Three kids, two parents who are still very much in love with each other and a grandmother who wants to be more involved. Here's what happens when Mimi Maria tries to take the Bolton kids for a weekend to give T & G some much needed time alone. **Warning, parts of this are T+/M rated, read at your own risk. :)**
As always, please read, enjoy, and review or PM me! I love your comments and feedback. And of course...Keep the Zanessa love flowing! -adc
The bedroom door was wide open. The comforter was thrown carelessly on the floor and the sounds of grunts and erotic moans filled the entire upstairs portion of the house.
Gabriella found herself laying face down on the bed with her fully aroused husband moving himself between her buttocks. His sweaty hands had made their way under her chest and she and Troy were both completely enjoying the feel of his hands on her naked breasts.
Both were amazed. They had restrained themselves for an hour to reach this point. Troy and Gabriella had purposefully held themselves back from just ripping each others clothes off and taking each other in the doorway after Maria had taken the children and backed out of the driveway.
This was their time. They had looked forward to it for two weeks. They had teased each other to no end and had been sexually aroused for two days simply knowing they would have the house to themselves for the first time in months.
And then, the phone rang.
"No, no NO!" Gabriella panted as Troy stilled on top of her. "Don't you dare. Don't answer that."
Troy continued his movements to a lesser extent as the phone kept ringing. He bent down and ghosted kisses between his wife's shoulder blades while his hands remained underneath her body.
When the answering machine picked up the frantic yet apologetic voice of Gabriella's mother appeared on the line. "Gabi, Troy. I'm sorry to call. But I think your Little Miss Mischievous needs stitches. I'll take her to the e.r. at Albuquerque General, I just need to know if that's ok. Call me back. I know I interrupted. If I don't hear from you, I'll call Jack and Lucille."
The naked parents could both feel their desires lessening, especially when they heard the cries of their youngest daughter in the background. Gabriella pushed her hips backwards against her husband's pelvis one more time before mumbling, "Becca Beth Bolton…"
Troy rolled himself off his wife and put his forearm over his forehead. "Mimi wasn't completely panicked and she hasn't called 911. There better be a good explanation for this."
Gabriella turned to look at her husband's gorgeousness lying next to her on the bed. She placed a small hand on his chest and let it wander over his collarbone, down his sternum, and then stopped just south of his belly button. She then slithered her own nakedness on top of him as she reached for the phone by the bed. "We are not done here." She stated plainly as he wrapped his other arm around her body.
She quickly dialed Maria's number and was surprised when their eldest daughter answered the call. "Mac, where's Mimi?"
The ten year old sounded a bit panicked but talked to her mother quite calmly. "Mimi's sitting on the couch with Becca. Becca fell off the bed and hit her head. We think she needs stitches cause she's bleeding."
Gabriella felt her heart beat a little faster with the added information. "Thank you Baby, just let me talk to Mimi a minute, ok?"
"Yes ma'am." Mac answered and carried the phone into the living room. "It's mom." She told her grandmother as she handed her the phone.
Maria sat with the 3 year old on her lap holding several pieces of gauze to the little girl's head. Mac stepped away from the two making a face at the bloodstains that were coming through the gauze. She went across the room to sit with her five-year-old brother who was stationed with arms crossed in the recliner.
"Gabi, I'm so sorry. I'll take care of this, I just need you to point me in the right direction. She's ok, but I think she needs stitches." Maria started into the phone regretfully.
Gabriella sat up and allowed Troy to get out of the bed as she talked to her mother. "Mom, back up. What happened? Do you need an ambulance? Is she awake?" The questions started racing from Gabriella's mind through the phone line as the little bit of panic began.
Troy quickly pulled on his boxers and jeans knowing they would be leaving the house. At the sound of his wife's fearful voice he stepped back toward the bed and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. He sat back down beside her as the conversation continued.
"They were jumping on the bed." Maria started. That was really all Gabriella needed to know. She put her head on Troy's shoulder and started shaking it slowly as she rolled her eyes.
"And…" Gabriella encouraged her mother to continue.
"And, Becca got too close to the edge, slipped off and hit her head on the bedside table. She must've caught the corner of it because there's a cut. It's not a really bad cut, but it's kind of gaping open. I don't think I can get a bandaid on there. That's why I think she needs stitches." Maria stopped there.
"Is it bleeding badly? We'll be there in ten minutes." Gabriella informed her mom.
"No, honey, I think the bleeding has stopped. I think I can get her to the hospital. Really, I don't want to interrupt your night." Maria sounded even more regretful, and almost hurt.
