A Fool in Love

"I wanted you to be sitting down when I told you why you didn't hear from me anymore."

I just waited, looking into his eyes, wondering what he could possibly say that I'd believe.

"Remember I mentioned the car rally I had to attend with the sheikh, with the big Bugatti collection?"

When I nodded that I did, he said, "Well, I was his guest at the car rally and he introduced me to another collector. And he told me that this guy supposedly had one of the biggest collections of rare cars in the world, and said I should go and take a look.

"So after the rally was over, this friend of his drove me out to this warehouse in his mint '46 Bentley, and naturally I was impressed. After he got us through the gates, he drove us down a few levels to the parking area in the basement that was as big as any shopping mall parking lot I'd ever seen.

"And his car collection was out of this world, you name it, he had it. He had some one-of-a- kind vintage vehicles, that I never even knew existed. He had a pristine '57 Jaguar XKSS, that I'd never seen before, though I knew they were as rare as hen's teeth. So, I imagined he was loaded, though I had no idea how he earned his money.

"Until the cops raided the place about twenty minutes after we got there. It seems that in addition to running a successful import-export business, he was one of the biggest drug dealers in the area. And he used his shipping business to export drugs all over the world.

"We all got arrested, and they took my phone, and made me give them my password. And it didn't matter how many times I told them that I'd just the met the guy and didn't know anything about his dealings, they didn't care."

My heart jumped in my throat, and I could hardly believe what was saying. "Oh, my god, Rafe, they didn't hurt you did they?"

He shrugged, and looked away. "They pushed me around a bit and yelled a lot. But I couldn't understand most of what they were saying when they were trying to interrogate me, which probably pissed them off even more."

"So, how did you get away?"

"Well, after they locked me up, I told them about the rally I went to with the sheikh, and that he'd vouch for me. And they said they'd look into it."

"So he was the one that helped you?"

"Yeah, when they finally called him to see what he had to say. But I was in there for weeks, with no lawyer no nothing before they decided to phone him. They wouldn't let me call the American Embassy, because they could see from my phone that I was dealing in cars, so they thought I had to be involved with him. But apparently it helped my case, when the guy finally told them that he barely knew me, and we'd only just met."

"So, then they let you go?"

He did air quotes and said, "After I paid a pretty hefty penalty for associating with a drug dealer. Once they released me, they refused to give my phone back. But I was just glad to get out of there. And I decided that I'll have to start doing as much as I can online, because I never want to get in a situation like that again."

"I don't blame you. Where they kept you, did they treat you okay?" I could tell just from looking at him that he'd lost some weight. And he had dark circles under his eyes that weren't there before. So I wondered if he'd gotten any sleep when he was locked up.

"I'll tell you one thing, it'll be a long time till I ever want to have rice again. All they fed us was this awful mix of spiced rice with bits of dried up meat and a few scraps of vegetables a couple a times a day, along with a rock hard chunk of stale bread."

I felt so badly for him, I threw my arms around him, and just hugged him as tight as I could. As he hugged me back, burying his face in my neck, I could feel him shaking, and I just hoped he wasn't going to break down and cry, because I knew I wouldn't be able to stop if I started. I couldn't believe he'd been treated like that, when he hadn't done anything wrong.

He pulled back and looked at me. "You know what got me through it?"

When I shook my head, he said, "Knowing that I'd be seeing you again. All I could think of was you. You were in my head 24/7. And it was driving me crazy knowing that you were probably thinking that I didn't care about you anymore, because I couldn't call to tell you what was happening."

Now I felt guilty, because that's exactly what I thought, that he didn't care anymore.

"When I finally landed here, I called my office to try and get some phone numbers, but they were all gone for the day. So I drove over to see Marcus and Carrie, because they were the closest. I don't have anyone's phone number memorized, because I had it all in my phone. Now I know why people freak out when they lose their phones. And you can't call an operator to ask for a cell phone number, so I was stuck. But as soon as I saw them, I told them what had happened. Marcus wondered why I hadn't answered, went they'd tried to call me, but he just figured I was busy, or the service was bad wherever I was. Then they told me they were expecting, and said that you were, too. As soon as I heard that, I left and drove here as fast as I could."

I could feel my eyes welling up, so relieved that at least he wanted to see me.

