A/N : This is some sort of continuation of my previous fic and also some sort of silly gift for a friend of mine. No beta, beware of explosive Grammar mines.
THE GRISSOMS AND THE OTHER WOMAN
Many things in life came as surprises, shocking those who were unprepared. It was only human to be baffled, to react slowly, and to be mesmerized on occasion.
Sara's pregnancy was probably the biggest surprise had ever came in my life. Well, in her life too. The news of the upcoming wonderful gift literary knocked our socks off.
As two inexperienced parents-to-be we were puzzled at first, almost as clueless as two rookie investigators processing evidence in Mars. Then when the news began to sink we took a lot of tentative steps forward before a little bit of confidence came upon us. The first trimester had mostly spent in trial and error, we were practically groping for what was right to do and what was not. Only in the second trimester we began to sail smoothly and started to really prepare for the future.
Work arrangement was the first to be handled. Sara's working hours were lessened significantly before she resigned at her 28 weeks mark. As for me, I finished my teaching commitment in Paris first. Then it took another month for me to get a teaching position in San Francisco.
Yes, San Francisco. We had decided that Las Vegas was not a perfect place for our child, any child, to grow up. We could not imagine starting a family in the city where crime took place almost at every corner, where most of the crooks were indirectly jailed by us.
Although we knew we only had a little time in our hand before the baby came, we decided to move out from the sin city.
It was my undying wish to spend the rest of my life with my true love in my hometown. I had this image of walking on the familiar beach, wrapping my hand around Sara's waist as she rested her head on my shoulder. To have my child grow in the city where I had spent my childhood was like a jackpot. I could not resist dreaming the three of us playing in the sand as a little family.
So here we were, in Marina Del Rey, driving a rented car after visiting a house our realtor considered perfect for us. We had decided to pay my old house a visit too. Even though my mother had sold the house fifteen years ago, I was a little bit nostalgic and wanted to see how much the house and the neighborhood had changed.
The neighborhood had changed indeed. There were buildings where it used to be park or wooded area; there were roads I didn't really know where they ended. There were a public place or two I still recognized, but most of the store and pub were new to me.
To my excitement, the house itself didn't change that much. It was still a two-story house, still as humble as I remember. It was still the smallest one in the block, yet the one the largest yard. The only thing that noticeably changed was the way it painted and the lack of distinctive greeneries my Father used to have in the front yard.
I hit the brake and stopped at the roadside, openly ogling the house, reminiscing.
Then Sara shrieked.
If you knew Sara like I did, you'd know that she wasn't the kind of woman that shriek. It only natural that this first shriek that I heard from her made me whipped my head to the side, looking at her nervously.
"Are you okay? Are you having… contraction?"
I was being rational here. We might be two months away from the official due date. But Sara was getting huge and huger each day she looked like she was ready to blow off at any given moment. That and our OBGYN had warned us to expect the unexpected.
This was unexpected right? For Sara to be in labor while we were out doing some last minutes house hunting.
She pursed her lips. "Don't be silly. Looks." Her slender finger pointed at house.
That was when I saw it. A huge sign stood near the garage of the house.
FOR SALE.
CALL 29052011
I shrieked. It was a manly shriek and not that audible though. God and coincident were truly the things in life you could always rely on.
I grabbed my phone, punched the number enlisted on the sign without really thinking. I might have a chance to live in my dream house in my dream city with my dream family.
The number I called ended up to be the owner of the house itself. I could tell that she was kind and friendly from the first greeting we shared. Her voice was motherly and kind of reminded me to Mrs. Meyers; my teacher at the first grade.
She wanted to meet us as soon as possible, declining any involvement of realtor. She said she wanted to see us first, to make sure that the house fell into the hand of a perfect owner.
Who could be more perfect than me?
We quickly agreed to meet at the house the day after tomorrow, early in the morning. I shared the good news to Sara, couldn't help but grinning like a little boy at her.
She grinned back at me, "Only one step away from your dream huh?"
I nodded and hugged her tightly, telling her that having her with me was already a dream come true.
/ - 0 . 0 - /
In the promised morning, we arrived early at the house, being greeted by the owner herself. She asked us to call her by her first name; Sylvie.
Just as I predicted, Sylvie was friendly, motherly even. She openly voiced her concern of Sara's current state, ushering Sara to sit as soon as we entered the house.
I could only smirk. Sara hated being mothered, especially by stranger. She sat for one good minute before proposing for us to start touring the house.
Despite the exterior, the house didn't change that much. Sylvie showed us the living area and the kitchen first, saying that she loved the house so much and wouldn't have put it on sale if the need for bigger house hadn't been so unrelenting.
