Chapter Fourteen
Stephanie remained wide away in the darkness of the master bed room. She had managed to wiggle out of Kurt's arms when he had fallen back asleep. She could hear the sound of rain hitting the roof as she stared at the ceiling. She would never be able to get back asleep. Steph wasn't sure if she wanted to. Stephanie couldn't get over how she felt when she found the white basinet empty in her dream. It pretty much summed but how she felt at that very moment…Empty. Slowly, Steph scooted out of bed so she wouldn't wake up Kurt again. She had decided that there was no way she would be able to fall back asleep so lying in bed was useless.
Quietly she crept into the nursery. Peering over the crib she saw Brandon sleeping peacefully on his back. Despite the frequent thunder and lightening, the baby slept soundly. His little chest rose and fell while every moment or so his little fingers twitched slightly. Stephanie gently tugged on the blue cotton blanket tucking it farther up on his little body. After covering up the baby, Steph left the nursery and headed down the hall to Andrew's room.
"Mommy?" Andy called out in the dimly lit room as Steph peeked in. He was sitting up in bed.
"Andy, go back to sleep. It's only four in the morning." Steph told the four year old as she walked further into his room stepping over his many toys that littered the carpet floor.
"But I'm scared. I had a bad dream and the thunder's really loud. It's really scary." Andrew explained, his voice sounding raspy as she clutched his colorful bed sheets in his hands.
"Mommy had a bad dream too. Lay back down, sweetie, and you'll fall back asleep." Steph replied picking Andrew up into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her neck as he laid his head on her shoulder, snuggling into her neck.
"I don't wanna go to sleep, Mommy. I wanna stay wif you."
"Let's get you a warm glass of milk. It will help you feel better." Stephanie whispered, carrying Andy out of his room and toward the staircase.
Once she descended the stairs, Steph made her way through the dark hallway toward the kitchen. After flicking on one of the kitchen lights, Steph sat Andrew on the countertop. Viewing the kitchen, Steph's eyes caught sight of a pizza box sitting on the counter top by the laundry room door. She now knew what Kurt's meal was for him and Andrew last night. Andy rubbed his eyes with his hands as Stephanie took the milk from the refrigerator. She set a small cup on the counter and poured milk in it.
"Isn't Brandon afraid of the noise?" Andy asked as he watched Stephanie put the cup of milk in the microwave.
"He's asleep. I checked on him before I went to see you. You're not going to be too tired to go to preschool." Steph commented walking back over to the four year old as the microwave heated his milk.
"I don't wanna go to school. I wanna stay wif you. Mommy?" Andy asked swinging his legs causing his feet to kick the wooden kitchen cabinets below.
"What is it?" Steph muttered, keeping her eye on the microwave.
"Are you going to leave?"
"What do you mean leave?" Steph asked looking back at Andrew who was staring at her face. He looked a bit puzzled. Stephanie stepped over to the counter where Andy was sitting.
"Mikey Miller in my class, his mommy left him and his daddy. He woke up one day and his mommy was gone. His daddy said she didn't want to live with them anymore. Please don't leave. I need you and so do baby Brandon and Daddy. Please Mommy, I promise I'll be good." Andrew said, his eyes filling with tears. He stuck out his pink bottom lip, his eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed hold of her hand and tugged.
"I'm not going to leave you. I would never walk out on my children. You and your brother are the reason I am able to get up in the morning." Steph explained running her hand through Andrew's brown hair. She was telling the four year old the complete truth. The past few days were hard on her. She had been longing to be with Paul and Aurora. To have things back to the way they used to be. If it wasn't for Andrew and Brandon, Steph would have left the Angle home and would have been much more aggressive in searching for answers.
"And you love Daddy too?" Andy added, looking directly at Steph awaiting an answer.
"Yes, I love Daddy. Sweetheart, I am not going to leave. I'm sure there was a very good reason Mikey's mother left. It has nothing to do with us. Is this why you couldn't sleep? You're afraid I'm going to leave in the night?"
"Yeah…and the thunder is scary." Andy quickly replied, he then grabbed hold of Stephanie and hugged her hand as a roll of thunder came crashing through the sound of rain falling.
"It's okay honey. There's nothing to be worried or scared about." Steph whispered in a soothing voice, taking him into her arms to comfort him.
