Who Shot the Bitch Troll?
Chapter 4
Flynn
Sometimes it feels as though my life would be far simpler if my only patient were Christian Grey. Every time he walks into my office it is a new adventure. I am grateful that the Christmas holiday has arrived and he is actually promising to leave me alone for both the day itself and Boxing Day.
I had been rather concerned about how he was going to manage this year's holiday. This season has a tendency to be very stressful for anyone with any kind of psychological issues and it goes without saying that Christian has a raft full. There have also been many stressful changes over the past six months in his life between marriage, impending fatherhood, and the discovery of his biological father.
And this does not include the sabotage of helicopter (which almost killed him), an attempt to burn down his office building, a car chase, and lastly, the kidnapping of his sister and near death experience of his pregnant wife. However, and this is entirely due to Ana I'm sure, he is navigating these rough seas far better than expected.
We have talked it through and he has figured out that his initial angry reactions to Ana's pregnancy and the revelation that his father was actually not the low life he was expecting, were due to shock and fear. Part of this is that the only previous biological connection that he had to anyone was his birth mother. His only associations with a biological connection to someone were pain, neglect, and abandonment.
In the case of the pregnancy, he immediately assumed that his child would reject him. He was afraid that Ana would put him second and that her world would no longer revolve around him. It took him a while to admit that it had been unrealistic and selfish of him to expect that he would remain the center of her world after the honeymoon phase was over anyway. He certainly has a lot of things besides her to keep up with in his life. It wasn't really fair to expect her to sit around waiting for him when he was busy.
No sooner had he come to terms with that, than Chris Price walked into his life, "completely uninvited," to quote him. I am sorry that I have not yet had the chance to meet Price, as he seems to be an exceptionally decent man and very patient with his recalcitrant and hostile son. Christian has never liked surprises and he was extremely surprised to find out that his father was a good and kind man. For a while, I almost think that he would have preferred if he had been some scum of the earth who was looking to cash in somehow on his wealthy son.
Instead, he is a rich and powerful man in his own right. The paradigm of his birth origins has shifted from sleazy parents, to very normal teenagers caught up in a situation that has been happening for ages. Ella made a very poor choice, but that was not Chris's fault. Christian's feelings about his birth mother have always been complex. Now, I get the sense that he may even be feeling guilty that he was the one who ruined her life. And guilt is never a foundation for love.
Christian however is finding it harder and harder to remain angry with her. He knows that when Ana became pregnant, she never seriously thought of ending it and certainly would never have given the child away. Her love for the child is an extension of the love she has for him. This is not only her child; it is his as well. it adds to the poignancy of his mother's situation. And once he had cooled down, he would never had considered abandoning her and the child. Thus, he reluctantly understands where Price is coming from.
This is enormous progress for Christian. It is the first time that he has ever truly demonstrated empathy for another. He is finally accepting that the true nature of love is more complex than he had thought. Of course, for years Elena Lincoln had convinced him that love is for fools and the best that he could expect from women was submission to his sexual predilections. To be perfectly honest, I am very glad that she is gone.
Even though Christian believed that they had gone through a form of closure back in September, I am not convinced that she had truly given him up. There was something very odd about Elena's relationship to him. Christian has never satisfactorily explained to me why their relationship came to an end when her husband found out.
Beyond that, Christian continued leading the BDSM lifestyle, although his role changed from submissive to dominant. In my own research into the subject, I have discovered that this is highly unusual. One is either submissive or dominant by nature not nurture. At some point, there was an evolution in Christian's mindset. But even his own relationships with his contracted subs were fairly unique.
While he enjoyed the extreme pain that he inflicted in his punishments, his hard limits included many things that were on the extreme end of humiliation. He was exceptionally generous with his subs, more so than the typical Dom, and he was hyper-vigilant with regard to their safety. His physical treatment was never entirely callous. He was more concerned with maintaining emotional distance.
The episode with Leila gave me an intimate view into what these contractual sub relationships were like. His care for her was exceptionally compassionate and humane. He excused his kindly treatment of her by saying that he did not want his own private life exposed, however she certainly deserved to be turned over to the authorities. And her psychotic break was so severe that they wouldn't have been able to make much sense of anything that she said anyway.
