enola_ray-of-sunshine-7

A RAY OF SUNSHINE by Enola <<< Part 6

PART 7

It had been a quite chaotic day at the boutique. One of the assistants had fallen ill suddenly, so Doris, the shop owner, had asked Stacey to take her place in the afternoon. She went and lay down after putting Erica to bed while James joined her around one hour later. He was surprised to find her still awake reading a magazine. He took his clothes off and slid into bed, his eye fell on the magazine she was reading.

“Is that a car magazine?” inquired James.
“Yep, I’ve bought it this morning. I’m having a look at the second hand cars.”
“Why?”
“Because I need one.”
James took the magazine and opened it at a page at random. “Yes, but why a second hand car when you can buy a brand new.”
“Simply ‘cause I can’t definitely afford it,” remarked Stacey taking the magazine off him.
“But I do.”

At this point they started arguing since Stacey couldn’t accept that he bought her a car, but in the end James managed to persuade her.
“I’m going to buy it all the same,” he said firmly. “I buy the car, it’ll be mine, you’ll just drive it. Seems a good compromise to me.”
Stacey raised her arms defeated and snorted. “I give in.”

“I really can’t make up my mind,” she said when James asked what type of car she was interested in. “There are at least three kinds I like!”
“What about this one?”
“A BMW? Are you insane? I want a smaller one.”
“But we need a big car for the kids.”
“Kids? What kids?”
“Those we’ll have.”
“James slow down a sec. We’ve been together for eight weeks, don’t you think it’s a bit too soon to talk about children?”
“You’ve heard Erica. She wants a lil sister.”
“Well, I think she’ll have to wait a couple of years at least.”
“I know somebody who might help us,” smiled James taking the magazine off her again. “If there’s one who knows everything about cars, that’s Sean. I’ll call him tomorrow for a piece of advice.”
He let drop the magazine onto the floor, so he moved over Stacey and kissed her.

Deeply immersed in their kissing and cuddling, Stacey and James rolled each other onto their backs before he fell off the bed making her burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that her belly ached.
“This bloody bed,” complained James standing up. “You can’t imagine how much I hate it.”
“Well, if you really hate it so much go and sleep in yours,” commented Stacey still laughing.
“Just if you come with me.”
“Um? Did you say anything?”

James slowly slid beneath the duvet again. “Think it’s time to get a bigger bed.”
“And where will you put it? This room is not big enough for a bigger bed.”
He kept silent for several moments looking thoughtful, then he said: “Ok, no problem. We’ll move.”
“W-what?” she sputtered, “Are you serious?”
James turned to face her. “Yes, I’m serious. I’m tired of this grotesque situation. I want us to have OUR room with a nice comfortable double bed where we can move freely without being afraid of ending up with our arses on the floor all of a sudden.”
“You have to talk to Erica about that first. She might dislike the idea of moving to another house.”
“Nah, I’m sure she’ll be enthusiastic about it.”

“Why?” asked Erica to her father as they were having breakfast all together the following morning.
“Honey don’t you think that it would be nice living in a bigger house with a lovely garden where you and Taylor can play and run? Then you can have a swing and even a slide.”
His little daughter didn’t look enthusiastic as he had expected. “But I like this house. Don’t you mum?”
“Yes darling, I like living here.”
Erica’s brown eyes returned to her father. “Daddy I want to stay here,” then she stood up and got ready for school.

James and Stacey looked at each other.
“I’ll speak to her again,” said James taking her hand.
“Forget it James. She’s grown up here, in this house there are all the memories of her mother. You cannot expect that she’s happy at the thought of living in another house.”
“I understand her, but I can’t stand that you don’t feel at ease here.”
“Erica is more important and I would never do anything that upset her.”

Leaving the school Erica ran towards her dad smiling happily, a sheet in her hand.
“Hi darling!” James bent down and kissed his little daughter. “How come you’re so happy? Happened something nice at school today?”
“Yes. I have thought a lot about what you said this morning and I changed my mind.” She unfolded the sheet and showed it to him. “Look, that’s the drawing I’ve made . This is how our new house has to be, and this is the garden where Taylor can run freely and play with his ball. And there’s a lot of room for a swing and a slide. Then you and Stacey can have your room so she will finally feel at home.”

Once home the child ran to kitchen and showed her drawing to Stacey who looked at it with a big smile. Erica told her that she had changed her mind after thinking about something her dad had told her while taking her to school.
“Daddy said that it doesn’t matter where I live because my mum will be always in my heart and he was right. I have all of her pictures and the videotapes where I can hear her voice.”
“Are you really sure?”
Erica nodded with a wide smile. “You are my new mum and I want you happy.”
Stacey hugged the little girl to her chest and kissed her hair. “I am already sweetie. I’m happy because I’ve got you and your dad and I couldn’t ask for more. Really.”

