Ch. 49 (Amazing)
-Rosie revealed that she was 11 weeks pregnant when she
left her husband and sons behind.
-Calla was just as shocked as Brad to find that she has
family members she never knew about.
-Knowing this is something Brad needed to talk to his
family about in private, I decided to leave my classroom.
-I urged him to give his mom and sister a chance and
reminded him that they are hurting just as much as he is.
-When he stopped by the house later that day, he revealed
that he confronted his mom about everything and it was
very emotional for everyone.
-As happy as I was for him, I knew the time has come
to tell him the truth about where we stood.
-I told him that I'm in love with Luke.
-He was shocked and hurt, but he understood.
-We both decided to let each other go, knowing it was time
to move on.
-A few months later, I visited Hangman's Tree to say my
goodbyes to Emma, Jesse, William and Luke.
-I accepted the fact that it simply wasn't meant to be in
this life and I was better off alone.
Location: Wolfson’s Hospital And Research Facility
Date: Wednesday, 1/11/2012
Time: 10:19 a.m.
“Thank you for coming in this morning, Lyn.” Dr. Chan flashes me a warm smile as I sink comfortably on the chair, facing her. There’s a quiet assurance about her that I really admire, as if she’s in no hurry at all, and she has all the time in the world to answer my questions. It’s almost hard to believe that this is the same woman Brad introduced me to a few months ago, when he was down here for two weeks. Now she’s my doctor. “I wanted to discuss the results of your lab work in person.”
“It’s no problem,” I mutter as I set my purse on the floor. Since this weekend, I’ve been feeling rather ill. I’m not sure if it was the suspicious looking plate of Sloppy Joe’s I ate in the school cafeteria or a virus going around, but I haven’t been able to stomach anything down. I’ve slept for the most part of the weekend, and I’ve barely been able to stay awake in class. At one point, Dr. Weston came in to my classroom and told me that I’ve been looking pale. She wouldn’t let me come back to work until I’ve seen a doctor. Yesterday, Dr. Chan called to let me know that my lab results came in, but she didn’t feel comfortable discussing it over the phone. So I’ve had to miss work again today just to see her since she leaves early on Wednesdays. “My principal knows about my appointment. She has a sub covering for me.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She quietly flips through my file, scanning the notes scribbled on my paperwork. “Okay, let’s see here. Your blood pressure and temperature are a little high.”
“I’m finishing up the antibiotics you gave me,” I explain, feeling somewhat alarmed about my blood pressure. It’s always been normal, but I guess I haven’t been too gentle on myself with all the hours I’ve spent at work lately. Sometimes I won’t come home until 9 p.m.---or least when the custodian reminds me that he’s getting ready to set the campus alarm. Sometimes I just don’t want to go home, for fear of what’s waiting for me---the unbearable silence---leaving me vulnerable to thoughts of Luke. “I guess I’m still coming down from my fever.”
“Good. You may want to take a few more days off.” Dr. Chan closes my file as she looks me in the eye, her words deliberate, “You’ll need the rest.”
“But I’m getting better, Dr. Chan. I don’t think I can miss any more days of work.”
“If not for your sake,” she calmly insists as her demeanor changes into a more serious---motherly tone, “then for the baby’s sake.”
Bricks. Crashing through the roof of the hospital, landing on Dr. Chan’s desk, the top of my head and my unsuspecting lap. This...this word that I thought I just heard, pummels me on the back, knocking the oxygen out of my lungs. Baby. It couldn’t be. I must be hearing things. When I finally regain my composure---and ability to breathe, I whisper weakly, “W-what?”
“You’re seven weeks pregnant, Lyn.” Her eyes are straightforward and unflinching, delivering the words as if there’s no other room for interpretation. As if they are fact, a non-negotiable fact, and the moment they leave her lips, they are etched permanently into existence. “Congratulations.”
Congratulations. This concept sears into my heart, unleashing a place I’ve tried to forget about in the past few months. All of the pain, the disappointments, the lost chances, the days that seemed to drag on, completely devoid of meaning and purpose---brought this one morsel of a miracle. A miracle I have secretly and silently prayed for in my private moments of despair. Congratulations, fate seems to say to me, handing me this gift of life---a part of me---and a part of Luke. Overcome by my own emotions, I look down and try to suppress the scorching tears from falling.