Anastasia was deeply wounded by what she viewed as his deep affection for Leila and mistook his sensitivity to her needs for a desire to return to that life. What she failed to see was the symbiotic relationship that existed between Christian's care of her and his care of Leila. He knew that he was in love with Ana and the only way that he could fulfill that love was by opening his heart to her. This sensitivity to human vulnerability was what led to his compassionate response.
He recognized that Ana had healed him in two many ways. He, in turn, wanted to heal Leila, if only to get her out of his life for good. He was also driven by his obsession with Ana's safety. Deep down he knew that the only way to keep Ana safe from Leila, once and for all, was to deal with Leila's obsession.
Has Leila finally overcome her obsession with him? It is difficult to tell. Certainly visiting Ana at work was a ploy to see Christian again. While she claimed to want to make sure that Christian was happy, I believe that what she was actually trying to determine is whether he was satisfied with his wife. She may have been looking for a subtle indication that all was not well between them, thus giving her hope that she might be able to win him back.
In speaking with her since, I have discovered that she had even deluded herself into believing that his extraordinary care for her during and since her psychotic episode was due to the fact that he might actually love her. In light of this, I am glad that Christian insisted that she stay on her side of the continent. That should have told her unequivocally that he wanted nothing more to do with her and the only way that she could repay him for his kindness was to stay out of his life for good.
Her doctors told me that she accepted the news of Anastasia's pregnancy very well. In fact they had a difficult time convincing her not to send some kind of congratulatory gift or note. That was not a good sign. It is obvious that she is still looking for attention from him, although now it is positive attention.
As I pack up my briefcase this Christmas Eve to return home to my wife and sons for the next two days, I am looking forward to uninterrupted time with them. Rhian is a vey patient wife, but the boys are much less so. I am hopeful that when Christian has a son of his own to dote on that he will be much more considerate of mine.
Clark
So, Mrs. Lincoln left no will. This creates a very interesting plot twist. It means that whoever is her closest living relative now inherits Esclava and all the rest of her money. And that woman is worth a lot of lucre. Of course it means that someone with a motive would have had to have known first that she had no will and second, he or she was the first in line for the goodies.
This immediately eliminates all of the Greys, thank goodness. Despite the fact that he is not my favorite person, I found interviewing Christian Grey to be very uncomfortable. We both knew that he had no hand in the crime and no motive. I had not been looking forward to interviewing any of the other Greys. Knowing what I know now, I really can't see any of them committing or contracting the murder.
This does leave me with a rather large problem. As part of our investigation, we had already been looking for Mrs. Lincoln's family without success. It would seem that he just appeared out of nowhere when she married her husband. Her marriage license lists her maiden name as Martin, which is a fairly common name. It may even be an Anglicized version of Martinez, considering that her full name is Elena Maria. That makes it even more common. Her birth certificate lists her as born in LA, her parents are named Catherine and Joseph.
And that is where the trail goes cold. There are a couple of pages of Joseph Martins in the phone book, if they even live there anymore. Lincoln knows nothing about her family. He said that he never met them and she never talked about them. I find this very odd indeed. How many people marry without exchanging any stories at all of their past lives. And Lincoln was not the least bit curious.
But how do you trace someone who seems to have no past? There are no indications of where she may have gone to school. In addition to no relatives, I have been able to find no friends other than those she made when she came to Seattle, and many of them are no longer friends. Luckily, her lawyers have hired private investigators to search for any possible family that might be out there.
Of course, there will no doubt be a flood of potential "relatives" once the word gets out of her net worth. Her lawyers are prepared for that. Anyone who stakes a claim on her fortune will have to submit to a DNA test first. Once they find that out, the phonies should be weeded out pretty quickly.
We are withholding the news about the absence of a will until after Christmas. None of us want to deal with the deluge of interest just as it has died down. I wonder how many fake wills are going to surface? That, at least, is one part of this mess that I don't have to worry about.
