as Lisa handed him his cup so he could take a drink.

Kayti woke up and they let the children and pups play for a while longer and then they put the leashes back on and said goodbye. Kayti did much better this time. She was told that she could play with the puppies again and she didn’t get upset when they left.

They packed up the remnants of their picnic and went inside. Lisa started preparing dinner and Seb went to make some phone calls. He hadn’t spoken to Maman in a few days. He told her of all of the news of the last week and how nicely things were coming along at the house.

Lisa was tired and the effects of the fresh air were making her drowsy. She checked to make sure the children were playing nicely then she came and lay on the couch putting her head in Sebastien’s lap and let the sound of his voice lull her into a peaceful sleep.

The rest of March went by in a whirl as several major projects were completed at the house, such as the heat and air was installed and the whole interior of the house was either painted or ready to be.

The kitchen was completed, including the hardwood floor that had been restored, the countertops had arrived and had been installed and of all of the new stainless steel appliances had arrived and had been hooked up and tested to make sure they worked. Lisa and Mary had been so excited when Drew called them over to see it. It was the first major room to be completed and it was every cook’s dream.

The kitchen now contained the walk in freezer, two large refrigerators, a large capacity microwave, a huge double oven with a flat top stove on one side and the other side had a top that could be changed from a grill top to a griddle with just the changing of one piece. Under the counter top, two large dishwashers, a trash compacter, a wine cooler and a small ice machine had been installed.

All new kitchen cabinets had been installed. They had discussed trying to just restore the originals but, they were in such bad shape, plus there just weren’t enough to fit their needs so they had just replaced them all with a whole new cabinet system. Most of the kitchen lighting was recessed lighting and it made the kitchen so inviting. There was a large double sink on one side of the kitchen and a smaller hand washing/food preparation sink right next to the stove.

The island that Drew had made was completed and made the kitchen so much more efficient. The hanger that Mary had requested was installed, safely attached to the major joists in the ceiling and would support all of the pots and pans she wanted to hang there. The old laundry room was full of boxes that contained all of the kitchenware. They wouldn’t unpack them until the rest of the dirty indoor construction was completed.

All of the bathrooms were now complete except for the restoring of the antique claw foot tub in the master bath. That would be done in the next few weeks. All that Lisa needed to get was curtains for the windows, throw rugs and shower curtains where they were needed. Each bathroom had a different color. Some were partially papered like Mary’s bedroom.

The library shelves had all been refinished. At some time in their history, they had been painted. Now they had a rich cherry stain that made it look like a regal library. The furniture that Lisa had ordered for it would match this finish and she couldn’t wait for it to arrive. She had also found a beautiful oriental rug that would cover over half of the room and would look amazing. The library would be one of her favorite rooms in the house. She could already imagine sitting in here in the evenings, when the children were all tucked into bed, curled up on the sofa with a good book.

Along with the exciting things happening at the house, they also sat beside Mom and Dad as Garrett Butler was sentenced for the crimes he had committed against the women he had attacked. After his lawyer had seen all of the evidence and had heard the surety of the women’s testimony and the final offer by the District Attorney’s Office of a partially reduced sentence if he confessed to the attacks, he had convinced Garrett that it was in his best interest to confess and then he reluctantly signed a confession. This made things so much easier for all of the women he had attacked. They all breathed a huge sigh of relief when they heard the news that they wouldn’t have to testify in court.

Personally, after Marie’s talk with Lisa, she really did make an effort to get back to her normal routine. Some days were easier than others. Some days she could go about her business, going to her ladies meetings or shopping and come home without ever having a bad moment. Then a day would pop up where she would get out into town in her car and have a flashback of the night and she would turn around and go home without ever doing what she had intended to do. She and Dan had talked about it and he told her that it was okay. She was doing much better and those bad days seemed to be getting further apart. Hopefully they would disappear altogether eventually. One thing she didn’t do was go anywhere by herself at night at all, except to either Lisa’s or Alex’s houses. She hadn’t ever gone many places at night. Her evenings were reserved for Dan but, there had been the occasional late ladies get together and she had missed one of those already.

Sammy’s appointments with Dr. Jessica had also been mixed. Sometimes they all went as a family and sometimes just Seb or Lisa would take him. No matter who else went, she always had time with Sammy alone to let him speak to her without distractions. For the most part, Dr. Talbot was very pleased with Sammy’s emotional state. He was always ready to tell her about all of the exciting things happening, like the two new puppies, telling her all about their picnic, of which Lisa tried to make sure they did frequently, weather permitting.

She still liked to use Sammy’s drawing talent as a means of release for him. Sometimes where words would fail him with his limited vocabulary when he was trying to tell her something, she would ask him to draw a picture of what he was feeling or thinking about and he always did an amazing job of getting his point across in that way.

Seb did tell her about his childhood and his wish to deal with it completely so he would be better equipped to help Sammy and any other children who had been in similar situations. She told him that she had read the Il Divo book where he talked about it and asked him to fill in the blanks. Again, she assured him that any information he gave her would be totally private.

Most of the time, Sammy would leave the office and be the same happy boy that had entered. But, occasionally, something they talked about would trigger a memory in him that would leave him quiet and sometimes even clingy to Lisa and Seb for the next several days.

He had originally gone once a week, but Janie felt like he was doing well enough to back it off to once every other week. She told Seb and Lisa that if they saw anything of concern to let her know and if necessary, she would get him in.

Seb and Urs had to leave town for a few days here and there. Some of the time was for recording their new CD and they were still meeting to rehearse for their concert with Celine in May. They met in Sweden and did some recording and when they would be coming home the next day, they all decided to go out and have some drinks together and just have some time to sit and talk. This time in Sweden had been very busy so they had had little time for any small talk.

Seb, Urs and Carlos had their pregnant wives or fiancé in common and found themselves discussing their changing lives. Urs finally told Carlos and David about their baby’s diagnosis and how concerned he was not only for Alex’s health but the health and future of their baby. They both expressed their condolences and offered any help whether it be physical help or just a shoulder to lean on when he needed it. They had gone and had the next sonogram done and there were no real changes to what the doctor had already said, which was actually kind of a relief when he said that the defect still looked rather small and as low as the defect could be. They had hoped to find out if Bean was a he or a she but Bean just hadn’t cooperated and they couldn’t get a good look, maybe next time. The doctor was going to be doing sonograms every two weeks to keep a close eye on the developing baby.

Vicki was the furthest along and Carlos told them how much she had changed since they had seen her. He was amazed at how much more beautiful she looked as she was growing with his child inside of her. She was still working full time, traveling and promoting her new release. She was feeling fine and was keeping all of her Dr’s appointments and had been given the all clear to keep to her regular schedule as long as she was mindful to eat properly and get enough rest. She had a manager and crew who when they found out about her pregnancy, had become very protective of her and frequently would scale back a rehearsal or decline to go out after a promotional event to force her to go and get some rest.

She had had a sonogram done and Carlos had been upset not to have been there but she had sent him the pictures and a link to a short video in his email. She would have been surprised if she knew how much time he sat there staring at them, at him. The doctor had confirmed during her last visit, that it was definitely a boy and Carlos was so proud he was about to burst and was already imagining playing with his son.

Carlos had taken time to go and meet her where she was a couple of times; surprising her and treating her like his Queen as long as he was around. He would set up weekly spa appointments even when he wasn’t there and would arrange it with one of her crew to get her to the appointment so she would be pampered and feel refreshed and ready for whatever she had to do next.

Lisa was still only in her second month of pregnancy and other than the one time with Seb’s cologne and a couple of times she felt nauseous out in public if someone was wearing a strong perfume or cologne, she had been very lucky not to have to deal with any regular sickness.

Carlos told them that Vicki had had some nausea but definitely not to the degree that Alex had been ill.

They changed the subject when they realized that they had left David out of it for far too long.

David and Urs headed back to the hotel before Carlos and Seb. They stayed for just another drink. Then they left a good tip for the waitress who had been very attentive to their table, maybe a fan, maybe not, but she had given them exceptional service either way.

Feeling pretty good, Carlos and Seb decided to walk the few blocks back to their hotel. They were waylaid by a couple of young fans that looked like they were just out of high school. They signed autographs and smiled for pictures. One of the girls was being very familiar with Seb, touching his arm or playing with his hat, which didn’t sit well with him at all.

Nodding at her friend, she leaned up quickly and kissed Seb on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck and her friend snapped a picture. Seb tried to get her to delete the picture and the friend assured him that she had. Carlos told the girls that they had to leave and get some sleep and pulled Seb’s shirt to help him get away from them.

“Wow that was bad. I sometimes feel like we need security with us all the time but I hate the thought of having to live my life that way.” Seb said.

“I know what you mean. Most of the fans are respectful and would never do something like that but then sometimes you get ones like those girls that feel like they have the right to be so familiar with us.”

They were both quite tired by the time they crawled into bed and quickly forgot about the overzealous fans.

Chapter 97:

Lisa called Mary on the first of April to come over and see her bedroom as well as the Master suite that had just been completed.

Mary’s room was painted with a crème color on the upper half of the walls with a lovely light floral wall paper covering the bottom half of the walls with a cherry stained chair rail waist high around the room. The closet shelving had been installed and her small balcony had been rebuilt just as the master suite balcony had been. It also had new French doors leading out onto the balcony replacing the single door. The wide openings would allow a wonderful breeze to flow into the room on cool days or evenings once the hot Florida sun had gone down. Lisa told her that they had ordered her a small iron table and chair set just like she and Seb would have on their balcony. Mary’s room hadn’t originally had a bathroom accessible through her bedroom but there was a restroom right next door to it so they just cut a doorway connecting the two. She would just have to lock the other door to the hallway when she was in there.

Lisa had even had the guys bring up Mary’s boxes that had been stored for the last month in the old laundry room. All that was left was for Mary to finish packing whatever belongings she was going to move and then when she was ready, Drew had offered to pick up her bed and dressers in his large pick up truck.

Mary’s face lit up when she stood in the middle of the room and turned to get the whole effect. She was so excited in fact that she came over and hugged Lisa so tightly that she made Lisa grunt from the air being squished out of her body.

“Oh Lisa, I’m sorry. Are you alright? I….This is just even more perfect that I had imagined in my mind.” Mary said and Lisa could hear her excitement as she spoke. “I can’t wait to move in here.”

“It is lovely isn’t it? How do you think your bedroom suit will look in here?”

“It will be perfect. There is so much space in here. It has been put together so beautifully plus I will still have a piece of my life with my husband with me.”

Lisa took her down the hall and into the master suite. It was also completed and sometime next week their new bedroom suit would arrive. They were going to leave the guest house furnished for the time being. If whoever was going to live there had their own furniture they could either store or donate the furniture from the guest house.

Where all of the other bedrooms had a ceiling fan, the master suite was so large that it had three fans installed strategically around the ceiling to keep the air moving, one of which was set off in the little sitting area that was large enough for a sofa, a couple of chairs and a small table. She and Seb would have their own little private oasis up here that was spacious enough to spread out and enjoy some private time together when they were able to.

Alex asked Lisa about having a grand opening party for some of the important people that had helped make this home happen so quickly. At first Lisa wasn’t sure about the idea and then the more she thought about it and talked to Seb about it when he called, they decided that they would go ahead and do it. They were talking about planning it for the middle of July to allow for any small delay in the completion of the house.

Lisa asked Alex if she was up to helping with the planning. She told Lisa that she would be glad to help and it would help to occupy her mind. So she got to work on the guest list for starters. She did a preliminary list and emailed it to Lisa for her to add people that Alex hadn’t thought to include.

Lisa and the kids drove to the airport to pick up Urs and Seb. She got parked and led the children inside, holding each of their hands as they made their way to the baggage claim area. She checked the board and saw that their plane had landed on time and they should be here in just a few minutes. It was already quite crowded in the area with several other planes having landed in the last thirty minutes. When she found the carousel that would spit out the guys’ luggage she just moved herself and the children to a place where she could see it but they would be out of the way. She didn’t want the children getting trampled.

Urs and Seb hurried to the baggage claim area and found their carousel. Seb was searching through the crowd looking for her. At first he couldn’t find her but then Urs tapped him on the shoulder, showing him where she was standing with the children against the wall. She was searching for him as well.

Seb moved to where she was and got right in front of her.

“Looking for someone?” he said grinning.

She threw herself into his arms and then after a quick hug, turned to make sure that the children hadn’t gone anywhere. She needn’t have worried. Onkle Urs was taking their hands so Lisa took advantage and threw her arms back around Sebastien’s neck, kissing him like it had been six months instead of six days.

“Sorry Urs.” Lisa said after they came up for air.

“Don’t apologize to me. I don’t mind.” He said smiling at his friends. “But I am ready to get home to Alex though.” He said dramatically like they’d been there an hour.

“Well, come on then. I know she is ready for you to be home too.”

Seb took a minute to get hugs and kisses from the kids, lifting them each up into his arms for a proper greeting. Kayti didn’t want to get down but Lisa took her from Seb so he could go to get his bags.

Seb and Lisa spent the next couple of days talking about what kind of dog they would get. They weren’t sure they would get a large breed of dog like the shepherds that Urs and Alex had but they also decided not to get anything too small and fragile. It would have to be able to stand up to a lot of children playing with it.

After looking at the AKC website and scouring the breed pages, taking in all of the pictures and information about the breeds, they decided on a Boxer. It was actually going to be at least as big as Max and Bella.

They were still discussing whether to get one or two puppies when they took the children to the breeder’s house. They spent a while talking to the husband and wife. They were shown around the house to where one of the Mom’s was taking care of her litter of pups.



Seb had to lift Kayti up into his arms to keep her from climbing right in with them.

“Come on Love. Those puppies are too little to play with you. They have to grow up and get big and strong before they can play.” Seb told her.

They were led out to a large garage area that had been transformed into a giant kennel. The puppies had the whole room to run and play and nothing was within their reach that they shouldn’t get into.

As soon as the pups saw the people coming in, they all ran to them, ready to play. Lisa, Seb and the children were left to play with the pups so they could decide which one they would choose.

Sammy sat right down in the middle of the floor and was promptly piled on by the entire litter of puppies. Some of them were licking him and some were nibbling on him with their little puppy teeth.

“No biting.” He said firmly like Onkle Urs had taught him to say to Max and Bella but, these puppies weren’t listening.

Kayti sat on the floor next to her brother and some of the puppies climbed in her lap knocking her over in their excitement. When they started chewing on her hair and one had her ear in its mouth, Seb lifted her out of the pile. He sat next to Sammy and held Kayti in his lap while they petted the puppies and looked them over.

“Which puppy do you like the best Sammy?” Lisa asked him.

Sammy looked around thoughtfully at them all like he was having a hard time trying to pick just one but, he finally said,

“I like this one. He is very colory.”



“That is called Brindle when they look like that.” Lisa told him. “What do you think Papa? Is that our new puppy?” she asked Seb.

“He is marked beautifully and he looks healthy. He’s got a lot of energy, that’s for sure.”

“Seb, look.” Lisa told him.

Kayti was still in his lap and another puppy had climbed into Kayti’s lap and had gotten comfortable and was falling asleep. Kayti was petting it with one hand and her thumb was in her mouth with her other hand.

“Who do you have there, Ma Petite?” Seb asked her while petting the puppy’s little head with the tips of his fingers.

“Kayti’s puppy, Papa.” She said smiling up at him from behind her thumb.



Seb looked over at Lisa and when she saw his face, she knew it was no use. There was no way that they were going to go home without two puppies. Lisa left Seb out with the pups and the kids and went to let the breeders know that they had decided to take two of them after all.

Mr. Campbell took the children and the puppies into the office area and sat them down for a serious discussion.

He smiled at Seb and Lisa and began speaking to the children. He knew that this was mostly for Sammy. Kayti was a little young to understand yet. But if the boy understood, he would eventually teach his sister.

“Now, we have to have an understanding if you are going to take my puppy’s home with you. These are very special puppies and they need a lot of love and care. I need you both to promise me that you will always love them and give them the best of care. If you treat them right, they will be your best friends for their whole lives. Do you think you can do that?”

Both children had been standing in front of him and were looking very intently up at him while he spoke to them.

“Yes, I promise. I’m gonna feed them and take them outside to play with me and my sister cuz I’m the big brother.”

“Even though they don’t have long hair, they still like to be brushed and certain times of the year they will shed some of those short hairs. If you brush them regularly, it will minimize the hair that will end up in your house.” He said to Seb and Lisa.

They finalized the purchase of the puppies and he gave them a cardboard box to try to confine them in for the ride home. They decided that it would be best for them to go home and then Seb would go to the pet store and do some shopping. It had helped hearing what Urs and Alex had found to be necessary and what was just extra. It helped Seb immensely to cut down on his shopping time. He came home with all of the necessary gear and a large metal kennel like Urs and Alex had gotten for Max and Bella plus, he got plenty of chew toys and puppy treats for their training.

Of course Sammy wanted to call Grandma and Grandpa and tell them all about their new puppies. Lisa was teaching him how to dial the phone and helping him learn his phone number and address. He couldn’t write all of it yet but most of the time he could tell you from memory. So Lisa handed him the cordless phone and watched as he found the numbers she was telling him to push. It was then that she decided to put a list of important phone numbers on the refrigerator just in case of an emergency.

“Hello, Huggins residence. This is Marie.” She answered on the second ring.

“Hello Grandma. This is the Izambard residence and this is Sammy. We got some new baby puppies. Papa says they are called Boxers just like his underwear.” Sammy said without taking a breath.

Marie laughed so hard there were tears running down her face.

“That is wonderful Sweetheart. Do they have names yet?”

“Nope just puppies and my puppy is called a brindle puppy cuz it is all colory.”

“Are they girls or boys or one of each.”

“Mommy, Grandma wants to know if the puppies are boys like me or girls like Kayti.” He called out to Lisa.

“Tell Grandma that they are both girls like Kayti.”

“Mommy said they are two girls, Grandma. Can you come and play with them?”

“You know what? I know that Grandpa will want to meet your new puppies too so we will come over after he gets home from work, Okay?”

“Okay, tell him it’s a prize and we will hide when he comes.”

“Alright, that sounds like it will be fun. Does Kayti like the new puppies too?

“Yup, cept when they bite her and make her fall down. We have to train them to be good like Onkle Urs and Auntie Alex are teaching Max and Bella to be good doggies. Papa went to the doggie store and buyed them some special puppy cookies and they have pink collars and leashes.”

“I can’t wait to see them Sammy.”

Mom spoke to Lisa and told her that they would come over and then go out to dinner. Lisa invited them to eat with them but Mom said she wanted Dan to take her to a new Thai restaurant that she saw advertised on TV.

Lisa picked up everything chewable on the laundry room floor and Seb set up their crate in a corner, setting the soft mattress inside and leaving it open like Urs told him to do and he threw a few toys in to entice them to go inside of it. At night they would put a gate up in front of the laundry room to keep them confined.

Seb showed Sammy how to leash the dogs and then they walked out into the yard together and Seb designated a puppy walking area to keep the messes confined to one area instead of the whole yard. He was so proud of Sammy. He listened so well to instructions and frequently could be heard later repeating them to Kayti, trying to teach her.

Lisa had grabbed a camera as Seb and Sammy walked outside together with the puppies. She took several shots and knew they were going to be so cute. She loved to watch Sammy trying to take big steps to keep up with his Papa and when Seb was speaking to him, Sammy hung on every word. He was like a sponge soaking up every second of attention that anyone gave him.

It had been just over three months since Sammy had been with them but it was hard for Lisa to imagine what her life was like before he was here. The same went for Kayti and Seb too, how radically different she was because of all of them.

“Mama, play puppy.” Kayti said, breaking Lisa out of her musings.

“Papa and Sammy will be right back with the puppies, baby.”

Kayti stood at the window with her face pressed to the glass watching Sammy and her Papa, waiting for them to come back in.

Once the pups had done their business, Seb let Sammy and the puppies into the playground fence and came back to the house.

“Mama, I’m taking Kayti outside with me and Sammy.” Seb called to Lisa, who was in the kitchen starting dinner.

“Okay, have fun.”

Seb kept the kids and the puppies out for quite a while until they were winding down. All of them were showing signs of being tired so he took them all inside. They got the puppies and the kids a drink and showed the puppies their kennel. They were so tired that they welcomed the soft mattress and curled up together and fell asleep. If Seb hadn’t caught her, Kayti would have crawled in with them. She did wind up falling asleep on the couch when Lisa put Finding Nemo on for them to watch.

Marie and Dan pulled up later on and Sammy ran to the door and then he ran into the laundry room and shut the door, only to open it back up and he whispered to Lisa.

“Mommy, don’t let them find me. I’m gonna hide with the puppies.”

“Okay, Sweety, but don’t hide too long. They came to see the puppies.”

Sammy shut the door but Lisa could hear him giggling behind it. She walked into the living room shaking her head and laughing.

“Where oh where is Sammy and his surprise?” Dan called out loud enough for Sammy to hear him.

“Sammy, where you go?” Kayti said as she looked in his room. She had just woken up and didn’t know he was hiding in the laundry room.

Sammy’s giggling got loud enough for everyone to hear him. Dan went and stood right in front of the laundry room and called to him again.

“Where is Sammy?”

“I’m hiding on you Grandpa. I’m in here.”

All of the adults laughed at Sammy giving himself away like that. Then Dan slowly opened the door and poked his head in.

“Oh, my goodness! Look what you have. Aren’t they cute! Bring them out here so Grandma can see them.”

“We’d better put them on their leashes and take them out for a minute before we get them all excited.” Seb said.

Sammy got the leashes, Dan helped him hook them up and then he took Sammy and the puppies out for their walk and Sammy showed him where the puppies needed to go. Everyone else came outside and once the puppies were back, Seb told Sammy that he could take them off of the leashes as long as they were all out there to watch them. Grandma and Grandpa stayed for a while gushing over the puppies and giving plenty of hugs and kisses before they left to go have dinner.

At bedtime, Sammy had brushed his teeth after they had finished with their baths. Lisa went looking for him and found him already in bed with his brindle puppy in bed with him. They were both covered up all the way to their necks and their heads both lying on the pillow.

“She wants to sleep in my bed with me, Mommy.”

“OK, this is going to be a tough one.” Lisa thought. She hated telling Sammy no and rarely had to do it. He didn’t ask for much. She loved to make him smile and give him things or do things that made him happy. But in this one thing she knew that she was going to have to be strong and tell him no. But he looked so cute all cuddled up with the pup.

She sat next to him on the bed and stroked his hair and petted the puppy, scratching it behind its ears. She turned her head and tried to nibble on Lisa’s fingers.

“No Puppy, No biting Mommy.” Sammy told her; gently putting his fingers above and below the puppy’s jaw to keep it closed and let the dog know what he was talking about.

“Sammy, I’m sorry Sweetheart but, your puppy can’t sleep in your bed. She needs to go in her own bed with her sister. She doesn’t know how to potty outside yet and she also might get up while we are all asleep and chew things. That’s why Papa made them a nice, safe area in the laundry room for while we are asleep. They will have their puppy pads and nothing in there that they shouldn’t chew on. When the puppies are grown up and know how to go outside and don’t chew on things anymore, Mommy will talk to Papa about letting her sleep with you.”

“She will be lonely without me.” Sammy said, his eyes filling up with tears.

“Baby, she will have her sister to sleep with. I’m sorry Sweety. Please don’t cry.” Lisa said and pulled him against her chest, feeling his tears wetting her shirt.

“Mommy will let her stay in here with you for a few more minutes and then she will have to go to bed in her kennel with her sister.”

Lisa couldn’t sit there and look at his pitiful face anymore so she went out to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Seb came up behind her and wrapped her in a hug.

“This parenting stuff isn’t easy sometimes, is it?” he said kissing her neck and down to her shoulder.

She leaned back into him, letting herself feel his love and protection.

“He’s had such a bad life and I want to make him happy all of the time. But sometimes we are going to have to say no and it’s hard. I hate to see him cry and even worse, I hate to make him cry.” Lisa said with a tear running down her cheek and falling onto Seb’s arm that was around her waist.

He came around in front of her. “Hey, it’s alright Baby. Yes, we are going to have to say no sometimes. We are not the same as the other people that have hurt him. When we say no, it will be because it is necessary or it is what is best for him.”

“I know. It just made my chest hurt to see him cry like that. I guess I’m going to have to grow some thicker skin, huh.” She said trying to smile a bit.

She peeked in and saw him laying there with his arm over the puppy. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into his room.

“Sammy, it’s time for her to go to bed now. Do you want to help me put her to bed or would you like for me to just take her myself?”

“Can I put her to bed, Mommy.”

“You sure can, Baby. Come on.” She said taking his hand to help him out of the bed.

He turned around and picked up the puppy and set her on the floor. She was already following everywhere he went, so when he headed for the laundry room, she was right behind him. The other puppy was already in there chewing on a toy.

“Why don’t you give them a goodnight cookie?”

He tried to get them to sit for their cookie but they were not getting the idea yet. Urs had told him that they had to be patient when they were training puppies so he finally gave them their cookies and kissed them both on their heads.

“Goodnight puppies, I love you. Don’t be scared. No monsters will come to get you.” He said as he waited for Lisa to lift him over the gate.

“They will be just fine, Sweetheart and you can play with them all day tomorrow.”

Seb and Lisa took the puppies outside several more times that evening and when it was time to go to bed, they put the pups in the laundry room and shut off the lights. That set off the whining.
They tried to quiet the pups so they wouldn’t wake the children. In the end, they wound up leaving one of the lights on in the laundry room. That seemed to help. Finally they wore themselves out and curled up and went to sleep.

Chapter 98:

When Lisa woke in the morning, she went to the kitchen to pour a cup of the coffee that had already brewed in the coffee pot. She loved the timer that allowed the coffee to be ready right when she was waking up. Fresh cup in hand, she turned and went towards the laundry room to peek in at the pups. She wasn’t hearing any movement in there yet.

As soon as she looked in there, she turned and went to get her camera off of her desk. Then she looked to see if Seb was awake. He was just stirring.

“Seb, you have to see this.” She said, and waited for him to slip on his sweatpants.

When she got back to the doorway, she took a few shots with her camera. They stood and looked at the sight of Sammy curled up in the kennel, both puppies curled up against him and all three of them were sound asleep. The brindle pup lifted its head and looked at them, then stood and stretched, yawning, her little pink tongue sticking out. It didn’t take long for the other puppy to wake up and follow her sister out of the kennel. Seb lifted them both up over the gate and took them right outside.

Sammy rolled over, bumping into the side of the kennel and woke himself up. He sat up and saw Lisa standing there watching him.

“Hi Mommy”

“Hi Baby. What are you doing in there?”

“The puppies were crying for their Mommy. So I camed in and went to sleep with them and then they didn’t cry no more.”

What could she say to that?

“Well, that was nice of you to take care of them like that. That was okay for one night but, Mommy wants you to sleep in your own bed from now on and the puppies will sleep in theirs.”

The phone rang putting an end to their conversation. Lisa answered and it was Alex. They spoke for a few minutes and she told Lisa that they’d be by later to meet the new additions. She and Urs were heading out to a doctor’s appointment. They were scheduled to have another sonogram and hopefully they would find out this time if Bean was a girl or a boy.

“Are you ready?” Urs asked her when she hung up the phone.

“Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

They arrived at the doctor’s and they were taken to the exam room and they waited just a couple of minutes for the doctor to come in. Ever since they had been seeing the specialist, the doctor himself had done the sonogram and not just a technician.

“Good Morning.” He said when he came in.

“Good Morning.” They both responded.

Alex was already lying down on the reclined bed, ready to begin. The doctor didn’t waste any time. While he was preparing the machine, he did ask her the usual questions about her blood pressure and how she was feeling in general. She answered and he seemed pleased with everything she told him. He took his usual measurements of the baby’s internal organs, spine, head and extremities. Then he began pointing them out for the parents to see. He pressed buttons that would freeze frames and print a few pictures for them to take home with them.

He spent a fair amount of time looking at the area of the defect, measuring and making notes.

“Has anything changed?” Alex asked and Urs could hear the worry in her voice.

“No, everything is the same. He’s growing well and besides the defect, he seems to be developing normally.”

“He?” Urs asked.

“Oh that’s right, we weren’t able to tell last time. He wasn’t cooperating. Well, Mom and Dad, you are definitely having a boy.”

He moved the wand around for a minute and came to rest on the side of Alex’s growing bump.

“Right there, can you see that?” he asked them.

At first, neither of them knew what they were supposed to be looking at and then all of a sudden they both saw it at the same time.

“Oh my God! I see it. It is a boy.” Alex said smiling the first real smile at a doctor’s appointment since she’d found out about the baby’s defect.

Urs and Alex were already holding hands and Urs squeezed her hand and stepped up to the bed and kissed her.

“This is so great. Now we will have two new Divos.” At Alex’s curious look, Urs remembered that he hadn’t told her that Vicki was having a boy.

“Carlos told us the other day that they are having a boy as well.”

“Now we just need to find out what Seb and Lisa are having.”

“Now, you are in your seventeenth week. We will need to discuss whether or not we will consider the prenatal surgery on your son to repair the defect. I know that you seemed interested in it before but, I want the two of you to go home and discuss it together. You must be in agreement in this.”

“Does that mean that you would recommend doing the surgery?” Urs asked him.

“Your son’s defect is in such a place that if we repair it, he may have very minimal effects later on. It is by my experience, a very easy defect to close when the defect is that small and so low on the back and barring any problems during or directly after surgery, I think that this case could have a very successful outcome. But, you do need to understand fully the risks associated with this surgery. There is always a small risk of nerve or spinal injury to the baby during the procedure. Also, there is a significant risk of premature labor and of course heavy bleeding by the mother or the baby could be fatal. Except for the chance of premature labor, the rest of the risks are considered rare. As I said, go home discuss it and come to a decision. We will need to decide either way on your next visit in two weeks. If you decide to go ahead with it, we would schedule it for sometime in the next two weeks after that.”

Urs and Alex left the doctor’s office feeling better than they usually did when they left here. In hand, they had another short video and some still black and white pictures of their little boy.

Now came the agonizing decision about whether they would go ahead with the surgery or not.

Alex was almost running when she got out of the car. She flew up the porch steps and with just a quick knock on the door and waiting just until she saw Lisa walking towards the inside of the door, Alex threw open the screen and rushed inside.

“It’s a boy….Bean is a boy.” She said breathlessly.

She and Lisa hugged for a long moment and even shed a few tears, mostly of joy. Then Alex gave Lisa the disc that had the video and they slipped it into the drive on the computer to watch it. Alex pointed out the baby’s face and then showed Lisa and Seb the part the proved that he was a boy.





“I can’t wait until we can find out. You do want to find out right away, don’t you Seb?” Lisa looked up at him hopefully.

“Sure I do. How much longer until we can find out?”

“Well they can sometimes tell as early as eleven or twelve weeks but not usually until at least fifteen weeks. Bean here didn’t cooperate last time we went so we had to wait until this time to find out. I’m at seventeen weeks.” Alex told him.

“I’m at eleven weeks now. Hopefully when we go to my next appointment we can find out.”

“When is that?” Seb asked her.

“My appointment is in three weeks. I just went last week and I only go once a month.”

“Hi Onkle Urs and Auntie Alex. Wanna see our new puppies?”

“We sure do.” Urs said lifting Sammy high in the air and spinning around, making Sammy laugh.

“We’ll have to bring Max and Bella over and introduce them so they can grow up together and be friends.” Urs said.

“What are their names?” Alex asked.

I don’t think we’ve come up with any yet.”

“Uh Huh Mommy, they do have names too.” Sammy told them.

“Oh, what are their names, Baby?” Lisa asked him.

“My brindle puppy is Jasmine and Kayti’s puppy is named Maya.”

“Where did you get those names Sammy?” Seb asked.

“I know. They are their friend’s names at school.” Lisa told everyone.

“Ok Jasmine and Maya it is then. We need to fill out the papers for the AKC and send them in to finalize their registration.” Seb said.

“Yeah Alex and I just did that for Max and Bella last week.”

They all had lunch and then Alex and Urs went home to let their pups out and to call Mom and tell her the news. They hadn’t brought up the subject of the surgery because the kids were right there and Sammy didn’t miss anything.

That night, Lisa woke when she heard someone up in the kitchen. She slipped out of bed and into her robe, tying as she moved quietly out into the hall. Sammy’s door was closed so she opened it quietly and peeked in. His bed was empty. She went further down the hall and saw that the bathroom door was open but could hear the tank filling so she knew he had been in the bathroom.

When she got out into the kitchen she stopped in the doorway and saw him standing at the gate to the laundry room. The puppies seemed to still be sleeping. She was waiting to see what he would do. She had told him that he couldn’t sleep with the puppies and she really hoped that he was not about to climb over the gate because then she would have to punish him and she knew that it would be as hard on her as it would be on him.

He stood there for just a moment longer and then she watched as he slid the step stool from beside the fridge and put it in front of the gate. Then he climbed over and crawled into the kennel, lying down beside the puppies, petting them each on their heads. His brindle puppy, Jasmine, stood up and came up to his face and licked it several times and then she curled right up into the curve of his neck.

