Middle C

rrrrmmmmrrr…

Middle C

mmmm…no…wha..huh…

Middle C, G

Huh? Wha? I open my eyes and look at the alarm clock; it says 2:30. I shake my head to clear it and look at the other side of the bed; Anastasia's sleeping soundly there.

Middle C, G

What the fuck? Who the fuck is playing my piano? And playing it at 2:30 in the morning! I check again and Ana's still sleeping so I quietly slip out of bed, trying not to wake her. I head downstairs to the music room; as I cross the balcony I look over it at the living room. No one is there but as I approach the stairs I hear the notes again.

Middle C, G

In spite of my concern, the notes bring back the memory of my music theory lessons with Miss Kathie. I remember her explaining how those notes form a perfect fifth, also called a dominant interval. Later in life, when I learned another meaning of the word "dominant," it felt as if I'd been anointed by destiny. I never used my middle initial after that.

These memories flash through my mind in a millisecond and I push them aside as I cautiously approach the music room. I stand at the entrance and look around. The lights are off but there's ambient light from the huge windows; it doesn't look like anyone's here. I slowly walk over to the piano; the first thing I notice is that the keyboard is uncovered. I always cover the keyboard after I'm done playing. Perhaps Gail forgot to cover it after she cleaned; I make a mental note to ask her about it at breakfast. I turn around, giving the room a full three-sixty degree scan; nothing looks amiss so I walk back to the door to turn on the lights. Before I get to the switch, I feel something lightly brush the back of my neck. Startled, I spin around the room but see nothing.

I quickly reach over, turn on the lights, and slowly do another scan. When I turn back to the door, I jump. Taylor's standing there.

"Is everything okay, sir?"

"I don't know. Did you by any chance hear the piano playing a couple minutes ago?"

"No, sir. The first floor motion sensor alerted me and I came here to check it out."

"Interior or exterior?"

"Interior, sir."

"I see. I want to go to the command room right now and check the video monitors."

"Yes, sir."

I go back to the piano and cover the keyboard, then turn out the lights in the music room. Taylor and I walk the distance to the command room, situated right next to his living quarters. All the exterior cameras show no human presence. They're set to record twenty-four hours of video so I ask him to rewind back to the last two hours. We review the video for each camera and there is still no evidence of human activity.

"Are you looking for anything specific, sir?" he asks after we've finished watching the replay from the last camera.

"Yes, any sign that someone's entered the house, the music room in particular." At this point I'm starting to doubt my senses but I know what I heard. It was real. On the other hand, the cameras don't lie.

"It doesn't look like it, sir."

"Thank you, Taylor. Let me know if you get any other alerts."

"Will do, sir."

On my way back to the bedroom I check on Teddy, just to make sure he's all right, although I'm sure the baby monitor would have awakened Ana. He looks fine, much to my relief. It's hard to believe he's a year old already; he's growing like a weed. I look down at him and my heart just about bursts with love. He looks so beautiful sleeping in his crib, I want to scoop him up and hug the crap out of him but I refrain. A few light strokes on his stomach will have to suffice until he decides to wake up on his own.

As I get back into bed, I look over at Anastasia. She's still sleeping soundly and I lean over and kiss her gently on her temple. Motherhood has filled out some of her features a little but she still looks like the goddess she was when I married her. I feel like I'm the luckiest man on the planet.

Lying back down on my side of the bed, I decide that what I heard must be a by-product of stress - either that or an exceptionally vivid dream. It's after three so I think I'll try to get at least another hour of sleep before getting up for the day.

When I return from my morning run, Gail, Ana, and Teddy are all in the kitchen having breakfast, or rather, Gail and Ana are trying to make sure Teddy has his breakfast. He seems to be wearing his food as much as eating it and the entire area around his high chair looks like a Rorschach test. Cheerios, yogurt, and bananas are everywhere.

Gail starts getting my breakfast ready but I tell her to hold off. I take over the feeding from Ana and tell her, "Eat! Your food's getting cold. I got this." She willingly turns to her meal and I start trying to coax my son to take more of the food in his mouth and less on his clothes. Let's see if the airplane game does the trick.

"Teddy Tower, Tango Romeo Golf on final for runway one! rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" I make engine noises as I zoom the spoon straight towards his face but at the last minute I pull it up, away from his mouth.

"Teddy Tower, Tango Romeo Golf declaring a missed approach! RRRRRRRRRRRR!" and he lets out a shriek as the spoon goes over his head. He's waving his hands as if trying to bring the spoon back.

"Teddy Tower, Tango Romeo Golf on final for runway one! rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" I say once more as I zoom the spoon towards him. This time his mouth is wide open and I gently unload the spoonful of baby glop in it.

We continue this way until he's finished. Ana's done with her breakfast by now so she takes him in her lap and plays with him while I eat my breakfast. As Gail walks away, I ask her, "Gail, did you cover the piano keyboard after cleaning it yesterday?"

