A View to Die For Ch. 02

"Look, I've forgiven you a long time ago, I understand that rally driving wasn't your scene, some women like it while others don't. I maybe should have not devoted so much time to it that you felt left out of my life, but I was selfish and for that I ask for your forgiveness. On the other hand, Tiffany is right into the sport and she's bloody good at it."

"That brings me to the reason that I let the kids talk me into bringing them here this evening. They've been hassling me to allow them to be with you more often, and I feel that they might be moving towards talking me into letting you have them full time. A couple of things concern me about that, while not having them around the house might help my relationship with Brian, I don't want them being with you while you're driving rally cars, I don't know how I could cope if you and her (she couldn't bring herself to call Tiffany by name) have an accident and you're either killed or incapacitated and can't look after them. That didn't come out right, did it?"

"Look, I'll have a talk to the kids, they need to know that you are their mother and they should respect you and your decisions. I'll also explain to them that Tiffany and my lives are a little fluid at present and are such that having them full time isn't an option. She works nights and I've arranged my body clock around her schedule. If there is any change to that, and it's on the cards, then we'll address that when we come to it, but I'm not asking her to give up her job for me."

"So what do we do now?"

"Leave it as it is for the time being and see what happens in the future. In the mean time I'll have a word to them about easing up on you and Brian."

"What did you and Elizabeth talk about?" Tiffany after we'd parked in the security park at the showgrounds and were on our way home in her car.

"She asked me to forgive her and then told me that the kids have been giving her a hard time wanting to see more of me, of us. She even hinted that they were trying to convince her that she let them come to me full time. I promised to have a chat to them about easing up about that, and that our circumstances at present would make it difficult for that to happen."

"That's pretty much what they said, that they wanted to live with you and see her on weekends. I didn't make any promises but told them that we'd discuss it."

Saturday day 3 and the weather was looking much the same as the previous days. The first stage, Eagle on the Hill was, to say the very least, difficult, heavy fog and a road with kerbs on either side to keep cars and cyclists separated meant that we virtually 'white caned' our way over the short winding 3 kilometre course. I would have been surprised if any of the main game drivers reached the base time of 1 minute 30 seconds, that's a speed of 120 kph!

We wound our way once more through the Adelaide Hills before heading east to our lunch stop at Callington, not far from Murray Bridge. It was sunny and even warm for a change, but as we moved through the afternoon stages the weather was almost back to what we'd experienced over the previous two days. The final stage, Norton Summit, was held in light drizzle and the photographers really stood out in their hi-viz yellow ponchos.

We rolled back to the showgrounds and parked the car. Tonight we were going to relax and have dinner at a restaurant instead of cooking our own, although giving the wine a nudge would have to wait for another day. Some of the gloss had been taken from the event because of the bad accident the day before so I thought that sitting at home thinking about it wouldn't do us any good at all.

Sunday Day 4 our final day and the weather was good for a change. We drove up the same Gorge Road that we'd come down on the last stage of Day 1 and Tiffany nailed it! We were marginally ahead of time coming up to the last corner and that gave us the opportunity to back off just a little more and still make our time. "That was great." I told her "You handled it really well."

"I scared myself a few times, not that I was over the limit at all, it's just that the dry road has given me more confidence to push it harder, I've never driven that hard in my life, it felt great!"

"Don't get carried away, it's when complacency sets in that you increase your chance of having an accident. The next stage is a new one and I've never driven it at speed so it's up to you to decide if you want to push hard again or back off a little."

"I'll try hard, but not too hard." There's a fine line between hard and too hard, and she came close to crossing that line a few times, she wasn't holding back at all and came close to nailing it on a stage that didn't suit the SVX because its weight meant that accelerating out of corners was not as fast as the smaller, lighter, cars. The time was respectable enough given the circumstances and I told her so.

Tiffany pushed hard over the Echunga stage which meant that she had to back right off over the last kilometre or so to the point where she put it in cruise control at 85 and virtually coasted to the stage finish, much to the disappointment of the spectators who would have preferred to see us pushing to the finish, but we nailed this stage as well.

We had received a text message telling us that a car wash had offered free car washes for competition cars so that when we arrived back at the finish in the city our car was nice and shiny and without a scratch on it.

After crossing the finish line in Gouger Street and getting our medallion for having completed all stages of the course, we parked our car and climbed out. I gave Tiffany a huge hug and a kiss before hobbling over to a table at one of the cafes. The waiter had only just arrived to take our orders when Jason and Bethany arrived with my parents in tow. "I'll take care of this, it's your reward for doing so well." Dad said as he sat down. We ordered and ate but not in silence. "The kids have told us that they want to stay with you, what's that all about?"

