Authors: Meredith Greene
“Mm...” he answered, his face buried in her neck. “A few need to have your eyes, though. Such a lovely, odd color.” Michele giggled.
“Ok, so how many kids should we go for?” she inquired, leaning back against the seat. William looked at her face a moment, a smile playing around his mouth.
“I say we just keep up our activities and God can decide how many we get,” he said, at last.
“You’re a genius,” Michelle said, smiling.
“Certifiable,” William returned. “After all, I did figure out how to make you mine.” Michelle sighed; she leaned her head down on his shoulder.
“That you did,” Michelle said. The young couple rode homeward over the Brooklyn Bridge, towards their own domicile of hope.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
In the full sunlight of her bedroom’s semi-circle window, Michelle stood at a wooden easel, putting finishing touches on a drawing. William finished the easel a month earlier, surprising her with it one evening. He’d been working on it for some time, apparently; he’d informed his bride--at the time--that it was his most complicated piece yet. Just knowing that William had made it especially for her sent warmth through Michelle’s fingers and inspired her to continue her passion for drawing.
The picture occupying the easel resembled a cozy scene from inside a country pub; aged and young faces alike looked out from the thick, white paper; some smiled, some drank from pints and others looked right back at the observer. Michelle smiled; it fairly radiated a warm feeling of inclusion. Leaning forward, Michelle bit her lip in concentration, applying a tiny lined shadow under one subject’s worn-looking hat.
The bedroom door opened; turning, Michelle saw William walking up to her, a pleased smile on his face.
“Welcome, o’ lord of the castle,” Michelle said, capping her pen. “How goes the fine furniture making, deep in your craftsman’s dungeon?” William grinned back at her; his eyes held the look of one who carries secret knowledge, and means to keep it so.
“It’s too lovely outside to stay in,” he stated, kissing his wife’s face. “As much as I like seeing you using my present, I insist on carrying you off to an undisclosed location. Right now.” Michelle laughed, softy.
“Really?” she said. “It’s Saturday… and I’m still in my pajamas.”
William walked deliberately over to the closet; a few seconds, he came out bearing Michelle’s pale pink dress.
“This will do,” he said, grinning. “Honestly, your side of the closet is still very bare, love. It takes me nearly five minutes to find something of mine to wear.” Michelle rolled her eyes.
“That’s the point,” she said, smiling. “I like being able to dress quickly.” She picked up the pink gown, feeling the soft fabric with a smile. “You want me to wear this? Now I’m curious...” Quickly, Michelle stripped off her camisole and pajama bottoms, stowing them in a nearby laundry basket. “The last time I wore this was for the pre-wedding photographs,” she continued.
“I’d like some photographs of you right now...” William said, taking in his wife’s form appreciatively. Michelle smiled and favored him with a warm gaze.
“If you want to go right now, you’d better quit looking at me like that,” she said, softly. William licked his bottom lip, moving towards Michelle.
“I meant ‘right now’ as in sometime in the next hour,” he said, quietly. Michelle’s greenish eyes looked into his, giving William the distinct impression she understood and minded not. He needed no further encouragement.
“PLEASE TELL me where we’re going...” Michelle said, pleadingly. William chuckled, not taking his eyes from the road. They drove down a small country road in his roadster, the city far behind them.
“Your doe-eyed expression, though very lovely, will not wheedle any information from me, love,” he informed her. “I’ve waited a long time to bring you here, so be patient.” Michelle sighed, her man’s maddeningly calm tone only let her know that he was perfectly in charge of the situation and his plans were in motion. Smiling a little, Michelle realized she did not mind not knowing all the time; William had excellent plans as she’d discovered numerous times.
Shortly after noon, William turned down what appeared to be a private drive; soon both sides of the road were lined with apples trees, in full bloom. They drove right through the middle of a vast apple orchard. Michelle sat forward, her face alight. The trees were tall and entirely engulfed in the white and pink blossoms, looking like fluffy clouds pinned to the earth via a thin, wooden stake. Rolling down her window, Michelle inhaled the sweet, sweet fragrance of the tree-spawned flowers.
