"Derek you are flag bearer." I exclaim to him. "Flag bearer for our country." We were heading back to the village after the final dinner. The closing ceremony dinner. And Derek had been announced as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony and in all honesty I couldn't be more proud.
"You should have been the flag bearer Meredith. You did our country proud."
"Derek this was my first Olympics. I didn't deserve it. You did. Third Olympics and two medals. You deserve it more than I do. I have plenty of years to have that opportunity."
He leans in and kisses me. "We have a kid free night tonight."
"I know." I say smirking. "Thank god for Wendy or else we would be having a very quiet night in."
…
We woke the next morning and decided on a casual breakfast before spending time with the girls and heading to the closing ceremony.
"Last night was great Mer." Derek says kissing my collarbone. "So great."
"I don't know if I can walk very well. That was sex that turned my knees to jelly over and over again. It was deathbed sex."
"Deathbed sex?" He asks.
"Sex that will flash before my eyes when I'm dying." I say smiling.
"Oh yes that really is true." He says. "Best ever."
I just giggle and Derek kisses my cheek before rolling out from underneath me and gets up from the bed and pulls his sweatpants on before heading into the bathroom.
"So what else are we going to do today with the girls?" I ask him.
"It's your choice Mer. You're paying."
"Very funny Derek." I call out.
He reappears and leans up against the doorway. "Hey, you haven't paid all holidays."
"Well because you always beat me too it."
He walks to the end of the bed and crawls up to my side.
"Well the gentleman always pays." He whispers in my ear.
I felt Goosebumps cover my body. He always had this effect on me. He would just say something and my whole body would break out in Goosebumps. I loved him and the way he made me feel.
His mouth was on my neck when my phone rang. I reached over and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Mommy!"
"Hi girls. What are you up two?"
"We just finished having breakfast. When are we going to come and see you and Derek?"
"Aunt Wendy is doing something with the two of you for a couple of hours. Then Derek and I will come and see you all."
"What is Aunt Wendy doing with us?"
"It's a surprise." I say smiling. "You'll just have to wait and see."
"Oh okay Mommy." They say. "What time will we see you?"
I look down at Derek at this point in time he was in dangerous territory. Dangerous territory especially since I was on the phone to the girls. I bit my lip to cause my outbreak. "At 11. For Lunch we will see you. We'll have lunch wherever you girls want." I tell them. "I have to go girls. My breakfast has just arrived. You decide on where you want to have lunch and I will call you two after we have breakfast. Bye girls. I love you. Derek loves you too."
"Bye Mommy. See you soon."
I hung up the phone quickly. "God that was bad timing." I say to him smiling. "But don't stop."
…
Together we walked hand in hand. After our morning we spent having sex and sharing a shower with each other. We decided on having our breakfast when we were having lunch with the girls. We were happy together. And when we spent mornings like these together it just reminded me of what we were going to have when we arrived home. Sunday mornings spent together in bed with breakfast and the girls. It was what I was looking forward to a whole lot.
We had our lunch with Maddy, Matilda and Wendy overlooking the water. Derek sat beside me and underneath the table we held hands just to feel that closeness. The girls chatted about their morning with Wendy. Wendy treated them on a shopping trip. Where she bought them new clothes and a new Barbie Doll to add to the collection. They sat at the table now with their Barbie Dolls and let their imaginations create a wild story and adventure. I couldn't help but smile at the two of them.
"Mommy I think my Barbie looks like you?" Maddy says holding her Barbie up in front of me.
I take the doll and study the features of the plastic doll. She had honey blonde hair and green eyes. She was an Olympic Barbie as well. So she had a generic sporting costume on.
"Well she surely does. What is her name?"
"On the box she had the name Nina but I want to call her Meredith."
"Sure thing sweetie. She is pretty."
"Just like you Mommy." She says smiling.
We spent the afternoon by the water and let the girls run around in the park to burn off some energy. We were expected to meet back at the village before 5 to head over to the stadium for the closing ceremony. Wendy took the girls with her to get them showered and ready.
Together our country did well as a whole. With finally tallies coming in with us the winners of the games for 2012. I was ecstatic because it was my first Olympics and our country won the medal count.
We changed into our tracksuits and met with the rest of our team with our medals around our necks. We did exactly what we did for the opening ceremony but instead of uncertainty and the next 10 days being a mystery we were closing those ten days with a spirit of winning, memories and friendship.
