Road Trip To The Destiny - 17
Brock stared at Reba who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, in their bed. Brock missed this room. He came here a few times to plant her Valentine's gifts, but the last time he slept in this room was seven years ago. He especially missed having her in his arms. Brock tucked her hair behind her ear and ran his fingers along her jaw line. He politely kissed her temple. He grinned when she started to stir.
"Good morning, love." Brock greeted with a kiss on her forehead and between her eyes. He trailed his kiss to the tip of her nose, her lips and down her throat.
"Good morning," greeted Reba sleepily. "Hmm... What the heck happen to 'I have a broken leg, not much I can do'?" Reba stopped him before he moved his kiss below her collarbone and things would get out of control.
"Where there's a will there's a way, baby."
"Oh no, honey. You have to take it easy." Reba firmly protested. "The first time we did it, I got fever, the second time you got pneumonia. I hope nothing would happen to us today." Reba mumbled.
"Honey, I think the worst storm had passed. I think only good things will happen to us now." Brock repositioned himself, and placed her head on his chest. Reba buried her face at the crook of his neck with her eyes closed. She put her arms across his middle, and cuddled with him.
"I hope so." Reba smiled and gave him a peck. She sat up leaning against the headboard. Brock tried to do the same. Reba helped him up, exposing her upper half in the process.
"Well, if I was to die now, I can assure you I'll die happy." Reba coyly smacked his shoulder.
"Can you please pass me that jar?" Brock picked up the jar that was filled with heart shape papers and gave it to her. "I read one every morning before I start my day." Reba confessed with a sly smile.
"Let me read one to you then." Brock grinned, picking one up and reading it aloud. "I love you because you're so delicious."
"What? How come I've never seen that one before?" Surprised Reba. She snatched the paper from his hand to read it. On the paper it read 'I love you because you're so beautiful.'
"I just realized that I didn't add that one in. Oh and I should add 'Because you smell yummy' in it too." Brock defended himself when Reba bashfully pounded his upper arm. "Actually I should make another jar of why I love you, but make sure to hide it from our kids though" Reba giggled when Brock showered her face with kisses.
"Oh Brock, quit it now, I can't breathe" Reba protested trying to stop giggling without much success; Brock was tickling her. "Let go please, I'll gotta get us some breakfast."
"Mmm mmm another breakfast in bed." Brock licked his lips rubbing his tummy. "Now I can see why you really enjoyed it when I brought you breakfast in bed last month. But really, breakfast in bed is nothing comparing to dessert in bed." Reba pressed her fingers against his lips.
"You're worse than a teenager." Reba commented with a smirk. She leaned over to peck his lips and grabbed her robe. She put on her pajamas going down the stairs to prepare breakfast for both of them. Reba shook her head, for someone his age; Brock seemed to need a lot of attention. Could be because they had been separate for seven years, and that was a lot to make up for. Or could be because he just came out of a coma, and wanted to live life to the fullest just in case he went back into a coma again. Whatever the reason, Reba was just glad to have him back.
"Hi Kyra." Reba looked up from the kitchen counter and saw her daughter walk in. "Want some breakfast?"
"No mom, but thanks. I'm going out with my friend. Need help?" Kyra had been very helpful during Brock's sickness. She helped her take care of Brock when Reba had to work.
"Sure, can you bring that tray upstairs for me please? When I'm done cleaning up, I'll join your dad for breakfast." Kyra nodded and grabbed the tray that Reba put on the table. On the tray was two plates of breakfast and two mugs of coffee. "Oh he's in my room," told Reba casually and continued to clean up. Kyra put the tray down glaring at her mom.
"He's in your bedroom? This morning?"
"Well..."
"Is he decent?" Kyra wasn't so sure if she wanted to help her mom bring the tray to her dad now.
"Here, why don't you clean up the kitchen for me, I'll take that up." Reba wiped her hand with a tea towel
"What happen to 'you learn from your mistakes' or 'when you fall so hard, and you're going back to that same road, you can't help but fear that you'll see a stumbling block that makes you fall again'?"
"I'm sure he learned from his mistake, and we'll take a different road this time." Reba flashed her daughter a sly smile.
"No more taking things slow?"
