Eva Pt. 12

Then, the week before classes started, while we were working at school getting ready, we got a call from Eva's mother. Her father, Harold, had a heart attack, a serious one, so we needed to leave ASAP, as soon as we could meet the latest sitters, young ladies named Ann and Ronnie. There was also a young man, Ty, but not that day. I called Ronnie on her cell phone and we met them in the city and we drove up to New York, as fast as we safely could. All the way up Eva was atypically quiet, but it was understandable. Connor asked me what a heart attack was and I explained as best I knew, that arteries in the heart get clogged with a blockage, and it causes serious pain and can damage the heart.

Connor was worried, in the way that young children can get when they don't totally understand such situations. "Dad...is Grandpa going to die?"

Before I could say anything, Eva snapped at him. "Connor, don't be silly! Your Grandpa will be fine, just fine. He's not going to die!" She turned back forward in her seat, a furious look on her face.

"Honey," I whispered, "Don't tell him that. Everyone dies eventually. If god forbid he dies now, how will we explain it to him? He'll think we lied to him."

"Jon, I love you, I love our son, but do NOT cross me on this!" I shut up the rest of the ride. I had to let her cool down before talking to her...or to Connor.

We went to Bayside Hospital where Harold was in the CCU. Phyllis and her sons were there and they came to give their daughter/sister a hug and kiss, then Connor got the same, and then me, the same. Eva asked a dozen questions and between her brothers they answered her concerns. The main point was that he was sick but not dangerously so. He would need surgery to bypass two arteries but he was expected to fully recover assuming he came through the surgery, which was expected. He would have the surgery the next day, Wednesday, and we needed to stay at least that long.

While Eva and Connor went in to see Harold for ten minutes, I called school and let Mrs. Adams, one of the secretaries, what was going on and that we wouldn't be back until Thursday or Friday at the earliest. She told us not to worry, the three assistant principals would cover for us until we got back. Then I went in to see Harold, who looked more tired than I ever saw him look before. A little scared too.

The visiting shifts were only 15 minutes every two hours so it was only a couple of minutes before we had to clear out, but Harold asked me to stay a minute. That brought back very mixed memories of when my mother did the same thing with me. I stood next to him while he sent everyone else out.

"Jon, I just want to tell you how thrilled I am with how you love and care for my daughter and grandson. From the night we met you, that first date you two had, I knew Eva found herself someone special. I never once felt any unease with you taking her out, and even though I miss them, and you, I'm so thrilled with the way your life has worked out." He gripped my hand with a surprisingly strong grasp.

"Harold, thank you, That means the world to me. You know I'll always take care of them, and Eva takes great care of me. She is the great love of my life. And when you get better, you'll come down for a weekend and stay with us at the new beach house and you'll get some sun and rest. I wish we could have everyone at once, but unless some of you are willing to stay at a motel, we don't have that much room. But you and Phyllis can always have the extra bedroom. And thank you for stepping in and being like a father for me. When my dad had his problems, you really made things easier for me. I love you...Dad."

His eyes teared up and I hugged him as tight as I thought was safe. "You can call me dad anytime you want. You're just like a son to me. And count on Phyllis and me coming to visit you every chance we get."

That night in bed in her old room, I had to talk to Eva. "You know, honey, I understand how upset you were in the car today. You were scared about your father. I remember how that feels. But you were rude to our son, and worse, you weren't truthful with him. I'm sure you dad will be fine, but some day he's going to die. We all will. It's healthy for him to have questions about death at this age; I'm amazed we didn't have to face it with him yet. The only person he knew who died is Lenny, rest his soul. (Lenny had died in November of the previous year and Eva and I went to the funeral, without Connor). We need to answer him as honestly as we can."

Eva was very quiet aside from the sound of her breathing for a long time. I almost thought she fell asleep on me. But she started crying before I could ask her anything more. She rolled over to me and I held her while she cried herself out. "I know I was wrong, Bear. I was upset with myself right after I snapped at him but I was still too distressed to apologize to Connor. I'll have a talk with him in the morning, before breakfast, to apologize. Help me, please? We'll also have a talk with him about death. I'll need you for that, sweetheart. I don't know if I could do that by myself right now."

