Chapter Thirty-Eight

Savannah

I woke up early that morning to get Bobby ready for his first day of kindergarten. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. How had six years gone by so fast? I could still remember when he was just a little baby in my arms. I could still remember the day I found out that I was pregnant. I hadn’t been happy. After all, I wasn’t married, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. That day I’d slept with Axel, and I had decided that I was going to leave the country. In fact, I’d made the decision a long time before, but sleeping with Axel made me want to go even more. It had been so good with him, and I’d been scared to get involved with someone that my father wouldn’t be happy with. I was sick of always doing what I had to do and figured the only way I could avoid doing that was to leave.

I'd sat in my room and made lists of what I needed to do in order to save up. I was determined to do something with my life and become the person I knew I could be. I worked hard, saved money, and almost booked my ticket. But then I found out I was pregnant, and everything changed. For a while, I was depressed and lonely, wishing that I had never slept with Axel and wishing that I could be anywhere else but where I was. I felt angry at myself for messing up my plans. Of course, all that changed when I saw Bobby for the first time. I knew then that life was exactly the way I wanted it to be. That nothing mattered as long as I had Bobby in my life. I stopped thinking about myself and put him first. How had six years passed since that day in the hospital?

I lay in bed thinking about everything until I felt Axel’s hand grab mine. I hadn’t even realized he was awake until then.

“Hey, you worried?” he asked.

“Not worried. Well, no more than any other mother would be I guess. Just emotional.”

“He’ll be fine. You know what he’s like. He’s survived more than most kids his age. This is nothing for him. I have a feeling Bobby is going to be a very loved and popular kid. He’s just got that in him.”

I smiled. “Thanks for saying that. I believe that too. But it’s still hard to let him go. Although it also feels amazing. The very fact that he is going to kindergarten means that things in our life are going well. I have dreamed of this moment. So yeah, I’m emotional, but most of that is good emotion. Thank you for making my dreams come true, Axel. You’re amazing.”

“I would do anything for the two of you to be happy. Trust me, anything. Should we go and wake him up?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Bobby was already awake when we got to his room. He was on the floor and playing with a truck. Since moving in with Axel, he had never once come to wake us up in the mornings if he woke up before us. It was incredibly sweet. Not many other kids would be so thoughtful. I’d asked him about it once, and he’d told me that he wanted me to sleep in. He looked up and grinned when he saw us standing there.

“It’s kindergarten day!” he yelled.

I laughed. “It sure is. Are you excited?”

“Yes! I’m going to make friends. Do you think they can come and play here? I want them to meet Toto.”

I smiled. I hadn’t even noticed the dog in the room. He was sleeping on the bed and completely unaware that we were all standing there. He was the most relaxed dog I had ever met. Bobby had been right to choose him out of all the others.

“I’m sure they can come and play here. Not today of course. Today is your first day. But one of these days you can invite someone over. I think that’s a great idea. Come on, let’s get you some breakfast and get you ready for your big day. No cereal today. Today I want you to have a nice big breakfast.”

He didn’t complain. He was too excited about his day ahead. I made him a bowl of oats, with nuts and fruit, and a slice of toast, and I was surprised to see that he ate it all. I gave him a quick bath and helped him pick out something to wear, and then I stood and looked at him.

“Can I take a photo of you?” I said. “I want to remember this day.”

“Okay! Can Toto be in it?”

“Of course he can.”

After the photos, we all climbed into the car and made our way to Pop’s. We both had a bit of work we wanted to do today, so we decided it was best to leave the dog with Pop. But the main reason was that we knew how much Pop would want to see Bobby before his first big day. Pop grinned when he saw Bobby and told him what a big boy he was now.

“Are you getting me after school?” he asked.

“Your mom will get you today because it’s your first day, but you’ll all come back here when you’re done. I’m going to make a cake to celebrate.”

“Really?”

He chuckled. “Well, I might buy one, but still. We definitely want to celebrate this special day. I’ll take good care of Toto while you are gone. And later you can tell me all about your first day.”