Derek walked us out of the tunnels with our flag waving high. Our nation came together as one and we were celebrating the time we had spent together in this magical place. I had a smile plastered on my face. I was happy with everything I had at this moment and I would never forget these memories I made these passing weeks.
We ended up back at the village with the girls asleep in our arms. It gave Wendy a chance to have peace and quiet. The girls though got to watch us all farewell the games for 2012 and hope that they would be sitting in Rio De Janeiro hoping to cheer Derek and I on. But four years could turn out differently than what I think it would. I was hoping I still got to compete again for a few more Olympics where the girls could watch me and cheer me on.
We tucked the girls in tightly after changing them into their pyjamas. They didn't budge when we changed their clothing and laid them under the covers.
"They must have been exhausted." Derek says quietly.
"It's been a big day for them." I say smiling. I never understood why but at this moment everything made sense to me. Everything I wanted in life was right in front of me. The girls made it seem less complicated. Looking at a sleeping child made everything prefect and make you forget the world.
Derek wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my shoulder blade. "Penny for your thoughts?"
I look up at him and smile. "Right now, just looking at the girls, everything makes sense now and I realise what I want in life." I tell him. "Everything I need is right in front of me. Everything I wish for is in this room right now. Yes things may change but the girls and you are what I need for the rest of my life."
"It's true what they say about sleeping children isn't it?"
"It sure is. It's perfection staring at the innocence of youth."
"It is." He says placing another kiss on my shoulder.
"Derek?"
"Yeah Mer?"
"This is going to sound crazy but…"
"Yeah?"
"When do you want to have a child?"
"I don't know Mer. Soon I suppose. Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious. I mean if I were to have another child it would be quite soon so I could train for the next games. But I don't mind waiting another 4 years for a baby."
He embraces me tighter. "Just leave it up to fate Mer. I am open to the idea if you really want to have one but we have only known each other for a short amount of time which may send our family into a frantic loop trying to decide if they were open to it."
"I say who cares."
"That is a beautiful attitude. The screw your thoughts." He says.
"I really don't care anymore at what anyone thinks. It always happened at school when the girls would judge me for things I did. I always let it get to me the bullying and the tormenting but now I shouldn't care because they became waitresses in a diner. I became an athlete with three medals. I am at a much high scale then them all."
"Well I can say the same. I was bullied in high school as well and those boys are the ones who wash our cars and push our trolleys."
I smile at him and he kisses my cheek.
"We have come a long way Mer. We have proved those boys and girls wrong with living our dream and succeeding. That's all you have to worry about."
"I'm really glad I met you Derek. You have changed my life."
"You have done exactly the same for me Mer and I wouldn't change it."
…
The next morning we woke the girls and grabbed a quick breakfast before taking a walk to the hotel Wendy was at. Wendy was staying and visiting friends that lived here in Europe. She wanted a break and ever since her children have gone through college and her husband died she wanted to take a break and experience Europe. So she was headed on a tour with them all and they were leaving after lunch on a plane to start in Ireland.
"You sure you have everything?" I ask her.
"I have everything." She says smiling. "This is the girls bag. I didn't think you would want me to leave this behind."
"Thanks Wendy." I say taking the bag.
"Now my taxi should be arriving any moment now." She says smiling.
This woman was so brave. She was mom's sister and she wasn't the favourite daughter. She had a rough time at home growing up and was always told she was a mistake and this caused rebellion to home and school. She had a child at 17 and my mother supported her throughout her pregnancy to my eldest cousin Keira. That's when she turned her life around and finished high school and went to college and she got a business degree. Keira was the thing that bonded Wendy and my grandparents back together and they were close from that day on. Wendy soon married another businessman and they had 3 kids together. Wendy's kids are all around the same age as me and they were growing up. Gracie was the youngest of the kids and she was 2 years younger than me. She had just finished college and was entering a law degree. Wendy's husband died 2 years ago after suffering a heart attack and Wendy has been a widow ever since. Keira is expecting a child in 6 months' time and Wendy is sure to be home for the birth of her first grandchild.
She really was an inspiration to me especially through the crap she went through. I went through crap similar to her and she was there supporting me through it all. After all those incidents with Finn and the girls in high school. She told me that I have this strength to fight it. I had this strength to not let the nasty girls put me down and the strength to not let Finn ruin my life. I had two daughters to care for and that was how my life would be. She was my rock.
"Here's my taxi." She says smiling.
The girls hug Wendy tightly.
"Oh you girls are precious. I have loved spending time with you all." She tells them. "And one day we will see you two competing."
