Sometimes Love Hurts (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

A New Life

Present Day

Crystal sat mesmerized by all she heard.  She had listened and watched as her mother, Lisa, told her story, and her mother cried.  To learn about the love her grandparents shared was amazing, but even more astounding was how her grandmother forgave her grandfather for what he had done. Lisa sat on the floor with pictures and journals open all around her.  They both laughed at each other as they blew their noses and looked at the pile of Kleenex that circled them.

“Dad sure was romantic when he was young, wasn’t he?” Crystal asked as a few left over tears spilled from her mother’s eyes. 

“Yes, he was, sweetie.  You only get to live one lifetime, and before you know it, you’re old.  I love the saying ‘youth is wasted on the young.’” Her mother laughed.  “It’s a quote from one of my favorite movies – ‘
It’s a Wonderful Life’.
When we’re young, we experience life new, with no knowledge of what to expect.  When we get older and we look back, we sometimes wish we had done some things differently to enjoy life better.”  

Crystal gave her mother a weird look as if trying to understand what she just said.

“Are you sure Blake is having an affair?” Her mother questioned.  “There has to be an explanation.”

“I don’t know,” she replied, a single tear running down her face. She took in a deep breath and added, “Mom, it just isn’t the same anymore.  He was once so in love with me that he couldn’t wait to get home to see me, and we made love every night.”  She wiped a newly fallen tear. “But now… I don’t see him as much anymore, and he isn’t as tender to me as he was before.”

“What about you, Crystal?” She asked.  “Are you still as much in love with him as when you married him?” 

Mom drew Crystal close and they both fell on the couch.  She could feel her daughter’s body tremble as she silently cried.  She did not want to rush her daughter for an answer, so they sat quietly in the living room with Crystal sobbing in her mother’s arms.  Finally, she lifted up her face, and her mother kissed her on the cheek.

“Maybe you should ask him?” Her mother plead, staring into her daughter’s eyes.  “You don’t need this anxiety right now, especially while you’re carrying my grandbaby.” 

“Ow!” Crystal squealed and looked at her mother.

“What is it sweetie?”

“I don’t know, but I felt a big pain.”

“Well, the baby is due in a couple of weeks and all this stress could put you into early labor.”  

“I need to get home,” Crystal said instantly.  “I need to talk to my husband now, before our baby comes into the world.”  

She slowly rose from the couch and scrambled for her phone to see if any text messages were on it. 

I LOVE YOU TOO.  WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?

She felt so relieved to see those words from Blake.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie,” her mother interjected.  “What if you’re going into labor?” 

“I’m fine, mom.  I just have this feeling inside that tells me I have to take care of things right now.”

Her mother began picking up the journals and pieces of used tissues from the floor. 

“Can I bring you home?” she asked.

“Mom, I’ll make a deal with you –  I will stay here for an hour and if I don’t feel any more pains I can drive, but if I do then you can take me?”

Crystal’s eyes beseeched her mom, and they agreed.  However, it seemed to be the longest hour in history. 

When Crystal’s established hour was up and no more pains were felt, her mother kissed her goodbye and sent her on her way home.  It would take about twenty minutes.  She listened to, “You Never Let Go”  playing on the car radio. 

‘Oh no, you never let go through the calm, and through the storm.  Oh no, you never let go in every high and every low.  Oh no, you never let go, Lord you never let go of me.’
The words were just what Crystal needed to hear, and they brought her great comfort.

As she drove into her driveway, she noticed that the purple petunias she had planted in the front garden were in full bloom. 

What a beautiful sight
, she thought.

She parked the car and slowly got out.  The breeze gently patted her face and her bare legs, and her heart pounded in her chest.  Up ahead in the driveway was Blake’s blue Dodge Hemi.  She nibbled her upper lip, crossed and uncrossed her arms.  Her heart felt stuck in her throat.  The troubling thought of the lipstick was just not important anymore.  His love for her was all that mattered. 

She wondered if Blake would smile when he saw her.

She needed to talk to him, to get some things off her chest.  She wanted to know where they stood in their relationship.  Crystal stared at the front door, and in her mind she could see Blake coming home from work, putting his strong arms around her, and kissing her hello. 

“I love being in Blake’s arms,” she admitted quietly.

Crystal still wanted to solve the mystery of the lipstick on her husband’s collar, but after listening to her mother read her grandmother’s journal, she knew she had to forgive him.  She missed him, and in her heart she knew she was still deeply in love with him.

“Please God, make this right,” she prayed as she walked up the front steps.

She opened the front door slowly.  Blake heard it squeak and rushed to see her.  He stood in front of her for a moment, and then stretched out his hand toward her.  Crystal hesitated at first, but then let him take her hand in his.  She missed his touch.  She missed a lot of things about him and oddly enough, she began to feel calm.  Blake stared deep into her brown eyes, and she realized how much she missed his.

“I love looking into your eyes, Crystal.  The kindness you show pours out of them.  I’m not sure I deserve a second chance.” 

He stopped to take a deep breath before he continued.

“I am so sorry.  I love you so much.  You deserve better, but I hope and pray that you still love me, and want to spend the rest of your days with me.”

Tears welled in the back of Crystal’s eyes.

Thank you, God
, she thought.

A tear trickled down her cheek, so Blake took his thumb and gently wiped it away.

“Can you tell me why I saw lipstick on the collar of your shirt?” She asked.

He looked up at her with steady eyes knowing he wanted to tell her the truth.

