Chapter 6
After her office party and meeting, Julie decided to drive to her father’s place before she went back home. It had been a while since she’d been home and the only time she had seen her father and her Nan in the last four months was when they had come over to visit and even then, their visits
were not worth much. At least that was what she felt. She was always in bed when they visited and thanks to her first trimester blues, most of the time,
she spent sleeping or throwing up. It was almost midday when she drove up in front of her father’s house. She got out of the car and slowly made her
way into the house.
“Hello! Anybody home?” She called out when she opened the front door.
“In here!” she heard her Nan call from the kitchen. She threw her bag on the couch and kicked her shoes off before she made her way to the kitchen.
“Are you making sweet potato pie?” she asked as she walked towards her Nan who turned around and smiled before she threw her arms around her.
“Actually, yeah. We have a bake sale tomorrow,” she said. “But I can give you a slice right now,” she added as she served a slice of pie onto a plate. Julie took a seat at the counter as her Nan pushed the plate to her.
“Damn it,” Julie said under her breath when she realized that she had taken a seat without washing her hands first.
“Watch your language, lady,” her Nan said in a stern tone. “I’m sorry. I just feel a little lazy today,” she sighed.
“What do you need?” Nan smiled at her.
“Some wet wipes? Hand sanitizer maybe?” she asked. Her Nan handed her a hand sanitizer before she went to take another pie out of the oven. “Oh my God, this is heavenly,” Julie said as she took a bite.
“Some milk to go with that?” her Nan called. Julie looked up and frowned before she shook her head. “Still getting nauseated?” Nan asked.
“Especially with milk. Flavored or otherwise,” she rolled her eyes before taking another bite. Her Nan walked over to where she was and looked at her.
“Steven told me you have taken a liking to that weird Indian milkshake.”
“Actually it was just the one time. Maybe that was what made me dislike milk,” she said before taking another bite as her Nan sat next to her.
“So, how are you feeling? Is everything alright?”
“So far so good,” she said in between bites. “I went back to work today,” she added smiling gleefully.
Nan smiled and nodded.
“Yes, Steven had told me of your intention to go back to work but,” she paused and touched Julie’s chin and turned her face to look at her. “Are you sure you’re up to it? I mean what did the doctor say?”
“Dr. Solloway told me that I was out of the woods so I have nothing to worry about really and in case of anything I still have Chloe,” Julie said.
Nan frowned and she shook her head. “Chloe?”
“The home nurse,” Julie said before she took one last bite. “But I really don’t want to talk about me. I’ve had four months of that…how are you? And where’s dad?” she asked.
“Your father had to rush out. Some work lunch or something,” Nan said.
“Pity. I was really looking forward to seeing him today,” Julie said frowning.
“You are still coming for Sunday dinner, right? You can see him then,” her Nan said.
Julie raised an eyebrow. “Nan, I think this week’s Sunday dinner is at our house.”
“Are you sure?” Her Nan frowned. Julie wished she had her phone with her so she could check out her calendar.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure,” she said.
“But we were at your place last week, honey,” her Nan said looking into Julie’s eyes.
“Yes but I was still under house arrest and I hated having to eat in bed,” Julie said. She made puppy eyes at her grandmother and smiled sweetly.
“Please Nan. I’m cooking. You know you love it when I make that chicken and mashed potato,” she said as she looked into her Nan’s eyes. There was a long silence before her Nan finally sighed.
“Fine. But you twisted my arm there,” she said as she climbed off the stool and walked round the counter. Her Nan was packing up the pies just as she heard the front door open. “Maybe that is your father right now,” Nan said without looking up. Julie was debating whether to get off the stool and walk to the living room or just stay where she was when she heard the unmistakable voice of Anna Rizzoli, one of her father’s new neighbors and the loudest person she knew. “Anna is that you?” Julie’s Nan called out.
“Yes! I came for the pies. Hope you are done,” Anna yelled. “Hey ma! Anna’s here,” Julie heard her father call out.
