Chapter Five
Same Day
"Honey, where are we going," Nicole inquired as she suspiciously stared at their surroundings from the back seat of the car which had just turned onto the bridge crossing the Salem river, in the opposite direction of the downtown area where their apartment was located. "I thought I heard you telling Dave to bring us home."
"I did," EJ responded flatly as he kept his attention focused on reviewing the employment contract Nicole had just signed for Countess Wilhelmina. "We just need to make a quick pitstop."
"Well, it better be quick," Nicole informed him, nuzzling up to his side. "You know, now that I an official spokesmodel, I have a huge responsibility to the company, you know. I need to promote the products and convince the entire public that there is no need to look elsewhere. Countess Wilhelmina has a top of the line product to fit their every need."
"That's right, darling," EJ replied, still peering at the contract through his black, thick-rimmed glasses, reminiscent of those worn by Buddy Holly. "That's exactly the passage I was just reading."
"And, in order to do so, I need to actively use the products on a daily basis, wouldn't you agree?"
"Absolutely."
"Good," she leaned in close and began to slide her hand up his thigh, her lips brushed his ear as she finished the rest of the sentence in a seductive whisper, "cuz tonight I was hoping you would help me try out that massage oil."
The contract fell from his hands onto his lap, aptly landing so it shielded his growing excitement. He finally turned his attention on her, his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose as he turned his head. "Oh, baby," he responded with a sly smile, his lips now mere fragments of an inch from hers. Their lips were just about to make contact when the car pulled to a complete stop and was put into park. Nicole frowned as EJ eagerly jumped out of the car, crudely putting an end to their near embrace. Within seconds he was outside her door, offering his hand to help her from the car. Still disoriented from the sudden interruption to their kiss, it took her a moment before she became fully aware of her surroundings. When it all finally began to register, she gasped in surprise.
"Do you know where you are," EJ asked, throwing an arm around her waist as he began to guide her in the direction of the enormous, Victorian mansion before them.
"I think so," Nicole said as the two of them walked by the rear entrance of the home and around the side to view the front of the house from the direction she was accustomed to seeing it. It was situated on the hilltop, in the part of Salem known as Salem Heights, a hilly area dotted with luxurious homes overlooking the river. She gazed up in awe at the familiar facade and smiled. "Yes, this is the one though I have to say it looks so much different than the last time I saw it. I'm actually surprised to see it still here. I thought they were tearing it down."
"Yes, well it was in a terrible state of disrepair. It was scheduled to be demolished until the historical society stepped in and attempted an effort to save it. Turns out it once belonged to one of Salem's most beloved mayors."
"Wow, so what, is this like some kind of museum now?"
"Well, not exactly. It seems the historical society regretfully could not raise enough funds to cover the cost of a restoration but, luckily, a private buyer took an interest in the home and it's history and had it completely restored to it's original glory. Apparently, his wife would just marvel over the beauty of the home whenever they would pass it by."
"She would," she replied inquisitively although she believed she already knew the rest of the story as she stared up into her husband's glimmering eyes.
"Yes. It seems she first spotted it when they were on an outing on their yacht with their little baby girl, Sydney."
Nicole's hands flew up to cover her gaping mouth as EJ reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a set of keys. He gently took one of her hands by the wrist and pulled it away from her face and placed the keys in the palm of her hand.
"I promised you we were going home, sweetheart."
"This is really ours," she asked excitedly, grabbing him around the waist as she looked up at him through her vibrant, blue eyes.
"It is, for now. Unless you decide that it's not for you."
"Are you kidding me," she demanded, bouncing up and down in place as she jingled the keys in her hand. "I can't even wait to go inside!"
"There's no need to wait darling."
Nicole squealed and ran up the steps, landing her first on the large wraparound porch, supported by elegant, carved wooden balistrades supporting each section. Toward the middle of the covered porch sat two white wicker rocking chairs, perfectly positioned for an optimal view of the river. She had once spoken of them in fantasy on one of their outings on the boat, how she imagined there had once been a happy family living there, sitting on the porch on a hot summer day, bouncing their little ones on their knees as they sat in the rockers, sipping lemonade watching the sailboats go by. She would always remember that day as one of the happiest in her life and often wondered after everything had gone sour between them for a while if he would reflect upon it the same way. Today, she got her answer. "You remembered."
"Ever since that day, whenever I saw this place, I could think of nothing but being here with you. "You so vividly brought this dream that I happened to share to life. When I would look over here, I didn't see just any family. I saw ours. You, and me, Johnny, and Sydney and more siblings of theirs to be named at a later date."
"Did those 'siblings to be named' happen to be little twin girls or boys?"
"Actually, there must have been about seven or eight more of them so it was kind of hard to keep track."
Nicole began to giggle as she swatted at him playfully. "Let's just start with two, honey."
