Chapter 3: Ethan’s Visit “Ethan,” Charlotte whispered from her bed. Ethan stood in the doorway, and slowly made his way inside, closing the door behind him. “What are you doin’ here?” “I didn’t know you were sick until just a few minutes ago,” Ethan replied quietly, sitting down at her bedside. “Brian told me.” “Well, you haven’t answered my question yet.” “I came to bring you and the kids to San Francisco.” Charlotte let out a dry laugh. “I’m dyin’ Ethan. I ain’t in any condition to be goin’ to San Francisco, least wise with you.” “I know what I did was wrong.” “Wrong? You call skippin’ out on your family in the middle of the night, leavin’ us with no money ‘wrong?’ Ethan Cooper, what you did was unforgivable! You expected me to raise three children on my own. I did it, no thanks to you. Do you realize that your family don’t even have a home? I used to own this buildin’, but I couldn’t afford it. The doc was kind enough to keep me here to rest. The kids stay here with me too, but we ain’t got a place.” “You have one now,” Ethan replied. He reached for her hand, brought it to his lips, and placed a kiss there. Charlotte sighed heavily, tears brimming in her eyes. “You ain’t a part of this family anymore.” “Those kids are mine, and you are my wife. We’re still a family.” “I ain’t seen or heard from ya in years! Where were ya when Brian learned how to read? Huh? Where were ya when Matthew got his first kiss, or when Colleen got her first crush?” “I was makin’ money for our family.” “I don’t believe you, Ethan!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Why did you just leave without an explanation?” “Because I didn’t want to see the look on your face when I told you I was leavin’.” “Well you should have seen the look on my face when I found out you were gone. Why don’t ya ask the kids? They remember.” Ethan looked away. “No! You look at me, Ethan Cooper!” Ethan turned to look at her again. “I’m dyin’, Ethan.” “At least let me stay with you, and I’ll take the children back to San Francisco with me.” A look of horror came over Charlotte’s face. “No!” she exclaimed. “Tell me why you came here. I know it’s for money.” “You’ve got me wrong, Charlotte.” “Do I? Don’t lie to a dyin’ woman. You remember than I’m goin’ to see God soon, and he knows whether or not you’re lyin’.” “I do care about you, Charlotte. I feel bad about leavin’ you and the children. Truth is, I really was comin’ to see you and the kids. I really was going to bring you back to San Francisco.” “Why?” “I found out that my pa left me a great sum of money when he died years back. I can’t get that money unless I’ve got my family with me.” “Money, I told ya,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “Charlotte, I really do love ya.” “Don’t try to sugar-coat it, Ethan. You ain’t takin’ my children to San Francisco.” “Who’s gonna look after ‘em when you . . .” “I’ve got ‘em a home. I’ve already sent to Denver for the adoption papers. They’re in this desk drawer, and as soon as I go, Dr. Mike and Sully are gonna send ‘em in. They already got my signature, so that’s what counts.” “You can’t do this, Charlotte. Those kids need me! I’m their pa!” “They’ve done just fine without ya for the past few years. Dr. Mike and Sully are good people, and they’ll be good parents.” “How well do you know them?” “A lot better than I ever knew you,” Charlotte replied. “Those children deserve a lot better than you, Ethan. I could care less if I ever saw your face again.” Ethan stood and stared down at Charlotte. “I’ll change your mind. I’ll prove to you that those kids need me.” He walked out of the room and into the hallway. The only people in the hall now were the children. Luckily they hadn’t heard anything he said about needing them because of money. “I’ll be downstairs.” Ethan walked downstairs while the children hurried in to be with their mother. “Ma? Are you alright?” Colleen asked. The children gathered ‘round her bedside. Charlotte sniffled and wiped her tears. “I’m much better now that the three of you are here. I need to talk to you.” “About what?” Brian asked. Charlotte sat up a little and showed the children the papers she was holding in her hands. Matthew took them. “These are adoption papers,” Matthew whispered, swallowing hard. “Adoption?” Brian asked. “I’ve been meanin’ to tell ya. I’ve been talkin’ it over with Dr. Mike and Sully for months,” she began. “I want to make sure that you children have a permanent home. I want you to have two