Chapter 16
…
As soon as they got home from Rhode Island on Sunday night, Monday morning had Olivia flying to DC for a week-long conference, and it was just Peter and Noah at home until Friday. Now on Thursday night, she was finishing up a call with Peter and Noah before she had to go to a dinner at which she was speaking.
"...can I stay home from school tomorrow?"
"No, you may not," Olivia grinned.
"That's what Daddy said," Noah grimaced, then perked up again. "...we can make it a party since you're coming home…"
"I've only been gone for four days, and tomorrow's the weekend, you'll have two whole days…"
Noah gave up at this point, realizing that he had nothing. "Okayyyyyy," he sang, rolling his eyes playfully. "I love you mommy."
"I love you too, sweet boy, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight." Olivia said to her son, then sweetly blew him a kiss just as Peter came on the facetime with his head turned to Noah.
"Okay little man, brush your teeth, I'll be up in a minute,"
"Okay...night mommy!" Noah waved as he ran upstairs.
They waited until he was gone before Olivia spoke to Peter in a low voice so that Noah wouldn't hear in case he was at the top of the stairs listening.
"Still doesn't feel real that we're gonna have two of them soon."
"Twice the joy…"
"Twice the seven-year-old trying to get out of school," she laughed.
"I don't know, he's pretty good with debates,"
"Leave it to a lawyer to appreciate that," She said as she grabbed a tissue to dab at the corners of her eyes. "Damn these hormones…"
"You gonna be okay?
"I am, I just can't control these tears… I'm gonna have to redo my makeup," she said, trying to calm herself. "I can't wait to see the two of you tomorrow."
"Miss us?"
"Like crazy. I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant…" Peter smiled when she said this, the realization of this baby hit her again and she was back in tears. "...okay, I've need to stop, I'm gonna be all puffy at dinner,"
"...and I have to get Noah to bed. If I know him, he's got a command fleet in the sink already," he said and they laughed. "...alright, I love you, and our mini,"
"We love you too. Will you dream about me tonight?"
"I dream about you every night, even when you're right beside me."
Olivia smiled, kissing her hand and put it to the screen where he did the same, saying goodnight to his wife and their baby before he exited the call.
Minutes later, Noah was climbing into his top bunk with Peter there to tuck him in.
"Dad?"
"What's up?"
"Am I adopted yet?" He asked, still on the ladder to the top bunk.
Peter gave a light laugh. He loved that Noah was so innocent. "Not yet, bud. When it happens, we'll go to the courthouse, maybe to the judge's chambers. Then, she'll ask us a few questions and sign some papers to make it official."
"...and then you'll be my dad?"
"I will...excited?" he said as he pulled back the covers and Noah climbed in.
"Yeah, I especially can't wait to have your last name."
"Neither can I, we just have a little more red tape to get through…"
"What's red tape?" Noah asked as he settled down beneath the comforter, and Peter pulled the covers up around him.
"...another way to say, rules."
"Is it a lot of red tapes?"
"Red tape, and not too much."
"Daddy, Lucy says I'm lucky."
"Oh yeah, why's that?"
"Because you and mommy both chose me."
Peter smiled. "Smart girl that Lucy. Get some sleep; I'll see you in the morning." Peter said and kissed Noah's head.
"Dad, we're still going apple picking on Saturday, right?"
"You, me, and Mom..."
"Can't wait!" The child said, with a big, happy smile on his face. "Goodnight Daddy, I love you."
"I love you too, Bud." Peter said before he left the room, shutting the door except for a crack. Noah settled in quickly and was falling asleep as Peter went to his and Liv's bedroom.
Later that night…
"You sure it's okay with the wife that you're having company over when she's not here?" Kevin joked as Peter handed him a beer and sat one the couch with his own to watch the game.
"I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about. Casey is pretty sore with you still."
"Casey's being a brat"
Peter laughed. "Brat?"
"I can't say bitch…"
"Kev..."
"I said I can't say it." He said and took a drink. "Why are women so fucking impossible?"
"Not all of them, I don't have that problem,"
"But you've been there plenty of times,"
"Don't remind me… by the way, you still havent told me what's going on; what happened with you two,"
"What happened was, she wants to be number one. I mean, can you imagine her having the audacity?"
"To want to be the only one? No, can't imagine…" Peter said sarcastically as he drank from his beer bottle, then held it between his palms, rolling it back and forth. "You like Casey..."
"So…?"