"We're gonna be like Mommy." Matilda says.
"And Derek." Maddy adds in.
Wendy embraces them and kisses them once more before they let go. Derek moves to her next and hugs her.
"It was great meeting you Derek." She says.
"It was great meeting you too."
"Meredith she deserves someone like you and let's face it, it is hard to impress Ellis but you surely did impress her. She loves you."
"Well I'm in love with this whole family. They have brought me happiness and I'm glad I have brought happiness to them. I will not hurt your nieces. They are my family and my sole responsibility."
"That is a very grown up thing to say Derek. You are a wonderful man and I am very amazed at how you have taken to the girls. Some guys leave at the sight of a sick child. Meredith has two sick children and you have not left her side and these two have taken you like a father. They really do love you Derek. They boast about you so be proud."
"I am proud of them all. Meredith, Maddy and Matilda, three beautiful girls who have changed my life."
Wendy embraces Derek again and I can't help but smile at what they exchanged in conversation between each other. Derek went and helped the cabbie put her bags into the boot of the car and then Wendy embraced me.
"Thank you for coming and watching me Wendy."
"No worries Mackie." I smiled. She was calling me my childhood nickname she gave me and would call out to me when I would be competing. This name only happened because I wanted to change my name to Mack as a child because I was sick of Meredith. This was the phase when I was more interested in acting like a boy and wanting to become a truck driver. "See what I did there?"
"I sure did." I say smiling at her. "I'm so glad you came."
"I'm glad you invited me. I was hoping to be invited to one of these things ever since you stated that you would compete at these games when you were with me and my family. I have had those words stuck in my mind ever since… "Wendy, Mike, Keira, Mommy, Richard, Blake, Jimmy and Gracie, I am going to compete at the Olympics when I am older. I am going to break world records and win medals. I'm not going to be a doctor I'm going to be an athlete and you all will sit and watch me and cheer me on and I will make everyone so proud that I will become famous and I will change the world."
"I can't believe I said that." I say mortified.
"It was cute. Let me say that." She says. "Now I have a plane to catch and the four of you have some sightseeing and family things to plan."
She hugs me one last time and holds me tightly. "Derek, never let him go."
She let me go after a kiss on the cheek and a smile and climbed into the cab. She waved goodbye to us as the cab took off.
We all stood there watching the cab disappear with a smile on our faces.
"Now let's start our holiday shall we." Derek suggests.
"Yeah!" Maddy and Matilda cheer.
"Let's go back to the village and plan our next month here. We better make the most of it." He says.
"Yes. Let's go."
The girls started walking in front of us and I turned and looked at Derek who smiled at me. I smiled back at him and we shared a soft kiss before we headed back to the village were we would plan and pack for our new hotel.
…
Our past month and five days were spent together. The time we were here flew quickly and I didn't want to go home just yet because of the friendly culture and hospitality.
But we were finally coming home. It was good to have that sense of home. When we arrived home we were going to let everything work itself out. We were leaving it to Fate to see what would happen.
Our time here we spent watching the Paralympics and sightseeing. We took the girls for a trip to Italy and spent a couple of nights there and then came back to London. We did tours of London and let ourselves be free with no training or programs to follow. It was our interests and the girls' choice of destination. We came home with and extra three suitcases then when we first came over. Our sporting stuff had been shipped back home after the games and would meet us at our homes.
The girls loved London and they loved the extra time they got to spend with Derek and I. Every waking moment was spent with us and they got to know Derek more and they felt like he was their father. They were even more surprised when we told them we were spending another month here. I was treating them to watch the Paralympics and see London. Their faces were priceless and it made my insides gooey and warm because of their reactions to staying longer and when they found out Derek was staying longer they were over the moon.
And while we watched the Paralympics I couldn't help but feel that I would watch the girls someday. Yes I would love for them to compete at the Olympics but I believed the heroes were the Paralympians. Their strength and courage to compete despite disabilities that held them back was really brave. The girls I would hope would race at the Paralympics to show the world their strength and how brave they were. Their courage and interests.
They got to meet some of the athletes and the athletes asked if they would compete one day here. The smiles on their faces grew big and they exclaimed that they were going to compete for their family and do their Mommy proud because our Mommy did us proud. I had them meet athletes who had cerebral palsy and when they saw those athletes with the same disability as them I saw a new light shine inside of them and a determination come alive. These people are just like them and they are striving their hardest. The athletes were very happy speaking with the girls and spreading joy between them. Derek stood beside me as we spoke and it felt right.