After an intense two-week house hunting which had given no results since each of them liked a different house and couldn’t manage to come to an understanding, James got a phone call from Martin that solved their problems. Martin informed him that the house he and Stacey always spent ages admiring every time they went to his place was now on sale. He had seen the sign upon the gate whilst going to ‘Hall or Nothing’ in the morning and had taken the estate agency number, so he gave it to James. He called them straight away and they arranged to see the house the next day.

3/4 of the house were surrounded by a beautiful garden with a lawn and lovely flower beds all around the border and along the boundary walls where there were also several majestic trees. On the ground floor there was a bright big living room with a fireplace and two French windows that leaded to the back garden with a wooden deck where, as the estate agent suggested, they could put a table with a sunshade and eat out on warm days. A kitchen, a dining room, and another room that could be used as a library completed the ground floor. Upstairs there were four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

This time no one had any doubts. That house was the one they were searching for. Erica asked permission to choose her bedroom and her dad had nothing to object. After a careful examination of each room, the little girl picked the biggest between the two that had a nice view of the back garden.

James signed the contract the next morning and the weekend was spent packing up. Amber’s clothes got packed up and Harriet took them to her house. As for James’ old bedroom furniture, he and Stacey decided to put it in one of the spare rooms and bought new pieces of furniture for theirs which were delivered four days later.

When James and Stacey were finally alone, he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes for a while. When he re-opened them he started rolling over and over the bed like a kid making Stacey laugh.
“I adore this bed!” he cried.
“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed!”
“Come here babe. Come and lie next to me.”

As soon as she did so, he was all over her kissing her passionately.
“What if we christen it at once?” suggested James with lustful eyes and a husky voice kissing her in between, his hand sliding beneath her top.
Stacey let out a soft moan as his hand stopped over her breast. “Well, if you look at me and touch me like that, how can I say no?”
James flashed a dirty grin at her. So they helped each other to get undressed.

Next Sunday James and Stacey invited their friends for lunch to celebrate the move. Having eaten, Erica, her two little cousins and Martin’s children went out to the garden and played on the swings and one the slide. James was looking at them from the living room through one of the French windows.

“Hey!” called Martin joining him, “is it alright out there?”
“Yep, the kids are having a great fun,” replied James with a wide smile.
“You know James, moving has been a fantastic idea. This house is dreamy.”
James said nothing.
“Is there anything wrong?”
“No, no. Don’t worry, everything is perfect. I was just looking at Erica. Look how happy she is now. Do you remember her one year ago?”
“Yes James, I do remember her.”

“She didn’t want anyone but me and Ruth. She did nothing but cry. She woke in the dead of night screaming that she wanted her mum. I didn’t know what to do, where to start from. I would’ve never imagined that she could grow fond of someone else, of another woman I mean.”
“Then Stacey entered your lives.”
“Yeah,” smiled James lowering his look embarrassed. “Without Ruth’s and yours insistences on giving her another chance after the park incident she wouldn’t be here now. And Erica and I would still feel miserable in our old house.”
“Come on old chap,” said Martin patting James on the shoulder, “don’t waste your time wondering what it would’ve been like if she hadn’t been here. She’s here James. She’s here with you and Erica in this lovely house.”
“Yeah, you’re right Martin. I should give up looking back. We’re here together now. That’s what matters, isn’t it?”
“Well said dude!”

Three months later.

The doorbell rang just when Harriet was saying bye to her friend she’d been chatting on the phone with for a while. Going to answer to the door she muttered to herself all her annoyance at the insistence of the doorbell. Once she’d opened the door her annoyance slipped away to leave room to a sense of deep concern as she saw Stacey’s red wet eyes which were begging for comfort. Harriet let the young woman step in and took the large bag she was carrying on her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry to pop in without calling,” stuttered Stacey, “I didn’t know where else to go.”
“For heaven’s sake don’t be silly. I don’t like that look on your face at all. So now we sit down and you tell me what’s wrong, then we’ll find a solution.”

Stacey took of her coat and they both sat on the couch. Harriet rubbed Stacey’s back to soothe her. “What’s up? Did you and James argue?”
“I’m nine weeks pregnant. James is over-excited about it and want us to marry.”
“Excuse me, but I don’t understand,” said Harriet giving a short giggle. “That sounds absolutely wonderful to me, what’s the problem then?”
Stacey took a deep breath and lifted her eyes to the roof. “The problem is that everything’s happening too quickly. Before the car, then the new house and now this. Why doesn’t he understand?”
“Because he loves you like mad?”
“I love him too but why all this hurry to get married?”