She battled within herself about whether to go and get him right now and put him back into bed or just slip back to her bed without him knowing that she had seen him and just deal with it in the morning. In the end, even though she knew that she would have to address the fact that he had disobeyed her, she decided to just leave him where he was for now. She tried to rationalize it within herself by thinking that if she brought him out now, the pups would wake up and would probably start whining and wake Seb and Kayti up too.

So she silently made her way back to bed and under the covers.

“Baby? Is everything alright?” Seb asked sleepily.

“Yes, it’s alright, for now. But Sammy just climbed back in the kennel with the puppies.”

“You didn’t make him go back to bed?” Seb said looking surprised.

As big of a softy as Lisa was, when she told the children something, she expected it to be obeyed or there were consequences. He was glad, because he felt the same way about discipline. If you let children know they were expected to follow the rules when they are young, they will be less likely to disobey when they get older. At least that was the way he had always supposed it should be.

“Please don’t be upset with me, Seb. I just figured there would be enough time to address it tomorrow.”

“I’m not upset with you, but you are a giant marshmallow. You know that don’t you?” he said pulling her on top of him and he kissed her, slowly at first and then they found themselves unable to get enough.

Seb slipped his hands up under the nightshirt she was wearing and pulled it up. Lisa sat up, straddling him, and let him lift it over her head. Already naked from when they had made love earlier, Seb wasted no time in driving her to distraction with his hands and his lips before he took them both over the edge and then they stayed entangled together as they fell into a contented and blissful sleep.

In the morning Seb was up first and he went out to the kitchen and found Sammy sitting in the laundry room playing with the puppies.

Seb poured himself a cup of coffee and set it on the kitchen island then he stood in the doorway to the laundry room. He didn’t say anything at first. He was waiting to see if Sammy would say anything.

He decided to handle this and save Lisa the pain that he knew she would feel at having to punish Sammy.

Sammy looked up and met Seb’s eyes. Papa wasn’t smiling at him. He knew what Mommy had said but he just really missed the puppies and when he got up to go potty he just had to come in with them.

“Hi Papa.” Sammy said quietly. Seb could tell that the boy already knew that he was in trouble.

“Hi Sammy. Did you come in and sleep with the puppies last night like Mommy told you not to?”

“Yes, Papa but I was lonely for the puppies and I missed them.”

“I know son. But, Mommy told you that you had to sleep in your own bed, didn’t she?”

This was new territory for Sammy. He hadn’t really done anything that someone had specifically told him not to do. If he did something wrong they gave him the benefit of the doubt the first time he did something because he didn’t know what was right or wrong most of the time. They would just sit him down and tell him why he should or shouldn’t so something and he hadn’t openly disobeyed before. This time he had outright disobeyed what Lisa had said. Seb stood there and held his arms out to Sammy so he could lift him over the gate. Sammy hesitated and then went into Seb’s arms.

“I’m sorry Papa. Please don’t hit me. I won’t do it never again.” Sammy said beginning to cry.

Seb’s heart was breaking but he also knew he couldn’t back down.

“Son, I am not now or ever going to hit you. But I do have to punish you for disobeying what Mommy told you. Do you understand?” He said as he placed both hands on the sides of Sammy’s face.

Sammy didn’t answer. He just looked down at the floor. Seb had sat him on the counter so they were looking eye to eye.

“Look at me Sammy.” Seb said sternly but he gently lifted Sammy’s chin up. “We need to decide what your punishment should be.”

Seb had to try to come up with something that would be effective but not too harsh.

“Sammy, I think that you will not be able to play with the puppies before school today. If you have behaved until you get home from school, then you will be able to play with them when you get home.”

It would only be just a couple of hours until they left for school but Seb knew how much it would bother Sammy not to be able to play with them even for that short time.

“I love you Sammy. Papa just wants you to be a good boy, alright?”

Seb pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head and even though Sammy was upset, he never turned down any hugs or kisses. Seb set him down on the floor and told him to go get dressed and to make his bed. He couldn’t do the best job of making his bed yet, especially on a difficult bed like he had but, they wanted him to at least get the idea that it was his responsibility to at least make an attempt at it.

Later, when they were all up, Seb told Lisa about his talk with Sammy and he could see the relief on her face that she wouldn’t have to do it, not this time anyway.

As they got ready to go to school, Seb and Lisa kept seeing him looking longingly at the puppies. He wanted so badly to go and play with them. They really hoped that he would not have to be punished often. For Lisa, it was almost her undoing to see his pitiful face. When it was time to go, Lisa went to find him and he was lying on his bed on top of the comforter, hugging his Bob doll close to him.

“Come on Sweetheart. It’s time to go to school.”

“Mommy, I’m sleepy. Can I take a nap.”

“Sammy, you are probably still tired because you didn’t sleep well last night when you slept with the puppies. Come on, you will be able to have a nap later at school.” She said taking his hand and leading him to the door.

“My tummy hurts, Mommy.”

“I think it is just upset because you got in trouble. Now you will go to school and have a fun day and like Papa told you, when you come home, you will be able to play with your puppies.”

She had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to stay home so he could play with the puppies. No more was said about it and Seb kissed the children goodbye and gave Sammy an extra hug and told him again that he loved him.

Chapter 99:

Lisa dropped the children off at school and then went to do some errands. She was picking up some supplies that she had ordered and she was going to get her hair trimmed a bit, nothing too drastic.

About two hours later, Lisa got a call from Lauren telling her that she didn’t think that Sammy was feeling well. She said he was moping and wasn’t playing with the other children and what really made her worry was that he hadn’t eaten any of his mid-morning snack. Sammy never left food on his plate.

Lisa told her about Sammy’s first time being punished. She told Lauren that he had been moping around all morning at home and had even tried to get her to let him stay home with Seb and they both agreed that that was probably what it was. Lisa told her to call if she had any other concerns.

Lisa had finished her errands and had just pulled into the driveway to start unloading the boxes into the storage room. Seb saw her pull up and hurried out to help her.

“You don’t need to lift any of these. I’ll get them. You’re hair looks great.” Seb said kissing her cheek as he moved around her to reach the boxes.

“Thank you. These aren’t that heavy. I already had to load them into the truck.”

“All the more reason for you not to lift them again.” He said.

Before she could argue, her phone rang. It was Lauren again.

“Lisa, you need to come and get Sammy. He just woke from his nap. He never did eat anything, not even his lunch and now he feels really hot. Kelly is taking his temperature right now.”

“Ok we’ll be right there. Thanks Lauren.”

She told Seb what Lauren had said and he didn’t even finish unloading. He just closed the back end and slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, waiting just long enough for Lisa to shut her door before he headed out of the driveway.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Love.” Seb said when he looked over and saw the silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

“He told me that his tummy hurt this morning but, I didn’t listen to him. I thought he was just upset because of his punishment. That must have hurt him Seb, that I didn’t pay any attention to him when he was hurting.”

“Baby, there was no way for you to know. I would have thought the same thing. He was moping around all morning after I talked to him.” He gave Lisa’s hand a squeeze as they pulled into the daycare.

When they found him, Sammy was sitting in Miss Lauren’s lap in a rocking chair. His eyes were closed and his head was leaning back against her chest. She had put a cool cloth on his forehead. She was rocking slowly and whispering comforting words to him, mainly telling him that his Mommy was coming to get him.

“Here she is buddy and she brought your Papa too.”

He didn’t jump up into their arms like he usually would. But he opened his eyes and held out his arms for Lisa to pick him up. He laid his head on her shoulder and she could feel the heat of the fever through his clothes.

“I’m sorry Baby. Mommy is so sorry I didn’t listen to you this morning. Does your belly still hurt?”

He just shook his head yes.

“What was his temp?” Lisa asked

“It was just short of 102.”

Lisa asked Seb to call Mom and ask if she could pick Kayti up at three. If she couldn’t they’d just take her with them now.

When Seb hung up, he told Lisa that Mom said she would pick Kayti up and for them to call when they had seen the doctor.

“Thanks Lauren.” Seb said as they turned to leave. “We’ll call you later.” He said when he saw her concern.

Seb wanted to lift Sammy’s weight out of Lisa’s arms but he didn’t think she would give him up right now, so he rushed to open the door of the truck and then he lifted Sammy and set him into his booster seat. Lisa went around and got into the back seat beside him.

While Seb was getting into the truck, Lisa pulled out her cell phone and dialed the pediatrician’s number. The receptionist answered and when Lisa told her about his sudden illness this morning and his fever, the receptionist told her that the doctor wasn’t in the office. He was at the hospital seeing another patient that had been admitted. She asked Lisa to hold for a minute.

When she came back on the line, she said that she had reached the doctor’s phone and he wanted her to take Sammy to the emergency room. He would meet them down there.

Lisa relayed the message to Seb and he turned out of the parking lot and headed for the hospital.

When they got out of the truck and walked to the entrance to the emergency room, Lisa saw the doctor waiting in the waiting room for them to arrive. Lisa introduced Seb to the doctor. He motioned for Seb to bring Sammy directly to the back. A triage nurse asked Lisa to come with her to get him signed in.

“It will just take a few minutes.” She said kindly when she saw Lisa’s eyes follow Seb and Sammy to the back. She knew Lisa had wanted to go right back with them.

Seb laid Sammy down on the bed and let the doctor come in close to Sammy.

“Papa.”

“I’m right here buddy. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Where’s Mommy?”

“She will be in in just a minute after she tells them your name and signs some papers.”

“My receptionist said that this all started today?” the doctor asked.

“We think so. He hadn’t acted ill before this morning. We also just got two puppies a couple of days ago. Maybe they made him sick.”

“Sammy where does your belly hurt?” the doctor asked him.

When Sammy put his hand in the area, the doctor’s eyebrows went up a bit, Seb noticed. Then he watched as the doctor felt around, pressing in different spots on Sammy’s belly before coming back to the area that Sammy had said was hurting.

“Owww” Sammy said, when the doctor pressed there again.

“I need to get some blood drawn and I am going to get him something for the fever. I’ll be right back.

He was back with a nurse to draw some blood and Sammy began to cry.

“I don’t want a needle, Papa.”

“I’m sorry buddy. They have to take some blood so they can find out why you are feeling bad. How about if I come up on the bed with you and hold you while she draws the blood?” he said as he moved around to the other side and sat behind Sammy and held him close.

Lisa came in just as the nurse was leaving. After drawing the blood, she had given him a dose of liquid Tylenol to try and get his fever down. When they had first gotten here and taken his temperature, it was a little over 103.

Seb leaned back into the pillows, drawing Sammy down with him and laid Sammy’s head in the crook of his arm.

“How are you Sweetheart?” Lisa asked from beside the bed as she stroked his hair.

“My tummy still hurts, Mommy.”

The doctor was back in just about ten minutes. He pulled a chair over beside the bed and spoke to Lisa and Seb. Thankfully Sammy had fallen asleep and was getting some much needed rest.

“We are going to take Sammy up and do an ultrasound on his abdomen. I want to check out his internal organs while I wait for the blood work to come back.

Lisa and Seb followed the orderly who was pushing the wheel chair that Sammy was sitting in. He actually smiled and said it was fun to ride in the chair. They ran the ultrasound and then took Sammy back down to the emergency room and he was moved back into the bed with orders to stay very still until the doctor came back to speak with them.

The doctor came in walking rather swiftly and didn’t waste any time beating around the bush.

“We need to take Sammy up right away and take out his appendix. As soon as he said where he was hurting, I suspected that it might be the problem but, I had to wait for the blood work to come back to be sure.”

“Oh my God. He said he was hurting this morning and I still made him go to school. Has it burst?”

“No it hasn’t burst and there was no way for you to know it was his appendix especially if he didn’t already have a fever.”

“No, he didn’t have a fever this morning.” She said thoughtfully, knowing that he didn’t because she had hugged him close to her several times before she took him and when she dropped him off at school.

An orderly will be in for him in just a few minutes. I’ve already called the surgeon and he is up on the surgical floor scrubbing up. They’ll have some consent papers for you to sign too.”

“Is it unusual for someone as young as Sammy to have their appendix go bad?” Lisa asked.

“A little bit. But there is always a higher risk for it when there has been trauma to the body such as Sammy has had. Listen, don’t worry. I believe we caught it early. We’ll get it out and he should be just fine. I’ll have a nurse direct you to the surgical waiting room.”

When the doctor left the room, Lisa sat next to Sammy on one side and Seb sat on the other. They both each took one of his hands.

“Sammy, the doctor has to make you take a long nap and while you are asleep, they have to fix what is hurting you.”

“Then can I go home and play with the puppies?”

“Well son, I’m not sure how long you have to stay in the hospital. It may be a couple of days. But when you get home you can play with them.”

Baby, when you wake up after your nap, your tummy is still going to hurt for a while. But it will get better and you will feel like running and playing again.”

The orderly came in ready to take him up to surgery.

“We love you very much Sammy. We’ll be there when you wake up ok.”

“Okay Mommy, Bye.”

As soon as Sammy’s bed was out of the room, Lisa broke down in Seb’s arms. He shed a few tears of his own as he held her. When she gained control, he wiped the tears from her cheeks and they looked for the nurse that was going to direct them up to the waiting room.

When they had found the waiting room, Lisa called Mom and asked her to call Alex to tell them what was happening. She said she’d call back when they had any news. She went to sit back down beside Seb but, he pulled her right into his lap.

She laid her head on his shoulder and her fingers were playing in the hair at the top of his neck.

“I don’t want you blaming yourself, Baby. This isn’t your fault.” He said kissing her forehead.

“I’m so glad that you are here. If this had happened last week when you were away, it would have been so much worse.”

“I’m glad I’m here too. It would be very hard to be far away with Sammy hurting and you having to deal with it alone.”

They got as comfortable as possible for the wait. Lisa slid off of Seb’s lap after a time so his legs wouldn’t fall asleep but she stayed pressed up against his side on the couch and her head on his shoulder. She dozed off for a few minutes but woke with a start when she heard voices.

Alex and Urs had come to wait with them. Alex sat on the other side of Lisa and hugged her.

“He’s going to be fine Sweety. He’s a fighter. Look at all he’s come through already.” Alex said comforting Lisa.

Urs and Seb went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee and sandwiches. They got some fresh sandwiches and a couple of apples for later. When they came back they met the pediatrician as he was just about to go into the waiting room with another doctor.

They all entered together and Lisa stood up as soon as she saw the doctors.

“Is Sammy alright?” Lisa asked, not waiting for anyone else to speak.

“Sammy is just fine, Mrs. Izambard.”

“Thank you Dr. Harrison.” She said releasing a huge breath.

“Actually I just watched. Dr. Bowers here is the surgeon that operated on Sammy.”

“Thank you Dr. Bowers for taking care of our son.”

“Dr. Harrison told me about the rough life Sammy has had. I’m sorry that he had to go through this. But since he did, I’m glad that you brought him to be seen so quickly. It was infected but had not burst so we were able to remove it with no trouble. He will be admitted for a couple of days and then he can go home. He will have to stay quiet for a week or so. I find that the little ones bounce back much quicker than most adults though. I will check on him in the morning. Please make sure that you ask a nurse if you have any concerns and if needed, they will contact me.”

“One thing I am mildly concerned about is Sammy’s appetite. He is still a little bit thin for his age. You have done a wonderful job bringing him this far so quickly but, we need to make sure that while he isn’t feeling very well that we find whatever we can get him to eat to keep him from losing any of the weight he has gained. I have seen people lose twenty, thirty or even fifty pounds after a surgery if they aren’t feeling like eating. Sometimes the painkillers can make them lose their appetites too. Sammy can’t afford to lose much, especially after a surgery like this. He could get very ill if he doesn’t keep his strength up.” Dr Harrison said.

“I agree then. Whatever you can find to get him to eat, even if it is what we would consider junk food right now. Just get the calories into him as much as possible. I’m sure he won’t feel like eating tonight so I will order a feeding tube be placed before he wakes up and we will get some high calorie liquid diet into him and hopefully if he is eating well on his own tomorrow, we will remove the feeding tube.” Dr. Bowers said.

He left the room to see about the feeding tube and Seb and Lisa thanked Dr. Harrison again. He assured them that Sammy should be up and running around in just over a week, maybe a little more depending on the time it took his body to heal from the surgery and that someone would be in to tell them as soon as Sammy was in a room. Right now he was still in recovery.

This wait seemed even longer to Lisa than the wait for the surgery to be over. She just wanted to see him, to touch him and know without a doubt that he was alright. She paced the floor as she kept looking at her watch and the clock on the wall, trying to make time move faster.

“Here baby, we brought up some sandwiches. You need to eat something.”

Lisa nodded and sat next to him and forced down one half of the sandwich. Finally, a nurse came in and told them where they could go to see Sammy in his room. When she saw that there were four of them, she told them that they shouldn’t have too many visitors in his room tonight. He needed a lot of rest.

Urs assured her that he and Alex wouldn’t stay long. They just wanted to peek at him and see that he was alright and then they would leave.

Chapter 100:

They all entered his room quietly and saw a nurse straightening his blankets and then she checked his IV. Before she left she introduced herself as Tammy and said if they needed anything to push the call button or come to the nurse’s station.

They approached the bed, Alex and Urs staying at the end of the bed while Lisa and Seb went one to each side of him. He looked so tiny in the bed. Both rails were up to keep him from rolling out. There didn’t seem to be much danger of that right now. The anesthesia was still keeping him very drowsy.

He had an IV line going into the back of his hand and they had fashioned a brace to keep his hand and wrist still by placing a piece of hard plastic from the palm of his hand to a few inches past his wrist. It was wrapped with some of the colorful stretchy wrap except for right where the IV was. He also had had a feeding tube inserted. The tubing went from somewhere in the mass of tubing beside his bed and was taped to his cheek and then it went into one nostril and down into his stomach.

Sammy started whimpering and lightly thrashing around on the bed.

Lisa rushed to figure out how to lower the rail on her side of the bed. Urs knew how from when Alex was in the hospital so he hurried over and showed her. She smiled her thanks and then she reached down and brushed his hair back off of his forehead.

“Mommy” he said, his voice sounding odd from the tube they had placed down his throat during surgery.

“I’m right here, Baby. Papa and I are both here and Auntie Alex and Onkle Urs are here too. Does your tummy hurt, Sweetheart?”

He nodded his head. “Hi Papa.”

“Hi Buddy.” Mommy has gone to tell the nurse that you need some medicine for your tummy.”

Sammy slipped back into the anesthesia induced sleep and the nurse followed Lisa in and attached a syringe to one of the tubes in his IV. She pushed the painkiller in and told them it should begin working quickly.

“How big is his incision?” Seb asked her.

She finished writing in his chart and then replaced it in the slot on the end of his bed.

“Let’s take a look. I haven’t seen it yet myself.”

She gently pulled back his covers and pulled his gown to the side. He had three small bandaged areas. One on either side of his lower abdomen and one just below his belly button. They were all very small.

“There are no stitches or staples.” Lisa commented.

“Yes, sometimes they do all of the stitching inside of these small incisions and just use a glue on the very outside. It eliminates infections around the stitches. They’ll just have you keep him quiet for a week or so until it is healed enough. He won’t feel much like playing for several days though. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else.” She said as she left the room.

Lisa picked up the room phone and called Mom to let her know he was out of surgery and in his room. Mom told her not to worry about Kayti. She was playing with her Grandpa who had just gotten home from work. They would just keep her there with them. Then they could concentrate on Sammy while he was in the hospital. Lisa said hello to Kayti before she hung up. They decided not to say anything to her yet. She wouldn’t understand anyway.

Urs and Alex only stayed a few more minutes. Alex leaned over and kissed Sammy’s forehead.

“Take Care Sweety. We love you.” She whispered in his ear even though he was still sleeping.

After Urs and Alex left, Seb and Lisa sat in the chairs by his bed just watching him sleep. The nurse came in from time to time to check on him and adjust or change his IV bag. He also had a small bag hanging which they were told was an antibiotic to prevent infection. She said that he would get several of those before he left and might even be sent home with an oral antibiotic to take for two weeks.

Lisa was sleeping sitting sideways in her chair when Seb saw Sammy stirring.

“Hi, how are you feeling? Are you hurting now?” Seb asked him.

“Just a little hurt is in there, Papa.”

“Okay, I’ll tell the nurse.”

She had told them not to let him get hurting too bad. He went out to tell her and she came in a few minutes later and put some more medicine in his IV.

“Sammy, my name is Tammy. You tell me if you are hurting alright. We don’t want your belly to hurt. Are you hungry at all?”

He shook his head no so she told Seb and Lisa that she would be back soon with the liquid nutrition that would go into his feeding tube very slowly over a few hours so they wouldn’t upset his stomach.

Dan showed up a while later and stayed for about an hour. Sammy woke for a few minutes and was happy to see his Grandpa who had brought him his Bob doll. Alex had called him and Urs met him at Seb and Lisa’s letting him in to get the doll for him. Lisa hugged Dan, thanking him for doing that. It hadn’t occurred to them to get it for him. They smiled as they looked at him sleeping and holding Bob tightly to his chest.

Seb tried to get Lisa to go home and get some rest but there was no way that she was leaving. She told him that if he wanted to go and get some sleep he could go but she couldn’t leave him. So they both slept fitfully in the chairs that folded out into somewhat of a bed. They would wake at different times standing next to Sammy’s bed, checking on him or chatting with the night nurse Rachel, who had taken over when Tammy went home.

He had tolerated the feeding tube well and had had no stomach upset. They would wait and see if he felt like eating anything in the morning before they took it out.

In the morning, they were all awake. Sammy had been given some more medicine for pain and he had slept for a while afterwards but was now wide awake when the Doctor came in.

“Hi Sammy, How are you doing today? My name is Dr. Bowers. I fixed your belly yesterday.”

“Nope, you didn’t cuz it still hurts sometimes. You might have to fix it again.”

They all chuckled at Sammy’s comment. “The doctor did fix it Buddy but it will still hurt for a few more days.” Seb told him.

“Do you think you could try to eat something today?” Dr. Bowers asked him.

“I dunno.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Do you think you would like some scrambled eggs, Baby? You always like them at home.” Lisa asked him.

“Yes, I maybe would like them at the hostible. Can I have some applesauce?”

“Applesauce? You sure can. I’ll see to it that you get some eggs and applesauce.” Dr. Bowers told him. And to Lisa he told her that if he liked it that much, he would see to it that a bunch of individual applesauce cups were kept in the refrigerator in the little kitchenette. They wanted him to eat as often as he felt like it. They also wanted to keep a diary of what he ate so they could decide when to remove the feeding tube.

The doctor checked Sammy’s incisions and even let Sammy see them after getting permission from his parents. They figured he had a right to know why he was hurting so much. Without going into too much detail, the Doctor explained to Sammy what they had done to fix what was wrong. He asked the nurse to put some new bandages on the incisions and he told the Izambards that he would stop and check on Sammy before he went home this afternoon.

“So he is going to be alright now?” Lisa asked him.

“He seems to be doing very well, Mrs. Izambard. I wouldn’t worry. We just watch for any infection and make sure he takes it easy for a while. Children often think they are feeling better really quickly and then they wind up in more pain because they over did it too soon.”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t, Doctor.” She assured him.

She felt great relief at hearing it from the doctor that Sammy was going to be fine now. She even let Seb take her down to the cafeteria for a late breakfast once Sammy had eaten and was sleeping off some medicine.

Sammy came home from the hospital two days later with strict orders to take it easy, no running around until he had been back to see the doctor next week for a recheck. Mom and Dad brought Kayti home that evening.

“Sammy!” Kayti yelled when she saw him and she ran to where Lisa had fixed him up on the couch with his blanket and Bob.

Seb scooped her up into his arms, afraid that she would run right up to Sammy and hurt him. He was still in a fair amount of pain if the medicine wore off.

“Hello Ma Petite. Did you have fun playing at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house?”

“She nodded her head, curls bouncing and then squirmed to get down.

“Play puppies Papa?”

“We’ll play with the puppies in a few minutes, Honey. I guess I’ve been replaced” he said good naturedly.

Mom brought a big platter filled with chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and Snickerdoodles, all of Sammy’s favorites. She saw Lisa’s eyes light up when she saw all of the chocolate. Before they left Mom gently pulled her aside.

“Honey, I don’t want you to be upset with me but….well, it’s just that I’ve seen the cravings that you’ve had for chocolate. I know they are normal during pregnancy. I just want you to be careful. You’ve got a lot of months left of this pregnancy. I wound up gaining a lot of extra weight when I was pregnant with Alex, a lot more than the necessary weight. I kept telling myself that it was normal to have all of these cravings, and it is, but you need to watch how much of it you eat at once. If you ration yourself a small piece of chocolate a day or one brownie, It should be alright as active as you are, but too much more than that and you will wind up being upset with the extra weight you have left after the baby is born. I hope that you aren’t upset with me for saying anything.”

“Mom, how could I be upset with you for caring about me so much.” Lisa said as she hugged Marie. “I love you and thank you. I will try to be more conscious of how much I eat, especially with the junk food.”

Mom and Dad left and Seb let the puppies out of their confined area. Sammy wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen the puppies since he went into the hospital. Kayti hadn’t been home either and she was jumping up and down in her excitement.

“Don’t jump near the puppies, Kayti. You might step on them and hurt them.” Seb told her.

So she plopped down on her bottom on the floor and waited for them to come to her. It didn’t take long. As soon as Jasmine and Maya saw Kayti, they both ran as fast as their chubby little bodies would take them and when Maya tried to stop she slid right into Kayti’s lap, earning a giggle out of her and Sammy who was watching from the couch.

He was still feeling bad enough that they didn’t have to worry about him trying to play yet. After the pups had run off some of their energy, Seb picked Jasmine up and set her on the couch next to Sammy. He sat on the floor next to the couch, right in front of Sammy just in case she got too rambunctious. Jasmine licked Sammy’s hands and even tried to get a nibble or two and got scolded by Sammy. Then she curled up against him and lay down. A short time later, both Sammy and Jasmine were sound asleep, with Sammy’s hand lying on her back where he had been stroking her.

Brenda stopped by the next day to see Sammy. She had been so busy all week and Lisa told her not to worry about trying to make it to the hospital. She no longer had to make any visits to them in an official capacity since the adoptions had become final, but she had become a friend of the family and cared deeply for the children.

She brought him a Bob the builder book that had just been released so she knew he didn’t have it yet. She also brought Kayti some new little dresses for her dolls so she wouldn’t feel left out.

When Brenda had arrived, Lisa was in the middle of a big project. She had all of the pictures from their wedding and their honeymoon lying out all over the table and was sorting through them and creating beautiful scrapbooks, one each of their wedding and their honeymoon. Brenda was thrilled to get to see them all. She was off for the rest of the day, so she wound up staying and helping with the project. It would take quite a few days to complete the scrapbooks but Lisa wanted to at least finish sorting the pictures and decide which ones would end up in the books.

While the ladies were gushing over the pictures, Seb took Kayti and Sammy outside so Kayti could play and they wanted Sammy to get some sunshine even though he couldn’t play. Seb made Sammy a little bed with a thick comforter in their Little Tykes wagon. Sammy’s favorite part of the wagon was its little cubbyhole that they could put snacks and toys inside of and there were also two cup holders on the side. Seb pulled Sammy in the wagon and the three of them went into the playground into the middle section so Kayti could play for a while.




Alex and Urs came walking out of the woods with Bella and Max on their leashes. Kayti was the first to see them and she went to the gate and tried to open it. Seb was very glad to see that there was no way that she could reach the latch by herself. He went to the gate and opened it so she could go to Alex. She ran right into Alex’s open arms.

“How’s my girl?” Alex said as they traded hugs and kisses.

“I play outside. Sammy sick.”

“I know but he’ll be able to play again soon.” Alex said as she leaned down to give the boy a kiss and a hug. “How is your belly feeling?” she asked him.

“It still gets hurt sometimes but Mommy gives me a medicine and it makes it get better. I can’t play on the playground.”

“I know Buddy, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I still play with my puppy and she is funnest. She likes to give me lots of kisses and she still tries to bite me but I tell her “No Bite” just like Onkle Urs showed me.”

Seb went and brought Jasmine and Maya outside and after letting them potty; he brought them into the playground so they could be introduced to the other dogs. They were only a few weeks older but Max and Bella were bigger and their muscles were already filling out from all of the exercise they got. They were also the more aggressive pair at least for now. Jasmine and Maya kept trying to hide behind Seb or climb in the wagon with Sammy when the Shepherds got playing too rough.

Alex excused herself to go and join Lisa and Brenda. After chatting only a few minutes, it was decided that they would all stay for dinner so Lisa pulled some steaks and boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer and mixed up a quick marinade.

Alex filled Brenda in on the baby’s condition and that they had found that it was a boy. Her blood pressure had been staying pretty close to normal since she had stopped working. Even with the new activities of taking care of the puppies and organizing the house, she felt very healthy and her skin was glowing.

Of course, Urs never let her do anything that was physically taxing. He insisted that she tell him what needed to be done and he would do it himself. He told her that when he wasn’t there, he felt bad that he wasn’t able to do what needed to be done so he didn’t mind taking care of the tasks when he was here.

Lisa said that Seb was the same way, always watching her to make sure she wasn’t overdoing it, even though she had no restrictions like Alex did.

“I think seeing the medical difficulties Alex has had has made him more attentive. Although, sometimes I have to just take a deep breath and bite my tongue when he stops me from doing things that there is no reason for me not to do. I’m so thankful to have him.”

“No you shouldn’t complain. I have seen so many homes where the husband still expects the woman to do all of the house work, taking care of the children and cooking, plus a lot of the women hold down a job too and the husband doesn’t lift a finger to help out. If he works, he comes home and plops himself down in a chair and expects his wife who has probably just gotten home herself, to wait on him hand and foot.”

“I would definitely kill a man like that.” Alex said seriously.

“Brenda, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What ever happened to that little girl who was found on the side of the road a couple of months ago?” Lisa asked.

“Well, she is actually almost three months old now. She got pretty sick for a while when she was first admitted to the hospital. She seemed fine at first and then a couple of days later, she came down with pneumonia. But she’s a fighter. She is fine now and is staying in a temporary foster home in downtown Tampa. She is with a family that already has four girls from the ages of three to nine. They aren’t looking to keep her long term. Why, were you interested in seeing her?”

“Oh I don’t know. We’ve all just been thinking about her and wondered how she was. What have you found out about her family?”

“Absolutely nothing. The police say there are no leads as to who her parents are. They found nothing on or around the baby that would give them any leads. They have DNA on record now from the umbilical cord that was still partially attached, but that is all. I could bring her by if you want to spend some time with her.” Brenda said looking hopeful. “I’ve actually been hoping you would be interested in her. She needs a loving home instead of being jumped around from home to home. I’m sure that we could find another adoptive family if you aren’t interested though.”

“I am interested. But I haven’t spoken to Seb about it yet.”

“You haven’t spoken to me about what? He said as he and Urs came in with all four dogs and the two children. Seb was carrying Sammy and set him down on the couch.

“I was just asking Brenda about the little girl that was found. She wants to know if we want to meet her.”

“Oh Baby, She’s still just tiny. With the kids and getting the house ready to move in plus being pregnant, too; won’t that be too much all at once?”

He immediately saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes and went to her side, pulling her close to him. He knew that he was powerless to deny her anything her heart desired and she had obviously been thinking about that little girl, they all had.

“Ma Cherie, there is no reason why we can’t talk about it and meet her.” He said, running the backs of his fingers across her cheek and down her jaw. Then he turned with his other arm still around Lisa’s waist. “Brenda, when could we see her?”

“I could set it up for Sunday. You could go to the foster home and see her or I could pick her up and bring her here for a while.”

“That would probably be better if you could bring her here. We would be able to relax here and also still be here with Sammy, too.”

Brenda left the room to make a couple of phone calls to set the meeting up.

Seb followed Lisa into the bedroom and took a hold of her arm to stop her once they were out of earshot.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had been thinking about taking the baby?” he asked, not in anger but she could tell he was upset that she hadn’t talked to him.

She looked up at him rather sheepishly. “I’m sorry Seb. I didn’t say anything to you for the very same reasons you just mentioned out there. I kept telling myself the exact same things, that we have so much going on here already. I kept thinking not about what you would say but could I effectively keep up with everything that I have to do here and take proper care of all three children.”

“And take care of yourself too.” Seb added.

Lisa nodded. “Yes, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her, Seb. Can we at least think about it?”

“Of course we can, Baby.”

Seb kissed her nose and then pressed his lips to her cheek. Her arms slid up around his neck as she moulded herself to him, feeling his body respond to her nearness immediately. He had his hands on her hips and he pulled her even closer as his lips worked their magic over her face. She turned her head so that she could meet his lips with her own. It was several minutes before they broke apart.

“We’d better get back out there before they send a search party to look for us.” Lisa said with little chuckle. She really hoped that they would always feel this amazing physical attraction to each other. For so long, she couldn’t even imagine the kind of craving that constantly made her need to be in Seb’s arms.

