Resolution (Saviour) (32 page)

“
We were never engaged, we got married because you threatened to take my child away from me, I didn’t love you Nina, I’ve never loved you, I cared for you and looked after you because you were carrying my child, I’ve let you live, rent free in my house so that you can continue caring for my child and live a comfortable lifestyle, I pay Ava’s school fees and give you more than enough money to buy her what she needs each month, but all you have ever done is talk to me like shit and threaten to stop me seeing her and it stops, here and now it stops, otherwise I will take this to court, are we clear?

I have never heard Gabe speak so harshly
, except about my husband, his whole demeanour is so unlike the Gabe that I know and love, he’s coming across as cold, callous even and I feel a little bit sorry for her now as I watch her shoulders slump in defeat. Then she raises her chin and I just know she hasn’t quite give up yet.

“
Yeah, we’re clear Gabe. Just don’t blame me when Ava is left in tears when the wedding doesn’t happen, coz mark my words, you will fuck things up before then, you always do, you won’t be happy with just one woman, especially not a short, chubby, old one. You won’t be able to keep it in your pants. You haven’t changed, there’s nothing that will make you change.”

Oh you cheeky cow, I lick my lips as my brain races to think of a comeback
, I move slightly towards her but Gabe gives my hand a little squeeze. He tilts his head back and then stretches it from side to side, the way a fighter would before going into battle. Go get that bitch tiger!

“
See that little statement just goes to show how little you know me Nina. I’ve fucked about all these years because I had no reason not to. Women have thrown themselves at me since I was fifteen and I’ve let them, I like sex, what can I say? But that’s all it’s ever been, sex, mindless, no strings attached fucking, and then I met this woman here.”

His eyes roam all over my face and I want to lick him,
right through the middle of that cleft in his chin, I want to grab his bottom lip between my teeth and suck his tongue into mine, but I also want to hear him give it to the ice queen; I would, also, like to knock her right out. But I know, being in the pregnant state that I am, it would piss Gabe right off, so going totally against my nature, I stay still and I somehow manage to stay quiet too. For now!

He raises up our joint hands and kisses me on the back of mine
. “I have changed. I met Lauren and everything changed, I finally got it, that thing that everyone has told me for years would happen for me one day, it happened. I found out for the first time in my life what it was like to be in love, I finally realised how much more pleasure there is in making love than there was in fucking. I love her beyond reason and everything that you may think you knew or know about me Nina, has changed and I will be spending the rest of my life trying not to fuck this up, because I love her, and dya know what? I actually don’t give a rat’s arse what you think, of me, of her, or our relationship; your thoughts are of no consequence. Unless they affect me and mine, so you best spend the weekend getting your head around all of that and decide how you want things to go from here on in because I am not putting up with your bullshit any more. And just for the record – short, soft and curvy is so much more my thing than tall, hard and bony. Enjoy your weekend.”

Oh. My. God
. I love him so much; he so told her, I’m so happy, I want to skip, and why has watching that little speech made me so horny. Pregnancy hormones? I think just the sound of him breathing makes me horny at the moment.

He grips my hand hard
and we leave the tall, bony ice queen in her bland, beige house and head towards the car; he stops at the end of the drive and pulls me to him.

“
You okay?”

I wrap my arms around his neck and bite the bottom of his chin
. “I’m fine. How you travelling?”

“
I’m good; thank you for staying quiet and not taking the bait in there, I swear she was trying to wind you up, she knows what a temper you have, I wouldn’t put it past her to have been deliberately trying to provoke you into slapping her so she could call the police. You did well baby, I’m proud of ya.”

I shrug, surely she’s not that calculating
, but then she did manipulate Gabe into marrying her, shit, the only thing that stopped me giving her a smack up the side of the head is the fact that I’m pregnant. It suddenly strikes me how I can stand up to Nina with no hesitation and yet I put up with Jason’s shit without a word for so long. He’s done that to me, my Mr Wilde, my future husband and father of the babies that I carry in my belly; by loving me, unconditionally, he has given me back the confidence to stand up to anyone, the way I used to, before I became Mrs East.

“
Well you have Bruce and Sheila to thank then, because if I didn’t have them tucked up inside me, I would have knocked her fucking block off. Cheeky bitch, I might be chubby and old but I will still put her on her bony arse.”

“
And she’s back, and who the fuck are Bruce and Sheila?”

“
The twins. You reckon we have a boy and a girl in there, so…”

“
So you still think we should call them Bruce and Sheila?”

“
Yeah.”

I shrug.
He smiles, that smile that makes his eyes sparkle, the one I hope is only for me and bends his knees so that we are at eye level.

“
Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

“
Well yeah, because I love you the same babe.”

“
Not possible.”

He kisses me long and deep and
I kiss him back, deeper, I wrap my arms around his neck and press myself into him, I feel him laugh into my mouth.

“
Lauren…”

Before he has chance to say anymore I here Ava calling out
.

“
Inappropriate behaviour in public. Please can you stop with the PDA? It’s so not cool at your age.”

We both start to laugh and turn to see Ava standing with her arms folded, leaning against the car
. Eyebrows raised. Foot tapping.

“
Busted.”

“
Anyone would think she was the parent. Let’s go home and get ready for our party wife to be.”

By the time we arrive back home it’s after four, we have people arriving from seven onwards so I bark out orders to everyone
and give them jobs; the girls help me marinade the meat and Gabe goes down to the pool house and turns on the patio heaters and fills the fire pit with logs and coals. It’s only about seventeen degrees right now and will get much cooler as it gets dark but it’s not raining or windy and we have told our guests to wrap up warm.