“Hey Michael, Julie’s here,” Nan called from the kitchen.
“All this yelling is going to make me go crazy,” Julie thought trying to sit
still. “Yup. This is too much,” Julie thought as she climbed off the stool and walked to the living room. She could not wait to see her dad and just catch
up. Also, she wanted to be away from Anna Rizzoli’s loud mouth. She almost cringed when she saw Anna walking towards her.
“Oh my God, Julie! You are glowing,” Anna said when she saw Julie.
“Thank you, Anna. I was just going to the…um…living room,” Julie said trying hard to get away from Anna.
“If you’d ask me I would say that pregnancy is agreeing with you,” Anna said. Julie forced a smile. She wanted to say ‘no one’s asking you’ but she
didn’t want to seem rude even though Anna was talking to her like she was on the other side of the world.
“Thanks, Anna. Always nice seeing you,” she said as she pulled away from Anna.
“Nice seeing you too!” Anna called out. Julie wanted to put her hands over her ears as she finally walked into the living room. Michael smiled when he saw her.
“That Anna has quite a mouth on her doesn’t she?” he asked. Julie rolled her eyes and nodded.
“She has vocal chords of steel, that one,” she said before she gave her father a long hug. “I’ve missed you,” she said in a low voice.
“Missed you too, angel,” he said as he pulled away. “Let me look at you,” he said holding her hands in his. He looked at her from head to toe and
smiled. “You look more beautiful than ever.”
“Really? I feel like a whale,” she frowned as she sat down.
“You’re still in your first trimester. You have no idea what a whale looks or feels like,” Michael said.
Julie shook her head. “Actually, I’m already in my second trimester.”
Michael looked at her questioningly.
“Wait, what?” he asked as he sat down next to her.
“Yeah. I found out I was expecting one month in and I have just come out of a three month strict bed rest,” she said with a smile. “I will be ready to pop in four and a half short months,” she added..
“Wow, my little girl is about to make me a grandfather,” he said.
She frowned and raised an eyebrow. “I always thought you would like grandpa more,” she said.
Michael looked at her and nodded.
“Yeah I guess that does sound better. Or pop,” he said but Julie shook her head. “Yeah it sounds like I’m a million years old. I guess grandpa it is,” he said with a smile.
“I would have raised a glass to that if it were any other day,” Julie said as she leaned back against the couch.
“I remember when your mother was expecting…it was hell,” he said laughing. Julie rolled her head to the side and looked at him. “She hated anything with onions, garlic, pepper…basically any kind of condiment. I
think we had boiled vegetables for the better part of her pregnancy,” he said still laughing.
Julie frowned. “I’m sure that must have been terrible. I know how much you love your meat and deep fried chicken.”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “But it was worth it,” he added in a low voice as he
squeezed her hand. She smiled and put a hand on her tummy. “So, I know that you don’t like talking about it but I have to ask. Have you talked to Monique of late?” he asked. She looked at him and sighed. She hated talking about her mother. She looked at her father and shook her head.
“I don’t really want to talk to her about anything right now.”
“I really think she would want to be involved in her grandchild’s life.” Julie looked at her father and shrugged.
“She never wanted to be involved in her child’s life. Why would a grandchild be special?” she asked in a low voice. Michael nodded as he loosened his tie. “I have tried giving her chances dad and every time I think things are going well, she disappears on me. I cannot…will not do that to my child.”
Her father leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I just wanted to make sure you had given it some thought,” he said. She looked at him and smiled.
“I did give it some thought. A lot of thought actually but when she is ready, she can meet my child,” she said as she looked down at her tummy. “Until then, I think it is better to make sure my baby stays away from her,” she
added as she looked at her father. She knew that her words were hard for her father to hear but like so many people had told her before, she was no longer looking out for her interests alone. She had an innocent life to protect and it was all on her shoulders. She looked at her father and held his hand. “I’m sorry daddy. I know this is really hard for you to hear,” she said.
He smiled and squeezed her hand.