Stacey got up all of a sudden and shook her head. “God, I’m spoiling everything. The only thing I’ve always wanted is a true family and now that I can finally have it…what the hell am I doing?”
“You’re not spoiling anything,” said Harriet going closer to her.
“Perhaps I’m not but I’ll do it and I’ll let everyone down.” Stacey turned around and stepped towards the window. “The though of not being a good mother terrifies me.”
“Oh Stacey, you had NO reason to think such a thing.” Harriet was now next to her and forced her to look at her. “Listen to me now. You’re not like your mother. You’ve got nothing to do with her. You’ll be an excellent mother, a doting mother and your baby is so lucky because it’s going to have the best parents possible.”

“I so wish you were right Harriet, but I don’t know anything about little babies. I’ve never looked after any ‘cos I’ve always been scared of harming them. They are so small and fragile.”
“Stacey, your fears are more than understandable. Every woman who gets pregnant thinks she won’t be able to look after her baby. You don’t have to worry because Ruth and I will help you at the beginning and be sure that everything will be fine.”
Stacey hugged Harriet and thanked her.

“You look so tired,” said Harriet a moment later. “Guess you didn’t sleep at all last night, did you? Come with me. You need a good rest.”
“I don’t want to bother you.”
Harriet smiled. “Look around yourself. I’m nothing but a lonely middle-aged woman. I’m so glad you came to me.”
Harriet leaded Stacey to the spare room. “Now lie down and try to get some sleep. I’ll call James and tell him you’re here. I’m sure he must be very worried.”
“Please, tell him I’m sorry.”

When Harriet called he was still staring at the note Stacey had left over the kitchen table.

‘My dearest James,
please forgive me for this. I need to go away for a while.
Don’t hate me. I love you, Erica and our baby more than my own life. You are all I have.
Yours forever,
Stacey X’

He was relieved to know that she was safe and well at Harriet’s. He wanted his mother-in-law to tell Stacey that she could take all the time she would need as he was aware that he had put too much pressure on her.

Harriet had left Stacey alone throughout the afternoon, then around 6pm she carried something to eat upstairs. She knocked at the door, then entered. Stacey was awake lying on her side and her eyes were red, a clear sign that she had been crying again.

“I thought you would be hungry,” said Harriet with a smile walking over. Stacey raised herself to a sitting position, so Harriet put the tray down in front of her. “I always took Ruth and Amber breakfast and dinner to bed when they were sick,” added Harriet still smiling, but after a moment she realised she had made a big blunder and apologised sorry.
Stacey took her hand and smiled, “that’s alright.”

As she ate, Harriet told her about the conversation she had had with James earlier. Stacey was reassured that he was not at all angry at her and all he wanted was her to know he loved her and would never pressurize her again into getting married immediately.
“What did he say to Erica?” asked Stacey visibly concerned.
“He said he would tell her the two of you would spend the evening out and would ask Ruth to look after her. I’m sure she’s fine. Now have something more. Remember you’ve got to eat for two now.”
Stacey put her hand over her belly and smiled, “Yeah, you’re right.”

James disliked lying to his little daughter but in this situation he had had his hands tied. How could he have told her that Stacey had gone away and didn’t know when she would come back home? Pretending nothing was wrong had been extremely hard, but he was aware that that had been the best thing for his child.

That night the silence in the house was unbearable and he did nothing but pacing the floor restlessly. For a moment he thought to call his dad to find some comfort, but in the end he realised he felt like talking to nobody. He went upstairs and stopped on the threshold of their room. Since Stacey had been living with James and Erica she had never spent a night out; since they had moved to their new house they had always shared the same bed, theirs. That same bed that was now empty.

James looked at Taylor as he played with another dog in the park. Yesterday had been a sad day for him as well. He had been waiting for hours on the deck in front of the big French door for Erica and Stacey to come out and play with him or simply to give him a stroke as they usually did. When James had gone downstairs in the morning the dog was still waiting. As soon as he had seen his owner, he had stood up wagging his tail. James had opened the French door, and going down on his knees, he had stroked the pet for a few minutes. In his ear he had whispered ‘you miss them too I know. Don’t worry boy, they’ll be back soon’.

His melancholic thoughts were interrupted when he felt some raindrops on his hands which forced him to call off Taylor and rush back home. They stepped into the kitchen through the back door where the dog was dried with an old towel and allowed to stay in until it would stop raining. James took his shoes off and, since his jeans were wet, he went upstairs to change, but he suddenly stopped on the stairs after a few steps and turned over. Hung up on a hook next to the front door he saw Stacey’s coat. His feelings were a mixture of anxiety and relief. Had she come to take some more of her stuff or to stay?

