Missy's Gentle Giant (32 page)

“I see.”  Ben’s father chewed
his lip.  “You know Ben, with twins, they’re usually born smaller.”

“Yeah, but chances increase
something will be wrong wit—”

“You still blame yourself because
your sister wasn’t normal?”  His father frowned.

“Well, the doctor said—”

“What doctor?  Ben who said
what?” 

“I don’t know who.  I remember
I was with Mom in the doctor’s office one time.  She was having a hell of
a time controlling me while the doctor was checking Connie.  Mom said
something like she wished I had less energy and Connie had more—”

“Yes, I remember.”  His mother
cut in.  “I said it was too bad things weren’t divided more evenly. 
You ran out of the office then.  A nurse chased you back several minutes
later, and the doctor was saying it was normal for one twin to take more from
the mother than the others.  But he didn’t mean it in your case.”

“He didn’t?”

“No, as a matter of fact I asked
several doctors about it.  They all told me Connie would have been born
the same even is she was a single birth.  What was wrong with her was a
congenital anomaly, not because you were twins.  It was in her cells to be
the way she was.  Oh Ben!  You’ve been thinking this all these
years?”

“Thinking Connie’s problems were
your fault?”  His father added.

“Yeah, I guess I did.”  His
face contorted while he tried not show the relief waving through him.  He
glanced up at his parents and smiled.  “I have to go right now, but as
soon as I can I’ll bring Missy up to meet you, or you could come down.”

“We just might do it, son.” 
His father smiled.

“Yes, after we have the house and a
couple of rooms cleaned out.”  His mother laughed. “The way clothes
are always coming back in style, I’ll bet someone could use Connie’s things.”

Ben could hardly wait to go see
Missy when he stepped off the plane the next morning, but there was one thing
he had to do first.  He called his secretary to have her call the doctor’s
office to cancel his appointment.  Missy would be glad to know he’d
changed his mind about having children.

Half an hour later he happily
banged his way into the Sanchez home and met sad faces.

“Something wrong with your Pop?”

“No, he’s doing much better—came
home this morning.”  Gonzalo didn’t smile.

“Great!”  Ben stared at the
sad faces.  “Missy?”

“In her room.”

Ben took the stairs two at a time
and crashed into Missy’s room with a pounding heart.  “Honey?”

Missy sat in the center of her bed,
her knees pulled up with her arms wrapped around them and her chin on her
knees.  She glanced up and smiled.  “Hi!  I didn’t expect you so
soon.”

She turned her face up for him to
kiss.  His massive hands grabbed hold of her shoulders.

“So I gather.”  He saw she was
wearing her trouble gown.  “What’s wrong?”  He sat on the bed when he
saw she wasn’t going to get out of her protective, self-hugging position.

“Who said something’s wrong?”

“No one has to.  This house is
like death warmed over.  Honey, tell me.”  He reached out, pulled her
arms away from her legs and tried to pull her into his arms.  Instead she
lay back turned her back to him and faced the wall.

“Dammit!”  Ben jumped
up.  “I can hardly wait to get home to my loving wife with great news and
get a cold shoulder.  A guy can’t win around here.”  He threw his
arms up in the air and dropped them to his sides in frustration.  “Maybe Gonzalo
will go out and get drunk with me.”  Purposely he stomped toward the door.

“Ben, wait.”  Missy turned
over and tried to smile.  “You say you were anxious to come home and tell
me good news?”

“Yeah, good news.”  Ben came
back, sat on the bed in front of her, sighed audibly and put his hand in her
hair.  He brushed her cheek with his thumb.  “Mom and Dad are back
together helping each other stop all the things they were doing to punish
themselves.  We had a long talk about Connie.  Before I left my dad
told me he was proud of me and what I’ve become.”  He smiled.  “And
they said they want to meet you and might come down.”

“Oh?  They’re doing all right
then?”

“Yeah, finally faced up to Connie’s
death and are putting the pieces back together.  A lot of things I thought
about them weren’t true.”  He shook his head.  “Anyhow, you might be
mad at me.”  He shrugged.  “I gave them the picture you had enlarged
of Connie.  I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“No, I don’t.  I can get
another one.”  Missy sat up and put her arms around Ben’s neck and her
head against he shoulder.

“I want you to know I loved the
picture, but your other gift—”

“What gift?”

“The bracelet.”  He pulled her
hand up to touch it on his right wrist.  “It means more because it will
always be special, just between you and me.”

“Then you’re not angry?”