They walked back into the living room straightening their clothes. The blush in Lisa’s cheeks was very visible to the others in the room but no one commented on the fact that the newlyweds had obviously been having a “discussion”, and it definitely wasn’t only with words.

Brenda told them that she had everything set up to bring the baby here to visit with them on Sunday.

Alex found herself alone with Seb later that evening while Lisa was putting Kayti down for the night. Sammy was already sound asleep and had been carried into his bed.

“Seb, I know that you’re worried about Lisa taking on too much if she takes the baby.”

He interrupted her. “Alex, it isn’t just that. I know that she can do whatever she sets her mind to do. It’s just that there is so much right now with getting the house ready to be moved into and taking care of the children, I don’t want anything to jeopardize the pregnancy or Lisa’s health. Especially in May, I will be gone a lot of the month so she will be alone here to deal with everything.”

“No Seb, she won’t be alone. I’ll be around and so will Mom and Dad and especially Mary. Isn’t that why you guys hired her to help out with things here? She’s already stopped working at the daycare. Just make sure to have her available to Lisa when you are away.”

“You’re right. I just don’t want her to think like the single mother she thought she would be. I want to be involved in all of this. It’s just hard to know I’ll have to leave her with so much going on. And you, my friend, have enough to do just taking care of yourself and your precious cargo.” Seb said laying his hand on her growing abdomen.

“I know and I also know that Lisa is worried about me and my baby on top of everything else she is dealing with.”

“We are all concerned about you and your baby, Alex.” Seb said and he pulled her close to him for a hug.

Urs walked into the room just as they were ending the hug. Unbeknownst to Alex and Seb, Urs had heard the whole conversation and it was almost comical to him when he saw the guilty looks on both of their faces. Urs had asked Alex the question back in December about whether she had feelings for Seb or not. She had assured him that there were no feelings other than friendship and he believed that. He also knew how much Seb loved Lisa, so he had no worries about the two of them.

“Is everything alright?” Urs asked.

“Yup” Alex said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Urs, do you know the schedule for May?” Seb asked him.

”Yes.”

So Urs and Seb went to the calendar and spent the next hour going over the upcoming travel schedule for Il Divo. Seb wanted to get as organized as possible so he could make sure that Lisa had sufficient help especially if they wound up taking the baby.

Chapter 101:

When Lisa began waking up Sunday morning, it wasn’t even light out yet. She remembered that Brenda was coming later with the baby. She and Seb had spent the last few days talking about it and knowing how much help they really had, they decided that there was no reason for them not to take her if that was what they decided to do. She couldn’t imagine any reason that they wouldn’t take her.

These people who had the baby had cared for her for most of her short life. Lisa didn’t understand how people could continually go through that revolving door of children passing through their lives, probably never to even know what had become of them. It was hard enough when she was working at the day care. But at least there, there had been no illusion of being their parents, only a temporary caregiver for as long as they were blessed to have them.

Seb had invited Mary over for dinner last night and they talked about the possibility of another child joining their home and his worry about Lisa having too much to do without some help. Mary assured him that other than the actual move, she was more than ready to be on board and helping.

“If the house was ready for me to move in, I’d be in there tomorrow.” She said so excitedly that Seb knew she was speaking the truth. “Don’t worry about anything here. When you have to be out of town, just let me know and I will be on call for whatever is needed, even without the new baby. Sammy and Kayti could even come and spend the night with me once in a while to give you a rest.”

“Thank you Mary. Just knowing that you are willing and available makes me feel a lot better.” Seb had told her.

Lisa tried to go back to sleep to get a bit more rest before it was time to get up but it was no use and finally she just slipped quietly out of bed so she wouldn’t wake Seb up. She peeked in at the children and they were both sound asleep in their beds where they belonged. Next, she looked in at the puppies which wound up being a mistake because as soon as they saw her they wanted to get out of their confinement. So she put their leashes on and took them outside for a walk.

She stepped out the door, shutting the screen door as quietly as possible so it wouldn’t squeak and wake anyone else up. She was glad that there had been a full moon last night. It was still lending enough of its light to allow her to be able to see where she was going. She shouldn’t have worried, the puppies already knew where they needed to go and led her directly to their designated spot.

Even though it was still very early in the morning, there was already the hint of the heat that would be upon them during the daylight hours. The humidity was already making her hair cling to her neck and her nightshirt was sticking to her in different spots. It had been a very mild winter and spring had been upon them without any warning. Now, still almost two months before the calendar said it would be summer, the temperatures were already climbing well into the nineties most days and the nights rarely dipped down below the seventies. But, that was the life of a Floridian and Lisa had been here long enough to be well used to it.

When she noticed that Jasmine and Maya had begun to play together, she figured that they must be finished doing their business and she guided the reluctant pups back towards the house. They were so wound up and wanting to play and Lisa decided that she wouldn’t mind staying out for a while longer. So she took them into the playground and released them from their leashes to let them run off some of their energy. She sat on one of the benches and watched them running and rolling around together. Like most puppies, they were quite comical to watch when they were playing.

She turned from where she was sitting when she heard the slight squeak of the screen door and a few seconds later she saw Seb coming towards her, dressed only in his jeans and his converse tennis shoes..

“I wondered where you had gotten to. You should have told me that they needed to go out. I’d have taken them.” He told her as he came in through the gate.

“I know you would have. It was my fault they woke up. I couldn’t sleep and when I was up wandering around they woke up so I brought them out and they wanted to play so I just came in here a few minutes ago.”

“You couldn’t sleep? Are you feeling ill?”

“No, I’m fine. Just excited I guess.”

“Oh yeah. It’s still several hours before Brenda will be coming with her. Why don’t you come back to bed and I’ll see if I can tire you out enough to help you get some more sleep.” He said with a devilish look in his eyes.

Then he picked up the leashes and handed them to her and before she could make a move to put them on the dogs, he scooped her up into his arms and headed for the gate. When he got there he realized that he would need to put her down to open the gate and did so just long enough to open the latch and hold it open with his hip and then he swept her back into his arms.

She was laughing so hard as she was trying to speak to him. “Seb, what about the puppies?”

“They’ll follow us. Jasmine, Maya, Come”

Lisa turned her head to look back over his shoulder and sure enough, they were bouncing right behind them. They still had a little trouble coming up the steps, but they did it and ran into the house just as Seb let the door close softly so they wouldn’t wake the children. He set Lisa down and put the puppies over the gate, stopping long enough to give them each some of their breakfast to keep them occupied for a while. Then he took Lisa’s hand and led her back to their bed.

She stepped into the bathroom to run a cool cloth over herself, starting with her face. She didn’t want to get into bed feeling all sweaty, at least not to start with. When she came back into the room, dropping her nightshirt into the laundry basket on her way by, he lifted the sheets back and as she climbed in, she pushed them far down on the bed. She was still rather warm and definitely didn’t want them over her.

Seb had stripped back down to his boxers and as she ran her hands over his bare back while he was kissing her, she slid her fingertips into the waistband and slid them down and he helped her to finish getting them off. He reached down and toyed first with the skin on her thighs and worked his way up both with his lips and his fingers, purposely avoiding the areas that she wanted him to touch the most.

He knew very well by now how to drive her crazy and he frequently took advantage of it until she was fairly begging for him to take her over the edge with him.

She figured that two could play that game and began to tease him as well, skimming her nails over his nipples and through the hair on his chest and kissing him in the tender spots that she knew drove him wild. He looked into her eyes and saw the mischievous look as she grinned at him. He buried his face in her neck, giving her little love bites just hard enough, but leaving no marks on her sensitive skin.

He drew her to him and ended their play by making them one and taking them both to their completion.

A while later as they were lying together, waiting for their breathing to come back under some control, Seb stroked her shoulder and down her arm, tracing each of her fingers with his own.

“This is so wonderful Baby. When I’m away, I don’t usually sleep very well. I turn and reach for you in my sleep or when I’m just waking and when all I feel is the empty bed and I realize that I am so far away from you, it is a terrible feeling that I have a hard time shaking. I need to be close to you, touching you as much as I can. It is like a drug that I need to survive now.”

Tears fell from her cheeks onto his chest where her head was laying.

“What’s wrong, Ma Cherie?” he said, wondering what he had said or done to make her cry.

“Nothing. Not one thing. I am so happy and I know that I am the luckiest woman in the world to have you love me and the children so much. I miss you too when you are gone and sometimes I get very little sleep when you aren’t beside me but, then I just keep thinking about how it will be when you get back and how wonderful our loving is when you get home. It is always amazing but, there is something extra when we’ve been apart. Do you remember before we were even engaged, and you said that you looked forward to the day when all I would think about when it came to intimacy was our loving when you came home? Well, I do. When you’re gone, I have a hard time concentrating sometimes because all I can think about is you coming home and holding me and loving me.”

Seb was leaning over her and saw the emotions playing over her face and he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I love you so much. You are my whole reason for existing. I want to be everything you will ever need.”

“You already are.” She said as she leaned up and captured his lips and let her hands begin another exploration.

There was no teasing this time as they loved each other and they never did go back to sleep. When they were finally satisfied for the time being, they took a leisurely shower, helping each other to reach those hard to reach spots and some that weren’t that difficult but they just couldn’t help themselves and when they felt the water turning cold, they rushed to finish rinsing off and Seb stepped out and grabbed a large bath sheet and wrapped it around Lisa before taking one for himself.

“Mama, Papa. I can get down now?” They heard Kayti calling from her crib.

Lisa was glad that she hadn’t tried to climb out by herself yet.

“Maybe we need to think about changing the crib into the toddler bed so she can get up and play in the mornings.” Seb suggested as he slid into his jeans, grinning as he caught Lisa watching him longingly.

“Yes, but we would need to make sure that the gate is up in front of her door at night then.”

“Alright. I’ll get it done later then.” He told her, kissing her on her lips that he felt were begging to be kissed.

Lisa dressed quickly and went to start breakfast while Seb changed and dressed Kayti. He brought her to her high chair and got her strapped in before he went to peek in at Sammy. He was still asleep so Seb shut the door on his way out. Sammy could eat whenever he woke up.

“Sammy eat, Papa.”

“Sammy is still sleeping Ma Petite. We’ll save him some breakfast.” Seb said kissing her head as he passed by to help Lisa bring their food to the table and he poured them all some juice and refilled his and Lisa’s coffee cups before they sat down to eat.

Sammy joined them a few minutes later, walking rather slowly.

“Are you hurting, Sweetheart?”

“Yup, my belly hurts cuz Jasmine scratched it last night when I kissed her goodnight. But she didn’t mean it. It was a accident.”

Lisa lifted his shirt and sure enough, right beside one of the little incisions there was a scratch about three inches long. She went and got the tube of antibiotic ointment and spread some over the surface of the scratch and covered the incision for good measure.

“You tell Mommy or Papa if you get scratched by the puppies, even if it is an accident. We need to make sure to clean it off so you don’t get an infection.”

Sammy was on a ten day course of oral antibiotics on top of the ones that had gone into his IV in the hospital so they shouldn’t have to worry about an infection but she didn’t want to take any chances, especially with it so close to the incision.

She washed her hands and fixed him a plate of food. His appetite wasn’t as good as it usually was but he ate most of his breakfast. She’d just been making sure he had plenty of snacks handy like she had when he had first arrived.

Seb helped her clean up and then Lisa took Sammy to get dressed.

“Sammy, Brenda is bringing a little baby with her to visit us today.”

“Miss Brenda didn’t have a round belly like the other Mommy’s get when they are gonna get a baby.”

“No she didn’t. This isn’t her baby. It is a baby that needs a Mommy and a Papa just like you and Kayti did.”

“Is it a boy like me?”

“No, it is a little girl.”

“What is her name?”

“You know what? I don’t think Brenda said what her name was. We’ll have to ask her when she gets here, won’t we.”

“Is she gonna be my nuther sister?”

“Would you like to have another sister?”

“Yup, but she will have to sleep in Kayti’s room cuz that’s the girl room. It has lots of dolly’s and not boy kind of toys.”

“That was very smart of you to think of that. Papa is going to fix Kayti’s bed today so that it looks like a little bed instead of a crib.”

“Will the nuther baby sleep in Kayti’s bed too?”

“No Sweety, we’ll have to go buy another bed for her. She is just a little tiny baby, a lot smaller than you and Kayti.”

“Okay. I like the bed store. We had a lots of fun there.”

“Yes we did, didn’t we?” Lisa said as she helped him finish tying his shoe and she hugged him as gently as she could. “I love you, Baby.”

“I love you too, Mommy” he kissed her cheek before he left his room to find Kayti.

“Kayti, we’re gonna get a sister, just like you cept she’s littler than you.” He told Kayti who had no idea what he was talking about. She looked at him while he was talking to her but then just resumed what she was doing with no comment.

Lisa did some housework to keep herself busy while they waited for Brenda to arrive. When they finally did hear her car pulling up out front, Lisa was ready to burst from the excitement. Seb was sitting on the floor of Kayti’s room with the crib taken partially apart as he read through the instructions that thankfully Lisa still had on how to convert the crib into a toddler bed. Anna had given them to her with some other papers. He had it just about finished and was just making sure that it was done correctly.

Seb had been happy to find that they had even been written in French on one side, so it was easier for him to figure it out.

“Seb, Brenda’s here.” Lisa stuck her head in the doorway and said unnecessarily. He had already heard her squeal with delight when she saw Brenda’s car.

He got up off of the floor and took her hand and together they walked out to the living room to meet what was probably going to be their new daughter.

Brenda had sat down on the couch and was showing the baby to Sammy and Kayti. She began unhooking the buckle and straps that had kept her secured into the infant car seat. Brenda had just carried the whole seat in with the baby still in it.

“Mommy said that she can be my nuther sister. What is her name?” Sammy asked her.

“Well, that is something we need to talk about. Because the nurses in the hospital named her and I think we’ll need to change it.”

“Why, what is her name?” Lisa asked as she came around the couch to get her first look at the little girl.

Brenda lifted the sleeping baby out of the seat and settled her in her lap. She had a cute little one piece sun suit on that had elastic around the top of the baby’s legs and snapped at the crotch. It was white and had little yellow rabbits and ducks all over it and that had Kayti mesmerized more than the baby itself.

“They named her Katie.” Brenda answered smiling up at Lisa.

“Oh!”

“Me Kayti.” Kayti said proudly, pointing to herself.

“Yes, Baby. You are Kayti.” Lisa said running her fingers through Kayti’s curls.

“So, if you take her, you’ll be able to rename her whatever you want to call her. I’m sure there won’t be any problems with that.”

“Can I hold her?” Lisa asked rubbing her hands together, looking like a child waiting to be handed a piece of candy.

“Oh sure. Of course.” Brenda said as she stood and placed the baby in Lisa’s arms.

The baby felt so unbelievably light to Lisa after lifting Sammy and Kayti so much. She smiled as the baby stretched, her arms reaching high above her head, arching her back and her little skinny legs straightening all the way out.

She had a full head of dark, almost black hair and perfect olive skin. Her eyes began to flutter open and she looked straight into Lisa’s eyes.

“Hello, Sweetheart.”

Seb was leaning over Lisa’s shoulder from where he had sat down beside her. “She’s so beautiful.” He said as he lightly touched her head and skimmed through her hair.

“Do you want to hold her?” Lisa asked him.

He nodded and she passed the baby into his arms, careful to make sure that her head was being supported correctly.

“Have you ever held a baby this small before?” she asked him.

“Just once, when a friend of mine had a baby, well, his wife did.” He said grinning at his own joke. “It is just so unbelievable that they are people too, but so little. Look at her. She’s looking right at me.

“Kayti play dolly too, Papa.”

“This isn’t a dolly, Ma Petite. This is a real baby. See she is trying to suck her thumb.”

“I suck my pacie”

“Yes but, you are getting to be a big girl and pretty soon you won’t need your pacie anymore.”

“Baby not take my pacie.”

“She has her own pacie’s, Kayti. She won’t take yours.” Brenda assured her.

Lisa had been working on lessening the amount of time Kayti had her pacifier. She was now down to only having it when she was in her bed at night and during her naps, but only at home. She didn’t bring her pacifiers to school anymore so Lisa felt like they were making progress.

Sammy stepped up in front of Seb and studied the baby. He had a far away look in his eyes.

“What do you think of her, Sammy?” Seb asked him.

“She’s just the same as my nuther sister, cept she didn’t have too much hair like this baby. She could suck her thumb too.” He said seriously and he touched her cheek gently with the tips of his fingers.

The three adults just looked at each other over his head, not sure what to say to him. They had originally thought that he probably didn’t remember much about his sister that had died. Obviously they were wrong.

“Sammy, did you ever hold your other sister?” Lisa asked him. The doctor told them that if he seemed like he wanted to talk about things from his past to let him so he wouldn’t keep everything bottled up inside.

“ Yup I held her lots cuz my first real mommy was sick and she was asleep and my sister cried for my mommy but she wouldn’t wake up so I ate my cereal and drank my milk. I tried to let my sister eat my cereal, but she didn’t have no teeth and she got choked. But then she stopped crying and didn’t cry no more. Joey said it was good cuz he didn’t want to hear no screaming baby anyway. Mommy cried and then she put my sister in the box and put her under the tree.”

They were stunned beyond words. Now they knew how little Isabella Grace died. Sammy was trying to help get some food for his sister and it wound up killing her.

Lisa was glad that Seb was holding the baby because she was instantly overcome with a bout of nausea and she rushed into the bathroom and shut the door, losing what was left of her breakfast.

Seb handed the baby to Brenda and told her that he’d be right back.

Lisa was sitting on the floor of the master bathroom, sobbing. Seb knocked lightly a couple of times and then he tried the door and found it unlocked. He called out to her and told her that he was coming in. He didn’t hear any protests so he slowly opened the door and went in and saw the tears running down her face and her arms crossed over her stomach that was still threatening to heave again.

“Oh God Seb. What if he ever realizes when he gets older that he is the one who ultimately caused her death, even though it wasn’t really his fault. He was just a baby himself. He was just trying to feed her. He didn’t know she shouldn’t have real food yet, that it would hurt her.

“Of course he didn’t know Baby.” Seb said as he sat beside her and pulled her into his lap.

They talked for a few minutes and decided to change the topic of conversation and discuss this with the doctor when they took Sammy to see her next week. Unless Sammy brought it up, they wouldn’t discuss it with him until they had spoken to her and gotten her opinion about how to handle this with Sammy. How many more memories were locked away in his mind that could potentially alter his life if they weren’t handled correctly?

Lisa pulled herself together and they went back out into the living room.

They overheard Sammy telling Brenda that “Mommy has a sick belly sometimes cuz of the baby in her tummy.”

“That’s right Sammy, but pretty soon she won’t feel sick anymore. Are you alright now?” Brenda asked her.

Lisa just nodded.

“I have some errands to do. Would it be alright if I left the baby here for a couple of hours?”

“Of course you can. Take your time. We’ll enjoy having her here.” Seb said.

Lisa took the baby back from Brenda and Seb sat next to her with his arm up on top of the couch behind her. He leaned over to look at the baby who was just looking around as peaceful as can be.

“Mrs. Jefferson fixed her several bottles. So she should be all set. The diaper bag has plenty of diapers and other supplies for her.”

After Brenda left, Seb asked Lisa again if she was alright. Even though she looked happy to have the baby here, she still looked pale to him.

“I’m fine Seb. That was just a bit of a shocker.”

“I know it was.” He said as he kissed her cheek.

“So what do you think? Does she look like an Izambard to you?” Lisa asked with a smile trying to lighten the mood. She laid her head on his shoulder and they snuggled together on the sofa, just watching the little bundle who drifted in and out of her sleep.

“Mommy, can we go to the bed store now? We have to get her a bed for when she needs to go to sleep.”

“We will go later, Buddy.” Seb answered. He and Lisa were probably thinking the same thing but they had yet to state their final intentions for the baby. “And I think she looks exactly like an Izambard.” Seb said in answer to Lisa’s question.

She smiled and snuggled in even closer to him. He kissed the top of her head. He knew that she was trying to have only good thoughts about taking the baby, but the words that Sammy had spoken hung in the air, casting a shadow over what should be such a joyous day.

“We will keep her, won’t we Seb?” Lisa said softly as she was running her fingers through the thick, soft baby hair.

“I don’t know of any reason why we shouldn’t…. So, now we have to make some plans about getting what we need for her and also we will need to come up with a name. I think Kayti might not like having another Katie in the house.”

“We need to find out from Brenda when we could get her. Then we’ll know how much time we have. You know. Katie is over two now. I was still going to make the nursery her room but, I think we will need to put her into a different room and this little pixie will go into the nursery.” Lisa said.

“Right and then we can decide later if she should stay in the nursery or have another room once our other little bundle arrives.”

“Oh yes but one thing at a time, please.” She said dramatically, but with a smile. Seb noticed that she was looking better and sounded better too.

Over the couple of hours that the baby was there, Kayti went back and forth with her interest level. One minute she would be mesmerized by her and then she acted like she didn’t even remember that she was there. Sammy was still on restrictions as far as his play was concerned so he spent a lot of time just looking at her and touching her little fingers and toes. The baby turned her head and looked into Sammy’s face and smiled her first real smile that Lisa and Seb had seen. They knew it was a smile and not just a gas bubble by the way her arms and legs got all wiggly in her excitement.

“Did you see her smiling at you, Sammy? She likes you already.” Lisa said to him. “Would you like to hold her?”

“Sammy smiled and nodded his head without taking his eyes off of the little girl.

Seb helped him sit up on the couch and Lisa set the baby in his lap careful not to lean the baby into his sore belly. She kept her hands on the baby to help him support her. He had the biggest smile on his face.

“I like my new sister Mommy. She is pretty.”

“We need to think of a name for her, don’t we?” Seb said.

“I’m gonna call her Lauren.” Sammy said.

“Oh really? Why do you want to call her Lauren?”

“Cuz she’s pretty and nice and she likes me just like my teacher.”

“Lauren sounds good to me” Lisa said, looking at Seb for confirmation.

He nodded and winked at her. She couldn’t wait to tell Lauren what Sammy had said about her.

Sammy went and got one of his disposable cameras and they all had to pose with the baby for him to take pictures. Seb took some with Lisa and all three children and then Lisa switched and took the pictures while Seb held the baby with each of the older children sitting on either side of him.

When Brenda came back, they told her that they had not only decided to keep the baby but that she now had a new name. Lisa told her about Sammy coming up with her name. They discussed how long it would be before they could take her. Brenda said that the paperwork would probably take a day or two and then she would bring Lauren back to them. It took a while of them talking to Sammy and trying to explain things to him for him to understand why Brenda was taking her away. Brenda promised him that she would bring Lauren back to him in just a couple of days. He still wasn’t happy about it when Brenda left and was very quiet for the rest of the day, not even really caring to play with Jasmine and Maya.

“Sammy, Mommy wishes that Lauren could have stayed here with us too.” She said as she was tucking him in for the night. “But, you know what? Tomorrow we can all go to the store and buy all of the special things that we will need to care for her. Then we will be all ready when she comes home. Do you want to come and help us to do the shopping?”

“He shook his head yes and smiled for the first time since Brenda had left.”

“Good, then you can help us decide what she needs. We will go to the special store that has all the things we will need for her.” Lisa told him and then she kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair. “Mommy loves you, baby and I’m so glad that Lauren and Kayti are going to have the best big brother in the whole world.”

“Love you Mommy.” Sammy said in the midst of a huge yawn. He pulled Bob close to him and his eyes were already closing as Lisa left the room.

Chapter 102:

“Mommy…. Mommy, wake up. It’s the shopping day. We have to go to get a bed for Lauren.” Sammy said excitedly.

“Hi Baby. Just a minute, Mommy is trying to wake up.” She said smiling at him.

“I got dressed all by my own self.” He announced proudly.

Lisa opened her eyes and looked at him and saw that he had indeed gotten dressed and had even put on his socks and his sneakers. The sneakers had Velcro closures so he could do it by himself. He was working on the shoe tying but it was still a bit much for his little fingers. She could see that on at least one foot, the sock was upside down so that the heel bump was sitting on the top of his foot. She’d have to show him about that later. She wasn’t going to burst his bubble of getting himself dressed so well.

“Sammy, you did a wonderful job getting dressed. You are getting so big. How does your belly feel today?”

“It hurted when I got off my bed but now it doesn’t no more.”

“Okay, well you tell Mommy if it hurts.

Seb rolled over and threw his arm over Lisa’s waist under the covers, his hand gliding over her thickening belly.

“Sammy says it’s time to go shopping Papa.” She said to make sure he was awake and knew that they had company in the room.

“Mmmmm yup that’s right. We need to get going, don’t we?” he said sleepily, but he hadn’t moved yet other than his wandering hands under the covers.

Lisa took a hold of Seb’s hand and brought it out from under the covers and kissed it. When she released it, he slid his hand back under the covers and encountered her chest.

“Mmm that’s nice.” He whispered in her ear, making her giggle and then just a fraction of a second later, she said, “Ouch!” as he had been gently squeezing her breast.

“What’s wrong Mommy?”

“Oh Um…. It’s nothing. I’m fine, Baby. Can you go see if Kayti is awake for me?”

“She is waked up. She is playing with her dollies.”

“Okay” Lisa said trying again to come up with a valid errand for Sammy. “Can you go peek at Jasmine and Maya and tell them that we will come take them out in a minute?”

“Okay” he said as he left the room.

“I’m sorry Baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know. They’ve just gotten really sensitive.”

Seb slid down all the way under the covers, including his head.

“What are you doing?” Lisa said laughing as she felt him begin to kiss her where he had just a moment ago caused her pain.

“I’m kissing your boo boo’s all better. It works for Kayti.” She heard his muffled voice say in between kisses.

“It did work. They are all better now.” She said as she ran her hands over his bare back and through his hair.

“Okay, just a minute. The other one didn’t get enough attention.”

So she just laid back and enjoyed the attention that he was ever so gently lavishing on her, that is until Sammy came back in and said that the puppies were trying to climb up the gate.

“Where did Papa go?”

“Um… He’s right here. He’s playing Hide and Seek and he’s hiding under the covers.” Lisa said while trying to keep a straight face.

She could feel Seb chuckling silently under the covers and then he poked his head back out and said, “Yup, Here I am. I was hiding.”

“You are a silly boy Papa.” Sammy told him.

“Okay, Buddy. Go back out there and we’ll be right out as soon as we get dressed and then you and I will take the puppies out for their walk.”

“Okay, Papa.”

“Does it still hurt, Love?” Seb asked seriously as he caressed her chest.

“No, I’m fine.” Lisa said and turned to kiss him.

“I guess we’d better get up now huh?” he said.

“Yeah, he’s pretty excited about going shopping. I’m thinking about just getting a cradle or a bassinette for now and we’ll be able to use it for this baby too. When we get moved, then we can get the full sized crib for Lauren. She should still be alright in a cradle until we get moved as long as she hasn’t started rolling over by then.

“I’m glad that you know what you want. I have no idea about this stuff.” He said as he slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

An hour later, the kids were all buckled in their seats and they were all heading for Babies R Us. Lisa knew that they would have everything they would need right there.

Lisa didn’t know who was more mesmerized by so much stuff for babies, Seb or Sammy. So she constantly had to tell them what was necessary and what was just extra things that might be nice but were really unnecessary. They picked out lotions, and baby bath soap, powders and diaper creams. They found a little baby bath tub that could be set in the kitchen sink or in the tub.

They got little soft wash cloths and towels and several packages of burp cloths. Lisa knew they could go through several of those in a day, especially while Lauren was still so small.

They came to the toy aisle and it was there that Lisa had the most trouble getting everyone out of, even Seb. They had to check every toy out. They checked the squeakers on everything, “just to make sure they work.” Seb said. He insisted that Lauren needed several musical toys so they found some that would go on the toy shelf and a couple that would attach to the cradle. They found a mobile that had the most beautiful array of multicolored butterflies that would look like they were gracefully flying up and down as the mobile turned. When she finally managed to get them out of that aisle, they made their way over to the cradles. There were three long rows of cradles. Some were wicker, some were wood and some were made of a cheap plastic which Lisa had no intention of choosing for any of her babies.

“Wow, so many to choose from.” Seb said as they walked the aisles looking at the features of each of them.

Seb and Lisa had only gotten halfway down the first aisle when Sammy called to them.

“Mommy, Papa, Lauren would like this little bed.”

“Oh Sammy. Yes, she would. It is absolutely beautiful.” Lisa said as she ran her hand over the iron cradle.

It was called the Secret Garden pattern and it was lovely. Lisa looked at the little catalogue that was hanging attached to the shelf in front of the display model. Inside, there were pictures of the whole Secret Garden set of cradle, crib, changing table and even a quilt rack that all matched.

She had previously decided how she was going to decorate Kayti’s room but, now that Lauren was going to be in the nursery, this would be great and she could still do Kayti’s princess room. Even the butterfly mobile would work with this.





They decided to go ahead with this one and Lisa ordered the rest of the set. All they would need right now was the cradle. For now, she would just use Kayti’s changing table for both of them.

A clerk carried the box containing the cradle up to the front while the Izambard’s continued to look around the store. They picked out the bedding to put in the cradle and put the bedding for the crib on order with the rest of it.

It suddenly occurred to Lisa that Kayti’s single stroller was no longer going to be enough. They went a couple of aisles over from the beds and found the multiple rows of strollers. There was everything from the little umbrella strollers to what they called travel systems which are strollers with an infant car seat included.

Lisa knew basically what she would like to have. The question was whether she could find it or not. She bypassed all of the umbrella strollers. They wouldn’t do her any good. They would need at least a double stroller if not a triple. After spending a lot of time looking at the different models, they decided on a double stroller for now. If they really needed Kayti to be in a stroller after the baby was born, they would need two people to go and the second person would use Kayti’s regular stroller. The one they chose had seats that could be changed so that the children were sitting one in front of the other or sitting facing each other when they were a bit older. By the time the baby was born, Lauren should be sitting well enough to sit in the front seat with the infant carrier sitting in the back seat.

Feeling that they had all of the equipment they would need for the immediate future, they went over to the clothes and picked out some little outfits. It was already hot out so they didn’t get anything with long sleeves and only a couple of things with pants. They picked out a couple of sweaters to carry in the diaper bag in case they went in somewhere where the air conditioning made it cold.

“I think we’ve just about got it.” I can’t think of anything else for right now.” Lisa said.

As they were heading for the register, they passed the aisle that had all sorts of dress up clothes for the children to play in. So Sammy and Kayti didn’t leave the store empty handed. Kayti got several of the Disney princess dresses and they came with all kinds of accessories like shoes and tiaras and some even had little bracelets, necklaces and clip on earrings. Sammy got a red power ranger suit, a king outfit and a pirate outfit. Lisa knew that imagination play was very important for the children.

By the time they checked out and made sure that the order was all set for the things that would come around the end of June once they could be put in place in the main house, they were all pretty tired of shopping. It was already just about past lunch time so they stopped to get a meal. While they were eating Lisa’s cell phone rang.

“Hi Brenda, what’s up?...Really?..No, We’re all set. We’ve just come from the store. We’ve got everything we’ll need. At least I think so. I didn’t buy any baby food yet though. I wasn’t sure which formula she was on. So I think that all we still need to get is the formula and diapers. I’ve got plenty of wipes. I didn’t know which size diapers she was in either….Okay thanks…. No, this is great…We’ll be waiting… okay bye, Brenda.”

When Lisa hung up, Seb knew it was good news by the look on her face.

“Brenda is bringing Lauren home in a couple of hours, when she gets off of work. The Jefferson’s want to go away for a week. They said if we weren’t ready for her, that they could take her with them but it will really be easier on them if they could bring her here before they leave. Brenda said that the actual paperwork will be in tomorrow so she didn’t see any reason not to bring her tonight.”

Lisa was smiling from ear to ear.

“Well I guess we’d better get home and get everything taken care of.” Seb said as he got up to go pay the bill for their lunch.

When they got home Lisa put Sammy and Kayti down for a nap while Seb unloaded the car and got right to work putting the cradle together. It was so beautiful, especially once Lisa put the bedding in it. The nursery was going to be amazing when the rest of the set arrived.



For now, the baby would stay in their room so they could hear her when she cried and she also wouldn’t be as likely to wake the other children if she cried in the night. They had no idea what her sleeping habits were.

To keep herself occupied while they waited for Brenda, Lisa got busy preparing dinner. She and Seb had gotten all of their purchases put away. She washed and dried all of the new clothes and bedding. Seb attached the mobile and the two musical toys for the cradle.

Lisa sat in Kayti’s room and watched her sitting on the floor playing with her dolls. She already knew that Sammy was going to like having the baby here but she wasn’t so sure about Kayti. Kayti was a contradiction sometimes. While on one hand she was a fiercely independent creature, always preferring to try to do things by herself, like trying for thirty minutes to get her socks on like Sammy could or making her blocks stop falling over without any help. Then she would turn around and be clingy for several days. Those days definitely had a pattern though. When Seb was away even just for a few days, Kayti became whiny and irritable. When he came home, she hardly let him out of her sight, always wanting him to pick her up and hold her. She still was not given to throwing tantrums, at least not very often and when she did they were very short lived. Usually she just needed to go to sleep and she would wake up in the sunniest of dispositions. She had gone through a lot of changes in her short life and Lisa felt like Kayti had weathered them rather well. She definitely loved Sammy. He was her best buddy and she watched everything he did. It was a good thing that Sammy was such a good child.