“Oh, William,” she whispered, “How beautiful!” Smiling, William pulled over to the shoulder at the base of a small, tree covered hill. Michelle’s face reflected his own enjoyment of the place, though he was not inclined to let it show, just yet.
“I thought you’d like it,” he said. “I was waiting until I knew for certain the trees would be blossoming.” Michelle turned and kissed his face, twice. Her eyes shone.
“You sneaky Tarzan, you,” she said, affectionately. “Been monitoring crop reports?” William shrugged, hiding a smile.
“I have my sources,” he said, cryptically. Michelle put her arms around his neck.
“Really? Enlighten me,” she said, kissing his chin. William cleared his throat.
“All in good time,” he said. “I have a picnic basket in the trunk, love.” Michelle’s smile grew even more bright.
“At the risk of sounding unduly like an adolescent... how cool is this?” she said, hopping out of the car. William chuckled, opening his car door.
Collecting the lunch hamper, they walked hand in hand up the low hill. At the top a large apple tree stood, its branches so long they drooped down almost to the ground, forming a kind of sheltered, flower-roofed space underneath.
“Oh, let's live here!” Michelle said, fingering some nearby blossoms. “Right under this tree. We can put our bed there and the armoire here and the fridge there.” William chuckled; although ridiculous, the idea held immense appeal. Waking up each morning to Michelle and apple blossoms... an excellent combination.
“While I agree with you, I say we spent a little time looking around the place before deciding to reside here,” William said, amused. He held up a thick blanket. Smiling, Michelle nodded and helped him spread it out on the ground under the tree. There was another blanket, but William pushed it out of sight behind the basket. He sat down, his back to the tree trunk.
“Are you going to sit, love?” he coaxed, patting the blanket next to him. Really, though, sitting was the last thing on his mind. “I have something to tell you.”
Intrigued, Michelle sat, cuddling up next to her man.
“Men have the advantage with phrases like that,” she said, gently; she touched his ear softly. “You know I’m immediately curious and said curiosity makes me gravitate to your side.” William looked down into Michelle’s eyes, liking her mood very much.
“Yes, well that is the point of the exercise,” he said. “I have a bit of a confession to make.” Michelle wondered at the pink tinge taking over William’s neck but let him continue. “The night I found you at the gallery, I had this, er... vision, I guess you could call it.”
“Vision?” Michelle asked, gently. William looked out over the lovely view.
“Well, perhaps ‘daydream’ is a better word,” he said, looking at her once more. “You looked up at me with those beautiful eyes of yours... and suddenly I was sitting with you in an apple orchard, very like this one… with blossoms and a picnic. I saw the same thing during the ceremony on our wedding day.” Michelle looked at William steadily, an awed expression on her face.
“That is very romantic,” she said, her voice soft. “What were we doing?” William grinned.
“Talking, actually. And Laughing,” he said, looking slowly over his wife’s fair countenance. “Then, I leaned down and kissed you.”
“I like this dream so far,” Michelle said, smiling; her eyes sparkled. “Was there more?”
William shook his head.
“No. I got the impression it was a make-your-own-ending kind of vision,” he explained. “I can think of a few ways to end it.” Michelle blushed, striving to hold her husband’s warm gaze.
“A few?” she inquired. Grinning, William slid one arm behind Michelle’s back.
“Indeed,” he returned. His gaze made Michelle feel like melting; she didn’t even notice him unbuttoning the back of her dress. “I have a fairly good imagination, you know.”
“I love you, do you know that?” Michelle said, slipping her arms around William’s neck. “There is no
other for me.”
“I know, love,” William said; his voice remained gentle, though he felt his pulse speeding up.
“No one but you could make me feel this way.” He kissed Michelle and let his mind wander.
“It’s a good thing I picked the most remote, unvisited apple orchard in the county,” he thought. There was nothing in the world he wanted more than to be right here, under the blossoming tree with Michelle. Happily, no one interrupted them.
