Chapter eleven

Ana POV

"Hi, honey, how was your day?" Christian poked his head through the door. I was in the library reading the newspaper. His eyes nodded appreciatively; I was wearing a gorgeous evening wear dress that Mrs. Jones had helped me select from the master closet. The dress was a soft pink, the sleeves were long and laced, and it fell right below the knee. She said it hugged my figure in all the right places. My heart leaped with joy; I had waited all day for him to come home so that I could wear the dress for him and now he was here.

"You look gorgeous."

He pecked my lips lightly, leaving me drunk with his nearness. I welcomed the gesture, it made me feel like ours was a regular marriage.

"It was good," I said with a smile, putting the paper aside. Being able to read every section from cover to cover had given me great pleasure. Back home, I read at least one section every day. I went to great lengths to be informed even if I had to dig them out of trashcans or follow people around until they were ready to toss it. I tried not to miss a single issue; this was an important daily ritual for me. Somehow, being informed of the world's events helped me in tough times. Even though there was often misery around me, it helped to look beyond my current circumstances and look at the bigger picture. No matter what was going on around me, I was not worthless, I was a human being, a citizen of the world.

I gazed at this beautiful man, my husband. I still couldn't believe how fate had brought us together. What if I'd never seen the ad in our local newspaper? Me answering that ad had been the fork in the road that changed my life forever in ways I could have never imagined.

"Mrs. Jones kindly sent someone to get the newspaper for me. I also spent the day cooking with her. She's so kind...we had a good day, we made clam chowder soup and lasagna for dinner," I said with a smile and he nodded. I was looking forward to us having dinner together. I couldn't wait to see his reaction as this was one of his favorite dishes. "How was your day?"

….

Christian POV

The day dragged and it seemed like I had accomplished little all day. I hadn't even been able to locate Ana's family. I sighed plopping down in the armchair next to hers. Something in my expression betrayed my frustration.

"Is everything alright?"

"It was a long day," I said. I had just gotten off the phone with Elena. She'd tried sweet-talking me but I didn't let her get a word in edgewise; I told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't welcome in my home anymore unless I saw evidence that she'd changed her tune. But of course, there was no need for me to share any of this. "I saw my father a few minutes ago. He's doing a lot better."

"I know," Ana smiled brightly. "Today I read an entire book of the bible to him and he listened without falling asleep!"

We locked eyes, and for a moment I couldn't think of anything but how gorgeous her eyes were. I was happy; I was home with the most stunning woman I'd ever met (both inside and out) and dad was hopefully on the mend. I was holding out for a miracle, but I didn't dare say it out loud lest I jinx it.

"I feel like celebrating," I told her. "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

Her smile faded a little. "Oh. I think your father wants us to have dinner with him again, last night he really enjoyed it."

"Of course," I said, thinking that was really kind of her to think of him. I was being selfish, I know, but I longed to spend time alone with her. I stared into her eyes and she blushed, I felt as if I had to drink her in to sustain me for the next time we were apart.

Later

It was a warm night with only a gentle breeze. We had a nice three-course dinner out in the balcony with my father sitting at the table with us which sort of normalized his condition. The nurse was constantly nearby fussing with his IV but Ana didn't seem to mind the intrusion at all.

"This is delicious," I said, taking the first bite of my lasagna. It was just how I liked it, but better.

"I followed Mrs. Jones' recipe, and I added an secret ingredient of my own," she said with a tiny wink.

I was flattered that she'd cooked for me and went to all the trouble. I winked back at her and she blushed under my intense gaze.

Ana's appetite improved dramatically, she ate more than half the food on her plate. When I commented on it, she looked at me hopefully. She was hoping she wouldn't need to visit the doctor. I told her in no uncertain terms that she had an appointment tomorrow morning with the female doctor I hired. I reassured her. Dr. Greene was an outstanding doctor, she had two medical degrees; her specialties were internal medicine and obstetrics. From our zoom meeting earlier in the day, she seemed warm, caring, and had an excellent bedside manner.

