While the headquarters for Matt and Betty's magazine will be in NYC given that is where their families and the majority of financial contributors are located, Mr. Dunne has also arranged for them to have a small suite of offices in his primary office building in London.
Glad they have use of one of the private Hartley jets rather than needing to take a commercial flight, the world travelers arrive in London around 10am on 3-17-11. Matt, Betty and Rosalina drop Kelly and Kristin off at their parent's home, followed by going to their London residence, which has been maintained by Hartley employees in England at Cal and Victoria's insistence.
When they arrive at their home, the Suarez-Hartley's are surprised to find Victoria there to greet them. Unknown to them, Victoria purposefully arranged her semi annual tour of Europe so that her schedule would have her in London upon their return from Botswana.
"Mother," remarks Matt as Victoria opens the door upon seeing the cab drive up, "we didn't know you would be here."
Betty informs her, "The flight was relatively smooth but we will need a few minutes to orient ourselves before we'll be ready to socialize."
Victoria states, "No problem at all. I wanted to see Rosalina, and you two, of course, and my itinerary brought me through London, so the timing was right. I had Jack stock the refrigerator and they did a cleaning this past weekend. I hope I am not imposing."
Giving his mother a brief hug as he rolls his eyes, which leads Betty to have trouble stifling a laugh, Matt replies, "You are not imposing mother, we just weren't expecting anyone, that's all."
"Please sit down and you can hold Rosalina while Matt and I get the rest of the bags from the cab," comments Betty.
"Glad I can help," replies Victoria, who happily takes a squirmy Rosalina into her arms.
With the assistance of the driver, Matt and Betty manage to get the bags into the house in one trip.
"She's got a pretty strong bite for only having one tooth," says Victoria, who is rubbing her finger that she placed in Rosalina's mouth to confirm the email and pictures she had received just two days before.
"Yes, she does," answers Betty with a grin, "Trust me, I know about that first hand."
"So, you are still nursing then. You will be introducing food soon, won't you?" asks Victoria.
Handing his mother Rosalina's favorite teething ring, which leads the baby to giggle and babble loudly, Matt replies, "Yes, Betty is still nursing the Princess. An occasional gentle flick on the cheek has convinced her thus far to keep her biting to a minimum. Breastmilk is best for her and gives her all the nutrients she needs. We will likely wait a bit longer to introduce food, but will do so before she is 9 months old per the pediatrician's instructions."
Victoria responds, "I wasn't meaning to sound judgmental. As long as she is healthy, that is what is important."
"Yes, Rosalina's health is what matters most. Since she is thriving, we've agreed that I'll keep nursing her for as long as she is interested. While breastfeeding is a lot of work, especially with our magazine obligations, we have the advantage of being able to set our own schedule," states Betty.
Matt tells Victoria, "Mother, Rosalina has demonstrated thus far that she actually handles the time change better than we do. If you don't mind, we'll go take a nap. I will defrost some of the stored milk for her next feeding, which she is due to demand in about an hour. You'll just need to put it in the warmer."
"You know I love to feed her. You two run along and get some rest," says Victoria as she places Rosalina in her exersaucer, with her squeals of glee heard throughout the residence.
After putting Rosalina's suitcases in the nursery, Betty and Matt go to the master bedroom, where they put their bags down, sit on the bed, glance at each other, and then laugh out loud.
"While it is nice to have the house in order and all, and someone to watch Ms. Energetic for a bit, I was looking forward to some time without any visitors, family or not," comments Betty.
"So was I," replies Matt as he gently embraces her.
Winking at Matt, Betty says, "We could give each other a personal welcome home, but with your mother downstairs that could prove a bit awkward."
"Unfortunately, I agree that it is best to wait until tonight for our private time, as we can then give each other the undivided attention we both deserve. We've already had my mother and your father come close to interrupting us once, I don't think any of us want to repeat that," responds Matt, as he kisses Betty intensely.
"Well, at least we can cuddle," remarks Betty.
"Very true," replies Matt, as they help each other remove their travel clothes, put on sleepwear, and climb into bed.
At not quite 1:45pm, Matt glances at the clock and reluctantly gets out of bed, as his stomach is growling.
"Where are you going?" asks Betty sleepily.
Giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead, Matt informs, "It is nearly 2pm. My stomach has decided that food is more important than sleep. I'm going down to make us some sandwiches and check on my mother and Rosalina."
"In a moment please, first I need a hug," says Betty as she pulls Matt to her, embraces him, and then gives him an erotic kiss that makes him catch his breath.
"Okay, now you can go. I'll meet you down there in a few," continues Betty as she yawns and stretches.
"My beautiful wife, with a hug and kiss like that, tonight can't come soon enough," announces Matt as he closes their bedroom door.
Wondering why the house is so quiet, Matt looks into several rooms and then smiles. He finds his mother on the couch, with Rosalina resting on her chest, and both of them fast asleep. Going into the kitchen, he uses the intercom and asks Betty to bring him his camera. He then makes sandwiches for all three adults, suspecting that his mother has also not eaten lunch.
Coming into the kitchen, Betty remarks, "What service, that looks really good."
Giving her a brief kiss, Matt says, "You look pretty good yourself."
She asks, "Why did you need the camera and how come it is so quiet?"
