Cristina knew that Charlotte expected her to say something. She leaned back in her chair.
"Thank you for offering your apology, Charlotte," Cristina said. There, she thought, that sounded generic enough. She wasn't yet ready to forgive Charlotte but she had to acknowledge the gesture. She wondered if it was being done in good faith.
"Cristina, please don't let whatever I have done or said, affect your relationship with Owen," Charlotte pleaded. "Please don't take it out on Owen."
"Owen knows what I feel about him," Cristina said. "As far as I am concerned, he is the father of my child and will receive all of his rights."
That was cold, Charlotte thought. Cristina was referring to Owen, only in relation to the baby and not in terms of their relationship.
"If you don't mind, Charlotte, I have a lot of work to do, today. Thank you, again, for your apology," Cristina said, hoping to end this conversation and have Owen's sister leave her office.
"Okay," Charlotte said. "Goodbye." As she closed the office door behind her, Charlotte realized that while Cristina had thanked her for apology, she never really said that she forgave her.
Charlotte went back to the farm and found Owen, working on the farm's accounts on the kitchen table. "Hey, Owen," she said. "I went into town and saw Cristina." Owen looked up, interestedly.
"I hope you didn't make it worse," Owen said.
"No, I don't think so," Charlotte said. "I offered my apology, she said thanks but she didn't really say if she accepted my apology or if she forgave me. I am sorry, Owen."
"That's okay. At least you told her you were sorry," Owen said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I can see how she has withdrawn from you," Charlotte said. "I told her not to let my words affect her relationship with you. She told me that you were the father of the baby and you had full rights. She didn't really say anything about your relationship."
Owen nodded, sadly. He had betrayed Cristina's trust by revealing some of her innermost secrets to his sister. Even though she said she had forgiven him, he knew it had hurt her, badly. His relationship with Cristina was now a work in progress.
When Cristina went home that evening, she found Meredith and Derek packing up her friend's personal belongings.
"So it is really happening," Cristina said. "You're moving out."
Meredith looked at her friend, apologetically. "It's okay, Meredith, you don't have to feel bad," Cristina said.
"It's just that we have always lived together," Meredith said. "All of our adult life."
"Yeah, well, we all have to grow up, some time and move on with our lives," Cristina said. "I am now forced to be grown up, now, because of this little one." She touched her stomach.
"About that," Meredith said. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. I will be at your beck and call."
"Thanks, Meredith," Cristina said. Derek came back into the cottage, "Meredith, I think that that was it. We can go, now."
Meredith ran to Cristina and gave her a tight hug. "Meredith, you're just moving out. We can still see each other, every day. We have no choice; this is a small town."
When Meredith and Derek left, Cristina had to admit that it felt a little bit lonely to be by herself. She stopped herself from calling Owen. She knew if she called him, he would come, immediately. Somehow, she felt it was better this way. She had a quiet night at home, made herself some soup and went to bed, early.
Owen lay in his bed, wondering whether to call her. He didn't want to seem too pushy. He was giving her some space. If she called, he would go. He knew that. He stared at the phone but it was silent.
The next day, Owen dropped off Charlotte at the airport in Des Moines and headed straight into town. He was now a single man, living alone and now, he had to do his own grocery shopping. His mother had always taken care of shopping for the household.
He was standing in front of the meat section, when he heard Meredith's voice. He turned around, immediately. If Meredith was there, then surely Cristina would not be too far behind. After all, they lived together and would probably do their grocery shopping together. But Meredith was not chatting with Cristina. She was with Derek.
"Hey, Meredith," Owen said. "Is Cristina with you?"
"No," Meredith said. "We're just shopping for ourselves. I moved in to Derek's yesterday and found out that his cupboards are bare."
"Come on, I was a single man, living alone for many years," Derek protested. "I never had need for much stuff, given that I could just grab a meal in the diner, whenever I am working late. It's only because you moved in, we're here shopping."
"You moved in with Derek?" Owen asked, surprised. Cristina had not told him anything about this. With Meredith living with the sheriff, that meant Cristina was living by herself. It was a situation that he did not like.
"Yes," Meredith confirmed.
"Thanks for telling me," he said. He needed to speak to the mother of his child. He finished off his grocery shopping and decided to give Cristina a visit. He knocked on her office door.
"Come in," he heard her say.
He pushed open the door, as she looked up. "Oh, hi, Owen," she said. "What are you doing in town?"
"Doing some grocery shopping," he said. "Mom went off on her honeymoon cruise and Charlotte went back to her job, so I am living alone at the farm and I have to do all of the household shopping, now."
"Ah, yes," she said. "You're living the life of a bachelor." Owen felt that this was the perfect moment for Cristina to share the fact that she, too, was living alone in the cottage. But she chose not to reveal this. He wondered why.
"I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner, tonight," he said, hopefully. "I have all of these groceries, now and it's hard to cook for one person."
Cristina hesitated a bit, before she answered. She really didn't have plans. It wasn't like she could go out anywhere in a town like this, and with Meredith gone, it was just going to be her eating a frozen food dinner for one.
"Um, okay," she said. It would be nice to go out to the farm for a change of scenery, she thought, instead of being her little cottage, all alone.