“Are you okay, hon?” Dr. Chan asks as she hands me a tissue. “I hope those are happy tears.”
“Y-yes,” I laugh softly as I wipe my eyes, “they are.”
“You’re still five weeks away from passing the first trimester, which has the highest incidence of miscarriage. That’s why it’s very important that you take it easy and take care of yourself.”
I nod quietly.
“I want you to go home, get some rest and make sure you eat healthy from now on. Try to avoid any type of stress. If your blood pressure doesn’t go back to normal next time I see you, I may have to put you on low-dose medication for the duration of your pregnancy. Until then, pre-natal vitamins should help you out.”
“Okay, I’ll do that,” I take a deep breath, feeling completely dumbfounded at this new-found change in my life. At the same time, I’m bursting with hope---and filled with so much gratitude that I’ve been given back the baby I lost not too long ago. And this time, it’s with the man I love. I don’t know where to go from here, but at least I’ll have a reason to contact him. “Thank you, Dr. Chan.”
“You’re very welcome. Are you excited to tell the father?”
“He’ll be surprised for sure.”
Location: Hangman’s Tree National Historic Landmark
Time: 11:11 a.m.
After I left Dr. Chan’s office, I must have sat in the truck for at least ten minutes, letting the news sink in, while trying to figure out when and how I should tell Luke. When I was pregnant with Brad’s baby, I didn’t find out until I was in my tenth week and I still wanted to wait to tell him. And just like Dr. Chan’s warning, the stress caused me to have a miscarriage. I can’t afford to lose this baby. Not now, now when it’s Luke’s. Not when it matters the most.
Not knowing what to do, I decide to pay another visit to the one place that gives me solace, despite the bittersweet memories permanently lingering around it. Hangman’s Tree. Maybe I’ll find the courage to call Luke and tell him the news. If fate is truly kind, maybe, just maybe…I’ll find him there. The way Jesse and I always found our way to each other--- at our sacred place.
As I walk up towards the barren oak tree, my pulse starts to quicken for a reason I can’t explain. When the sea of fragrant yellow roses, white camellias and pink azaleas come into view, a sudden gust of chilly wind shakes up the trees, causing the leaves to rustle before it moves through my body, leaving me breathless. A shiver runs up my spine, making me fold my arms over my breasts. Something is happening. I can feel it in my bones and every tingling pore in my body. This nagging, unshakeable feeling that I’m supposed to be here. Right now.
The moment the barren oak tree comes into full view, I see the old familiar park bench. My heart stops, along with the movement of my feet, at the sight of Luke sitting on the edge of it with his face buried in his hands. I swallow, close my eyes and count to three. One…two…three. I open them again, to find him still within my sight. Oh my God, he’s here. He’s really here.
“Well, here we are again
I guess it must be fate
We've tried it on our own
But deep inside we've known
We'd be back to set things
Straight”
Afraid that he might vanish if I don’t act quickly, I inhale deeply and carefully walk in his direction. It takes all the self-control from every molecule in my body not to run up to him, take him in my arms, kiss him all over his handsome face and tell him it’s going to be okay. Instead, I stop when I’m a few feet away, waiting quietly until his eyes look up to meet mine. They widen in disbelief as they probe through my whole being, making time stop all over again as his face slowly lights up.
Without a word, he gets up from the bench and takes a few steps towards me until he is a mere foot away, never wavering his gaze. There’s a weariness in his eyes, a sort of quiet desperation from trying to break free, just like I have, but the remnants of our connection simply refuses to die. There’s so much to say, so many questions to ask, but words fail us as we stand there just looking at each other, absorbing each other’s presence and marveling at how we both ended up here. “Hi…” he whispers, finally breaking the silence after what seems like a long, excruciating wait.
“Hi…” I whisper back, nearly croaking as the sound of his voice triggers all of the longing, the desire and the emptiness that would never go away, no matter how hard I tried. My heart aches all over again, sending this dull, piercing need to the very depths of my core, a sort of hunger for everything we have shared and everything we have lost. “What are you doing here?”
“I was hoping…you’d be here.” He admits, with a tender honesty in his voice that just melts away my insides.
“You were?”
“Yeah...Brad called me this morning.”
“Oh…what did he say?”
“He said you told him to check on me.”
“Yes…I did.”
“He also said…” He hesitates and looks away for a moment, into some far-away place I can’t quite reach, or describe. Then his pale green eyes---reminiscent of glowing, liquid emeralds---return to mine.
