About Leaving and a Comeback

Anne and Annette both started to reply but the doctor held up his hands, looked at Annette again and said, "Yes?"

Annette took a deep breath. "It is his house too. Actually, it is his house. It's Robert who had it built and he paid for it. My father and mother are living in another house on the premises. I don't understand why he doesn't want to go there."

"I only can speculate. Robert has been disconnected from you and any other relationship for months at least. On top of that, he had a near-death experience. That's what he told me, a complete out-of-body experience. He is also convinced that he is divorced. Maybe he's afraid to commit himself again. Can I ask a question?"

Anne replied. "Anything. Whatever helps."

"Besides Annette, to whom can't Robert say no to?"

After they looked at each other again and did some soul-searching, Gus replied, "I think Anne, the twins in tandem, and then myself. Why do you ask?"

"Anne, are you willing to ask Robert to come home instead of finding something else? I have a plan that just might work."

====

The next morning

Robert was sitting in his bed having a light breakfast about 45 minutes before he had to go to the rehabilitation center. He was dreading the exercises since they reminded him of a time when he could do an off-road half-marathon in 1 hour twenty minutes flat. Now he barely could walk around.

A little tap sounded and Robert turned toward it to see the door open and a little face with big dark eyes, dark hair and elfin figure peek around the corner.

"Daddy?"

Robert's heart skipped a beat or three. Then another face showed up from behind the door.

"Hi, Dad."

Anne entered the room with little Gus on her hip. "I thought you might like to get reacquainted with your children."

Robert had tears in his eyes while they crawled in his bed and started to hug and kiss him after an awkward moment. Robert said, "My! Look how big you've become. You ate a lot, didn't you?"

Aimee nodded. Jesse nodded as well and spoke. "Yes, and we helped with moving too. I packed all my toys and your picture. And I helped Aimee wrap her picture and toys also."

Aimee looked at Robert and put her hands on his cheeks and said to him, "We have a swing, will you come and push me daddy?"

Robert didn't know what to say, stammering, "As soon as I can, sweety. First, I have to get out of the hospital and find--"

This was what Anne had been waiting for and she interrupted Robert's train of thought immediately. "Robert. Stop that. You don't have to find anything. You have a place to go to. We call that home. Now. Your children need you. That's obvious. Annette needs you and to be honest, Gus and especially me miss you. Life is empty without you. Please come home?"

Robert looked pensive, "I don't understand. Annette? She divorced me, didn't she? Does she want me back? Why?"

Anne looked shocked. "Nobody told you?"

"Told me, what exactly?"

"It's a long story and not for children's ears. The short of it is that Annette snapped at the wrong moment and she has been berating herself for it since. She stopped the divorce. You are still married. So, Robert, please. For the sake of all of us, please come home. Please say yes? Otherwise, I will have to bring in the big guns."

"Ok. I never could say no to you. But, wait, what are the big guns?"

The door flew open with the twins entering. "Hahahaha. She means us, Big brother. US! Now are you going home where you belong? Or do we have to cuddle you too?"

Robert laughed out loud. For the first time since he woke up, he laughed with abandon. The whole room lit up. Anne left the children in their father's care, assisted by their uncle and aunt.

====

Anne went home. Almost beside herself from happiness, she hugged her daughter and told her everything that happened and that Robert had consented to come home. Annette was happy about that but was more than a little nervous about the upcoming afternoon. She didn't like to swim and she always got very cold.

She had bought a bikini made from soft material. Her breasts filled out the top-half very nicely and the fabric gave the feeling that she wasn't wearing anything. Both halves were almost translucent except for some tactical places. She decided to get there early to get some pointers from the physiotherapist.

That afternoon, Robert hobbled to the rehabilitation pool with a feel as a man to the gallows. He hobbled through the doors and saw Annette sitting on a bench, wearing a bathrobe.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to assist you in the pool," Annette answered nervously.

"But you hate swimming pools. Why would you want to help me? In a pool of all places."