Then she brought us to see the main bedroom upstairs. My thought sailed at the days I used to wedge myself between my parents on the huge bed in this very room. My hand sought Sara's as I leaned to her and whispered. "Perfect."
"Hold your horses. Don't let her know you are that interested." She smiled weakly. "We don't want the price to get too high."
Sylvie, clearly didn't hear us, open the windows of the bedroom. "My favorite view, the beach."
It had always been my favorite view too. The curve of shoreline on the horizon and the distinctive color of ocean could be clearly seen from the windows. I imagined Sara, my Sara, opening the window in the morning. The smell of the sea seeped into our room as I lay lazily on the bed, admiring her curvy figure.
Hmmmm. Yummy.
I was so busy dreaming of our future life in this house that I didn't realize Sylvie had brought us into another room; my old room. I could still see the backyard from its large window. At my sixth birthday, my father had brought me a binocular. I used to sit on this window sill, observing the backyard with my favorite birthday present.
"Whoa!"
"Beautiful isn't it?" Sylvie came to my side, looked down to the backyard like I did and put a hand on my shoulder. "I had it built for my kids."
"What is it?" Sara who had been silent most of the touring also came to my side. "Wow, nice swimming pool." She commented.
"It will be a perfect place for you to play with your little one." Sylvie beamed at us. "The pool had a shallow part, me and my youngest, Erin, loved to play in it."
She then chatted with Sara. A conversation I completely missed out. My jaw had dropped to the floor in shock. The backyard I used to know was gone; there were no trees, no bushes, no flowers, and no grass.
There was just a swimming pool, a damn swimming pool.
When I was a kid, the backyard used to be my divine playground. It had been the heaven of insect. It had been the place where I found my first ant colony, where I dissected my first frog. It had been a perfect place for me and my dad to camp at night. Of course I had this dream of my kid doing the same thing I had done.
Imagine a little girl, with big brown eyes, looking up at me smiling as I read her a story under the stars outside our little tent.
One could not find insect in a pool. Camping by the pool wouldn't be as much fun as camping under a tree. My perfect dream was ruined by Sylvie's silly pool. I suddenly felt like frowning at her.
But my frown disappeared as Sylvie took us to see around for another hour, checking every detail of the house. She was very good at building conversation. It was easy to talk to her. Without really asking, she managed to make me spill information that I usually didn't share with stranger.
She made me forget about the swimming pool, at least temporarily. The stories she shared us, about all the fun she had had with her kids in each and every room, ensured me to land the deal on this house.
"You look exhausted, let's rest by the pool. I have food and drinks in my car." Sylvie said friendly, opening the sliding glass door to the pool.
I looked at my wife, who actually seemed flushed. The excitement of touring the house made me slightly forget that she could get tired easily these days.
"Come sit." I led her to the plastic chair by the pool. The beach umbrella shaded her from the harsh sun as wind blew softly. "You okay?"
"Uh uh." She nodded, reclining on the chair.
"I'll get the food and the drinks." Sylvie hurriedly went outside.
I lifted Sara's feet to my lap, removing her shoes and massaged her ankles gently.
"I take it we'll buy this house." She winced as I reached for her seemingly knotted muscle. "Sylvie has you wrapped in her hands since you entered the front yard."
I shook my head no, weakly though. "She has turned my backyard into a pool."
"It's a beautiful pool. I like it. It might hike up the price though."
I frowned. What is it with women and swimming pool?
"I like my old backyard better. It was greener and more… insect friendly. Do you think we have the budget to turn the pool back into camping ground?"
"Ah Gil, we haven't even move in yet. And this little one," Her hand went to caress her stomach, the sweet gesture I loved to watch. "won't need a camping ground that soon. His urgent need is a house, a room to sleep."
"His?" I smirked at her choice of word. We had opted not to find out the gender of our baby, keeping it as a sweet surprise to be revealed at the special day.
"His." She said sternly. If I prefer a girl, one that hopefully will look like my wife, Sara was adamant that the baby she was carrying was a boy. She told me that from the way the baby somersaulting in her womb, it could not be a girl. I was always wise enough not to debate her. Girl or boy, I already fell deeply in love with our baby anyway.
"Okay. I think we'll make this house a home for us and our baby boy."
She smiled in victory and stood up. "I'll leave you and Sylvie to negotiate the prize."
"What? Wait. You are a better negotiator than me."
"Maybe. But I can tell that you'll nail this one smoothly." Flexing her waist as far as it could go, Sara winked at me. "She seems so fascinated by you."
"She does?"
"Come on Gil. She has been checking on you since minute one."
"Me?" I looked up at my wife, searching for any sign of hormonal jealousy. But she sported nothing but a smile. Even her eyes seemingly twinkled with amusement.
"No. maybe not you. Just your butt."