They spent a rather pleasant afternoon together, talking and eating, though at times they ate a trifle informally, wearing nothing more than a shared blanket. In the back of his mind, William etched the sight of his wife shyly feeding him while very bare, rosy flowers moving in the breeze above them. Some of the delicate petals fell to her fair skin; William picked some from her hair, his eyes conveying what words could not. Sighing, he felt content, knowing the idyllic picture would stay with him the rest of his life.
A FEW weeks after the picnic, Michelle awoke to the sight of William, standing near their closet; he was adjusting his tie for work. Sensing her gaze, he turned and favored her with his signature grin. His wife suddenly wished it was the weekend so she could coax her man back into bed. Knowing he'd be late if she did, she merely returned his smile. Tossing back the covers, Michelle sat up. Almost immediately, she felt dizzy. The room spun and swam, making her feel completely nauseous.
Pulling on his suit coat, William was surprised to see his wife hurry over to their restroom. Going to the door, he saw Michelle hunched rather pathetically with her head over the toilet. Kneeling on the rug, William touched her back gently and helped pull her hair out of her face. Michelle had nothing really to throw up, but her stomach seemed persistent on going through the motions anyway. Concerned, William kissed her temple, rubbing her back.
“Ohh...” Michelle groaned softly, leaning her head against William’s. “I hope it’s not the flu.” Her husband chuckled.
“Indeed. That is an occurrence we can forgo,” he said, getting up. “Let me run the shower for you. You’ll feel better.”
“Ugh,” his wife answered, hugging the toilet still. “Thank you... this is a really weird feeling.” Smiling, William turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. Helping Michelle stand, he noticed she was a little unsteady on her feet.
An idea occurred to him, but he kept it to himself.
“Do you feel dizzy, love?” he inquired. Michelle nodded, leaning against him; helping her off with her clothes, William opened the shower door and let Michelle sink down to the bottom. She liked sitting down in the shower anyhow, but William still felt sorry for her. He hated feeling ill himself, fervently so.
“I’m going to get some things for you at the pharmacy,” he said, softly, kneeling down; he didn’t care that the shower flung a few water droplets on his clothes. Michelle leaned one side her face on her knees, looking at her husband gratefully with one eye.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice muffled. “The water feels so good.” William smiled at her.
“You stay in there for a little while,” he said, touching his wife’s soft mouth very gently. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t you have to go to the office?” Michelle inquired; her voice sounded far away. Grinning, William stood up.
“I’m the branch boss, remember?” he said, with humor. “Relax, love. I’ll take care of you.” Michelle face grew calm again; she managed a small smile. Closing the shower door, William escaped the room and fairly bolted down the hall, a smile from ear to ear.
I local market stood a few blocks from his building. In the pharmacy section, William headed straight for the women’s hygiene aisle; it occurred to him that he’d never so much as stepped into it before. Unable to wipe the smile from his face, he methodically picked out one of each kind of pregnancy test and dumped them into his basket. Finding the cold remedy section, he looked around and finally asked a clerk which nausea medicines were good for expecting women. The lady gave him the once-over and led him to an aisle with several kinds of tea. Picking out a tin box marked ‘Chamomile’, the clerk told him where to find some saltine crackers.
The young man at the check-stand gave William an odd look as he scanned in no less than eleven pregnancy tests.
“What, ya having a baby or something?” the teenage boy asked. William grinned.
“I hope so,” he said, earnestly. The youth shook his head, scanning the rest of the items quickly.
“Dude, I feel sorry for you,” he retuned dolefully. William snorted.
“That’s because you’ve never been in love,” he retorted. “One day you’ll want children of your own and a beautiful girl willing to have them with you. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a girl like that, let alone convince her to marry you.” With that, William paid for his items and left the store, his smile returning.
“What if I’m a father?”
he thought, his grin widening. The idea made him jog home at a quicker pace.
Michelle was still in the shower when he returned; she did not look like she was feeling any better. William decided to let her stay in there for the moment; he made a cup of the tea in the kitchen and brought it in their bedroom. Getting out some fresh pajamas for his wife, William flipped open his phone, punching in the numbers out of memory. Mabel answered; she was surprised that he wasn’t going to show at the office, but complied with his request to re-schedule his meetings a couple days out.