Dad got really tired after the third course was served and the nurse had to take him back to bed. He was sad to go and held out his hand to Ana. She squeezed his hand lovingly in response. Her genuine kindness touched me deeply.

"Tell me more about you," Ana said as I reached for a glass of red wine. "How were you as a little boy?"

"I hope Gail didn't fill your head with embarrassing stories about me."

Ana smiled sweetly.

"Well, what can I say? I was a bit of a handful, you know. I got into trouble more than once but Gail always saved me before dad found out, " I smiled at the memories. Ana seemed to be hanging onto my every word which encouraged me to keep going. "I was into conducting what I called scientific experiments which nearly always turned bad," I chuckled and drained my glass. "Anyway... I had too much energy and not enough activities to keep me occupied. My behavior didn't get any better as I got to be a teenager. I hated dad's rules, things had to be done his way and his way only. I started drinking, skipping school, and hanging out with the wrong crowd. I got expelled from school, dad threatened with military school." I hesitated, thinking of Elena but I didn't want to bring up her name in this conversation. "A friend suggested all I needed was some hard labor to rein me in. I did yard work every day for a couple of years."

Ana raised her brows. I knew what she was thinking. My upbringing had been so drastically different from hers. "And did it work?"

"It did. I dropped my friends and started doing well in school."

"I hope you got new friends?"

"Not really, I've never had a lot of friends by choice. I found most kids my age stupid and incredibly boring. I had nothing in common with them."

"You must have been so lonely," she paused regarding me with compassion. "You were in this huge house by yourself?"

"I was fine," I said. I didn't want her pity.

"Still, it must have been hard growing up without a mother or siblings."

I shrugged. "Overall, I had a happy childhood. No major traumas except for my mother never coming home after giving birth to my sister."

"That must have been horrible for you, "Ana's expression turned from sympathetic to curious. "How old were you exactly when you were adopted? "

"I had just turned four."

"Do you remember your birth mother? What about your father?"

"I only have a few memories of my birth mother. My father's name was not even listed on my birth certificate. She'd died at the hospital from a drug overdose. I rode in the ambulance along with her. Grace was the attending physician at the time, I clung to her side and she took me under her wings. She was literally my savior. I became very attached to her, didn't want to leave her side. She always had to reassure me that she would be back whenever she left the house," I told her, my voice breaking a little. Even after all this time, the memory still had the power to affect me.

Ana covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how you felt when she never returned," she shook her head, sadly.

"It was," I said. It suddenly struck me that I would be devastated if Ana ever abandoned me like the other two women in my life. It was a startling discovery. I shook my head to get rid of such thoughts. The last thing I needed right now was to go down a gloomy path.

"Enough about me, how about you?" I prompted her. I was showing interest in her as an individual. While I waited for my bride's visa to get approved, I did my homework. I skimmed through a couple of books on relationships, hoping to gain some insight. One of them, The man's guide to women, had practical suggestions for conquering a woman's heart. If there was one thing I knew for sure was that Spanish speaking girls like her wanted to be courted the old fashioned way with hearts, flowers, and serenatas. I was prepared to romance Anastasia with a band of mariachis if I had to, anything to win her over beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Tell me about your high school graduation?" I asked her casually. The next question erupted rather suddenly from the dark corners of my mind, and it popped right out before she had the chance to answer the first question. "Who was the lucky bastard that danced with you at your high school prom?"

Ana looked at me with a sad expression and I furrowed my brow. I didn't know what made me ask such a question. It was morbid, I know, but I wanted her to tell me more about HIM, the lowlife that had gotten her pregnant. I wanted her to tell me details about him, about their life together.

I couldn't help it; it was like passing by a fatal car wreck, you don't want to look, you know it's gonna be gruesome and heart-wrenching, and yet you're glued to the scene, unable to peel your eyes away.

Call me selfish if you want, but more than anything I wanted Anastasia to love me for me. I wanted her, ALL of her.

