She Will Be Loved
Imogen sat in the corner of the room she shared with her fiancé, Jose DeSousa. She was waiting for him to come home after he dropped their son, Jesus, at Grandma DeSousa's house. Smiling to herself, she continued working on her sketch of Jose in her sketchbook. She had initially begun drawing and sketching everything in her life that made her happy; it proved to be quite therapeutic. On the first page of the slightly worn sketchbook she had since she was a little girl was her baby, Jesus. This baby and his father was Imogen's everything. She had grown to love Jose after all of the traumatic events that had happened to her. Jose had shown Imogen that she could be happy as long as she tried to let people into her heart. Never before did Imogen think that she would have a beautiful baby boy and a wonderful fiancé that loved her irrevocably.
"Imogen?" she looked up to see Jose standing in the doorway of their room, smiling brightly.
"Hey," she slowly got up and approached him. "I'm so glad you're home."
"Believe me, so am I." he grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
About a minute later, they separated, resting their foreheads against each other's. "What have you been doing this whole time?" he asked curiously.
Imogen sighed, her big brown eyes twinkling. "I was just…sketching. I was sketching you."
Jose laughed, stroking Imogen's cheek. "Can I see?"
She nodded, unwrapping her arms from behind his neck. She led him to the corner of the room where her sketchbook lay. She picked it up and handed it to him. "If you hate it, that's okay. Just…don't laugh, okay?"
A few seconds had passed by before Jose handed the sketchbook back to Imogen. "I love it, babe. You're very talented." He picked her up and sat her in his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her tiny waist.
She sighed contentedly. "I'm so glad you like it."
He kissed her forehead. "I like it very much." She laughed happily and rested her head on his shoulder. "By the way, my mom wants me to tell you that she misses you. Jesus is going to be spending the night there, so we can finally have some alone time tonight." He said the last part huskily, making Imogen's cheeks burn.
"Well, how can I say no?" she murmured, kissing him chastely.
"Anyway, I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight. I made reservations at Little Miss Steaks for 6:00. Is that okay?" Jose asked.
"Of course it's okay!" she checked the digital clock that was next to their bed on the nightstand. "It's 4:00 now. Just let me shower and get ready." With that, she hopped up and padded down the carpeted hallway to the bathroom.
Jose smiled to himself. He truly admired his soon-to-be wife. Even after everything Imogen had gone through, her mother's abuse, losing her brother Josh, and her mistreatment over the years, she was still a strong, bubbly woman. Imogen always tried to find the brighter side in every situation, and she was an amazing mother to their son. Personally, he couldn't believe he had gotten so lucky as to be engaged to someone like Imogen and be able to raise a child with her.
Suddenly, he noticed Imogen's sketchbook. She was always drawing in this thing, and he was beyond curious as to what else it may hold. He ran his hand over the slightly worn brown cover of the book, daring to turn the page. The first page revealed a sunset over a river. The river was completely black with hints of red in it, which Jose guessed probably symbolized Imogen's painful past. Above the murky river sat a giant sun, which looked hot enough to warm up the entire world. Jose smiled to himself; the sun definitely represented Imogen's irrevocable love for the hope she had for life.
His long, nimble fingers turned to the next page, which was a drawing of a thunderstorm. He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering what Imogen had told him about thunderstorms. They had been cuddled up in their bed while Imogen was still pregnant, and it was storming violently outside.
"You know, Jose, I've never liked thunderstorms." Imogen had whispered quietly.
He tightened his arms around her, tucking her in deeper in the soft covers. "Why?"
Imogen turned around to face him. "The first time my mom ever hit me was when it was storming outside."
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'll always be here to protect you during the storm." With that promise, he drew her into his arms and let her slowly fall asleep.
Jose sat the book down and closed it. He didn't need to see any more to know that Imogen was an amazing artist.
Just then, Imogen waltzed back into the room wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Her hair was slightly damp, and it hung down in the beautiful brunette curls Jose loved. "I'm back!" she giggled, standing before him. She slowly slid the towel off, dropping it to the floor. She began walking to her dresser on the other side of the room to grab some clothes. Jose watched her in awe; she was so beautiful.
