Chapter 7:
Eric:
When I was single and manwhoring, having sex with a pregnant woman or the thought of becoming a father never, ever crossed my mind. I was just so into finding release and experiencing new and beautiful women, relationships were a dirty word. That all changed when I touched Sookie. Making true and real love for the first time made my mind go ape shit. All I could envision was Sookie as a beautiful bride walking towards me. Sookie's stomach big and swollen with my child. Sookie and I growing old together. All it took was a touch to know that my life would always include her and I never wanted to be without her. She was always so worried that I would be repulsed by her growing belly. All I can say is that perhaps I would be repulsed by a pregnant belly that did not belong to Sookie. But Sookie's growing belly was more beautiful than any wonder that Mother Nature could offer. The growth was slow at first and at seven months Sookie's baby bump was just that. The little thumps, bumps and hiccups that we marveled at every day quickly turned to kicks and somersaults. As her bump grew I constantly touched and held our baby. I spent many of our leisure hours speaking and singing to that bump. I spooned her every night and could not keep my hands off of our child. I pity any man who does not cherish this time and I will be the first to announce to the entire male population that I am so pussy whipped and I love it. You men who make your wives feel fat and ugly and think you have to cheat, do not deserve to be a father. The entire process from that first little swimmer hooking up with the egg is a miracle and should never be missed. Sex with Sookie is always a miracle, but pregnant Sookie was so hot I rarely kept it in my pants when we were alone. Her beautiful breasts were more beautiful and the only weight she gained was the baby bump. She constantly called herself a wanton hussy because she was always horny and needing me to "Put out the Fire" as she would call it. So who am I to question my lover's needs because I was experiencing the same need. Pregnant or not, we could never get enough of each other.
We had just finished spooning sex and I could not bear to separate from her. At that moment I felt like we were a family, just the three of us. As I pulled out the entire bed became wet. Sookie was so cute when she kidded, "God Eric, that's what I call a load!"
I felt behind and under her beautiful ass and then I realized exactly what had happened. "Lover, I know my loads are quite substantial, but I do believe your water has broken. We better get up and get you to the hospital!" That in itself was a wonder to me, because we made a baby the first time we made love and that last time was what put the whole birth process in motion. Sookie is always very vocal while making love and her ecstasy makes my release so much more enjoyable. We felt we knew what to expect during child birth after taking the birthing classes, but as soon as Sookie went into hard labor, she begged, actually demanded very loudly, for drugs. We had not considered an epidural because we were of the opinion that Sookie wanted to feel the wonder of child birth. Putting it into Sookie's words," Give me a fucking epidural!" I could not bear to see her in so much pain and she truly did not expect it to be so bad. Her labor wasn't that long…..probably four hours in total, so once the epidural kicked in the final part of her birthing experience was much more enjoyable. Before we knew it the doctor was telling her to push and Malena Michelle Northman made her debut into this world. She weighed 8 pound 6 ounces and looked bald, but the soft blond hair could be seen in the sunlight. We were madly in love with her the second we held her and when my father once again asked me to go to Sweden that September, I was livid. Not only did I not want to miss a minute of my daughter's life, sleeping without Sookie was going to be torture. When September 11, 2001 happened, Sookie and I realized how fast something we loved could be gone. Malena was almost five months old and the apple of my eye and leaving my two girls made my trip the most miserable one I had ever experienced. Coming home to a tragedy made our appreciation for each other that much more solid.
Sookie:
I was so relieved that Eric was okay and his plane was not involved in any type of terrorist attack. Thankfully that was the last time Eric's father asked him to go to Sweden. Eric flat out told him that the next time he went to Sweden or anywhere else his father decided to send him, he would be taking his family with him. We never got tired of each other and everything that Malena did brought so much joy to our lives, we couldn't imagine it getting any better than this. The farmhouse was the perfect place to raise a child and I decided to volunteer my services at a clinic in Bon Temps. Honestly, after having Malena there was no way I would ever return to my job at the county. I was able to take Malena with me and we only went when there was an emergency. Bon Temps was such a small town but as with any community there were families that had dirty little secrets. One little girl had a funny uncle like me and I felt that I was able to give her the help that I wish that I had been given at a younger age. Another little boy was living with his father who seemed to be a good man when he was sober, but give him a bottle of whiskey and he became vicious. He never got a chance to hurt the little boy because he was smart enough to hide until his father passed out for the night. His father would wake up the next day and get ready for work like nothing ever happened. The county could not get involved, because the boy was never hurt, so the clinic called me to meet with him when needed. He was such a sweetheart and I wished I could help him and bring him home with me, but that was not possible. I just told him to find a safe place and call 911 if his father ever did try hurt him.