parents that are legally your parents. Do you understand?” “I’m not sure,” Colleen replied. “Well,” Charlotte said, taking her daughter’s hand, “I know that you’ll be livin’ with them once I pass on, but I want to make sure that in case, heaven forbid, something happens to one of them, you’ll still have a good home. That’s why I’ve signed my consent to let Dr. Mike and Sully adopt you once I’m gone.” “Ma,” Colleen whispered, her lower lip trembling. Charlotte smiled at her little girl reassuringly. “Dr. Mike and Sully are willing and would love to have you as their children, but they won’t do it if you don’t want them to.” “What happens if they don’t adopt us?” Brian asked. “Does that matter?” Charlotte asked, swallowing hard. “No. I love Dr. Mike and Sully,” Brian replied. “Me too,” Colleen replied. Matthew nodded. “Same here. They’ll be good to us, but they’ll never replace you, ma.” Charlotte smiled happily. “I know that we’ve talked about this a little, and you are going to need a mother and father. I just want you to know that I wouldn’t mind at all, in fact, I would be happy if you called them ma and pa.” “You just want us to forget about you?” Colleen asked. “No,” Charlotte replied. “You’ll never forget me because we’re connected. But I don’t want you to feel like you’re betrayin’ me by wantin’ to have someone to call ma and pa.” “I don’t want to go to San Francisco with pa,” Brian said softly. Charlotte touched her son’s face. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. But if ya’ll want to go with your pa, I won’t stop you.” “I don’t want to go either,” Colleen replied. “Me neither,” Matthew agreed. “Have Dr. Mike and Sully sign the papers. We’ll send them in.” “We have somethin’ special here,” Charlotte whispered. “Not all families get this long to say goodbye to someone.” “It ain’t any easier,” Colleen pointed out. “No,” Charlotte replied, “but we all know that it’s gonna happen and that when it does, you’ll have a place to call home.” The children all hugged their mother, knowing that she was growing weaker by the day and that they wouldn’t have much time left with her, so they decided to spend the time they had left with her, and hope that she would be around longer than they expected. *~* Michaela sat on the floor in the living room of the house. Sully had put a blanket down on the floor so they could sit beside the fire and talk. They had had breakfast, and Sully was cleaning the dishes, telling Michaela that he didn’t want her lifting a finger on their honeymoon. For now, Michaela was sipping on a cup of hot tea which seemed to warm her to her very core. She had her robe tied tightly around her body, blocking the cool air that hovered in the room. She could hear the dishes clanging together in the water basin. Unfortunately the water pump was frozen, so Sully had to go outside, collect snow in a bucket, and bring it inside to melt over the fire for dishwater. Michaela knew that if there was ever an emergency that wasn’t medical, Sully would know what to do in order to survive. That gave her a feeling of security for sure. Michaela relaxed and thought about the dream she had had earlier. She had been having a lot of dreams lately, but the one that stood out to her the most was the dream she had just had about twins. She smiled, oblivious that Sully was walking into the room. He noticed the smile on her face and sat down beside her on the blanket. “What are ya thinkin’ about?” Michaela put her cup of tea down, realizing that Sully’s arms were wrapping around her. “I was just thinking about a dream I had.” “Oh?” “I had a dream we were holding our babies.” “Babies?” “Twins,” Michaela replied with a nod. Sully smiled. “Twins, huh?” “Sully, does this mean something? We’ve both been dreaming of babies.” “Maybe it’s a sign that we’ll be blessed sooner than we think.” “Maybe,” Michaela replied. She smiled and stretched out, lying on her stomach on the floor. She turned her head to face Sully, and rested it on her folded arms. Sully smiled and straddled Michaela’s legs. He began to massage her back through the material of the robe, and she moaned a bit at the wonderful feeling. Sully leaned down as he rubbed her back and kissed her neck softly. She smiled and bit her lip, pulling her upper half up a bit and removing her arms from the sleeves. Sully pulled the robe off of his wife so she was lying naked beneath him. His hands massaged her shoulders, her back, and traveled lower to massage her