He rose from his perch on the window seat and approached her from behind, placing his hands on her hips and moving her hair out of the way. He kissed her shoulder up to her neck. Imogen moaned at the feeling, leaning into his embrace. Jose softly kissed her neck and ear, whispering in her ear, "I love you,"
Imogen sighed. "I love you, too." She turned around and wrapped her arms around him. They locked eyes after they pulled out of their hug.
Imogen nodded, reading his mind. With that, Jose slowly pulled her onto the bed.
An hour later, Imogen slowly opened her eyes. She was wrapped up in the arms of Jose, who was sleeping soundly beside her. He opened his eyes when he felt her stir in his arms, snuggling closer to him. "Hi," he murmured, kissing her forehead.
"Hey," she giggled, leaning into the warmth of the covers. Glancing over at the clock, she noticed it was 5:00. "Baby, we have to go to dinner at 6. We should probably get dressed now."
Jose nodded his head. "Okay, I just need to take a shower." He kissed her forehead and walked off to the bathroom after grabbing a nice pair of pants and shirt.
Imogen happily pulled the fluffy, warm white covers up to her chin, tucking her naked body into the warmth of the bed. Jose had sweetly made love to her the hour before, getting caught up in the passion of the moment. She could not be any happier. Her little angel was at his loving grandmother's house, being cared for and kept out of harm's way. Jesus loved his grandfather as well, and the grandparents spoiled him with toys and love. Her handsome fiancé was going to take her out for a wonderful dinner tonight, and she was very excited about their wedding, which was in two weeks. Her sketchbook lay in the same spot across the room. She slowly got up to grab the sketchbook.
She perched herself back into the covers of her and Jose's bed. Grabbing the pencil on her nightstand, she began to sketch one of her heart's deepest desires. The pencil flew over the paper with the grace of a ballerina. The gray lines came together to form she and Jose lying under the sun on a secluded island. This depicted her honeymoon, which they were leaving for the day after the big wedding.
Imogen sighed contentedly, placing the sketchbook gently on the nightstand along with the pencil. Jose reentered the room, clad in his outfit. Imogen smiled and stood up, walking towards him and straightening his tie. He smiled and kissed her softly before lightly nudging her towards her closet.
Imogen selected a beautiful red dress and matching heels. She fixed her sex hair so that it was in a beautiful up do, and she put in dangly earrings. Jose waited for her by the front door, and they went to dinner after that.
By the time they arrived home, it was around 7:30.
The sketchbook lay on the floor, open to the page of the thunderstorm. Imogen and Jose entered the room, slightly tipsy from the wine at dinner. Imogen giggled relentlessly as she stumbled into the room. Jose caught her, bursting out laughing as he barely caught her before she fell over. Imogen grinned and kicked off her heels, about to climb into bed when she suddenly stepped on the open book.
"What the hell? How did this get on the floor? I left it on the nightstand…" Imogen whispered, her eyes staring widely at the storm brewing on the page before her. Her eyes watered up slightly, and Jose instantly moved the book out of her hands and put it back on the nightstand.
"It must have fallen on the floor. Imogen, don't worry, it's just a picture." He wiped the few tears that escaped her eyes.
She hugged him tightly. "I know, but that's not just a picture to me, Jose. It's a part of my life that is and always will be there."
He sighed sadly, stroking her hair. "You're right, but I just want you to know one thing, okay? I love you so much, and I can't wait until you're Imogen DeSousa. I love our child, and I can't wait to expand our family. I love you, Imogen."
She smiled weakly and kissed him passionately. He slowly pushed her back on the bed, grinning when she said, "How about that expanding our family?"
Throughout the night, they slowly and sweetly professed their love to each other. During their night of love, Imogen's sketchbook, lay untouched with the words, She Will Be Loved, carved into the cover. Imogen had carved that one night as a young teenager, not believing she could ever be loved.
Jose had made that wish come true, and now the sketchbook lay true and solid on the nightstand as the lovers made love into the night.