"Beep…beep…beep"
The microwave had stopped and green digital letters displayed the word "end", on the digital clock area of the microwave. Steph, carrying Andrew, walked over to it, and took out the now warm milk.
"Drink up, we have to get you back to bed." Steph commented handing Andy the cup of warm milk which he immediately began to drink.
"I wanna sleep with you and Daddy tonight." Andy said after gulping down the warm milk.
Stephanie allowed the four year old to climb into bed with her and Kurt. They slept with Andy in the middle. He slept as close as he could to her. It was like he was afraid of her leaving him while he slept. The little boy's attachment to her didn't bother Stephanie. Hearing his concerns of her leaving and hearing him beg her to stay made Stephanie's heart ache. She had no idea such a young child could be burdened by worrying if his own mother abandoning him. Steph was finally able to put that warped dream out of her mind while she snuggled close to Andrew Vincent. It wasn't long before she fell back asleep.
When eight o'clock in the morning rolled around, Stephanie was tending to Brandon in the nursery while Kurt was getting ready for work. Andrew was still asleep in the king size bed. Stephanie wasn't sure if she was going to send Andy to preschool when he didn't get a full night's rest last night.
"Are you okay? You were really upset last night because of the nightmare. You kept going on and on about the baby being gone." Kurt said walking into the nursery as he fixed the ruffles from his dress shirt and then adjusted his tie.
"Yeah, it was a really upsetting dream. There's nothing like the thought of losing your own child…"Steph muttered not bothering to look at Kurt.
"I don't want you to worry. Nothing is going to happen to either of the kids. I'd die before I'd let anything happen to you or our children." Kurt commented causing Steph to look up at him. She felt somewhat awkward by Kurt's sincerity of his love for her and the boys. If only he knew about the lack of memory she had of their life together.
"I'm fine. Andrew was really upset last night too. I think he might be developing some kind of a separation anxiety. He's scared to death I'm going to leave you guys." Steph explained, her eyes darted down to the baby feeding baby in her arms.
"How did that start? How could he get separation anxiety, you're home with him and Brandon all the time?"
"Some kid in his class shared with him how is mother ran out on him and his father; since when is that fit conversation for preschool?"
"It will be all right. Andrew knows we love him. You talked to him and he knows that has nothing to do with us as a family. Don't worry about it, honey." Kurt replied walking over to where Stephanie was seated with the baby. He knelt down so that he was eye level with Stephanie.
"I love you. I want you to be the happiest wife and mother in the world." Kurt whispered with a smile causing Steph to smile too.
Stephanie's hand touched his smooth close shaven face. She moved her hand down his cheek as he moved in closer toward her. Gently he pressed his lips to hers. Steph closed her eyes, breathing in deep as they kissed passionately only for a moment.
"I'm not taking him to preschool today. He didn't get enough sleep last night." Steph told Kurt as she removed her hand from his cheek and brought it to her left bosom where Brandon was feeding.
"You may want to go grocery shopping today. We're running low on milk, cereal, and butter. I just noticed this morning." Kurt said getting to his feet. He was keeping his eyes fixed on Stephanie who was busy tending to the infant.
"I guess I can run to the Food Emporium. Shit that means I'll have to drag the kids there." Steph muttered looking over at Kurt who was getting ready to walk out of the nursery.
"You want to drop them off at your mom's? I'm sure she would love to watch them." Kurt offered stopping and looking back at Stephanie.
"No, I don't think it would be good to leave Andrew right now. With what happened last night, I don't want to upset him by leaving him and his brother." Steph replied as she began to pat the baby on his back once he was held up in her lap.
"All right, well you do what ever you want. I have to get going. I'll see you around four or five tonight. Love you." Kurt said as he walked out of the room leaving Stephanie alone to finish tending to the three month old.
Stephanie managed to arrive at the Food Emporium around noon with both children in tow. After laying a soft blanket down in the baby seat of the cart, Steph placed Brandon in it and fastened the restraint. Steph began walking down the food aisles with Andrew hanging off of the cart. Not wanting to waste time, Steph began to collect all the essentials.
"Mommy, I want this cheeriol." Andrew said holding up a box of Lucky Charms for Stephanie to see as they stood in the middle of the cereal aisle.