"So, what's the problem in testing things out? If she wants you to change..."
"...and now you!"
"Me, what?"
"Me, what?" Kevin puppeted back to Peter in a goofy voice. "Marriage. Marriage changed Malik and now it's changing you too. I've gotta get new, single friends."
Peter laughed. "Isn't that the point, learning to see both sides?"
"Not when you've been upfront about who you are from the jump, and I have. P, you know me, I'm never dishonest... and don't get me wrong, I don't fault you guys for pursuing what makes you happy, but, I can't be that man. One woman just doesn't do it for me, and if I'm being totally honest, I don't know if it ever will."
"...and Casey can't understand that..." Peter didn't want to understand, but it was too clear not to as he slumped back amongst the couch cushions. "So what are you gonna do?"
Kevin sighed heavily and swirled his beer in the bottle as he sat silent for a moment. "What else can I do? It's too late in the game for her to ask me to change," And he took a drink from the bottle.
Just after midnight as Kevin left, he was in the elevator going down to the lobby when he decided that right now was the time to call Casey.
"I mean, I might as well get it over with," he said as he took his phone from his pocket and began dialing. The call connected and Casey answered on the third ring, just as the elevator reached the lobby and the doors opened.
"You do know it's after midnight…" Casey said with an attitude as she held the phone to her ear while lying in the dark, half asleep. "What do you want?"
"To see you."
"Why?"
"Why?"
"I'm hanging up-"
"You're not still mad-"
"I'm hanging up."
"Come on Casey, be an adult!"
"Be an adult, are you kidding me? I've been nothing but an adult to let things go this long but I can't do it anymore, Kevin. So you're either calling me in the middle of the night to say you want us, or your calling to say you'd rather fuck everyone but me. What's it gonna be?"
After a long pause, "Yeah, I'm here." He said, "...and you're right, this isn't fair." He said, knowing that it was time to tell her. Damn, this would be hard! "Can I see you? We have to talk."
When he headed her way, he intended for them to talk but Casey had other plans. She quickly took a shower and put on the most scandalous lingerie she had.
She looked herself over in her full-length mirror. They hadn't really had much to do with one another since the reception with they exception of her giving him bad looks whenever she saw him, but Casey knew that she wanted this; maybe more than she had a right to. He'd been upfront with her about where he stood, and she thought she could be alright with it, and she was, at first. Casey was the first to say no strings attached. She liked playing the field and she liked the option of being free, but after a few months she began wanting more- more of Kevin's time, more of his attention and the sex couldn't hurt either. She wasn't one of those women who would sell her soul for a man; she hated those women, but she suddenly found herself in love with Kevin. And if he wanted to let her go, she'd change his mind. Any way necessary.
What was she thinking? She didn't know as she grabbed a couple of the condoms from her nightstand drawer and proceeded to poke a few holes in them before throwing them back in the drawer and mixing them in with the un-poked ones.
"What are you doing? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?...HELLOOO…" Her inner self screamed at her as she mixed the condoms, but she politely told that inner voice to fuck off.
Besides, maybe they wouldn't even use the altered ones. There was a two-in-eleven chance that they would and that was good enough for her!
When Kevin finally arrived, he was completely thrown off of why he'd come in the first place after seeing her in that lingerie.
"Jesus, Casey!" He exclaimed as he looked her up and down. He couldn't help touching and squeezing. His mother warned him about these white women!
Ultimately, he tried to talk to her, but Casey had other plans. Plans that she was thrilled to find relied solely on her stash of condoms since he had none on him. Admittedly, he was wrong to even go there with her; he came to break things with her, but that night they fucked each others brains out every way imaginable and ended up using three of the condoms in her drawer.
Including the two that she'd poked holes in.
The next morning however, she opened her eyes and though Kevin had left around six, something about having to fly to London… she was so satiated that she decided to get more sleep. She loved waking up and her body letting her know that she'd been fucked good.
She smiled a moment, thinking of all the things they did last night, sniffing the sheets that still smelled like him and it made her horny all over again as she reached between her thighs and touched her sex. Holy God she was sore, but all in a good way. The first and second condoms didn't break, but the third one did; it stood no chance. She guessed that was the one she poked several times, whereas the other was only once. His semen was still making its way to her womb, she thought as she slipped a finger inside her and it came out coated in him. Suddenly, she had the life scared out of her.
