Suspicion: Healing

We went out to a little diner that served great food and lots of hot coffee and we spent the next hour in pleasant conversation. I wanted to see her again that night but we both agreed to spend the evening with our family. I dropped Heidi off at home with the promise to call later that night.

It was close to noon when I waltzed in the door. I hoped that the kids would be out for a while so I could decompress without being grilled about the previous night. I had almost made it to my room when I heard my daughter's voice behind me.

"Well, it's about time you got home!" she said mock indignantly.

"Wasn't it you who told me not to hurry home?" I said with a smug grin.

"When I said that I didn't think you'd be rolling in at noon! I've been waiting all morning to hear the details!" she said excitedly.

"And you're going to keep waiting. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. Besides, my love-life, or lack thereof, is not something I'm going to discuss with my daughter. If I could, I'd like to take a shower and change clothes. We can talk after that if you'd like?"

"Ok, Dad. I'll wait for you downstairs. Do you want some coffee?"

"No, honey, Heidi and I just finished breakfast out and I drank so much coffee I almost floated home. Why don't you wait on the deck and I'll be down in a few. Where's your brother, by the way?"

"He walked over to Steve's house. He'll be back in time for supper."

"Well I guess I should be thankful for small favors, at least I don't have to face both of your questions at once," I chuckled.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll fill Jason in later so you won't have to go over the same thing twice."

"All right you, scoot. I'll be down soon." I continued into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I took a quick shower and changed into shorts and a golf shirt. Feeling refreshed I felt I was ready to face the Spanish Inquisition, aka my daughter, Christie.

*****

I grabbed a beer from the fridge on my way to the deck finding Christie sunning herself while she waited. She turned, putting her hand over her eyes to block the sun as I approached.

"OK, give. You've made me wait long enough," she said impatiently.

"Geez, can't a guy get settled first?" I said as I plopped myself down on the other chaise lounge chair.

"Sorry, Dad, please, get settled first." She paused as I took a sip of beer. "Are you comfy?"

"Yes."

"Good, now give!"

"We had a very nice date, dinner and dancing the night away. We talked on the way home about our relationship and where it was going. She invited me to spend the night. I called you, as you know. We spent a wonderful evening together, went out to breakfast and here I am."

"That's it?"

"I told you, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. I also told you I'm not going to discuss my love-life with my children. What more do you want me to say?" I took another sip of my beer and waited for her answer.

"Dad! Tell me how you feel about her! Spending the night implies that she has feelings for you, how do you feel about her!"

"I would think it was pretty obvious how I feel about her since I agreed to spend the night."

Christie looked at me as if she'd like to strangle me but I waited her out.

"Dad, I guess the question is, do you love her? I don't see you as the kind of guy who stays overnight with a woman he has no feelings for," she said with a smile that encouraged me to confide in her.

"How would you feel about my falling in love again? Would that be OK with you and Jason?" I wanted to know she was OK with the possibility.

"Dad, come on. You know we want the best for you. Of course we want you to fall in love again. I've wanted you to find someone for the longest time and I know Jason feels the same way. We've talked about it a lot since you've been dating Heidi. So, I'm going to ask you again, do you love her?"

"Yes, I do. Very much in fact. I haven't felt like this since... well in a very long time."

Christie launched herself out of her chair and into my arms so fast I spilled my beer all over the deck!

"Oh, Daddy! I'm so happy for you! When can we meet her?"

"Thanks, baby, I'm glad to hear that. As to when you can meet her, we haven't talked about that. We just admitted we loved each other last night. I wanted to talk to you and Jason first and I'm sure Heidi wants to talk to James as well. I'm going to call her this evening, I'll discuss it with her then, OK?"

"Ok, Dad. Try to make it soon though. I really want to meet the woman who has won my dad's heart."

Christie kissed me again then moved back to her seat. We spent the rest of the afternoon together, enjoying each others company.

*****

While I had met James a number of times when I picked Heidi up for our dates Heidi had never met my children. I mentioned that the kids and I had talked and I'd told them of my feelings for her and that they wanted to meet her as soon as possible. Heidi was understandably nervous at the prospect but she wanted to meet them too. If we were going to pursue a romance melding our families was going to be a necessity. Heidi was a lot more nervous than I was. I knew Christie would love her and I was pretty sure Jason would as well.

