Sunday Ficiton - Ch 7

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Before Bruce was born, Nicole had a full rich life. She loved being a mother; however she missed her freedom. Another baby was not something she had planned for, but after she found out she was pregnant she embraced the idea. The new baby would arrive right around Bruce's second birthday.

Nicole found herself much tireder than she had been with her first pregnancy. By the time Nick returned home after work, she was ready for bed. Nicole and Nick became virtual ships that pass in the night, they would see each other in the mornings before Nick went to work, and they would see each other when he returned after work. When he traveled Nicole asked her mother to come help her.

Bruce required full time attention. He was walking and running anywhere he could. He would only entertain himself for short periods of time. Nicole tried to get to the park every day; but as the Nebraska winter settled around her it became much more difficult.

By mid-April life had again settled into a routine. Nick was traveling one week per month and Nicole's exhaustion had diminished. Bruce loved to point at her belly and say, "My baby."  Together the little family prepared for their new arrival.

July 14, Bruce's second birthday, Nicole went into labor. Her parents came over to take care of Bruce and Nick took his wife to the hospital. Together they witnessed the birth of their daughter. Nick wept and knelt by his wife's bedside. "I am eternally grateful to you for allowing me to witness this. I will never forgive myself for missing Bruce's birth. This has truly been the most remarkable event of my life."

The day Adriana went home was the day Bruce fell in love. He loved his new baby sister and was never far from her side. If she cried, he was right there, stroking her head letting her know everything would be OK. He shared his favorite animals with her; gave her his blanket; played by her side and never left her alone.

Before she arrived Bruce would not sit still for very long, but after she came he would spend hours just sitting next to her. He would talk incessantly, although he was the only one who really knew what he was saying.  As time passed, the bond grew stronger.

When Adriana could crawl she followed Bruce everywhere he went. When she started walking they would hold hands and go places together. One of Bruce’s first words was “Dri” because that was all he could get out of her four syllable name. That nickname stuck for life.

By the time Bruce was ready for kindergarten, Nicole was ready to go back to work. Although she loved her children, she needed more stimulation in her life. The routine between her and Nick had grown old as he had returned to working long hours, traveling at least half of the month and being fairly absent. They no longer discussed this, nor did they argue.

On their tenth wedding anniversary Nick surprised Nicole during the children’s birthday party. He announced that he was taking his wife on a much deserved, long needed vacation. They were going to fly to Cozumel the next day for a week and the children would be staying with their grandparents. Nicole was stunned as she looked from her husband to her mother and realized they had both been in on the surprise.

When they landed in Cozumel a limousine took them from the airport to their resort. Nicole walked into their suite and gasped. “This is amazing!” The entire suite had ocean view windows, there was a sunken tub in the middle of the enormous bathroom, and the bedroom was furnished with a luxury bed that just invited people.

“How can we afford this?” Nicole asked.

“That’s the first thing you think of when you see this?” Nick laughed. “I have a client that owns this hotel chain and he owed me a favor.”

“Well please thank your client for me, this is stunning!”

“And so are you,” Nick said, wrapping his wife in his arms. “I know I don’t say it often enough or loud enough, but I think you are more beautiful now than you ever were. Motherhood has done you right. I am constantly amazed at how you manage to keep everything together.”

She looked up at him and tears began to seep from her eyes. “I didn’t even think you noticed,” she said. “I feel like this has been the longest ten years of my life and the shortest ten years of my life. Does that make any sense?”

“Strangely enough, it does.” He replied as he leant down and kissed her deeply.

They spent seven days doing whatever they wanted, with no regard for time. If they wanted to sleep until mid afternoon, they did. They took long moonlight walks on the beach, ate at local restaurants, wandered the old streets of Cozumel and literally fell in love again.