"YOU DON'T WANT CHILDREN, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?" She yelled as she jumped out of bed. This was a bad idea! What was she going to actually do with the kid if it came? God, she loved Noah to death, but she could give him back to his mother. If this kid came, she would BE the mother!
"Hell no no no no no!" She said as she grabbed sweats, fuck underwear. Grabbed her keys and debit card and literally ran to the drugstore for some Plan B, buying a couple just in case. She couldn't even wait till she got home to take the first one, she was ripping the package open as soon as the cashier handed them to her with the Evian she bought!
…
Having just come out of a meeting. Peter hadn't been back in his office for thirty seconds when his cell phone rang.
"Why do you insist on putting me in the middle of this?" He answered when he saw who it was.
"So I went to her apartment last night, "Kevin said as he lay in bed on his plane, totally ignoring Peter's desire to not be involved. "I was determined that I'd talk to her and let her know that it was over ...thank you, Wendell." He said to his male secretary. When his secretary left and shut the door. Kevin resumed his phone call.
"And did you?"
"Not exactly… we sorta... we sorta had sex,"
Peter took a second and pinched his nose as he closed his eyes. "What happened to the guy who was sure that he wanted to end things?"
"I still do. I went over there with every intention of doing just that...then she answered the door in this latex-"
"...too much info!"
"I say all that to say this… I think your wife's friend is crazy. I'm telling you, she knew that I came to tell her goodbye, and that's why she opened the door in the middle of the night wearing that- damn I'm gettin hard just thinking about it!"
"Okay...I think that's enough. I'm leaving early and have a lot of work to do before I meet Liv at home. How about we talk later?"
"Look at me, hogging your time and you got your own pussy to get! Alright man, I'm gonna get some sleep before we land, "
"...and serious help" he laughed and hung up. "When it goes down, you know nothing, Peter!" He said to himself as he started to go over the paperwork in front of him.
…
Olivia, after one final conference, was finally able to board her flight home and she couldn't have been happier. Unfortunately, a mess evolved at Peter's office that now had him stuck there for longer than he'd expected. He had to call Olivia to tell her he'd be late, just as she was getting in a taxi from JFK.
Twelve-fifty, Olivia got off the elevator to the apartment, her suitcase and tote rolling behind her while she was on her phone.
"...I can't wait to see you and Peter tomorrow night," Melinda said.
"Can we bring anything?"
"Just yourselves...and I gotta go. Welcome back." Melinda said before hanging up. Olivia put her phone in her purse as she stopped in front of the door to get her keys out.
Peter finally got home almost an hour later, immediately calling out to Olivia as he came in the door. They had just over an hour before Noah needed to be picked up from school. They could do a lot within an hour. With no answer, he took off his suit jacket and tossed it on the hallway settee, along with his briefcase before he headed upstairs.
Liv reached and turned off the shower, before she gathered her long hair and squeezed the water out, then gave a contented sigh as she emerged from the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. Hopefully, Peter would be here soon, she thought as she dried her hair with a second towel. That's another thing this pregnancy did to her besides crying at the most inopportune moments; she was constantly horny! She didn't know how long this would last, she imagined as she got heavier and the baby grew bigger, she would lose interest...at least she hoped she wouldn't.
"Baby, I didn't hear you come in," she smiled as she stepped into the bedroom and he was coming in the door. She could feel herself becoming wet down there.
"You look content," he said as he walked in, and she did. She looked so unbelievably fresh and relaxed.
"That's because I've waited all week for that shower and I finally got it," she smiled, quietly pleased with herself. Did he look this good when I left?
"Oh yeah?" He smiled as he hooked a finger under the towel she wore, pulling her to him. The towel came open and fell to the floor as she dropped the towel in her hands, leaving her in nothing but her beautiful skin.
"You're so beautiful." He said as he reached out to touch her, letting his hand palm over her little belly as he kissed her. She smiled, revelling in his kiss, she had missed his touch so much in the five days she'd been gone. His kiss trailed from her lips to her neck as she put her arms around him and he backed her to their bed.
…
Saturday, just like they promised, they drove out to Long Island for apple picking.
"So, two years in a row, huh?" Mr. Owens, the owner of the orchard asked Olivia, who was lost.
"Two years…?"
"The guy," he said referring to Peter. "This is the second year you've bought him around. Gettin serious?"
"Actually…" she started as Peter came over. He blushed as Olivia caressed his face, and he kissed her hand. "We had an impromptu wedding over the summer, just us and Noah."