“No, pleased and happy you
understand about my secret scar.”

“I hoped it would also include
mine.  She whispered shakily.

“Yes, I know.”  He touched her
cheek lovingly.  “Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”  Ben
pulled her hands down and held them.  “You’re wearing your trouble gown.”

Missy’s eyes shifted away. 
“Oh Ben, I’m so sorry.”  Tears came to her eyes.  “I hate to spoil
your good feelings.”

He wiped a tear away.  “Tell
me.”  His heart was trying to jump from his chest.

“I went to the doctor yesterday.”
 She started shaking.  “He says I can’t use the pill—”

“It doesn’t matter.”  Ben’s
heart stopped in his throat.  “Damn, the pill.”

“I can’t use it because I’m already
pregnant!”  She jerked away and tried to roll away.

“You’re preg—damn!”  Ben
jumped up and stomped toward the door.  “A baby, damn!”  In two
strides he was back to the bed and hunching over her.  “A baby?” 
When she nodded an affirmative, he turned again and stomped to the door, this
time opening it.  “Gonzalo!”  He tore downstairs yelling. 
“Let’s get drunk!”  Missy began to sob.

Ben was out on the front porch in a
daze waiting for Gonzalo to come to life.  Mrs. Sanchez shook her head in
wonder and nodded for Gonzalo to go with Ben.  Gonzalo got to the front
door and Mrs. Sanchez just put her foot on the bottom step to go up to Missy
when Ben screamed.

“A baby!  Our baby! 
Damn!”  He nearly knocked Gonzalo and Mrs. Sanchez down as he tore back
upstairs and into Missy’s room.  He bent down and rolled her over. 
“Oh honey, you’re so wonderful and beautiful and mine.”  His tongue
searched for hers until they did a love dance.  When he pulled away, he
wiped at her tears.  “You’re so good to me.”

“I thought you’d be mad.”  She
stared at him.

“No, no way!”  He grinned. 
“Did the doctor say you’re all right?  I mean you’re big enough—did you
tell him how big I am—did he say—”

“Everything’s all right.”  She
smiled.

“Hey Ben, are we going or
not?”  Gonzalo yelled.

“Oh damn, I forgot him.”  Ben
jumped up and went to the top of the stairs.  “I’m going to have a
baby!”  He yelled and threw some bills over the banister.  “Someone
go get some beer and we’ll celebrate.”  He tore back into Missy’s room,
dropped on her bed on his knees and hunkered over her.  As his lips touched
hers, his hand shot down to her abdomen.  “Oh honey, let me see.”

“Ben, there’s nothing to
see.”  She smiled and helped him undo her gown.  She giggled when his
massive hand slid over her and then his lips went down to kiss her
abdomen.  “It’s only this big right now.”  She curled her forefinger
into her thumb to make a tiny circle.

“So small?”  His voice was
muffled as his wandering tongue started lower.

“Ben, what are you doing?”

“Trying to feel our baby.”

“You’re acting crazy.”

“I missed you.”  His breathing
was heavy and erratic as he sought to give her pleasure.  His lips went
back up to hers in a passionate kiss.

“Hey man, the beer’s here.” 
Gonzalo yelled.

“Ben.”  Missy whispered.

“Oh honey—”  He pulled his
hand away.  “I just wanted to make you feel good.”

“Wait until we get home.”  She
kissed him.

“Yeah, okay.”  He put his
forehead on the bed beside her while she put her clothes back right.  “You
don’t know how happy you made me tonight.”

“Go have a drink with my brothers,
Ben.  Tell Mom I’m coming down for coffee.”

“Milk!”  He rose, glanced down
at his state and sat again.

“Are you really glad?”  Missy
giggled and kissed his ear.

“Yes, I’m glad, and you’re not
helping me one damn bit.”

Finally, when he cooled enough, Ben
went downstairs, hugged Mrs. Sanchez and shook hands with all her
brothers.  They gathered in the kitchen while Gonzalo passed out
beers.  A few minutes later, Missy came down looking for coffee, and a
tiny argument ensued over the preferred value of milk.  She rolled her
eyes skyward and glared at Ben as she stomped into the living room with her
milk, smiled at her mother and then laughed.

Laughter also rose in the kitchen
where Ben and her brothers were; it died and rose several times for well over
an hour.  Missy knew they were telling jokes.  Ben was part of the
family now.  When her mother went up to check her dad, Missy picked up her
glass and stole into the kitchen.  Ben’s arm snaked out, grabbed her and
pulled her onto his lap.  While Ben listened to Marco, Gonzalo watched her
hand slide down to Ben’s and a private little conversation ensue under the
table.  Not five minutes later Missy and Ben were saying goodnight and
left.  Things were fine.  Nothing could be better.