"Wonderful," he said. "I will pick you up at 6.30 p.m."
"Okay," she said. "Thanks for inviting me."
"No problem," he said. "I will see you, later."
Promptly at 6.30 p.m., he showed up at the cottage. She had a little trouble getting into the truck because of her stomach, so he helped her up. He made a note to himself to pick up her up in a different vehicle, the next time.
As he got in, he noticed that it was a new outfit. "New dress, huh? You look lovely," he said.
"Thanks," she said. "I started ordering some maternity clothes from the catalogs for myself. I wanted some stylish clothes. I didn't want to look like a fat frump."
"Is Meredith at home?" Owen asked. He was giving her the opportunity to tell him that she lived alone. She neatly skirted around the question by responding, "No, Meredith is at the sheriff's house." He noted that she still was not willing to admit the change in her living circumstances.
"Is she staying over there for the night?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered. She was telling him the absolute truth, she thought. It was true that Meredith was at the sheriff's house and she was staying the night. She was not guilty of lying, just of omission.
It was a quiet drive to the farm. Several times, Owen glanced over at Cristina. She was staring out of the window, her hands resting on her stomach. When they say that pregnant women had a pregnancy glow, they were right. Her skin looked luminous and her dark hair looked even shinier and curlier. She noticed him watching her.
"What?" she said, feeling a little self-conscious.
"You just look beautiful," he said, with a smile.
"Thank you for that. I don't feel beautiful, these days," she said. "Just feel bloated and fat."
"No, you're beautiful and nobody can tell you any different," he said. She smiled back at him.
When they got to the farm, he helped her out of the truck and held her hand, as they walked to the front porch. She stopped to pet Owen's golden retriever. "Hey, boy, how have you been?" she said. "I haven't seen you in a while." The dog licked her hand.
As they got into the house, she said, "I better go wash my hands."
"Yeah, just meet in the dining room," he said. When she returned from the bathroom and entered the dining room, she was taken aback by how pretty it was. He had put up flowers so the room smelled freshly fragrant and in the middle of the dining room was a cozy, candlelit table.
"You removed the big table and put this in for us," she said.
"Yes," he replied. "That big table was too large for just the two of us. I just wanted a smaller table, so we could be closer together." He pulled out the chair for her and she gratefully sat down. "You know I have never been so thankful for seats, since I got pregnant." She looked at the food. "Wow, Owen, you did this by yourself. It's almost like your mom did this." He had prepared chicken cordon bleu, asparagus spears and rice pilaf with an appetizer of potato leek soup.
"Yes," he said. "I hope you enjoy it."
"I certainly will," she said. "All I had yesterday was some soup that I got from a can."
"You can always come here to break bread with me," he said.
"Thanks," Cristina said, as she savored the potato leek soup. They spent the next hour, consuming everything and chatting in between, though in reality, it was more about the consuming.
After dinner, they sat in the living room and Owen offered to make some tea before he took her home. When he came back with the two cups of tea, he found her fast asleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful. He pondered whether to wake her up but in the end, he decided to take her up to one of the guest rooms. As he placed her on the bed, he removed her shoes and tucked her under the covers. He put one of his t-shirts in the room, in case she got up in the middle of the night and wanted to change out of her dress. He also put a new toothbrush in the bathroom for her use. He took one final look at her, before he went downstairs to tidy up and then retire for the night.
He brushed his teeth and then lay back in his bed, thinking about the woman in the room next door to him. She was so close and yet, so far. He wanted her so badly but he knew he could not touch her. He fell asleep and started having wild, erotic dreams about the dark haired woman that he loved. He was so into it that he thought he was still dreaming, when he first heard the knock on his door.
But then he heard the knock a second and a third time. He shook himself from sleep and groggily walked to the door. He opened the door and there stood Cristina, dressed in his old t-shirt.
"Cristina, do you need….?" he started. But he could not finish his sentence, as she launched herself against himself, grabbing his face between her small hands and claiming his lips with her own. He responded immediately, kissing her back with a fierceness that matched her own. He was drunk with the taste of her mouth on him. Her kisses had that intoxicating effect on him. She pushed him towards the bed, as she stripped off her t-shirt to reveal a nude body underneath it. He gasped at the sight of her, as he felt the roundness of her stomach. He had already been hard from his sexual dreams but the thought of her carrying his child, stiffened him even further.
She pulled off his pajama pants and was gratified to see that he was already fully erect. It turned her on, even more, as she positioned herself on him, lowering her body on to him and allowing him to enter her, encircling him with her warm, slippery wetness.
He held on to her hips as she worked herself on top of him. It was fast, frenzied and wild, as she pounded her body against him, pushing his cock deeper inside of her. He could see the sweat dripping between her breasts and falling against his chest. Usually, it was her, who screamed when she came but this time, it was him. It was perhaps the sweetest release, as he exploded his seed inside of her.
She rested against him, her head on his chest with his member still inside of her. He wrapped his arms around her, as she lay there. He kissed the top of her head. For a while, neither of them said anything.
He was surprised that she would come to him like this, especially since she had withdrawn from him.
"Cristina, what's going on here?" he asked, a little apprehensive to find out her answer.
A/N: Please leave your comments. Thanks for the reviews.