"You don't say?" The old man was overjoyed at the news. "Congratulations!" Then he turned to Peter, "I hope you're good to her and Noah, they deserve it."
By the time they were ready to leave, Noah had a pretty large basket full that Peter carried to their suv and loaded while Olivia was talking to the old owner of the orchard and Noah ran over.
"Thanks Mr. Owens " Noah said to the man with a hug. "See you in October!"
Mr. Owens also owned the pumpkin patch where Noah had been picking his Halloween pumpkins since he turned one.
"Afraid not," Owens said. I'm moving to Arizona next month."
"What about the apples and pumpkins?" Noah asked, feeling suddenly down as he hugged Olivia's waist and put his head against her stomach.
"Afraid I'll be gone in a month. The winters are getting longer and I can't keep up like I used to. It's taking me a bit longer to sell the house though."
"Can we go see it?"
"Noah, sweetie, we aren't looking for a house," Olivia said as she put her arms on his shoulders and hugged him against her, but this just fueled Noah.
"Can't we just look at it, please?" He turned and begged, looking between her and Peter for a yes.
"It couldn't hurt," Peter shrugged to Olivia with a half smile. Both he and Noah waited anxiously, Noah's hands folded in supplication.
Olivia stared at them both, and noticed that even Mr. Owens was now caught up in all of this, waiting with baited breath.
"Alright, we'll have a look." She said reluctantly as the men and Noah cheered.
They went right out. Mr. Owens had workers to watch the orchard while he drove out to Moriches, about seven miles away. Peter and Olivia followed him in their suv and when they pulled up to the place not long after, Mr. Owens got out of his truck as they got out of their svu and Olivia was overtaken. How could she already love this place? They had been here less than thirty seconds.
They noticed a 'For Sale by Owner' sign out front, right before they saw the old barn that was used as a garage. Peter squeezed Olivia's hand as they looked at each other, impressed with what they saw so far. The property was aged, but it had such a big personality.
"Whoa!" Noah said, smiling. He was excited by the barn as he'd never seen one up close. "Mom, look, a real barn!"
"So I see," Olivia said as Noah ran towards it. "Noah, you know the rules…"
"I won't touch anything, promise!"
"We can trust him," Peter said to her as he kissed her temple.
"Here it is, it's not much," Mr. Owens said as he got out the keys and went to the front door, unlocking it. The property could use some work, everywhere, but the personality of this place was incredible.
It was charming, it really was. An old farmhouse, small but beautiful, and so many windows! The whole house, from what Olivia could see, was very country-esque, including the horse-themed living room/dining room with a huge fireplace, and the little office that sat immediately off it. There was a doorway with a little hall that held the staircase, with a doorway to the kitchen immediately opposite. Under the stairs was a door that led to a small, finished basement that included a laundry room. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms. The mid-sized master had an en suite, (both decorated in cows) the bedroom also had a beautiful fireplace on the wall. There was a cute little bathroom at the top of the stairs that was decorated in pastels and sheep. Suddenly, they heard frantic footsteps on the stairs and Noah appeared all out of breath and talking fast.
"There's a lake and a tree swing, and lots of big trees and daddy you can build me a treehouse in the tree right outside the back door, and…"
"Hey," Peter laughed, "slow down. Remember? We're just looking,"
Noah let off a whimper before he walked out of the room with his shoulders slumped to check out the rest of the house while the adults finished upstairs.
After checking out the rest of the bedrooms, Mr. Owens, Peter and Olivia made it back downstairs. There was a large, homey kitchen with a breakfast nook and a little guest apartment built right off it. Just then, Mr. Owens' phone rang and he checked the screen..
"I should take this, I'll be right back... Yeah Walt?" he said as he went outside.
"I love this place," Peter quietly whispered to her. He was surprised but not shocked when she whispered back to him...
"Honestly? Me too."
"We really could build Noah's tree house out back...that tree right there," he pointed out the kitchen window to the expansive backyard. "You could come out here once you have the baby, recover in peace and quiet…" he said as he wrapped her in his arms from behind.
"Don't use our kids to persuade me, mister." She smiled.
"I'm not, I promise… you feeling okay?" he added when he noticed her rubbing her stomach and he placed his hand on hers.
"I'm fine, I'm just a little nauseous. Stop worrying," She said as she turned her head to kiss him.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that you already bought a house this summer,"
"Yes," Peter said, "but that was a small investment. This, would be for our family to grow,"
Just then Noah came in from the living room as Mr. Owens came in from outside.
