Authors: D. T. Jones
“Where the hell have you been?” he growled as she walked in, carrying her box.
“I told you, I was visiting with an old friend.”
“I’ve been looking all over this damned town for you. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Because I didn’t have it with me; I left it in the kitchen.”
“And where were you while your purse was in the kitchen?” Sandra drew a deep breath and sat the box on the end of the bed.
“I’m not going to talk to you while you’re acting like this,” she said, turning to go into the bathroom to wash up.
“Who is Craig and what is all this junk?” Sandra
turned in the doorway, turning a shocked, hurt expression to him.
“I’m sorry if my stuff appears to be junk to you,” she
snapped; the sting of insult echoed through her voice. “Not all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouth. Some of us actually had to work for what we have.” The tears fell down her cheeks unchecked as she turned and opened the door to the room, slamming it hard behind her as she left. Creighton called after her, but she refused to stop; she was too angry to speak to him or to listen. And to think she was worried he wouldn’t be there when she got back!
Sandra ran
to the side of the building and down the dirt alley, behind the building to the familiar road that led toward the opposite end of town. She was confused and mad, though she wasn’t sure which was stronger. Creighton’s mood made her think he was having second thoughts about their marriage. Perhaps it wasn’t just the way she had blown up at him last night; perhaps he was regretting getting her pregnant. He kept asking her how she felt about it, maybe he was trying to come to terms with his own feelings instead; perhaps he already had.
She continued to run, up a small embankment, around the back of the
Time Saver gas station, across the railroad tracks and past the co-op grain elevator and was about to go down the incline toward the river that ran between the bakery and the hardware store, when she stumbled. Her eyes were so clouded with tears she could barely see where she was going. A split second’s thought to mentally brace for the fall as her ankle rolled, but before the impact hit she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, steadying her on her feet. Sandra turned suddenly; fear controlling her actions as she slammed her fist into the chiseled jaw close behind her.
“Damn it!”
Creighton cursed, placing a hand across his jaw. “When the hell are you going to stop hitting people?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” she shouted, her tears
evaporating on her face as the warm, dry breeze blew around her; her eyes red and the color of her makeup smeared and faded.
“Where else would I go? You ran out before I had a chance to apologize and I wasn’t about t
o sit around for another two hours, worrying about you.”
“Why would you worry?
The way you’ve been acting all day, I didn’t think you wanted me around?”
“Of course I want you, damn it
, that’s not it…I mean…it’s just that…shit!” He pulled her suddenly into his strong arms and kissed her hard, taking her breath away and returning it in the same instant. He slipped his tongue into her mouth when she opened it, eagerly battling with hers until she surrendered and relaxed against him. She was dizzy, elated, energized and exhausted all in one swift movement.
Several long moments passed by before they felt the sting of need begin to burn and remembered where they were. Sandra
knew it wouldn’t take much for him to pull her into the dirt and make love to her, in the middle of daylight, in the center of the business district. She heard him sigh with great reluctance as he broke contact with her mouth, keeping her close to his strong chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her temple and cheek. “I never wanted to hurt you. I just thought you didn’t want me…I mean, after last night…I
thought it would be best if I gave you some space.”
“I don’t want space, I want you.” She began to cry again, burying her face in his
shoulder.
“Please Sandra, tell me the truth. Are you sorry I took you away from all of this? Are you sorry you’re pregnant? Do you regret marrying me?”
“No, never,” she said looking up into his eyes, seeing the tears brimming the dark blue depths. “I love you; what I said last night was just stupid and I’m sorry. I will never regret my decision to marry you or to have this baby. It’s ours, a part of our love and the start of our future together. Please, Creighton, I just want things to be the way they were before last night. I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”
“I’m so sorry darling,” he said, lifting her chin and kissing her lips again. “I will never treat you like that again. I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t want you around.”
“I love you so much,” she said, her tears slowly drying as she stood in the afternoon sun, wrapped in his arms.
“Let’s go back to th
e motel,” he whispered, kissing her again. “I think we need to make up for lost time. Can you walk?” Sandra smiled and nodded as they turned and headed back toward Aunt Kissy’s place. She hated fighting, especially with him and confrontations were never her forte, but she really rather enjoyed the prospect of making up.
Embraced three hours later, they lay exhausted and sweaty. They returned to the motel through the back alley and practically fell into the bed the minute they unlocked the door; making love was desperate, urgent and demanding of them both. Creighton cherished her body as she found her climax not once but twice before he joined her. After a shower and a quick romp in the bathroom, they returned to the bed where he found her more than eager to go again. Playing was their favorite pastime and relishing each other’s bodies was their sport of choice, but somehow, making up for lost time seemed more erotic than normal as they basked in the afterglow of the euphoria.
“We’re going to be late if we don’t get up,” she sighed, snuggling closer to his chest.
“Do we really have to go?” he complained making her laugh at his childish tone. “I can give you many wonderful excuses to bypass the festivities.”
“There are a lot of people who want to meet you
and even more who want to hear about your encounter with Mayor Nelson,” she said, tilting her head so she could look into his handsome face. “Besides I’m starving. You don’t want the mother of your child to go hungry, do you?”
“No I don’t,” he said
with a heavy sigh. “But I can get some food at the gas station and we can and stay right here. I wouldn’t mind meeting the town at another time. Hell, I’ll even spend all day tomorrow walking around ringing doorbells just to say hello.”