Annette feared that would be the reaction. She replied with tears in her eyes. "I was at least part of the problem. Now I want to be at least part of the solution."

Robert was completely overtaken by that remark and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Annette looked at her feet when she whispered, "I snapped. I should have talked with you, but I snapped when I saw those pictures. I'm so ashamed of that."

"And now all is peachy again? I don't understand. Why for Pete's sake?"

Annette quietly asked, "Can we start your training now and talk later, together with the rest of the family? Before I lose my courage here?"

Robert pushed back his emerging anger. It was obvious that Annette felt very uncomfortable with the situation and desperately wanted to make amends. He said, "That is the second time this day that someone tells me that. Ok, I accept that, but I need that explanation before I throw myself at your mercy at the house. If I'm not convinced, I'm not going there."

Annette, still looking at her feet, answered, "Believe me. You will be convinced. I'm quite sure of that."

They went into the pool, with Annette pleasantly surprised to find that the water was quite warm. After some exercises Robert could do without assistance, it was Annette's turn to help. Robert was on his back and Annette held him in her arms. Her breasts pressed softly in his back and because he had to train his legs, he kept pushing into them. After a few minutes the therapist had Robert turn himself belly-down and he found himself with his face pressed in Annette's cleavage. The fabric did nothing to diminish the feeling of the softness of her breasts pressed into his face. He looked up into the face of a very emotional woman and asked, "Annette, what's wrong?"

Annette gushed, "Nothing. I'm so happy to have you in my arms. Even if it's in a swimming pool with a slavedriver looking at us. It feels so good. I can never love another man but you. Please, believe me?"

Robert had to admit to himself that it felt very good. The training was grueling but Annette assisting him helped a lot; he had to admit that too.

An hour later, he was exhausted and lying in his bed again. Annette kissed him on the cheek and said that she would ask the family for a get together as soon as possible. Robert just nodded and let himself fall into a slumber.

When Annette arrived at home, she had a good feeling about the afternoon. Now she wanted the family to get together as soon as possible. The twins told her that they would stay for another day and leave tomorrow evening instead of today. Anne arranged a sitter for the children and Gus postponed a meeting with a contractor.

====

The next morning

Annette arranged for the hospital's conference room with a projector The twins were the first to arrive and greeted Robert in their well-known boisterous manner.

"Bro and in law! Good morning! we're coming to get you! Are you ready for the big show?"

Robert smiled. Somehow the boisterous twosome had always been able to cheer him up. He, on the other hand, had always been the one who put the brakes on them when they became too overconfident. And they loved each other dearly for it.

When all were seated in the room Annette started. "Dear, dear Robert, I sincerely apologize for my behavior that faithless day I refused you entrance into your home. I've no other excuse that I snapped. Two weeks later, one nightmare dissolved to be replaced by an even worse one. You, missing, that was. I accept full responsibility and also whatever the consequences of my misbehavior. I love you with all my heart and I hope we can stay husband and wife."

Robert looked at Annette. Unbelieve in his eyes but before he could respond she went on, "I stopped the divorce, the day after the twins came home and proved me so wrong."

Robert looked at Thom and Lydia. Lydia was the spokes(wo)man this time. "Rrrrright. It's going to be a bit technical. If there is something you need explained, just ask. Here goes."

Lydia explained from the start what they discovered when they closely examined the picture they'd found on the flash drive. Using the overhead projector hooked to the laptop, they showed him how the image had changed from him to his brother. He could only shake his head as they continued, explaining what they'd done with the evidence.

Then it was Anne's turn. She told Robert that when they were at wit's end, they printed pamphlets with two pictures from him, one with and one without a beard, and included his name and his pseudonym. As a result, his mother and eldest sister suddenly appeared at the door asking difficult questions. Anne told how his mother took a wrong turn and ended up in their ''incident-room '' and recognized the girl in the original picture as their babysitter together with Lucas, Robert's brother, and the tattoo on an arm in the photo that allowed them to identify it as belonging to his other brother, Matthew. Both were now in prison for a long time for raping the girl. Anne also told him about the remorse of his oldest sister and the regret from his mother that she wasn't strong enough to prevent the abuse Robert experienced in his youth.