"That is something that we've yet to discuss with them but at the moment it's not going to happen. Not that Tiffany I don't want it to, it's just that our circumstances are a little flexible right now. I told Elizabeth that the other night but I haven't had a chance to talk it over with the kids, there are several decisions that Tiffany and I have to make first."

"Like when you're getting married." Bethany said smiling at both of us.

"Who said anything about us getting married," Tiffany said, "I certainly haven't mentioned it."

"But you are, aren't you?" Bethany was pushing the point.

"Help me out here." Tiffany said to me.

"I haven't actually asked her yet, I've got a couple of issues to consider before I get around to it. In the mean time I have to admit that there is no-one that I'd like to marry more than her. Just give us time, please." I pleaded with them.

"You'd better be quick or one of the other drovers will snap her up from right under her nose."

"Like that's going to happen. Let's just say that your father and I are happy with our lives at present and leave it at that."

For the rest of the meal we were grilled about the whole rally experience and what it felt like for me to be in the co-driver's seat instead of actually driving. "Let me tell you that I was scared out of my wits the whole time, I've never sat next to such a crazy driver, and accident waiting to happen this woman." My smile belied those words but Tiffany went along with it.

"Listen to him, I'm deaf from his screaming over the intercom 'Slow down woman, you'll kill us!', 'there's another pedal in this car, it's called a brake!', 'Where did you learn to drive!'" On and on she went. "I'm going to have to look for another co-driver if I want to keep driving." She couldn't keep a straight face any longer and collapsed in a fit of giggling.

"No it was better than I'd expected. We never expected to win, this rally was about finding our feet, or in my case foot, and see how well we worked together as a team and I must say that I couldn't have asked for a better driver."

"Thank you for that, but I couldn't have done it without you."

"Please, give it a break you two." Jason said. "It's sickening the way that you two carry on, anyone would think that you love each other."

"We do." I looked at Tiffany and her eyes agreed with me.

"Then do something about it Dad. Marry the woman for God's sake."

"All in good time, we can't rush these things you know, it's not like we have to."

The next few weeks were hectic, I had an appointment with the Orthopaedic surgeon for the fitting of my new leg and the follow ups as I got used to it. Then there were decisions to make, where do we live? I liked my house and Tiffany was quite happy to move in with me, but then again she had the pool in her back yard. We eventually decided on my place and we'd get a pool in my back yard. I told her that we didn't need a high fence between the properties because I wouldn't be perving on my neighbours when I had her. To show my commitment to her I kissed her and we ended up making love. She stopped insisting on the fence.

Slowly I got used to the new leg and the freedom of walking around without the crutches or having to sit in that fucking wheelchair. I was also getting more comfortable driving a normal car once more, and Tiffany and I spent much of her free time driving around the hills. Much as I enjoyed the experience there was this nagging feeling that was bugging me big time, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

It was Tiffany who put her finger on it. "You're still troubled by your accident aren't you?"

"No. . . . well yes I guess that I still am."

"Were you aware that during the Targa, every time we came over a crest you were pushing the imaginary brake pedal through the floor? Even now you slow down more than is necessary when you come over a crest."

I was about to deny it but the realisation kicked in that she was right. It was then that I made a couple of decisions, the first was that it was about time we took our relationship to the next level and this included a decision on whether we wanted to have the kids full time, and our future as a rally team.

The next day I acted on the first part of it. My mechanic had rung to say that the car had been thoroughly checked out and was ready to pick up. Tiffany was still asleep when I left so I left her a note telling her that I was picking up the car and would see her around 12:00. "There were no mechanical problems with her, the brakes will need new pads all round before the next rally but they're still okay for day to day driving for the next few months. Your suspension and steering is still within tolerances so we don't need to do anything in that department and as for the motor and drive train, all of that is as good as new. She's a very good car."

I thanked him and told him that it would be in for a check and tune before the next rally, I had plans to run in the Targa Tasmania in February. This was the final leg in the Targa championship series and was the pinnacle of tarmac rallies in Australia. I had one more stop on the way home and it was just on 12:00 when I pulled up in my driveway.

"Coffee's on." Tiffany called out as I walked in through the front door.

"Coffee can wait." I said as I entered the kitchen. "Come with me." I held out my hand and led her outside. "What do you think?" I pointed to the drivers' names on the rear quarter window. The sign read; 'Driver: Tiffany Connors, Co-Driver: Matt Connors'

I was subjected to a hug that just about squeezed every bit of breath from my chest, and a kiss that went on for seemingly forever, until she relaxed her kissing pressure long enough to say, "I suppose that's your idea of a proposal." Before I could say anything in my defence her lips closed on mine again for another forever before she relaxed again, "Because if it is I accept." This was followed by another forever of kissing before we walked past our now lukewarm coffee on our way to our bed.

