“So, are you nervous?” Melania asked Tanner. They were at his place. She was lying on the rug with her head propped up by her hand. In the background soft music played. It was Friday evening. She was spending the weekend with him.
“Nervous about what?”
“The wedding. It’s two weeks away.”
“No, I’m not nervous but I’m very excited. What about you? Are you nervous?”
“Nope. I can’t wait for us to be on a beautiful beach in St. Lucia. I got my bikinis, beachwear, rompers, jumpsuits, dresses and other stuff. It would be nice to get away from the cold weather for a while.”
“Yes. I too am looking forward to relaxing on the beach, going for walks, swimming. It would be nice to watch the sun set over the ocean.”
“Maybe one night, we can go for a swim.”
“Maybe we can go skinny dipping late one night if we have a bungalow which leads out to the beach.”
Melania stared at him. “Skinny dipping?” she exclaimed. “Are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious. We’ll make sure that we’re the only ones on the beach.”
“I’ve never thought of going skinny dipping.”
“Now is your chance to do so. It will be fun, Lana. We’ll wear robes and then, when remove them when we’re on the beach. We’ll run into the sea and spend a while there, enjoying the water and watching the moon and stars. Then, we’ll come out, put on our robes and return to our bungalow.”
“All right. I’m game but if we run into anyone when we come out of the ocean, you’ll be in BIG trouble, buddy.”
Tanner laughed. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Well, it would be something to tell our kids when they’re of age.”
“Speaking of kids, how many were you thinking of having?”
“Four. Two boys and two girls.”
“What if we have three boys and one girl or three girls and one boy?”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Of course, having four kids means that we will need a bigger place.”
“We can stay here until we have our second child. Then, we’ll move out and into a nice big house.”
“Any particular area?”
“Somewhere up North like Markham. I have co-workers who live there.”
“Markham is a nice area.”
“I’m really looking forward to meeting your parents and Giana.”
“They’re really looking forward to meeting you too.”
“Your mother was right when she said that if two people are meant to be together, eventually they’ll find their way back to each other. Nine years later, you and I found our way back to each other.”
“Yes, we did.”
“And I’m glad that you aren’t marrying me because I’m pregnant. I wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“If you didn’t have that pregnancy scare, would you still have broken up with me?”
Melania thought about it for a moment and then, she shook her head. “No.”
“I see.”
“Let’s not talk about the past. We have the present now and an exciting future ahead. Let’s focus on that instead of on the past.”
“You’re right. We have a wedding, a honeymoon and four children to look forward to.”
“Don’t forget the house in Markham.”
He smiled. “Oh yes, the house in Markham.”
“It just occurred to me that this year, you and I will be celebrating our first Christmas in nine years.”
“Yes and as a married couple.”
Melania’ face broke into a big smile. “I love the sound of that,” she murmured dreamily. In two weeks, she and Tanner were going to be husband and wife. It was something she had always dreamed about when they were in New York.
“How would you like to celebrate Christmas? Just the two of us or with your family?”
“We can spend Christmas Day alone but visit Aunt Kira and Uncle Joel on Christmas Eve. We have to drop off our gifts. And I’d love to see baby Matthew. I can’t get over how adorable he is. And he’s so handsome!”
“Yes, he’s quite the ladies’ man, isn’t he?”
“By the way, your mother emailed your baby pictures to me. You were so CUTE.”
“Now, why in the world would she do that?”
“I asked her. I told her that I wanted to see pictures of you as a baby and as a little boy. She was more than happy to send them.”
“I bet she was.”
Melania laughed. “Can you blame her? If I had a baby who looked like you, I’d want to show him off too.”
“My father told me that my mother was always talking about what a good baby I was and making a big fuss over me. Even now when I talk to her, she would say, ‘you were the most beautiful baby on the street with your big eyes and chubby face. I couldn’t take you anywhere without people gawking at you and telling me what a beautiful child you were.'”
“And what does she think of her beautiful baby boy now?”
“Before I told her about you, she was telling her friends and neighbors and anyone who cared to listen, what a good-looking son she had.”
“She’s right about that, although I would use the word, gorgeous to describe you.”
“You think I’m gorgeous?”
“Yes.” Melania got up from the carpet and walked over to him. “Gorgeous and sexy.”
“You sure know how to turn a man’s head, don’t you?”
Melania slipped her arms around his waist and pressed against him. “Do I?” she murmured coyly, raising her face, her eyes meeting his before traveling slowly and deliberately down his face until, they fell on his lips. There they remained.
Tanner grasped her head, his fingers digging into his scalp as he jerked her head back, making her gasp before he lowered his head and passionately kissed her.
Notes to Women 