lower back, right above her bottom. “How are ya feelin’?” “To tell you the truth, I haven’t been this relaxed in a long time,” Michaela replied. “You’re amazing with your hands.” Sully smiled and began to massage her upper back again. As he was doing so, he pressed kisses all the way down along her spine. Michaela felt a heat beginning to rise inside of her, and she knew that she would never be able to get enough of this man. “Sully?” “Hmm?” “I’m not sure if this will ever get old.” “It won’t,” Sully promised. Michaela blushed as the heat began to rise to an almost unbearable level. “But what happens if it becomes all I ever want to do?” Michaela asked. “Would that be so bad?” Sully asked. Michaela laughed. “In the long run, yes it would be. I have work to do, and I’m going to have three children to raise.” “Well, for now, we’ve got the week to be alone together.” “I’m sure I won’t grow tired of all of this in a week,” Michaela replied. Sully laughed again. He moved so she could sit up, and they sat facing each other. He couldn’t help but soak in the beautiful vision of Michaela’s body in front of him. “Sully, I feel like we know each other . . .” “We do know each other.” “I mean, completely. I feel like you’re the only person in this whole world who knows me. Sometimes that’s scary because it’s like you know me better than I do.” Sully took Michaela’s hands in his and brought them to his chest. “You know my heart,” he replied. “And I feel like I know yours. That’s why we’re so good together, Michaela. We complete each other like we’re part of some big puzzle.” Michaela’s eyes twinkled in the firelight, and Sully had to lean in to kiss her. He couldn’t resist those soft lips. “You know my heart,” she whispered. “You know every part of me now.” “Bein’ married must agree with us,” Sully said with a chuckle. “I believe it does,” she said with a nod. Sully stood and pulled his wife into his arms. “C’mon.” “Sully, I’m cold.” “That’s why we’re goin’ to bed. I’ll warm ya right up.” Michaela laughed as Sully scooped her up and took her back up to bed where they could forget about all of their worries and cares and just be happy with one another. *~* Michaela woke alone in the middle of the afternoon. She was disappointed to find that Sully wasn’t there. She wanted to wake up to his touch and his kisses. However, she did find rose petals on her pillow. She sat up and found a trail of petals leading out of the room. She smiled and pulled her robe on in case of a draft, and followed the trail to a room Sully had put in which he had designated as a washing room. She opened the door and found Sully sitting at the side of a washing tub. It was brand new and Michaela had had no idea he had even purchased one. Michaela could see that the water in the tub was steaming and Sully had put soap in it to make it bubble up. “I figured you could use a relaxin’ bath,” Sully said with a smile. He was sitting there in a towel. Michaela bit her bottom lip. “You drew a bath just for me?” “Mhm,” Sully replied with a smile. “Fresh hot water and some of your favorite soap.” “That sounds wonderful,” Michaela replied. She slipped out of her robe and stepped into the hot water. She sunk down into the tub, pulling her long hair up so it wouldn’t get wet. Sully walked over to stand behind the tub. He grabbed a pitcher of warm water. “Lean your head back,” he said with a smile. Michaela closed her eyes and did as Sully said. He poured the water over her hair and used some of her fancy soap to later the beautiful golden brown strands. The way Sully’s fingers massaged her scalp made her desire for him begin to surface again. She bit her bottom lip as he poured more water over it, rinsing the soap out. Once her hair was washed, he began to rub her shoulders, bending down to kiss her warm, wet skin. “How do ya feel?” “Mmm, better than ever,” Michaela whispered. “But do you know what would make me feel even better?” Sully came around to stand in front of the tub. Michaela reached her hand out to him and laced her fingers with his. “What’s that?” Michaela got a gleam in her eyes, and she pulled Sully into the tub with her. He fell into the small tub with a big splash. Michaela began to laugh and Sully looked up at her with a soap covered face, and she scooted over to gently wipe the suds away. “I’m sorry! I didn’t hurt you did I?” “No.” “Do you feel alright?” she asked. Sully grinned at her and gave her a big soapy kiss. “I’m feelin’ better than ever.” |