My present dilemma stems from the fact that I have a number of snitches out in the underworld of Seattle who have come up dry on the issue of a contract killing. Generally speaking, it is very hard for something like that to go down with there being some noise about it. But there has been nothing.
There are several things that might have popped up. One would be the word going out that someone was looking for someone to "take care of a problem." But there was nothing like that. Then, there might be a likely suspect who was suddenly flashing around a lot of cash. No, nothing along those lines either.
Finally, we thought that it might have been some out-of-towner who was brought in to handle it. But even that angle turned up nothing. If someone had come in for a fly by night, there would have been a lot of griping about outsiders moving in on the locals' turf. Once again, I feel like I am back to square root one.
My last resort is that she royally pissed someone off in the BDSM scene, but that is one tough area to crack. They tend to handle all of their own shit in house. They know better than to do anything illegal because the last thing that they want is for other people to come nosing around their lifestyle.
And my operatives have been completely unable to turn any of them, no matter how much money they offer. This only leads me to believe that I have hit another blind alley. Despite taking a break from the investigation, there is no way that I am going to enjoy any of the holiday spirit.
I'm not much into any kind of party scene anyway, but at the moment I am totally pissed off. I refuse to believe that someone out there has committed the perfect crime. Someone has to have made a mistake somewhere along the line. All that I can hope is that he trips up soon.
I also have to deal with all the publicity crap. Nothing sucks more than the when the victim goes up on trial in the press. One of the radio stations took a poll and the voting came out two to one that Mrs. Lincoln got what she deserved. But what did she deserve? She was living a totally legal, if alternative, lifestyle. And she was hugely successful in the beauty business. Okay, even if you're jealous of that, why would she deserve to die?
It's kind of pathetic really. No one came forward to organize any kind of funeral or memorial service. In the end, it was her lawyers who dealt with the cremation and disposal of the ashes. I guess one of the advantages to dying wealthy is that there is some dignity in the end. Most unclaimed bodies in the morgue end up in the potter's field.
So, okay, I have no regrets that the bitch is gone, but I don't want this to turn into a cold case because of lack of evidence. Somewhere out there is a cold-blooded, violent killer. This person might surface again and kill someone else. Mrs. Lincoln aside, the community is in danger as long as he is on the loose. And it is my duty to get him off the street.
Price
I was very pleased to receive a phone call from my son on Christmas Day. It was a very brief call, but the contact has given me hope, that in time, we will be able to work out some kind of relationship. The conversation was not as awkward as I had feared it would be. I suppose that that is because we were both on speakerphone and our wives were included. Melissa and Ana really do have a wonderful rapport.
And once the girls learned whom we were talking to, they had to have their say.
"Merry Christmas, Ana and Christian," said Sarah. "What are you doing today?"
"We're going to my parents' house to celebrate the day," answered Christian.
Uncomfortable silence ensued.
"My Dad is here visiting from Montesano," said Ana to fill in the gap.
"Where is Montesano?" asked Sarah, at the same time as Emily said, "Can you put a picture of him on Instagram?"
"One question at a time," laughed Ana. "Montesano is south of here on the coast. And as soon as our call is over, I will take a picture and post it."
"Cool," said Emily.
"So what are you all doing for Christmas?" asked Christian.
"Late today we are flying to our house in Tahoe on Daddy's plane," said Katie. "Do you have a plane, Christian?"
"I have a plane and a helicopter," answered Christian. "And I can fly the helicopter myself."
"Cool," said Sarah. "Can you fly us sometime? You know, like when you take us on your boat?"
Another brief silence as I realize that Christian forgot about that earlier offer.
But Melissa just laughed. "You know kids, they have memories like elephants."
"No, I didn't know that," answered Christian. "I guess forewarned is forearmed.
"How is the baby doing, Ana?" asked Melissa.
"Wonderful!" she replied. "I felt him move the other day."
"Why do you always call him, him?" asked Katie.
"Because, he's a boy dummy," said Emily, before Ana could answer. "Just like we already knew that he had a jet. Remember? We read it on Wikipedia."