Gabriella pointed to her clothes that were haphazardly strewn on the floor. Troy got up from the bed and retrieved the lacy items first and then retreated to the closet to find his wife a more suitable pair of pants and shirt for the e.r. visit that he knew was in their immediate future. He grabbed a t-shirt for himself and returned to the bed.
"Mom…sorry to say…it's already interrupted." Gabriella informed Maria. The younger woman wasn't sure who was more upset by the little one's knack to interrupt a romantic evening…her, or Mimi Maria. "Just hang tight with her a few more minutes. It won't take us long to get clothes on and get over there." Gabriella pouted.
----------
Work had kept Maria extremely busy for six months. She hadn't spent nearly enough time with her three grandchildren. She was grateful for every minute she had with them. She caught one of Mac's softball games a couple of months back. She and Jon Jack had spent a couple of hours at Chuck E. Cheese's on a rainy afternoon. And she had sat with Becca at Troy and Gabriella's house a couple of times while the others were in school.
But it had been a solid half-year since the young ones had been to their Mimi's house to spend the night. And for Maria that hurt because she lived less than 15 minutes away from her kids and grandkids. What hurt even more was the chatter from the three grandkids about the stuff they had done with their Papa Jack and Grammy Lucille, Troy's parents.
So the minute Maria found the four-day weekend on her calendar she jumped at the opportunity. She had called Gabriella at her office and told her to mark the dates. She would pick up the kids on Thursday evening and bring them back sometime Sunday night.
Gabriella was cautious when she entered the outing on her schedule. Mac and Jon would be fine with their Mimi, but Becca was an absolute handful. She made a note to talk to her husband and mother before getting too excited about a potential weekend alone.
Maria had ventured to Gabi and Troy's house later that evening with a huge grin on her face. She had spent the afternoon double and triple checking schedules and had called Lucille to make sure the Bolton grandparents didn't have any plans for the kids on her free weekend. She had found that Jack would be in the middle of basketball camps; Lucille had charity committee meetings. That left the time free for Maria and the kids.
Troy opened the door to his smiling mother-in-law. "That's the biggest smile I've seen on your face in a while." He grinned back at her. "What are you up to Mimi?"
"Did Gabi talk to you about my weekend off?" Maria watched Troy's eyes.
"She mentioned that you wanted the kids to come over but she wanted to talk to you about it first." Troy wasn't realizing the full potential of Maria's time off, yet.
Upon entering their house that evening Maria was nearly tackled by a rambunctious five year old boy and three year old girl who both missed their grandmother. Maria's namesake granddaughter offered her Mimi a tight hug around the woman's neck when she sat down on the couch.
Troy and Gabriella watched the kids with Maria. In another year Maria would retire from work. Then she could get all the time with her grandchildren that she wanted. Right now, she obviously missed them. That scene alone made Gabriella's decision.
She stood behind her husband in the living room as the kids crowded around their grandmother. Her smile grew when she wrapped her arms around his waist and tiptoed up toward his ear. "Three nights, just us, right here at home. Do you think we could find something to do?"
Troy coughed. Gabriella could feel his eyes widen and swore another part of him grew as well at the mere mention of time alone together. He tugged on her arms and pulled her around in front of him. When she was facing her husband he leaned down and kissed her and cautiously placed his hands on her behind to pull her closer to him.
Maria glanced over to see her son-in-law's hands making their way over her daughter's body. Two thoughts crossed her mind. First, she was thrilled that this particular spark was still burning between the two after nearly 20 years together. And second…she was more than happy to give them an opportunity to give that spark even more life.
She turned her attention back to the grandkids after witnessing her children share a somewhat passionate kiss. Maria did clear her throat rather loudly when she saw Troy's hands blatantly squeeze Gabriella's backside.
The married couple giggled and Troy let Gabriella out of his grasp. She wandered over to her mother and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Sorry."
Maria noted her daughter's giddy tone of voice and turned to look at her smiling face. She glanced at Troy and noted his somewhat dazed expression. Turning back to Gabriella, Maria commented, "I remember that look from high school. Tell him to at least wait till I'm gone and the kids are in bed." She smirked.
Gabriella walked back to Troy and delivered the message. Troy looked at his mother-in-law and winked at her with a wide smile. "Thank You." He mouthed and watched as Maria nodded her head.
The days of blushing when caught in a public display of affection by their parents weren't completely gone. But Troy had learned quickly that Maria often enjoyed seeing their gentle touches, kisses and stolen glances. He and Gabriella had both learned that those were signs of their love that spoke far above any words they could use. They were signs that had told their parents that they were in love, long before Troy and Gabriella realized it themselves.