Lisa slipped out of Kayti’s room and went to look out the window, hoping that Brenda would arrive soon. She was more than ready to have Lauren home with them to add yet another dimension to their rapidly growing family.

Finally, around six that evening, Brenda’s car pulled up just outside the door. She stepped out of the car and smiled when she saw that Lisa and Seb were already at the door. They came outside and waited for her to take the baby out of the car. Brenda unhooked Lauren from her seat and handed her to Lisa.

“Say hello to your new Mom and Dad, Sweetheart.” She said to the baby as she passed her over. “The Jefferson’s began using her new name as soon as I told them. So she should be starting to get used to hearing it. They’ve sent you some diapers and formula to last for a couple of days.”

Seb helped Brenda unload the car of the baby’s things. The base to the car seat and the car seat itself was transferred into the Escalade. When they got into the house Lisa saw the piles of toys and clothes that Brenda had brought with her.

“Wow, did the Jefferson’s buy her all of these things?”

“They bought some of it but, most of it was from the nurses in the hospital when she was brought in. I know that little teddy bear was from one of the nurses.”

“That was really nice of them.” Seb said.

“They got really attached to her while she was there. She had a lot of Moms. There was also an elderly lady who volunteers and comes and sits in the nursery and rocks the babies. She had a special soft spot for her.”

“We’ll have to take her up there some day and let them visit with her.” Lisa said.

“I hold Baby, Mama?”

“Sure you can. Come sit on the couch.”

Lisa placed Lauren into Kayti’s arms and kept her own hands on the baby too. One hand was under Lauren’s head and one near her bottom.

“Lauren is going to stay here and be your sister now, Kayti. You’ll get to play with her all the time. What do you think of that?”

“My baby. Baby play in Kayti’s room.”

“She will play with you in your room when she gets bigger. But she’s too little right now.”

Lauren grasped on to Kayti’s finger and started kicking her feet.

“Baby’s funny, Mama”

“She likes you.”

Kayti held Lauren for a few more seconds and then all of a sudden she was done and ready to get down. There was no warning and it was a good thing that Lisa was still holding onto Lauren or she would have been on the floor when Kayti just started moving to get out from under the baby so she could slide down off of the couch.

“That little girl sure has a mind of her own.” Brenda said as Kayti flew past her on her way to her room to play.

Brenda visited with them for a while and gave Lisa the note that Mrs. Jefferson had written to Lisa, telling her of Lauren’s usual feeding and sleeping schedule. Lisa thought that was really nice of her to have done that. It would make their transition much easier. Sammy pulled Brenda’s arm and took her in to show her the beautiful cradle.

“Sammy that is lovely…..Well, I need to be up early tomorrow. Have a great night and enjoy her.”

“Oh we will.” Seb said as he sat leaned back in his recliner with the baby sound asleep on his chest.

Lisa walked with Brenda out to the car.

“It’s really coming together here Lisa. I’m so happy for you. Is the house still scheduled to be finished in June?”

“Yes, Drew said he thinks about the middle of the month. He said that after next week, most of what’s left is the exterior of the building, restoring the entrances and building the back deck. We are having a special walkway put in out front. I can’t wait to see it done. Some of the furniture is even being delivered in about three weeks. The new fencing for the pool should be here the beginning of next week too. Once it’s safe, we’ll have someone come out and restore the pool and get it ready to be used. I’m looking forward to being able to swim in it. When they are all done with all of the big trucks coming in and out, the whole driveway is going to be repaved too.”

“How are you holding up with so many changes in your life this year?” Brenda asked her.

“Sometimes when I think about everything that’s happened, it can be a bit overwhelming but, Seb and the children make me so happy. I never dreamed I could be so content and happy with my life and then another child comes along and your heart just expands to make room for it. When the house is finished it will be nice to be able to spread out a little though. It’s getting a little cramped in the guest house. But it’s just a couple more months though so we can deal with it.”

“How about this baby? When will you be able to find out if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“I have an appointment the beginning of next week. Hopefully we’ll be able to tell. I want to know.”

“And Alex how are she and the baby doing?”

“She seems to be doing better. At first it was such a big shock when she found out about the birth defect but I think both she and Urs are coming to terms with it. They are doing a lot of research into it so they will be as prepared as they can be. They have a huge decision to make about whether or not to have the surgery to correct the defect before he is born or wait until he arrives to fix it. I don’t even know what to tell her. It must be agonizing trying to decide.”

They said goodbye and Lisa went back inside to find Seb sleeping in the recliner, still holding Lauren against his chest. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a sweeter sight. She went to Sammy’s room and asked him to go take a picture of Papa and Lauren while she finished putting dinner on the table.

While she was pouring the children’s drinks she picked up the phone and called Alex and asked if they could make it for dinner tomorrow to meet the newest arrival. Alex told her they’d be there. Then Lisa called Mom and got the same response. She was anxious to introduce Lauren to everyone.

When she had the kids all in their chairs, she quietly stepped up to Seb and leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“Wake up sleepyhead. Dinner’s ready.”

When she knew he was awake enough and wouldn’t be startled, she lifted the baby off of his chest and carried her in to sleep in her cradle for the first time while they ate. Lauren didn’t even stir when Lisa laid her down. The bedroom seemed a little chilly so Lisa laid a receiving blanket over her bare legs.

Several minutes passed as Lisa just stood over the cradle watching the baby sleep. Seb stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Everything alright?” he whispered in her ear.

“Oh yes. I’m sorry. I guess I just got sidetracked here. I could watch her all day. Let’s go eat.”

Seb kept his arm around her shoulder as they headed for the table. He pulled out her chair and waited for her to be seated and then he helped her to push in her chair as he did every meal.

“Thank you.” He’s such a gentleman, she thought. She loved how he treated her with so much care.

“Is everyone hungry?” she asked.

“I’m hungry Mommy.”

“I hungry too, Mama.”

“This looks great, Baby.” Seb said looking like he was more than ready to eat.

“Baby eat, Mama”

Lisa smiled at the fact that Kayti cared enough about Lauren to make sure she got fed too.

“Mama will feed Lauren when she wakes up from her nap, Sweetheart. You can help me feed her if you want to.”

“Can I too Mommy?”

“You sure can, Baby. You and Kayti can take turns helping Mommy feed her.”

They had just gotten their plates served and began eating when they all heard the cry from the other room.

“Baby cry, Mama.”

“I’ll get her. You eat. Then you can feed her and I’ll finish eating.”

When Seb left the room, Lisa took a bite of her dinner and went to the fridge to get a bottle that was all ready. It just needed to be heated up. She set it to heat in a pan of hot water and went to finish eating.

“She had a wet tushy. Now she’s all happy, at least for now.” Seb said as he sat back down at the table with the baby in one arm. “Don’t rush, Baby. She’s fine.”

“I know but your dinner’s getting cold.”

“It’s alright. I’ll reheat it when you’re finished. It can’t be good for you or the baby for you to get indigestion because you ate too fast.”

Lisa grinned at him and visibly slowed down as she finished her meal. Where she might have gone for a second helping, she didn’t, because she knew the bottle should be ready and it wouldn’t be fair to leave Seb sitting there hungry. It was also better for her waistline, she thought. She got the bottle and took the baby from him and sat back down at the table. They sat there amazed as they watched Lauren suck down the whole bottle so quickly.

“She was very very hungry, wasn’t she Mommy?”

“I guess she was.” Lisa said as she raised the baby to her shoulder to pat her back and help release any air bubbles. Sure enough, that tiny body let out a whopper of a burp, making everyone laugh at the size of it.

Kayti had been let down out of her high chair and when Lauren burped, Kayti stood in front of her and told her, “Say scuze me, baby…..say scuze me….. Mama, baby don’t say scuze me.”

“Silly Kayti. Lauren can’t say no words. Sammy said laughing.”

“Kayti, Lauren can’t talk yet, Sweetheart. We have to teach her how.” Lisa told her.

Kayti just walked away looking very irritated that Lauren didn’t have to say excuse me when she burped like Mama always told her to.

Chapter 103:

Not knowing when Lauren had had a bath last, Lisa got out the little tub and all of the other things she’d need, such as one of Kayti’s little bath towels that had a little hood on it, a face cloth and the baby bath soap. On the changing table, she also laid out a clean diaper and a one piece pink sleeper for her to wear to bed.

When she ran the water and checked the temperature, she went to get Lauren undressed and found that Seb already had her down to just a diaper. It was a really good thing that Lauren didn’t know to be embarrassed at being on display, because she had an audience as Lisa laid her into the bath tub. Lisa was kneeling on the floor, leaning over the tub washing her, Kayti was standing on Lisa’s right side and Sammy was kneeling beside Lisa. Lisa didn’t need to turn around to feel Seb standing behind her, watching the event.

“Bubbles, Mama.” Kayti said as she handed Lisa the bottle of bubbles that was sitting on the side of the tub.

“Lauren can have bubbles when she gets big like you, Sweetheart. She has special baby soap.”

Lisa finished washing the baby and rinsed her off and when she turned around to reach for the baby’s towel, Seb was already holding it out over his arms to receive the baby. So Lisa lifted her up, let a few of the drips of water fall off of her before she laid her in Seb’s arms. He quickly bundled her up in the towel so that all that could be seen was her tiny face peeking out. He carried her into Kayti’s room and the entourage followed him. He dried her off and Lisa handed him the diaper that she had opened up. Seb slid the diaper under her bottom and poured just a little bit of powder in to help keep her dryer overnight. He put her little sleeper on and zipped it up and then he picked her up and held her close.

“That sure was a lot easier than diapering and dressing Kayti when she is being so wiggly.” He said chuckling.

Seb took Lauren out with him while Lisa dumped out the little tub and got the bath ready for the other two.

Later, when it was time for stories and then bedtime for Sammy and Kayti, they all piled onto Lisa and Seb’s bed, including Lauren who was wide awake and very content. Seb laid on his side with Lauren tucked in close to him to help protect her from the wiggling arms and legs of the other children.

Sammy, who was still not feeling his usual self, didn’t make it to the end of the second story. When Lisa finished reading, Seb handed her the baby and he carried Sammy into his bed. Kayti on the other hand didn’t think she was ready for bed and when Seb came back, she reached her arms up for him to pick her up.

“I stay up with Papa.”

They had been trying to keep the children to a pretty regular schedule when it came to bedtimes. As they got more children, they would need to have some order to things or it would get out of hand very easily. But Seb could tell that she had felt a little put out with the new baby being here and he didn’t want her to feel jealous.

“Mama is it alright if I sit in with Kayti and play with her for a few minutes before she goes to bed?”

How could Lisa turn either one of them down, she thought as she looked at their faces. Seb was holding Kayti and she had her cheek resting against his and her little arms wrapped around his neck as she waited for Mama to answer.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt for a few minutes.” She said grinning at Seb. “You are a big softie, Papa.”

Not fifteen minutes later, Seb came back out saying that Kayti had been sitting in his lap while he was helping her build with her blocks and she had fallen asleep right there.

When they were ready for bed, Lisa had just fed Lauren and changed her. She laid her in the cradle that was pulled close to the end of their bed. They both lay on their stomachs, with their feet up at the pillow end and stared at the sleepy baby. They watched as she yawned and dropped her pacifier. Lisa reached in and helped her put it back in her mouth.

Within just a couple of minutes, Lauren’s eyes began to close and then she was sound asleep.

“She is so precious, Baby. I’m so glad she’s here.” Seb said as he lifted the light blanket over her up to her chest.

“She really does fit here with us, doesn’t she? It just feels right.”

“Yes, it does. Come on. We don’t know when she’ll wake up, so we’d better get some sleep while we can.” He said taking her hand and helping her to turn around and get up under the covers with him.
They drifted off to sleep, lying in each others arms feeling very blessed that they had been given this new little life to care for.

Lauren did wake up once, a little after two in the morning. Lisa quickly lifted her from the cradle trying to keep her from waking everyone else up. She changed her diaper and carried her out to the kitchen to heat a bottle. Just having a dry diaper seemed to have made her much happier already.

Lisa was sitting on the couch feeding her when Seb came out.

“Is she alright?”

“Yes, she was just wet and hungry. She’s already almost back to sleep.”

Lauren was still sucking on the bottle even though she seemed to be asleep, so Lisa let her finish it and then Seb took her and burped her. Then he carried her back into her bed.

When Lisa got settled back into bed and had been lying still in Seb’s arms for several minutes, she felt a flutter inside of her. At first, she thought she might have imagined it or that it was just a gas bubble moving, because it was so slight of a feeling. But, a minute later it happened again and more noticeable.

Seb noticed the smile creeping up her face. He could feel it against his chest.

“What are you smiling about?”

Lisa leaned up so she could look into his face. “I think I just felt the baby moving.” She said excitedly.

“Can I feel it?” he asked, placing his open palm against her belly.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think you can yet. I wasn’t even sure myself at first.” She said snuggling back down against him.

“We need to start talking about some names for this little one, unless we’re going to let the children name this one too.” He said grinning.

Lisa didn’t respond and when he stayed still and listened, he realized that she had already fallen back to sleep. He stroked her hair and her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on her brow.

“Bonn Nuit, Ma Cherie. Je Taime.”

After breakfast the next day, Seb went over to say hello to Drew and see how things were going. He told Drew about their new addition and the need to change bedrooms around. It wasn’t anything big as far as Drew was concerned, except that one more bedroom would need to be painted whatever color they decided on. Seb told him that Lisa would be by to let him know of any color changes for the nursery and they would need to decide which bedroom to put Kayti in now.

As they walked through the house, so much of it was looking like it was completed. There were just little things here and there that needed final touches. Some of the rooms were completed to the point that all of the construction materials had been removed from them and the room just needed a good cleaning.

Seb told Drew that they had decided on hiring a professional cleaning crew to give the house an extra good cleaning right before it was ready for the furniture and other supplies. At first, Lisa had said that she could do it. Mom had offered to help, but he had insisted that this wasn’t the guest house. This place was huge and he was not going to have her wearing herself out with the heavy cleaning that this place needed. There was saw dust, the dust from the drywall being sanded and all of the other mess from the construction crew being in and out every day. She had finally relented and after thinking about it some more, she thanked him for insisting. She was actually glad not to have to do it.

Drew gave Seb a tentative date that they could have the cleaning crew come and start. He said that there were no big projects that needed to be done so he was sure they would be done on the inside by then. He told Seb that the refrigerator that Lisa had installed in the house when they had first begun working had been moved into the storage building and plugged in there for the workers to put their lunches and Seb and Lisa had kept it stocked with plenty of drinks for the workers. So once the inside of the house was completed there would be no reason for any of the workers to be tracking any dirt into the house. They had several port a potty’s on site since the beginning of the job.

This was just a couple of weeks away and when Seb went back to the guest house and told her what Drew had said, they pulled out the phone book and Lisa began making phone calls to get quotes on the cleaning job, telling them the size of the house and that it would still be unfurnished. They would do everything from ceiling to floor, wiping everything down. The windows would all need to be cleaned, inside and out. But they were all able to be cleaned from the inside except for the large window at the front of the house. Then all of the floors would need to be cleaned. Once this major cleaning was finished they would be having the carpet installers come and do all of the rooms that would be carpeted.

“It’s almost done, isn’t it?” Lisa said happily, once they finished all of their calls. Now they were just waiting for a couple of the cleaners to call back with their quotes and then they would choose.

“I was thinking, this final cleaning and the furniture moving in will most likely happen when we are in Sweden or around the time of the Dublin concert. I need you to promise me that you won’t do anything that you can get someone else to do. You’ll have enough to do here with the children.”

Seb, I love you and I appreciate you worrying about me. I promise that I won’t over do it. I have plenty of help and I’m sure the cleaning crew wouldn’t even want me in their way. When the furniture and supplies arrive, Mary and I will just be directing traffic and having it unloaded where it needs to be and then Mary and I will only put away the supplies where we want them. I told Mary, that for the most part, the kitchen would be her domain. So, she will be able to arrange everything so it is easiest for her.

They had a quiet dinner that evening with everyone fawning over the baby, but making sure to give the other two their fair share of attention too.

Lisa found out from Dad that Mom seemed to be pretty much back to herself now and he was really glad that her ordeal hadn’t permanently changed the active woman that she had always been. Lisa watched her holding Lauren and she did indeed look like her usual happy self again.

Seb and Urs were sitting on the floor playing Hi Ho Cherry O with Sammy and Kayti. Sammy loved this game and would almost always choose it when it was his turn to choose a game to play.

“What games does Kayti like to play?” Urs asked.

She likes memory games where you turn the cards to find the matches but, she doesn’t usually remember to only turn two cards over. She wants to turn them all until she finds a match.” Seb said grinning.

“Mommy and Papa like to play Hide and Seek. But there’s not too much places for Papa to hide under the covers. Mommy was right there and she found him.” Sammy informed everyone in the room.

“Oh my God.” Lisa said under her breath and turned a dozen shades of red.

She quickly jumped up and busied herself with putting the dessert dishes into the dishwasher.

She could still hear the laughter coming from the living room when Alex joined her with a huge grin on her face.

“Do I want to know what Sammy was talking about?”

“Probably, you do but, that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you.” Lisa said still highly embarrassed.

Alex looked a bit tired and when Lisa asked her about it, she told her that she had been having a hard time sleeping with this giant decision she had to make about the surgery. She was leaning towards having it, but she knew how worried Urs was about her health and the safety of the surgery for her and the baby. If she went into labor during or right after the surgery was done, the chances were high for the baby to have major problems from being so premature, including the high possibility of death.

“If we decide to go ahead with the surgery, it would be just before the guys leave for Sweden again. We have to make a decision before my appointment at the end of this week.”

Lisa tried not to think too much about the times when Seb would be gone, but this would weigh heavily on Urs to be gone right after such a serious surgery. Marie overheard the conversation and she told Alex that if she went ahead with the surgery, she could come home and stay there while Urs was gone so she wouldn’t be alone. Alex thanked her but said that it would be difficult for her to do that now that they had the dogs to take care of too. Marie gently scolded her and told her that there would of course be things that needed to be worked out but they would tackle them together.

“I just don’t want you worrying about after the surgery, Sweetheart, that is if you decide to go ahead with it. That is all you need to do right now is come to that decision together with Urs. Everything else will be taken care of.” Marie told her.

Alex didn’t need to be reminded what a wonderful family she had but, at times like these when they all came together to deal with a situation, she saw that she was blessed with the loved ones she had. When she and Urs were on their way home, Alex felt like he was being rather quiet.

“Urs, is something wrong?”

“You’ve decided haven’t you?” he said, not angrily but, she could hear the resignation in his tone.

“This is a decision for both of us to make, Urs.”

“I know and I appreciate that you have been including me in your concerns about the surgery. But if I said right now that I wanted you to have the surgery, it would make your decision complete, wouldn’t it?”

Alex hesitated in answering. His fears were the biggest thing holding her back from her final decision.

“I just don’t want you to be angry with me if I decide to go ahead with it.”

Urs pulled into their parking spot outside of their house and shut off the engine. Then he turned to her in his seat, taking her face in his hands.

“Baby, I wouldn’t be angry with you. I know that you have spent hours and hours agonizing over this, just as I have. And I feel like I am making it more difficult on you and I don’t want to do that. You don’t need any more stress than you already have. So, as I asked before, if I say go ahead with it, would that make your decision?”

Alex nodded her head in answer. “I feel that this would give him the best chance at as normal a life as he can possibly get if we do it early instead of waiting and letting the damage get worse over the last months of the pregnancy. It is hard enough waiting now when it can’t be done yet. If I go past the date when we could have helped him and we don’t do anything, I would feel terrible.”

Urs leaned in and kissed her long and slow and then he lifted his head and told her, “The decision is made then. When we go to the doctor on Friday, we’ll tell him to schedule the surgery for as soon as he’s able. I am just hoping it won’t be after I’m supposed to be gone.”

“I’ve already figured that if he can schedule it for the first of May, that would give us a week before you have to leave. He had said that if we did the surgery, that they would keep me in the hospital for close to a week at least to monitor me and the baby to make sure there aren’t any contractions.”

“Alright, let’s see what he says then. Hopefully they’ll be able to schedule it for then.”

They went into the house and were met by two very excited puppies to have them home. Urs kissed her again and told her to go do what she needed to do to get ready for bed and he’d see to the puppies.

When he came upstairs, she was already in bed waiting for him to join her. When he slid between the sheets, he gathered her to him and resumed the kiss that he started downstairs. Her hands threaded through his hair and she drew him down closer to her. She always felt him holding back a bit though, as if he was afraid of injuring his son. That didn’t upset her at all. She felt her heart swell with her love for him when she thought of the love she always felt from him. Their kisses went from slow and exploring to almost desperation of their need for each other. Hands and lips reached everywhere they could as they expressed their love for each other in the most intimate ways.

When they lay in each others arms in the aftermath of their loving, Alex leaned up and kissed Urs’ cheek. “I love you…I love you so very much and I feel so much better, more at peace now that we’ve made this decision. I know it is the right thing to do.”

“I love you too, Liebe.” He answered and just silently prayed that it was the right decision because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing either one of them.

As she drifted off to sleep, Alex felt his hand staying gently pressed to her belly. She knew he liked to try to feel the baby’s movements and these late night hours were when the baby seemed to be most active, or maybe it was because she was being still that the movements could be felt easier. Urs hadn’t felt it too much yet but they were getting more frequent and a bit harder so she didn’t think it would be long before he would be able to feel them more regularly. Mom was dying to feel the baby moving but had yet to feel anything. Alex would feel movement and as soon as his Grandma sat down and waited with her hand on Alex’s belly, the movements would stop.

She and Urs made plans to start looking online for nursery sets. Urs didn’t want her on her feet hunting through the shops looking when she could sit comfortably at home with her feet up and look from there. Then they’d have the set shipped straight to the house. Since they knew that he was a boy, they chose a soft powder blue for the color of the nursery and Urs had started painting it today. He would complete it tomorrow. Then one of Alex’s co workers was coming over to begin drawing out the mural she was going to paint on the walls.

They were going to have a bunch of the Disney characters but there would be one whole wall of Mickey as he looked in some of his different roles beginning with Steamboat Willie. Then there would be his usual look and the one from Fantasia. They wanted his room to have lots of bright colors for him to look at and the Disney characters were all so bright and cheery.

Carla had seen the light blue color they had chosen for the walls and told them it would be perfect for the rest of the mural. She was due back next week when the paint was sure to be completely dry and then she would come and begin by doing her initial light pencil sketches of all of the characters and make sure that Alex and Urs approved of the drawings before she began the actual painting of them.
She’d told them that once the initial sketching was finished, the rest of it would go really quickly.

Chapter 104:

Tuesday was Lisa’s doctor’s appointment and hopefully they’d find out whether it was a boy or a girl. Mary was going to come over and stay with the children. Lisa had offered to take Kayti to school if she thought that all three would be too much but, Mary had insisted that they would be fine. She was looking forward to it.

Mary arrived right on time. Lisa had just finished feeding the baby while Seb was cleaning up the children and the table from their breakfast. Lisa told Mary that she had prepared several bottles and showed her where the diapers were and then took her into the bedroom to meet Lauren.

“Oh Lisa, she is absolutely beautiful. Look at all that hair. She’ll be able to have pigtails before you know it. How is she settling in? Was she ever upset at all of the new faces?”

“She’s been fine. She seems to like to stare at our faces. She gets plenty of opportunity because at least one of us is usually standing over her staring at her, even if she’s sleeping.” Lisa said smiling down at the sleeping baby. “She’s just finished eating so she should be fine till we get back but if she seems hungry, by all means feed her. Kayti will tell you that Lauren is hungry every time she cries. I’ve found though that she really hates a wet bottom, so if she cries, that is probably the first place to check. If you want to roll the cradle out to the living room with you, it’s really easy to move since it’s on wheels.”

Seb and Lisa kissed the two older children goodbye and told them if they behaved for Mary, they could play outside when Mommy and Papa got home. Sammy knew he couldn’t run around or really play on the playground equipment yet but Papa always brought Jasmine and Maya out and let him sit down and play with them.

Seb and Lisa entered the doctor’s office and found the usual full waiting room of women in various stages of pregnancy and also the usual bunch of men, of which most of them looked like they would rather be somewhere else. That was not the case for Seb. He loved to come with Lisa and hear everything about how the pregnancy was progressing. He wanted to know right away if there was anything he should be worried about.

They had to wait longer than usual today and Lisa was more than ready to get out of the chair by the time her name was called. Her back had been bothering her off and on when she sat in certain chairs.
She went through the usual routine of blood draws and urine samples given and then she was led into the room where they would do the sonogram.

Lisa was told to lie down and lift her shirt up and the waist band of her pants down below her belly button. The chilly gel was spread on her abdomen and the wand glided over it. The technician noted the usual measurements and looked for the baby’s internal organs, making note of them on the screen and pointing them out to Lisa and Seb.

Then he moved the wand around to the other side of Lisa’s belly and moved it around for a minute before coming to rest on a spot and showed them the baby’s face, pointing out the eyes, nose and mouth.

“Did you want to know the sex of your baby if I can find out?” he asked them and got two definite yes’s from the excited parents.

He slid the wand around for what seemed like several minutes and finally said, “Ahh, There she is. See right here? That’s your little girl’s girl parts.”



“A girl?” Seb asked quietly, feeling overwhelmed with the joy inside of himself.

“Yes, Mr. Izambard. You are going to have a daughter.”

Lisa saw the tears that immediately sprung into his eyes and mistook them for disappointment in the baby not being a boy.

“I’m sorry, Seb. I know that you probably wanted a boy. You are kind of getting over run with all of the females in the house.” She said as she gave his hand a squeeze.

“Are you disappointed?” he asked incredulously. “You aren’t are you?”

No, it really didn’t matter to me, but I know that you probably were hoping for a boy.”

“You’re wrong, Baby, because it didn’t matter to me either. I am quite enjoying all of the females in my life.” He said cheekily and kissed her.

Both of them were totally oblivious to the other presence in the room. So the technician turned and at least tried to seem like he was minding his own business and finished his notes and other measurements.

Finally the husband spoke to him again. “Does everything look alright with her?” he asked seriously.

“She looks absolutely perfect. You were pretty sure of the dates and she looks like she’s just the right size. She’s approximately 4 inches long and weighs around 3 ounces.”

“Wow, she’s still so tiny.” Lisa said as she pictured 4 inches on a ruler.

He saw the immense relief on both of their faces.” Did you expect to find that there was something wrong?”

“No, not really. It’s just that our friend is just a bit further along and found out that their baby has a birth defect. We just wanted to be sure that everything is alright with her.” Lisa explained to him.

“Well, you can rest easy. Your little girl looks just as she should.”

“Is it too soon to be starting to feel small movements from her?” Lisa asked him.

“She can’t hear quite yet but, her hearing is developing now so be sure to talk to her and over the next weeks she will eventually begin to recognize your voices. And yes, you should also be starting to feel flutters inside but, nothing that can be seen or felt from the outside. Have you felt anything yet?” he asked Lisa.

“Yes, just last night I felt some tiny movements, way inside.”

“Wonderful, they should increase in frequency and strength gradually over the next weeks and eventually, they should be seen by even a bystander.”

He gave them some pictures and a short DVD of the baby moving to take with them.

Lisa and Seb left the office in a state of pure euphoria. After he opened her door and before she climbed into her seat, Seb picked her up around her waist and spun her around and kissed her soundly.

“Seb, as Sammy would say, you are very silly.” Lisa said, laughing when he finally set her down so she could get into the truck.

They rode home talking excitedly about their little girl. This baby and Lauren were going to be so close in age. They would hopefully be very close to each other. Lisa hoped that all of their children would stay close throughout their lives.

“Do you think Mary would be alright with the children for a bit longer so I can take you to lunch?” Seb asked her.

“She should be but I’ll call and check.”

Lisa called Mary and excitedly told her that they were having a girl. Then she checked to see if Mary was in a hurry to leave or if the children were being too rambunctious. Mary said they were playing just fine and that Lauren had been a perfect angel and she was thoroughly enjoying holding her and for she and Seb to take their time.

“I know that you two don’t get very much time alone. So enjoy the afternoon.”

“Thank you Mary. We really appreciate it.”

“Well, you’ve been paying me and I’ve felt bad that I haven’t been doing anything to earn it.”

“I’m glad that you’ve had this time to relax between jobs. I’m sure it is going to get quite busy in less than a month so enjoy this quiet you’re having now.” Lisa said and they both had a good chuckle before saying goodbye and hanging up.

“I’m going to call Maman.” Seb said as soon as Lisa hung up with Mary.

Lisa listened as Seb spoke to his mother and watched his face light up as she knew he was telling her about her Granddaughter. He had called her the other day and told her about Lauren and had already emailed her pictures of all of them together. She could tell that he was talking about her now.

She was so glad that he genuinely did love children and was getting very comfortable with them and even frequently, she found him taking care of their needs before she had a chance. She knew from the start that he loved her but, if he had been the kind of man that either was uncomfortable around them or just plain didn’t like children, she and Seb never would have made it together.

They were already settling into comfortable routines and were always looking ahead to how they would need to deal with schedules and discipline as their family grew. If they didn’t stay on top of things now, it could get very complicated and out of hand in a very short time.

Right now they only had very young children but, Lisa had always imagined taking some older children as well and they would be the most challenging to deal with. They would have suffered the longest in their state of limbo in the foster care system as well as whatever traumas had caused them to be in it in the first place.

She and Seb enjoyed a quiet lunch together, holding hands as they ate and talked about all of the things that were happening and so quickly. Soon they would be moved into the main house and settling in there. They also discussed the Grand Opening party that was being organized. She and Alex had finalized the guest list and would be getting invitations prepared. Lisa wanted to wait until the inside of the house was finished before sending the invitations out. If something held up the completion on the outside, it wouldn’t be as bad as if it was something major on the inside.

Drew told them that as soon as he had the inside complete, the inspectors would be out to sign off on it and then they could have the cleaners in, install the carpet, and begin moving the furniture in as well.

They had been trying to decide on whether the party should be an afternoon semi-formal party or an evening Gala in full dress up. The point that finally helped to make up their minds was that if they held it during the daytime and into the early evening, the full effect of the outside of the house would be able to be seen, and especially for Lisa, she wanted the walkway to be fully visible as people made their way into the house.

She had already been shown some of the completed bricks that would be laid in various spots along the walkway that were inscribed with the names of their contributors and volunteers. However big or small their part had been, Lisa wanted them to know how much they were appreciated and these bricks would last many years. The walkway was also being laid so that if in the future they wanted to add any new inscribed bricks, it would be no trouble to pull a blank brick and replace it with one that had been inscribed with a new volunteer or benefactor’s name. Lisa had also decided to place bricks with the names of any workers that became employed to help them with the children.

Seb insisted that they should have the party catered after he heard Mom, Lisa and Alex discussing it. They were talking about doing all of the food themselves with Mary’s help but, he said that he wanted all of the ladies to be able to relax and enjoy the party instead of running around making sure that everyone was being fed and had plenty to drink. A catering company could come in and handle all of that, leaving them free to enjoy the party.

The women had sat there looking at Seb when he had walked in on their conversation and suggested this and all of a sudden Marie said that she agreed with Seb and thought it would be a great idea. They would just have to decide what kind of food they wanted to serve. Lisa remembered how pleased he had looked to have won that battle so easily so she didn’t argue.

Until they had a date of completion on the house, they really couldn’t book the caterer yet but, they had all of the other preparations worked out. The menu had been decided on and a list of potential caterers had been called to find out if they would be willing to do this party if the date was open on their calendar. The list had been narrowed down to four caterers with the knowledge that they might get booked by the time they called back.

So Lisa hoped that by next week, Drew would be able to give them an assurance that at least the inside would be done by the first weekend in July, which is when they were going to hold the party, as long as everything went to plan. She hoped to give them at least a week for them to settle in after they moved in before the party.

David and Grace showed up unannounced on Thursday morning, followed by Carlos in the afternoon. They had decided to come and spend some time on the beach before they went to Sweden. Carlos was only spending a couple of days here while he waited for Vicki to head home. When she was finished with this month’s tour dates in a couple of days, and then some scattered dates next month, she was going home to wait for the delivery of their son and wouldn’t go back on tour for several months.

Grace was thrilled when she checked her schedule and it was possible for her to take the time to join David here in between legs of their tour. This first part of the tour had been so exciting and had gone almost flawlessly. She was enjoying telling them all how she and the other two girls were just having so much fun. They weren’t letting any of the little glitches get to them that inevitably came up on a day to day basis. She was used to seeing them when she had gotten the chance to travel with David and she knew that they were always expertly handled and the shows had been magnificent.

