Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves) (61 page)

“
No, baby.  Everything was good at work, but I just couldn’t sleep last night.  I kept thinking about what happened at the hospital and how I acted.  Instead of supporting you during such shocking and surprising news, I interrogated you.  What kind of a man does that, Claire?” he asked as he looked at me with his bright blue eyes and dark circles underneath.

“It’s ok
ay, Alex.  That was yesterday and we worked it out.  Why don’t you go upstairs and take a warm shower and a nap,” I told him.

“Come with me,” he said, taking my hand and walking me upstairs with him.  “You know I don’t sleep well without you next to me,” he added.  I rested on my bed as Alex headed for the shower.  He returned with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair very wet.  He slipped into a pair of boxers and lay down next to me.  I knew he had taken a boiling hot shower, as his body was very hot.  His breathing became heavy as he began to kiss me.

“
If you don’t want to it’s okay, baby,” he said.

“
I want to and the doctor said it was okay,” I replied, giving him the green light.  He was so gentle with me as if I was very fragile and may break.  He undressed me slowly as he kissed me gently.  He awakened all my senses when he entered me, still handling me as if I were made of glass.

“
Let me know if you feel uncomfortable,” he offered.

“
I’m fine, Alex.  I’m not going to break,” I replied.

I responded to his every move, as my body craved him desperately.  Every movement sent shivers down my spine and I begged him to quicken his pace
, but he continued with slow and gentle thrusts.  My heart felt as thought it was going to pound its’ way out of my chest.  The more I begged for him to quicken his pace, the slower he continued.

“
Enjoy it, baby,” he said as his tongue made its’ way into my ear.  My heart rate quickened even more and I could no longer take it.  My body began to convulse as I surrendered to an intense orgasm.  Alex came at the same time as he groaned.

He pulled himself out
of me and held me close to him as he lay on his back with my head on his chest.  I could hear his loudly beating heart as I could hear my own pounding in my ears.

“
Alex, as crazy as it can be living with you, I can’t imagine myself living without you,” I confessed.  “I guess I’m addicted to all your crazy ways,” I added.

“
My craziness only means that I’m insanely in love with you.  You’re the only woman that could ever drive me crazy,” he replied.  I waited for Alex to fall asleep, so I could slip away downstairs.  I had too much sleep the night before and got out of bed late, so sleep was the last thing on my mind.  I went downstairs and warmed up some chicken noodle soup that he had made for me and enjoyed every ounce of it.  I was so bored at home and knew I wanted to go back to work as soon as possible.  I decided that I would stay home one more day and if I felt the same or better then I would return to work on Thursday.

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After a long nap, Alex came downstairs, dressed in sweatpants and his favorite university sweatshirt.  He helped himself to a bowl of the soup that he had made.  Stefano and Mandy called to let us know that they would be arriving shortly.  I stood next to the dining table and admired the beautiful sterling roses in the Tiffany crystal vase.  Alex wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me and kissed the nape of my neck as he rubbed his hand on my flat belly, which I knew wouldn’t be flat for too long.  He turned me around and lifted my shirt, kissing my abdomen, smiling as he looked up at me.

“
Alex, are you going to do that every day?” I asked.

“
Of course.  Many times a day,” he said, smiling.

The guard called to let me know Stefano had arrived.  Alex o
ffered to go outside and open the garage, so they could park my car inside.  I greeted Stefano and Mandy warmly and thanked them both for driving my car all the way to my place on a weeknight.

“
It’s really not a big deal, Claire,” said Mandy.  “So tell me, how are you feeling?  Congratulations on the upcoming bundle of joy.  I’m so happy for the two of you,” she said, with a warm smile.

“
Hey, Stefano, why don’t I pour us a few glasses of scotch to enjoy on the verandah while the girls hang out inside together and talk about whatever it is girls talk about,” Alex offered.

“
Uh, sure,” replied Stefano.  Alex poured the two glasses of scotch and stepped out on the verandah with Stefano.  I was in a friendly conversation with Mandy, but my mind was on the boys.  I wondered what Alex and Stefano were talking about.  Would they argue?  Would Alex say something to Stefano about the baby and how he thought it could have been Stefano’s before he found out how far along I was?  My mind was all over the place.  Mandy noticed that I was a bit distracted and I blamed it on the pregnancy.  Thirty minutes later, the boys came back inside and I tried to read their faces.  They both looked happy and I couldn’t read anything bad written on their faces.  After Stefano and Mandy left, I questioned Alex about what they talked about outside.

“
Oh, baby, we were just hanging out and getting to know each other.  Look, I don’t want to be enemies with Stefano just because I assumed that something happened between the two of you after we broke up.  Everything is fine between Stefano and I, don’t worry,” he explained.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “I will take your word for it,” I said.  Alex cleaned up and loaded the dish
washer while I kept him company.  “Alex, if I feel the same or better tomorrow, I’m going back to work on Thursday.  It’s so depressing and boring to stay home.  I don’t know how women do it,” I confessed.

“
Ok, baby, just promise you won’t push yourself at work,” he said.

“
It’s hard to do that since I’m sitting on my butt, answering phones and working on reports most of the day,” I smiled.

“
Just looking out for you,” he said as he kissed me with his warm lips.  “Let’s go to bed.  I have to wake up at four tomorrow morning,” he said and took my hand, leading me upstairs.  Alex turned on the fireplace in my bedroom to make it nice and cozy.  We didn’t make love that night.  We just fell asleep in each other’s arms until morning.  Alex awakened very early as he had said he needed to.  I could hardly open my eyes when he kissed me goodbye.