Before we knew it our "Class of 1990 15th Reunion" invitation appeared in our individual email accounts. Eric had gotten a request from the Committee earlier that year asking if they could once again reserve the Ball Room and the pool area that Sunday. They also asked Eric if he would like to serve on the committee which consisted of all women. Yeah right! Eric just laughed at that request and told Janet, no thank you. He also told them that the Ball Room was not available and perhaps the Sunday Family Barbeque would be enough for a 15th Reunion. It was decided that Eric would allow them to use the Pool area at no charge and once again the hotel would provide the drinks and a discount on the rooms of any out-of-town guests. The Committee would only have to pay for the food at a discount. Everything was settled and a date was set for Labor Day weekend September, 2005. That seemed to be a good time for alumni from other parts of the country to attend. Everything seemed to be falling in place and I was just happy that we would not have to leave Malena with anyone. The barbeque would be a family affair and Eric and I liked that just fine. The only person we trusted to babysit Malena was Claudine, Eric's assistant. She lived in Shreveport and would gladly watch her when we decided to go to the club. The penthouse was our destination once a year to celebrate our "First Time Making Love" and "Making Malena" combination anniversary. Our visit July of 2005 was very memorable as Eric met with the staff and two members of the Reunion Committee to plan the Barbeque. I had just dropped Malena off at Claudine's house and parked my car in the private garage which had a private elevator to the Penthouse. When the elevator finally reached our room the doors opened and to my surprise there were beautiful flowers everywhere. When I stepped in there was an envelope on the floor with my name on it. I picked it up and it read:
Lover,
You are the love of my life and words will never ever be enough to show you. Each flower has a meaning so please follow the rose petals to each vase and read the notes I have for you.
Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be…..E
I followed the rose petals to a vase filled with White Lilacs sitting on the coffee table in the living room. I opened the note and it read:
Lover,
White Lilacs mean "My First Dream of Love". You were my first dream the first day I saw you in school. Ten years later that dream came true when I saw you in the Ball Room and afterwards when we made Malena in this room.
For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul…..E
After wiping the tears from my eyes I continued to follow the rose petals into the bedroom and found a vase full of beautiful Red Chrysanthemums. I opened the note and it read:
Lover,
Red Chrysanthemums say "I Love You". I will never say it enough. I love you so much sometimes I actually feel pain when I think about it. A good pain and you know where that pain is….. Love of my life!
I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love…..E
My heart is fluttering so fast and I can't stop it. How on earth was I blessed with this man? He is an Adonis and every woman he comes in contact with swoons when he enters a room. I don't know what he does when I am not with him, but when I am beside him he only has eyes for me. I feel like he is the other half of my soul, because I truly would be crippled without him by my side. I again follow the petals into the huge bathroom and see a vase with Red Tulips with the note:
Lover,
Tulips mean "Symbol of the Perfect Lover" and the red ones mean "Believe me, Declaration of Love". Please believe me when I say you are a perfect lover. The years I spent without you gave me no satisfaction. When you became my "Perfect Lover" my life began.
All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love…E.
The last vase is in the tub and it has Pink and White roses in a beautiful crystal vase. The note reads:
Lover,
Pink and White roses mean "I love you still and always will". That is an understatement because I will love you even when this life is over. Our souls will never be divided and rest assured "We will be together forever!"
Brief is life but love is long
For, you see, each day I love you more,
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
Please come down to my office and please wear what I laid out for you on the bed. Also, please wear your beautiful hair down….I need to touch it.
Your lover forever and ever…E
What does that man have up his sleeve? He is the best lover on earth, but the next minute he can be a conniver. We shall see what he has planned. On the bed I see a very sexy halter dress. It is white with red tulips on it. There are red fuck me heels and of course a red thong. That man! Maybe he wants to make love in his office. We have done that many times in his office downtown, but this one has yet to be christened. I get ready and head down to his office. I hear voices inside as I knock on the door. The voices are women's voices…..what the hell is he planning?
A/N: Next chapter surpising the Committee and Hurricane Katrina brings an old acquaintance from Sookie's past back into her life. Your reviews are much appreciated, because you know how I feel about stories getting too long. So if this is something you may want to read a few more chapters…..let me know. We still need to get to the 20th.