When Carlos arrived later that afternoon, he went straight to Sammy and spoke to him. It had been a while since he’d seen him and Carlos wanted to be sure that Sammy hadn’t reverted back to being afraid of him.

“Hola amigo. How are you feeling? Is your belly getting better?”

Sammy shocked them all by answering totally in Spanish.

“Hola amigo Carlos. Me siento bien ahora.” (I’m feeling well now)

Usted está hablando español así (You are speaking Spanish well)

“Huh?”

“I said you are speaking Spanish well.” Carlos said in between chuckles. “Come, let me see how your Tren is looking.” Carlos said to him.

When they both had kneeled down in front of the train platform, Carlos pulled out several little pieces of a town to add to what Sammy had already, laid out on the platform and set them on the table.

“Are these for me?” Sammy said excitedly.

“Si.”

“Muchas Gracias, Carlos.” Sammy said and Carlos thought his heart would stop when Sammy came over and hugged him.

At first he didn’t react because he had been so taken aback at the gesture, but he slowly put his arms around Sammy and held him tight, quickly wiping the tear that had mysteriously appeared in his eye.

“You are very welcome, little man.” Carlos said softly as he continued to hold him.

Grace was so excited to get to see Sammy and Kayti and to meet Lauren. When they were sitting in the living room of the guest house, David watched her holding the little girl and had an unfamiliar stirring within himself as he looked at the sight in front of him. He watched Grace’s facial expressions as she studied the baby’s features and like most everyone else that had met her, Grace commented on the extraordinarily thick hair that Lauren had already. He watched as she ran her fingers through the soft hair and she looked up at him with a smile and he was almost sure that she had a look that he’d not seen in her eyes before… That of longing as she held the baby.

Friday morning Alex was up before dawn, unable to sleep any longer as she anticipated her doctor’s appointment this morning. Not only were she and Urs going, but both of her parents were going too. They wanted to be there and hear first hand of the details of the surgery and find out what, if anything, they could do to help make this any easier on Alex.

She and Urs were going to meet them there and then they’d bring Mom home as Dad had to go straight to work from the doctor’s office.

When they were all sitting in the waiting room, Alex could hardly sit still. She was anxious to find out what the doctor would say. Urs took her hand, as she had begun pacing. He drew her back into her seat and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder. This was all starting to get to her and her nerves were frazzled.

“Miss Huggins?” a nurse called out into the waiting room.

“I’m right here.” She answered and they all stood as one and moved into the long hallway, following the nurse into the exam room.

“The doctor will be right with you. He will be doing a sonogram again, so you might want to just hop up on the bed.

“Alright” Alex said feeling a fluttering of nerves.

When the doctor came into the room, he was introduced to Dan, who hadn’t been to any of the appointments before. Then he didn’t waste any time as he started the sonogram. After he’d checked the defect, pointing it out for Dan who’d asked to see it, the doctor did his usual looking around for any changes and was glad to see that other than the defect which was unchanged, the baby was developing normally. He showed them some pictures of his face and one of his head and abdomen.

Marie could see that Dan was a little emotional at seeing his Grandson for the first time. She took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it. He looked at her and smiled before looking back at the screen.

“Your son is doing very well considering. I am pleased with his growth and development thus far other than the defect of course. He’s around ten inches long and weighs about thirteen ounces. Have you come to any decision about the surgery?”

“Yes we have. Urs and I have decided to go ahead with it as soon as it’s possible to do so. I want to give him the best chance possible to live a normal life and from everything you’ve said and what we’ve read, this is it.” Alex said and felt a squeeze of her hand as Urs had been holding it from where he was standing next to her.

“When can you do it?” Urs asked him. “I have to go out of town periodically and I’m hoping we can schedule it for when I am here.”

They moved into the doctor’s office so he could pull out his calendar. They went back and forth with dates that Urs was in town and the doctor had free and finally came to a decision.

“I’m really sorry we can’t do it the first of May. It’s just too close to being the early side of when we will perform the surgery. He wouldn’t be twenty one weeks yet. So I am actually happier about the date we’ve chosen. The extra few weeks will give him an even better chance of survival if he should wind up being born then. We always hope that won’t happen but will be prepared for it, just in case it does.”

They had settled on a date during the baby’s twenty fourth week of gestation. And although Alex was not happy about having to wait those extra weeks, the doctor assured her that the benefit to her and the baby of those extra weeks far outweighed the damaged that might be done from the amniotic fluid to the spinal cord.

“Over these next five weeks, I would like you to increase your caloric intake especially your iron and proteins and even fats. We want to give him the most weight gain as we can just in case of an early delivery. If we don’t have to deliver early, a lot of women just feel ill and their appetites aren’t up to par after surgery so any extra weight gain that you put on in these five weeks will probably balance out as you recover from the surgery. I assume that you’ve still been drinking the Ensures for your vitamins?”

“Yes, I drink two a day.”

“I would like you to increase that to four until after the surgery and then I will let you know if it is necessary to continue or go back to two a day.”

“Alright.”

“What kind of restrictions will Alex be on after the surgery, providing she doesn’t go right into labor during or after the surgery?” Marie asked.

“She will be on complete bed rest in the hospital for at least a week after surgery and then she will need to be on partial bed rest with heavy restrictions on activity for the remainder of the pregnancy to try to avoid early delivery. We’ll hope to at least make it another ten weeks to thirty four weeks gestation after this surgery. Very few have made it to term.”

“Alright doctor. Thank you.” Marie said to him.

They all shook his hand and left the office and congregated out in the parking lot.

“How are you feeling about this now that it’s all set?” her father asked her.

“I’m a bit disappointed that we have to wait longer but, I feel good about my decision, Dad.”

“Good” he said as he hugged her tightly to him. “Baby, I’m so proud of you, you know. You have been very strong through this ordeal. This little boy is very lucky to have you as his Mom.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Alex said using the term she hadn’t used very often since she'd become an adult. It usually only came out when she was very emotional.

Marie wiped tears away as she watched her husband and daughter embracing.

“I’m sorry but I do have to get to the office now. I’ve got to finish that computer program by Monday, so I might be a bit late today, honey. Will you be alright?” he asked Marie.

“I’ll be fine. Go ahead and don’t worry about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you.” He said with a wink.

“That’s alright Dad. I understand and I appreciate you coming with us today.”

Dan gave his daughter another hug and then turned to kiss his wife goodbye and then he left.

“Is anyone up for some lunch?” Urs asked them.

“I could eat.” Marie said.

“Me too.”

“Alright, let’s go then.” He said as he opened the door of the car and assisted the ladies getting in.

Urs treated the ladies to a nice lunch and they talked about what Alex would do after the surgery, when he was out of town. Marie assured them that there was no problem bringing the puppies to the house. Even though she and Dan lived in a busier area, they had a fenced in yard to keep them confined.

Alex didn’t voice the thought that she hated the idea of not sleeping in the bed that she and Urs slept in together, especially with him away. It always made her feel better when she climbed in between the sheets and pulled his pillow to her face and inhaled his scent. It made her feel closer to him. Well, she’d just have to bring his pillows with her, she thought.

She couldn’t ask her parents to come to the house, although if she asked, they would probably do it. But it would take her father further from the office and he was frequently called on to come in and fix some glitch in a program, sometimes even in the middle of the night. The extra fifteen minutes it would take him to get there from her house was unnecessary when she could just as easily go there. It would only be for a couple of weeks.

Since the surgery was still five weeks away, Urs would go to Sweden with the guys, do some recording and then come back for the surgery and then leave again when it was time to go to Dublin. By then, the surgery would be over and it would be at least a couple of weeks until Dublin.

Alex was happy that they were getting all of this straightened out now. The uncertainty of it all had been a great source of worry and taking up a lot of her time as she thought of all the possible ways it would happen. Now she could just relax as much as possible and just wait for the time for the surgery to get here.

After they dropped Marie off at home, Urs drove to Seb and Lisa’s. David, Grace and Carlos were going to be there and he and Alex were going to inform them of the outcome of the appointment.

Chapter 105:

Everyone was outside. The puppies and the children were all confined in the fence, with Lisa and Grace watching over them. Seb had taken them all on a tour of the house while Drew and his team were on their lunch break so they wouldn’t get in the workers’ way. They were just heading back to towards the playground when Urs and Alex pulled in.

Urs told them all what had been decided with the doctor and also what they had discussed with Mom over lunch.

Seb suggested to Urs that he go get Max and Bella to let them come and play.

“Can I come with you Onkle Urs?” Sammy said as soon as he heard Papa’s suggestion.

“Is that okay for him to come?” Urs asked Seb and Lisa. “I’ll take the car.”

Urs knew that Sammy wasn’t up for the long walk through the woods quite yet.

“Sure Urs that will be fine.” Lisa said.

“I go too.” Kayti said trying to run after her brother.

“You stay here with Mommy and we will go inside in a minute and make some cookies for dessert and you can help.” Lisa told her.

Kayti stood there looking like she was trying to decide whether or not to get upset. But thankfully in the end, she went back to playing and was happy when she was going to go help make cookies.

When Lisa was about to pick up Lauren’s infant seat to carry her into the house, David gently took it from her and carried her.

“Thank you, David. As little as she is, that seat gets heavy.”

“May I take her out of her seat?” David asked once they were inside.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Lauren looked so tiny in his big hands. David sat on the couch and laid her on his legs. Lisa smiled as she watched him talking to Lauren and smiling his wide smile at her. She could see that he was really enjoying her. She had noticed the same things with Grace. She wondered if they would be the next ones to begin a family together. She didn’t want to put them on the spot, so she didn’t ask either of them. They didn’t need to be rushed. She knew they were happy together and if they decided to get married or have a baby, they didn’t need any prodding from outside sources.

They had a nice afternoon with all of the guys together. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Vicki could have been here too. But she was no longer flying, at this stage of her pregnancy. She was only going where she could take their tour bus or a train to their destinations.

He said that they had changed her due date to the beginning of July. It seems as if Vicki had been pregnant but had been so busy and had thought she had had the flu at one point but, never thought that she might be pregnant until she had been here. So she was almost three months along when she found out. That had been a cause for concern when she realized that she should have been to a doctor already but, their doctor in Spain assured both parents that both Vicki and the baby were doing just fine.

Carlos showed them all pictures of them together from a few weeks ago when he went and met her where she was performing. Her belly did look rather large but she was such a tiny lady that when she turned to the side, it looked like she had just swallowed a whole watermelon. She hadn’t seemed to have gained an ounce of extra weight anywhere else, except her chest, which Carlos happily said he didn’t mind at all, with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Lisa told him that Vicki would probably kill him if she heard him talking like this and he agreed with a chuckle.

Vicki had been concerned people might not appreciate her performing in her pregnant state, but so far the reviews had been mostly positive. People seemed to be happy that she hadn’t cancelled her concert dates and some even said she was performing better than usual and they thought it was because she looked so happy. She and her stylists had come up with some ingenious while stylish and comfortable outfits for her to wear, especially for the performances. They left her feeling free and not squished into something while she moved around the stage. As the last month had gone on she wasn’t quite as active as usual on stage. There was always the concern of her falling. But Carlos said she still stole the audience’s heart every night. He looked so proud of his wife as he spoke of her.

He had his turn at holding Lauren and as he held her close, it really hit him that in just a few months, he would be holding his own little one like this and he couldn’t wait.

Later that night while they were getting settled and Lisa had just put Lauren into her cradle, Seb noticed that she looked like she had something on her mind. He came around to her side of the bed where she was sitting brushing her hair out and knelt in front of her.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked, running his hands up and down her legs.

Lisa grinned at his perceptiveness. “It’s nothing serious. It’s just that we have planned to have the Grand Opening party about the first week of July and that is when Carlos and Vicki’s baby is due to be born. So I was thinking… Since we haven’t gotten anything set yet as far as caterers or invitations…. What do you think about waiting until about the middle of August for the actual party? That will give us more time to get settled in too. I would just feel bad if they couldn’t be here. I saw the realization of the conflict of the dates on Carlos’s face when we talked about when the party would be.”

“You really want to know what I think of changing it all around?” he said taking her face in his hands. “I think I love you so much that sometimes I feel like my heart will explode from it but, it doesn’t. It just keeps growing as my love for you grows with each passing day. That is so kind of you to care about their feelings. I know Carlos would want to be here for the party and Vicki too. I think that if there is no other reason that we can’t change it then I say let’s do it. As you said, no invitations have been sent out yet.”

Lisa dropped her brush on the night stand and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her and kissed him. She kept pulling him until she was lying on the bed with him on top. He moved just long enough for her to get comfortable and then resumed their kiss. Those kisses were accompanied by gentle caresses as they made love to each other before finally drifting off to sleep.

On Saturday a quick call to Lisa by Alex started the whirlwind of activity as they connected with the others and decided to have a day at the beach. Mom, Dad and Brenda were even coming. After breakfast, Lisa called Mary and asked her if she was busy and would she mind keeping Lauren for the day. She didn’t think she should be out in the heat for the whole day, not quite yet. Mary told her that she’d love to keep her and after they talked, it was decided that they would drop her off at Mary’s on their way to the beach.

This was the first outing to the beach for Lisa since she had become a mother. As close as they were to the ocean, things always seemed to be happening and she just hadn’t taken the time to go. She would also feel better with all of the extra eyes to help watch the children.

Everyone met at the store where Seb and Urs were going to run in and purchase a couple of beach cabanas. It would allow them to get out of the sun for a while if they wanted to and especially for the children when they went down for a nap. Thinking that they might get away with two Divos in the store and maybe not being spotted but, definitely not three or four, Dan and Brenda went in to help carry their purchases. The guys decided to not only get the cabanas but also some comfortable beach chairs and a couple of large coolers on wheels. Then they stopped at another store and the girls went in and got the ice to fill the coolers and plenty of drinks. They picked out an assortment of snacks to satisfy everyone and went to the deli area and bought plenty of fried chicken and potato salad.

Lisa saw a rack near the checkout that had children’s hats and found a boy’s baseball cap for Sammy and a cute little pink sun hat for Kayti that would just match her bathing suit. Lisa hoped she would keep the hat on. She had already gotten somewhat of a tan but she had a lot fairer skin than Sammy.

Once everything was put in the vehicles, they were on their way. They decided to just take their chances and go to Clearwater Beach which was a terrific beach but also pretty crowded. The boardwalk and pier were great on the weekend though, and had tables set up from many different vendors selling mostly handmade jewelry or other arts and crafts things. At the final length of the pier, you could always find various fishermen and their gear as well as some of the many birds that frequented the area, especially the pelicans that would dive into the water and come out with a mouthful of fish or they would just wait to grab some fallen bait that the fishermen would drop or leave sitting on the ledge.

They found parking spots and unloaded the vehicles of all of the bags of gear and food that they’d brought. When they got onto the beach they looked for a relatively less crowded area and found one not too far from the pier.

The guys set up the cabanas and the chairs. The girls got all of the food up under the first cabana that was set up. Towels were laid out on the sand and Lisa pulled out the large tube of sun block that she’d had Seb pick up. She’d been almost out at home. She thoroughly covered Sammy and Kayti on every exposed area and told them both to keep their hats on. She also told Sammy to keep his T-shirt on. She worried that any sun might make his incisions sore. Besides his t-shirt and bathing suit, Sammy had his hat on and little beach shoes to keep him from hurting his feet on one of the many shells on the beach. Kayti also had a pair of beach shoes on and a pink one piece bathing suit topped off with the pink hat that so far she was keeping on her head.

They had brought a bag of their toys from the sand box and the children went right to work digging in the sand a few feet in front of the towels while they waited to be able to go near the water.

“Would you like some sunscreen?” Lisa asked Seb when he was done setting up the third cabana. He didn’t always put sunscreen on and had paid for it with a nasty sunburn several times. He saw the look that he was getting from Lisa and knew he’d better just put some on or he would get very little sympathy if he got burned.

“Sure, if you’ll help me.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

She helped him reach where he couldn’t and even some of the areas where he could without being indecent. He leaned back into her hands as they glided over the bare skin on his back and shoulders, spreading and rubbing the sunscreen in. She gently applied some to his cheeks and nose, careful not to get it in his eyes. Then with the tips of her fingers, she moved up to his forehead and covered it up to his hairline. With a last wipe over the tops of his ears, Seb wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her to him.

“Now it’s my turn.” He said as he kissed her neck, making her giggle. “I couldn’t take much more of that out here in front of everyone. Your hands were driving me crazy.” He said close to her ear.

Lisa turned so that she was facing the children and he began his assault on her. Within a minute, she knew exactly what he was talking about. He was taking his time, making sure not to miss any exposed skin, slowly spreading the cream over her back and shoulders, even reaching underneath the straps of her bathing suit.

She had been worried this morning when she tried on her bathing suit. She had the tiniest of bumps showing from the pregnancy now and she’d told him that she wished she had a one piece suit to wear now. He’d told her she looked beautiful and he meant it. He didn’t care what others thought. He knew where she had picked up that notion that she didn’t look good,. She’d been catching that terrible celebrity watching show TMZ that came on right after the evening news and they spent a lot of time commenting on celebrity’s bodies. He’d seen where they had made derogatory comments about a female celebrity’s belly. She was at the beach and had a bikini on and she had just a bit of a belly over the top of the bikini bottoms, nothing that deserved the ugly comments they’d made.

He continued to apply the cream down her arms, making sure to get all the way around and underneath her arms, and then he came around to the front of her and began on her belly, gently gliding his hands over her abdomen. As he made his way up and worked his way around the bikini top, he smiled as he could see that her breathing had become a bit shallow. He made sure to get right up to the very edges of the top so that she wouldn’t have any sore red areas where the top ended. He covered her neck and then worked carefully on her face, covering it all.

“Thank you.” She said breathlessly when he’d finished.

“You’re welcome, Ma Cherie.” He said with a smile and a wink before he went to see what the children were making.

Lisa jumped a bit when Alex stepped up behind her and spoke into her ear.

“I thought we were about to need a fire extinguisher here for a minute.”

“What….Oh” she said when she saw the grin on Alex’s face. “Was everyone watching?”

“Ah huh and it was great.” Alex laughed as she walked back over to Urs who had gotten them each a drink out.

Lisa could feel the heat in her cheeks and purposely didn’t make eye contact with Mom or Dad.

A few minutes later, Mom stepped over to her. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about Sweetheart. It does my heart good to see you two so happy together.”

“Thanks Mom. And we are happy, so much so that sometimes I’m afraid it’s all just a dream and I’m going to wake up someday.”

“Nope, it’s the real thing. I can pinch you if you want me to.” Mom said smiling at her.

“No thanks. I’ll just take your word for it.”

Mommy, can we get wet now? Papa said we could if you said so.”

“Go ahead Baby but remember what I said this morning. You can’t go past right here on your legs in the water. It will push you down and then your belly will hurt.”

“Okay Mommy, Bye.” He said as he waved and then went back to Seb.

She saw Sammy relay the message including showing Seb the spot on his leg. Sammy had a freckle just a couple of inches above his ankle, so she had used that freckle as a spot for him to watch.

Everyone was having a marvelous time. They played in the water, then sunbathed and when they got hungry, they ate their lunch. When the children were finished eating, Lisa settled them into one of the cabanas together and told them that they could play and swim again after they took a short nap. Neither one of them took long to go to sleep.

When they woke up, Lisa was giving them a drink and a snack when Sammy spotted David lying on a towel in the sand. Grace was pushing dirt up over his legs, covering them up completely. As soon as he finished his drink that Lisa insisted he needed to have, Sammy went and stood over David.

“Hi Auntie Grace and Uncle David. Whatcha doin?”

“I’m burying Uncle David’s legs in the sand so you can’t see them.” Grace told him.

“Can I help too?”

“Sure.”

David had a towel folded up under his head for a pillow and he had pulled the bill of his ball cap down so that the sun wasn’t shining in his face.

“Hi Sammy.” He heard from under Uncle David’s hat.

Hi Uncle David. I’m going to put sand on you.”

“Okay, have fun.” David said and pulled his hat down just a bit more.

Sammy and Grace went back to covering him up and eventually Kayti came to help too. What started as just his legs, wound up being right up to his neck in the end. Just as they were finishing, David’s eyes flew open.

“It feels like something’s biting me, like ants or something.” He said trying to get up, but was having a hard time moving.

As soon as Grace saw that he was serious, she got back down on her knees and began pulling the sand away from him. It was sand fleas. They couldn’t really be seen but David was definitely feeling them. When he had enough of the sand off of him, he jumped up and started brushing the sand off of himself with Grace in the back helping. Since he’d had a towel under his back, it was only on his neck and arms back there.

“I feel like my shorts are filled with sand and the fleas.”

“Hurry, go into the water, rinse off.” She told him.

“I really need to take these off.” He said.

“So go out where there aren’t any people. They won’t know what you’re doing if you take them off and rinse them out. Then put them back on and no one will know.”

He looked at her skeptically but didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t stay like this for the rest of the day. The feeling of the sand and fleas in his shorts was terrible.

Sammy started to follow him but Grace took a hold of his hand. “You can’t go, Sammy. He’s going out way too far for you to go with him, but we can go to the edge and rinse ourselves off in case the fleas are on us too.”

So Grace took him to the water’s edge and helped him rinse off really good. Then she sent him back up to Lisa and Seb, watching to make sure he got back to them before she went to dive under the water, the quickest way for her to rinse off.

When her head came to the surface, she heard David calling her.

“Grace… Grace come here.”

“What?” she said when she got close enough to him.

“I can’t find my swimming trunks.” He said trying not to let anyone else hear him.

“WHAT?”

“When I was rinsing them out, a wave came along and it knocked me off balance and I lost them.”

She shouldn’t have laughed but she couldn’t help it. “Oh My God David. Only you. This could only happen to you.” She said, still laughing.

She started making her way around him and both of them were looking and also feeling under water for them. With the current, there was no telling where they were. They weren’t having any luck and since David couldn’t go too much closer to shore without giving everyone a show, Grace went in far enough to call to Urs and Brenda who had just entered the water. She told them what happened and David just shook his head as he saw them roar with laughter at his predicament. Seb and Carlos came to them asking what was so funny and they joined in on the laughter once they’d heard.

“I’ll never hear the end of this one.” David thought to himself.

He kept searching but knew that they were probably nowhere near him now. But he kept feeling little fish nipping at him so he had to find them. With one hand trying to cover himself so they couldn’t bite him where he should have been covered by his shorts, he kept waving his other arm around under the water, hoping to find them.

He could see that now the rest of their group had heard of his plight and everyone except for Alex, Lisa and the children had entered the water and were hunting for his shorts. In a way, he was thankful for the help but, he didn’t think he’d ever been so embarrassed in his life. After several minutes, a shout rang out from Carlos’ booming voice.

“Found them!” he said holding them up high, causing some of the other beach goers to look.

David was at once, relieved and embarrassed that now anyone within hearing distance would know that he’d lost them and they wouldn’t know why he’d had them off in the first place.

“Thank you Carlos.” He said. “But did you have to announce it to the world?”

“No I suppose not. Actually, the whole world doesn’t know that you lost your shorts, but, I could tell them if you want.” Carlos said laughing so hard he almost couldn’t keep himself upright in the waves.

David gave him a shove, sending him under water, which resulted in a playful shoving match as they headed for the shoreline.

Everyone, including David had a good laugh over the lost shorts and they wound up having such a great afternoon. Eventually though, everyone had had enough sun for the day and they began to pack up. When they were just about ready to go, Seb carried Kayti into the water and helped to rinse all of the sand off of her. She wanted to get back down when they came out of the water but he knew that she’d just get all sandy again. He set her down on a fairly clean towel and told her to stay there.

Next he carried Sammy in and helped him to rinse off. He took Sammy’s t shirt off and swished it in the water, throwing it over his shoulder as he helped to make sure that Sammy didn’t have too much sand hiding in his bathing suit. They’d get a good bath when they got home.

They all said goodbye and went their separate ways. Dan told them that he’d bring the chairs and cabanas by tomorrow to put them in the storage room. He was the only one with a pick up truck, so he’d been the one to haul them.

Lisa and Seb stopped at Mary’s for just a couple of minutes and picked Lauren up, before heading home to get baths done, a quick dinner and then bedtime. Everyone would sleep well tonight.

Chapter 106:

Carlos, Grace and David had dinner together after a shower and a brief rest after their day out in the sun. Carlos was still enjoying teasing David about losing his shorts in the ocean. David knew it would be a long time before it would be forgotten. He was just glad that they had been found at all.

“We really enjoy this area and we’re talking about buying a condo on the beach here so that we have a permanent place to stay when we come to visit.” David told Carlos. He was trying to change the subject but he and Grace really were excited about looking for one.

“That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should look for something too so when Vicki and I bring the baby to visit, we won’t have to stay in a hotel. I could even get it all set up with a nursery and surprise her when we come back.”

Now that the wheels were turning in Carlos’s head, he was unstoppable. During dinner, they talked about the amenities that they would want in their condos and Grace even made a list for hers and David’s.

Later, in both hotel rooms, computers were flying between web pages as David and Grace in their room and Carlos in his, were exploring the “for sale” ads for condos in the area. Realtors would be called in the morning to get some assistance in finding what they wanted.

Carlos only had tomorrow and then he’d be leaving but, if by chance he found something he liked tomorrow, everything could be handled without his presence here.

David and Grace had a few more days before they’d be leaving and they were confident that they would be able to find something and put an offer in and like Carlos, if need be, the rest could be handled electronically or through the mail.

“Honey, I’m sorry we all gave you such a hard time today.” Grace said as she stood behind him stroking his head and running her long fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp as he sat at the table in their hotel room looking online at the “For Sale” ads.

“I’m just glad to be available for everyone’s entertainment.” He said with a wide grin that told Grace that he wasn’t angry.

She loved this man so much. He was so easy going, quick to laugh, even at himself. She was so glad that she could always tell how he was feeling. He always told her, if not in words, then she could tell by his facial expressions and body language. She continued to massage his scalp and then moved down to his neck and wide shoulders. As she massaged his muscles, she leaned forward and placed little kisses and gentle nips on his cheek, ears and neck. She could tell that she was distracting him from what he was reading. He hadn’t scrolled the page down for quite some time.

David leaned his head back so that it was leaning against Grace’s chest. She slid her arms around his neck and down over the front of his chest, sliding her hands into the open neck of his shirt that he had left unbuttoned a bit. She grazed his little nubs and slid back up and out of his shirt, running her hands from his shoulders all the way down his arms, as far as she could reach.

When he couldn’t stand any more, David stood up and took her hand, leading her to the king sized bed that he always made sure he had to accommodate his long legs.

They stood beside the bed and helped each other to undress and then he pulled back the comfotor and blanket and lifted the sheet for her to slide in. All of the earlier silliness was forgotten as they held each other and spent the rest of the evening thoroughly loving each other. They had been together for so long that words were rarely necessary as they told each other in so many other ways about their deep feelings for each other.

The following morning, David lay quietly beside a still soundly sleeping Grace. Grace, he always had felt that she had been named perfectly. She was such a kind and generous person who rarely met a stranger and he hoped that she would never change, especially as the stress and constant demand from the rest of the world as the fame of her group soared, and he knew it would. They had already built a solid fan base even before their first CD had been released or their first official concert had been done. He knew that this was largely due to the Divas who had initially embraced her as his lady and supported her just for that reason. But he had read the reviews and concert reports from a lot of the Divas who genuinely loved the girls’ music and were helping to spread the word not only in the US but all over the world.

Their relationship had been pretty solid before Il Divo and when Il Divo started taking off, totally surprising them on the response they were getting, he and Grace had had many serious discussions about the effect that this could and probably would have on their relationship. He had traveled extensively for the roles he had taken in operas; they both had, and had endured many separations due to their careers. But, they had usually been in one location for weeks or months at a time, making it at least easier for them to plan to visit one another when time permitted.

When Il Divo happened, then it was usually up to Grace to chase after him and meet him somewhere along the way, wherever he happened to be when she had a long enough break to allow for traveling to some far away places. Now that her career had taken this amazing turn, it was getting more difficult to find time together and he had times when he became genuinely concerned about their future because of it. The biggest plus for them though, was that they really did love each other and fit each other so well not only in bed but their personalities and their interests were so closely matched. He was determined to do whatever it took to make sure they stayed as happy as they were, even through those difficult times when they had to be apart. Hardly a day went by when they didn’t at least sit at their laptops with their webcams on and talk for at least a few minutes like they were sitting beside each other, discussing the happenings of their day and talking about what was coming up next so they wouldn’t feel so disconnected from each other. The only thing that was missing was the physical contact and they definitely made up for that when they had the time to be together.

She began stirring and before she was really awake, she reached for him and he didn’t waste any time pulling her to him and it wasn’t long before she was wide awake, enjoying some early morning loving.

When they finally emerged from under the covers and had gotten showered and dressed; David pulled out his phone and called one of the numbers for a realtor, making an appointment to meet in the hotel lobby in about an hour.

While they waited for her to arrive, David and Grace had some breakfast delivered to their room and went over the list that Grace had started on the things that they wanted to make sure that the condo had or even didn’t have. By the time Sandra Lovette arrived, in the lobby, they felt like they were pretty much in agreement about what they wanted.

Besides both of their parent’s homes where they had both spent lots of time together, they also shared a townhouse in New York City. New York was the base for their careers for so long that they felt like that was their home, at least for now.

They sat in the lobby for a short time discussing the particulars of what they wanted and Sandra also gave her input on the specifics of the area condos. She also told them that they should start by making one of their requirements to be that it was at least several floors up in case of the frequent storms that were know to raise the tide and waves enough to cause flood damage to lower floors of the area buildings. They were grateful for her valuable knowledge in this area. It could save them a lot of money and aggravation in the future.

She had a folder with some photos and other information on some condos that were for sale as well as on her laptop where she brought up web pages that had virtual tours of some of them. Watching these virtual tours helped them make a short list of only four that they wanted to see first.

By the early afternoon, David and Grace were down to two condos that they wanted to decide between. So they said goodbye to Sandra and went back to their hotel room, ordered a light lunch even though it was closer to dinner time. They looked over the notes they’d made at each of the condos and even looked at their virtual tours several more times as they discussed the pros and cons of each of them.

One was a four bedroom, pretty close to Clearwater Beach and Pier 60 where with only a two minute walk, they could be right there. Inside of it was perfect for their wants and needs but the only drawback was that it was only on the third floor. Hopefully if they chose that one, there wouldn’t be any storm damage that high up.

The other one was a three bedroom, on the sixth floor but, neither of them liked the layout of the inside as much as they like the other one. The rooms were smaller and it wasn’t an open plan like the other one. It made everything seem cut off from everything else, where the other one had a wide open kitchen that flowed nicely into the living room area, much nicer for entertaining.

They both had easy elevator access right down to the beach level with key access only, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about fans showing up at their door.

Over their lunch, they decided to go with the one closest to the pier and gave Sandra a call to have her put an offer in on it, including the furniture. If they decided to change the furniture later, they could do that. But for now it would give them some time to look for what they wanted and still be able to use the condo. The only thing they would need to do was buy at least one King size bed. Except for one double bed, the other three bedrooms had only two twin beds in each room.

They decided to go out and look at some beds so that if and when the offer was accepted and they purchased the condo, all they would have to do was call and order the bed and have it delivered. They were sure that one of their friends would come and open the condo for the delivery if they weren’t here.

That was another plus for the condo; it was only about 10 miles from where the other two Divos lived. Especially with the group home as it got filled, they both wanted to be able to visit and help out if and when they could.

Sandra Lovette called David back less than three hours later with the good news that they had the condo. The family of the elderly couple were just thrilled to get it sold. The gentleman had passed away a couple of years ago and the wife didn’t come south for the winter anymore by herself and was now living with one of her children. She was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and needed to be where her loved ones could care for her.

He asked her how soon they could close on the purchase and she told him that she would call him back as soon as she knew.

David could stay here until they went to Sweden if he needed to and anything that needed Grace’s signature could be faxed. He hoped that they could finalize this before he had to leave. They had chosen a bed and had it on hold to be delivered once they had the keys to the condo.

When they called Carlos that evening, he told them he had also decided on one and it wound up being just three miles south of theirs. He didn’t have confirmation of acceptance of his offer as of yet but he was confident it would be accepted since it was right at the asking price. He was so sure that he wanted it that he didn’t want to take any chance on them turning down his offer and selling to someone else.

They all met at Lisa and Seb’s for breakfast in the morning before Carlos had to leave. Everyone was surprised to hear about the decisions to buy homes here and their success at finding them so quickly. Carlos had been called early this morning and his offer had been accepted so now he would just have to work on getting it furnished. Lisa and Alex told Carlos as well as David and Grace that they would make themselves available for deliveries.

Carlos asked them to help him with a list of things that would make a complete nursery so that they would have everything they needed whenever they arrived. Lisa told him that she would type up a list and email it to him and send any additions if she thought of something else.