Exactly one week later an angry
Missy took Ben with her to see Dr. Garcia for a lengthy discussion on what she
was allowed during pregnancy.  She was fed up with eight glasses of milk a
day, perfectly balanced meals, no junk food, not being able to walk or do
anything, especially no lovemaking.  Ben wanted her to stay in bed flat on
her back.  What’s more, he piled her plates high enough for three people
and tried to force her to eat it all.  She was getting sick from his care.

A chagrinned Ben ordered pizza with
pickles added to the topping for dinner while Missy swam in the pool. 
After their visit to the doctor, he settled a little for a few weeks until he
saw her clothes were getting tighter.  Then he nearly wore her to a
frazzle taking her to every maternity shop in town.  When they got home,
she was too tired to argue when he insisted on measuring her.  She had to
drag Ben back to the doctor when it became evident he was worried she was too
big and decided she needed daily measuring.  In an effort to reassure Ben,
Dr. Garcia gave him his private home phone number, so Ben could call anytime he
had a question.  It was a mistake the doctor lived to regret.

One night after lovemaking Missy
wanted some chocolate chip mint ice cream, and Ben only groaned a little as he
dressed to go get some.  It was four in the morning when the police
brought him home and asked if he belonged to her.  Grinning sheepishly,
Ben handed her a carton half-filled with melted ice cream.  She’d long
since forgotten her craving, but she ate some anyway while Ben told how he’d opened
the mall and the ice cream shop.  He carefully wrote a note to the shop’s
manager and left money, but while he was scooping ice cream the burglar alarms
in the police station went off.  Before he knew it several police cars had
descended upon the place and arrested him!  HIM!  In his own damn mall! 
He fumed furiously until she told him how wonderful the ice cream made her feel
and snuggled into his arms.  Promptly he forgot the incident.

When Missy went for her next
checkup, Ben had a business meeting and couldn’t go.  The doctor sighed
audibly when he saw Ben wasn’t with her.  Dr. Garcia hummed while he
listened to the fetal heart, stopped abruptly with a grunt and charged from the
room.  Moments later he returned with his partner, and he listened to the
heart too.  Without saying a word, the doctors left and ordered a
sonogram.  A few minutes later Missy was helped to dress and ushered into
Dr. Garcia’s office.

“Is something wrong?”  She
worried about the expression on the doctor’s face when he came in.

“No.”  He groaned
audibly.  “Look Missy, I’m not positive—it could be an echo—but we hear
more than one heart.” 

“Oh no!  Twins?”  She
shook all over.  “You’ve got to promise not to tell Ben.”

“My thoughts exactly.”  Dr.
Garcia grinned.  “To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I can take much
more, if Ben’s worrying twice as much.”  He shook his head.  “When
you told me he didn’t want children—”

“I was wrong Dr. Garcia.” 
Missy grinned.

“I’ll say.”  The doctor
smiled.  “Of course if he knew, he might worry less about one baby being
too big.”

“No, he’d get worse.  His twin
was born with problems and later died.”

When the baby moved the first time,
Missy decided not to tell Ben because it was just a little flutter.  She
should have known better.  He was so attuned to her condition he saw right
off something was different.  Later, after lovemaking, he rolled to his
elbow and played with her hair.

“Okay, out with it, what’s
wrong?”  He demanded.

“Nothing Ben, I—I think the baby
just moved, that’s all.”

“Nothing?”  Ben jumped out of
bed.  Quickly he picked up the phone.

“Ben, please don’t call Dr.
Garcia.  Wait until morning.”  She’d already quit asking him to call
and now tried to get him to do it at a decent hour.  “Just come here, and
I’ll let you feel it.  Then tomorrow you’ll be able to tell him more about
it.”

Instantly Ben was by her side with
his warm massive hand touching her abdomen.  When he felt the flutter
under his hand, he groaned, jumped up and called Dr. Garcia anyway.  Once
assured a flutter was normal, he spent the rest of the night alternately
feeling her abdomen with his hand and cheek because the little flutters tickled
and pleased him so.  When Missy awakened at nine, Ben was on the phone and
pacing.  He’d awakened, didn’t feel the baby moving and called the
doctor.  Sheepishly he crawled back in bed, touched Missy’s abdomen and
kissed her.