"It's not like I memorized Wikipedia like you did," shot back Katie.
"Cool it, girls!" I interrupted before an argument could break out. "Why don't you say goodbye so that the grown ups can talk."
With a chorus of goodbyes, the girls left the room.
"Sorry about that," I apologized. "I'm afraid that everything that happens in this house is done by committee."
"That's no problem," said Ana. "Since I grew up as an only child, I enjoy all of the family cacophony."
"I didn't know you had a house in Tahoe," said Christian. "I guess that's because I didn't read your Wikipedia page. We have a house in Aspen."
"We went to Aspen when we were first married," I said. "But after we bought the house in Tahoe, we didn't feel the need to go. I don't think that the skiing is much different."
"So the girls have never been?" asked Christian.
"No," said Melissa. "They all like to ski, but I've never cared for it much. I'm just as happy to go to our own place so they can ski. It's much nicer than a hotel."
There is more silence on the other end, although I get the impression that Ana and Christian are whispering in the background. Finally, Christian comes back on the line.
"We are planning on going out to Aspen in a couple weeks for a weekend," he said. "Would you like to join us? Ana can't really ski being pregnant and all, and Melissa could keep her company while you and I take the girls out to the slopes."
Melissa and I look at each other in surprise.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, well," he replied. "It would kind of be easier on my family if we spent some time together away from Seattle. They are still getting used to the idea that you, well, that you exist."
"Don't know what to say, Christian," I replied. "I'm a little stunned by your invitation. I hope that you don't feel pressured into making it."
"No, not at all," he said. "If I didn't want to ask you, then I wouldn't have. That's the kind of guy that I am."
"Even though I want to have company because Christian isn't going to let me go skiing," added Ana.
"Do you ski?" asked Melissa.
"No."
"Then, I can tell you from experience, now is not the time to learn," advised Melissa. "As I am sure that you have already figured out, your center of gravity is no longer where it used to be. Skiing required a great deal of balance."
"Thank you, Melissa," stated Christian immediately. "I knew that there was a reason that I wanted you along."
"Anytime," she chuckled.
"Well," I said, not wanting to push my luck any farther and wanting the call to end on a cheerful note. "We have to get going."
"Merry Christmas," answered Christian. "My PA Andrea will be in touch with the details."
"PA?" asked Melissa after we had hung up.
I laughed.
"From what I have heard, that poor woman is on call 24/7 to handle all his needs," I answered.
I was deeply touched by the fact that not only did my son reach out to call me on the holiday, but that he also extended the invitation to spend a weekend with them in Aspen. It was the best Christmas present that he could have possibly given me. I love my son and I am hoping that one day he will develop more than a fondness for me. I think of Ella and I regret that she will never know what a wonderful man he has grown into.
One thing that I was glad of was that none of the girls had thought to bring up the Elena Lincoln murder. However their interest in the topic has waned since there have been no new disclosures in the case for a while. Apparently, the police are having a very difficult time tracking the killer and no one is all that bothered that he had not been found. I can honestly say that I am not the least bit bothered myself.
Carrick
Grace was very pleased with how Christmas Day worked out, even if it was a small gathering and Mia spent most of the day sulking. My daughter is very stubborn and very much used to getting her own way. Now it would seem that she is only happy, sweet, and enthusiastic when things are going her way. And presently, her relationship with Ethan Kavanagh is not going her way. I correct myself. It is going her way, only not as quickly as she would like.
I am very glad that the young man is taking things slowly. As of yet, he still has his schooling to finish. In fact, he is only starting his master's program. Mia will be going to school in January to work on some kind of business degree. This, I have to see.
Right after lunch, Christian and Ana came over with Ray. Grace immediately began to fall all over Ana and the baby plans, while the three of us men began to talk fishing and sports, which are about the only two topics that you can talk about with Ray in any kind of depth. Christian is always determined to make sure that Ray doesn't feel left out, which is very nice of him.
Once Mia realized that she was not going to be the center of attention, nor was she really interested in either of the conversations, she went stomping upstairs. Naturally, this concerned Ana more than the rest of us. But I refused to let Mia either take control of the day or ruin it for everyone else.