The hints of romance stalled as Gabriella took Troy's hand and led him to the couch where their youngest two children were enjoying the latest cartoon while sitting next to their Mimi. Mac was stationed at the computer desk in the back of the room surfing the net.
Gabriella tapped on Mac's shoulder and motioned for her to join the conversation again at the couch. The family came together and Gabriella smiled at her mom again. "So, how would you guys like to spend a few nights at Mimi's house?"
Jon and Becca quickly started bouncing on the couch with the excitement at the idea. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" They started yelling.
Mac wasn't quite as excited but she wasn't upset about the proposal. "All three of us at the same time?" she questioned.
Maria looked at her. "Yep. All three of you, and me, together. We can do some shopping on Friday, there's a soccer game on Saturday and then Sunday we'll go to the movies. What d'ya think?"
Mac thought a minute. "That sounds cool. It would be nice to get away from Mom and Dad for a while."
Maria and Troy laughed while Gabriella pouted. "That's fine Sweetheart. One day you'll want to spend time with me again."
Mac amended her answer. "Oh, Mom, it's not you…it's just you and dad…together." She scrunched her nose and pointed back and forth between the two of them.
Troy bent down and kissed Gabriella on the top of her head. Mac snorted. "Yeah, stuff like that."
Each of the adults swallowed their laughter and tried to get back on the subject. The kids were agreeable and Maria had a plan to make the deal even more appealing for Maria Lucille.
She leaned to her oldest granddaughter and whispered. "How about makeovers at the mall for just me and you that Thursday afternoon before the little ones join us? And," Maria added, "I'll give you 30 bucks to help with Jon and Becca while the four of us are together."
Troy and Gabriella couldn't hear the conversation but they saw their eldest's eyes grow wide and the smile grew on her face. Mac nodded her head and looked into her grandmother's eyes. "Deal." She whispered back in acceptance.
The family marked the special weekend on their calendar. They marked off each day over the next two weeks as they counted down. And, Gabriella noticed, Troy's advances grew stronger each day.
Their normal touches and kisses grew stronger and more prolonged. A week away he started finding chances to grope at her instead of just touching. They certainly didn't put off making love for that two-week period, but Troy's hints of what he wanted to do to her when they were really alone started becoming more and more obvious during their intimate moments in their child-filled home.
The two of them had started playing out some of those hints and fantasies as soon as Maria had picked up the kids. She was barely out of the driveway when Troy had reached for Gabriella's blouse and started unbuttoning. And Gabriella certainly hadn't fought him. She instantly reached for his belt buckle then pulled the loosened leather strap from the loops on his jeans and watched them fall down to his hips.
With her top half open and more than just the waistband of his boxers showing they had stared at each other. "Why do I feel like we're back in high school?" Gabriella had asked breathlessly.
Troy thought with a smirk. "Cause we both dreamed of doing this, in this house, during our senior year in high school." Gabriella nodded her head.
"Do you realize…" Troy reached toward her blouse again, "Since Mac was conceived on our first night in this house…" he popped another button open revealing her white lacy bra, "We've only had a few months in this house over the past ten years when we could really let loose and leave the doors open?"
Gabriella bit at her bottom lip as she watched him undo the last button and push the blouse from her shoulders. "Now we've got time to take it slow and really let loose when the time is right. Right?" she teased.
From there they had kissed and touched and teased their way into the living room, through the kitchen, back into the living room and up the stairs. Gabriella knew Troy was about to burst as she pushed open the bedroom door and stopped just inside.
She took the chance to rid him of his clothes and give him the attention he was wanting. She had to smile as she touched every inch of him and heard his soft groans turn into loud moans that included her name and expletives of what he wanted her to do him. Both of them knew they were on the way to one of their most intense sexual sessions since their honeymoon.
Then, the phone rang.
----------
Gabriella didn't even bother to knock on the door when they reached her mom's house. They parked the car quickly and walked right in through the back door. They found Maria sitting with Becca on her lap holding a cool, damp washcloth on her head. They could see the blood on it but the little girl wasn't crying.
"Daddy, my head hurts." Becca lifted her arms toward Troy who took her from Maria's embrace.
Troy noticed the tears in Maria's eyes. "Mimi, it's ok. She's gonna be fine. See, you've already got her calmed down. This little ragamuffin has a knack for getting into things, don't you Miss Mischievous?" Troy tickled the little girl under her chin.
"I know." Maria sighed and looked up at Gabriella. "I'm sorry, guys. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have called you. I should've just taken her to the e.r. and called you about it tomorrow or something."
