CHAPTER FOURTEEN
(chapter title - Seize the Day!)
Wrongs will be righted, if we're united, let us seize the day! -
"Seize the Day" from Newsies.
Two months had passed. Lizzie and Roger simply couldn't be happier - Roger had auditioned for a role in the school musical, Newsies, and got the role of Joseph Pulitzer. Lizzie had gone out for the musical, but didn't get a part, which was okay with her.
Lizzie got another job volunteering with Kelli at TLC Acres. She got to exercise June's horse, a light chestnut Quarter Horse mare with four socks and a blaze named Justice on Jupiter - or JJ for short. Lizzie would walk, trot and canter JJ around the indoor arena while the other animals watched. Lizzie also had other responsibilities - she fed the chickens, let the dogs in & out, washed food bowls, scooped poop, fed Sandy - the white-tailed deer and whatever else she could find to do.
When she wasn't working at TLC, she worked at the high school as the media arts teacher. She only worked two days a week, so she spent the rest of the week either at TLC or at home with her kids.
Ming-Na and Roger's birthdays came and went and now they were celebrating Marcus' seven-month birthday. They took him to Potter Park Zoo, where he giggled at the playful otters and took a ride on a pony named Carmel. Lizzie walked with Marcus while Roger walked with Ming-Na who was on a pony named TJ.
After the zoo, Roger took his family for a drive in the country. He popped in the CD that Lizzie had made him for his birthday. As the first track played, Lizzie pointed out a group of deer in the woods. Ming-Na giggled and waved to the deer.
Roger pulled into MSU to take a look at the Arabians. He had always loved horses, but he didn't let it show around his Bohemian friends. He stopped the car and got Marcus out of his car-seat while Lizzie helped Ming-Na out of the car. They walked towards the largest pasture where 15 or so mares and foals were grazing. Roger whistled to one of the mares, who picked her head up and wandered over to Roger and his family, along with two other mares. The first mare pinned her ears back at the others and bared her teeth.
"What's she doing, mommy?" Ming-Na asked.
"She's telling the others that she's the boss and that they better not come near her." Lizzie answered, letting the mare - who was fawn-colored - sniff her hand.
"What's her name?" Ming-Na inquired.
"I don't know, honey." Lizzie told her daughter.
After twenty minutes with the horses, Marcus started to get cranky, so the family headed home. Fall was definitely in the air - the leaves were changing color, the air was cooler and the days were getting shorter.
By the time they got home, it was dark. Prince was fast asleep in his kennel, all four paws up in the air. Lizzie smiled and walked over to him while Roger helped Ming-Na and Marcus get their coats off. He then walked over to the refrigerator and got out the macaroni and cheese he had made the other night and heated it up in four bowls.
After supper, Lizzie and Roger put Ming-Na and Marcus to sleep before settling in their own room. Closing the door behind her, Lizzie took off her top and put on her new pajama top. It was pink with the words 'You Are The Cheese to my Macaroni' written on it in white block letters. She put on a pair of old blue sweatpants while Roger took off everything except his boxers. He smiled when Lizzie exited the room to brush her teeth in the bathroom.
When she came back, Lizzie placed her glasses on the bedside table and got into a comfortable position. Roger held her close and put both hands under her shirt, gently rubbing her back. Roger kissed her cheek and whispered 'I love you' in her ear before going to sleep.
At one o'clock in the morning, Lizzie woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Putting her green robe and fluffy pink slippers on, she quietly headed out of the room and went downstairs. She turned on the TV and went though the channels until she found a channel that was playing the old version of 'Pride & Prejudice'. She watched the movie intently, not noticing Roger sit down next to her and put a throw blanket over the two of them.
Lizzie fell asleep a short while later. Roger turned off the TV before gathering Lizzie in his arms and carried her upstairs to their bedroom. He took off her robe and slippers then placed her under the covers. He looked over at her and ran a hand through her hair. He kissed her forehead and went back to sleep.
