Authors: Mia Caldwell
“Bam! Bam! Bam!”
I watched with a mixture of delight and exasperation as my son, Andrew Jr., or AJ as his father and I called him, pounded his peas with his fists instead of eating them. AJ had his own way of doing things, something that became more evident when he entered the ‘terrible twos’ a month ago. I insisted to my husband, Andrew, that AJ got the stubborn, willful streak from him. However, Andrew was just as adamant that AJ got it from me.
Truth was, AJ had a mixture of both of our best qualities, and a few of our not-so-good ones. He got Andrew’s clear green eyes and square jaw while he inherited my nose and curly dark hair. However, AJ most resembled his father when he smiled, a smile that would probably break more than a few hearts one day. Andrew’s smile was one of the things I loved most about him and I was glad to see he’d passed that feature on to our son.
Would our other children also get Andrew’s smile? I rubbed my hand over my stomach and smiled, curious about the new life growing within. I’d taken a pregnancy test yesterday, but got confirmation from the doctor that I was finally pregnant with our second child.
Andrew and I had been trying for over a year to have another baby, even since AJ turned one. But just like the frustration we’d experienced when trying to conceive AJ, my body wouldn’t cooperate with what my heart so desperately wanted.
“Ryanna, you just need to relax.” Andrew had said many times over the last few months. So many, in fact, I felt like bopping him upside the head if he repeated it one more time.
He must have sensed how close to physical violence I was because he didn’t say anything else as I consulted fertility specialists and tried every home remedy I could find on the internet. Yet conferring with experts and eating tons of asparagus (a woman on a fertility message board swore she’d conceived triplets by consuming it four times a week) brought me no closer to having a second child. Until now.
“Bam!” AJ looked up at me with a triumphant grin, having demolished the last of his peas.
“You’re supposed to eat your food, not crush it,” I said, trying to maintain the strictest tone I could manage. But from the way AJ’s eyes twinkled at me, he could probably tell his antics amused me as much as they did him.
“Mama!” He waved his sticky, food covered hands at me and I grabbed a handi-wipe to clean them. I reveled in the sound of my name,
Mama
, something I would never grow tired of hearing.
After cleaning him up, I lifted AJ from his chair and hugged him to me, inhaling his fresh baby scent. “Mama loves you so, so much. You know that?”
AJ responded by hugging me as hard as his little arms could manage. I twined my index finger around one of his soft curls and asked, “Bath time?”
“No! No! No!” As if he hadn’t made himself clear enough, AJ began to wriggle and kick. “No bath! No bath!”
“You tell her, son.” Andrew’s deep voice rang out over the nursery.
Both AJ and I looked up in happy surprise at the entrance of his father. AJ squealed and leaned forward, holding out his arms. I rose to my feet and handed AJ over, wishing I had my phone to take a picture of the most important men in my life embracing. Of course, I already had a million pictures of Andrew and AJ doing just that, but each time felt special and unique. It’s like I still couldn’t believe I’d married the love of my life and had this incredible child.
I gave Andrew and AJ their moment of bonding before asking, “What are you doing home so early? I thought you were meeting with some of the board members for dinner.”
“I moved a few things around to meet with them earlier so I could come home sooner. I’ve been late every night this week and wanted to make it here in time at least once to see my favorite little guy before his bedtime.”
Rutledge Electronics had grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. The acquisition of the microsystems company which was supposed to give Andrew more security and allow him to spend more time at home ended up having the opposite effect. The demands on Andrew’s time increased because the board of directors as well as shareholders wanted him to pursue even more acquisitions that would increase the wealth and power of the company.
It would have been easy to resent Andrew’s being gone so much, but I didn’t. The first year of motherhood consumed me to the point where I almost didn’t notice his absence. I’d gotten obsessed with being the best mother I could be. This included reading every parenting book I could get my hands on and logging on to every first-time parent message board I could find. I didn’t notice I’d begun neglecting my marriage until Andrew pointed it out one night after I’d shrugged off his caress to continue reading
Parenting
magazine on my iPad.
“You know it’s been a week since the last time we made love?” he asked as he punched the pillow on his side of the bed.
“No way, you’re exaggerating.” I racked my brain to remember the last time we’d had sex, but couldn’t come up with an exact date.
“Actually, it’s been eleven days. Not that I’m counting or anything. I only said a week because it sounded less pathetic.”
The edge in his voice put me on the defensive. “It’s not my fault you aren’t home more often. Of course our sex life will suffer if you choose to work so much.”
“Well, I’m here now, but you’d rather pay attention to whatever is on that stupid tablet than to me.”
I raised my voice to match his. “That’s because I’m reading up on how to be a good mother. It’s important I do so since it’s looking more and more like I’ll be a single mother in all but name only.”
We glared at each other for several long, terrible moments before Andrew sighed and said, “Let’s not argue. You’re right about my not being at home a lot lately. I don’t want to waste this time we are together by fighting.”
I set my iPad aside and snuggled up to him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore or reject you. I honestly didn’t realize that’s what I was doing.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m definitely going to have to make more time for us if you feel like a single parent. I can’t have you getting more comfortable without me than with me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll never be more comfortable without you.”
He shrugged. “I never would have thought you’d pull away from my touch either, but here we are.”
After that, Andrew and I put more effort into spending more time together. He began coming home earlier, and I put aside all distractions, like my iPad, to focus only on him. Slowly but surely, we bonded again and got back to the point of closeness where we’d been before AJ was born.
Now, as I looked at Andrew nestling our son in his arms, I wondered if a second child would pose similar challenges to our marriage that AJ’s birth did. Since two children would definitely be more work than one, there would probably be some growing pains in our relationship as our family expanded. Yet, I felt confident Andrew and I would weather any storms together and come out of it on the other side a stronger couple, just like we’d done so far.