Tiffany had her arm across me and was circling my nipple with her tongue as we came down from our lovemaking. She paused mid-circle and looked at me. "Matt, something's bothering you isn't it?"

I was about to deny it when I realised that she was right. "Yes there is. Last night, or was it this morning, when you asked me if I was still troubled by the accident, I thought that I was over it, but then you mentioned my standing on the imaginary brake pedal every time we came over a crest and the fact that I unintentionally slow down when I'm driving, caused me to rethink. I guess that physically I'm close to speed as a driver, but psychologically I have some way to go. I haven't completely gotten over it and that's why I've decided that for the foreseeable future you will be the lead driver of our team. That and the fact that you are every bit as good a driver as I ever was, possibly better, has had me swallowing my pride and giving way to you. We need to start our preparation for the Targa Tasmania next year and possibly even the Wrest Point as a lead up rally."

"In our busy schedule we may have to make time for other things like for instance, I might like to have kids and maybe even get married."

"Well yes, there are those things we need to think about." Why was she raising this topic now?

"I love Jason and Bethany, they're great kids and they've accepted me as your new partner, but I want children of my own, your children, our children." She was emphasising her point by stroking my cock that was still sticky from our previous encounter.

"I want them too. We have to work out our priorities and, much as I want us to compete in as many rallies as we can before we head down that path, I'm not locked in to that scenario. If you feel that we should have kids sooner then I say let's do it." I rolled on top of her and did it.

"This keeps getting better," she puffed after I'd pulled him out of her and was flopped on my back beside her, "Do you think that we will ever plateau out and begin to slide down hill?"

"No chance of that ever happening." I kissed her hungrily.

"You really want to have kids?"

"Yes I do and as soon as possible, that's what I say, and if that last one hasn't taken then we'll just have to keep trying until it does."

"Whoa there mate, let me tell you something before you get too carried away, not that I'm not looking forward to all of this trying." She looked at me with a new expression on her face, it was almost as if she was afraid to go on. "I think . . . . I'm pretty sure, but I haven't confirmed it yet, I think that I'm already pregnant."

I gave her a huge hug. She looked deep into my eyes and kissed me, the tears already flowing from her eyes. "Does that mean that you're not angry at me for falling pregnant?"

"Why would I be angry? Was I angry with you when you had me petrified with fear for four days of Targa competition? If I can survive that I can survive anything else that you might subject me to." I smiled down at her before stifling any response with a kiss.

Go forward six months and a lot has happened since then. Tiffany gave up her job and sold her house to move into mine. Jason and Bethany and both sets of parents were with us when we tied the knot. We see the kids just about every weekend now and they look forward to their visits. Discussions are underway with Elizabeth regarding changes to the custody agreement, but she hasn't yet committed to relaxing the present arrangements. We think that she's using these to try to improve her relationship with Brian, but from what the kids have told us she is carrying too much guilt for that to happen, and the relationship is not going well. Tiffany and I are of the opinion that if it goes pear shaped she will use that to keep control of the kids, not to punish us, but as something good to hang on to.

The car has been moth-balled for the time being, we take it out on occasions just to let it know that we still love it.

Right now I'm in the Birthing Unit of our local Maternity Hospital staring at the top of our son's head as it emerges from Tiffany's vagina. She is puffing and pushing when the Midwife tells her to yet it seems to be taking forever to emerge fully. "That's good Tiffany, just relax a little, we have reached the stage where the next push will have the head out." She had a couple of fingers inserted beside the head and was feeling around the baby's neck. "We have a small problem, don't push until I tell you to." She pushed against his head and it slid back into her vagina and her hand followed it. "Okay you can push now."

"What happened?" I asked.

"The cord was looped around his neck so I untangled it, I didn't want it to pull tight and cut off his blood and oxygen supply. He's okay now."

Tiffany gave a final push and he just seemed to slide out of her into the waiting arms of the Midwife. She quickly made sure that his airway was clear before clamping the umbilical cord and passing him to Tiffany. I was standing beside them, wiping her face with a damp cloth and kissing her. She smiled at me and looked down at our child, stirring beside her, he had his mouth open and it was almost as if he was searching for her nipple. She moved him up and presented a nipple to him and he immediately latched on and began suckling.

I stood and smiled my thanks at the Midwife as she concentrated on delivering the placenta, before directing my attention back to my fabulously beautiful wife and incredibly perfect son.

Now that's a view to die for.