Gabriella stopped and looked at her mom with an odd face. She took her mom by the hand and led her into the kitchen. "You're not upset because of Becca's accident. I mean, you are, of course…but you're more upset that you had to call us…"
"That I had to interrupt you." Maria finished the thought for her daughter. She sighed. "I can handle an injured child Gabriella. But I know what it's like to be married with just one child. Finding time to yourself is hard. You and Troy have three kids. I really wanted to help you guys have some time together without having to worry about the kids."
Gabriella took her mom's hands again. "Mom, we obviously find time. We have three kids." She smiled. "We're not in high school anymore. Troy and I don't have to find some hiding place to make out or sneak up to the school rooftop or his tree house to make love."
The words came out sincerely until Maria's eyes widened and Gabriella realized what she had just admitted. Maria held her hand up and shook her head. Gabriella realized there was a small smile on her mother's face.
Maria worked hard not to let the smile show but she knew her daughter had seen it. Not that it really mattered right now, but Gabriella had finally admitted something to her that Maria had suspected for nearly 20 years.
With her hand still in the air Maria pointed back toward the living room. "I've got Jon and Mac. Go take Becca to the e.r.. If everything is fine then bring her back here and we'll continue our weekend as planned."
"Mom." Gabriella knew there had to be more to the other conversation that Maria had just waved off.
"Go, take care of your baby. I thought she got her mischievousness from Troy's side of the family…perhaps I was wrong. We'll talk about that later." Maria commented. The threat of a long, long overdue mother-daughter chat had just been made.
Troy noticed a strained look on Gabriella's face and a knowing-smirk on Maria's. "Everything ok you two?" he asked in front of their three children. Gabriella nodded and took Becca from Troy's arms.
"Yeah." She said. "Let's see which doctor wants to see you this time little Miss." She carried Becca out the door, never once looking back at her mother.
Troy shot a questioning look in Maria's direction. "Just bring them both back here whenever you're done. I'll be waiting up." Maria told him.
He quickly caught up with Gabriella as she was buckling Becca into her car seat.
"What was that all about?" Troy asked with a little cringe as he noted his wife's demeanor.
"Did she say she'd be waiting up?" Gabriella asked Troy.
"Yeah, why?" he was still out of the loop
.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Gabriella said.
They each made their way to their seats in the minivan. Gabriella buckled quickly and pointed toward the road. Troy quietly followed her directions.
----------
"Where we going?" Becca asked from behind her mother.
Gabriella let out a long breath. "We're gonna go see a doctor and let them fix that cut on your head Little Miss."
"Becca bounce on Mimi's bed." The little girl admitted.
Gabriella turned to see her daughter with the washcloth now draped across her head. She wasn't smiling, but she certainly wasn't crying. Becca looked a little out of it, but didn't seem woozy or even close to losing consciousness. For safe measures Gabi popped in a dvd and lowered the screen in the van. A good dose of a favorite cartoon should keep the girl awake during the short drive to the hospital.
Troy looked in the rearview mirror and adjusted it to keep an eye on their daughter. Seeing the little girl grin and hearing her giggle at the cartoon Troy put his eyes back on the road. "Want to tell me what that last bit was between you and Mimi?" He barely glanced at his wife.
Gabriella thought for just a second. "I'm pretty sure I just admitted to my mom that you and I made love while we were still in high school."
Troy's eyes brightened. Though the subject matter might be traumatizing to his wife, it was much better than other thoughts that had passed through his mind.
"How long have we been married now?" He finally looked toward Gabriella.
"Fifteen years."
"And how long were we dating before we got married?" he continued although Gabriella's mind was certainly not focused completely on the conversation.
"Four…well, practically five I guess." She answered.
"So you're telling me that for twenty years you've kept this from Maria? She seriously thought we didn't experiment during our senior year?" Troy smiled "That's pretty impressive."
"You make it sound like everyone should've known. Does your mom know?" Gabriella crossed her arms and looked over at her husband.
Troy thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. I guess Dad may have told her about our first time, by now. But she's never said anything so I don't know."
He looked toward his wife fully when they stopped at a red light and then glanced back at his daughter who was still enthralled by the cartoon. Troy lifted his hand and placed it over one of Gabriella's and squeezed.
"Honey, Maria knows that we were both firsts for each other, right? When did she think it happened? I remember talking about that during our first semester at college." Troy thought back fondly to the time they had reunited just after he got situated at Berkeley. They had both felt somewhat shy and sneaky by getting a hotel room between their two schools and meeting there for a weekend.
Gabriella leaned her head back. "Oh yeah. After that weekend at the hotel? She and I had a long discussion that included something about you and I only being with each other. She asked if I was okay and everything. I kinda assumed that she thought that was our first time. But I don't know. She never asked if that was our first time together."
