Longing for Spring – 10
After that statement, Matt wondered who CJ was angry with. She kept shaking her head, pacing, as an array of emotions played out on her face. He knew his wife better than anyone, but even he couldn't tell what she was thinking about the shocking news at the moment. He kept a critical eye on her body language, watching for a sign that hopefully it was only Maggie, but prepared to defend himself in case her anger was directed towards him: it happened a long time ago, when he was a lot younger, and well, it does take two to make a baby.
But, after several minutes, she said nothing and his patience was growing thin. Dare he ask?
"CJ …" he began to say as tears started to appear on her face, showing the disconcerting side of the revelation. The gravity of the news was sinking in for this expectant mother with raging hormones and a soft spot for children. He threw his arms around her and embraced her tightly, trying to soothe the mixture of outrage and melancholy feelings which they mutually felt. He seemed to know exactly what she needed right now... or did he?
She pushed him away and glared at him.
"What?"
"You knocked me up THREE times!"
She had him there. And with the way her eyes were trained on him, he felt like a little boy being scolded or a convicted felon, guilty for just about every negative event that had ever happened to her in her life. He waited a few seconds before lifting his head slightly to take a peek, watching for her expression to change to a more passive one so that he could enter his plea.
"I'm sorry, CJ."
"Sorry? Sorry!" she yelled back him, shaking her head in disappointment. "How many pregnant women have you said that to, huh?"
A smile crept onto his face. "Uh, just you, honey pie."
She set him up for that witty comeback! Of course her eggs were the only one his sperm had ever connected with. Good thing they spent some of the last 26 years apart. If they had been married since 1972 they might have had twenty kids by now!
He touched her arm, but she turned away from his overpowering gaze - those dark brown eyes that could charm even the most ill-tempered polecat out of a tree.
She wanted to be furious, she really did, but could she really harbor such an emotion towards the man who she loved more than anyone … a man she had waited half a lifetime to marry … a man that she shared a home with? Being angry with him would only bring awkward moments amongst them and other family members. And anyway, didn't she waste enough precious time and energy in the past being angry with him?
Feeling only slightly defeated, he regrouped and moved in front of her, lifting her chin with his finger.
"CJ …" he said softly.
"What?" she snapped at him assertively... until she blushed.
He smiled back at her and brought his hands to her face, a face that somehow looked more beautiful to him right now than anything in the world. Perhaps it was the combination of anger, shock and love that was contributing to her already glowing complexion. Either way, she was irresistible. He kissed her.
His lips felt like a cross between satin and velvet against hers, and she melted … like butter on a hot frying pan. No, it wouldn't do her any good to be angry with her husband, best friend and father of her children: she'd miss out on all the good stuff!
"C'mon. Fertile Myrtle. Lets go get something to eat, huh?" he said upon releasing her.
She smiled at his humorous term of endearment. Come to think of it, she was hungry, but just as they were ready to leave, the surgeon walked out into the waiting room looking for her.
"Mrs. Houston?"
"Yes?" she quickly responded as she and Matt retreated a few steps.
"Your mother's one tough cookie."
Sigh. This she knew.
"She made it," she stated flatly.
"Yes."
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "When can I see her?"
She really wanted to talk with her.
"It'll be a while until she's ready for visitors. My advice is that you get something to eat and come back in an hour or so. She should be awake and ready to talk by then."
Matt was thinking that in this particular instance, she might not be as ready for a visit from CJ as the doctor thinks.
"Left a good job in the city, working for the man ev'ry night and day. And I never lost one minute of sleeping, worried 'bout the way things might have been."
"How much further, Will?" Matt screamed over the noise of the chopper.
"Why you got a hot date or something?"
"No, rock star. I was thinking about Charlie. We're headed right into enemy territory."
"Don't you worry' bout a thing, Matt. All we have to do is make the drop and run, easy schmeasy. Big wheel keep on turnin' …"
While Will continued singing like he was John Fogerty, Matt tried taking his advice, letting his mind wander to the more pleasant thoughts of returning home. The Texas Terrors could see the light at the end of the tunnel now – they had only three weeks to go in their tour of duty. Not only were they lucky to survive in one piece, but they were able to do it together, and they were well aware of the odds. Far too many of their comrades had fallen to the cruelties of the jungle war, leaving many, here and at home, to mourn the loss of a best friend or brother. Matt wasn't sure if he could have done it without his best friend/cousin. He never felt closer to him, and he was sure the same was true for Will. They could practically read each other's minds and sense when the other was in need or danger.