James could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he went up the stairs. Stacey was in their bedroom putting her clothes back into the wardrobe. She smiled at James when she saw him on the threshold. She went close to him and stroked his wet hair.
“You look like a wet chick,” she said tenderly. “You’d better take off those jeans.” She went and fetched another pair of his trousers and put them on the bed, so she entered the bathroom and returned with a towel. James was sitting on the bed, so she sat next to him and rubbed his head with it.
“Thanks.” James took her hand and, looking at her lovingly, he asked: “You ok?”
Stacey nodded.

“Have you eaten?”
“Yes. Yesterday Harriet made me a nice dinner and a nice breakfast this morning. What about you? You look tired.”
“Didn’t sleep much last night.”
“All because of me. I’m so…”
“Don’t,” James wrapped his arm around her pulling her towards him and Stacey rested her head over his shoulder. “It was only my fault honey. I was so enthusiastic about the baby that I didn’t care about anything else. I’ve been selfish.”
Stacey pulled back and looking straight at him she said, “I love you James and I do want to marry you and have that big family I’ve never had and I’ve always dreamed of, but not at once.”
“I understand now,” smiled James rubbing her back. “We can marry after the delivery so we’ll have two lovely bridesmaids or a lovely bridesmaid and a cute page.”

The both of them couldn’t help smiling at the thought of it. Stacey got closer and kissed him. “I just hope I’ll be a good mother for this baby.”
“You’ll be honey.” James put his hand over her belly and kissed her.
“I missed you last night.”
“Missed you too. You can’t imagine how much.”
Stacey smiled widely. “We’ve got a little time before Erica leaves school.”
“How can we spend it?”
“What do you think?”

Stacey waved at Erica as the little girl came out from her primary school. She greeted her little friends and ran to Stacey with open arms.
“Hi princess!” Stacey bent forward and kissed the child on the cheek. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” smiled Erica. “Did you and daddy have fun last night?”
Stacey smiled widely at the thought of the two of them making love a few hours ago. “Yes honey, it was lovely. But now we’re going to spend some time by ourselves and do something typical girlie.”
“Going shopping you mean?”
“Yes my darling. Your dad has obliged me taking his cards ordering to not to come back home with less than ten items. So we’ve got to take advantage of it, don’t you agree?”
“Oh yes, we have!”

Having bought Erica a denim dungarees, three pairs of tights and a skirt, what the child now wanted like mad was a pair of pink and white trainers like her little friend Marian’s. When the little girl ran towards the shoes department Stacey found herself in the babies’ clothes department without even realising it. All the things she saw around bewitched her; overalls, bibs, pants and leggings managed to put a big smile upon her face. She took a pair of bootees in her hand and couldn’t believe how small they could be.

“They are very cute,” said Erica once she had gone back to Stacey. “But don’t you think that they are a bit too small for me?”
Stacey gave a laugh and said that she was right.
“You can buy them when you will have a baby,” added the child.
“Honey, there’s something you have to know,” began Stacey, then she squatted down and despite she struggled not to smile widely she failed.
“Wait, wait,” cried the little girl in excitement. “Let me guess. I’m going to have a little sister?”
Stacey giggled. “Or a little brother…who knows! Are you happy darling?”
“Oh yes,” grinned Erica. “You must buy these little things at once then!”

James helped Stacey with the carrier bags so they went to the kitchen where Erica showed her dad what she and Stacey had bought, her new trainers, skirt, dungarees and tights. Afterwards the little girl took the smallest carrier bag and gave it to him. On James’ face sprang a beautiful smile when he took out the little transparent plastic box which contained the bootees for the baby.

“So you told her.”
“Yes,” replied Stacey, “hope you don’t mind. I know we should’ve told her together but when I saw those little things I couldn’t resist.”
James wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her. “It’s okay honey.”
“Daddy, aren’t they the cutest thing you have ever seen?”
“Yep darling, they are!”

Minutes later when Erica had left her dad and Stacey alone in the kitchen, James had another look, more careful this time, at his little daughter’s new items of clothing. He took the skirt and with a puzzled frown on his face he said,
“Don’t you think that this skirt is too short?”
Stacey filled a glass with some water and took a sip. “It’s not. It’s just up her knees.”
“You see, it’s too short. Girls shouldn’t wear skirts before they are 18.”
“W-w-what?” spluttered Stacey. “Oh dear, that’s crazy!” Then chuckling she added, “I really hope this baby’s a boy. One daughter is enough for you!”
“You know what love? I wouldn’t mind having a boy,” smiled James putting the skirt down on the table. “I know Erica would rather have a lil sister, but I’m thinking about all the things I might do with a son. All those things my dad and I did when I was a kid. I followed him everywhere. I liked watching him working or mending something at home.”