My heart just about leaps in my throat, morbidly curious at what else Brad revealed. Whatever it was, it was serious enough to make Luke drive down here in the middle of work and look for me, based on the uniform he’s still wearing. Bracing myself, I manage to squeak, “Y-yes?”
“That…you’re in love with me.”
“Oh…” My head spins. It’s one thing to admit this to myself---heck, even to Brad---but it’s a completely different story when confronted by Luke. The one person that I safely guarded this information from is the very same person standing in front of me now, looking me dead in the eyes, and it makes me feel really vulnerable. There’s no escaping it.
He takes another step until his face is merely a few inches away from mine. As he looks down at me, his breathing becoming more audible, he reaches out to caress my face---making me tremble. “Is this true, Lyn?”
“Y-yes,” I search his face, finally acknowledging the truth. I become bombarded by a wave of heaviness surging through me, wearing down my defenses, until they flood my eyes. In one blink, the tears come crashing down, making my heart feel like it’s being squeezed to the very last drop of blood. “I’m so s-sorry, Luke. I screwed everything up.”
“No babygirl, it’s my fault.” Without warning, he grabs me and takes me in his arms, squeezing me so tight that he nearly knocks the wind out of me. Everything ceases to exist. His masculine scent, the warmth of his muscular body pressed against mine, the jingle of tree branches being gently caressed by the breeze, the sweet essence of flowers nearby, the cozy morning sunlight hovering over us, even the way his voice breaks as he wipes my tears. They all fade away under the wild drumming of my own heart and the jumble of my own erratic thoughts. “All you needed was time and I was too selfish to understand that.”
I quietly reach out to cup his face; gently tracing the contours of his cheekbones, his strong jawline, the curve of his luscious lips, the width of his chin and the tip of his beautiful nose with my fingers.
It’s just me and him---with all of our fragile hopes and dreams---suspended in time, lost in this very moment we both have been silently waiting for. He adds, “I’m sorry about the things I said. I never meant to hurt you.”
“It’s okay...you lost your dad. I should have been there for you.”
“You were,” he picks me up until my feet are dangling off the ground and my eyes hover over his in an infinite, hypnotic dance. “You were.”
“I still remember when
Your kiss was so brand new
Every memory repeats
Every step I take retreats
Every journey always
Brings me back to you”
“I’ve been lost…so lost without you,” I whisper, running my fingers through his thick, silky brown hair as I absorb the intensity of his eyes, which are now burning like transparent green embers---penetrating through the very depths of my soul. I feel just as helpless as the first time me made love, knowing he sees right through me, knowing I can’t hide anything from him.
He smiles and squeezes me even tighter as traces of sorrow faintly emerge from his face. “Me too…”
“What we shared that night and that morning meant so much to me, but I never told you,” I admit without any hesitation or fear, baring myself to him because it’s something he deserves to know. It’s something he should have known a long time ago. “I should have told you how much you mean to me. I should have told you how much…I love you.”
A gust of air escapes his mouth as he closes his eyes, as if he’s been waiting an eternity to hear those words, both a surprise and relief. When he slowly opens them again, he gives me a puzzled, almost accusatory look. “You…love me?”
“Of course I do. I love you, Luke. It just took me a while to realize it.”
“I’ve loved you from the moment we met.” He loosens his hold on me until my body slides down against his and I can feel my feet touching the ground. He gently lifts my face up with his hand as he leans in---so close---that I can feel his warm breath on my quivering mouth. My stomach twists into all kinds of knots as his soft lips lightly press against mine, an explosion of hot sparks on contact, making me whimper like an inexperienced schoolgirl. Yearning for more, all I can do is hold on to him as I try to keep my knees from buckling in weakness. As he rests his forehead on mine, he breathlessly whispers, “You’re my Lois Lane. You’re everything to me.”
“When love is truly right
This time it's truly right
It lives from year to year
It changes as it goes
Oh, and on the way it grows
But it never disappears”
The moment he said Lois Lane, I lost it and I could have sworn I heard my soaked panties drop to the ground with a THUD. My poor, unsuspecting, hopeless romantic heart had no chance. None whatsoever. As I watch my inhibitions fly out the window, I grab Luke’s face and hungrily devour his mouth. He lets out a deep, primal groan as he grabs my ass and presses his crotch against mine, his fervent breath all over my face. I wrap my arms around his neck as I open my mouth wider to meet his hot, moist tongue---dancing, probing, sliding against mine---sending a bolt of electricity between my legs.