"Ahhh." Troy nodded his head. "I'm beginning to see where Little One's mischievous nature comes from."
Gabriella snapped her head toward her husband. "Hey, was never mischievous about us making love. I never lied to mom about it or hid it from her. She just didn't ask the right questions."
Troy laughed. "You went to law school to cover your own tracks. Can't wait to hear the questions you sling at our kids when this subject comes up for them!"
Gabriella let her arms drift back to a less defensive position. All in all, her husband was right. After 20 years of being with him, only him, she really had nothing to hide from her mom.
Troy nudged her cheek with his hand. "Hey, look at it this way…" he smiled at her as he turned into the emergency room parking lot. "I don't think she can ground you now. I'd say the statute of limitations has passed on our high school offenses."
Gabriella looked at him and grinned with a shake of her head. She opened the side door of the van and began unbuckling her injured daughter. "C'mon Becca Beth. Let's get you taken care of."
----------
For the five minutes it took them to get checked into the e.r. Becca played shy and told the receptionist that her head hurt. Beyond that Gabriella began to wonder exactly why they were there.
The three-year-old quickly grabbed her father's cell phone and wandered to a corner of the less-than-crowded waiting room where she pretended to call her grandparents. Troy watched her and shook his head.
Gabriella watched as Becca sat for just a moment and then started pacing back and forth with her pretend conversation. Gabi leaned her head over on Troy's shoulder and just watched their little girl play. She couldn't believe they had three children together and that their relationship had spanned nearly twenty years.
And as she watched Becca climb up onto one of the tables and prepare to jump off, Gabriella couldn't believe that they had only had this particular child in the emergency room three times.
Of course, the door opened and the nurse called Becca's name just as her little legs flung her off the table and onto the floor.
"Rebecca?" the nurse's eyes widened as she watched the 10-point landing occur. "Sweetheart, you'll get another bump on your head by doing that!" She discouraged her from jumping again and held out her hand toward the youngest Bolton.
Troy rolled his eyes. "That would be what brings us here in the first place…this time." He commented to both Gabriella and the nurse. The kind lady led them back the hallway toward a curtained room. Gabi quickly noticed a familiar doctor standing in the nurse's station.
She elbowed Troy and pointed toward the tall blonde-haired man. "Dr. Fain's gonna love this." With their luck, the Bolton's pediatrician was serving his round at the e.r. that night.
They settled Becca on the hospital bed and Gabriella quickly gave her a pen and paper from her purse. "Stay put Little Miss, Dr. Fain's gonna be here anytime now to look at the boo boo on your head."
Becca just nodded and smiled. She quickly scribbled on the paper provided and started reaching toward the various machines and buttons that surrounded her. Troy worked to distract her by hitting every ticklish spot on her body.
And of course, when the loud "Daddy stop tickling me" line came from their daughter, the doctor made his entrance.
"Becca Beth Bolton." The blonde doctor looked at the three family members. "Why am I seeing you this time, and where are your brother and sister?" Dr. Fain smiled toward Gabriella and shook hands with Troy.
Gabriella looked at Becca. "One little monkey jumped on the bed…" she started. Dr. Fain smiled.
"I take it one fell off and bumped her head too?" he continued with the rhyme.
"Yep." Troy answered. "Except apparently she caught the corner of a table and got more of a cut than a bump."
The doctor looked at the open wound on Becca's head and nodded toward the concerned parents. "I can fix this with one staple. Or, I can numb her up, which will sting, and put in some stitches, which will likely hurt more. Your call."
Troy shook his head. "Um, choice A please?" he responded quickly. One look toward his wife told him that Gabriella agreed completely.
The doctor left and returned just a minute later with his medical stapler and a pair of scissors. He trimmed a few strands of hair away from the cut, asked Troy to hold his daughter for a moment and then somewhat gently clamped the staple into Becca's skin.
Gabriella cringed, Troy grimaced. Becca didn't even flinch.
"So Becca, what color Popsicle do you want?" Dr. Fain asked as the girl eyed him curiously.
"Owange." Was her simple answer. And within five more minutes they had their instructions, a sample bottle of pediatric ibuprofen, a Popsicle in a cup and a three year old with a staple in her head. All better.
----------
Gabriella dialed her mother's number again from her cell phone as Troy put Becca into her car seat. One dose of pain medicine and one sippy cup of juice and the little girl was practically out as soon as Troy started the van.
As much as Gabriella wanted to just take Becca home and put her to bed, Maria wanted the little girl back at her house. Troy listened, somewhat amused, to the phone conversation. He knew exactly why Gabriella didn't want to go back to Maria's tonight. And it had nothing to do with their sleeping daughter.