Quickly Blake explained, “I was having dinner with Katherine, and the subject of conversation was our employees.  She still wanted to cut some people from her staff. Some of them didn’t seem to like her. She thought she deserved more respect from them. The waiters and cooks missed the old management, but stayed on because of me.  I never spouted out orders, and I helped out whenever I could.  I was not afraid to get my hands dirty, whereas Katherine would not move a finger to help anyone.  I assured her that for the open house, they would all do their best.  With that, she reached up and kissed me on the neck.” 

Blake looked frightened while the thought of it made Crystal’s stomach churn.

“Nothing happened, Crystal.  I mean, she tried to seduce me, but nothing happened.  I did not kiss her or lay a finger on her.” 

Her body became tense as she listened to the words he had just said.

“Maybe you need to start from the beginning?”  Crystal walked into the living room and sat down. Blake followed her lead. He took a deep breath, and let his eyes scan past her face as he began his story.

“My boss, Katherine, called me into her office the night you went to your mothers. She told me I would have to put in extra hours for the open house she was planning.  She wore a low cut blouse and a lot of perfume, which I couldn’t help but notice as she walked close to me and whispered in my ear that she appreciated the way I helped her and the other employees.”

Crystal eyes were glued to Blake as he tried to tell her what had been going on. She could see him wiggle uncomfortably in his seat. She tried to look into his eyes, but he was avoiding hers.

“The open house was a great success. There were so many customers, and so much food was being served. Katherine was so happy. Finally, when then last customer left and we were finished cleaning the restaurant, I was sitting on a stool with a glass of water. I was so worn out, and of course I was anxious because you were not home and I worried about you.”

Crystals’ eyes opened wide, and finally Blake let his eyes meet hers.  His face looked so stern, and unhappy. His eyebrows curved down to his nose as he went on.

“I was just sitting there when Katherine surprised me by whispering in my ear,
“Well done.”
. She took her hands and started to message my shoulders. I started to resist but…”

Blake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again he looked past Crystal. Crystal sat there not knowing what to expect and fearing the worse.

“Katherine seemed just to know how to rub the tension out of my shoulders. I let her do that, Crystal. I am so sorry.”

Crystal could feel the tears begin to gather behind her eyes.
What did he have to tell her?
Part of her didn’t want to hear any more of what he had to say.

“I just sat there enjoying the feel of her touch.  I started to get tired as her hands worked their way up and down my back. I was so exhausted from all the hours I put in the last couple of days.”

Crystal was focused on his face, waiting to hear the words she dreaded.  A tear slipped down her cheek. She took her hands and rubbed them together willing herself not to start crying out loud.

Blake’s’ voice cracked as he went on. “I must be pretty dumb, or maybe I knew this was coming. I don’t know, but her hands started to go around my waist and next thing I know she was trying to undo my pants.” A tear slipped down Blake’s’ cheek. “I am so sorry, Crystal, for even letting anything get that far.”

Crystal let out a cry and tears began to swallow up her eyes. “Are you saying you slept with her?” Her body was trembling.

“No, no,” Blake stated quickly. “Oh no, that never happened.” His eyes shoot up to see her red and watery cheeks. “I reminded her that my WIFE,” which he said very stern, “is having a baby, and I need a job. But if it means I have to sleep with you to keep it, than I quit.”

Crystal was still trembling. This was more than she wanted to hear right now.

“Then a funny thing happened,” he continued. “I reached in my pocket for my phone and you had written me a text:
I LOVE YOU.
” A small smile formed on his lips, and then just as quickly it went away. “I felt so guilty, I could not text you back right away. The house was so quiet and dark with you gone when I got home.”

He paused for a breath before he walked into the bedroom and came out with their wedding picture.  He kneeled by Crystals’ side holding the picture. 

“You never looked as beautiful as you did the day I married you. I remember it like it was yesterday – the anticipation I had of how our life was going to be like together. We both cried as we said our vows. Remember?”

Crystal starred at the picture that Blake was holding. The tears were streaming down her face. How she loved him, and she could feel the love he had for her.

Crystal watched as Blake put down the picture, and felt his strong arms that pulled her to a standing position.

“I love you so much, Crystal,”  he said as his arms hugged her tightly.  “I hope you forgive me.”  He paused for a moment. “I believed in happy endings.  I believed in families, and I want you.”

Silence filled the room for a moment as Crystal was taking this all in.

“Remember our vows.  Let no man come between us?” He added.  Crystal nodded and he added, “I think that means no woman either.  I am yours till death do us part.”  He took his hands and wiped the tears from her face. Crystal looked up at him as he took her chin in his hand.

“I love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, Crystal.” 

Then he gave her a kiss.  As she stood in the living room being held by her husband, she felt a strange trickle down her legs.

“Oh!” She said looking to the floor.  “I think my water just broke.” 

“What?”

“I felt a pain at my mom’s house, and stayed an hour per her request to prove I was not in labor yet.”  She said as she held her tummy. “I think this child wants to prove me wrong. I think we’re having our baby.”

“Stay right there, sweetheart,” Blake said and ran to the bedroom to grab the overnight bag they had packed for the hospital. 

Gently, he helped his wife into the car and drove her to the hospital. While she waited for a nurse, Crystal called her parents.  More than one nurse arrived to prep her, and to calm Blake down.  They inserted an IV in her arm and a baby monitor on her belly.  She was also given an epidural anesthetic since the pains were close together, and it was almost time to push.  Blake seemed to calm when he heard the baby’s heartbeat.

Before long, her parent’s, Lisa and Joey, arrived.