Heidi and I decided that we'd have dinner Friday night at our house when we'd have plenty of time to get to know each other. I asked my housekeeper to stay a little longer Friday to help make dinner and she gladly agreed. With our plans made all we could do was wait.

*****

I picked Heidi up from work Friday night, stopping by her place so she could change and make sure James had his dinner and then we would be off. When I was waiting for Heidi James and I talked about the change in my relationship with his mother.

"Hi, James, how are you tonight?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Matthews, how are you?"

"I'm good. Hey, James, has your mom talked to you since Sunday about us?"

"Yes, she has. She said you were in love and I think it's great. Mom needs a man in her life and I think you are a nice guy and you sure make her happy."

"I want to make her happy. I'll never do anything to hurt her, James, I want you to know that."

"I know you won't, Mr. Matthews. I've been keeping my eye on you from your first date and I can see that you are a gentleman and you also respect my mother very much. I like you a lot Mr. Matthews and I'm glad you two are getting serious."

"James, under the circumstances I think I would like you to call me Paul. Would that be all right with you?"

"Thanks, Paul, I appreciate it."

"I hope you don't mind that we didn't include you in the dinner invitation tonight? You've had a chance to get to know me without my children involved and I wanted them to get to know your mother the same way. We'll have you over the next time, for sure."

"It's no problem, Paul. I know tonight is going to be tough enough on mom, meeting new people always is for her, and I don't want her to be concerned with how I'm getting on with your children while she is supposed to be getting to know them. Dinner at your place the next time sounds good."

Heidi walked in about then and saw us talking.

"Plotting against me already?" she said with a smile.

"James and I were talking about our changed relationship. I wanted to make sure he was OK with everything. I also wanted to make sure he understood why he wasn't going with us tonight. I don't want any misunderstandings."

"That's right, Mom. Paul wanted to make sure I understood about tonight, and I do. I don't want to be a distraction when you meet Paul's children."

"I see," she said, looking at me. "I assume you're OK with James calling you Paul?"

"Yes, honey, I asked him to. Mr. Matthews makes me sound so old. Besides, I want to get to know him better and being on a first name basis will make that easier."

She walked up to me and kissed me lightly. "I'm glad you want to know James better, I want you to as well." She turned to her son and said, "OK James, let's get you fed so Paul and I can get going."

As a single mother Heidi had quick dinners down to a science. She'd had something in the refrigerator that she warmed in the microwave and in no time James had a hot meal in front of him. We left soon after, heading to our date with destiny.

*****

Conversation was subdued during the drive and I tried to calm Heidi down.

"Honey, don't worry, everything will be fine. My kids are anxious to meet you, especially Christie. She's been putting up with two guys for way too long. She's going to love having a woman around to talk too, besides her mother of course. Heck, she'll probably tell you all my dirty secrets!" I said, laughing.

"Ooh, I hope so, I need to get some good blackmail material on you!" she said, smiling genuinely.

"You want blackmail material, huh? Don't forget, James knows all your secrets too. I'm sure he could share some juicy stuff!"

"I'll have to have a talk with that boy of mine. I don't need you two men ganging up on me."

This little exchange seemed to calm her down and not long after we pulled into the driveway.

"How do I look, Paul? Am I presentable?"

"Honey, you look great, and you are more than presentable." I swept my arm towards the door. "Shall we?"

We entered the house and I could hear the kids in the kitchen with Mrs. Roberts so I directed Heidi in that direction.

"Hi, kids, we're here!" Three faces turned to see us standing in the doorway. I proceeded with the introductions.

"Heidi," I said indicating my daughter, "this is my daughter, Christie." Moving on to my son I said, "And this is my son, Jason." Not wanting to leave anyone out I continued, "And this is Mrs. Roberts, our housekeeper. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Heidi."

Greetings were exchanged and we seated ourselves at the kitchen table. Not much was said while dinner was being served but I felt that Heidi was as comfortable as she could be. When it was time for her to leave I thanked Mrs. Roberts for staying late and promised her a little bonus in her next check. She smiled at me and told me I had excellent taste in women. I thanked her again and returned to our dinner.

