Chapter Six
Marty arrived back in the states with Victor's little bundle tucked safely inside her womb. She took a taxi to the hospital where Aunt Kiki had been spending the past five weeks, just barely hanging on to life. Kiki was very ill. Victor had wired the money to the hospital, so Kiki could have the surgery to repair the damage heavy drinking had done to liver. The surgery had set for the following morning. If Kiki didn't have the operation right away, she would most certainly die. Thankfully a suitable donor had been found and Kiki would be getting a brand-new liver, free from disease.
Kiki was lying there so still and pale in her hospital bed when Marty walked into the room. Marty took a seat at her aunt's bedside, wondering if Kiki would awaken from her drug-induced sleep. After a few minutes, Kiki seemed to notice her niece's presence. Her eyes opened and a rare smile came to her face when she saw that Marty was by her side.
"Marty! I thought you'd left ... I thought that you were gone forever..." Kiki said weakly.
"No, Aunt Kiki. I sold everything we had left... all the family jewelry- everything... just so I could get a plane ticket to Europe. I needed to see ... Victor," Marty explained. "I needed to ask him for help. He's agreed to pay for your surgery which will take place tomorrow morning. You're going to be alright. The best doctors in Pennsylvania are seeing to your care."
"There's been a match?" Kiki asked with surprise.
"Yes, there's been a match," said Marty. "You're going to be getting a new liver."
"And I won't destroy the next one with booze or drugs. This is my second chance at life... and this time, I am going to do everything right... starting with you, Marty," Kiki said. "I made so many mistakes when it came to you. I was an awful aunt... and an even worse guardian. I treated you terribly... as if you were nothing more than a burden to me, when through it all you only wanted love. You were grieving your parents. Please, Marty, say it's not too late. Say it isn't too late for me to make amends - to be the aunt you needed when you were younger. I am going to try my best. I really am. Will you give me a chance?"
Hearing the sincerity in her aunt's voice, Marty knew that Kiki meant she was willing to be a better person. "I forgive you, Aunt Kiki," Marty said right then and there. "You can have another chance."
"Ohhh thank God," Kiki said with visible relief. She then reached over to her bedside table, taking something into her hand. "This is for you, Marty."
With trembling fingers, she placed a long silver chain into Marty's hand. Marty stared down at it, realizing it was her mother's locket. "It belonged to Samantha, your mother. It's all we have left... of the family jewelry. Everything else is gone. Everything. Even your parents grand piano, but I saved that locket just for you, thinking you might want it. It was your mom's and someday, Marty- someday maybe, you'll have a little girl of your own and you can give that locket to her."
"Thank you, Aunt Kiki," Marty said as she crushed the little locket into her hand. This delicate piece of jewelry had been worn by her beloved mother. It was precious... and the only tangible thing she had remaining of her parents. "Thanks for saving it for me."
"Did you say that Victor, your ex-husband has agreed to pay for my surgery?" Kiki questioned. "Does this... does this mean that you two are back together?"
"Its complicated," Marty stated. "But I am having his child."
"Really, Marty? You're pregnant?" Kiki asked, sounding extremely excited. Marty wasn't expecting that reaction from her aunt. Kiki had never liked Victor - in fact, Kiki had never liked anyone. She and Victor had always bashed heads and often had violent screaming matches. Why was Kiki so happy about her being pregnant with Victor's child?!
"I'm surprised you're so happy about this."
"I know that you loved him. You deserve to be happy. Life is too short for you not to be happy... and if he makes you happy, then I hope you can make a life with him and the baby you're carrying," Kiki said as a small smile overtook her face. "I can't believe it; I am going to be a great-aunt."
"Yes, you are.. I can hardly believe it's true. I am having Victor... Victor's baby."
Marty was still in a state of awe over the whole thing. What happened in the future remained a mystery... Was there any chance that Victor would want her to stay once their child was born? The thought of giving the baby up and saying goodbye to Victor made her soul ache with torment. She needed him. She hadn't been away 24 hours and she missed him so much already - ever so much.
Seeing that her aunt was becoming exhausted from their conversation, Marty lightly kissed her cheek. "Get some rest, Aunt Kiki. You'll need it for your surgery tomorrow. I promise, I will be here when you wake up..."
"Thank you," Kiki said as she closed her eyes. She was very sleepy, yet greatly relieved. Marty had came back to her and they had made amends. It was just the beginning, because once she was well, Kiki hoped to forge a stronger relationship with her niece. She hoped that someday, the awful events of the past would become a distant memory and she'd get to enjoy her family - a true family with Marty and Marty's child.
A little smile was on Kiki's face as she rested her head against the soft pillows and fell into a deep. peaceful sleep. Marty felt a sense of serenity as she stared down at the precious locket, the final gift from her mother that Kiki had kept for her for all these years. *If Victor and I have a little girl, I will give the locket to her one day,* Marty was thinking. With thoughts of Victor upon her mind, Marty went to somewhere private to place a call.
"Victor, it's Marty," she said. "I know you're at the office right now... but I just wanted you to know, I made it to the states safely...and I am here with Aunt Kiki. You wouldn't believe how she's changed... and how very kind she is being. She gave me something... a locket. It belonged to my mother... and I..."
Suddenly Marty's voice broke. She tried to continue, but she couldn't get the words passed the growing lump in her throat. Would she be there to see her baby grow up? If they had a baby girl, would she be able to give her daughter the locket one day?