Seb and Sammy left after breakfast to take Carlos to the airport. Sammy was excited to see the big airplanes again. Seb looked in the mirror and saw that he’d fallen asleep watching one of his Bob the builder DVD’s. Tomorrow was his recheck and Seb hoped that the doctor would give him the all clear to go back to his usual routines and be able to play again. He was getting his strength back and was getting bored not being able to run around and now that he was feeling better, he was getting upset at not being able to get on the playground equipment.

After dropping Carlos at the front entrance, Seb drove around to an area where they could park and watch the airplanes taking off for a while. He let Sammy unbuckle himself and climb up into the front seat beside him. He told Sammy about the different planes and when he told him that he could fly a small airplane, Sammy had a look of absolute awe on his face.

This Papa stuff was fun, Seb thought. He knew there would be many challenges along the way and felt like he was ready to meet them head on when he looked into the smiling face of his young son. He was already seeing the different personalities of Sammy and Kayti.

While Sammy was very sensitive and sometimes overly eager to please everyone, Kayti had a very clear mind of her own and frequently showed her strength of will when she was told to do something. They were having to make a lot of adjustments to make sure to discipline her and at the same time not break her wonderful spirit.

“Okay Buddy, hop back into your seat and buckle up and we’ll head home.”

“Papa can we buy some more puppy treats for Maya and Jasmine?”

“Are they gone already?”

“Yup cuz Kayti gived them lots of them yesterday.”

“Hmm we’ll have to put them up where she can’t reach them. It’s not good for them to have too many, just like it wouldn’t be good for you to have too many cookies. Okay, we’ll call Mommy and let her know that we’re going to stop and see if she needs us to get anything else while we’re out and then we’ll head home to our girls.”

Seb and Sammy did their shopping and then they headed home. Stopping at the mailbox, he pulled out the stack of mail and slid it into one of the grocery bags. They were beginning to get a lot of mail here. Because of the publicity that Lisa and her group home had gotten back in December, there were people sending letters of care and concern, telling them what a great thing she was doing and some even offering support if needed.

Now that they were married though, there were Diva’s that with just a little investigation, were finding out the address and sending letters to him as well as the other Divo’s here instead of to Sony/BMG where their fan mail was supposed to go. He had always been able to keep his private address just that, private. Now he would have to adjust to the possibility of fans coming here and camping outside of the gate. He hoped it would be quite a while before anyone found out that Urs and Alex lived right behind them. Alex didn’t need any added stress in her life.

He had discussed with Lisa and then with Drew that they would need to replace the gate and the fencing around the property. What was there was lovely and it had served its purpose, mostly, by keeping traffic from pulling into the driveway. With the children running around outside, they didn’t want any more vehicle traffic than necessary. But it was more of an ornamental gate than an actual security measure. If someone really wanted to gain entrance, it wouldn’t take much.

So once the house was complete and they had gotten moved in and before the contractors got started on the music building, they would replace the existing gate and fencing with something that would provide them all with a little more security. Urs and Alex had agreed that this was necessary as well and Urs told Drew to go ahead and do all around his property as well and they would also put in new gates with security cameras.

When Seb and Sammy came into the house, Lisa had Kayti up in her chair eating her lunch and had a plate ready for Sammy.

“We had fun Mommy. After Tio Carlos went to the airport, we got to watch the big planes again and Papa telled me about that he can drive a plane too.” Sammy told her excitedly.

Lisa smiled at Seb over Sammy’s head as he climbed up into his chair.

“Go wash your hands Buddy” Seb reminded him gently, ruffling the boy’s hair.

While the waited for Sammy to come back to the table, Seb told Lisa about Kayti’s generosity with the dog treats and they found a high shelf to put them on in the laundry room so that one of the adults would have to get them.

Seb set the pile of mail he’d picked up on the table and then he went into the bedroom and peeked into Lauren’s cradle and saw that she had woken up but was just lying there sucking her thumb.

“Hello ma petite. Did you have a nice nap?” Seb spoke to her as he lifted her up into his arms. He was rewarded by a smile as the baby looked directly into his eyes. “You are very beautiful, you know. Papa is going to have to be very careful not to let too many boys hang around here when you get older.”

He ran his fingers through her thick hair. He did it every time he held her. He couldn’t help it. It was just so soft. His heart felt like it was constricting painfully when he allowed himself to think of this precious little girl lying out on the ground like some carelessly discarded garbage. He had to force himself not to think about it too much. He didn’t want his anger to seep out of him. Babies could feel your moods and all he wanted this child to feel was how much she was loved by all of the people she now had in her life. He carried her out to the kitchen close to his chest and asked Lisa if she thought that Lauren was ready to eat.

“Probably not yet. She just ate before her nap. She might like to play under her gym. She’s already trying to grab at everything and she bats at the toys. “

Seb laid Lauren on the carpet under her little gym and sat next to her, watching her hands, arms and feet all start to fly around as she hit and kicked at the toys that were dangling from the bar that was suspended over her chest.

When Kayti was finished eating, she came and sat in Seb’s lap and they watched Lauren together. Seb had to show Kayti how to play gently with Lauren as she tried to take Lauren’s arm and help her to hit the toys. Kayti went to her bedroom and brought out her jack in the box and began to turn the handle. As soon as the music began, Lauren started smiling and kicking her feet.

“She likes that Kayti. Keep turning it.” Seb told her. Lauren liked the jack in the box’s music but as soon as the top popped open with a fairly loud sound as the little clown popped out, Lauren’s little lips puckered up and she let out a wail that just about broke Seb’s heart.

He picked her up and brought her close to his chest as he rubbed her back and spoke quietly to her. He started to sing a lullaby to her very softly and she settled down after a minute.

Lisa had seen the whole scene from the beginning and at first she thought Seb might not know how to handle the baby’s crying. She felt so proud of him as she watched him not only comfort Lauren but Kayti as well. She was upset that she had made the baby cry.

“It’s alright, Love. We didn’t know that the noise would frighten her.” Seb said as he drew Kayti close to his side and gave her a squeeze.”

When he had laid Lauren back under her gym, he showed Kayti how they could turn the handle to play the music and at the same time hold the top closed so that it wouldn’t pop open and frighten the baby. It worked like a charm and Lauren was happy again as she listened to the music.

“Are you up for a walk, Seb? I wanted to walk over to Alex’s for a bit after Kayti and Sammy have a nap.” Alex said the kitchen remodeling has been finished and she wanted me to come and see it. I thought we could all go but if you don’t feel like it, I’ll just drive over.”

“No, a walk sounds great. I’ll help you get the kids down for a nap and then maybe we could take a nap too before we go.” He said grinning and trying to wiggle his eyebrows like Carlos.

As she headed into Kayti’s room to help her pick her toys up and get her into bed, Lisa gave Seb a swat on the behind.

“That depends on if we can get these two to sleep soon enough.” She said grinning back at him.

Seb quickly got himself off of the floor and went to round Sammy up and into his bed for his nap. Although he wasn’t one to argue, Sammy was not acting like he was going to go to sleep very quickly. That is until Seb told him that they were going to take the puppies on a walk through the woods if he had a nap. Finally Sammy’s eyes began to close and then with one last flutter, they stayed that way and Seb knew he had finally gone to sleep.

When he left Sammy’s room, closing the door as quietly as possible, he peeked into Kayti’s room and saw that she too had gone to sleep already. He smiled and headed into their bedroom and found Lisa changing Lauren’s diaper and then she sat down in the chair to feed her.

Seb sat on the edge of the bed and watched them. He was imagining how fun it was going to be with two babies that were very close in age. Lauren would be about eight months when their little girl was born.

“Are you going to nurse the baby after she is born?” Seb asked her and immediately saw her cheeks redden. He loved how she still had occasional bouts of shyness with him.

“If I can. I would love to have that bonding experience with her.”

“We need to come up with a name for her so that we know which baby we are talking about.” Seb said with a grin.

“We should both start coming up with a list and then sit down and decide which one we like the best. You know I never imagined having so many little ones all at once. I figured that I would find a lot of older children to fill the home with when it was finished. But they all found us before we even had a chance to start looking.”

“Do you think it is harder to have the younger ones?” he asked.

“That depends. They are a lot more work as far as their personal care but like with Kayti and Lauren, they aren’t having to deal with so much of their pasts, like Sammy. And even he is pretty young. If we wind up with children that are nine or ten or older, they have lived through so much and have so much more in their memories of the life they’ve lived and we will have to learn how to deal with all of their anger, hurts and fears. Sammy has actually been easy so far, considering what he has been through in his short life. I doubt that we will always be this lucky to have children that get adjusted to us so well and so quickly.” Lisa said as she burped Lauren and laid her in the cradle.

“I know it won’t always be a piece of cake but, I have no doubt that together we can do anything and when these children come into our home and experience the love that flows through it they will eventually know that they are home and can let themselves be happy.” Seb said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss.

They didn’t wind up having much of a nap as they took full advantage of their alone time while the children all slept.

Lisa had been watching Seb getting dressed as she was drying herself off after a speedy shower when she heard Kayti hollering to be let out of her room.

“I’ll get her.” Seb told her as he was drying his hair with a towel.

After a snack was put into some little bags for the children to eat on the way, Seb strapped on the infant carrier to his chest and Lisa helped him get Lauren situated in it. Then Lisa attached the leashes to the puppies and knowing that Maya was the easier one to walk, she let Sammy hold her leash while she held Jasmine’s. Jasmine tended to take people for a walk instead of the other way around. Urs told them that that issue was one of the first couple of things that would be addressed in puppy classes when they started going next week.

Seb pulled the red wagon in case either of the children or the puppies got tired during their walk. Since it was paved, it would be easy to pull it through the woods.

Lisa had called Alex to let her know that they were on their way and when Seb and his clan were more than halfway, they saw Urs coming from his house with Max and Bella rushing ahead, trying to get to their friends to play.

They let all four dogs say hello and get settled down before they tried to resume their walk. Lisa had taken over Maya’s leash when they had seen Urs and his dogs. She didn’t want Sammy getting yanked around by the excited puppies.

It was funny to see the personalities of the dogs. Max and Jasmine were the more aggressive and more energetic, while Maya and Bella were much more laid back and although they had plenty of energy, they tended to hang back when Jasmine and Max decided to get playing too rough.

Urs had had a new fence erected in part of their yard so that the dogs could spend more time playing outside. So, when they arrived at the house, they sent all of the dogs into the enclosure before they went into the house.

Lisa was so pleased when she saw what a beautiful job had been done in Alex’s kitchen. It was so warm and inviting, just like a country kitchen. Alex was glad that they’d decided to replace the cabinets. What was there now was beautiful and much more efficient and spacious. Like what was in Lisa’s new kitchen, Alex had chosen a cabinet system that had special cabinets for different types of items, like the special tall skinny cabinet for cookie sheets and cutting boards.

Alex was in the middle of putting away some of her dishes that hadn’t been unpacked yet while they had been waiting for the cabinets to be finished. Now she could finish and get rid of all of the boxes that they had been having to search through when they wanted a certain pot or pan. The counter top had also been replaced with a granite counter that was in a mauve color.

“This is fantastic.” Lisa told her as she helped to unpack everything.

When Urs and Seb came back into the kitchen after getting the toys out for the children they began helping too. Urs even made Alex sit in the chair at the table and just direct traffic, telling everyone where she wanted things to go.

“You’ve done a lot of the cooking when we get together lately. Let me cook tonight and you guys stay and have dinner with us.” Urs said.

“Only if you let me help.” Lisa said. ”There are more of us than there are of you.

If they had known that they would be staying so long they probably would have driven and they would have had Laurens infant carrier, so Alex asked Urs to go up to their nursery and get the bouncy seat that was sitting in there waiting for their son to get here.

By the time Urs and Lisa had dinner ready, Alex and Seb had the rest of the boxes emptied and Alex’s kitchen was finished.

“Thank you for your help.” Alex said to everyone. It’s nice to have it done. Now we don’t have anything left to do but find a couple more pieces of furniture and a little decorating and the house will be finished, but I’m not worrying any more about it until Aaron is born. His nursery is ready. That’s the important part.

“Aaron? He has a name? I love it!” Lisa said excitedly, giving Alex a squeeze.

“Yes. His name is Aaron Daniel.” Alex said, smiling from ear to ear.

“Oh, have you told Mom and Dad yet? They will absolutely love it.”

“No not yet. We’ve just come to the decision a while ago while we were working in here.” Urs told her.

Over dinner, they discussed the upcoming schedule and where Aaron’s surgery was going to fit in. Alex told Lisa that Mom and Dad were going to have her and the puppies stay at their house whenever Urs was away.

While Urs knew that Alex would much prefer to stay at home, he was relieved that she’d agreed to go. He was going to be worried enough. Knowing that she was going to be looked after would greatly ease his mind when he was gone.

There was such a high risk of early labor after the surgery that she would not be able to stay alone for any extended periods, especially not directly after the surgery. As the first days and then weeks would pass, the longer labor held off, the less likely it would be that it would happen.

Chapter 107:

“Papa, please can I go play now?” Sammy asked as soon as his feet hit the ground.

“Go right ahead, Buddy.” Seb told him with a smile.

Sammy turned and ran straight for the playground and into the big side and up the stairs to the slide. He had the biggest smile on his face and he even giggled as he glided down the curvy slide.

They had just returned home from Sammy’s recheck and the doctor had given him a clean bill of health and permission to return to school and his normal play. They had just been told to watch him for a couple more weeks for any sign of infection around the little incisions and if he complained of any pain in his belly to bring him right in.

Seb carried Lauren in her infant seat as Lisa was unhooking Kayti from her seat and when Lisa helped her out of the truck, Kayti hit the ground running to join her brother, only to have to wait at the gate for one of them to catch up to her to let her in.

Seb set Lauren down next to Lisa and headed for the slide with Kayti and Sammy. Lisa sat and watched them all running and playing until Lauren decided that she was hungry.

“Seb I’ll be in the house. I need to take care of the baby. I’ll bring out a picnic lunch if you’d like.”

“Alright, that sounds great.”

“Yay, a picnic! Sammy said jumping up and down from his perch on top of the slide.

“You be careful up there Sammy” Lisa admonished, her heart doing a little flip flop thing when she saw him jumping so high up.

“Okay Mommy.” Sammy said sitting down and sliding down the slide.

Seb shrugged his shoulders at her when she gave him a look. “Boys will be boys.” He said grinning. Evidently he hadn’t thought too much about it when Sammy was jumping so high up. Knowing Seb, he’d probably climbed trees and anything else he could climb when he was a boy. She just shook her head at him and turned to go into the house. “Je Taime.” She heard from behind her. “I love you too.” She called back to him without turning around.

She loved having the photo book that his aunt had made for her. It gave her a precious window into the boy that he had been. She could sit for hours looking at the pages of pictures and asking him what he remembered about himself at different ages. She was amazed at the transformation of the blonde curly headed toddler into the dark headed man.

When she looked at his impish face in the photos of his youngest years, she wondered if their daughter would look like him or like her or maybe even a combination of the two of them. She didn’t have too many pictures of herself as a child. When the social services worker brought her to Auntie and Uncle Jonathan, she had only brought some of Lisa’s personal belongings. She didn’t even know what had become of everything else. Auntie did have copies of pictures of her that her mother had sent every so often beginning with a hospital picture when Lisa was born.

Auntie and Uncle Jonathan weren’t big picture takers. Since Lisa was five when she’d come to live with them and ready to start kindergarten, most of the photos of her growing up were the standard yearly school pictures and a few that had been taken over the years at Christmas with her standing in front of their Christmas tree.

Lisa took care of Lauren, changing then feeding her and laid her in the cradle while she set about putting their picnic lunch together. When she almost had everything together, Lisa heard a car in the driveway. No one came to the door so Lisa went to the door to see who it was.

Brenda was standing outside of the playground fence, talking to Seb and the children. She carried the basket with their lunch outside and handed it to Seb over the fence.

“Hi Brenda.”

“Hi Lisa. I just came to check on the little man here and see if the doctor had given him the all clear. I see that he has.”

“You should have seen him when we got home. He was off and running right away. We are about to have a picnic lunch. Can you join us?”

“I wish I could but I have an appointment. How’s Lauren doing?”

“She’s great. Come on, I was just going back to get her. You can take a peek.”

Brenda was still officially Laruen’s social worker and had the obligation to check on her from time to time and Lisa understood that.

“When does Seb go back out of town?” Brenda asked her as they entered the house.

“Next week and they’ll be gone almost two weeks. Then as soon as they return, Alex’s surgery has been scheduled. Then just over two weeks after they get back from Sweden, they’ll head to Dublin for the concert with Celine.”

“Too bad you couldn’t go with them for the Dublin concert.”

“Seb wanted me to go. I’d love to go but Alex is going to need all the help and support that she can get after that surgery, no matter what the outcome. Even if everything goes alright with it, there will still be the danger of early labor. So, I just don’t want to go anywhere in case she needs me.”

“You know, you do need to take time for yourself sometimes, and for you and Seb.”

“I know. There’s just so much happening right now.”

“I just don’t want to see you burn out. You’ve been going non stop for close to a year now, ever since you bought the property and then three children coming to you in pretty quick succession. Have you even taken a few hours for yourself lately?”

“It’s not been that long since our honeymoon. That was a pretty long break.” Lisa said trying to defend herself.

“Lisa, that was three months ago. You need to have some time to go off by yourself and regroup once in a while, even if it’s just a few hours. I know it’s really none of my business, but I really think you should try to go to Dublin with Seb. It’s only a couple of days away from the children. You’re important to me and to these children and they need you at your best.”

Lisa didn’t say anything in answer as she set Lauren into her carrier. She actually did want to go to Dublin but wasn’t sure how she could. Mom and Dad would be occupied with Alex, and she knew that Mary was alright with all three children for a few hours but, several days was another story. She didn’t want to scare Mary off before they’d even really gotten started.

“What if I had Sammy and Kayti come stay with me so you could go?”

“Have you become a mind reader? I was just wondering how I could possibly do it. I could have Mary come and stay with Lauren if you could take Sammy and Kayti.”

“Sure, and now that Sammy can go back to school, I can drop them off on my way to work and make sure that someone else other than me will be on call for emergencies at the office. Talk to Seb. See if it can be worked out for you to go.”

“I do want to go but, I still would be really worried about Alex though.”

“You are going to worry no matter where you are. At least if you go with Seb, you will have something to take your mind off of it for a while. You said that Dan and Marie were going to have her stay there anyway, right?”

Lisa nodded as they headed back outside. She had a lot to think about. She’d have to talk to Mary and see what she said. Brenda said goodbye and told Lisa to call her when she’d made up her mind.

“What did she want you to make up your mind about?” Seb asked her as he held the door open for her and Lauren.

“She thinks I should go with you to Dublin.”

“I would love for you to be able to go, Baby.”

“Me too but, I’ll be worried about Alex and then there’s finding care for the children. Brenda did say that she would keep Sammy and Kayti if I went and Mary might be able to come over and stay with Lauren.”

“That sounds perfect, Baby. You’ve never been to a concert yet. I really would love for you to be there with me. Please try.”

There was no way for her to turn him down when he looked at her that way. He pulled her close to him for a hug.

“We need to get back outside. I just came to carry Lauren for you.” Seb said as he lifted the baby’s seat from Lisa’s hands.

Later that afternoon, Lisa called Alex to talk to her about Dublin.

“So what do you think about me going? If you need me to stay, I won’t go.” Lisa said after explaining the way the discussion about Dublin had come back up.

“I think you should go too, Lisa. Brenda’s right. You have so much going on and you need to make sure to take a break now and then. Eventually you won’t be able to fly until after the baby is born, so you need to go now while you can. I wish I could tell you that I’d help with the children but, that won’t be possible this time, I’m afraid.”

“No, I didn’t expect you to, or Mom and Dad either. If I can’t arrange this without the three of you then I won’t go at all. With Brenda keeping Sammy and Kayti, there’s just Lauren to arrange care for. I’m going to call Mary in a few minutes and see if she would come and stay or have Lauren over at her house, whichever is easier for her.”

“Good, Let me know how the arrangements go. I’m happy for you.”

“I wish you could go too.”

“Me too but, my time will come soon enough. Right now, I just need to concentrate on Aaron… I just love saying his name. Bean was cute but to actually have a real name for him now just makes him that much more real for me. I’ve also been feeling him moving a lot more. Urs has felt him a lot too, mostly when we are settled in bed for the night and we get really quiet.”

“I can’t wait until Seb can feel our baby. I have felt her moving several times but he hasn’t been able to yet.”

“Have you discussed names for her yet?”

“Yes. We have each been making a list of names. I know my favorite but I’m not sure if it will be okay with Seb. We haven’t sat down and compared lists yet.”

They talked for a few more minutes and when they were saying goodbye, Alex told Lisa again that she wanted her to go to Dublin and not worry about her.

“If you’re sure.” Lisa said, still not sounding convinced.

“I’m very sure. I’m counting on you to go and get plenty of pictures and video so I can see it.” Alex said sounding sincere enough that it helped Lisa to feel better about her plans to go.

“Alright. I will then. I’ll talk to you later. Love ya.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

By the end of the day, Lisa had spoken to Mary who’d agreed that Lisa should go and said she’d just come to their house instead of having to drag all the baby’s things over to her house. She also said that she would speak to Brenda so that she would know that if she ever needed to drop Sammy and Kayti off for a while, that would be fine too. It wasn’t so much that Mary couldn’t handle all the children, It was just with her bad knees and having to keep up with the children, it would be hard for her.

She told Lisa that she had been discussing having the knee replacement surgeries soon so that she would be healed up from at least the first one by the time they were ready for her to move in.

“Go ahead and schedule it, Mary. I know how much they hurt you sometimes.” Lisa told her.

“I will. I’ve put it off for far too long as it is. I want to get it done and be able to be more of a help to you. If I can even just get the right one done, that is the worst one right now.”

“Well, let me know when you get it scheduled and we will do whatever we can to help.”

“My daughter has promised to come to stay with me during and after the surgery to help me.”

“Oh that’s great. That will make it even easier for you.”

As Lisa and Seb were getting all comfortable in bed, ready for sleep that night, Lisa told Seb that she was glad now that everything was arranged for her to go. He had gotten busy and arranged for her to fly with them as soon as she had told him that the children would be well taken care of. They were flying in the Siempre jet so all he’d had to do was let the necessary people know of the extra passenger.

“I can’t wait to be at the concert and hear you sing again. I remember being so nervous sitting there in the front row that night that Alex and I went to your concert. When we were going to the venue, we thought we’d be way in the back. We were so shocked to be led right to the front and then your note that we would have dinner with you. I was both excited and very nervous to see you again.” Lisa reminisced. “My face felt like it was on fire when you kept looking at me while you were singing.”

“My favorite memory of that night is after dinner. Even though it felt terrible to think that I wouldn’t see you again, I can still remember how I felt when I kissed you and held you in my arms for the first time. It just felt so right to have you there close to me.”

Seb felt her smile against his chest as she remembered the kiss too. “That was my most favorite part of the night too.” She said sleepily as she kissed him and snuggled closer to his side and laid her arm across his chest, palm flat over his heart, feeling its strong beat beneath her hand.

Chapter 108:

The day that Seb was heading back to Sweden came much too quickly for Lisa’s liking. Every day seemed to be flying by as there was always so much to do. Hopefully it would still be busy enough when he was gone so that the days would fly by until he would be home again.

Alex’s blood pressure was up just enough again that the doctor wanted her to spend a lot of the day in bed or at least on the sofa with her feet up. She wasn’t thrilled but at least it wasn’t total bed rest yet. So Lisa would drive the guys to the airport and then bring dinner over and eat with Alex. It would help them both to have the other to talk to. They would each know exactly how the other was feeling.

Lisa was really quiet as they prepared to go pick Urs up.

“Are you okay, Ma Cherie?” Seb asked, running the backs of his fingers down her cheek.

“I’m sorry Seb. I try not to make your leaving any harder. I know you don’t like to leave either. I’ll just miss you so much.” She said as he pulled her against him and her arms slid around his waist.

“I’ll miss you too, all of you.” He said, kissing her cheeks and making his way across her face, coming to rest on her waiting lips.

She clung to him for just another minute before backing away and closing his suitcase up, trying to hide her tears.

“I’m sure these crazy hormones aren’t helping either.” She said smiling and trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room.

“You just make sure to take extra good care of yourself and little Jessica Marie.”

“What? Seb, you peeked at my list!” Lisa said sounding exasperated with a bit of a whine.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I knocked it off of the table and I saw the first name when I picked it up. I love it and it is a fitting tribute to the two women who helped make you the amazing lady that you’ve become.”

“Thank you. That was sweet of you to say that but, are you sure? We were going to sit down and compare what we both had written down and decide together.”

“I’m positive. I love it and we will probably have the opportunity to name other children. I’ll take my turn next.” He said with a wink.

Lisa threw her arms around his neck. “I love you so much. You are the most wonderful man in the whole world and I am so lucky that you are mine and that you love me.” She said as the tears began again, only this time they were happy tears.

She wasn’t any happier that he was leaving but at least now she had the excitement of knowing that their daughter had a name. Alex was right. It made such a difference when you began to think of the child with an actual name.

They stopped and picked Urs up, only staying long enough for Alex and Urs to say several more goodbyes complete with repeated hugs and kisses. Lisa could see that Alex was also having a rough time saying goodbye.

When they finally headed out the door, Lisa poked her head back in and rubbed her slowly growing belly and smiled at Alex.

“Jessica Marie.”

It took a second for Alex to understand what Lisa was saying and all of a sudden her face lit up.

“Really, that’s her name? That’s wonderful. Hurry back so we can talk.”

“I will. I’ll drop the guys, pick up the kids at school and stop back at the house to pick up dinner.”

When they arrived at the airport drop off area, Urs got out, removed his luggage and said thank you and goodbye to Lisa with a hug.

“Take care and please keep an eye on Alex for me.”

“I will Urs. She’ll be fine. We’re going to have a girl’s night tonight. We’ll get the kids tucked into bed in the spare room and have ourselves some fun talking about all of the things that you guys do that irritate us.” She said with a grin.

Both guys had a good chuckle over that and it helped to release some of the real tension in the air. Lisa knew that Urs was genuinely worried about Alex and had every right to be.

Urs put his and Seb’s luggage on a cart and pulled it, moving into the terminal to let Lisa and Seb say their goodbyes in private, well at least as private as they could be outside with all of the other travelers passing by.

After poking his head back into the backseat and kissing a sleeping Lauren on the forehead, Seb stood back up and laced his fingers through Lisa’s hair that was hanging loosely down her back and over her shoulders.

“Please don’t do too much. There is nothing that is in desperate need to be done while I’m gone.”

“I won’t. There really isn’t much I can do right now anyway. We’ve gotten so much done. All the ordering of supplies and furniture is done and just waiting for the go ahead for a delivery date.”

“Good. Just have fun with the children. Give Sammy and Kayti a kiss for me. I’ll call when we land but they will probably be in bed.”

He leaned in and kissed her soundly, hugging her close to him and running his hands down her sides, memorizing the feel of her body against his own.

“I love you so very much. I want you to feel my love even when I am away.”

“I know you love me. No matter what else is uncertain in my life, that is not one of those things. Take care of yourself and make sure to get enough rest.”

“I’ll try. It shouldn’t be too bad. We’ll have a pretty set recording schedule.”

With one last lingering kiss, Seb touched her lips with his fingertips and then with a long sigh he followed Urs into the terminal, turning to wave once more as he went through the sliding doorway.

Lisa waved back and watched him until the doors closed and the glare of the sun on the glass prevented her from seeing him any longer. She slid behind the wheel of the Escalade and wiped the tears away that had only been allowed to fall after he had disappeared from sight.

By the time she had picked up the kids, picked up dinner and walked into Alex’s house, Lisa had given herself a pep talk and told herself that if she looked upset, the kids would get upset too. Sammy was already unhappy when he got into the truck and remembered that his Papa had gone away. Plus Alex needed her to cheer her up, not add to the depressed feelings from Urs being gone. So she’d have to suck it up and even if she didn’t feel cheery, she needed to at least look the part.

Even though they were both fighting their feelings of missing their guys, Lisa and Alex had a pretty fun evening together. They really hadn’t had a whole lot of girl time lately to talk about things. They wound up putting a romantic comedy in the DVD player after the kids were in bed and laughed until their sides hurt and they were having to rush to empty their bladders before their laughing caused them to embarrass themselves.

The guys called to let them know that they had arrived, not staying on long after their long flight. They both promised to call again tomorrow when they had gotten a bit of rest and then said goodnight.

Alex had helped Lisa to make a bed on the floor for Sammy and Kayti. Lauren was in the pack and play and Alex told Lisa to just spend the night. She would have taken Alex up on that since the hour had gotten so late but, Jasmine and Maya would be busting to go out if they hadn’t already gone on the papers in the laundry room. So one at a time, Lisa carried the two older ones out to the truck and Alex carried Lauren out in her seat.

Lisa was glad for the short ride home. She was pretty tired. She wished that there was a little bit of lighting along the private road. It was pitch black even when the moon was shining overhead. The trees were so dense that the light from the moon didn’t help very much at all. She felt a sense of relief when she began to see the lights that she’d left on around the house.

She carried Lauren’s seat into the house and then went back for Kayti. Sammy had woken up so she asked him to walk into the house. She had to help to guide him as she carried Kayti in. He was half asleep and kept heading off in the wrong direction. When he climbed into his bed still in his clothes, she didn’t stop him. She just reached down and removed his shoes and covered him up. Thinking that Sammy had the right idea, she decided not to risk waking Kayti up so late. She might not go right back to sleep if she woke her now. So she just laid her in her bed and took her shoes off too and pulled her little pink blanket up over her. Knowing that Lauren would take a bottle, Lisa heated one up and got her changed and into a sleeper and then they sat on the bed while Lauren ate. Lisa flipped through the channels on the TV, trying to stay awake for just a few more minutes.

When Lauren was finished and already falling back to sleep in her cradle, Lisa climbed under the covers on Seb’s side of the bed and hugged his pillows to her chest and pressed her face into one of them, inhaling his scent. While only a few minutes ago she had been unable to hold her eyes open, now she felt wide awake. She felt very lonely without him holding her as she fell asleep. Eventually though her body’s need for sleep won out and she couldn’t have told you when but she did sleep through the rest of the night, still holding Seb’s pillows like an anchor. Lauren even cooperated by sleeping through the rest of the night since she had such a late bottle.

The next twelve days had their ups and downs. Lisa and Alex muddled through, spending time together, keeping each other company when they began to miss the guys too much, although Lisa tried to keep their evenings out from being so late.

Lisa even went to one of Alex’s appointments and got to see little Aaron Daniel on the sonogram.

“Aaron and Jessica will be so close in age. It will be great for them to be able to grow up together.” Lisa said.

“Yeah and Lauren too. They’ll be like the three Musketeers.” Alex laughed.

On the way home from the appointment, they stopped to show Mom the new sonogram pictures of Aaron and tell her that everything was looking good, even her blood pressure, at least for now.

“Have you told Mom about the baby’s name yet?” Alex asked Lisa as they all sat around Mom’s table eating some lunch.

“Oh have you and Seb chosen a name for her already? Mom asked almost jumping up and down in her seat. She was in her element and loving all of the anticipation of the new babies coming.

“Yes, we have. Her name is Jessica Marie.” Lisa said and waited the few seconds it took for Mom to realize.

“That is beautiful, sweetheart.”

“I wanted to honor Auntie for all of the years that she took care of me when she should have been enjoying her later years.”

“Honey, she did enjoy them. She loved you so much. She wasn’t the most openly affectionate person in the world, but she enjoyed watching you grow up and I really think it kept her young to have you there, especially after Jonathan died.”

“Thank you for saying that. I know she loved me. Even though she didn’t say mushy things very much, she showed me every day how much she cared about me and my future. But I also wanted to include you. You and Dad have made me feel so loved here with you, like I still have a family and you didn’t have to do that and I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.” Lisa said with a tear in her eye.

Marie hugged her and they all had to blow their noses after the emotional conversation.

In Sweden the guys were all thoroughly involved in getting the recordings completed but their girls were never far from their thoughts.

Vicki had called Carlos and told him that she had to cut back drastically this week on her activities. Her lower back was beginning to have a lot of pain so she only did what was necessary. The doctor did say that otherwise she was fine and the baby wasn’t in danger but, she was going to have to deal with this pain for the next few months until the baby was delivered and just find ways to alleviate it as much as possible. She was such a small woman and it looked like she may be carrying a rather large baby for her small frame.

Seb had spoken to Lisa and felt like she was taking good care of herself. He had spoken to Drew before he left and knew that there wasn’t anything Lisa could do in the house right now. As much as he knew that frustrated her, he was glad that she was being forced to take it easy right now and by the time they were at a place to begin getting the cleaners in, the carpet laid and then move furniture in, he would be home and be able to step in if he felt like she was overdoing it. He knew she wouldn’t do it on purpose but she was so excited about the house being completed soon.

Of course Urs was concerned about Alex, that she was not doing more than she should. He was glad though when she called and left a message after she and Lisa had left the doctor’s appointment and she said everything was alright.