"Maybe I should go up and speak with her," said Ana.
"If you do that," replied Grace. "I can guarantee that you are going to get an earful about Ethan and how unfair it is that she wasn't invited to Christmas at the Kavanaghs."
"Oh," said Ana. "She is still bothered by that?"
"I'm afraid that she has higher expectations of what her relationship with Ethan is than what the reality is," I replied.
"Ethan hasn't been leading her on, has he?" asked Christian.
"Not a bit," answered Grace firmly. "Mia spends a lot of time analyzing everything that he says looking for some kind of hidden meaning. She just can't accept the fact that he likes her and enjoys spending time with her, but he is just not ready to settle down yet."
"My Mom told me last summer, right after she met Christian that men are very literal creatures and you need to take them at their word," Ana laughed. "For once she knew what she was talking about."
Ray rolled his eyes and didn't say anything.
"Have you told her that?" I asked.
"Only about a dozen times," said Grace, shaking her head. "But you know Mia. She only hears what she wants to hear. But enough about her. Are you excited about moving into the house next week?"
And of course they were. Ray is very touched that he will have his own room for when he visits. Ana and Grace were off talking about the various rooms and how she intended to decorate them. Christian looked on indulgently as she spoke. It's been a miraculous change in him over the last year.
I think back to last Christmas. That was really not that great of a holiday. Mia was in Paris, so it was just us and the boys. Christian was brooding over something, while Elliot goofed around, entertaining himself by trying to get a rise out of him. Grace had been frustrated because neither was showing an inclination towards settling down.
Elliot left early because he had a date, and Christian went shortly after. It was the first time that we realized that without Mia around to take control of the conversation, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. We discussed sports, politics, and how their jobs were going, but exhausted those topics pretty quickly. And of course talking about girls was not exactly a safe topic.
Neither Elliot nor Christian had any desire to go there. Elliot was in his "skirt chasing" phase, as we used to say and we were still wondering if Christian was gay. Both areas were potential minefields. But tonight was extremely pleasant. We talked over coffee and tea until well past ten when Ray announced that he needed his beauty sleep. Ana was also drooping, so they made a hasty departure.
"So were you pleased by the day?" I asked Grace as I took her into my arms once they had left.
"Very much," she replied. "I always enjoy spending time with Ana and I hate to admit it, but when Mia and Kate are around, she tends to let them control the conversation."
"Yes," I said. "That is a quality that she shares with Ray. However, I discovered that when Christian and I were chatting with him, if you ask him a direct question, particularly if you are looking for an opinion on certain topics, you have no trouble getting him to join in."
Grace then sighed.
"What are we going to do about Mia?" she asked, almost rhetorically. "I hate to see her so unhappy."
"She's doing it to herself," I replied. "If she doesn't cut it out, she stands a very good chance of losing that boy. I have to admit that I would be sorry if she did. He would be the best thing for her. He's got a real solid head on his shoulders."
"That he does," said Grace. "But Mia has also been in a funny mood since Chris Price showed up. I think that she is still trying to figure that out."
"Well, that's another thing that she can't control," I commented. "Christian didn't mention him at all and I didn't ask. But whatever relationship they have or don't have is between them. Christian is a full-grown man and certainly able to make that choice for himself."
"Then, you're bothered by the fact that Christian's biological father has surfaced?" asked Grace.
"In the beginning it was hard," I admitted. "But I have seen for myself that he isn't going to come between us. I can also see that he is genuinely grateful that we have taken such good care of Christian over the years, even though it wasn't easy. And Christian doesn't view it as an either/or situation anyway. It is enormous progress on his part that he is opening up his family and friendship circles."
"Yes, I suppose that it is," replied Grace thoughtfully.
"In the long run, I think that it's going to be harder for Chris," I said. "I know that he is just dying for Christian to open his heart to him as a son to a father, but even he admits that that is expecting too much. He loves Christian as his son, but he knows that Christian will never reciprocate to the same degree."