"There you are," Peter said to Noah as he tousled his curls. "Mr. Owens, thank you for letting us see the place,"
"My pleasure. Don't get too many views on it, I guess since I'm not using a realtor."
"I'm gonna say goodbye to the tree.'' Noah said. He took a few steps towards the kitchen door, "...where my house would've been," he took the last few steps and put his hand on the doorknob, turning his head to look back at the adults before sighing pitifully.
Olivia turned and buried her face in Peter's shoulder, the urge to laugh had her in tears and she didn't want to bust out in front of Noah.
"Stay close," Peter said, rubbing Olivia's back in an attempt to stifle the laughter. She was so glad when Noah finally went out the door. "You okay, hon?"
"I'm fine," she said, in a voice that was dripping with laughter as she dried her eyes from the tears. Grinning himself, Peter kissed her head then turned to Mr. Owens.
"If we were interested, how much are you asking?" Peter inquired. He wasn't sure that they were going to buy, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? The latter part was what he said to Olivia when the laughter suddenly left her and she turned, boring into him with her eyes.
"Well," Mr. Owens turned to the counter and took a two stapled papers from the stack that sat there. "This is a list of things that need repair and or fixing around the place, inside and out. I did a walk through so the list is pretty thorough," he said, handing them each a copy.
Peter was busy looking through the list, and was surprised at some of the more complicated jobs, especially… "Oh wow,"
"Yeah, it is a pretty thorough list. As you can see, between my age and cost, I just haven't been able to keep up with the old place. Anyway, why don't you look it over and if you're still interested, make me an offer."
"Will do. Thank you sir." Peter said as the two of them shook hands.
Just then, Noah reentered the house. "I guess we should go if we're not gonna get it!" He said, looking so sad and pitiful as he hung his head. "I'll be in the car…" he sighed and turned to go. He was really milking this.
"Hold on, Noah…" Olivia said. "I'll see you in the car," she told Peter, then thanked Mr. Owens as she went and joined Noah.
On the way back to the city, Noah was fast asleep, having worn himself out while Liv read the list that Mr. Owens had given them as Peter drove.
"So, what do you think?" Peter asked, while keeping his eyes on the road.
Without taking her eyes from the papers in front of her, "About the property? It's beautiful but…"
"But…"
That's when she stopped reading and turned to face him. "You're gonna pretend that you didn't see this list? The broken fence, plumbing that needs replacing, a basement that needs resealing, the roof…"
"All fixable,"
"And not cheap! Plus, that doesn't even cover half of what's on this list. Four pages..."
"It's not like we're hurting for money,"
"But it's a huge investment,"
"I saw those beautiful eyes when you looked at it. From the moment we pulled up to the place, you were smitten," She couldn't argue there. Something about the place struck her. "...admit it, you fell in love."
"Fine, I did-"
"And so did I," he said as he stole a look at her.
"What are we doing?"
"Thinking about our future; about our kids' futures," he said as he reached to hold her hand. "You know what it's like growing up in the city, didn't you ever want fresh air and trees?"
"Sometimes…"
"I always did. I guess that's why my granddad's cabin was always so special to me. You see the way Noah lights up when he's there."
She fought the corners of her mouth as they tried to break onto a smile. The smile won. She did love the house, she'd already told him that, but still she couldn't help but think about how much this would all cost. Even if they could afford it. Hell, she didn't have nearly as much money as Peter did but between the insurance money she had gotten when her mom died, and smart investments plus the sale of her apartment, she was good to buy it on her own.
"Imagine having that full time if he wanted. You heard him, he already picked out the spot for his treehouse,"
"Do we really want to take on such an expense? Now? With the…"
"She'll have her first moments there. Learning to walk with her feet in the grass. You could have the garden you've always wanted…"
When those words passed his lips, it shocked Olivia. They were on their first date, playing a game of "in a perfect world' and she mentioned that perhaps one day, she'd like to have a garden to tend.
"...and not an apartment garden; no, I wanna get on my knees in the dirt…"
Now she simply couldn't believe that he had actually taken her seriously. She looked at him with wonder.
"What?" He asked her, "I listen."
He does. She thought as he turned his eyes back to the road. "He really does. He listens,and he loves you like crazy...you love him madly!" She smiled as tears came to her eyes. "So how did you almost let this go completely to hell, Olivia?"
TBC...