An hour later, Lizzie woke up in a cold sweat. Throwing the blanket off of her, she grabbed her novel, No Place Like Home, and headed downstairs. There was no way that she could go back to sleep. She was a total night owl. She remembered when she and April spent the whole night talking and laughing about everything and nothing. That was before April had met Roger and got high on drugs. The nice, sweet and sometimes psychotic April. It was all good fun, though.
Lizzie put her kitten bookmark in her book and headed back upstairs. The time was now 3:05 AM. She quietly snuck into her and Roger's room and climbed in next to him.
"Baby, where were you?" Roger asked groggily.
"I was downstairs reading. I couldn't sleep."
"I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"Night."
"Goodnight."
The next morning, Lizzie woke up, dressed and headed downstairs. Quickly making herself some hot chocolate and toast, she did the morning Sudoko puzzle. Roger didn't understand why she did the puzzle, he thought it was confusing and a waste of time.
Finishing her breakfast and puzzle, Lizzie brushed her hair and teeth. Exiting the bathroom, she threw on an old coat, hat and boots before grabbing her keys and iPod. It was Monday - one of the days that she worked at TLC. She worked every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Wednesdays and Thursdays were spent at the high school. Saturdays and Sundays were spent with the family.
When she pulled into TLC, she saw four horses grazing in the front pasture - Donna, Nellie and Wilma. She didn't recognize the other horse. It was a big dark gray Clydesdale with four white feet. She later found out that the horse's name was Ben and he was being bordered at TLC for a while.
Today was a busy day - Lizzie let dogs in & out, fed Sandy and the other animals that were outside, bathed & fed Camille the camel, fed Zeb the Zebu and did a million other things. She also ran errands with Allie and Kelli.
Lizzie left work at four and arrived at home around six. She saw a note from Roger saying that he was at the school rehearsing for Newsies and both Ming-Na and Marcus were at the school with him.
Lizzie quickly took a shower and changed before heading to the high school. She parked the car in the staff parking lot and quickly walked to the high school auditorium. She found Ming-Na and Marcus with a friend of the Davis' - a fellow teacher named Melany English, who was the choir teacher. She smiled as Lizzie sat down next to her and the house lights dimmed.
Lizzie watched the musical in complete awe. It was simply amazing - the sets, the costumes, the actors - everything. She found herself humming 'Seize the Day' to herself during intermission. Roger was due to appear in the second act. When everyone had gone to get refreshments in the lobby, Lizzie stayed in her seat, reading the cast bios from her program.
Roger Davis - Joseph Pulitzer - Roger is joining the musical for the first time as Joseph Pulitzer. Before auditioning for the musical, he lived in New York with his wife and two children where he was a musician. He moved to Michigan eight months ago and is fitting right in with us. When he's not singing, he's the theater teacher. He loves spending time with his family, writing songs, singing and enjoying life. All my love to Lizzie, Ming-Na and Marcus. XOXO
Lizzie smiled and flipped to the back of the program. There was a color picture of Roger with Lizzie. Both of them were dressed in white and looking at Marcus, who was wrapped in a white blanket. Ming-Na was there, too, also dressed in white. She was standing in front of her parents holding a lily in her hand. Above the pictures were the words 'We Love You Roger! Love Lizzie, Ming-Na and Marcus' written in gold - Roger's favorite color. She felt tears in her eyes as she ran her hand over her picture.
The house lights flickered and everyone headed back to their seats. Ming-Na and Melany smiled as they sat back down next to Lizzie. She smiled when Melany handed Marcus to her. Lizzie pointed out Roger as he came on stage. He did wonderfully as the villain Joseph Pulitzer. He wore a black wig, spectacles, a black coat, a white frilly shirt, tight black pants and a fake beard that matched the color of his hair. Lizzie watched intently as Roger said his lines and sang his songs. At the end of the musical, Lizzie was the first one to stand when the house lights came on and the cast came for their company bow.
After the play, Roger and his family headed home. Putting the kids to bed and taking Prince out one last time, Lizzie and Roger headed to their room.
"You did wonderfully tonight." Lizzie told her husband, stripping out of her shirt and hung it back on the hanger.