It took a moment, but Marty finally caught her breath as she wiped away her tears. She spoke again. "I just wanted you to know the surgery is tomorrow... and as soon as Kiki's out of the woods, I will be back. I promise I'll be back... and I- I miss you."
There she had said it. She had said the words. *I miss you.* Because it was killing her to be apart from him. She didn't know how she'd sleep without his arms around her... and without his tender kiss good night.
"I'll back soon," she promised before she ended the call.
She put her phone into her pocket as she stared off into the distance at nothing in particular. Her life was so complicated, just like she had said to Kiki. She was in love with her ex... but how did he feel about her? Victor didn't speak about love... and he seldom spoke about the future. What if he didn't want her stay? What if there was no room in his heart for her, once the baby was born?
She told herself she couldn't worry - she just had to make it through each day. Once Kiki was well, she'd return to Victor's side... and maybe then, she'd find the answers she'd been seeking. For now, she'd just have to find all the joy she could muster in each and every moment. She was pregnant... AND she had reconciled with her aunt. It was a miracle! She knew her parents must be smiling down from Heaven right now, glad that they were about to become grandparents and that she and Kiki had finally made their amends. It was a good day indeed... and Marty knew that tomorrow would be even better. The doctors were going to save her aunt's life; she was sure of it.
~*~o~*~
Nearly three weeks had passed since Marty had left Victor's side. While she was away, he placed the final touches on their child's nursery. Everything was ready; now they just needed the baby. He stood in the nursery, marvelling at all the furnishings and rare gifts he had procured for their unborn child. Marty was going to be very surprised when she returned.
He thought about the call he had got from her, the one where her voice had cracked and it had seemed as though she was crying. He didn't think much of it; other than he assumed she was suffering from pregnancy hormones and legitimate worry about her aunt's health. He had no idea how Marty was really feeling, and that every day, she worried that one day after their child's birth, Victor would send her away.
When she came in the door, he swept her up in his arms, kissing her, so glad that she had returned. "I missed you," he said as he looked her up and down. "How are you feeling?"
"I am doing well, thank you..." she said. "And how are you?"
"I am well," he replied. "How's Aunt Kiki? The surgery was a complete success?"
"It was. She's recovering with a private nurse. Thank you for making all the accommodations for her. I swear she's changed, Victor. She's really turned over a new leaf, and she's wants to be a part of my life... and a part of the baby's life too, if that's okay with you."
Victor frowned. He had never liked Kiki. In fact, he despised her and the way she had always treated Marty, but as usual, he had trouble telling Marty 'no.' She gazed at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers and he was lost. After a couple of minutes, his frown had faded and he was calm.
"Well, alright, then... if you think it's okay. She can see the baby," he said. "On special occasions; the baby's birthday and holidays... and maybe even a bit in the summer."
Marty's heart ached, realizing that was exactly what he had told her when they had first discussed the bargain. She would only be the part-time mom while he'd be the full-time dad. It was killing her, thinking of that moment when she left their baby and said her final goodbyes. It made her so sad; she thought her heart was breaking.
"What is it, Marty?" Victor asked, recognizing her instant sorrow.
"It's ... it's... nothing," she denied, because she wasn't ready to tell him the truth. She couldn't break the bargain. He'd been so good to Aunt Kiki - he had SAVED her life. She mustn't be possessive of the child he had asked for - she mustn't be so selfish and ungrateful.
"I can't tell something is bothering you..." he said as he was quite observant. He knew her moods and her expressions. He began to worry. Was Marty regretting their bargain? Was she unhappy she was pregnant... that she was trapped for the next seven to eight months with him as they awaited their child's birth?
"Is it the pregnancy?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No, everything's great with the pregnancy, Victor. Everything's absolutely perfect," she said as she walked around the baby's room, checking out all the accessories he had added. The final touches were an excellent compliment to the prior decorations she had made to their child's nursery.
"It looks like a tiny baby-palace," she said as she gave him a little smile. "I love it so much... and the baby will, too. This baby is so lucky, Victor... to have you as his or her father. Not only can you provide for all our child's needs, you're going to be an excellent dad. I can tell. I can see how much you want this. It is shining in your eyes."
And it was. Victor's eyes were glowing with extreme happiness and the pride of fatherhood. If only their marriage had lasted and they had been given the joy of a child back in the very beginning, when they were young, happy, and a couple. It all would have been phenomenal, Marty thought. But now, she didn't know what the future held for her...
"Marty, I am so glad it's you," he said softly. "There is no one else in this world I would want to give birth to my child. No one but you."
He took her into his arms and he kissed her. For a moment, she forgot all her pain and sorrow. She wrapped her arms around Victor's neck, completely getting lost in his ardent embrace. Three weeks without making love to him had been torture. She was ready to resume their passionate relationship and she told him so as her tongue entered his mouth, sensuously exploring the warm, delicious recesses.
When he pulled back from the kiss, he was grinning. "I can see you missed me, too," he said. "Let's take this to the bedroom. There is one room of the house where we haven't made love yet... and that's the nursery, and I intend to keep it that way."
He chuckled as Marty let out a soft little giggle. He lifted her into his embrace, carrying her down the hall toward his bedchamber. As he lay her down on the comfy expanse of the bed, Marty decided to cherish every single moment she had remaining in his home. When the little one arrived, he might chose to send her packing... and if that happened, she'd be devastated. But for now, she would be happy and blissfully in love. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For now she was with Victor... exactly where she belonged.