He was still very nervous about the upcoming surgery. When he told Alex to go ahead with it, he was being less than honest with her about wanting her to go through with it. He could tell that she had made up her mind but had been afraid to tell him, so he had told her to go ahead so that she could stop worrying about it.

He was terrified that something would happen to her or the baby during the surgery and he would be helpless to do anything about it. He didn’t want to think about what his life would be like if he lost her. In such a short time Alex Huggins had become his life, his other half, his soulmate and he already loved this baby, Aaron, his son, whether he was his blood or not. Sometimes he had trouble putting thoughts of them away long enough to get his recordings done as efficiently as he usually would but, the other guys had thankfully been very understanding since they knew what or more importantly, who was on his mind.

One afternoon while they were recording, the secretary that was on hand to take messages and was also kind enough to be available for meal runs if they were hungry and didn’t want to stop long enough to go eat, came back to drop off a message for the guys.

When they stopped to listen back to some of the tracks and make adjustments, David read the message and handed it to Seb who read it as well. When Urs saw the look on Seb’s face, he asked what it said.

Seb looked to Carlos and asked him if he remembered the two young girls that had stopped them to talk and for pictures when they were here the last time.

“Si, I remember. One of the senoritas kissed you right on the lips if I recall.”

“Yes, that’s them. Well, they want to know if we want to have dinner with them and see the town with them, maybe go to the clubs. You all can go if you wish but, personally I would rather not. I didn’t appreciate the familiar way she acted. I just want to get finished and get back to the hotel and call Lisa.”

“Same here. I need to call Alex later, I don’t really care to go out.” Urs said.

David looked to Carlos to see if he might go but Carlos echoed Seb’s feelings about feeling uncomfortable with those young ladies. Most of the fans were very respectful with personal boundaries but occasionally, they came across some that they knew could cause them trouble eventually. They had only learned this over time, originally not seeing the differences but now they were all seasoned enough to listen to their insides if they got even a hint of an uncomfortable vibe. So Seb balled up the paper and threw it backwards over his shoulder and hit the trash can without even looking.

“Good shot, Frenchie.” David said, slapping Seb on the back and then laughing as Seb took an over dramatic bow to his audience before they got back to business.

Chapter 109:

Lisa drove the private road towards home after dark again. As she got to about the halfway point between the houses, she thought she saw movement off to her right, just at the edge of wher her headlights were shining. It was probably a deer, they had seen several during the early morning hours, right in the front yard before but what she saw had been pretty big and she had a chill run through her at the thought that it may not have been just a deer.

“Hi Santa.” Kayti said from the back seat a half second later.

“What did you say Kayti?” Lisa asked her, hoping that she had misheard her.

“I say hi to the Santa, Mama.”

“Oh, where is Santa?” Lisa asked her, the uneasy feeling she’d had now turning into full blown fear. It was several hours after dark. Even if someone was hiking, they wouldn’t be out this late.

“He right there.” She said pointing her little finger out the window right towards where Lisa had seen the movement.

Maybe someone had gotten lost in the woods, she thought trying to calm herself. Lisa instinctively reached for the lock button even thought the truck automatically locked the doors when the vehicle was put in drive. She didn’t want to frighten the children so she just kept moving normally through the woods. She tried to formulate a plan of how she could get herself and the three children all into the house at once. She could carry Kayti and Lauren and tell Sammy to hold onto her shirt. When Kayti was awake, she usually let her walk, but Kayti had a mind of her own and in this instance, she didn’t want anything slowing up their flight into the house.

She had to figure out how to get Sammy to do what she wanted without scaring him. She decided to make a game of it. He always liked to play games, especially if it was a silly one that they just made up out of the blue.

“Sammy, how would you like to play a game? Let’s see how fast we can get out of the truck and into the house.”

“Okay Mommy. I can run fastest now.”

Maybe he could unlock the door while she carried the girls in. He’d never used the house key before but maybe he could do it.

“Would you like to unlock the door for Mommy?”

“Oh Yes Mommy.”

“We still need to see how fast we can get into the house though.” She told him.

When they pulled up as close as she could to the front porch, she told Sammy to get unbuckled but not open his door. When she saw that he was out of his seat, she asked him to get Kayti unbuckled too. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She needed to have a clear head here.

With one last deep breath and telling Sammy that they would start to go on the count of three. She told him that whoever wins the race will get an extra special treat. She could see the excitement on his face as she looked at him through her rear view mirror.

“If you have trouble unlocking the door, just give Mommy the keys back and I will do it alright?”

“Okay Mommy but I am going to be the winner cuz I can run very fast.”

Lisa smiled in spite of her internal feelings of fear that were taking a hold of her.

“Okay Sweetheart. Let’s go as fast as we can.”

After counting to three for Sammy’s benefit, Lisa jumped out, threw the back door open, took Sammy’s hand and assisted him jumping down from the truck at the same time she handed him the keys with the correct key fitted between his thumb and finger and again told him to hurry. She reached in and in one motion, popped Lauren’s car seat off of it’s base and with the other arm she scooped Kayti up and turned and ascended the steps as quickly as possible with all of the weight she was carrying.

She breathed an enormous sigh of relief when Sammy squealed in delight at opening the door by himself.

As soon as all of them were through the doorway into the house, Lisa set Kayti and Lauren down and quickly locked both locks on the door.

“Mommy, can Kayti and me go play in my room now?”

Normally, at this time of night, Lisa would be telling him no, that it was time to get ready to go to sleep but right now she was trying to figure out what she needed to do so she just nodded her head at him and watched as the two ran off into Sammy’s room to play.

She decided to call Alex first. She almost had decided against calling her because she didn’t want to frighten her but she had to be sure that Alex had locked all of her doors.

She dialed the phone and stood at the living room window peeking out through the edge of the curtain, making sure that she didn’t see any movement in the yard.

She wished that Jasmine and Maya were more mature dogs so they would alert her if someone was out there. Alex was in the same boat. Max and Bella weren’t old enough yet to be the security that they had been purchased for either.

“Hello” Alex said sounding a bit groggy.

“I’m sorry I woke you, Alex but it is important. Please go and be sure that all of your doors and windows are locked and secure.”

“Okay but why?””

“I’ll explain but please go check them first.” Lisa said with a small hitch in her voice that quickly got Alex’s attention. She hadn’t heard Lisa sounding afraid like this for quite a few months so she got up and moved through the house and visibly checked each window and door lock to make sure that it was fastened.

When she was finished and told Lisa that everything was indeed secure, she asked what had her so spooked. Lisa told her of the movement she had seen in the woods between their homes and that Kayti had seen it too and called it Santa, which led her to believe that it was in fact a person and probably a man if Kayti had been correct.

“What would anyone be doing out there, especially this late at night? They would have to be climbing over the fences.”

“I don’t know, Alex but it scared me so much. I haven’t been afraid for so long. Do you think I am overreacting like I used to?”

“No Sweety. I think you were right to take the precautions you did, especially getting yourself and the children inside to safety.”

“Do you think I should call the police?”

“I don’t think it would be a bad idea. I’m not sure if they will do anything but it wouldn’t hurt to alert them that there is someone prowling around the properties so late at night.”

“Okay, I’ll give them a quick call and then I really need to get the children to bed.”

“Do you want me to come and stay with you?”

“NO! Don’t you unlock the door at all tonight. We’ll be fine. Do you want me to call you after I’ve called the police?”

“Sure, call me and let me know what they’ve said about it.”

Sammy came out of his room and asked her if he could get a treat since he had won the race into the house. Lisa had totally forgotten her promise of a treat to the winner and Sammy had indeed been the first one through the door.

She gave him a smile and as she finished speaking to Alex, she got Sammy a small bowl of Goldfish crackers and let him take them to his room to share with Kayti. Normally, she wouldn’t allow them to take food into their bedrooms but she didn’t want them overhearing what she was saying on the phone.

After Lisa hung up, she dialed the non emergency police number. She was beginning to calm down a bit now that they were safely inside and she had spoken to Alex who didn’t sound too worried about it.

When the phone was answered, and the man identified himself as the desk sergeant, she began to explain to him about the man walking through their property. After going through the whole story, she was put on hold after being asked to wait while she was transferred.

As she waited, she called to Sammy to start getting into his pajamas and she asked him to help Kayti reach hers that were sitting on the edge of her dresser.

When the phone was again answered, Lisa had to repeat the whole thing all over again but this time it seemed like she was speaking to the correct person. He asked several questions such as if she could give a description of the man. She told him no but that her two year old daughter had seen him as well and had called him Santa so maybe that would help them to identify him a bit. She also told him that she was home alone with her three children because her husband was out of town for work.

“Well, actually there have been reports of someone in your area by some of your other neighbors. No one has been hurt or anything. They have had a few chickens gone missing in a yard up the road from you though. We’ll step up the patrols in the area and let you know if anything turns up. In the meantime, keep your doors locked at night which seems to be the time he is prowling and call me back if you see him again.”

He gave Lisa his direct number to his cell phone and the one to his desk in case she needed to contact him again.

When she had hung up with Detective Skinner, she immediately called Alex back relaying all of the things he had said to her and she also gave Alex his numbers in case she happened to see the man.

Lisa put the kids to bed, including Lauren after her bottle was finished and then she sat on the couch just staring at the door and listening for any sounds that would alert her to an intruder. She knew that the puppies needed to go out but she was too afraid to go outside in the dark. She knew that she would have a mess to clean up later but she just couldn’t make herself go outside.

She had an overwhelming feeling of anger shoot through her as she sat there. She had come so far in the last months, especially since Jeremy had died. Since then she hadn’t spent one minute living with the fear that had controlled her life for so long. Why now, when things were so good, did someone have to come along and make her feel like this again. With the backs of her hands, she brushed angrily at the big, hot tears that began to flow down her cheeks but more followed and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop them.

How she wished that Sebastien was here. She needed him so much right now. She needed to be wrapped in his loving arms and held there so that she wouldn’t have to be afraid. Maybe this man was an actual threat and maybe not, but she couldn’t rid herself of the fear that was gripping her insides and she felt very alone.

When she woke up, it was to Kayti tapping her on her arm. She had finally fallen asleep laying down on the couch sometime during the night. As she woke, she realized that she must have forgotten to put the child gate up in front of Kayti’s door after putting her to bed but when she turned to look, it was right where it belonged.

“Kayti Izambard, did you climb over the gate?”

Kayti looked a little sheepish but Lisa could also see that she was proud of her accomplishment and she had a hard time keeping the smile from her face as she scolded her and told her that if Mama put the gate up that she should not climb over it.

Lisa felt a bit tired during the day since she had stayed awake so late and the crying had also worn her out. She felt like she was dragging all day and couldn’t seem to catch up with what she wanted to accomplish.

Seb called her later that afternoon and asked if she was alright. Alex had called Urs and he had in turn told Seb what was going on. Seb didn’t mention to Lisa that Alex had been concerned at Lisa’s tone the night before and knew that she would feel better after speaking to Seb.

“We really need to get some security measures in place as soon as possible. I don’t like being so far away when you need me. I feel very helpless here.”

“I’m fine Seb. The children and I are all fine. It was a little scary last night but in the light of day, I feel much better.” She said trying to downplay just how afraid she actually was.

She wasn’t fooling him for one second. He could hear the fear in her voice no matter how much she tried to hide it. He told her to call and get a security system installed in the guest house as soon as someone could get out there. Urs had also told Alex to do the same. They had already been discussing it but hadn’t felt the urgency that they all felt now.

"I Love you Ma Cherie. I wish I was there with you to keep you safe."

"I Love you, too and you'll be home soon, just a few more days." She said sounding more confident than she felt.

Lisa made the call after hanging up with Seb and scheduled someone to come out this very afternoon to do an assessment of what they would need for the space they had and then the actual security system would be installed tomorrow, making her feel a lot better. This same company had already been contracted to install the security system in the main house and at the gates when it was ready.

A pair of smiling, almond shaped eyes watched her sleeping, seeing the features of her face changing as she walked through the dream world. He hoped it was a good dream. He knew that she had had several frightening dreams lately, so had he. He wanted to reach out and stroke her cheek but didn’t want to wake her yet. She needed as much rest as possible.

He was glad to be home where he belonged so that he could do as much as possible to alleviate her fears or at least be there to comfort her when she was afraid. For him just being close to her helped to comfort him in this uncertain time. She stirred and unconsciously moved closer to him, coming to rest against him but didn’t wake up. She threw her arm over his hip, and he moved slowly until he got comfortable and closed his eyes, just enjoying their closeness and before he knew it he had drifted off into his own dream world.

Alex began to gradually wake up and would have been startled at the unexpected naked body lying next to her if she hadn’t recognized the unmistakable scent of him before she had even opened her eyes. The guys hadn’t given them a definite date that they would be home, only that it would be when they were finished recording.

She could tell he was sleeping soundly so she didn’t move right away, knowing that he was probably very tired after all of the recording and the trip home. She thought that she must have been sleeping pretty soundly herself not to have known it when he slid into bed beside her. Only when she thought about the dogs downstairs and that they must have to go outside by now did she slowly slip out of her side of the bed and pull on her robe, tying it over her bump, before quietly leaving him alone to rest.
When she entered the kitchen to start the coffee before taking Max and Bella out, she saw the note lying on the table.

“Good morning Liebe,

If we have not already spoken when you read this, I took the puppies out at four before coming up to bed and I reset the alarm. I’m glad that you gave me the codes before I came home or I would have had to wake you to get in. Don’t let me sleep too long. I want to spend the day with you and if I sleep too much today, I won’t be able to go to sleep tonight.

I Love you,
Urs

She smiled as she set the note back on the table, very glad that he was home now and wouldn’t leave again until a week after the surgery and then he would only be gone a few days while he went to do the concert with Celine in Dublin, Ireland.

With an extra light spring to her step, she took Max and Bella outside and let them run off some energy after their overnight confinement and then she locked them into the large enclosure that they had put up in the yard so the puppies could safely play outside without worrying about them running off. They were pretty good about staying close if she or Urs were out in the yard with them but, they would have quickly run off to explore if they were left to their own devices.

She stepped back in through the kitchen door on the side of the house and found Urs leaning his hip against the counter, sipping the first and most important cup of coffee of the day looking devastatingly handsome, making her heart flutter. She could tell that he’d just slid his fingers through his hair to try to flatten it a bit when he got out of bed. He was dressed only in a pair of his button fly jeans and no shirt or shoes and the top couple of buttons of his jeans weren’t fastened.

He raised his eyes to meet hers as he slowly sipped the hot coffee and his whole face lit up as their eyes met across the room. He knew it would be wise to place the cup onto the counter. He recognized the look on her face and knew that she was just about to launch herself into his arms. He opened his arms letting her know that he was just as eager for her to be there and she didn’t lose any time molding her body to his and then a fraction of a second later their lips were joined as well.

When they finally came up for air, they both began speaking at the same time. Urs told her to go ahead.

“Is all of the recording finished for the CD?”

“Yes, we finished and because we knew that we were just about done the day before, we all got packed and the luggage came to the studio with us and we headed right for the airport as soon as we were done. Seb and I were able to get a little sleep on the way home. David headed for wherever Grace was performing next. I’m sure he told me but I can’t think of where that is right now and Carlos was heading back to Spain to Vicki. She is having some pretty bad back pain now.”

“I know. I spoke to her on the phone the other day. We have all been calling each other once in a while. It’s been really nice for all of us girls to get to know each other better.”

“Good I’m glad. Vicki and Grace have been along for the ride since the beginning so it will be good for you and Lisa to get to know them and be able to talk to them about this crazy lifestyle. They also have the unique perspective of not only the wife or girlfriend but also the performer.”

They enjoyed breakfast together and relaxed in the yard with the puppies, steering clear of the topic of the upcoming surgery. There would be time enough for them to discuss it, but for today, they just wanted to enjoy their time alone after an almost two week separation.

Just a short distance away, a different scenario had been played out in the Izambard house. Seb had been tattled on by Jasmine who got so excited when she saw him tiptoeing shoeless through the kitchen that she started yipping and woke Lisa and the children up, ruining Seb’s chance of slipping into bed with Lisa before the children woke for the day.

Lisa had gotten frightened when Jasmine started yipping. She had rushed out of the bedroom carrying a large piece of wood, bigger than a baseball bat that she had picked up out in Drew’s scrap wood pile in the yard and had brought it into the house for protection. Even though the security system had been installed two days before, she still kept it propped behind the bedroom door.

Seb had to reach out to stop the plank from striking him in the head. He might have laughed at her acting like a mother bear protecting her cubs if he hadn’t seen the genuine fear in her eyes.

“Lisa it’s me. It’s Seb.”

“Mommy, why do you want to hit Papa?”

Kayti just stood there with wide but sleepy eyes and stared at her Mama before running into Seb’s arms.

“Oh My God. I could have hurt you. I’m so sorry.” Lisa said as she dropped the wood and wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in a hug that included Kayti who was up in his arms.

“It’s alright. It was my fault. I should have called you to let you know that I was coming early. I wanted to surprise you and I wasn’t thinking about possibly scaring you.”

It was still very early, not even light out yet and as much as they tried to get the children to go back to sleep for a while, it seemed as if it was no use. They were much too excited when they saw that their Papa was home. Lauren did go back to sleep after a bit of a bottle and a clean diaper.

They piled Sammy and Kayti on the bed in between them and turned on the TV. Seb did fall asleep before too long and when Lisa was just about to give up trying to get the children to be still so Seb could sleep, she looked over and found that Kayti had fallen back to sleep in the crook of Seb’s arm, her curls jutting out in every direction. She asked Sammy once more to close his eyes and try to get some sleep with his Papa. She told him that he would be too tired to play with Papa if he didn’t get some more rest. That did the trick and once he had left his eyes closed for more than a few seconds he had drifted off to join Seb and Kayti.

Chapter 110:

Later after they had all eaten a large breakfast, they had gotten dressed and gone outside. Lisa took the children to the playground while Seb headed over to say hello to Drew and let him know that he was available for anything that Drew needed from him.

Sammy hollered to Seb asking him if he could go with him.

“Papa please. I have my hat on and my tools.” Seb looked to Lisa and with a small nod of her head, Seb held out his hand and Sammy quickly ran to catch up with him with a smile on his face.

Seb couldn’t believe the difference when he entered the house. A lot of the construction materials that had been lying in so many areas of the house had been removed. You could see the major cleaning that still needed to be done, but having the floors cleared of most everything made it look so much closer to being finished.

After Drew finished going over some tasks with one of the workers, he joined Seb and Sammy. They did a complete walk through and Drew showed him what was still left to be completed. It was mostly small tasks, nothing that was going to take a great deal of time except for the outside of the house that still needed to be finished. They would repair or replace all of the shutters and paint them, rebuild the steps and front porch, build a new large deck across the back of the house and around the pool area, install the front walkway including the special inscribed bricks that would be staggered throughout the walkway. Drew showed the bricks to Seb that had arrived the other day.

“It must be satisfying to see your hard work coming to the end after seeing what a big job this place was.” Seb said to Drew.

“It is but I’m glad there’s still more to do here after the house is finished. I’ve enjoyed this job more than any I’ve worked on yet.”

“Mr. Drew, can I be your worker helper today?” Sammy asked. He had been very patient while Seb and Drew had been speaking to each other.

“You know, I did promise to let you work for me, didn’t I.” Drew said grinning at Seb over the boy’s head.

“Yes Sir.”

“You know, there might just be something you can do if it is alright with your Papa.”

Sammy’s head snapped around and up to look at Seb, his eyes pleading for permission. “Papa, can I be Mr. Drew’s worker helper today?”

Seb knew that Drew would look out for Sammy and there was no way that he could deny him when he looked so excited.

“I think that would be a great idea. You have fun. I’m going to go help Mommy with Kayti and Lauren. You listen carefully to all of Mr. Drew’s instructions.”

“I will Papa. I promise.” Sammy said almost jumping up and down. He just about pushed Seb out the door so that he could get started helping.

Later, Seb and Lisa were sitting outside on the porch watching Kayti ride her bike when Sammy came flying across the yard waving something in his hand, with Drew walking much slower with a huge grin on his face. Sammy had to stop once to pick up his hat that had flown off of his head while he was running and then he ran the rest of the way.

“Papa, Papa, I got money. I did a lots of work for Mr. Drew and he said I should get paid cuz I was a good worker helper. See it has a twenty number on it.” He said showing Seb the twenty dollar bill.

Seb pulled Sammy into his lap and gave him a squeeze. “I am so proud of you. It is important to be a good worker when you have a job to do.”

“Thank you Drew. You made his day.” Lisa said.

“It was my pleasure. I wish all of my men were so eager and he really did help. I gave him a broom to sweep up all of the sawdust and trash in a few of the rooms that had been cleared out and he did a great job. He even came back and asked for more work but I decided that he’d done enough for today. I didn’t want him to over do it on his first day.”

“Can I put my dollar in my money bank in my room, Mommy?”

“Sure, for now that would be fine but if you keep getting all of this money, you might just need to open a bank account.” She told him.

Sammy looked a little confused but he climbed out of Seb’s lap and headed for the door.

“I’ll come back out in a minute. I have to put my money in my money bank. Can I get a drink Mommy?”

“I’ll get you a drink while you go in your room.” Lisa said as they headed inside.

“Thanks again Drew. Dan gave me a good idea a couple of weeks ago. He said to just give Sammy a piece of scrap wood and some nails and let him hammer them into the wood. He said he thought Sammy would love that.”

“He would. I’ve done that with my kids. It’ll help to nail the wood to a sawhorse or something so it won’t bounce around while he is trying to hammer. I’ve even got plenty of scrap wood over there and there’s a box of nails just inside the side door over there if you decide to do that. Well, I guess I’ll get back over to the house. There’s still a couple of hours left here.”

“Alright, thanks, see you later. Let me know if there’s anything that I can be doing.”

Lisa and Sammy came back out with lemonade for everyone and a bottle for Lauren who had just woken up. Lisa set the drinks down and went back inside for the baby.

“I’m glad that you had so much fun today.”

“It was funnest Papa. I waited my whole life to do that.”

Seb had to cough to cover up the laughter that was trying to escape. It was too bad that most people lost their enthusiasm as they got older. If everyone had the level of energy that a child had, just think of what people could accomplish.

Sammy went to join Kayti in the yard after finishing a whole glass of lemonade and part of another.

Seb and Lisa sat back in the porch swing, content to sit quietly and watch their children playing. After Lauren finished eating, Lisa set her down into the bouncy seat on the porch and she began kicking her legs all over and was trying to make all kinds of sounds, startling herself for a second when she made a funny clucking sound with her lips. After she got used to the sound, she began doing it repeatedly and smiling afterward.

Lisa laid her head on Seb’s shoulder, so happy to have him home. She couldn’t imagine being happier than she was right now, surrounded by a man who loved her so completely, three children that she couldn’t love more if she had given birth to them herself and a child growing inside of her that was the result of their love for each other. What could be better than this?

Over the next few days, Alex and Urs spent several hours a day at the doctor’s office having exams and sonograms and even an amniocentesis. Then Alex was sent for her preoperative blood work on Friday. The surgery would be early on Monday morning.

On Saturday, Lisa and Seb had Mom, Dad, Urs and Alex over for dinner. The mood was a bit subdued at times but everyone tried to keep the conversation light throughout the evening.

Dan sat outside with Alex for a while after she went out alone. He draped his arm around her shoulder and drew her against his side. She dropped her head onto his chest. She actually felt like climbing into his lap just like when she was a little girl to feel the safety and protection she’d always felt there.

“Are you alright, Sweety?”

“I ‘m fine Daddy. I’m trying not to be afraid but it’s hard. I am so afraid that if I’ve made the wrong choice, Aaron might not make it. If he was to be born on Monday, his chances aren’t very good. But I’ve made the choice and I just have to hope and pray that it was the right one for my baby.”

“Whatever happens, you have done the very best that you could for him. He couldn’t have chosen two better people to be his parents.”

“Thank you Daddy. Will you be there with me before I go into surgery?” she asked linking her fingers with his.

“Do you think I could be anywhere else than with my baby girl at such an important time?”

“I love you Daddy.”

“I Love you too, Baby.” He said with another squeeze.

Monday morning, Alex had to be at the hospital early to be prepped for surgery, IV inserted etc. and then the rest of the family would come in about seven o’clock. As they prepared to leave the house, Alex wrapped herself around Urs and held onto him.

“Are you alright?” he asked her as he stroked her hair and down her back, pressing her closer to him.

“I’m a little bit afraid.” She said and he could hear by the tone of her voice that she was more than just a little bit afraid.

“Me too.” he replied, trying to hold back the flood of emotions that were all fighting for release. She needed him to be strong for her today and he was determined to do just that no matter the cost to himself. His cell phone rang just as they had begun a searing kiss.

Urs sighed and reluctantly broke their contact to see who was calling him. Alex saw his eyes widen and his eyebrows rise as he flipped his phone open. He began speaking in Swiss-German and she had only learned few handfuls of words and several phrases so far so she didn’t know who he was speaking to or what they were talking about. She was actually rather jealous at the rate that Sammy was soaking up not just one new language but three. Each time he was with Urs or Carlos, Sammy was learning so many new words not to mention the rate that he was learning French when Seb was home.

She moved out of his embrace to let him have his conversation in private. She finished placing the last minute items into the small suitcase and closed it. Even if everything went perfectly today in surgery, she would be staying in the hospital for at least a week on strict bed rest the doctor had told her. Once she was in the hospital bed this morning, she wouldn’t stand on her feet again for over a week. That was a strange feeling.

Urs stepped into the room and she waited for him to carry the bags downstairs. He had told her not to carry anything, that he would get all of it.

“Urs is everything alright?” she asked when he seemed very far away and had made no move to take any of the bags.

“My mother is meeting us at the hospital.”

“What?” Alex said not sure how she felt about this piece of information.

“She had told me that she couldn’t get here. We had discussed it last week but she’s here. She thought she’d get here last night but ran into several delays on her flights so I spoke to the cab driver and told him where to take her. She should be there before we are or right after.” Urs said all this while looking rather stunned.

“Aren’t you happy that she is here?” Even though Alex wasn’t sure how she felt about her future mother-in-law arriving unannounced to meet her just hours before the surgery, she was curios at the reaction that Urs seemed to be having.

“Of course I’m happy. I’m thrilled that she is here but, I am absolutely stunned by it.”

“Why?”

“My mother is deathly afraid of flying. She flew once before a very long time ago but no one has ever been able to get her to fly since then. I’ve tried to fly her to some of the concerts out of Switzerland and she never would go anywhere that she couldn’t get to on the ground. The biggest thing is that she did it all alone as well.”

As soon as the car was loaded, they went to the hospital. Urs let Alex out and set the bags with her and then went to park the car. When he returned, they headed into the building and straight to the admissions desk. Alex had already completed all of the paperwork on Friday. She just had to give her name and show her identification.

She turned around when she heard Urs.

“Mami!”

She watched as mother and son embraced. She could tell a lot by this embrace. It was just as she and her family embraced, nice long, tight hugs, full of emotion and love. She had seen people, families embrace almost like strangers before, as if they were either unaccustomed to or uncomfortable with human contact, not the hugs that let the other person know that they were truly loved and cherished and had been missed terribly.

She was very nervous about meeting Urs’ mother. She knew that he had told her everything, about their engagement, the baby and even about Joe and the possibility that Aaron may not be his biological child. He had told her that his mother understood and had said that as long as he was happy then she was too, but was she really?

When Urs and his mother finally ended their hug, Urs turned and directed her to Alex who was still standing at the admissions desk watching them. He saw the nervousness in Alex’s eyes. She wasn’t a shy person. News and in turn people were her business and she met new people every day in her profession but he realized that this was a whole different thing for her. This was personal. It meant a lot to her that his mother like her. He understood because he had felt the same way about Dan and Marie.

“Mami, I would like you to meet my fiancé, Alex Huggins.”

“Hello Alex. It is very nice to finally meet you.” Ava Buhler said to her in a heavy accented English with a genuine smile that reached her eyes and told Alex that she was being sincere.

“Thank you, Mrs. Buhler. I am so glad that you could come to visit us. I only wish I had time to be the proper hostess while you are here.”

Ava stepped closer to the young woman and grasped her hands in her own. “Alex, first, please call me Mami and you will have plenty of other opportunities to be a hostess. You need to take care of yourself and my new Grandson right now.”

Alex was overwhelmed by the absolute acceptance she felt by this woman and she felt a new peace come over her now that this first meeting of Urs’ mother had taken place and she could stop worrying about it.

A nurse holding a file folder came out into the waiting room and called Alex’s name. She told Alex that she would need to come to the back alone and when they had her situated, her family would be allowed to join her until it was time to go upstairs for surgery.

Alex hadn’t known that she and Urs would be separated before she went upstairs. She was counting on his closeness to help calm her.

Urs stepped up to her and pulled her close and kissed her temple before meeting her quivering lips.

“It will be okay, Baby. I’ll be right here and as soon as they let me, I’ll be right back there with you.”

Alex had a lump in her throat as she hugged him. She just nodded her head before turning and following the nurse to the back.

She was given a gown to change into and a bag to put her belongings in. She and Urs had discussed yesterday what she would do with her ring. He took her ring this morning and slid it onto the necklace he was already wearing and closed it back around his neck. He had pressed it against his chest and leaned in and kissed her lips and then the now bare finger that already showed the outline of the ring from Alex’s time out in the sun. The skin in the area where the ring had sat was lighter than the rest of her finger.

Once she was changed and into the hospital bed, the nurse came in and prepared to insert the IV that would make her veins available for medicines and antibiotics to be administered for her and Aaron during and after the surgery. Alex knew right where to show her a good vein. She had donated blood many times and the vein was very visible and had never given a problem as it was being accessed.

She hated needles but during the pregnancy had become accustomed to them. This however was a different story and she tried to bite back the cry that escaped her as the nurse moved the large needle around in the back of her hand to try to find the vein she wanted. Alex didn’t understand why she wouldn’t use the one she had showed her in her arm. That one wasn’t in as painful an area. The nurse was having a hard time getting the needle into the correct position and Alex was getting nauseous with the pain.

Just when Alex didn’t think she could stand it any more, the nurse finally announced that she had gotten the IV placed where she needed it and taped the tubing firmly to Alex’s hand, cleaned up the remaining trash and exited the room.

Urs and his mother sat together waiting for someone to come and tell them that they could go to the back and sit with Alex. Urs thanked her for making the trip especially in light of the fact that he knew that she had flown despite her fear of it.

As they were talking, Dan and Marie arrived followed closely by Lisa and Seb.

“Mami!” Seb exclaimed when he saw Urs’mother and he embraced her just as heartily as Urs himself had.

“Hello Sebastien. It is good to see you again.”

“It is wonderful to see you as well. Mami, I would like to introduce you to my wife Lisa.”

“Yes, Urs told me about your marriage. I am very happy for you, and you are a Papi already too.” She said smiling at him.

“Yes I am.” He said pulling out his wallet where he had pictures of all them together and some individual shots too.

“I look forward to meeting them while I am here.” She said including both Seb and Lisa in her smile.

They all sat together waiting for permission to go to Alex. Lisa, and Marie sat with Ava and got to know her and she them. Urs had begun pacing the floor and Dan stood and went to him clasping his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“It’s going to be a long day, son.”

“Yes, it is. This part is making me crazy. How is it going to be once she goes up to surgery? I’ll go out of my mind.”

Come sit and tell me about your past engagements.”

Urs’s head snapped up at his choice of words. “I’ve never been engaged before.”

“I meant for you to tell me about the jobs you’ve had before Il Divo, where you’ve sung and such.”

“Oh okay.” Urs said laughing as they went back to their seats until they were called back about ten minutes later.

“Where are the children?” Alex asked Lisa when she saw both Lisa and Seb enter the room together.

“We dropped Sammy and Kayti at school and Mary came to the house to stay with Lauren.”

“Oh okay.”

The little room was quite crowded with so many people in there but it did help to pass the time more quickly with several conversations going at the same time. The nurse came in a while later and told them all that Alex would be taken upstairs in just a few moments so everyone except for Urs took a few seconds to hug and kiss her before they left the room, leaving Urs and Alex to have some private time.

He sat on the edge of her bed holding both of her hands in his. He could feel the trembling in them and pulled her into his arms.

“Everything will be alright, Baby. I’ll be right next to you when you wake up.”

“I Love you, Urs. You have changed my life and I can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore.”

“I feel the same way, Alex. We are going to be a wonderful family, you, me and Aaron when it is his time to come into the world.”

“I just hope that it isn’t now. As much as I can’t wait to hold him, he needs to wait.”

“Well, hopefully that won’t be an issue and we’ll just have to take it easy until he comes.”

An orderly came into the room, propping the door open in preparation for rolling the bed out into the hallway. Urs leaned down and hugged her and kissed her, wiping the tear out of the corner of her eye.
Once the bed was moved into the hall, Alex could see that everyone was standing there sending their good wishes and their love to her as she was rolled away. Urs kept a hold of her hand until the last minute when she was pushed into the elevator. With one last kiss, his hand slipped from hers when they couldn’t reach anymore.