"I hadn't realized that you had spoken with him in such depth about it," she said.
"Oh, yeah," I replied casually. "We talked about it."
She looked at me curiously, but let it go at that. She knows that when I don't want to talk about something that I can be just as taciturn as Ray. Maybe it's a guy thing. But I was certainly telling her the truth when I told her that I was not entirely sorry that Chris had come into our lives.
Taylor
It was a great relief to have some time off with Gail, away from Christian Grey and his complicated life. And Gail is a gem of a woman, a true find. Grey hired her a couple of months after he hired me. He had wanted to put the security piece in place first, so that I would be there to vet any further hires. Since the plan was that the housekeeper be a live in, it was doubly important that she be trustworthy.
At first, I thought that he was crazy. His requirements included not just that she be highly efficient and very discreet. He wanted a well-groomed, blonde woman who was no younger than forty. It made sifting through the original resumes very difficult, as I couldn't exactly specify those physical characteristics. Finally, I gave up and just brought the best qualified women in for initial interviews.
From the first, Gail Jones stood out. She met the physical requirements of blonde and well-groomed. She was forty-one years old, but looked younger. She was very attractive compared with some of the more matronly candidates who came forward. She was also a recent widow. I asked her to explain why she was looking for this kind of position, which seemed odd for someone like her and she explained that she had married young and never finished college.
Her husband had been a Navy Seal and she had spent the last twenty years as a Navy wife traveling the globe wherever he was stationed. Thus she had never been in any one place long enough to really develop a career. She was actually interviewing in the Washington State/Oregon area because she had a sister who lived Portland.
For the moment, she was looking for the kind of job that would give her time to think about her future and where she might go. I agreed that she would probably not have much to do here since she would just be looking after Mr. Grey and myself during the week. My experience to date with Mr. Grey was that he was not particularly "high maintenance" in the cooking and housekeeping area.
I suppose that I felt an immediate rapport with her because her husband had been in the armed services. I sensed that she would understand the need to keep Mr. Grey's private life private. She had no problems about signing a non-disclosure agreement before her interview with him. Her cool, unflappable manner also indicated that she would not be too shocked by Grey's playroom.
All of my assumptions were on target. Grey was pleased with her and she was unbothered by his unconventional lifestyle. She did as he said and never questioned anything. It didn't take long for him to begin relying on her. Like any good domestic, she familiarized herself with his habits and manners, likes and dislikes, and learned to anticipate his needs. And she never once asked any questions about what happened in the playroom or on the weekends when she had time off.
Since we were sharing a living space upstairs, it was only natural that a friendship evolved between us. She was still mourning for her husband and would frequently confide in me about him and the life that they had led together. It was very tough for her because he was killed on a mission in Africa just after he had hit the twenty year retirement mark. In fact, it was his last mission.
It was cold comfort that as his widow, she was going to get his full pension and all the benefits that went along with it. She missed him and the life that they had planned together. She was going to go back to school and finish her degree in teaching. He had taken his engineering degree while at the Naval Academy and had been hired to work for a firm in Southern California when his final tour was up.
Of course I was able to sympathize with all of that. I had known guys in special ops who had almost made it through. I knew some of the wives who lost their husbands and missed them. I was sometimes envious of my colleagues whose wives didn't have any problems towing the line as a military wife. My ex-wife couldn't. We fought all the time and eventually I agreed to a divorce for Sophie's sake. Our lives had become a living hell and Sophie was constantly caught in the middle.
Gail would look sad whenever I talked about Sophie. She never had any kids and now it was no longer in the cards. Her biological clock had ticked down too far. I suppose that it was only natural that we would be drawn to each other. In the beginning, she was reluctant because I was ten years younger than her. But I told her that cougars had always been my favorite animal.
So for the past three years, we have been friends and lovers. She had taken the job as a temporary gig, but she's stayed on to be with me. Grey has always been cool about it. He knows that we are both such professionals that we would never let our personal lives interfere with our jobs. Gail has been very sweet about Sophie too. Sophie likes her because she says that she doesn't talk to her like a kid. Her step-father is a nice guy, but she says that he treats her like a baby.