“Lyn…” His voice becomes lost amidst our frantic breathing and gyrating bodies, completely unaware if we’re alone or if there are people around us.
“Hmm?” I murmur blindly and deliriously as his mouth moves down my neck.
“We should…slow down…” His hands slip inside my top, possessively squeezing my aching breasts, as he bites my lower lip and says, “Or…I will rip…your clothes off…and...bend you over...this bench.”
“Oh, daddy...” My hands slide down his forearms and squeeze them as I try to regain my composure---and common sense. I close my eyes, count to three and breathe deeply. God, you can bend me over anytime. I don’t give a damn who sees. Even my own lewd thoughts betray me, and I force myself to think of something else. It doesn’t help that Luke has a major bulge going right now. “So...um...Brad talked some sense into you, huh?”
At first, he just stares blankly at me. Then he chuckles. “Yeah.”
“I’m trying to be good, okay? I really am.” I shake my head and give him a mischievous grin. “So…are you guys okay now?”
“We’re getting there. He told me what happened with his mom and sister. He said you were there for him.”
“I was. Calla’s one of my students.”
His demeanor shifts into a more serious tone as he grabs my waist and pulls me close, our bodies exchanging heat once again. He looks at me. I can feel his eyes trace every single line and curve of my face, from my forehead all the way down to the crinkle of my lips. Then he takes a lock of my hair and slip it between his fingers, watching it fall down my shoulder repeatedly. “So…it’s really over between you and him?”
“Yes. I haven’t spoken to him since November.” The way he plays with my hair is so relaxing, it puts me in a sort of trance as I absorb the tingle of every hair follicle. But it doesn’t change how hard it was for me to let Brad and Luke go, and accepting the possibility that love may just not be in the cards for me in this life. That was my reality until today. Until I found out I was pregnant---and until I found Luke here. “I will always care about him as a person but it wasn’t meant to be. He needs to find himself so he can be happy.”
“So it’s really me and you this time?”
“Yes, it’s really me and you.” I rest my face on his hard chest and savor his delicious, familiar scent, praying I won’t wake up---if this is merely a dream. “And...the baby.”
His body tenses up. “Baby? What baby?”
“I’m seven weeks pregnant, Luke,” I divulge nervously, meeting his interrogating gaze. “You’re gonna be a daddy.”
There’s a hazy look in his eyes as if a semi is speeding in his direction, and he’s lying immobile in the middle of a highway. His hands hold on to my waist, almost hanging on for dear life, as he whispers, “Oh my God…”
“Are you excited?”
“Excited?” He picks me up without effort and carries me in his arms. My Superman. My wonderful, amazing fireman. “You’re having my baby. What more could I want?”
“If we have a boy, I’d like to name him Joseph. To honor your dad.”
“I’d really like that.” He leans in to give me a soft, lingering kiss. “If we have a girl, can we name her Abigail?”
“Yes,” I nod, swept away by my own emotions, “Abigail is perfect.”
"After all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me, after all”
*Copyright Lyn C.S. 2013*
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Author's Note: Wow, this chapter was bittersweet for me to write. As happy as I am that we got to see how it ends, I'm sad that I have to say goodbye to the characters and the wonderful readers who have stuck with me from the very beginning. For those of you who don't know, this humble little story started out as a picture thread in the Sims 3 forums, with my simself exploring the Pets EP (in case you were wondering why the main character shares my name). I actually tried to change her name (I felt weirded out) but I was already five chapters in. So it was too late. From there, it just grew, along with my writing. This story has also been healing for me. I was going through some family issues, and for the last two years, writing was my form of release---and therapy.
I just wanted to thank all of you who have been following this story. I know I put you guys through it and left a lot of you screaming at your computer and pulling your hair out. lol I must admit, that was the best part. Hehe. :P A little sadistic perhaps? Maybe. But I really enjoyed taking you guys in this journey and surprising you with the twists and turns. My characters have grown, and so have I.
It has been an honor to share parts of myself with you through my stories. I hope you had as much fun as I did! HUGS!
PS: I'm working on the Epilogue. I should have it posted soon :)
"After All" by Peter Cetera and Cher
Video by: eclipsehunter2002
