Eagle's Destiny (41 page)

Tammy called us in for dinner and we sat around the table, one large happy family.  Tammy appeared to be enthralled with her mother being there.  I tried to be nice, but Margaret kept throwing barely veiled insults my way any time she could. 

First, she discounted romance novels as trash reading, and was surprised at the taste of the American public.  Then she asked me if I had any children.  When I said no she launched into her next discussion about how important children were to her and Michael’s life.  Moreover, she couldn’t really see Michael with anyone who didn’t want children. 

Even though Michael was trying to avert her barbs, they just kept coming.  When she finally told me that my dogs were fat, well that did it.  I scooted my chair away from the table. 

“I’m sorry.
I need to get back home.”  I said standing.

“Oh, Elizabeth, yes, that’s probably a good idea.”  She smirked at me. 

I almost told her that when she did that with her mouth she didn’t look sexy at all, if that was what she was going for; instead, it caused wrinkles around her lips.  I bit my tongue since she probably would not take my constructive criticism very well.

Michael sprang to his feet, “Elizabeth, wait.  I’ll walk you back to your house.”

Margaret looked peeved, “Michael, are you coming back?”

He
looked at Tammy.  “Don’t wait up for me, and help your mother with the dishes, okay?”

I felt bad after we left the house
because
Tammy
had
looked
so disappointed.

Michael chuckled.  “Damn that woman is a piece of work.  I’m sorry Elizabeth that you had to go through all of that.”

I squeezed his hand before I put my arm around his waist as we walked toward my cabin.  I hadn’t left the lights on which was unusual for me and Michael insisted on going in first to make sure everything was okay. 

I sighed when he came back and reported that all was in order.  “Guess
in my haste to get over to your house and protect you, I forgot.”

He
laughed as he wrapped me in his arms, “Protect me huh?”  His lips brushed the tip of my nose before moving down to my lips.

“Are you going to stay the night?”  My voice sounded hopeful.

He leaned back from me, “Babe, I can’t.”

I frowned, “I know.  Will you wait until I fall asleep?”

Michael smiled and embraced me again.  He rubbed my back, his hands moving underneath my sweatshirt.  He whispered in a rough tone, “No bra, I like that.”  He grasped the bottom of my sweatshirt and pulled it over my head.  I smiled, took his hand in mine, and led him to my bedroom.

When I awoke, it was very early dawn.  I was alone, except for the dogs.  It was too early to jog, and I lay in bed thinking of Michael.  I knew where that path was going to lead.  Knowing he was always happy to see me in the morning, I wondered if he’d like some early morning company.  Especially since, he was leaving for his trip soon.  Besides, I needed to retrieve my laptop, which was still in his bedroom.

I crept into the house, it was quiet and dark, and no one was up yet.  Waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I slowly made my way to Michael’s bedroom without running into the furniture.  I was surprised the dogs didn’t hear me, but then they had grown accustomed to my presence in the house.

I opened
his
door slowly and went into
the
room.  My mouth opened wide when I saw the display in front of me.  There was Michael lying nude on his side facing toward the opposite wall.  Spooned up against him, equally naked was his ex-wife.  I couldn’t believe my eyes and my brain was not processing the information quick enough for me.  The scene in front of me burned into my conscious for a very long time.

In my haste to exit the room quickly, the door slammed shut in front of me.  The noise woke both Michael and Margaret.  I still f
aced the door and heard Michael.

“What the hell? 
Maggie,
what the hell are you doing here and why for god’s sake are you naked, and…” he paused as he was trying to process the scene then he saw me.  “Elizabeth?”

I turned around to look at both of them.  Michael’s look was one of confusion and Margaret looked like a cat with a bowl of cream in front of her.  She looked at both of us, and stretched to make a show of it for
him
. 

Touching his chest, she purred
, “Well, I don’t know why she’s here, but you invited me.  You were wonderful last night.”

Michael actually flinched away from her with a stare of pure disgust.  He grabbed the quilt at the bottom of the bed, wrapped it around himself, and stood up. 

“Good lord
Maggie
, have some decency and cover yourself.”  He pulled the sheet over her.

I stood at the door fighting back the tears that were welling in my eyes.  Margaret looked at me and then at Michael.  She kneeled up on the bed and reached for him. 