"I'm sure I did, Mr. Grey. Was there a problem?"

"When I checked it this morning, the keyboard was uncovered."

"I'm sorry. I'll make doubly sure I cover it when I clean today but I'm almost positive I covered it yesterday."

"That's fine. Ana, do you know if anyone was in the music room at all yesterday besides us?"

"I'm pretty sure not. What's this about, Christian?"

My wife has enough on her mind so I decide not to tell her everything about my morning excursion right now. "Nothing important, I just found the keyboard uncovered when I went into the music room this morning. It's not that big a deal, I've just always made it a routine to cover it when I finish playing so it surprised me to find it uncovered."

She turns to our son and asks him in a fake serious tone, "Teddy, did you go downstairs and play on daddy's piano this morning?"

"Guuu!" he responds, "grblbl grblbl grblbl"

"Well," she looks at me, "he says it wasn't him."

"Okay, I'll just admit I forgot. Turning thirty must have made me old and forgetful. On to other business. What's everyone got planned for today?"

The day passed with the usual crises facing a huge conglomerate like GEH. Having had an interrupted night's sleep, I felt somewhat cranky but I tried not to take it out on the staff. I think I succeeded. I'm on my way home, looking forward to dinner and a couple of glasses of wine with my wife, and after that, a nice quiet evening with her and Teddy. Maybe we'll take a walk along the coast. With sunset being so late right now, there'll be plenty of time after dinner to do that.

As Taylor pulls into the driveway I see Elliot's and Kate's Escalade parked there. So much for a quiet evening alone with my family, unless they're just leaving, which I doubt. I get out of the Audi and go inside. No one's there to greet me but I hear voices coming from the terrace. I also smell meat being grilled and my stomach starts to rumble.

As soon as I set foot outside, Elliot's there, pushing a bottle of beer in my hand. "Hey, little bro! Welcome to our impromptu barbecue!"

"Thanks! And to what do we owe this dubious honor?"

"Christian!" Ana scolds, "be nice! They brought steaks and Elliot's doing the grilling. Just sit back and relax!" She comes over to me and starts taking off my tie. I grab her around the waist and roll her into a deep dip and an even deeper kiss.

"All right, you two, don't make me use the garden hose on you!" Kate comes through the entrance from the family room with a tray of salads in her hands.

The banter continues throughout the meal. Even though I was hoping for a quiet evening with Ana, it feels good being suburban married couples with my brother and sister-in-law. When I really think about that, I'm amazed. Before I met Ana, a life like this was never even on the radar and now, here I am, thoroughly enjoying every minute.

When they finally leave, it's too late for a walk on the coast. Teddy's getting cranky and Ana looks like she's wiped out. I hope she's not too wiped out but I'll find that out soon enough. After putting Teddy in his crib, we decide to spend what's left of the evening in the master bedroom. She turns on the tv and we settle on the love seat in the sitting area to finish off the bottle of wine we started earlier.

One of the interesting things about family life, or maybe it's just married life in general, is that finding time for sex becomes more of a challenge. Between two high-powered careers and a child, even if the opportunity is there, sometimes the desire is not. I'm careful to read Ana's frame of mind and while I try my best to persuade her (and frequently I'm successful), if she's obviously not in the mood, I don't force her.

As we're sitting there watching the news, I gently start massaging her shoulders. Soon I hear moans of pleasure emanating from deep in her throat. Using the remote, I switch off the tv and turn on the sound system. Strains of John Tesch emanate from the speakers placed around the room, softly so as not to drown out the baby monitor.

The massage gradually turns into a gentle disrobing and soon we're naked on the love seat, arms entwined, our tongues exploring each other. Suddenly, out of the blue, I look into her eyes and whisper "Anastasia, I want to put another baby in you."

Holy fuck! Where did that come from? I'm just getting used to being a father to one child, how the hell will I handle two? I can't believe I just said that to her!

And I'm even more surprised by her response. "Yes, Christian! I want to carry your child again."

She didn't go back on the pill after childbirth so we've been using condoms. Much as we both dislike them, between hormonal fluctuations and breastfeeding, shots or pills were not an option.

I stand up and carry her to our bed. The enormity of what we're about to do, creating another life, almost overwhelms me but it feels right. I want this and it seems Anastasia does too. I explore her body, slowly, sensuously, making absolutely sure she's ready, a task I love. When she gives me the signs that I've learned to read so well, I bury myself in her depths. Entering her without any barrier between us is indescribable; I've missed this feeling so much. We cling to each other, as close as two people can ever be, and when the moment is right, we both let go.

"I love you, Anastasia."

"I love you, Christian."

Even though we're sated, we're still cognizant of the fact that we both have obligations tomorrow. Reluctantly, we part; there's always a moment of sadness for me when I leave her. I roll over so I'm in back of her and we spoon. After a few minutes I fall into a deep sleep.

Until…

Middle C, G