“Come
on,” she laughed soft, leaned up on her elbow. “If you go with me now, I promise to let you have your wicked ways when we get back.”
“Promise?” he asked with a
raised eyebrow and a very seductive grin.
“Toys, cuffs, gel, the works
; but we have to go first.”
“Damn,” he mumbled as she walked to the foot of the bed where he had
left her clothes after undressing her.
Sandra put the sweaty clothes aside and took a pair of clean
shorts, a short sleeved blue top and a pair of sandals; ignoring the panties again, and went into the bathroom to get dressed. Creighton joined her a few minutes later, dressed in his blue jeans and grey tee-shirt from earlier and looked in the mirror at the very slight discoloration of a bruise on his chin beneath the soft layer of hair.
“You really have to quit hitting people,” he complained, glancing to her through the mirror
as she sat on the toilet, slipping her legs into her pants.
“You should know better than to sneak up behind a woman. You deserve what you got; you scared the hell out of me.”
“I was trying to keep you from falling.”
“I thank you, but that doesn’t excuse you scaring me.”
Sandra stood up, pulled her shorts across her bare hips and flushed the toilet. Privacy was a foreign word to her husband, and one he had no intention of learning the meaning to.
“If you weren’t running away from me, I wouldn’t have found the need to chase after you.”
He turned and watched as she zipped the front of her shorts closed before she walked closer to him
“Are we going to argue again?” she asked, hands on
her hips her breasts bare of the bra that hung in her hand. Creighton laughed as he pulled her against him.
“Only if it means you’ll stay here and make up with me?”
“No, we promised to go and we’re going. Now quit being a butt-head and go get your shoes on.”
“Did you just call me a butt
-head?” he asked with a smile, the tone of amusement echoing in his words.
“I did and if you don’t do as
you’re told, we’re going to have some serious issues.”
“Bring it on Ashford,” he said, repeating her favorite phrase to him. Sandra smiled
, slapping his chest gently and pushing him away. She smiled as his laughter filled the room; it felt much better joking and laughing than fighting and yelling.
A
knock at the door echoed through the small room as she walked out of the bathroom behind him, completely dressed and ready for the evening. Creighton frowned as she glanced up at him. To her knowledge, they weren’t expecting visitors.
“Hello,” James’s voice sounded on the other side of the door
as Creighton opened it. “We thought you might need a ride to the park, just in case you couldn’t find it.” The younger man laughed as he pulled the door wider, allowing Sandra’s grandparents to enter. The room was a mess, the bed was torn apart and there were damp towels from their shower lying across the back of the chairs and clothing strung everywhere. Sandra blushed when her grandmother winked, and Creighton cleared his throat.
“We
’re running a bit later than we had anticipated,” he said with a sly smile.
“We can see that,” Mary
smiled. “Now if you two are finished, let’s get going. There are about a thousand people who really want to meet you. And I’m starving.”
“Sounds good to me,” Sandra said, her stomach adding a soft growl in agreement
as her face turned a bit redder.
They took James’s
black 1998 Ford Bronco to the park and arrived to hear a band playing near the center gazebo. They pulled into a make-shift parking stall in the dirt field behind the large tree lined park and found a place among the many cars. Children shouted and laughed as they chased a soccer ball around the grass, climbed the monkey bars or played Red Rover, while the chatter of many people gathered together visiting and talking filled the air. The smell of barbequed pork, chicken and beef drifted into the open windows and Sandra felt herself becoming slightly dizzy with the aroma. She drew a deep breath to keep her stomach in place when she realized she had not eaten since before they met the mayor at city hall, and that was nearly seven hours ago.
“Are you alright?” Creighton asked
softly with a frown. Sandra tried to nod as she stepped out of the back of the car and shut the door, but the feelings became suddenly overwhelming and she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She bent over next to the front tire and began vomiting in the dirt. Creighton pressed a warm hand gently against her shoulder as he held her ponytail out of the way.
“What’s the matter?” James asked from somewhere behind her.
“Just take it easy honey,” Mary said nearby. “James, get that bag out of the back, the one we brought with the bread and watermelon.” The sound of the back hatch opening and then closing sounded far away as the nausea took control of her actions, yet within a few moments her grandmother was by her side, easing her down to the running board of the old Bronco.
“Here,” she said, pushing a piece of homemade bread into Sandra’s hand. “Eat this, you’ll feel better.” Sandra obeyed and began nibbling on the chunk of bread as Creighton wiped the sweat off her brow
with the handkerchief James handed him.
“
It will pass in a few minutes,” he told her gently.
“What’s going on?” James asked. “What’s the matter with her?”
“Oh James, can’t you guess?” Mary scolded. “She and Creighton have been together for over two months. You add up the signs; the mood swings, the increased appetite, always tired, the nausea.”
“Sandra!” her grandfather said
a moment later, his tone a mixture of excitement and shock.
“Take it easy honey,” Mary said as she tried to stand. “You just rest here for a bit
, Papa and I will go ward off the curious lookey-loos and you stay with your husband until you’re strong enough to join us.” Sandra nodded and watched them walk away before turning to Creighton who sat down next to her on the step.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked her gently, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“I feel so stupid,” she mumbled. “With everything that’s happened today, I never stopped to think about eating.”
“Now do you see why I wanted that snack bag?” he smiled, causing her to
nod softly.
“I’m sorry. I guess there is a reason behind your madness
after all.”