“Actually, I’m just glad you made that decision all on your own. I don’t know if I can still call you my little girl anymore,” he said. Julie leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll always be your little girl.” “Lunch!” Nan called from the kitchen.
“Ready to deal with Anna Rizzoli once more?” Michael asked.
Julie took a long deep breath.
“Is there any way I can have my lunch to go?” she asked. Michael laughed and stood up.
“If I have to endure her voice, then so do you,” he said as he helped her up. “But the baby…” she started before he looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that won’t work on me,” he said as he led her to the kitchen.
*****
By the time she got back home, it was almost four. She kicked off her shoes almost immediately after she walked through the door.
“From now on, flats are the way to go,” she thought as she walked to the living room.
“Mrs. Julie. I make the stew for dinner,” Consuela said as she walked towards Julie.
“Thank you so much Consuela. You are an angel,” Julie said as her housekeeper helped her with her bag. “Is Steven here?”
“Mr. Steven is in bedroom. He take some time to rest,” Consuela said. Julie looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Consuela, it’s only four. Why did you make dinner this early?”
“Tonight I go prepare for my granddaughter quinceanera. You and Mr. Steven come, yes?” Consuela asked, her big brown eyes full of hope.
Julie smiled and nodded.
“That’s on Friday, yeah?” Julie asked and Consuela nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she added.
Consuela smiled and took her coat and purse from the couch.
“Okay, Mrs. Julie. Good night,” Consuela said as she walked to the door.
“Good night Consuela,” Julie said before she turned and walked down the hallway to her bedroom. “Babe, you sleeping?” she asked softly as she opened the door. Steven was lying on the bed watching TV.
“Hey, you’re back,” he said with a smile. He switched off the TV and looked at Julie. “So, how was your first day?”
“Interesting but predictable.”
“They threw you a party didn’t they?” Julie smiled and nodded.
“And were it not for the fact that Dana and my assistant came to meet me outside the elevator, I would have been completely surprised. But they were acting all shifty,” she said leaning towards Steven. She kissed him softly on the lips and then pulled back, a smile playing on her lips. “I missed you,”
she said in a low voice.
“I missed you too,” he said. Julie climbed into bed next to him. Steven grabbed one of the pillows and put it behind her.
“Thanks babe,” she said in a low voice. “So Consuela left early to prep for the quinceanera this Friday.”
“Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that,” Steven said. Julie looked at him and shook her head. “What?”
“You don’t find that weird? I mean it’s only Monday and the party is on Friday,” she said. Steven looked at her and smiled.
“You have clearly never been to a Mexican party, have you?” he asked. Julie shook her head. “Well, when we go on Friday, you will understand why. Quinceaneras are like a wedding. Extended family is invited and
friends. You shouldn’t be surprised if there are close to a hundred people at that party,” he explained.
Julie looked at him and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “A hundred people? Are you kidding me?”
“It’s a big deal. Like Jews and their Bar Mitzvahs,” he said. She shook her head and pulled out the pin that held her bun in.
“I guess you haven’t really partied until you’ve been to a Mexican party,” she said smiling.
“So, apart from all the cake you had at your party, did you eat anything else today?” he asked.
“Look at you being all fatherly,” she said. Steven touched the side of her face and turned her face to look at him.
“Seriously, have you had anything?”
“I had lunch with dad and Nan. Sweet and sour chicken served with vegetables,” she said. Steven nodded. “And I took my supplements too, babe. Chill,” she added.
“I’m just really worried about you, that’s all,” Steven said.
“Yeah, even Chloe and Dr. Solloway are surprised that I don’t worry half as much as you do,” she said.
“First child. I’m allowed,” he shrugged. She smiled and snuggled in close to him thinking she had to take advantage of the time she had left before she became too big to snuggle with him. Steven put an arm around her and
switched on the TV again. He slowly ran his hand up and down her back.
She would feel a chill down her spine every time she felt his hand getting a little too close to her ass. Her breathing was slowly getting faster and deeper. She put a hand on his chest and closed her eyes.