“Michael honey, after what we shared last night, I wouldn’t think you’d react like this.  You told me you were ready to try again with me.”  She put on the same pouty lip face I had seen before and then a thought struck me that made me laugh.

Both of them looked at me as I stood
in the doorway.  Laughing, I
clapped my hands together in applause. 

“Brava, Margaret.  Well done, you almost had me going.”  I walked over to Michael and leaned up to kiss him.  “Good morning my love, nice quilt you’ve got there.”

Michael greeted me with a quizzical expression. 

I turned back to Margaret who still had the pouty expression on her face.  “Be careful Margaret, you wouldn’t want your face to freeze that way, it’s most unattractive.”

“Babe, I didn’t.  I swear I didn’t.”  He looked at me in earnest.

I smiled and patted his stomach and then kissed him again.  “I know you didn’t sweetheart.”  I turned to look at
her
.  “Margaret you look confused that your little game didn’t work on me.  You see it has been a long time since you’ve actually been with Michael.  I know certain things about him now that you don’t, and you really overplayed your hand.  You see,” I looked at Michael, “I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings hon.” I looked back at Margaret, “Michael made love to me last night, for a very long time.  In fact, he made me scream at least three times if I recall correctly.”  Michael smiled and nodded his head in affirmation.  “He was quite busy and thoroughly exhausted when we finished, thank you babe.”  I kissed him again.  “So, Margaret, physically,” I shook my head, “it could not happen with you last night.  It might have been even doubtful this early in the morning too.”

The anger on Margaret’s face made her look like she was about to explode.  Thankfully, Michael took over for me, “M
aggie
, I suggest that you retrieve whatever dignity you still have and leave my room.  You are not welcome in here and if it happens again, I will forcibly remove you from my house.  That goes whether I am here or not.  You may continue to stay here because of Tammy and Katy, but let me remind you, you are a guest in my house, and I would expect you to behave in that manner.  Am I clear?”

Margaret gathered the sheets around her and did indeed muster her decorum.  She moved past us in a huff, “Well, I never.”

Michael called after her as she was leaving, “Yes you have.”

Michael put his arms around me, “You are amazing.”

I smiled, “Being in love will do that to a person.  Now, we need to talk.  But, it will not be in here, at least not until those sheets are run through the
washer a couple of times with hot water.”  I shuddered with the remembrance of her body.  If I had thought yesterday that she was beautiful, I was ready to revise that opinion.

Michael nodded, “Come with me to see the eagles today.”

I nodded.  “Okay, come and get me when you’re ready.”  I walked over and picked up my laptop.  “Oh yeah, that is after you’ve changed the lock on the bedroom door and taken a hot shower with a lot of soap.”

I could hear him chuckle as I left the room
.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

On our drive up to the eagles nest, I finally felt relaxed for the first time since we arrived home from Monterey. 

“Tell me the boobs are not hers.”  I said turning to Michael while he drove the jeep.

He
laughed and nodded his head, “No, I think she bought and paid for them after we were divorced.

“And, she’s not a natural blond, is she?”

“I think you saw that for yourself today.”

I giggled, “Yeah, I saw far more that I would have liked to.”

Michael turned the jeep off the road.  The barriers blocking the access to the road were no longer there. 

“What happened?
”  I looked around.  “Did they remove
the barricade
?”

Michael sighed and nodded.  “There was an argument whether it was necessary or not.  We haven’t found anything around the area for several weeks.  The parks department is thinking it may have been a tourist shooting at the eagles.”

I frowned, “I hope they’re right.”

We reached the end of the road and Michael loaded us both up.  He carried his camera equipment and I carried the water and snacks he had made for us.  The walk to the tree stand was enjoyable while we walked slowly and held hands.

“I have something for you.” 
He
said reaching into his backpack.  He pulled out a small black camera with a lens attached and handed it to me.  “This is your first real camera.  I want to teach you how to use it.”

“Oh Michael,” I clapped my hands together taking the camera from him.  “This is so sweet.”

He put the camera strap around my neck.  “Turn it on this way.  I set everything for automatic.  Look through the viewfinder, and you won’t see
an image on the screen until after you’ve taken the picture.  Press this button here.”  He moved my finger up to the button.

I stepped away from him and took a picture of him.  “Oh wow, my first picture.”  I showed him the picture when it popped up on the screen.