Robert was sitting motionless throughout the whole explanation. He only felt anguish, reliving the pain he felt when he was banned from his own home and forced to live in the streets. Also feeling the pain from his childhood, he finally stammered, "I believe you all, but I can't get my head around it."

And he broke, collapsing into his chair with his head on the table. His anguish ripped through his sobbing body and he screamed his frustration.

Annette and a nurse helped him into another room where they sat for a long time on a couch with Robert sobbing, with his head nestled on Annette's lap. Their sobs were the only sound in the room for a long time.

====

`Two days later

Slowly Robert walked through the front door of his newly-built home and looked around for a brief moment. He didn't have time to see much because his children came tearing out of the kitchen straight into his arms. Robert fell backwards on the floor and was smothered with kisses and hugs from the two eldest while little Gus was a little shy for that with the strange man.

When the happy reunion came to an end, Annette gave Robert the grand tour since he'd only seen the house from the blueprints and the model. She said shyly, "We've made some changes though. We added another two rooms and the master bedroom is now connected with the master bathroom and the second bedroom. We did that last minute when we were trying to find you. I hoped that if we found you that you wanted to be here with the children and hoped that you would take me for granted as their mother and let me live here as well."

Robert replied, "Annette, look at me."

Annette looked up and saw the compassion in Robert's eyes as he said, "I promise with my body and soul that I will never separate you from our children. I can't do that to the children and I'm not that cruel that I will force you to live anywhere without the children."

Annette teared up and hugged him. "That's why I love you so much. You have such a big heart." She swallowed and her heart was hammering in her chest when she asked, "Will there ever be a place in your heart again for me?"

Robert never expected this question, at least not put so directly to him, but he'd already thought long and hard about it. He read once that the question actually came in two parts. First, do you love her? And second, are you a better person with or without her?

The first part was easy and always had been. YES! For the second part, he replayed in his mind his actions from the time he was homeless and he didn't like what he remembered. His conclusion was that with Annette in his life, he was a better person, because only then he was complete. Robert took a deep breath.

Annette feared the worst. Robert had always been honest with her but he never took so much time before answering.

"You had a place in my heart from the first moment I laid eyes on you. That never changed, and I never strayed. When I was homeless, it diminished somewhat because I had to struggle so hard to stay alive. Yes, I still love you, Annette. I only need time, I need to heal from that six-month long hell. I need to heal mentally as well as physically, but if I can't do that, I'm not much of a man for you. Especially physically. I haven't had an erection for months."

Annette felt herself get weak with relief. She kissed him softly on his lips and whispered, "let's take it as it comes. There are other ways if needed. I'll be patient and you need to give yourself time to unwind from your trip to hell and back."

====

A week later

"Gus! Can you come over please? I need your advice," Robert called over the intercom to the house from his in-laws.

When Gus walked into Robert's office, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"I received an invitation from the principal of the high school to come and talk. What do I do with it?"

"Don't accept it without your lawyer attending. I don't know what they want, but I'm afraid they're trying to get you to sign something to let them off the hook."

"What do you mean?"

"They sacked you on rumors, without proof or an investigation. They denied you due process. So, it was a wrongful termination. Better still. Refuse to go there and let them come to you. This is going to be very interesting."

Indeed, the lawyer made short work with the principal and his counselor. The woman told the school officials that Robert could never work at their school again and it begged the question if he ever could teach at any other school because their school never did anything to debunk the rumors even when it was proven that they weren't true. On the advice of its attorneys, the school released a public clarification exonerating Robert and an apology for the damage caused, as well as a quiet but substantial monetary settlement that Robert donated to a network of homeless shelters.

Robert thought that he was finally finding his peace when Anne called Robert. "Robert, your father is here and wants to speak to you."

Robert went down the stairs to find Marcus standing there.

Gus arrived, forewarned by Anne, as Robert entered. Robert looked at Marcus and then said to Gus, "Dad, what do you want to speak about?"