"No way." I shook my head in disbelief. "Why would anyone check on my butt?"
Laughter erupted from my wife. "FYI Mister Grissom, you have a set of very attractive rear end." She leaned in to give me a quick peck on the cheek. "Sylvie's here, work your claws,Tiger."
"Where are you going?" I stood and held Sara by the hand, just in time to see Sylvie coming over to us. Did I just catch her checking on me?
Man, Sara was right.
"Bathroom. Little Gilbert is squeezing my bladder."
"Ah. Peeing constantly. One thing I surely don't miss from pregnancy." Sylvie said cheerily, setting a picnic basket on the table. "Do you want me to show you where the bathroom is?"
Sara shook her head no. "The closest one is by the kitchen right?"
"Yes." Sylvie opened the basket as she sat beside me. "I have fruits, sandwiches, and lemonade. I hope you'll like them." She beamed at me.
"Sara loves fruits. I'll take the sandwich." I sat back, cautiously glancing at the woman in front of me.
"So, what do you think of the house? Lovely isn't it. Miss Monahan, the previous owner, told me that this house was hands built by the first owner."
Which is my grandfather. I continued inwardly while extending my hand to receive a glass of lemonade she offered.
"Oh, sorry." Her finger collided with mine. Accidentally? God, I hoped so.
I retracted my fingers in shock. The glass slipped and spilled its liquid content, the yellowy water poured into my lap, wetting my pants.
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry." Sylvie exclaimed, her hand went to wipe my pants.
If it was the leg of my pants that wet, her act wouldn't shock me that much. But the lemonade had wet the crotch of my pants instead.
I jumped from my chair, trying to avoid the contact. But the damage was done. Her hand and mine was exactly on the same place now. That place.
"Sorry. Sorry." She withdrew her hand as if it had touched a hot coal.
"it's okay." I stood up properly. Can't blame her for reflect, right? "Do you have tissue?"
"Yes. Of course." She reached into the basket for the box of tissue. "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay." I wiped at my pants with the tissue she gave me, feeling a little cold inside. Damn lemonade.
"Gil."
My head shot up straight, so did Sylvie's. Sara was standing behind us, frowning.
Mayday.
"Honey…." I looked up at my wife nervously, expecting a storm. It was impossible for her not to see the whole lemonade fiasco.
"Gil…," She cringed.
I cringed too.
"I think I'm in labor."
0 - / - 0 - / - 0
I had this entire labor thing planned in my mind. There had been plans of when and where and how. In those plans I would be the alpha-male, the one who was all calm and rational in helping Sara in every process.
Yet as I stood here by the pool, mid morning sun beamed upon me and my wet pants, calm and rational suddenly lost their meaning. I went hyperventilated.
"Gil." Sara came to me, her hand gripping my arm. "My water broke."
Her water? Broke? How? We're eight weeks away from the due date!
"Mrs. Grissom, Sara, I think you should sit down." Sylvie's voice penetrated into my mind and fortunately snapped me out of my trance.
"Yes. Sit down Sara, sit." I led my wife to sit before kneeling in front of her. The front of her dress was wet, a fact I noticed in dread.
"I was in the toilet, when…," Sara stopped, grimaced. "This is too early."
"It's okay honey. Babies have their own timing." The calmness in Sylvie's voice calmed me down a bit.
"No." Sara shook her head, eyes brimming with tears. "I'm only 32 weeks."
I caught the expression of panic in Sylvie's eyes, only for a moment though. She then also knelt in front of Sara. "Sshhh, everything will be okay. Breath slowly."
"Breath slowly." I parroted.
"This is my fault; I shouldn't have made this trip." Tears were now falling on her cheek. It wrenched my heart to see her like that.
"Grissom, I think you should drive your wife to the hospital."
"Yes. Hospital." It was also in my plan that I would drive Sara safely to the hospital. I even have this list of possible hospitals, in Vegas and in Marina Del Rey, memorized in my mind.
"Now will be the perfect time." Sylvie patted me gently on the back, smiling.
"Yes. Now." I stood up, my knee made painful contact with the foot of the table but I made no sound. My key. Where is my key? I searched for my key in every pocket, only to realize that my hands were trembling.
"Okay. I think it's better if I drive you both to the hospital." Slyvie stood up. "Can you walk?"
"Of course I can." I answered indignantly only to realize that the question was addressed to Sara instead.
I helped Sara up. Her silent tears pierced my heart. We both were afraid of what would happen, what could happen. We both knew the risk of early delivery. But the most unfair thing of all was that Sara had to be the only one in pain.
In hope that I could share my strength, I wrapped my arm around Sara. "Everything will be okay." I whispered to her.
00 . - . - . 00
Everything went okay.