“Babe…please,” she said in a low voice.
“What?” Steven asked as he looked down at her.
“The light,” she said in a whisper. He sighed and threw his head back. Ever since Julie started showing, she had been dressing in private and switching off the lights when they made love. It was almost like she didn’t want Steven to see her naked. She looked at him and shook her head. “Please,”
she said in a low voice. Steven switched off the TV and pulled away from her.
“No,” he said in a low voice. “I want to be able to look at my wife.” She looked into his eyes as she felt his hand on her back. He was pulling down her zipper. Her heart began beating faster and harder. She really didn’t want him seeing her naked, not when she was like this. She pulled away from him and climbed off the bed. “What is it? What’s wrong?” Steven asked looking at her.
“I’m not…my body is not sexy anymore. Not the way it used to be,” she said in a low voice. Steven climbed off the bed and walked over to where she was. He used his thumb to lift her face up so he could look into her
eyes.
“Do you think that I’ve stopped loving you because you’ve changed a little?” he asked. She held his waist and shook her head. “Then why would you say something like that? Whatever is happening to you is normal, part of a natural process. You are the most beautiful woman I know, and I love you even more than ever.”
“But I always worry that you don’t find me attractive anymore,” she said in a whisper.
“You are kidding right? Do you know how hard I get every time I see you?” he asked as he slipped her dress off her shoulders. She was blushing as he looked down at her, standing in front of him in nothing but a bra and panties. He lowered his head and kissed her lips softly as his hands slowly went down to her quickly disappearing waistline. She closed her eyes as he walked around her to stand behind her. His hands slowly brushed the
surface of her skin as he caressed her slowly. She gasped silently when he undid the clasp of her bra letting her breasts hang free. He dropped the bra to the ground and looked at her as he brought a hand to cup a feel of her breast. She closed her eyes as he brought his other hand up, slowly touching her tummy working his way up to fill it with her other breast. He then
walked around and stood in front of her before he slowly forced her down on the bed. She was moaning as he kissed her neck, slowly working his way down to her breast. She shivered when he took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked gently. She was almost crying out when he finally released her nipple and worked his way down to her baby bump. He touched her softly and then went ahead to slip two fingers in either side of her panties before he pulled them down. She raised her head and looked at him as he slowly caressed her. He pulled away and took off his clothes before he joined her on the bed. He wanted to give her maximum pleasure before he entered her but the fact that he had not had any sex in a long time made him go right in for the kill. He tested her wetness with his finger making her shudder.
Steven slowly brought his finger up to his lips and licked it before he
aligned his body with hers. He balanced his weight on his arms and slowly forced himself in. He had to take a minute and regroup so that he didn’t bust inside her almost immediately. He began working his way in and out of her slowly. He wanted to thrust into her so much but every time the thought
crossed his mind, he would flash back to Dr. Solloway’s words. She raised her knees making him get even deeper inside her.
“Oh baby…I’ve missed you,” Steven moaned as he moved in and out of her.
“I missed you too, baby,” she said in a low voice as he teased her, slowly moving in and out of her making her want to cry out. A moan escaped her lips as she felt him stretching her out, harder and deeper. Julie wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder as he went on fucking her with long strokes. Each stroke was driving her further and further into the crevice of her emotion and passion. She wanted the moment to last forever, she wanted to feel his cock inside her for the rest of her days. She placed her hands on his shoulders and grabbed his neck with both hands as he slowly forced his enraged cock against the drenched walls of her pussy. She moaned softly as she felt him going faster, as fast as he would allow himself to. She raised her hips and cried out as she felt herself exploding all around his cock. It was the best feeling, having herself bursting into a million little pieces all around him. She was still recovering from her wild orgasm when he suddenly cried out. She wrapped her legs around him as he emptied himself into her wad after wad.
“Baby…I love you so much,” he said in a low voice as his cock slipped out of her. He lay next to her and draped an arm over her.
“I love you too,” she said in a whisper.