I returned to the table and found Heidi and Christie chatting amiably. Seeing this I knew everything would be OK.

*****

We had a picnic the next weekend to introduce our children to each other. As we had hoped, the kids got along famously. Our children attended different schools because of where we lived but after an hour you would have thought the three of them had been friends for life. Jason and James bonded really well, they were almost like brothers, being so close in age didn't hurt. The boys included Christie in their activities wherever possible which Heidi and I really appreciated. Having our kids get along so well eased our minds a lot.

By the time we had been dating six months I felt it was time to take our relationship to the next level. I felt confidant that Heidi was in agreement on this so I planned a surprise for our next date. That weekend we went to a movie and then to dinner at the little Italian place where we had our first date. She had manicotti and I had lasagna. After the meal we sat enjoying our coffee and dessert.

"I really had a good time tonight, honey," I said. "Do you feel like a little dancing?"

"Yes, Paul, that sounds wonderful. I really love this place. I'm so glad you brought me here on our first date!"

"Speaking of our first date..." I pulled a small burgundy box from my pocket and got down on one knee in front of her. "Heidi, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Her eyes teared up immediately but the smile on her face told me her answer even before she spoke.

"Yes! Oh yes, Paul! I love you too, and I will marry you!"

I kissed her deeply and slid the ring on her finger. "By the way, in case you don't like this style ring we can exchange it for whatever you'd like but I wanted something to put on your finger tonight."

"Paul, it's beautiful and I love it! It's probably way too expensive if I know you! I wouldn't want any other ring, honey, it's just want I've always wanted."

I had picked a round diamond solitaire of one karat in a white gold setting to match her other tastes in jewelry. I had asked James what his mother might like for a ring before I had purchased it so I was pretty sure of my choice but you can never tell, that's why I got the jeweler to agree to an exchange.

The diners at the tables near us had seen me go down on one knee so when we returned to our respective seats they broke out in applause. Heidi and I acknowledged them with a smile and I think both of us were blushing for a while afterwards. The owner of the restaurant sent two glasses of champagne to our table so we could celebrate, which we did with a toast. After we finished our champagne we decided to go straight home so we could tell our children the good news.

Since we were closer to my home we stopped by there first. My luck was holding since both of my kids were home on a Friday night. Christie hugged Heidi and they both started crying, I'll never understand this happy tears thing. Jason shook my hand and then pulled me into a tight hug. We switched partners and Jason hugged Heidi while Christie hugged and kissed me.

"I'm so happy for you, Dad," Christie said, her eyes shining with tears.

"I'm a very lucky guy to have found love twice in my life. I didn't think it was possible after your mother left," I broke off then so I could stifle a sob. I didn't want to break down now.

Christie hugged me tighter and whispered in my ear, "I know, Daddy, I know. You deserve to be happy, Daddy, and I know Heidi will make you very happy. I love her a lot, Dad, she's a great person."

For a thirteen year old girl she was wise for her years. I knew our lives would only get better. I pulled away from Christie and put my arm around Heidi.

"Kids, if you don't mind we're going to go over to Heidi's and give James the good news, he doesn't know yet." Heidi didn't know I had spoken to him about the ring so he knew I was going to propose but not when.

"Sure thing, Dad," Jason said. "Say hi to James for us, will you?"

"We will, good night," I said and we headed to the car and our next stop.

*****

We had a lot of time to plan the wedding as Heidi had eight more months on her apartment lease. We were going to live in my house since we had an extra room for James and it wouldn't involve him changing schools. Once he started his senior year even if he moved he'd be able to finish at his old school. All of us were happy about that.

Christie, Heidi and my mother started working on the wedding immediately and us men got out of the way, except to do errands assigned to us by the ladies. We didn't want a huge wedding, since this was going to be the second time for both of us, we wanted something we could really enjoy. Heidi was an only child and her family lived in another state so she really appreciated the support of Christie and my mom. Heidi asked Christie to be her maid of honor which pleased her no end. I asked Jason to be my best man and James was going to be an usher.

We planned to hold the wedding in our back yard, we had a large yard with plenty of room for guests. The reception was going to be held at the local hotel ballroom. I arranged for a tent to be erected in case of rain.