Speaking of best friends... Matt couldn't wait to see the other best friend in his life in the flesh for the first time in a year. During the past eleven months he tried to forget about missing her with the few females he encountered in Southeast Asia, but now that he was close to returning home, he couldn't think of any woman who could hold a candle next to her. The first thing he was wanted to do was to throw his arms around her and give her the biggest bear hug of her life. He'd lift her up off her feet, swirl her around and set her down, only to embrace her again. Then he would frame her angelic face with his hands and just gaze at her – her velvet lips, her entrancing eyes, her soft hair, her radiant skin, before giving her the longest and most sensual kiss she ever experienced. He'd take time to caress her lips with own, gently at first, and then more hungrily as he sought for a deeper display of his affection.
Later, after they both deescalated from that experience, he'd take her on a date - a real date. They'd dress up nice – her in a pretty dress, he in his military suit and tie, and take her to the most expensive restaurant in town. They'd smile and wave as everyone turned their heads to stare at the hero soldier returning from war accompanied by the gorgeous woman on his arm. They'd see a movie and afterwards, take a stroll somewhere where they could just hold hands for a while and just be together. They'd spend the entire night cuddled up next to each other, become re-familiar with each other's bodies, and follow up the next morning with breakfast in bed. Later that same day, they would take a picnic lunch and go horseback riding … for hours. After stopping to eat, he would lay with her – make love to her – right beneath by the tall magnolia tree that stood on the outskirts of the ranch.
Little did he know that all of his plans, in a blink of an eye, were about to change.
"What the hell was that?"
"We've been hit! I think we're landing sooner than we thought. Brace yourself!"
With the stressed expression on his wife's face, Matt thought it best to try and distract CJ while they waited for their entres.
"Have you thought about names for the baby?"
She finished a sip of her water and replied, "No, not really, however, I do know some names to steer clear away from."
Do tell, his eyes seemed to say.
"Truman, Peter, Samantha, and any names starting with the letter 'E'."
"Why's that?"
"Emily Martin, who my mother had disdain for, Jolie's bully Emily, Elmer Preston, and let's not forget …"
"Ah, I get the picture."
"Jolie told me about your meeting with the principal, by the way."
"Oh?"
"Yes, she told me you gave him hell when he warned you about expelling her."
He nodded proudly. "I did want to resort to such a threat, but I thought it was called for, given the circumstances."
She smiled approvingly.
"I'd say you've got this father thing down pat."
"Thank you. I know I'm still relatively new at it, but whenever I have to make a decision regarding Jolie, I just try and remember the way Daddy raised me. He was a good father."
"Very good I'd say."
His expression waned.
"Still puzzles me that he would agree with Maggie… over … over anything."
"Yeah, me too ... but we'll never know what he was thinking, will we?"
"No, and I guess when you get past all the hurt and anger, things probably worked out for the best. Not sure how good of a father I would have been at that point of my life."
"I don't think I'm there yet."
"Which is why I'm worried about you."
She glanced down and patted her abdomen. "Relax. Me and Baby Houston are doing just fine."
"Yeah, I know, it's just that I …"
"Worry? Now I definitely know you have this parenting thing down."
They laughed together as he took her hand and squeezed it.
"Speaking of parents, Jolie told me that Emily's father is a politician who's getting married soon."
"Yeah, so?"
She glared at him until he figured it out.
"Wait, you don't think?"
She made a face. "At first I didn't think that Emily was going through as much as Jolie, but if my father was marrying Elizabeth …"
Now it was Matt's turn to glare at his spouse.
"CJ …"
"But seriously, isn't this another reason that Jolie shouldn't attend this school anymore?'
"Now CJ, she can't run from her problems the rest of her life. She needs to learn how to deal with adversity, with people."
"I know, but does she really have to deal with it now, after all she's been through?"
"Maybe not. I remember my father saying more or less the same thing to a principal when I was a kid."
"See!"
"Yeah, but If I had changed schools, I would have never met the love of my life."
She softened and smiled at him.
"Look, let's just see how the next couple of weeks go. If things get so bad that it's too disruptive to our lives and her well-being, than we'll come up with another idea."
She took a sip of her water.
"Is the part where you say no problem that comes our way is too big to handle, as long we're together?"
He smiled. "Something like that. Which is why I need to ask you one last time if you're sure about talking to your mother so soon … by yourself."
She thought about it a few seconds before answering him.
"I'll be okay. It's something I need to do."
She watched his face for approval but his expression didn't change.
"Matt …"
He sighed and gave her the best reassuring smile he could come up with at the moment.