"Are you going to eat that if I buy it?" Steph asked looking down at the four year old that was still holding the box up in the air as he pranced around the aisle.
"Yes, I want this." He commented with a head nod as he skipped over to the cart and dropped the box in it. He then climbed back on the end of the cart and began to shake it.
"Andrew, stop doing that, your brother is sleeping!" Steph scolded as she looked down the baby. Brandon stirred a little in his sleep and gave a little yawn.
"He's still sleeping…" Andy whispered leaning over the cart basket.
Stephanie continued up and down the next three aisles. It was when she reached the produce that she heard a noise.
"Stephanie?"
Steph quickly turned around as she brought her cart to a stop at the produce section of the store. The voice was faint but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was the voice of her mother. At least it sounded like her mom. Stephanie's eyes scanned her immediate surroundings looking to see if her mom happened to be shopping there as well.
"Mommy, I want this." Andrew said grabbing hold of Stephanie's hand. She jumped not expecting to be touched. She looked down at the four year old who was still holding her hand while at the same time holding a DVD in the other hand.
"Why do you want that?" Steph asked putting her attention on the young child.
"I wanna watch it. It's got Spiderman and Batman in it." He explained pointing at the cover. "I really really want it."
Andrew smiled and moved closer to Steph. She watched as he protruded his bottom lip out and put his arms around her legs.
"Please Mommy…" He pleaded squeezing her tight.
"Okay, put it in the cart but that's it. You're done for the day." Steph replied as she fixed her hair with her hand.
"Steph! Hey! How are you?" A blonde woman gushed walking up to Stephanie with her cart full of food. Stephanie looked the woman over up and down, trying to figure out who the hell she was. The woman was very beautiful. She reminded Stephanie of Stacy Keibler but maybe a little older. She was well dressed, almost too well dressed for grocery shopping.
"I'm good. How are you?" Steph answered back with a friendly smile as she stared nervously at the woman's face, unable to remember ever meeting her before.
"I'm doing well. I haven't gotten to see you since you in two months. The morning jogs aren't the same without you. What's been going on?" She asked with a smile.
"I've been busy. There have been a lot of changes going on, a lot of stuff to get used to." Steph replied.
"Oh I bet. I can only imagine having two children. Carrie is about all I can handle. I thank God for preschool. Speaking of preschool, why aren't you at school Andrew Vincent Angle?"
"I'm helping Mommy shop." He muttered grabbing on to Steph's leg. He smiled shyly as she hid behind Stephanie.
"Oh my God, Steph, Brandon has gotten so big. He looks completely different since the last time I saw him. He's so adorable." She said in an excited whisper when she finally did notice the infant asleep in the baby seat.
"Yeah, he's cute. I don't see any of myself in him though."
"He's probably going to look more like Kurt. How is your hot hubby?" The woman asked raising one eyebrow.
"He's fine." Stephanie replied. She didn't know what else to say. All she could think about was how awkward she felt because she didn't know this woman but she knew her.
"Listen Steph, you have got to promise me to come running tomorrow morning. We'll just do our usual three miles. Also, are you going to volunteer at the preschool, they are asking the Moms to. I thought it could be something we could do. I wanted to talk with you about it before I signed up."
"No, I don't think so. I plan on going back to work the first chance I can. It seems my brother has been left to not only to do my job but his old job as well. That's really scary." Steph commented with a chuckle.
"What? You're going back to work? Why so sudden? We both always talked about how we love staying at home with our kids."
"Well I love the family business and I don't think I can take much more of sitting around the house changing diapers. I love my career." Steph explained. The lady looked at her like she was crazy.
"Well I should get going; I have to pick up Carrie. I'll see you outside at seven tomorrow for our run. You know you can just throw the boys in the stroller and go." She said with a laugh.
"Okay, since seeing you." Stephanie said politely as she watched the woman walk away and down another aisle.
"Andrew, do you know who she was?" Steph asked him as he climbed back up on the back of the cart, still holding his DVD.
"Yeah she's Mrs. Jones. Her house is next to our house."
"Great, now I'm keeping up with the Joneses…" Steph said under her breath as she pushed the cart forward.
Once home, Stephanie put Brandon in his swing in the kitchen while she unloaded the grocery bags from the car. Andrew waited patiently in the kitchen for Stephanie to bring in the plastic bag that contained his new DVD. It wasn't till Stephanie put all the groceries away that she gave the four year old his movie.