James’ gorgeous brown eyes twinkled in adoration every time he talked about his father. Despite growing up without parents, Stacey loved to listen to his childhood happy tales. He always said that he owed his parents everything and that he would have never got where he was without their teachings and support. His father was his model of loyalty, modesty and kindness, a man who had worked hard for giving his family the best he could offer them. What James wanted more than anything else was being a good father to Erica and the baby; he wanted his children to be proud of their father as he was of his.

Stacey looked at him in silence, then she went closer and kissed him. “Our baby’s so lucky. It’s going to have a marvellous dad.”
“And a marvellous mum!”
“And a marvellous sister too!”
“Oh yeah!”

They went to the lounge where Erica was watching the telly and her dad told her to switch it off for a moment as they had to talk about something very important.
“We’ve got to start thinking about the names for the baby,” said Stacey wrapping her arms round Erica who was sitting on her lap. “And I’ve got an idea, it’s just like a game. We’ve got to write down five girl names and five boy names we like, then we’ll see if there’s one we all like. Do you want to play?”
“I do,” grinned Erica. “That’s a lovely idea.”
“I’m up for it too,” smiled James pulling his gorgeous girlfriend towards him.

It was a Saturday morning and James was reading the newspaper in the lounge comfortably seated on the sofa, his feet resting over the tea table. He was also listening to some music with the headphones and the volume of the music was so high that Stacey could hear it from the kitchen. She went to him with a jar of jam she couldn’t open, but James didn’t know what to do with it when she handed it to him. Stacey, exasperated, removed the headphone and threw them over the sofa.

“What the…”
“Don’t you dare swear!” snapped Stacey sternly. “I’ve had enough of this. I can’t speak to you because of this ridiculous behaviour of yours.”
James took her by the hand and made her sit next to him and trying to be calm he said, “Do you hear her? I can’t really bear it! Erica’s been taking violin lessons for a couple of months now and she hasn’t made the least improvement. I’ve never suffered from migraines as I’ve been lately!”
“Grumpy!” commented Stacey chuckling. “You can do nothing but grumble.”
“C’mon love, why don’t you admit it…”
“Grumpy!”
“OI! Stop it!”

“What do you have something against the violin?”
“Nothing at all,” reply James genuinely. “It’s a fantastic instrument and I like the sound of it…when someone can play it. Someone like you for instance.”
“I’m so curious to know how your parents felt when you began playing the guitar in your room.”
“That’s not fair,” protested James vehemently. “I was ten years older than Erica and it’s a well-known fact that kids learn quickly.”
“See? I’m right! Grumpy! You’ve got a new nick now!”

“Thank god you’re carrying my baby otherwise…” he grinned mischievously without finishing the sentence.
“Otherwise what?” she asked innocently rubbing him in the nape of his neck.
He got closer and kissed her. “At times you can be a very bad girl.”
“Let a girl have some fun! Look at me carefully,” she smiled fondling her five-month round belly, “you’re responsible for this.”
“I think I deserve a reward, don’t you agree?”
“Don’t forget who’s going to carry this baby for other four months and deliver it.”
“I will never thank you enough for that.”

At that very moment Erica came down the stairs carrying Stacey’s violin and sat on the tea table looking sad.
“What’s wrong darling?” asked her dad sweetly.
“I think I’m not cut out to be a violinist.”
James couldn’t believe his ears. “Oh, what a shame! Darling don’t worry, there are plenty of instruments you can learn to play or you could go on with the piano.”
The little girl looked at Stacey. “Do you mind if I give up the violin?”
Stacey breathed a sigh of relief. She completely agreed with James. In spite of her good will, Erica hadn’t progressed at all and, fortunately, for all their sakes, the child herself had realised that. “I don’t sweetie.”
“Can you teach me something now daddy?”
“Sure love!” said James happy.

Erica got up and gave Stacey a big kiss on the cheek.
“By the way, which is your favourite among the Seven Dwarfs?” asked Stacey.
The little girl thought over it for a while, then she replied, “Sleepy, but also Dopey is cute.”
“Mine’s Grumpy,” said Stacey aloud so that James would hear her.
He got up, bent forward and whispered in her ear in a very sexy voice, “I will have a reckoning with you later!”
Stacey sighed. “I look forward to it!”

Part 8 >>>

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