All Things Come... Vol. 2 Ch. 11

Later, with Angela asleep in the guest room, I lay quietly with Uli, our bodies touching, the warm, gentle glow of our own lovemaking still filling us.

'So different,' she murmured sleepily. 'Every time it's different. How long till we repeat ourselves and it gets boring, do you think?' I trailed my fingers over one perfect breast.

'When you find the person you're meant to be with it's always the same and always different. Genetics, luck, fate, call it what you like. You don't keep on looking for your keys once you've found them. Our children are going to be stupendous though.' I'd never thought I'd say those words at all, let alone so casually. She rolled over in a flash and stared at me.

'Our what?' She looked ready to throw her pills away on the spot.

'Not for a while, sweetheart. We've got a lot of other stuff to do first. But unless we both go mad this isn't going to stop. You know that as well as I do.' She was hugging me hard as I finished, her head burrowing into my neck, warm dampness trickling down my chest.

'My last wish.'

There's not much to add. Once the words had been said and I'd realized that they were from the heart, the world gained a new, sharp focus, and our relationship deepened even more. Uli's happiness shone through everything she said and did and when she took Angela aside two days later I knew that there was going to be some serious celebrating happening in the Fischer household fairly soon. I lay on the lounger on my patio and listened to their excited voices speaking rapid German, still slightly startled at what I'd committed to. It would work out alright though. Strasbourg isn't far from Munich, Vienna isn't much further, Spain is always here as a refuge and a good place to raise children, as well as being far enough way from central Europe to discourage too many unwanted visitors. Maybe I ought to think more about translation and less about teaching. Translation all happens online now, and there's no racing about. That might offer some stability when the time came. I wondered why I wasn't panicking and looking for the escape hatch, then watched as Angela came onto the patio, naked except for a tray of bread and chorizo and ice-cold beer. Uli followed her, equally nude, carrying cheese and white wine. Nothing to escape from, I decided, as she plonked herself in my lap and kissed me. Nothing at all.