"Little Terd. How is it that she gets hurt at mom's house and I'm the one who's going to end up in trouble? Now I think I know what it feels like to have a little tattle-taling sister." Gabriella pouted.
"Hey, Becca didn't say a word to your mom about our sex ed independent study course. You let that bomb drop all on your own." Troy wanted to stick up for his youngest daughter, even if she had interrupted their night.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Take up for her and not for your wife. I get it." Gabriella giggled.
Troy shook his head. "You're going to have to face your mom sometime, you know that. And if you get it over with tonight, maybe I can help you relax when we get back home?"
Gabriella looked toward her husband with brown eyes glaring. "I'm going to tell my mother that we had sex in high school. She's going to give me some kind of lecture. And you think I'm going to go back home with you and get naked again?"
Troy thought for a moment. He looked toward Gabriella with eyebrows raised and lips pursed together. "That would be your wifely duty." He nodded. "And," he added, "you were the one who said we weren't done when you climbed on top of me about an hour ago."
She turned a bit in her seat to look at him and then smiled a devious grin. "I'll make a deal with you."
Troy shivered seeing her evil look. "I'm making a deal with the devil. And still I can't say no to you. What is it?"
"I'll do my 'wifely duty' once we get home… IF you do your husbandly duty and sit with me during the chat with mom." She watched anxiously for his reaction.
Troy had endured a few lectures from Maria Montez. The last one had come on the heels of that aforementioned weekend that he and Gabriella spent together in a California hotel. Their talk had been everything that Troy had imagined and dreamed about. And unbeknownst to his wife it had gone exactly as he had wanted.
That particular lecture, he recalled, had begun with Maria asking him if he loved her daughter. That was the only question she had been able to ask. Troy had filled the rest of the short chat by telling Mrs. Montez his intentions for her daughter. He ended the conversation by asking Maria for Gabriella's hand in marriage. Prince Charming, he was.
"Deal." He agreed. Gabriella nodded and then reached across the console and squeezed his thigh. "Have I mentioned that I love you?" Troy put his hand over top of hers and smiled in her direction.
"Yeah…" she replied. "I think you moaned it somewhere between shoving your hand into my bra and poking your penis into my…"
Troy's choking laugh covered the rest of her answer. "Oh good, look, we're home!" he stuttered as he pulled into Maria's driveway.
"Need a minute to compose yourself husband-of-mine?" Gabriella giggled. She watched as Troy ran his hand over his face trying to cool off the burning sensation her comment had left on his cheeks.
Before they got out of the van Troy reached over and took Gabriella's hand. "Did you mention all three of our high school romps?" he asked somewhat seriously.
"I think I mentioned the rooftop and your treehouse." She admitted.
"Well, here goes nothing." Troy climbed out of the driver's seat.
"She can't ground us, right?" Gabriella asked and smiled toward her husband.
He came around the van and kissed her firmly before retrieving their youngest. "If she does I'll call Chad and Taylor. They can cover for us when we sneak out to see each other!"
----------
Troy and Gabriella were both smiling as Maria opened the door for them. She took one look at her granddaughter and pointed Troy in the direction of the spare bedroom. "I've got a cot on the floor for her. That way if she rolls out she's not going too far." Maria smiled.
Troy carried the sleeping girl down the hall and slid her quietly onto the cot. Jon was in the bed and turned to see his father there. "Is she ok?" he asked with a sleepy voice.
Troy smiled at his son. "Yeah Buddy, she's ok. But hey, no more jumping on the bed, okay. Not this weekend."
Jon nodded and closed his eyes. Troy patted his son on the back and gave him a gentle kiss. "Night Buddy. I'll see you Sunday."
Troy wandered back out to the living room where Maria and Gabriella had sat down on the couch. Gabriella was flipping through a magazine with her foot tapping on the floor nervously while Maria simply sat and watched her.
Troy looked at Maria who smiled at him in return. "So ok." Maria commented. "You guys can head back home. They're all asleep now. I think I've got it from here. I'm sorry again that I had to bother you. Really, I am."
Troy stood to leave but Gabriella stayed seated, looking directly at her mom. "That's it? We can go home now?"
Maria smiled again. "What, is there something else?" She looked back and forth between her daughter and son-in-law with innocent eyes.
Gabriella shook her head. "Ugh! I pretty much admitted to you that Troy and I became sexually involved in high school. And you have nothing to say about it? Nothing?"
Maria shook her head. "Do you want a lecture? I think it's too late for that, isn't it? I'm just happy to have grandchildren who are under the age of 20."
Troy snorted and stepped away from the couch. Gabriella crossed her arms and stomped her feet. Maria watched them both, amused at their reactions.