"Put it on please." He said handing it to Stephanie before running into the living room and plopping down on one of the sofas.
Steph walked into the living room with the DVD. She pushed the "open" button on the DVD player and placed the DVD disk into the tray before hitting the button again. She pushed a few buttons on the remote control and set it back down on the entertainment center at the base of the flat screen TV. It was then that something caught Stephanie's eye. One of the droars of the entertainment stand was open just enough for her to view the words written in black sharpie, "Home Movies from 2003". Steph opened the droar completely and removed the home movie DVD case.
"Andy, Mommy's going to watch TV up in the bedroom. You stay here and watch your movie." Steph told the four year old who didn't even answer her as he watched the Spiderman and Batman on the plasma TV.
Stephanie took Brandon with her up to the master bed room. Using the smaller wall plasma TV right in front of the king sized bed, Steph started up the home movie. She sat on the bed with baby Brandon laying right in front of her on the bed.
When the home movie started Stephanie saw herself lying in a hospital bed. She thought she looked okay, other than her hair looking a little out of place and the lack of makeup, she had seen herself look worse.
"This here is my beautiful wife, Stephanie, moments after bringing our first child into the world. Doesn't she look beautiful?" Kurt's voice said as he zoomed in on her with the camera.
The camera then panned over to a little baby in a hospital cart. He was screaming as the nurses took his feet prints. He was a good sized baby with a thin layer of brown hair on his little head. Steph watched the movie closely as the nurses finished doing the routine after birth procedure before they wrapped the newborn in a blue blanket.
"Look at him, Andrew Vincent Angle. The nurse is bringing him to meet his mommy." Kurt narrated as the camera followed the nurse as she carried the little baby over to Stephanie, who was waiting, her arms extended. Amazingly, the newborn's crying ceased once in his mother's arms.
"He's so beautiful and perfect. I love him so much." Steph heard herself say said through tears as she held the newborn close. The new mother began to shower her new child with light kisses.
The footage then switched to another hospital room. It was obvious to Stephanie that the room she was now viewing was the one they had moved her to after the delivery. Stephanie was sitting up in bed holding Andrew who was awake and looking up at her. Kurt was seated on the side of the bed.
"Here we have Mr. and Mrs. Angle with their new son. This is the first family footage of the Angle family." Steph heard Shane say. He was obviously manning the video camera.
"Shane, zoom in on Andrew." Linda said who was standing by the bed next to Vince and Marissa.
The camera zoomed in and around so it was looking down at the baby. Baby Andy's cloudy eyes blinked a few times before he let out a few soft cries. Kurt's hand stroked the baby's head before he leaned down and kissed it his little forehead.
"I love you." Stephanie whispered with a smile gazing of at Kurt.
"I love you too." Kurt answered back before Stephanie leaned over and kissed his lips. Shane panned the video camera out, getting a shot from the foot of the hospital bed of Kurt and Stephanie giving each other a few quick kisses.
"It's a good thing he's a handsome baby. I would be very upset if I missed RAW to see my first grandchild and he was ugly." Vince commented.
"Oh stop it. You wouldn't miss seeing our first grandchild the day it was born. He's a perfect little boy. Now we just have to move him to Greenwich so Granny and Pop can help Mommy with him." Linda said looking down at the baby as Steph rubbed his right tiny soft hand with hers.
Stephanie eyes stayed fixed on the plasma TV. Her eyes were filled with tears as she watched segment after segment of the first several months of Andrew Vincent's life. Seeing herself smiling and happy with Kurt and their new child blew Stephanie way. It was an overwhelming experience seeing herself in what would be considered precious moments that she had no recollection of now. She still didn't understand how any of it could be real. Everything she ever remembered about the past five years completely contradicted everything that she encountered the past several days. There was no denying that the home movie footage was in fact real. Steph had started the daunting task that Dr. Mott had instructed her to do. After viewing just one home movie DVD Steph now had questions that were plaguing her mind: Since this was all real and she was Mrs. Kurt Angle, why did she seem to have a lack of memory? Why was she still holding on to the hope of another life with Paul and Aurora if it never did exist? In time and with the help of Dr. Mott, maybe Stephanie would find out.