Marcus went red. "You, insolent pup! I'm your father! I raised you!" he said with a thick tongue.

Full of contempt, Robert looked at his father. "Your only contribution to my life was one single spermatozoa. ONE! For the rest, you did your utmost to make my life miserable. My father is standing over there." Robert pointed to Gus. "Why would I need a father who is thirty years late and drunk?"

Robert threw his sperm donor's own words back in his face, remembering the man's abusiveness over so many years, saying, "Now get back in your cave and don't come out!"

Marcus hung his head and left without a word.

"That was harsh" Gus observed after Marcus walked out. "Are you going to treat your mother and sister like that as well?

"No," Robert replied, "but I'm not ready to face them yet."

====

Robert still had trouble sleeping, although the nightmares started to diminish. He always woke up at sunrise and he had learned to love it.

Because of the nightmares, Robert and Annette slept in different rooms. The master bedroom was on the east side of the house and had, at Robert's insistence, a large balcony. One balmy morning he sat on the bench when Annette joined him. She kissed him softly and sat down next to him. Robert put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. Together they sat there peacefully watching the sunrise.

Annette asked, "Why do you like the sunrise so much?"

Robert answered, "The colors. From black to indigo, to dark blue, to light blue and pink, then orange and the sun. Slowly the world wakes up. I think it's the most peaceful part of the day."

Together they sat that morning watching the sun rise. When it was just above the horizon, Robert looked at Annette to see her already looking back at him. Slowly, Robert pulled Annette's face up and kissed her softly. Annette opened her lips and let her tongue caress Robert's lips, feeling them give way and his tongue meeting hers.

What started as a chaste loving peck on the lips became a lovers' kiss and soon afterward they were making out like teenagers. Robert's hands caressed her breasts through the fabric and felt her nipples harden, while Annette's hand slipped into his pants and felt him stiffen too. She whispered happily, "It still works," and slowly her hand started to go up and down, her fingers around the hardening shaft.

Robert said a little out of breath, "Ohh, that feels good. Please go on," only for the door to burst open and the children to storm out onto the balcony. Withdrawing their hands, Annette bit her lip not to show her disappointment.

Robert laughed out loud, kissed her, and whispered, "Better luck next time. And I promise that there will be a next time."

Annette had other plans. She went to talk with her mother first thing after breakfast. With Anne taking care of the children, Robert and Annette spent much of the rest of the day getting reacquainted with each other. They talked and smooched between Robert's training and therapy sessions. That evening before Robert went to bed, he walked the perimeter of the garden. When he returned, he took a shower, donned a t-shirt and boxer shorts and dropped himself on his bed, falling asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

He slept well, his first night back without nightmares. When he awoke, he noticed that he was lying against something warm, soft, and heavy, and his hand held a soft breast through a flimsy nightgown. In addition, his morning wood was caught between two ass cheeks, causing him to smile. He tried to untangle himself from Annette without waking her, but he heard her mutter something as he did. As soon as he removed his hand from her breast, Annette moaned, grabbed his hand, and placed it back where it had been, before she started to grind her ass against his cock.

Not sure if she was asleep or awake, Robert waited a few moments before letting her breast go again, only to have Annette moan and grab his hand once more. This time, she opened her legs a bit and placed his hand on her kitty. Robert acquiesced to the inevitable and softly started to massage her clitoris, knowing that she was either awake or soon would be

It wasn't long before Annette stiffened, let out a little yelp and woke up. She stretched languorously as she got her bearing and then turned around and kissed him.

"Oohh, it's real," she said. "I was dreaming that you were holding my breast in your hand and now you gave me an orgasm. What a way to wake up."

Robert smiled. "But now I need the bathroom, badly. Don't move."

He hurried into the bathroom where it took considerable time to get his penis soft enough to allow him to relieve his bladder. He washed himself and brushed his teeth quickly before going back to his bed to find Annette sitting straight up. Her dark areolas were visible through the thin fabric of the nightgown and her nipples were prominently poking against it.