-----
"Gabriella. What time will you be home tonight? I know it's your anniversary with Troy. Are you guys doing anything special?" Maria was prodding her teenage daughter, hoping Gabriella would open up to her about the intentions and expectations that her daughter and her boyfriend had for this particular evening.
She and Gabriella had talked about sex several times. Maria particularly remembered the chat they had had when Troy and Gabi had been dating for nine months. It was right around the holidays in December.
The teens had gone to a movie and then out to eat. Gabriella had gotten home just before her curfew, like normal, but when she came into the house her smile quickly changed into a look of fear. Maria had honestly thought the girl had lost her virginity that night. What she found was a bit of her daughter's fear about that particular subject.
She quickly brought Gabriella into the living room, sat her down on the couch and took her hand. Maria got the hardest questions out of the way first, asking point blank if the two had had sex that night, and asking if Troy had pushed Gabriella to do something that she didn't want. Gabriella had quickly and honestly answered "No" to both of those questions.
Then the 17 year old had looked at her mom and taken a deep breath. "Mom…we've talked about sex. I've had the sex ed class and I know, in my head, about condoms and birth control and stuff. But, in reality…" she felt the heat rise to a new level in her face as she tried to word the question in her mind. "Do guys, men, really…fit…inside a woman?"
Maria felt her own temperature rise. This was not a question she had expected her daughter to ask. She was prepared for questions about birth control. Honestly she was prepared for Gabriella to tell her that 'yes' she and Troy did have sex. How was she supposed to answer this question.
Maria stumbled through her thoughts. "Honey, what happened tonight that makes you ask this question?"
Gabriella stared down at her hands. "We…we've touched before…each other,Troy and I, I mean. I've felt, um, well, you know…him. But I'd never seen him, you know?"
Maria let out the breath she was holding. "And tonight you did?"
Gabriella nodded and looked back up at her mother. This was a hard discussion for both of them, but one that Gabriella didn't want to have with anyone else.
"I…thought…I was ready. And, he wasn't pushing Mom, not at all. And I wasn't trying to rush things. But when Troy suggested that we just look, and touch…" Gabriella stopped. She really didn't know what to say, or what she was trying to ask her mother.
Maria ran her hand over Gabriella's soft hair and let her fingers rest on her daughter's back. "The male body is pretty amazing isn't it?"
Gabriella took a breath and then laughed once. Maria noticed her daughter's eyes grow wide. "Troy's sure is." She admitted and then looked at her mother's face.
Maria was smiling at her. "If he is the one you are meant for, it will work. The fit will be perfect. It may not seem that way at first, but it will become pretty obvious. Your bodies will tell you."
Gabriella smiled at her mother. It wasn't a lecture about not having sex. It wasn't a grotesque discussion about anatomical parts. It was a simple answer that she knew her mother would come up with to ease her fears.
They sat for several more minutes in silence. When Gabriella moved to leave the couch Maria held onto her hand for a moment more. Her look was quite serious. "Gabi. I like Troy. I trust Troy. And I trust you even more. This wasn't my way of telling you to have sex with him. But if the two of you decide that the time is right for that, take precautions. You both have very promising futures ahead of you."
At that Maria had let her daughter go. She decided that night that she wouldn't complicate her daughter's thoughts by asking her about sex after every date. And even on their first anniversary night, Maria simply asked Gabriella about her plans with Troy for the evening. "A picnic dinner, a concert in the park, and then looking at the stars…" had been Gabriella's answer.
When Gabriella returned in the wee morning hours from that special evening, Maria didn't need to ask her anything. She did ask her daughter what her favorite part of the evening was. Gabriella had bit her lip when she answered. "Looking at the stars. I think we both saw stars that we never knew existed before tonight."
That was enough for Maria to know what the two of them had shared that night. She quickly went to her own bedroom and said two prayers. In the first she prayed that God would guide and protect both Troy and Gabriella, and grant them a future full of happiness, together.
In the second, she thanked God for giving her the foresight, a month before, to have Gabriella begin taking birth control.
-----
"Sweetheart." Maria looked at the two of them. "I knew you and Troy were doing more than kissing after your first few months together." Maria looked up at Troy and back at Gabriella again. "Do you remember when I took you to the doctor and you started birth control?"
Gabriella blushed but didn't relax at all. Troy sat back down beside her and put his arm around her as they listened to Maria. "When did we go to the doctor Gabi?"
Gabriella thought back. It was a long time ago. How was she expected to remember that? "I'm not sure. It was after Christmas of my senior year, like January or February I guess."
Maria nodded. "February. When was your first anniversary with Troy?"