I wanted her body, her mind, and soul, nothing less than that would satisfy me. No sloppy seconds for me. No matter how long it took, I was willing to wait until I got the complete package deal.

"I didn't have a prom," she told me. It wasn't until later that I realized how sensitive the question was and it had nothing to do with her ex.

Ana POV

I'd seen movies like Grease and Back to the Future where the prom played an important role in a person's life. But this was an American tradition that didn't apply to other countries like mine. Sure, I'd been to a couple of dances at school organized by one of my teachers but it only included students from my same class.

"We didn't have a prom."

"No school dances? Not even at your high school graduation?"

I hung my head in shame. "I never graduated from high school," I said and Christian's eyes widened.

I hated the idea of him thinking less of me but I figured I better be honest. It was bound to come up again sooner or later. "My final year of high school was difficult. I had to miss school. I was babysitting my neighbor's kids and staying home with mom," I mumbled. This was only partly true. The real reason I couldn't finish school was that it wasn't safe. There were a few perverts in our neighborhood and I avoided going out alone. One of them kept stalking me and I was afraid it was a matter of time before he dragged me onto a bush and raped me. That was the year Jose and I got together. When he learned about the one pervert that was harassing me, he convinced me to wait until the following year to try to take the final exams I missed, he said he would take care of me. Except that, as it turned out, what he made was barely enough to sustain us, let alone my mother and sister.

"If you only need a class or two, you can enroll in a program and get your diploma," he said like it was no big deal which surprised me.

"I wanted to go back to school and get my diploma at the same school that had my records but life got complicated after that especially because we didn't have stability. Later, I had trouble finding work as no one wanted to hire someone without a high school diploma," I told him, carefully avoiding bringing up Jose into this conversation. Judging by his reaction regarding me talking to Jose on the phone, I had every reason to suspect any passing comment I made regarding Jose would be blown out of proportion.

"Still, you got hired at the bakery?" Christian prompted with a slight tilt of his head. So he'd been paying attention, I realized.

I nodded and once again lowered my head in shame at what I had to do to get that job.

In an act of desperation, Jose helped me make a fake document. We made a perfect copy of his high school diploma, erased his name and then substituted mine. Then we made another copy. My employer never found out.

I met his gaze briefly. I wondered what Christian would say if he knew I'd committed fraud. After a moment, I stood to stand against the balcony rail, gazing out thoughtfully toward the dark horizon. Far above the moon sailed high, pouring its light over the city.

The next thing I knew, the sound of music filled the air. I assumed it was coming from his digital device.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful
I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight

...

Christian POV

I went to close the balcony door and drew the curtains for privacy. When I turned around, Ana was facing me, smiling softly.

"May I have this dance?"

She was in my arms before I could even finish my request. We slow danced under the stars, gazing into each other's eyes. I traced the outline of her lips with my index finger and she stood on her tippy toes to wrap her arms around my neck. I lowered my head until my lips almost touched hers and lingered there for the longest time. And then I kissed her.

Ana POV

The moment his lips touched mine, I became completely caught up in the sensations this kiss was creating, tingles spreading throughout my entire body. I lost all sense of rational thought and clung to him like a life raft, tangling my hands in his hair. As the kiss deepened, I couldn't get enough of him, which is why it came to such a shock when he tore his lips away from mine, having no clue at what I've done to deserve such cruel and unusual punishment.

Christian POV

I lifted my head and held Ana at arm's length. "I'm afraid my love, we're going to need to sleep in separate rooms tonight," I said, surprising her. Again, the last thing I wanted was for her to sleep with me while longing for someone else. I had to be certain, ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN it was me she wanted and not HIM.

NOTE:

In this story, Christian was never abused in the same way as in the books, the most he suffered was mild neglect. I figured him losing both of his mothers is tragic enough.

Thanks to ( Nani?) for recommending this story on FB.

I created a new FB account: Camelitajones (capital C, lowercase j)

Happy Thanksgiving!