"Not any more, we're getting older every day, I don't know which one of these days will be our last. I'm tired of being stubborn. It never does me any good. I was too stubborn to run after him seven years ago, that's how I lost him. So no more being stubborn." Reba said firmly taking the tray from the table, leaving Kyra watching after her with a small smile. She was glad to see her parents happy together again.
"I can't wait until you take your cast off," commented Reba, helping him to the bathroom. She put a stool in a bathtub so he could have a shower while resting his injured leg on the edge of the tub. After last night's activity, a sponge bath won't be enough. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind taking care of you, but I still want to go on a date."
"Pheww... I was worried that you're sick and tired of me."
"Tired of you? Nha, tried that for the past seven years and never succeeded, so I came to the conclusion, that'll never happen." Reba kissed his cheek. She helped him sit down on the stool, lifted his leg up resting on the edge of the bathtub, took the showerhead down from the wall and gave it to him. Brock looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "You know, the moment you take your cast off, I'm going to make you draw me a bath and give me a hand and foot massage while I enjoy my nice warm bath." Reba stood at the side of the tub, helping him wash his hair and scrub his back, and gave him a deadly glance when he wanted her hand elsewhere.
"Make me give you a full body massage too, that would teach me!" Reba sprayed water at his face. Brock started to cough.
"Oh God, Brock I'm sorry!" Reba started to panic. She threw the showerhead away and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry." Brock still coughing, but Reba held his head against her chest. When he started to get a hold of himself, he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm okay, honey. I just choked when I tried to laugh. But I'm okay." Reba pulled out to see if he was okay.
"Gosh you scared me to death! Enough shower, let's get you dressed."
"How about we get you undress."
"Oh get your mind out of the gutter! You dirty old man!" Reba slapped his arm
"Well you top is wet, that's why I suggested that."
"Aww aren't you sweet. Don't worry about me, c'mon let's get you dressed." Reba helped him out of the tub. "When you can walk again, we can go to the park, have a little picnic like we used to."
"And we can go to a pub and dance all night."
"But you don't like dancing, unless it's a slow dance." Reba gave him look of disbelief.
"Honey, I only like slow dancing because I get to hold you, but if I'll take you to the dance because I know you like it. I never take you there because I don't like it. But I want to do something that makes you happy. You know, what I should have done when we were married." Brock still remembered his New Year resolution.
"We'll do something both of us can enjoy. I don't want you to do something you don't like. We'll find something we both like." Brock's eyes sparkled, He opened his mouth, but before he let out a word, Reba cut him off. "Outside of the bedroom!"
Reba took him to the hospital have the cast removed. Now he could move freely. Reba chidingly said that now he didn't need her anymore, he could move back to his apartment. Brock told the doctor to put the cast back on.
"I don't want to go back to my apartment," cried Brock leaving the hospital. Reba headed to his apartment
"But you have to." Reba glanced at him with a playful smirk. "You can't return the apartment with your belongings still in it." Then it just dawned on him. Now he spread a smile from ear to ear. "We'll just pick up some stuff for today and when your leg gains its strength back, you can move bigger stuff. Unless you don't want to move back home..."
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this day for seven years!" Brock sighed. "Took me seven years to find my way back home." Reba placed her hand on his.
"People do get lost from time to time, just don't wander around again!" Reba glanced at him with a small smile "You went looking for yourself, trying to be a hero. I was too hard headed to go out and look for you. I told myself that I don't need you." Brock kissed the back of her hand. Reba continued. "You're tired of being a hero, I'm tired of being a tough gal who doesn't need a hero. We're both tired of being something we're not. Perfect combination." She flashed him a loving smile.
They went to his apartment and picked up a few items that could fit in the car. He was moving back home.
"Whoa!" Exclaimed Kyra, coming back from soccer practice with Jake and caught her parents kissing, passionately.
"Ah! My eyes!" Jake ran to his room.
"I'm sorry, mom, dad. This is something that takes time getting used to. We're kinda used to you shouting at him while he was trying to come up with some type of excuse or argument." Although they knew their parents were back together, but when Brock was here with a broken leg, all the affectionate usually happened behind closed door. This was the very first time Jake saw his parents kiss. He was too young when they were madly in love. He grew up when the affection had faded. Kyra was happy for her parents and it was nice to see them deeply in love again, after all, she almost lost her dad too.