As is the way in Australia, everyone will bring a p
late so I won’t have to worry about salads or side dishes or desserts. Gabe goes out to pick up ice and grog, while myself and the girls get ourselves partyfied; it’s not a dressy affair, our friends have no idea about the engagement and think they are just coming over for a barbie, but I know my girlfriends, they are like me in that casual still means dressy but made to look casual; I stand in my wardrobe contemplating what I can wear that will fit and not make me look fat!

Ava wanders in and I can’t help but notice how tall she has got, at just fou
rteen she is already a good four inches taller than me and looks all legs in her skinny jeans and Uggs, her hands are dug deep into the pocket across the front of her Hurley hoodie, her long fair hair is plaited and hanging over one shoulder and she’s wearing makeup, just a little foundation, blusher and mascara. Harmless enough and she is fourteen but I don’t know how Gabe will react. He is struggling with Ava’s journey into womanhood and it doesn’t help that she is as strong willed as she is. I actually love that about her and don’t want her to lose that quality but then I’m just far enough removed to remain objective, whereas Gabe can barely see straight when I mention Ava and boys in the same sentence. I study her beautiful face that’s so much like her Dads and she looks troubled.

“
What’s up chicken?”

“
I’m sorry about earlier with Mum and Dad I mean, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

I go to her and wrap my arms around her, she’s still skin and bone after the accident, we
really do need to work on fattening her up but I don’t want to knock her confidence by saying anything.

“
Not a bother, they sorted it out… and let’s face it, whenever we told her, she was always gonna kick off, she just doesn’t like me.”

“
It’s not that she doesn’t like you Lauren. It’s because she still loves him, my Dad. She’s still in love with him, her and Dean argue about it all the time.”

Shit! I swallow hard
. “Well, how does that make you feel? I mean, did you always hope they would get back together?”

I lead her out of the wardrobe and we go and sit down on the bed
. “When I was a little girl, I used to like, pray and wish that we could all be together and that my Mum would stop shouting at my Dad and stop crying in her bed at night. Then she met Dean and she was so happy, so then I just worried about my Dad. I wanted him to have someone to love, to make him happy but then as I got older, I realised that even though my Mum had Dean and my brothers, she still wasn’t really happy and whenever her and Dean argue, it’s always about Dad so then I like figured, perhaps her and my Dad should be together, if they can’t love anyone else, then perhaps it’s because they still love each other and if they just like gave it another go then they would realise. Then Dad met you and…” She shrugs and starts to twiddle with end of her plait and I feel a flutter of nervousness in my stomach at what she’s going to say next.

“
I was so happy. He told me about you on the phone and I couldn’t wait to meet you and then when I did and you were like, so cool and he’s like so crazy mad in love with you, it’s just too cute and now you’re getting married and we are going to be a family and I’m just so happy. I feel sad for my Mum but she is just mean, I feel sorry for Dean and I feel sorry for all the shit she gives my Dad and f…”

“
Ava don’t say shit, your Dad will go mad if he hears” And, I think to myself – please stop saying like, Gabe has picked her up on it so many times but the habit seems to be getting worse, or am I just getting old?

“
Sorry. For all the crap she gives Dad and she says things about you that aren’t nice and I just feel sad for her.” She shrugs her shoulders and lets out a deep breath.

“
Well look Ava; I don’t have all the answers, I don’t know your Mum really and whatever she has to say about me, I don’t care about so don’t let it worry you, but I just want you to know, that I love you. And it goes without saying that your Dad does too and we can’t wait to get married but when we do, nothing really will change, we, the three of us are already a family and nothing will change that, I just want you to always remember that and I want you to know that you can always come and talk to me. About anything and if things get shitty at home, just call and one of us will come and get you.”

“
Don’t say shitty Lauren, my Dad will crack it if he hears you.”

I laugh
. She doesn’t miss a trick, but I worry that she’s carrying all this around on her shoulders. Nina really needs to sort her shit out.

“
I love you baby girl and I won’t say shitty if you can manage to stop saying like, it drives your Dad mad. Where’s Sophie, she’s been very quiet today?”

“
Huh. She’s still getting ready Louie will be here later and she like really likes him.”

“
Really, he’s what – sixteen? And stop saying like.”

“
Sorry…Yeah sixteen.”

“
So is there anyone you fancy.”

“
Well sort of, Louie’s mate Josh is pretty hot; I think he’s bringing him tonight.”

“
Right, and is he sixteen as well?”

Gabe will flip
. Makeup and a boy. A sixteen year old boy. I think I might have some valium somewhere; perhaps I should grind one up and slip it into Gabe’s drink. Highly illegal I know, but it could mean that the boy gets to keep his nuts in place and jaw unbroken.

“
Yeah, I think so. What are you going to wear tonight?” We wander back into the wardrobe as we talk.

“
I’m not sure. I might wear this with my jeans and boots. What dya think, will your Dad like it?” I hold up a cream coloured cheese cloth gypsy style blouse, its loose fitting and should hide my ever growing boobs and the fact that my jeans are a bit tight.

“
Cool. Dad will think you look hot whatever you wear. He never takes his eyes off your butt or your boobs.”

Before I can turn around to answer her I get that tingle up my spine
all the way to my scalp and I just know he’s close, when I turn, he’s leaning against the wall at the entrance to the wardrobe. One hand on the wall, one on his hip and he looks damn fine, I let out an involuntary sigh. Ava obviously notes the look on my face and says. “He’s behind me isn’t he?”