"Sophia, every word I've told you is the truth. And if there was any way I could have called you, even just to tell you what was going on, believe me, I would have."

"I know." I stroked his cheek, and I noticed a thin little scar on his cheekbone, that I ran my thumb across, sure that he hadn't had before. So I think he was keeping some of what had happened to himself, so I wouldn't be upset. But just the thought of him stuck in a place like that, barely being fed, and with them doing who knows what to him, made me feel sick.

He pulled me into his lap, and brushed a kiss across my cheek and just hugged him as hard as I could, and I didn't care that I had tears running down my face, because I had him back, in one piece.

Then he tipped up my chin and his expression softened as he looked in my eyes. "So, I was wondering, now that I've decided that I'm going to be running my business from this side of the world, and hopefully won't be off in godforsaken place getting arrested anymore, what you'd think of tying yourself down to old man like me?"

I smiled into his eyes as he wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. "You're not old, Rafe. You're everything I've ever wanted."

Both of us were trembling as he framed my face in his hands and kissed me.

"I love you," I told him when he finally pulled back.

He grinned. "Good thing you do, because I'm crazy in love with you."

We had a small wedding a few weeks later, with Carrie and Marcus as our witnesses, and Tanisha and all our family around us, all happy for us.

And we honeymooned in Hawaii, because Rafe wasn't ready to leave the country again. And I really couldn't blame him, after what he'd been through.

But I loved every minute of it: the sun, the sand, the fresh pineapple every morning, but especially the hunky man in my bed that couldn't keep his hands off me.

When we got back, we bought a house close enough for both us to get to work, with a huge master bedroom, and a king-sized with a very sturdy headboard. With a pretty pink and white nursery we set up right beside it. And I knew that he'd be a real hands-on kind of father, since all he ever did was rub my belly -- well, along with ass and my overflowing boobs.

I was so scared when I first found out I was pregnant, but I should have known that he never would have abandoned me. This time I had someone solid, that I knew I could count on, that loved me every bit as much as I loved him.

So, even though the baby had me up peeing half the night, I slept soundly, with Rafe by my side.

I had just come back from the bathroom one night, and I felt like was still going, so I waddled back in, turned on the light and gasped when I saw the trail of water that I'd left behind.

Rafe must have heard me, because he shot out of bed, and said, "What's going on? Are you okay?"

I pointed at the floor. "I think my water just broke."

Our little bundle of joy, Emily Anne, named for our mothers, came into the world at just after two the next morning. And as I was watched Rafe cradle her in his arms, his face beaming with love, I could barely swallow. The way she had her tiny little fingers wrapped around her daddy's pinky, like she was holding him right back, I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks, sure that I'd never felt as happy.

We might be a little older than the other couples who having their babies tonight, but we were just as overjoyed to be welcoming our own little miracle into our lives.

Since it was still dark out by the time they wheeled me into my room, we thought we'd wait to tell everyone the news. But we both laughed when Rafe got a call from Marcus just as I got settled in bed, to tell us that their little bundle of joy, Tatum Sophia was just born. And they both weighed exactly seven pounds, both had curly wisps of reddish-blonde hair, and were absolutely adorable.

We sent each other pictures, and naturally Carrie and I both got a little weepy, sharing something so special with each other.

After we hung up, I said to Rafe, "What do you think of becoming a granddad on the same day that you became a father again with our little girl?"

He kissed the top of her head, and said, "I think, that aside from the day I met you, this has got to be the best day of my life. And at least they'll have someone their own age to play with."

And that they did. When we'd have barbecues in the summer, we'd laugh as they played together, especially when Tatum referred to our daughter as Auntie Em, just like in the Wizard of Oz. That was something we never thought of when we named her, although it did sound pretty cute.

I felt so at peace, with Rafe by my side with his arm tucked around me, and our two, Carrie and Marcus grinning at each other, while she rubbed her baby bump, pregnant with our new little grandson. As we watched our daughter's playing, putting each other's sun hats on their heads, until they dissolved into fits of giggles, making us laugh just as hard. It all turned out even better than I could have imagined.

Though I had a sneaking suspicion that we'd been set up by our own kids, or we never would have gotten together on that fateful April Fool's Day, and had our little girl.

And as Rafe leaned in, nuzzled my ear and whispered, "I love you," I decided it was luckiest day of the year for all of us. Because it just didn't get much better than this.