"Well, then your daddy and I should stay apart or you guys have to start getting used to-"
"I vote getting used to." Brock cut her off and brought her to another kiss. Kyra shook her head and walked away.
"Wait, Kyra." Reba broke the kiss and turned to her daughter. "If you don't have plans this Saturday, would you like to go to the beach with us?" Kyra nodded and continued her way to the living room, leaving her parents in the kitchen, doing what they were in a middle of doing.
On Saturday, one big family went to the beach including Barbra Jean and Henry, Cheyenne, Van and Elizabeth. It wasn't the same beach Brock and Reba went to; they choose the one that was closer. Cheyenne should be giving birth in less than two months now, but she insisted on wearing bikini. She believed she still beautiful no matter what. Reba assured her that she was beautiful. Barbra Jean also wore bikini, and with the body of a model, she got a few guys trying to hit on her. There were some paparazzi-types around trying to take her pictures too. She posed for them, hoping to get a couple of nice ones on the tabloid. Kyra wore a two-piece bathing suit: it looked like a tank top and boy shorts. And Reba wore Capri and a T-Shirt.
"Oh c'mon Reba, you're at the beach!" Barbra Jean tried to make Reba shed the outfit and go into the water with her.
"Alright fine! But don't you make fun of me!" Reba took off her T-Shirt, revealing that she too had bikini underneath. Brock gaped, openly leering at her curves. Reba later learned that the way he flirted with her was just to show how he appreciated her telling her how he really felt. He made her feel attractive. Van saw Reba and he whistled calling her Mrs. Hhhhoot. Cheyenne and Kyra took turns to smack him on the head. Barbra Jean may have a body of a model, but Reba's beautiful curves had made many men being hit by their partner from glancing at her. They all looked surprise when they heard Cheyenne called her 'mom', and Elizabeth called her 'grandma'.
"I need sun screen, you go into the water first, Barbra Jean. I'll follow you later." Reba started to apply sunscreen on her arms and legs, Brock helped with her back. He got smacked on his hands when they worked their way to her belly.
"When did you get these?" Brock referred to her bikinis, she usually wore one-piece swimsuit.
"Couple of days ago when I went shopping for a sexy lingerie."
"A what?" His eyes lit up.
"Oops... You weren't supposed to know that. There goes my surprise." Reba mentally kicked her own butt.
"When would I get to see you wearing it?" He was excited.
"When you be good." She winked and gave him a quick peck to thank him for helping her apply the sunscreen. Elizabeth came to the shore to drag grandma and grandpa into the water. They enjoyed the family trip to the beach.
Beside the family time that all of them seemed to enjoy so much, Brock also took Reba out a few times just the two of them. They created all those memories that he wrote in the notebook, and those in scrapbook.
"Elizabeth's gonna be upset, we're coming to the zoo and didn't ask her to come along."
"Cheyenne wasn't even born the last time we came to the zoo, just the two of us."
"I was pregnant with Cheyenne. You took me to the zoo so I could walk around." Reba reminisced
"And I ended up having to carry you back because you were tired of walking."
"That served you right. When I said I needed to go for a walk, I wasn't planning to walk all day!" They walked hand in hand, arm in arm around the zoo looking at those cute animals. Once in a while Brock would sneak a few kisses from her flushed cheeks. After a cute little romantic trip at the zoo, they came back home to find out that Jake went to a football game with Van and Henry, Kyra went to her band practice, and Barbra Jean had a girls movie night with Cheyenne and Elizabeth. Reba made dinner while Brock helped with some household chores. After dinner, Brock put in the CD that he gave her for one of those Valentines and they slow danced. Brock paid for dinner with kisses, and Reba rewarded him for helping with housework with... well... Good thing the kids weren't home.
Reba was just glad they lived their lives the way it should be. They enjoyed each other's company. They communicated more when they had some disagreements, and Brock appreciated her more than he had and Reba insulted him less. Brock continued to be a loving husband that Reba always wished he was when they were married. Although Reba didn't care if they got married again or not, she was happy with their relationship. But Brock wasn't. He didn't want to be the ex. He wanted to be a husband: her husband.