“Instead of Rosa giving him a bath,” I said, referring to AJ’s nanny, “why don’t you do it? Maybe then AJ won’t be so resistant. Wouldn’t you like Daddy to play bath time with you, pumpkin?”
AJ stared back at me in confusion. He adored his father and loved being with him, but he hated baths with a passion. I usually wound up getting just as wet as AJ whenever I bathed him.
Bath time hatred won out and AJ started to wriggle and fuss in Andrew’s arms. However, Andrew pulled him closer and placed a kiss on top of his head. “Come on, AJ, let’s face the bathtub like men!”
“Yeah, just make sure you clean in between his toes and behind his ears in the most masculine way possible. And when you’re done, I’ll meet you in the bedroom. I got something for you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” Andrew wagged his eyebrows, making me laugh.
I left the nursery and walked down the hall to our bedroom, toying with different ways of telling Andrew he’d be a father again. Wrapping up the positive pregnancy test like a present, complete with a bow, seemed cheesy. And I didn’t have the patience to wait to plan a fancy pregnancy announcement like some of those on YouTube. I wanted to tell Andrew tonight,
now
, in fact. And since we’d wanted another child for months now, simply telling him I was finally pregnant seemed to be elaborate enough.
Once I got to the bedroom, I stripped off all my clothes and climbed into bed naked. It had been a while since I’d been this brazen and knew Andrew would appreciate the treat.
It took longer than I expected for Andrew to join me. When he did, he was soaking wet. He shook his head as he took off his clothes and said, “I wouldn’t count on AJ being a sailor when he grows up. Or doing any kind of work that requires being near water. What is it with him and baths? I put a dozen toys in the tub with him and he still threw a fit, especially when I tried to clean his ears. He yelled so loud, Rosa came running and elbowed me out of the way, saying she’d take it from there.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter as I imagined our petite nanny bossing around her billionaire CEO employer. But if Andrew knew what was good for him ─ and clearly he did since he was here with me now ─ he’d do as she said. Rosa loved AJ as fiercely as if he was her own flesh and blood. But as protective as she was of AJ, Rosa probably told Andrew she’d finish up because she knew how scarce alone time was for my husband and me. I silently thanked her for the intervention since it returned Andrew to me that much sooner.
Andrew took off everything but his boxers. But after he crawled into the bed and found me naked there, he quickly removed those too. He pulled me close to him, rubbing his hands all over my body while pressing his burgeoning erection against my stomach. I leaned my head against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness and warmth emanating from his body.
He nibbled on my exposed earlobe, sending tingles straight down my spine. “I’ve been thinking about being with you like this all day.”
“I’ve been thinking about you today too.” I pulled back from him just enough to look into his eyes but our bodies remained entwined, our legs interconnected. “Andrew, I’m pregnant. We’re going to have another baby.”
His eyes widened and his face lit up. “You’re pregnant? You’re sure?”
I nodded. “No false positives or wishful thinking this time. I went to the doctor and he confirmed what the plus sign on the pregnancy test told me ─ I’m definitely pregnant. We’re finally going to give AJ a little brother or sister.”
Andrew’s smile widened as he tenderly stroked my stomach. “I hope it’s a girl this time. AJ is a little mini-me. You deserve to have a little mini-me too.”
“Boy or girl, I don’t care as long as he or she is as great as AJ is turning out to be.” I poked him in the stomach. “Besides which, AJ isn’t a total mini-you. I showed him the periodic table of elements the other day and he was totally captivated. I bet he ends up taking after me and becoming a scientist.”
He let out a rude snort. “Well, when I opened up a computer and showed him the Rutledge Electronics processor, AJ seemed totally engrossed by it. I think he’ll wind up being a tech genius and take over the company when the time comes.”
I knew it was Andrew’s fondest dream to have AJ follow in his footsteps as CEO of Rutledge Electronics. Yet, I still cautioned, “We agreed to let AJ choose his own destiny right?”
“Of course, of course. But a man can dream, can’t he?”
“As long as that man doesn’t pressure our son into abandoning his own dreams to fulfill those of his father’s.” I kissed Andrew’s Adam’s apple to take the sting out of my words. “But I don’t think pressuring our son will be an issue. We can’t even get him to take a bath without drama. There’s no way we’ll be able to tell him he has to be a scientist or a CEO. AJ will strike out on the path that’s best for him.”
Andrew laughed as he brushed his lips against mine. “You’re right, our son has a double stubborn streak, inherited from both you and me. We won’t be able to choose anything for him, but I’m sure he’ll succeed at whatever he does.”
“As will this child.” I looked down at my stomach, with a faint scar line from the C-section of AJ’s birth still visible.
“I love you, Ryanna.” He kissed me again, this time caressing the outline of my lips with his tongue.
“I love you too,” I managed just as the kiss deepened. He slid his tongue further into my mouth, making my lips part to give him access. Even after all this time, a mere kiss from Andrew still made my body hum with anticipation of the passion to come. A moist wetness began to form between my legs.
A low growl came from Andrew’s throat as his tongue teased mine, forcing me to open my mouth wider and wider. His lips crushed mine as his erection pressed ever more insistently against my thigh. My heart raced as I ran my hands over his broad, muscular shoulders. I must have been out of my mind that night when I shrugged off his advances to keep reading an article on my iPad.
Nothing
would ever be more important than being available for Andrew’s touch.
As if thinking the same thing, he said, “I can’t believe I spend so much time at the office and away from you, from
this
. Trust me, that will be changing in the very near future.”
While I knew exactly what he meant, I still felt the need to say, “Yes, it’s important to want to spend more time at home with our growing family.”