Ava as well as the others could see the anguish on Urs’ face as he turned back towards them once the elevator doors had closed. She gathered him into her arms and he broke down and cried in his mothers embrace until he was able to regain control of himself.

A nurse took them upstairs and showed them where the surgical waiting room was and left them there.

Over the next several hours, trips were made to the cafeteria for coffee by one or more of them, but always Urs and Marie stayed in the waiting room in case someone came with word of how the operation was going.

Seb took a trip out to Alex’s car to put Mami’s luggage in it so they wouldn’t have to keep carrying it around.

Urs did a lot of pacing as well as the others. It was a long time to sit and wait for some word of how Alex and the baby were doing.

Finally, after four hours of waiting, the doctor came into the room looking very tired as he pulled the cloth hat off that had kept his hair covered during the operation. No one could tell anything by his expression as they waited for him to speak.

Chapter 111:

“How is Alex?” Urs asked not being able to wait any longer although it had only been a matter of seconds.

The doctor sat down in an empty chair next to him and gave them the answers they had been waiting for.

“Alex is doing wonderful. She handled the surgery quite well. Her blood pressure behaved for us and she is just being moved to the recovery room to begin waking up from the anesthesia.”

“And Aaron?”

“Urs, you have a very strong son there. He came through like a trooper and is also doing well. We were able to close the defect which was as I expected. It was one of the smallest defects that I have closed on a fetus and proved to be no trouble. As far as I could tell right now, his nerves and spinal cord have been sufficiently covered and only time will tell what lasting effects the defect will leave behind. With the tests we have done and will continue to do right up to and even after his birth, we will watch for any sign of hydrocephalus, but as of now there is no sign of it so I am pleased.”

Urs breathed a huge sigh of relief and leaned back in the seat, covering his face with his hands to hide the tears of happiness that were seeping from under his eyelids.

“What are the chances of early labor now?” Marie asked him, knowing that even with the successful surgery, a delivery this early could prove fatal to her Grandson.

“The first week to two weeks are the most important. Once we’ve passed that mark, the chances drop considerably but that chance only drops, it doesn’t go away and she will have to be extremely careful to stay on the prescribed bed rest until delivery. Our goal is to make it to at least the thirty four week mark if not later. I am going to go check on her and then once she is awake enough and they have her moved to a room, someone will come and get you so you can see her. Please keep your visits short and as stress free as possible. Urs, I know that you will be staying and that is fine. I know that she will do better with you here. I just don’t want her overwhelmed with a lot of visiting for a few days. She needs to rest.”

The doctor stood to his full height and stretched his tired muscles before saying goodbye to them and went to check on Alex.

“What a relief!” Dan said hugging his wife who also had tears running down her face. She had been holding them back, trying to stay strong but now she held tightly to Dan and let them fall.

“Mami, I don’t want you to be alone at the house. What should we do? I promised Alex I would stay here with her.”

“Don’t you worry about me. Of course you should be here with her.”

“Ava, you could come and stay with us. It is closer to the hospital too.” Marie suggested.

“Thank you Mom. That would be perfect. Seb is already going to take care of the puppies for us.”

Ava thanked Dan and Marie for their kindness and accepted their offer. She didn’t care to stay in an unfamiliar empty house all by herself and she could also ride with them to the hospital every day. She wanted to get to know the woman who had completely stolen her son’s heart and would soon give her another Grandson.

Urs had told her that Aaron might possibly belong to another man, a man that had no interest in being a father. She was proud of her son’s resolve to be a father to the child no matter who had fathered him and if Urs could give his unconditional love to Aaron, who was she to be any different. She loved children and frequently spoiled the neighbor children just as much as she spoiled her own Grandchildren. This child would be just as special to her. First, they needed to help Alex hold off delivering him until it was safe for him to come into the world.

This is why she had come. To meet Alex and get to know her but also to be of whatever help she could be. She was in no hurry to get on a plane again and had not gotten a return ticket. If Urs got tired of her being here he could tell her and she would go home. But she knew her son and he would never come out and tell her that she had outstayed her welcome. So she would have to watch for any sign of it on her own.

They waited for almost another hour after the doctor had met with them before a nurse told them to go to the eighth floor to room 827. Alex had been moved there after she had left the recovery room. Urs knew that it would be a private room. He had asked about it the other day. The doctor had said that she would automatically be placed in a private room so that she would be assured of some rest. If she was in a room with another patient, not only would she be disturbed by her own visitors but the other person’s as well.

When they got to the eighth floor, Urs and Marie went into the room first. Alex looked almost like she was just asleep as if she was in her own bed at home. The sheet and blanket were pulled up high on her chest with her hands lying on top of them. The only thing out of the ordinary was the oxygen mask that had been put over her mouth and nose to give the baby a bit of extra help and the IV that was still inserted administering antibiotics and fluids.

They only stayed a couple of minutes and each of them kissed her as they left. Next Seb and Lisa came in to see her and just as they had been warned, she was still sound asleep. Seb squeezed her hand gently and Lisa kissed her forehead. When they came out they said goodbye to everyone and left to get the children. Lisa made them promise to call if there was any news.

Dan and Marie went back in for a few minutes and then came out to let Urs and Ava go in.

While Urs and his mother were sitting on either side of the bed, talking quietly, Alex began to stir a bit. A nurse had been in the room and had replaced the oxygen mask with some tubing that sent oxygen up her nostrils.

“Urs?”

“I’m right here Liebe. How do you feel?”

“Aaron, Is he alright?” she asked, running her hands over her still growing belly.

“He’s just fine, Baby. You did great, so did he.”

They could see her visibly relax at the news. She let her eyes close again but she was still awake.

Without struggling to keep her eyes open she spoke again with them closed.

“Was he able to fix it?”

“Yes, he said everything went well. He said the defect was very small. We just need to pray that you don’t start having any contractions. Although it is not totally dependent on what you do or don’t do, we’ll need to be careful and you need lots of rest.”

“You won’t get any arguments from me. I can’t keep my eyes open.”

“Don’t try. Sleep now.” He said sliding his fingers over her hand. “Seb and Lisa have just left and I’m going to take Mami, Mom and Dad to the cafeteria so we can get some dinner and then after they’re gone for the night, I’ll get settled in here with you.”

“Ok” she said still sounding very groggy and within seconds they could tell that she had fallen back to sleep.

Urs and Mami went out into the waiting room and found Dan and Marie making phone calls to let friends and loved ones know that the surgery had been successful as far as they could tell. Seb had offered to call Carlos and David for him.

The foursome went and had a quiet dinner, no one very talkative. Everyone was pretty tired after the long day. Urs noticed that his mother especially was looking worn out. Marie saw him studying his mother and saw the same tiredness.

“I think we should go home and get some sleep. Alex will be feeling more alert tomorrow and able to talk.” She told them.

“I agree but I want to go up and see her once more before we leave.” Dan said.

When they went into the room all together they were surprised to find her a little more awake.

“Did you have a good dinner?” she asked them.

“It was pretty good considering it was hospital food.” Dan told her and then he leaned down carefully and kissed her brow. “Are you in any pain?”

“Not too much.”

“Mom and Dad are leaving now and Mami is going with them.”

“Oh okay. Goodnight and thanks for being here for me today.”

“We love you. Sleep well.” Marie said.

“I think I will, probably better than I’ve slept for the past few nights. I was so worried about the surgery.” She told them.

Her parents kissed her once more and Mami held her hand for a moment.

“You are a brave, strong girl and I am happy that my Urs has chosen so well. I hope that you recover quickly.”

“Thank you Mrs. Buh..Mami.” she said smiling as she remembered that she had been asked to call her Mami this morning.

Once they were gone and Urs had settled in the chair next to her they talked for a bit until Urs noticed that she was fighting sleep.

“Close your eyes. Rest. If I’m not here when you wake up, I won’t be far away, only in the cafeteria or out getting some air. I love you, Alex and I am so proud of you. My mother was right. You are so brave, Baby. It took a lot of courage to do what you did today.”

“I just didn’t feel like I had any choice. I am his mother and I am supposed to do everything I can to provide the best life that I can for him. Waiting would not have been doing that. Now he has a much greater chance to be a normal healthy little boy. He may still have some challenges but we have given him the best opportunity that we can. Now we just need to keep him in here for a while longer.” She said stroking her belly.

“I love you.” He told her again. Sleep now. I’ll be here or close by.”

“I wish you could climb in here under the covers with me.”

“I will, once you have healed some. I would be too afraid of hurting you now.”

He pulled his chair closer to the side of her bed and held her hand as she drifted back to sleep.

The nurses frequently came to check her vital signs and her incision. They only woke her when it was necessary; otherwise they performed their duties quietly so she could rest. Urs asked what the different IV tubes were for and the monitor that had a very fast beeping sound. It was on a machine that had paper coming out at a slow rate of speed with two separate lines on it. One section had an almost straight line going across it and the lower one had peaks and a few small valleys running across it.

The nurse explained that it was a monitor that had been placed on Alex’s belly to watch for any sign of contractions. The bottom line along with the rapid beeping noise was the baby’s heartbeat and she assured him that it was very strong. The top line was where the contractions would show up if they were to start and she instructed him that if he ever saw the straight line begin to have any peaks to it, that he should alert a nurse immediately.

Marie got Ava settled in the guest room and told her to let them know if she needed anything at all.

They had all eaten a late lunch in the cafeteria so they had a light meal for dinner later in the evening. Ava graciously asked Marie if she could be of some help in the kitchen and although Marie didn’t really require any help, she knew that if it was her that was a guest in someone else’s home, then she would want to help instead of sitting around being waited on.

The two women worked well together and talked about their children. Ava had a lot more to talk about with her two boys and three girls. She was curious as to how it was for the couple to only raise one child when she had had so many running around under her feet. Now her original brood was being replaced by their children, six Grandchildren and counting. Aaron would be number seven.

“I only gave birth to one child but there has been no shortage of children under foot here through the years. Alex has always been a very active and friendly child, bringing home friends starting right in kindergarten. Her close friends changed frequently in her younger years but once Lisa moved into the house down the street, she and Alex might as well have been twins. It was a good thing we liked Lisa from the start. She spent so much time here in our home, sleeping over many weekends.”

“She did seem pleasant and very concerned for Alex today. I hope that she is good for Sebastien. He is a wonderful young man.” Ava said, making sure to choose her words carefully.

“He is wonderful and they make such a lovely couple. They have been great for each other. They are also terrific parents to the two children they’ve adopted and another one they will adopt soon and I’m not sure if they told you but Lisa is pregnant as well.”

“Yes, Sebastien told me earlier. That is a lot of children to have to care for so quickly.”

Marie was trying not to take offence at the comments that Ava was making. She could tell earlier that she genuinely cared for Sebastien much like another son and was only concerned for his well being.

“It has been quite a whirlwind for them both and they have handled it rather well for the way this has all come about. At first, Lisa only had Kayti before Seb came back into her life. Then Sammy came just before Christmas and baby Lauren has only been with them for a few weeks now. The children are thriving and very happy. Wait until you see them all together. I understand your reservations about the swiftness of their union but you will know as we did, that Seb and Lisa belong together, just as we believe that Urs and Alex belong together. You have raised an amazing young man and we have not spent one minute worrying about his intentions for our daughter since we’ve gotten to know him.”

Ava could see that any reservations she had about Seb and his quick marriage would have to be put away for now. She would do as Marie said and wait to see the little family together. Then she would know in her heart if Seb had just listened to his heart and not his head again. This time though, he had committed himself as the head of this family, a husband to Lisa but also a father to these unfortunate children. If this was a good thing then these children would be unfortunate no more. Sebastien would love them all unconditionally.

As she prepared for bed, Ava thought of what she knew about Sebastien. When Il Divo had been fairly new, Urs had come to her in pain at what he had found out about his friend’s childhood. Her own children had had a meager childhood when it came to money but they were always loved and they knew it. Sebastien had been through some very difficult times and after she had gotten to know him and to care for him, she had been very afraid for him when he had told her that he was trying to reconnect with his mother. She was anxious that he would be hurt all over again if his mother rejected his attempts at building a bridge between them. So far it seemed that things were going well enough. Urs had told her that his mother had been here and they had gotten on well together during her stay.

So much had changed for her son and all three of his friends in a very short span of time. Only time would tell if these changes would be good for them. It had been hard to feel out of the loop so to speak. Hearing details over the phone was better than nothing but she was a hands on person and was happy that she had been able to put her fear of flying away long enough to come and be an active participant in her son’s life.

Chapter 112:

Alex healed well and slept a great deal of the first few days. As Mom predicted, she was going stir crazy and wanted to go home after the first week but that was not possible. She knew that she was to be in the hospital for at least another week to prevent premature labor.

Mom and Urs did bring her food from home. The hospital food left a lot to be desired and she was supposed to still be taking in some extra calories each day. On doctor’s orders, visitors were kept to a minimum for the first several days. Lisa even only visited twice the first week although the girls did talk on the phone every day. Lisa let Alex do the calling so that she wouldn’t disturb her if she was asleep. Alex’s room filled up quickly with bouquets of flowers and potted plants that had all come with messages of get well soon wishes. Urs had gotten a large Mylar balloon and it floated around the room making Alex smile when she saw it.

The second week in hospital approached and it was only a few days until the guys would leave for Dublin. Neither Alex nor Urs wanted to be separated at this crucial time but, they had a commitment to keep and Alex tried not to show how upset she was at him having to leave. She was just glad that it was only a few days instead of weeks this time. Mom and Mami were going to stay the nights here with her until Urs returned and hopefully by then, they might let her go home.

Urs and Dan had taken some time to rearrange some of the furniture, clearing out the den downstairs and moving their bed downstairs to prepare for Alex’s homecoming. Stairs were off limits to her. Except for her doctor’s appointments, she would only be allowed out of bed for about fifteen minutes each day and in just a few minute intervals at a time, so they made sure that she would have everything she might want as close as possible. Urs made sure that the remotes for the stereo system and TV were readily available as well as the DVD player. She would need someone to change out the music or movies but otherwise she could control the rest.

Alex wouldn’t be left alone once she was home. When Urs came back from Dublin, he would not leave again until Aaron had been safely delivered and even for some time after that he had no commitments to keep.

On the day that Urs was to leave, Alex struggled to keep her composure. She could tell that Urs was fighting his own struggle with this. He didn’t want to leave her either.

Lisa and Seb stepped into the room to find Urs and Alex holding tightly to each other. Lisa grasped Seb’s hand and he gave hers a squeeze. Lisa was going to stay and visit with Alex until Mom and Mrs. Buhler got there.

When they were ready to go, Seb called for a cab to pick himself and Urs up at the hospital. He gave Alex a hug and kissed her cheek and then pulled Lisa into his arms as Urs moved to sit beside Alex.

“I love you, Ma Cherie. You take care of yourself while you are watching out for everyone else.”

“I will. Mary is going to be coming over tomorrow so we can talk about some of the menus that we will use down the road when we have a full house. She is trying to come up with enough interesting dishes to prepare that children will be likely to eat so that we will have a good variety of meals.”

“When I get back, I believe that Drew will be ready for us to get the cleaners in to begin the heavy cleaning. He assured me that his workers would not be needing to go into the house after he tells us to call the cleaners. They will only be working outside by then.”

“Great. I can hardly sit still because of the excitement of it all.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Please take it easy. Get plenty of rest.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too, Baby. Alex, you take care, mon ami.” He said as he moved to the door.

“I will Seb.”

With one last kiss for their girls, the guys left the room.

Lisa sat in the chair that had been vacated by Urs.

“So how are you really doing?” Lisa asked her.

“Besides being bored to death most of the time, I’m okay. I get so stiff just lying here. The doctor did say that once he releases me, I’ll be able to at least change my position to get comfortable and relieve the stiffness a bit. But for now, he wants as little movement as possible.”

“What do you think of Urs’ mother?”

“I like her. She has been very kind to me. I will admit that when he told me that she was here, I was scared to death of meeting her.”

“I understand. I felt the same when Maman came. But I get the feeling that Mrs. Buhler doesn’t like me.”

“What on earth would give you that idea?”

“I don’t know. She watches me like she is waiting for me to do something. I’m not sure what. Maybe it’s my overactive imagination. We’ve only been together a couple of times. Maybe it’s just her way, being Swiss and all.”

When Mom and Mrs. Buhler arrived Lisa told everyone that she was leaving to pick Sammy and Kayti up from school.

After she’d gone, Marie noticed the look on Alex’s face and asked if everything was alright with her and Lisa. Alex wasn’t sure if she should say anything but she didn’t want Lisa to keep thinking something that couldn’t possibly be true. Urs’ mother didn’t even know Lisa.

“Lisa thinks that you don’t like her.” Alex said to Mami in a soft tone, trying not to sound accusing but making the statement nonetheless.

Ava wasn’t sure what to say to Alex. She hadn’t meant to make Lisa feel bad. She was just reserving her judgment until she’d spent more time with her and Seb together. Had she somehow allowed those reservations to come to the surface and hurt Seb’s wife. She hadn’t meant to and she also knew that if Seb had any idea that she had any bad feelings towards his wife, he would be very unhappy with her.

“Please excuse me.” Ava said and hurried out of the room.

Ava hurried to the elevator and hoped that she could catch up to Lisa before she got away. When the elevator stopped on the lobby level she stepped out and scanned the lobby, hoping to see Lisa. She was in luck. Lisa was searching through her purse for something.

“Lisa, please wait.”

When Lisa heard her name being called she turned to find Mrs. Buhler coming towards her and felt very uncomfortable.

“Could we sit over there and speak for a few minutes?”

Lisa hesitated before answering. She couldn’t imagine what this woman wanted to say to her and she really didn’t want to have a conversation that would only increase the coldness she felt when she was around this woman. She was actually regretting saying anything to Alex. She didn’t need anything else to worry about and Lisa had seen the concern on her face when she had made the comment about Urs’ mother not liking her.

“Please, just for a few moments.” Ava asked again.

“Alright, just for a few minutes but then I do need to pick up my children.” Lisa hoped that she wouldn’t regret this as they moved over to the rows of chairs in the large lobby.

“I won’t keep you long. I just wanted to speak to you. We haven’t had any time to get to know one another since I arrived. Alex told me that you think I don’t like you.”

Lisa’s head snapped up. She couldn’t believe that Alex had repeated that to her.

“Please don’t be upset with her. She obviously cares very much about you and was concerned. It isn’t true, you know and I am sorry that you got that impression. It’s just that I care very much for Sebastien. I do know of his childhood and I have known him for several years now and I have seen him follow his heart many times and not his head only to wind up being hurt by people, mostly women who really didn’t care for him at all.”

“And you are worried about the speed of our marriage?” Lisa asked and at Ava’s nod Lisa continued. “I love him, Mrs. Buhler, with all of my heart. I’ve been hurt too and he has helped to make me whole again. We have made each other whole and very happy. He is also an amazing father to our children. Never once has he acted like he shouldn’t be responsible for them because they weren’t his biological children. He has taken them into his heart and loves them just as much as he already loves our little girl that isn’t even here yet.”

Ava reached out and took Lisa’s hand in her own. “Please forgive me for making you feel uncomfortable. I hope that we can be friends. I can see how close you and Alex are and I do not wish for there to be any bad feelings between us. Sebastien obviously loves you very much and I can see in your eyes that you love him too. That is all that I wanted to know.”

“You never have to doubt that Mrs. Buhler and I am glad that you care so much for Seb that you were looking out for him.”

They spoke for a few more minutes, Lisa inviting her to dinner as soon as Seb came back so that she could meet the children and see what a terrific father Seb had proven himself to be. When she slid behind the steering wheel Lisa felt much better and was glad that the air had been cleared between them. It could have become very uncomfortable if Mrs. Buhler stayed around very long.

As they prepared to go out onto the stage, each of the guys was feeling the electricity in the air. They had all needed the break very badly and each had been taking the time for what was important to them but, the smiles on their faces told the story. They were overjoyed to be performing. It was what made them who they were, their music, their passion and performing in front of their fans filled them with a happiness that couldn’t be compared.

Even Urs, who had really had a hard time leaving Alex had a smile from ear to ear and as the photos that would be posted on the forum would show, he looked so much happier than he had in a very long time. No one outside of their little group knew that it was a combination of his professional success coupled with his private life with the woman who had given her whole life to him that was making him feel so good. He had spoken to her several times each day and couldn’t wait to get home to her once their performance here was finished.

They knew by the posts on the forum that there would be many Divas in attendance tonight and as they looked out into the audience, the guys spotted many familiar faces in the crowd. They waved to them and thoroughly enjoyed the show as abbreviated as it was but as soon as their portion of the show was over they made their way offstage and as soon as it was possible they all headed to the airport back to their private lives.

Alex was due to be released in the morning. Urs had called and said that he would be home late tonight and would go straight to the house and get unpacked and then be there bright and early in the morning. She had tried to persuade him to come here straight from the airport but he knew he’d be very late and said that he didn’t want to wake her.

“Why does he always have to sound so sensible?” Alex said out loud and then realized that she had made this statement in front of her mother and his.

“It’s in his blood Alex. I’m sorry.” Mami said with a grin.

When they left, Mami and Mom took as many flowers and plants with them as they could so that they wouldn’t have to worry about them in the morning. They loaded them up on a borrowed cart and wheeled them down and loaded them into Mom’s car.

Alex couldn’t help but smile and knew that in less than twenty four hours Urs would be home with her and would be until after Aaron was born.

That night Alex slept and dreamt of Urs holding her in his arms. She dreamt of him kissing her and her arms slipped around his neck trying to pull him closer but he was keeping his distance for some reason, kissing her with just as much passion as she was kissing him but just barely making contact with her body. All she wanted was for him to crush her to him and love her. She missed him so much.

She began to whimper and to try to pull him closer until she heard his voice whispering in her ear.

“I’m here Liebe, but I don’t want to hurt you or Aaron.”

Alex woke and her eyes flew open when she realized that she wasn’t dreaming. He really was here and holding her. He was stretched out along side of her but not leaning too heavily against her.

“You’re home!” she said and threw her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest.

“Easy Love.” He said as he ran his hand down under the covers, along the length of her side, continuing down her bare leg.

He had craved the feel of her skin when he was away. He always wanted her closeness but when they had to be apart he wanted her all the more, like his chocolate addiction. When he got a chocolate craving and didn’t have any chocolate with him, it only made the craving worse. His addiction to Alex was far more intense.

He carefully leaned over her, making sure he didn’t lean on her abdomen and he kissed her thoroughly until they were both breathless.

“I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. How did the concert go?”

“It was fantastic. We all had a wonderful time. The audience was terrific and it just helped to feed our energy.”

“I know I’ll hate it when you start touring again but, I know it is something you need to make you happy and it is who you are. I can see the excitement in your eyes when you talk about it.”

“When we tour next time, you and Aaron will just have to come with me as much as possible. I do love the touring and performing but I know that I won’t be able to stand being away from you for too long. I even spoke to Seb and Carlos about us hiring a nanny or two to tour with us when any of the children are travelling with us. They agreed and we’ll be doing some checking into that soon.”

“I’d love to travel with you but I don’t want you to think that you have to drag me along with you all the time. You will be so busy that you won’t have any time to yourself and if we are with you, it will only make it worse.”

“This next tour is not going to be as grueling as the last ones. We’ll have more time in each city and in between shows. We know we can’t keep up that kind of pace each tour. That was crazy the way we did it. I’m amazed that none of us had a nervous breakdown or got seriously ill.”

“I’m glad to hear that you won’t be having such a full schedule next time and we’ll see how it works out for Aaron and I to go with you. We still don’t know what kind of care he might need.”

“He will have whatever he needs no matter where we are, Baby. I promise you that.”

The doctor came through on his rounds and affirmed that Alex could go home this morning. She couldn’t have been happier to hear this. He told her that she could get a quick shower but had to remain sitting in the shower chair. He told her that her discharge papers should be ready by the time she was dressed.

“Urs, can you help me. I really want to get out of here.”

“Sure Baby, just tell me what you need me to do.”

So Urs got into the shower with her and helped her to get washed including her hair and then he dried her off, helping her to get dressed and then redressed himself.

Alex wasn’t kidding about being in a hurry to leave. She had her things packed and sitting on the bed when the nurse came in with her discharge papers. She listened impatiently but intently to all of the instructions that were given to her and then got into the wheelchair for the ride down to the lobby. Then they headed home together to wait for Aaron’s arrival.

This time when Seb came home, he made sure to let Lisa know when he’d be there. He didn’t want to get knocked in the head. She’d calmed down once the security system had been installed but she was still very worried about the stranger wandering through the woods, frankly so was he and it had bothered him to leave them here alone. The man had not been spotted since that night Lisa and Kayti had seen him.

“Hi Baby.” He said as he drew Lisa into his arms, hugging her tightly. Even though he’d only been gone a few days, he’d missed her terribly. He had been disappointed that she couldn’t go with him like they’d wanted but he did understand.

When they had discussed it earlier, it had seemed so easy., but Brenda had happened to mention it to her supervisor and had gotten an unexpected reaction. She’d been told that if Lisa didn’t want to keep Lauren, they would find another home for her. “They’ve only had her for a few weeks.”

Mrs. Jacobs, the stern woman who had been in the child protective services for many years did not know Lisa or Seb and just figured that they were rich people taking kids as a hobby and then pawning them off on people whenever they wanted to go play.

Brenda knew that nothing could be further from the truth. But she’d thought it best to tell Lisa and Seb that they’d better hold off on Lisa going away for a while.

The timing couldn’t have been better now for Lisa and Seb. The day that Seb got home from Dublin, Drew came across the yard to give them the news that they had been waiting for. The inspectors were coming today and once they had the necessary papers and clearance that everything passed their inspections, the cleaners could be scheduled to come in. Since Drew had been fortunate to get the two inspectors to come on the same day, within hours of each other, if everything met with approval today, they would be able to make those calls this afternoon.

Lisa could hardly contain herself and quickly called Mary to give her the good news. She was just as excited as Lisa and had news of her own. She had not put her house officially on the market yet, waiting for the time when she would move to the other house but she had contacted a realtor and he had been out a few times to speak with her and give her advice on a selling price. He had called the other day and had a couple who he thought might be interested in the house. They weren’t in a huge hurry to move so he thought that if Mary moved in the next month or so, that would be perfect.

Mary had allowed him to bring the couple out to see her home and they had loved it at first sight and asked her to please give them first refusal on it. They agreed to her selling price with no compromise. She had agreed and the realtor was drawing up the papers. The couple knew that the closing date would hinge on her move date and were content with this.

Lisa saw first the one inspector come and go and then the other. She wanted so badly to go and make sure that everything was going well but she had to stay with the children. Seb had gone over to join Drew and the inspector on the tour of the house. She thought she would go crazy when she saw the second inspector’s car drive out of the yard but Seb and Drew continued to stand there talking together. Finally she couldn’t wait any more and she stepped out onto the porch and hollered across the yard.

“Well?”

Both of the men were smiling when they turned towards her and they both gave her the thumbs up sign.

“YES!” she yelled and pumped her fist in the air.

She turned and went into the house and immediately made the call to the cleaning crew and told them that as soon as they could fit it into their schedule, she was ready for them to come out and begin. She was told that the full crew wouldn’t be available until Thursday but a partial one could come out and get started in the morning. That news made Lisa very happy. It would have driven her nuts to have nothing happening now that it could be done.

She had so much energy right now so while the children were playing, she decided to make some cookies for dessert and wound up making several different types, wrapping some of them up and putting them in the freezer.

Later that night, she ran out of steam, tired at the end of the day and her feet and back were sore. Seb made her lie back on the couch and he propped her feet up and rubbed them until she was practically purring with pleasure. He was sitting with pillows on his lap and her feet on top of the pillows.

She reached out and stroked his arm and he ran his hand up from her ankle up to her hip.

“Thank you, Seb. That felt wonderful. You’re hired.”

“I’m hired? As what?”

“My personal masseuse.”

“And what would the payment be for these services? My asking price is pretty high you know.” he said, grinning as he was imagining what he would like it to be.

“Anything you want, name it. My feet were screaming at me and they feel much better now.”

“Hmm, I can think of what I would like, but are you up to it?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I think I might just have enough energy held in reserve to render payment for your services.” She said chuckling.

“Good let’s go. You head in and I’ll take care of locking up for the night.”

“The puppies need to go out.”

“I’ll take them before we go to sleep. Go on now. This is a payment on delivery of services kind of deal you know.”

He heard her giggling as she hurried into the bedroom.

When he came into the bedroom she was just shutting the bathroom light off, trying to stifle a yawn when she saw him. She had gotten undressed and put on her light robe.

“I can wait if you really are too tired, Sweetheart.” He said as he loosened the tie on her robe and pulled her into his arms, feeling her melt against him and molding her body to his and leaning heavily against him. He knew that it was more from fatigue right now than passion.

“No, I’m alright, Seb. I’m tired but I want to make love with you. I missed you so much when you were gone.”

“I missed you too.” He said and kissed her slowly, then slid them both backwards to the bed and helping her to climb under the covers and then he joined her after taking off his clothes. He had seen her eyes darkening as he removed each article of clothing. He was glad to see that she wasn’t just agreeing to make him happy.

Their hands and mouths traveled over the other’s body, igniting sparks that did indeed give Lisa an extra boost of energy, enough to carry them late into the evening as they loved each other. Eventually they were brought back into the real world as Lauren woke up needing one more bottle and a change before she would sleep through the rest of the night. Seb handed her to Lisa after changing her diaper and then he went to heat the bottle.

When he returned, he gave Lisa the bottle and went to take the puppies out. After everything was locked down for the night he headed for the bedroom and shut the door. He turned around to find Lauren stretching her neck trying to reach the nipple on the bottle. It had slipped out of her mouth after Lisa fell asleep unaware.

Lauren had eaten enough that she wasn’t crying for it but Seb gently lifted her from Lisa’s arms and let her finish it before he burped her and laid her back in her bed, covering her with the light blanket in case it got chilly in the night.

When he slid in beside her, Lisa startled awake looking for Lauren.

“She’s all set Baby. I’ve put her back to bed. If she could talk she would have been telling you off by the look on her face as she tried to reach her bottle.” He said laughing at her.

“I’m sorry. My eyes got so heavy all of a sudden. I thought I’d be alright long enough for her to finish.”

“Go to sleep now, Love.” He said as he gathered her in his arms. And she did very quickly, not waking until morning.

She woke rested and ready to head over to the main house right after breakfast. She was meeting the cleaners that were coming and she would make sure they knew everything that needed to be done so they could get moved in.

“Go on Lisa, I’ll take care of the children.” Seb told her when he saw Mary’s car pulling into the driveway. She, like Lisa, was too excited to sit still.

Seb shook his head and chuckled as he saw them hugging each other and rushing to the house like two teenagers, chatting away.

He returned to the kitchen and began to clean up from breakfast. Lauren was taking her after breakfast nap and Sammy and Kayti had just been washed up and let up from the table. When he had the kitchen taken care of, he checked on Lauren and then he sat in Sammy’s room with his guitar and picked a tune as he watched them play with Sammy’s train set.

They loved to watch it make the circle around the track and they would move they little wooden people around the platform.

“Woo Woo” Sammy said, copying the sound of the train whistle.

“Sing songs Papa.” Kayti asked him, already appreciating her Papa’s voice. He had a repertoire of songs, both English and French he played and sang with the children. Sammy had learned most of the words and Kayti was learning them as well.

Seb entertained the children for a while until Lauren woke up.

“I’ll be back. You two play nice together.”

They usually played very well together but sometimes they would fight over something and usually it was Kayti that got very loud about it. She had a high pitched squeal that made you cover your ears. Lisa and Seb were working on getting her to use her words and talk about what she wanted instead of crying or squealing when she wasn’t getting what she wanted or just couldn’t get her point across.

“Hello little one. Did you have a good nap?”

He waited to pick the baby up until she was finished with her long stretch. He set her on the bed and prepared to change her diaper. It was a messy one and he made sure to have everything he needed before he tackled the unpleasant job.

“I go play Papa?” Kayti came into the room and asked him.

“Yes, Baby. Go play.” He said, not turning around because he was distracted by the chore he was doing.

“I not a Baby. I’m big girl. Lauren is a Baby.”

“That’s right Sweetheart. You are getting so big now.”

“Bye Papa. I go play.”

“Bye Kayti have fun.” He said still paying attention to what he was doing.

Several minutes later he had finished changing Lauren and he was sitting on the bed talking to her and playing with her, tickling her belly and loving the sound of her giggle. Sammy came into the bedroom.

“Hi Papa.”

“Hi Buddy.”

“Can I go play with Kayti?”

“Sure Buddy, go ahead.”

“Okay Bye Papa.” Sammy said and gave Seb a hug before running out of the room.

Seb laughed at the strange conversation. Sammy sounded like he was going on a trip or something. The next thing he heard was the screen door shutting.

“Oh good you’re back. Did you get the cleaners all set up over there?” he called out to Lisa. When he walked out into the living room and didn’t find Lisa standing there, he spun around with Lauren still in his arms. He had a sick feeling rush through him.