Despite all the risk looming over, our baby girl had arrived safely into the world.
Yes. A baby girl.
She had been small and a little weak at first. But after one week in an incubator, our little girl proved to us that she was as much a fighter as her mother.
She was strong and healthy now. Oh how I was thankful that she was.
The odd thing was Sylvie, who had been nothing but a stranger a week ago, played very important role in the life of our daughter.
Not only had she driven us to the hospital when I was barely coherent. She also stayed for the twelve hours of long and exhausting labor.
She even visited us at the hospital on daily basis. She was the one who took care of us while we focusing on taking care of our baby.
The one week spent at the NICU had bond us and Sylvie into this instant yet strong friendship.
And now, our new best friend was coming over to me, wearing her most blossoming smile and holding a big bag.
"Hi there." I straightened up from the bar I leaned to and gave Sylvie a quick hug.
"Hi, I bring quiche." She craned her neck to see through the door behind me. "Spinach, Sara's favorite.
"You shouldn't have." I shook my head weakly. "We have been nothing but trouble to you."
"It's not trouble when you love to do it." She smiled. "Why are you staying outside? Is the doctor visiting?"
"No." I smiled, happy to share the biggest news of the day. "I just take a breather. Sara is breastfeeding."
"Wow, finally. That's a great news Grissom. Breastfeeding is a big step for preemies."
I nodded proudly. Breastfeeding was a challenge at first, almost stressed Sara out when our baby failed many of the first tries. But last night, when our little girl finally latched on like a champion, Sara and I had cried in happiness. It was the moment where we allowed ourselves to think that everything was truly okay.
Today, seeing Sara holding our baby close to her chest had overwhelmed me again. I wanted to be the strong one in this family. I didn't want them to me see me cry. That was why I stay outside.
"See, everything turns out okay." Sylvie leaned onto the bar like I did. Together we watched people's activities on the lower floor. "Don't worry so much, Daddy." She patted me on the back.
She read me well. There were so many things I worried about right now.
"If you want, you can move into the house as soon as the Doctors cleared your girls out. I'll help you furnishing and all."
Her offering baffled me. Housing was one of my main concerns at this very moment.
"Don't worry about the payment and paperwork. We can deal with it when you're ready."
"No." I shook my head. "That's too much to ask."
"Hey. You're not going anywhere anyway."
"Thank you so much, Sylvie. Your help means a lot to us. How will we ever repay you?" I leveled my gaze with hers, wanting her to see how deep my gratitude was.
"Ah, it's just a scheme to get the house sold to my favorite couple." Sylvie waved her hand in dismissal. "But you can help with one thing if you will."
"Sure, anything I can do to help you." I straightened up again, noticing that she had kept her head down and her cheeks were blushing.
"See…,um…, this is embarrassing." She stammered like a teenager. It was a pretty cute image though.
I wriggled my brows, my curiosity hiked.
"I had this crush when I was in high school, a teacher. And…. he looked just like you. Gray hair, glasses, wriggling brows and all"
Oh, I see.
"I was too shy that time. I couldn't even get close without hyperventilating."
Girl.
"He was single and in this one crazy day, I asked him out. Imagine that!" Her hands went to cover her face.
I grimaced. "I believe he said no that." I remembered the day I said no to Sara. Us, men with certain profession, had certain code we could not break. That and we were super imbecile sometime.
"He said no for the date but was kind enough to say that I could invite him to a dinner with my parents instead. He said we could discuss about my grade and all."
Ah, sensible man. "At least you got to have a dinner with him."
"Too bad I was already far too embarrassed to think that I fled away instantly. The day after, he had this accident on the highway and passed away."
"Oh Sylvie, I'm so sorry to hear that."
"It has been my regret for a long time. I wonder if you…, if you…, could have a dinner with me." She bent her head down again. "As a friend, and of course I will ask Sara first."
"Sylvie, I'd love to have a dinner with you. In fact, let's have it tomorrow night. I'll tell Sara, she'll understand."
"Really?"
"Sure." I was pretty sure that my wife would understand. We could count it as a semblance of gratitude. What harm could a dinner with friend do?
"That's great." She beamed, "Can we ask Sara now?"
"Of course." I led her toward the room. "Your husband won't mind either, right?"
"Ummmm…., yes. I think so."
Wait! What did she mean by she thinks so? An angry husband is the last thing I need to deal with right now.
"Thank you Grissom, you're so kind." She turned back, blowing me a kiss, before entering Sara's room with a happy skip in her every step.
Man. What have I done?
THE END
A/N2 : This is a two-weeks-early birthday present for the kindest person I ever know in ff : Sylvie. I hope she'll find this silly fic entertaining, not offending. Happy birthday Sensei:)