Motioning to her as he gently grabs her hand, Matt tells Betty, "Come this way and I'll show you what the camera is for."
"Oh, how adorable!" comments Betty softly as she watches Rosalina and Victoria sleep while Matt gets some pictures of grandmother and granddaughter.
Matt whispers to Betty, "Let's go have our lunch and then we can relieve my mother."
After they finish eating their lunch, which includes some fresh fruit that was in the refrigerator thanks to the Hartley help, Betty and Matt rejoin the sleeping Rosalina and Victoria in the family room.
As Rosalina starts to stir, Matt gently takes her from his mother's arms and gives her to Betty, with both of them saying, "Mommy will take you to your room for your afternoon meal."
Less than 5 minutes elapse before Victoria startles awake and asks worriedly, "What is going on? Is Rosalina alright?"
Matt, who is in a nearby chair grinning, tells her, "Everything is fine, mother. You and Rosalina were taking a nap together. She woke up and Betty is nursing her. We have already eaten ourselves and decided to let you rest a bit longer."
"Oh, good, I guess I am not the best babysitter falling asleep on the job," comments Victoria as she does her best to straighten her clothing.
"Mother, you did great and we appreciate it as we all got much needed rest. I made a sandwich for you if you are hungry," states Matt.
"I think I'll take you up on that lunch offer if you'll sit with me," answers Victoria.
"Of course," replies Matt, who follows her into the kitchen.
As Matt is filling Victoria in on their trip to Botswana while she eats, Betty and a happy, full Rosalina join them. Matt takes Rosalina from Betty and elicits several more burps from her while she plays with the buttons on his shirt.
"You keep on proving how well you complement each other and that you make a great team. It sounds like with your combined efforts you got what you needed for the first issue of your magazine," comments Victoria.
Betty replies, "Yes, we definitely make an excellent team. With Kelly and Kristin's help, along with the cooperation of the villagers and other volunteers, I think we have more than enough stories and pictures for this issue. In fact, we may have to save some of them for a future issue or at least shorten them in order for everything to fit."
"Better to have too much information than too little," comments a smiling Matt, with Betty and Victoria nodding in agreement.
"So, how long are you staying in England?" asks Victoria as they go back to the family room so that Rosalina can play with her toys.
Betty replies, "Only a few days. We wanted Kelly and Kristin to have a little time with their families before we go back to NYC, which is where most of the work on the magazine will occur."
Matt informs Victoria, "We will be going into Dunne tomorrow so that we can get their reactions to what we gathered along with some help transcribing the interviews since he has an intern from Botswana right now."
"Mr. Dunne was also gracious enough to set aside a few rooms dedicated to Good Works and it would be a shame to not use them," adds Betty.
"I'll watch her while you two unpack if you would like," states Victoria.
"Thanks," respond Betty and Matt, with that particular chore done quickly.
Betty and Matt share a late dinner with Victoria. Rosalina participates by playing with her toys in her playpen. Victoria excuses herself and leaves for her hotel. They lay Rosalina in her crib for a late nap and answer some emails. With Matt's help, Betty wakes Rosalina up for one last feeding around 11pm.
"Her Royal Highness is tucked in?" asks Matt.
"Yes, she is," replies Betty as she closes their bedroom door.
Matt turns to Betty and passionately says, as he runs his hands lightly down her arms, "Good, then it is now time for us to enjoy each other."
Trembling under his touch, Betty sultrily responds, "An excellent idea that I'm sure willing to try."
Lying down on their bed, Betty gives Matt a potent, lengthy kiss that makes his whole body yearn with desire instantly, with Matt emitting a groan. Everywhere their lips and hands touch leads to unspeakable bursts of delight. Looking into each other's eyes, they are lost in the other as they bring each other to a shuddering climax that seems to go on forever.
As he holds Betty against him, Matt announces haltingly, as he is still breathing rapidly from their lovemaking, "It was definitely wise for us to wait to have couple time until after my mother left, as it would have been difficult to nap after such an intense, perfect experience."
"Agreed, we complete each other," replies Betty as she runs her hand down Matt's back, leading him to shiver.
Both of them are glad that they don't have to worry about locking their bedroom door. They fall asleep in each other's arms within 15 minutes.
Rosalina has everyone up by 7:30am, with the Suarez-Hartley's arriving at Dunne by 10:15. After several staff remark on how the sociable Rosalina has changed in just a few weeks time, Betty gives her to Kristin so they can get to work.
David shows them to the 3-room office reserved for Good Works followed by Mr. Dunne requesting, "Please bring up the interviews and pictures on your computers so that you can get the maximum amount done on your 1-day stop here in London."
"Of course," responds Matt, "We're grateful for Gamba's help and everyone else's too for that matter."
"The Dunne name is associated with this publication, so no expense will be spared. Let David know if you need anything else," states Mr. Dunne as he leaves.
As they look at the number and quality of pictures and interviews they got while in Botswana, Betty gets misty eyed and announces, "We really may have something here, something that can make a difference."
Gently embracing Betty, Matt says, "I, for one, think we definitely do. Together we'll share your gift for writing and my pictures in our magazine so that the village comes to life and benefits everyone's efforts."
The remainder of the day is spent with Gamba, along with the occasional visit from Rosalina as well as other Dunne staff. They are satisfied with their progress when the workday ends.