Troy ducked his head. He had an idea where this was going. Gabriella felt her face flush again as she thought about their first 'dating' anniversary. "March." Gabi supplied the simple answer.
"You had complained about cramps like any other teenager. Yours weren't any worse than any normal girl. Now why do you think I suggested that we have you put on birth control…the month before your anniversary?"
Gabriella's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. She uncrossed her arms and moved her body closer to her husband's. Troy reached down and took her hand in his. He always knew Maria was a lot more in tune with Gabriella than she would admit.
Maria smiled softly as Gabriella swallowed the small lump in her throat. "Was that the rooftop?" Maria asked gently. She and Troy both watched as Gabriella nodded.
"Was the treehouse when Troy brought you home for the musical, or the night before graduation?" The question was quite shy coming from Gabriella's mother.
It forced the married couple to look at each other and then back at the older woman in awe.
Troy answered his mother-in-law. "The night before graduation…how…how did you know?"
Gabriella practically crawled into Troy's lap and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Her mother had known about all three of their 'romps', as Troy had called them, for two decades and had never questioned her about them, never lectured her, and amazingly…never even mentioned any of them.
Maria stood up and came to sit next to them on the couch. She rubbed a gentle hand over Gabriella's shoulder and down her back. "I trust my daughter. And I trust you Troy. Since the night you climbed the trellis of that house and convinced Gabriella to do the callbacks for Twinkle Towne. I knew you were going to take care of her."
Gabriella sat up and looked at her mom. Neither had tears in their eyes. They both smiled, realizing that their mother/daughter bond was stronger than ever.
"Now." Maria decided to change the subject, somewhat. "If the two of you don't go home, and get on with your weekend plans then I will lecture you. Both of you!" she smiled and winked at them.
Troy took his wife by her hands and helped her up off the couch. As they headed toward the door Gabriella turned around and looked at her mother. Maria compared the mischievous gleam in her daughter's eyes to the one she had seen in Becca's before falling off the bed.
"So, does this mean we're grounded?" Gabriella asked with a smirk.
Maria thought for a minute and nodded. "Yep. If the two of you even dare to leave that house tomorrow or Saturday I'm calling the Coach."
Troy and Gabriella both smiled at the reference to Troy's father. "Oh, please don't call him. If he knows we're home alone he'll start asking about more grandchildren."
Maria raised her eyebrows with a questioning look at the two of them. Gabriella and Troy looked at each other, shook their heads and offered their own, simple, three-word answer as they looked at Maria. "Mac, Jon, Bec."
Maria laughed and nodded. "Mac, Jon and Becca Beth. Three is plenty."
------------
Before touching his seatbelt Troy reached across and tucked two fingers under Gabriella's chin turning her head to face him. He watched as her golden brown eyes looked into his. He leaned across the console and placed his lips on hers. Troy kept his fingers under her chin as he parted her lips and gave her a simple yet sensuous kiss.
Gabriella didn't move her head at all when he pulled away from her, buckled his belt and put the van into reverse. Troy gave one last wave to Maria as they left the driveway. He certainly hoped there would be no more calls from her except to check in.
"Guilty conscience feeling better?" Troy asked as Gabriella settled comfortably into her seat.
"Much." She stated. Troy could see that her mind was obviously wandering.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked finally.
"Do you think you could still climb the tree outside our bedroom to the balcony?" she asked curiously.
"Now why would I need to do that?" Troy wondered and glanced toward her. "Hey Miss Mischievous what's going through that mind of yours?"
"Just thinking about a high school opportunity that we missed. The week before I went to Stanford…you brought pizza and chocolate covered strawberries and we had a picnic in the bedroom." Although they'd had a wonderful time that night, it wasn't the best of their memories.
"Yeah, I remember it. But what kind of opportunity did we miss?" Now Troy was very curious.
The plan was forming in Gabriella's mind. "Well…I'm just thinking…what if tomorrow night, we go get a margarita pizza, some chocolate covered strawberries…you hoist them up to me on the balcony, climb the tree…"
"And?" Troy looked to see her nibbling on her bottom lip, a smile still tugging at the corners.
"And perhaps I can remember what I hoped was going to happen that night. I certainly didn't think the evening was going to end with a kiss on the cheek and you climbing down from the balcony before curfew." She admitted.
Troy felt his insides twist with her insinuation. "How bout we finish what we started earlier. And then take that walk down memory lane. My list of husbandly duties seems to be growing."
Gabriella smiled at him and placed her hand on his knee. She let it wander slowly to the inside of his thigh and crawled her fingers up toward the straining material beneath his zipper. "Hmmm. I'm happy to help that grow anytime."
_____________________________________________________________