Gail and I are looking forward to the move to the new house. Grey has been very good about installing a comfortable apartment for us over the garage. It will give all of us more privacy and we'll still be close whenever we are needed. Mrs. Grey, being the wonderful lady that she is, insisted that Gail help with the planning and decoration. And most thoughtfully, she insisted that there be one room for Sophie.
Mr. Grey had told her about Sophie and so she wanted to meet her. My ex-wife gave me a bit of a hard time about it, but she finally agreed as long as it wasn't an overnight visit. While she was there, Mrs. Grey asked her about how she wanted her room decorated and what she would like there. She told her that she wanted her to have a place where she could visit me. I think that my ex-wife is right now trying to think of reasons why this can't happen.
However, Sophie was thrilled. I think that she has always been disappointed that she couldn't spend more time with me, but my ex-wife has kept a pretty strong control over that. And I think that's why they took her to Disneyland for Christmas. I only hope that Sophie doesn't get caught in some kind of "battle" for her affections. Gail and I have discussed it and we want to avoid that kind of competition.
I plan to make this Christmas a very special one for Gail. I am going to ask her to marry me. Mr. Grey has even offered to let us go to Vegas for a weekend to get married. He's planning on taking his wife to Aspen one weekend and he says that we can time it for then. He wants to bring Mrs. Grey while she is pregnant so that she won't be asking to go skiing or snowmobiling. After seeing Mrs. Grey flip the jet ski on their honeymoon, I can understand why.
Yes, despite all of the ups and downs and stresses and tensions of working for Grey, he has definitely made it worthwhile over the years. And all our lives have become a lot better since he got married. I owe that man a lot and now that our lives have resumed a sense of order, I want nothing to disrupt it.
Christian
As I am getting into bed after a long day with my beautiful wife, I think about what a really wonderful holiday it has been. In fact, I can honestly say that it was the best Christmas of my life. Of course, I will never forget that first Christmas with my new parents, but this one was different because I was an actual participant rather than observer.
I don't know what inspired me to call up Chris this morning. I hadn't had any desire for any contact with him since he had left. And I was pleased that he had kept his word and not tried to contact me since. I know that it must have been very hard for him to do that, but like my Mom right after she adopted me, he was willing to respect my boundaries.
Then, I don't know what got into me to invite them out to Aspen. Of course when I suggested it to Ana, she was all over it. In addition to the fact that she wants to see this aspect of my life "healed," I know that she and Melissa get along famously. And I have to admit that I am looking forward to seeing the girls again.
And I really do mean it when I say that I think that it would be easier for all concerned if we spent time with the Prices outside of Seattle. Mom and Dad are pretty cool with it, but Mia has been unusually possessive. Ana has suggested that maybe she is having trouble adjusting to all the different changes that have occurred since she went away to Paris. I reluctantly have to agree. It's like we are all moving on, while she is still playing the baby sister.
"Hey! How are you doing?" asks Ana softly as she slips between the sheets. "Was in a happy Christmas for you?"
"The best," I reply, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. "How's Blip?"
"He's quiet now," she says with a smile. "You know, we really are going to think about names."
"Well, you can forget about Christian," I grimace.
"You don't like CJ as a nickname?" she pouts.
"CJ Grey?" I reply. "Nothing doing, I don't like anything that rhymes. I would be happy to call him Raymond after your Dad, but Ray Grey doesn't really float my boat either."
Ana giggles.
"I see what you mean," she answers. "But we don't have to use a family name. We can give our son his own name, a real original."
"I like that idea," I say. "But right now, I'm not much interested in baby names."
"No?" she asks playfully.
Leaning over, I take her mouth in mine and murmur "no." And all thoughts of parent names, baby names, and nicknames go out of my head. The only name that I am interested in is Anastasia.
I apologize for leaving my faithful readers hanging, but I leave for vacation tomorrow and will be away for the whole week. I will not have the kind of Internet access that I would need to post more chapters. I will be working on the story when I have time. You can look for my next post on 24 August.