Michael laughed and could tell that I was pleased with his gift, “Later on, we’ll work on changing the settings, but first I just want you to get used to the camera.”

“Thank you Michael.”  I reached up and kissed him softly.

We climbed up into the tree stand.  It was a beautiful clear day, the rain we had on the previous day had washed everything down.  The air was fresh and a slight breeze blew.  I enjoyed this type of fall afternoon the most.  The eagles were not in the area yet so we sat down in the stand and waited.

He sat with his back up against the tree trunk with one leg propped up so that I could snuggle up against him and lay my head against his
chest
.  We were quiet for a long time listening to the blowing leaves at the bottom of the tree.   

I finally broke the silence.  “Has your ex-wife always been nuts?”

Michael looked at me and he realized that I was not joking.  “I’m beginning to think that maybe she does have some serious problems, especially after that stunt this morning.” 

“Well yes, that was just plain crazy.  I don’t know what she thought she’d accomplish.”

Michael drew a deep breath.  He laid his arms on my hip as he adjusted his position slightly.  “I think she’s out of money and she’s desperate.  She’d do anything besides getting a job.  I’d help her if she wanted to go back to school, but
that
would mean
she’d actually have to go to school and not fake it.”

“How did the two of you ever get together?”  I
asked while I lifted
his t-shirt up and started running my fingers along his
flat
stomach feeling his hard muscles.

Michael smiled and caught my hand, “If you want me to tell you that story you have to stop that.”

I grinned and nodded, “For now.”

His story started while he was in college.  They met during his
last
year and her first year.  After his breakup with Nicki, he received a reputation of being a ladies’ man by dating a number of girls in quick succession.

“I don’t think I deserved that reputation at all.”  He said laughing.

I just replied, “Tell me about it my stud muffin.”  I kissed him on the stomach.

Michael laughed in jest, “Now Elizabeth cut that out, or I won’t tell you the rest of the story.”

I pursed my lips together in a contrite manner, “I’m sorry, go ahead. 
But, after you finish this one I want to hear about Nicki too.”

He and Margaret dated for about six months, and he had already started working at the aquarium on the weekends, in addition to working as a lab assistant to Jennifer at the university during the week.  He was also trying to do as much photography as his school schedule would allow.  Shortly before graduation, Michael had started to pull away from Margaret and he was ready to end their relationship. 
She
recognized the warning signs and announced that she was pregnant. 

They were married in a quick ceremony in Las Vegas much to the dis
appointment of his mother.  But
once he let his parents know she was pregnant, they understood and were thrilled to be expecting their first grandchild. 

I started to do the math in my head, “Wait a minute, that doesn’t add up.  Katy is only 20, and you graduated 3 years earlier.  Something happen didn’t it?”

He nodded, “Yeah.  She was about four and half months pregnant and miscarried.”

“Oh Michael, I’m sorry.”  I sat up and touched his face.

“Babe, it was a long time ago.”  He kissed my hand.  “It wasn’t meant to be.”

I nodded and settled back down
with my head in
his lap.

He blew out a deep breath again and continued.  Margaret had taken the miscarriage badly so any thoughts of splitting up or leaving were out of the question.  By this time at the aquarium, Michael had a permanent job and they were living in a small apartment in Seaside.  Two years later, Margaret announced she was pregnant again in the spring
, and
Katy arrived the following January.

“She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.  Long fingers and long toes with her delightful eyes, I couldn’t believe how alert she was when she was born.”  Michael was staring off into space with a soft smile remembering Katy’s birth.  “She was all little girl when she was small too.”  He chuckled, “She hated for her hands to be dirty, and we never had any problem getting her to take a bath.”

Then two years later Tammy was born.  This was the point that Michael started to travel for photography jobs.  Margaret was not happy with the traveling he did but she enjoyed the extra money that it brought in, especially when they were able to buy a house and a new car.

When they weren’t physically apart, they started drifting mentally apart.  He was engrossed with growing his photography business and raising his daughters and he did not pay much attention to Margaret.