Pop gave me a big hug because he knew that this wasn’t just a big day for Bobby, but also a big day for me.

“You should be very proud of that boy,” he said.

I smiled. “Oh, I am.”

We got back into the car and made our way to the school. Thankfully Bobby was fine with us walking in with him, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until he asked if he could walk in alone. We thanked the teacher, and she assured us that everything was going to be fine. Bobby gave both Axel and I a big hug and walked into the classroom with a self-assurance that I hoped he would never lose. He was such a confident child, and that was going to get him far in life. Axel held my hand as we walked back to the car, and the moment we closed the door, I felt the tears pouring out.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Axel. “I honestly thought I was fine. I was obviously trying to be brave in front of Bobby. I can’t believe he’s at school. I’ve been with him almost every day since he was born. This is such a strange feeling. People always told me the first day is hard, but I never believed it. But they weren’t lying.”

“You’re the best mother in the world. And you’ll see, everything will be fine. You know what a strong boy he is.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m so proud of him.”

I cried all the way home despite this. They were mostly happy tears, but I felt emotional none the less. When we got home, I felt a little embarrassed by my tears, and I tried to laugh them off. Axel took my hand and led me to the bedroom. He kissed me and smiled at me.

“So, I have to go out to the office this morning,” he said. “Or should I say, the makeshift office that Spike has set up at his house for now, but I do have a little bit of time on my hands before I go.”

I smiled. “Oh yeah, and how do you propose you spend your time?”

“Well, rumor has it that you want another baby.”

I chuckled. “Is that so? News spreads fast around here.”

“With one kid in kindergarten, it seems only natural that we start all over. And anyway, let’s just look at the positive side to all of this . . . with Bobby away we get a little bit of alone time. And I know exactly what I want to do you in that time.”

I didn’t even get the chance to reply. While he was talking to me, he was slowly taking off my clothes. Within minutes, I was standing completely naked in front of him. The bright light of the morning sun was shining through the window, but I didn’t shy away from it. I knew my body wasn’t perfect, but I liked that Axel loved it anyway. I could see the desire in his face, and as I reached out to pull down his pants, I saw how excited he was by me. I knelt down and put him inside my mouth, teasing him with my tongue. His hands were on my head, massaging me as I licked and sucked him. I got him almost all the way to orgasm until I remembered we were trying for a baby. I pulled away in time, and we moved onto the bed. Axel took his time with me now, exploring my body as if it was the first time he had ever seen me. This time, we could make as much noise as we wanted to, and as he thrust himself into me, I held onto the bed covers and called out his name. We moaned, and writhed, and moved together in rhythm. It always amazed me how well our bodies fit with one another. I was sure that he had been created just for me. Whenever he was inside me, it made me feel complete, and I had never felt that way with anyone before.

We had sex twice that morning. Once on the bed, and once again in the shower right afterward. The second time hadn’t been planned at all. We’d both decided to have a quick shower before Axel went off to work. Without even talking about it, we went in together. We were joking and messing around, talking about the last time we’d been in the shower together, and suddenly his hands had made their way between my legs, and he’d pinned me against the wall. I still couldn’t believe how easy it was to come to orgasm with him. Sometimes I think he just had to look at me and I felt like coming. I had no idea that it could be this good. I’d missed out a lot in the last six years without him, and I was happy to be making up for lost time now.

“Are we making our way around the house?” I said. This time we had done it in the upstairs shower rather than the basement one.

He laughed. “I’m more than happy to do that. How about we try the kitchen tomorrow?”

I chuckled. “I’m good with that. Well, I have to say, if you did this so that I would forget about the whole kindergarten thing, you definitely succeeded. Also, I don’t care how long it takes us to have a baby if it means doing this every day.”

“You’re also welcome to be sad about dropping him off at school every day so that I can make you feel better.”

“I’m feeling sad right now,” I said and pouted at him.

We were standing in the kitchen. He looked at me, looked around, and then looked back at me with a grin on his face.

“You know what they say . . .”

“What’s that?”

He walked up to me and pulled off my shirt. “Third time’s a charm.”