"Honey, you know I'll help with anything for you and for Connor. In fact, if it's too hard for you under the circumstances, he and I can take a walk and I'll talk to him alone, father to son."

"No, I want to be a part of it. But I'll let you take the lead, Bear." Eva cuddled closer to me and kissed my neck and my cheek. "I'm sorry, my love. Sorry for making this harder for you and for Connor."

"Angel, I don't need an apology. I'm sure Connor will say something like that too, because that's just the type of person he is. You're the most incredible mother I've ever seen. I love you so much."

"Do you love this?" Eva asked as her hand found my cock and gripped it gently, encouraging my blood to fill and expand the tissues that gave me a physical erection. But the true source was the love and attraction I felt for her.

"You know I do. Every time." I turned to kiss her, big sexy kisses and I reached to touch her between her legs but she pulled away.

"This is just for you tonight, my sexy Bear. Just let me take good care of you."

That's just what she did. Eva stroked me masterfully, building me up and then letting me cool down before I got too excited. Three, four times she did that to me until I was dying to get off. "Angel, you're torturing me..."

"Nonsense, When I torture you, you'll know it" she taunted me. "Trust me, this is just pleasure, baby." But she got the message. She jerked me more furiously, using her thumb on the glans of my dick and when I came it was like a small stream that Eva aimed at her lovely breasts, letting my warm load cover her chest. While I tried to recover, she said "Wow. Look what you did to me. I should have brought a towel with me from the bathroom. I can't go out in the hall like this" she chuckled. "Imagine if our son saw this!"

"OK, I'll get the towel. I guess it's only fair after what you did for me." I threw on a pair of shorts and went and got the towel, I cleaned her chest gently with a tender touch and then we got ready to go to sleep, kind of on the late side, but hey, things happen.

We had a talk with Connor in the morning. Like I said, as far as he was concerned, his mother didn't need to apologize, but Eva believed she did. After that, we spoke to him about dying, about how in most cases it's a normal process of life. We explained how no one really knew what happens when we die, and a lot of what people think depends on their faith, that even for those who believe in heaven and hell, there was a huge difference on what those terms meant depending on how people worship God. He had some questions which we answered as honestly as we could, and when we were done, he seemed satisfied and, more importantly, he didn't seem scared. And he knew, like he knew about everything, he could always talk to either of us if he still had a question.

Harold's surgery went well, and we were able to return home on Thursday so we could work on Friday and over the weekend to get ready for school. The first few weeks after school reopened we made the trip each weekend to see Eva's parent and make sure her father was coming along, which he was. In another month, they'd be able to come see us, providing Phyllis did the driving. Harold claimed that would give him another heart attack, good naturedly.

Then in early October, as days were turning cooler and trees were starting to turn color, Eva started feeling sick in the mornings. Nausea, not able to eat in the morning...we'd been through that before. If she was pregnant, it was an accident. We'd been told it would be dangerous for her to carry another baby after what happened when Connor was born.

We went to her gynecologist for a proper pregnancy test and it came back positive. We were going to be parents again.

Or were we? This was going to be a long discussion between us. If the risk to Eva was too high, it just wasn't worth it to me. I would love to have another child, but there was a reason we never tried. Eva was the love of my life.

We decided the first step was to see an obstetrician who specialized in high risk pregnancies to see what our options were. In the meantime, we told no one, not even Connor. If we had to end up terminating the pregnancy it would be almost impossible to explain to him.

We took a half day off from work in the morning for 'personal reasons'. We were referred to Dr. Joy Garcia, a 40 something specialist who had a very reassuring manner about her. She asked us a lot of questions, some very personal, but we dealt with a little mild embarrassment. The stakes were too important. The doctor examined Eva while I sat nervously in the waiting room. After what felt like forever, I was called to come back to Dr. Garcia's office.