When I awakened, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and it was already nine o’clock in the morning.  I felt so hungry the minute I awakened.  I went downstairs and began devouring some of the food Alex had cooked for me the night before.  After I ate, I decided to give Stefano a call to ask him about his conversation with Alex on my verandah the night before.

“Alex was really nice and apologized for the way he acted at the hospital the other night.  He told me exactly how he feels about you and how he thought you and I had, uh, you know.  Long story short, he really loves you, Claire.  He’s really crazy about you,” he said.  It was ironic that he used the term “crazy”.  “So now he knows that absolutely nothing happened between you and I, so that should put some clarity in your relationship,” he said.

It was good to hear that Alex was nice to Stefano and hadn’t done or said anything to hurt his feelings like I had feared.  My mother had left me a message the night before
, so I decided to give her a call.  I told her about my dehydration and fainting experience, but I didn’t tell her about Alex or the pregnancy.  I would visit her in person one day soon and tell her everything.  She was concerned about my health, but I assured her that I was only dehydrated and was feeling one hundred percent better.

Alex called me later in
the afternoon to ask how I was doing and to let me know he was headed to the clinic for the rest of the day.  I told him I had plenty of food and asked him not to worry about me.  I really was feeling better and almost as good as new.

“
I’m just a phone call away.  I love you and will see you tonight,” he said and hung up.  I was bored out of my mind.  I wanted to exercise, but was too afraid I might make myself sick or was too weak to begin exercising again.  I flipped through the channels on the television, but found nothing exciting enough to watch.  I did a little bit of reading on the internet and was very frightened to read about what could have happened to my baby from all the alcohol I drank before I knew I was pregnant.  The diseases were endless.  With high anxiety, I began to pace.  I called Alex and expressed my concerns to him.  He reassured me that it wasn’t my fault and that I had no clue I was carrying another life inside of me.  I felt better after I spoke to him and stopped reading about the horrible diseases my baby could have if affected by my alcohol consumption.

When Alex called to tell me he was on his way from work that evening, I warmed up
food for us to eat before he arrived.

“
Hey, baby.  How was your day at home?” he asked.

“
Depressing.  How was your day at work?” I asked.

“
Very busy and tiring,” we both laughed.

Alex told me he had run into Laura and told her I was
feeling well enough to possibly return to work the following day.

“
She sounded really happy about that.  I think she really misses you,” he said.

“
I miss her too.  Can’t wait to return to work tomorrow,” I confessed.  Just then the guard called to let me know my parents were at the gate.  I looked at Alex, knowing my face was white as a ghost.  I hadn’t told them about Alex and I rekindling our relationship.

“
Don’t worry, baby.  We will talk to them and tell them about the misunderstanding about Angela.  They will understand.  Trust me,” he said.  My doorbell rang and I rushed to open the door and walked my parents inside slowly.  They both hugged me and asked how I was feeling before they noticed Alex standing in my living room.

“
What’s he doing here?” my father asked coldly.

“
Hello, Alex,” my mother greeted him kindly.

“
Mom, dad, uh, I was going to come over this weekend to talk to you about Alex, but you beat me to it and came here,” I said with a shaky voice.

“
How is your
wife
?” my father asked.

“
Henry!” my mother stopped him.

“
Dad, please.  It was all a misunderstanding,” I said, looking at him with my eyes wide, trying to stop him from saying anything else.

“
Claire, it’s ok.  He has every right,” said Alex.

“
Maybe we should leave and talk about this some other time,” my mother offered.

“
Now that I’m here, I think I could use a drink,” my father said, walking to the mini bar to help himself to something strong.

“
Sweetheart, you should have told me when we spoke on the phone,” whispered my mother.

“
Mom, I wanted tell you the whole story in person,” I whispered back.

“
What the hell is this?” my father asked, holding up the ultrasound picture of the baby that Dr. Tan had given me.  My mother took it from him and looked at it as her eyes widened bigger than I imagined possible.

“
Oh my God, Claire.  You’re pregnant?!” my mother gasped.

Chapter 24

I didn’t need to answer my mother’s question, as the look on my face answered it for me.  I never wanted my parents to find out about their future grandchild by running into an ultrasound copy.  I never wanted them to think less of me for being in love with a married man who had yet to finalize his divorce.

“
Yes, I am.  I wanted to sit down and tell you about Alex and I first.  I never wanted you to find out this way,” I said.

“
I love Claire very much,” Alex began. “We will raise this baby together.  My divorce will be final before the baby is born,” he explained.

“
Wait a minute, Alex,” my mother stopped him, “isn’t your wife ill?” she asked.

“
Please, if we sit down together, I would like to clear up the misunderstanding between us,” Alex pleaded.  My mother looked at my father as he nodded and took a seat with my mother on the sofa.  Alex began telling his story without leaving a single detail unmentioned.  He told them about his marriage to Angela and her infidelity, secret abortion, and drug addiction.  He told them how he was separated from her for months before I came into his life.  My mother’s eyes looked moist with sadness.  My father was a harder nut to crack, but his soft side seemed to have kicked in towards the end of Alex’s story.

“
I wasn’t looking for love when I ran into Claire in that parking lot, but love found me.  I guess we were just destined to be together,” he said, taking my hand into his.

“
Thank you for opening up to us, Alex.  It really helped clear things up for us, right Henry?” my mother asked, turning her head to my father who was seated right next to her.