"Two, what, darling?" He pressed his hand to her stomach gently, hoping as he did each time he touched her belly to feel the first little bit of movement. "Two sons, two daughters? One of each?"
She sighed dreamily, placing her own hand on her stomach right near his. "I don't know. I mean, I kinda have this strong feeling that at least one of them is a boy but unless their identical that doesn't mean the other one is. Besides, that kind of thing runs in the family, you know and there's none on my side at least."
"My mother is one of identical triplets, actually."
"Really," Nicole replied in complete shock. "Why didn't I know that? What else don't I know about you, mister," she teased, poking an accusing finger into the ticklish area of his side for effect.
"I don't know, I suppose with there just being so much distance between us it never got mentioned."
"You know, I still can't believe I have yet to meet your mother. You should ask her to come and visit for a while. I would think she'd like to be here when the babies are born."
"Of course she would, darling. However, right now mother and Edmund are currently on a cruise around the world. I have no idea when they're even due back home and, speaking of home sweetheart, there is still so much left to see if only we can make it through the front door."
"Yes, yes, of course," Nicole replied, shaking her head as her hands fumbled with the keys. She could hardly wait to get inside but something about their last exchange began to nag at her. For some reason, he seemed overly-anxious to move away from the subject of his mother. There wasn't enough cause for alarm however to distract her from the excitement of seeing the rest of their new home. She slid the key conveniently marked, 'front door' into the lock and turned it gently to the left, a soft click indicated the smooth release of the latch and with a slight turn of the knob, the large, soild wood front door swung open on it's brand new hinges with ease.
Everything was exactly as she pictured it to be. The door opened into a large entrance hall, the hardwood floor was an intricate parquet design created with varying types of wood selected for their contrasting shades. A grand staircase divided the entire house into two sections and provided passage to the second and third floors of the mansion on each of it's landings. Off to the right and left were two rounded parlours with large picture windows providing magnificent views of the river. The most delightful surprise was, the home was completely decorated and move-in ready.
"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. DiMera. I see you've made it home."
Nicole jumped upon hearing the voice of an unexpected third party. Making her way up the hall from beyond the staircase leading upstairs was Mary.
"Mary," Nicole said inquisitively, seeing the DiMera's maid appear wearing her typical uniform. "What are you doing here?"
EJ opted to answer the question himself. "Mary will be part of our staff now. I insisted. With the babies on the way, I think it's important for us to have a staff that we can trust. In fact, father agrees very strongly and is sending most of his staff here to be with us, Harold included."
"I'm so happy I'll be here with you and the babies, Mrs. DiMera," the always bubbly Mary added. "I can hardly wait until June."
"Oh, Mary! I'm so glad you'll be here too," Nicole said as she bent down to hug the merry little woman who had to be nearly a foot and a half shorter than her. When she finally broke the brief embrace with her new employee, EJ grabbed her by the hand and began to lead her toward the staircase.
"Come on, darling. Let me show you upstairs."
He led her by the hand up the winding staircase to the second floor landing and off to the passage to the right, then all the way down the hall into the master bedroom suite. The front of the room was rounded as it sat directly above the parlors on the first floor and boasted the same, large picture windows. A set of french doors allowed them to step outside onto an uncovered balcony where they could sip their tea or coffee while reading the morning paper. A humungous, king-sized bed with tall, solid wood bedposts dominated the room yet their design was elegant enough to boast no preference toward one sex compared to another. The decor was actually everything Nicole imagined it would be if she designed the home herself, full of modern decor and conveniences with enough traditional touches to show respect to it's original, architectural heritage.
"This is perfect," Nicole said quietly as she still tried to grasp the reality that this was in fact her new home.
"Let me show you across the hall."
He stepped just outside the door of their new bedroom and opened the door to the room directly across from theirs. Nicole was shocked to find that this room was completely empty. Not a single piece of furniture to be seen or even a picture of some sort on the wall. The walls were painted only a flat white and the only thing at all which appeared to be finished was the glorious hardwood floor.
"I thought this could be the nursery. I left it unfinished because I want it to be everything you ever imagined."
"It already is," she replied, throwing her arms around his neck as she stared up at him with watery eyes, a result of no other emotion than the overwhelming love she felt for this man.
He smiled down at her, mentally urging himself to never forget how happy, how beautiful she looked on this day. "So, Mrs. DiMera. How would you like to spend your first evening in your new home?"
She didn't utter a single word in response. Instead, she took a hop off the floor, completely wrapping her legs around his to support her weight as she grabed him by the back of the neck and kissed him passionately. He then carried her the short distance back into their bedroom, never breaking their embrace for a second, even as he lowered himself onto their new bed. He fell onto his back and she remained on top as he allowed her to be in complete control of the evening's festivities.
There may have been an "oh, baby" or two heard coming from the master bedroom suite that evening though not one mention was in reference to an actual product, which remained in a gift bag sitting on the back seat of the family car for the rest of the night.