Michael raked his hand through his hair, “I’ve replayed our whole relationship over and over the past several years.  I know it was mostly my fault because I was not there emotionally for Margaret, I didn’t want to be.” 
He sighed heavily, “We had nothing in common, no bonds, only the children, and Margaret was not happy about having to take care of them while I was traveling.  She was under the impression that I was living the high life when I was away.”  He snorted, “She didn’t realize or refused to recognize that I lived out of tents and sleeping bags.  It was definitely not glamorous, it still isn’t.  What got me
was
that she was the one who had wanted children right away, yet when she finally had them she couldn’t be bothered.”

When Michael first found evidence of Margaret’s infidelities, he ignored it.  He refused to consider
she
was having an affair.  True, they were intimate less and less. 
Even after she started taking birth control pills
, h
e
wanted to believe her excuses that she was tired or not feeling well. 

“I was stupid,” Michael exhaled.  He had been running his fingers through my hair while he spoke.  “And, finally I didn’t want to take
it anymore
.  I’ve asked myself many times if I ever really loved her.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked at him shocked that he would have considered the possibility.  “And, did you come up with an answer?”  I hesitated asking.

He
nodded.  “Yes.  I have my answer now.”

I grew quiet and sat up.  “Kevin told me when I left him that he never loved me.”

He
pursed his lips together and raised my hands to his lips.  “That hurt you didn’t it?”

I nodded, “At first I didn’t believe him.  However, I do now.  I don’t know why he married me though, if he didn’t love me.  That’s why people get married isn’t it?”

Slowly placing
a soft kiss on my hands
he said
, “Not always, Elizabeth.”

He pulled me into his arms and held me against him.  We stopped talking and looked for the eagles.

The eagles did return to their nest and both of us took our cameras out.  Michael took pictures of the eagles, and I took pictures of him.  We were both happy to be working together.

He
convinced me to stay with him that night.  He would be gone on the whale migration expedition until Sunday.  Tammy and her mother went out to dinner so we had the house to ourselves.  After making love, we lay intertwined and murmured sweet nothings. 

We heard Tammy and Margaret come into the house. 

Michael held my face between his hands, “I don’t want you to let Margaret get to you while I’m gone, okay?”  I nodded and he brushed his lips against mine softly.  “Remember I love you and it’s you I want to be with.”

The following morning I awoke while Michael was getting ready to leave.  I padded out to the kitchen and found Tammy already with the
coffee on.  I poured Michael and myself cups.  Tammy handed me the front-page section of the newspaper while she ate her toast.

“Your mom not up yet?”  I asked.

“No, she usually likes to sleep late.”

I nodded adding extra cream to my coffee because Tammy
had
made it strong.  “I was thinking about going down to see your great-grandmother on Friday afternoon, before Katy arrives.  Would you like to go with me?”

Tammy looked up from her paper, “Yeah that would be good.  I talked to Great-grandma yesterday and she was complaining that no one was visiting her.  It would give her something to look forward to.”

“Would your mom like to come along with us?”  This was my attempt to reach out to Margaret one more time.

“I don’t know.  I’ll ask her.”  Tammy said.

Michael came into the kitchen and I handed him his cup of coffee. 

“Thanks Babe.”  He sat down between
us
and she handed him the sports section.

She rose and grabbed her book
bag
.  Bending over she kissed
him
on the cheek.  “Be careful Dad.  Have a good trip.”

He smiled and hugged her around the waist.  “Will do
honey
.  See you on Sunday.”

Tammy touched me on the shoulder.  “I already fed the dogs.”

I smiled, “Thanks.  I’ll run them this morning.”

She nodded and with a quick “Bye,” she left
for school
.

“Well, she was a little frosty to you this morning.”  Michael commented.

“Actually she’s warmed up a little.  I know it’s hard for her to be caught between her mother and me.”  I said.

“Margaret can be very persuasive, but Tammy is a bright girl.”  He drank down the last of his coffee.  “I’m
loading
the jeep, I’ll be right back, meet me in the bedroom.”

Michael met me in his bedroom a few minutes later.  He slipped my robe off and let it drop to the floor before wrapping his arms around me.  “I just wanted to feel you naked before I left.”

I laughed, “Hey no fair.  What about me?”

He leaned in for a kiss, “If I only had time.”

His kiss was deep and lingering.  I wanted to drag him over to the bed, but knew that wouldn’t happen, so instead I was content to rub myself against him.  His hands cupped my butt and lifted me up.  We both groaned into each other’s mouths and then laughed
,
parting reluctantly.