"Thank you." Roger thanked his wife, walking over toward her and gently massaged her neck. She turned around and kissed him on the lips. Roger returned the kiss and parted her lips with his tongue while his large hands went up and down Lizzie's back. Lizzie already had her hands on Roger's hips, her hands sneaking their way down.
The two of them walked to the bed, clothes coming off in all directions. Roger pulled the covers over him and Lizzie before reaching over and turning off the lamp on his bedside table. In the dark, Lizzie felt Roger go inside her while she just laid there, moaning. Roger rolled over on his side, bringing Lizzie with him. Lizzie's forehead was already covered in sweat, but she didn't care. Her hands were around Roger's waist, moving up and down his back.
"I love you." Lizzie breathed.
"Me, too." Roger moaned. Lizzie smiled and kissed Roger again.
The two of them ended up falling asleep at two-thirty AM. At three, Lizzie shook Roger awake.
"What?" he mumbled.
"Did you use protection?" Lizzie asked.
"Yeah." Roger answered after a moment. Letting out a sigh of relief, Lizzie fell back asleep.
Lizzie woke up to feel the warm sun on her face. Stretching, she looked over at Roger's side of the bed - it was empty. Yawning, Lizzie threw some clothes on and went to check on Marcus. He was fast asleep on his stomach. Lizzie decided to let him sleep a little longer. Exiting the room, she headed across the hall to check on Ming-Na. Her door was open, but the room was empty.
Heading downstairs, she saw Roger and Ming-Na at the kitchen counter, eating breakfast.
"Morning family." Lizzie chirped, kissing Roger's cheek and stroked Ming-Na's hair.
"Morning beautiful." Roger greeted his wife as he poured some cereal for her.
"What are we gonna do today?" Ming-Na asked. Today, she was wearing a pink 'Hello Kitty' t-shirt and dark blue jeans. On her feet, were her favorite pink My Little Pony Velcro shoes.
"Well, today's Saturday, which means that Kelli's gonna watch you and your brother while daddy and I have some alone time." Lizzie winked at her husband. He smiled and handed Lizzie her bowl of cereal. After they had breakfast, Kelli was going to come over so that Roger and Lizzie could spend some alone time together.
After breakfast, Kelli came over when Lizzie was taking a shower. She quickly finished and changed into a flowered sundress and a broad hat while Roger wore a pair of white shorts and a blue and white striped t-shirt. The couple waved goodbye to Kelli as they headed out the door and into the warm, spring sun.
They drove a little ways and ended up in the country.
"I'm horny." Roger announced, making Lizzie laugh.
"Are you serious?" Lizzie inquired, raising an eyebrow. Roger nodded as Lizzie fought back laughter. Roger pulled off the road and spotted a meadow and the two of them headed towards it.
"Alone at last." Roger announced, taking off Lizzie's sundress. Her skin glistened in the warm sun.
"Just me and my baby." Lizzie told her husband, slipping her hands under Roger's shirt and pulled it off of his head.
Lizzie moaned with pleasure as Roger made love to her in the hot afternoon sun. She prayed that they didn't get caught - that would be embarrassing.
"Oh God." Lizzie moaned, feeling Roger go inside her. The two of them were naked, except Lizzie refused to let Roger take off her bra. She was using the sundress as a pillow so that her hair wouldn't get dirty. Roger kissed her forehead before pulling out and put his pants back on. Lizzie found her floral underwear and put it back on, along with her sundress and hat.
"That was amazing." Roger announced as they drove to a café for lunch. Lizzie nodded and brushed the dirt off her sundress.
"You were amazing." Lizzie said, smiling.
"You're amazing." Roger whispered, kissing Lizzie's cheek.
At lunch, Roger could tell that something was bothering his Lizzie. She had ordered her favorite - a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of French fries and a glass of Coke. She barely ate her sandwich and had eaten two of the fries. She had drank half of her Coke.
"Baby, is everything okay?" Roger asked, reaching across the table and took one of Lizzie's hands in his. She nodded her head and looked away.
"Liz, talk to me. I'm worried about you." Roger told her, squeezing her hand. She excused herself and went to the bathroom at the back of the café. Locking the door behind her, she began to cry. She didn't know how to tell him, but he had to know sooner or later - before she began to show.