After meeting different athletes they vowed to us that we would be watching them compete for gold in 12 years' time. They are going to come home with medals to show their family and friends and especially for the showing to their kids and grandkids in years to come.
The morning of our plane trip home though was a hectic one. We had to be at the airport by 9 that morning to board by 11:30. I wish I had made it later in the day. Especially when I have two 3 year olds. I found myself struggling to get out of bed that morning. Derek let me sleep in longer and he got the girls up and dressed them and packed the remaining bags with the last few stuff before waking me up. We made a quick dash downstairs to check out and to grab a cab to the airport. We arrived at the airport and found out the plane had been delayed for a few hours. So our rush to the airport was unnecessary but if we didn't rush our luck would have it that we would have missed the plane.
So we checked in our bags and went through to get some breakfast since our stomachs were growling. Derek and I got coffee into our bodies to help us with this trip and I felt myself feel nauseous to the taste of coffee and my body was just exhausted.
"I don't know why but I'm just exhausted." I tell him.
"Are you sure you are fine?"
"Yeah I am. It's been a big few months here. I'm ready to go home and sleep in my own bed and be home."
"I know how you feel." He says smiling at me. "But you sure your fine?"
"Yeah I am. I think it's just the flu." I tell him. "But I do need to use the ladies room."
"Sure. Go." He tells me.
"Girls do you need to go?"
"No we're fine Mommy." Matilda says.
"I'm fine Mommy." Maddy says.
I got up and walked to the ladies room. I splashed my face with cold water and used the toilet. I didn't know why I felt strange and different than usual. It could just be a flu or any number of things. I just shook off the feeling and headed back to Derek and the girls.
We boarded 2 hours after we were supposed to and were on our way home. The changing time zones would affects us when we arrived home. Especially the girls.
We were 3 hours into the flight and the girls were taking a nap. They were exhausted after a huge holiday.
"I'm moving to Boston." Derek says.
"What?"
"I'm moving to Boston when we get home."
"Why because it's a big thing upping and moving to a different state when you have lived in New York for most of your life. Are you sure?"
"Well I was thinking about asking you to move to New York with the girls to live with me to start over fresh but I realised that you would want to live with your mother especially since she is sick and spend time with her. Spend precious time together especially for the girls to know their Nanna more." He says. I smile seeing that he was considering other factors in this. "And if I move to Boston I save money on plane trips and I'm only half an hour away from you and not 4 hours."
I smile at him. He was sacrificing things for me. I couldn't get over it. He was moving to Boston to be with me and the girls. "Well it would be nice to have you in Boston. It would be even nicer to wake to you every morning. Especially in my bed."
He smiles at me picking up my proposal. "I would love to move in with you because I love you and the girls so much."
I smile and we share a kiss and he pulls away and looks at me.
"What?"
"Is it too soon to be moving in with each other?"
"That's the fine part of it. Not knowing if it's right or wrong. That's life. You never know what will happen and wouldn't you prefer those happenings to happen together in my home?"
"We will have a great life together Mer." He says kissing my lips. "A beautiful life with you, the girls and Lucy the dog." He says smiling.
"Yes we can't forget Lucy." I say giggling.
I look over at the girls and then back to Derek. The girls were seated in front of us and were still out to the world. I wanted to ask him a question. A what if question. I didn't even know if it was true or if it wasn't true. But that was part of life. The unsureness that happens and follows us when we don't know what will happen.
"What would you say if I was pregnant?" I ask him.
He was a little shocked but then smiles at me. "I would ask you to be my wife."
I smile at his comment and look at the girls once more.
"You sure you're not pregnant? Because I remember that we had those nights without protection. We've had a lot of those nights." He says.
I didn't know what to say to him.
I look at him and don't say a word.
I just smirk at him.
Sorry for the delay. I just couldn't find the time to update and write. But holidays have started and I am here to write and complete the story for you all.
Let me know your thoughts. And reviews really do let me know what you guys enjoy and dislike about the story. I am still unsure what will happen with Meredith's unsureness. I don't know if or if I shouldn't. I have changed my mind on what is going to happen so many times I just don't know.
But I will bring closure in the Finn case so there is no drama for Meredith, Derek and the girls.
So another update should be up in a few days and I will try and decide what will happen. Its safe to say that there is definitely 5 chapters left. Maybe a few more.
Hopefully you enjoyed and let me know. I will update in a few days for you all.