A week before the wedding we moved most of Heidi and James's belongings into the house but they were going to stay in the apartment until after the wedding. I had arranged with the boys and my dad to complete the move while we were on our honeymoon.

The day dawned bright and sunny with no need for the tent, for which I was very happy. After we had breakfast the kids and I got dressed and soon after the guests started arriving. As the time for the ceremony approached I made my way to the arbor we had set up to await my bride. James had been keeping an eye out for his mother in between seating guests and it was his duty to start the music when she was ready. The strains of the Wedding March wafted over the crowd and I saw Heidi on the arm of her father.

She looked lovely, of course, with an off-white dress and a small hat with a veil. Christie was waiting opposite me, smiling brightly. She looked like an angel and I couldn't be more proud of her. Jason stood by my side looking every bit a man in his tuxedo.

The ceremony was simple and half an hour later we were man and wife. The wedding party and our parents stayed behind for pictures while the guests made their way to the hotel. After the photographer finished his shots at home we too made our way to the reception.

The limousine pulled up in front of the entrance and I exited the car then helped my wife exit as well. I turned and took Heidi's arm and as we made our way to the door a woman stepped into my field of vision. I stopped dead in my tracks. Before me stood a woman I hadn't seen in a long time, Kathy, my ex-wife. I didn't know what to do or what was going to happen. Heidi sensed my unease and asked me what was wrong. I looked at her and smiled as Kathy approached us.

"Hello, Paul, you're looking well," she said softly.

"Thank you, so do you. Heidi, this is my ex-wife, Kathy. Kathy, this is my wife, Heidi."

Heidi extended her hand in greeting. "Kathy, it's nice to meet you."

Kathy took Heidi's hand and shook it gently. "It's nice to meet you too, Heidi. Congratulations on your marriage."

"Thank you very much, Kathy." Turning to me she said, "Paul, I'll wait over there for a bit, OK?" I nodded and she turned back to Kathy. "Thanks again for coming, Kathy. I'll leave you two alone for a bit."

I smiled and squeezed her hand gently and she walked over to stand by her mom and dad who were waiting for us.

"What brings you by, Kathy?" I asked curiously.

"Christie mentioned you were getting married today and I had to stop by to wish you well. I'm so glad you were able to find someone to love, Paul. I've always felt badly about our divorce and how you were left all alone. You didn't deserve that, Paul, and I'm so sorry I caused you all that pain."

She started crying and I put my hand on her shoulder to offer some measure of support.

"Don't worry about it, Kathy. That's all behind us now. I'm happy again and I don't want to dwell in the past. Can you join us? I'm sure we have room for one more and the kids will want to see you," I said sincerely.

"No thanks, Paul. I appreciate the offer but it is Heidi's day and I'd only be a distraction. I just wanted you to know that I'm truly happy for you. Goodbye, Paul, have a great life." She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, then she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Isn't Kathy going to join us?" Heidi said when I reached her side.

"No, honey, she just wanted to wish us well. She said it was your day and she'd only be a distraction."

"She seems like a nice person, Paul. Of course she'd have to be if she was married to you," she said smiling as she kissed my cheek.

"She is a nice person, Heidi. Except for that one thing that broke us up she's a really great person." I said sadly. "Come on, honey, our guests are waiting."

*****

Married life agreed with us and our families meshed better than I ever expected. You would think the three kids had grown up together the way they got along. Sure there was the usual sibling rivalry but there was never any issue with them playing one parent against the other. James graduated from high school later that year and attended UCLA where he graduated with a degree in engineering.

Jason left for college a year later and he graduated magna cum laude and is now in law school.

Christie is studying fashion design and she hopes to become a fashion designer some day.

With the kids out of the house now Heidi is able to be her usual vocal self during our lovemaking. While the kids were home she really had to struggle to stay quiet some times and there was more than one morning when we were greeted by giggles at the breakfast table. It seems that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't remain quiet enough so the kids wouldn't hear. I think she got used to the embarrassment for the most part but I know she feels more relaxed now that she doesn't have to worry. I love to hear her scream as she climaxes and I do everything I can to make sure I hear it often.