I kissed Eva on her cheek and sat down next to her across from the doctor at her desk. "So, first things first, Mr. and Mrs. Grossman. Eva, you're good and healthy in every way I can see. I drew your blood and we'll have those results in a few days, but I don't expect any unpleasant surprises there. When I did the internal exam, I could see where your uterine artery was scarred from your previous delivery. It's something to be concerned about. But it's something we can deal with. You'll have to deliver via a Caesarian section. It will be much safer for you than a vaginal delivery." Eva and I held hands tighter. She sure as hell wasn't saying no. "And you'll probably need to go on maternity leave from your job around six months into your pregnancy and take it very easy. And no heavy lifting from now on. Even moderate lifting. Nothing heavier than ten pounds. So I'm saying, if you want to keep this baby, we can do it." She smiled warmly and confidently, encouraging us. "I'll step outside, give you a few minutes to talk. If you need more, go home and take your time. You can always call this office and I can help you either way. But you can keep this baby if you want to." She got up and left us alone.

We looked into each others eyes, which led to each others hearts. It took five seconds to know what we both wanted. "Eva, my Angel, I would love to keep our baby. More than almost anything. If you want to." I knew what she was going to say, but I needed to hear it.

"Jon, I want this too. It's unexpected, but that will make him or her even more special. I didn't think we'd have this opportunity. I want it. So much, my love." We hugged and held each other and were still holding on when Dr. Garcia came back into her office with a broad smile.

"So, can I infer that you want to have the baby?"

"Yes, doctor, very much" I answered, tears streaming down my cheeks to my neatly trimmed beard that I grew over the summer. Eva's eyes were leaking pretty heavily as well. Tears of pure happiness.

Doctor Garcia talked to us about a lot of things and gave us papers and booklets, like we got when we were pregnant with Connor but geared to a risky pregnancy. We made a few follow-up appointments for Eva, then we went to lunch to celebrate before going back to work. We celebrated over hamburgers (I'm a real sport sometimes). We were so happy. We didn't think this could happen for us again.

"Jon, we're going to have to tell the school right away. I'm going to need time off for appointments. And you're going to have to do a lot of my work as well as yours when I go on maternity leave. I won't even be able to do things like food shopping for the next...wait, she didn't give us a due date! We have to call there and find out!"

So when we got to work, the first thing we did was call the doctor's office and we were on hold for a few minutes until the nurse came on the line and told us our date: May 15th, 1992. We hugged again, briefly, before getting to work.

That night at the dinner table, we broke the news to Connor. "Connie, sweetie," Eva said, stroking his head while he dug into his grilled chicken and roast potatoes, "your father and I have something to tell you. Something wonderful."

He looked like he was more interested in his food before he put down his knife and fork. "Yeah? You're pregnant, right mom?" The little weasel. He knew.

I asked him, incredulous, "Connor, how did you know?"

"Mom's been sick in the mornings the last couple of weeks. You had that talk with me back in February, remember? About where babies come from? And I've seen things in movies or tv shows where women get sick in the morning when they're pregnant. So I put it together. I was wondering when you were going to tell me." He gave us his best smile. Our smart as hell son. Sometimes a smartass. And a sweetheart.

Eva smiled herself. "Yes, honey, I'm going to have another baby, right around your birthday. Maybe it will be on your birthday. A little brother or sister for you to watch out for and to love and to teach everything you know. Connor...are you all right with this?"

"Mom, I'm very happy. I've wanted a little brother for a long time. I guess a sister will be all right too. I'm happy for al of us." Eva and I smiled at each other, just a little relieved. We knew he was a loving kid, and when he was younger he asked why he had no siblings. We explained as best we could that his mom could get sick if she tried to have another child. So we weren't surprised when the next question he asked was "Mom, are you feeling all right? Are you going to be sick?" We could tell from the look on his face that he understood that his mother was risking more than just being 'sick'.

"Yes, sweetheart, I'll be fine. I have a good doctor who'll take good care of me and just to be safe, I'm going to stop working in about five months. So we'll need a little extra help from you. Think you're going to be up to it?"

"Of course, mom. I'll do whatever I can. Do you want me to drive to the stores?" He was smiling and we laughed with him. I loved that kid. I still do.

Over the weekend we called Eva's family and Cammy, who all were thrilled but worried until we reassured them. They all remembered the night Connor was born and how close it was with her. Hell, I was nervous, but I wasn't going to scare her, so I kept the worst of my fears to myself. Over the next few days we called others, our friends, my aunt and uncle, etc.

The following Thursday evening was the monthly meeting with the Board. After going over old business, when they asked us if there was anything new to discuss we informed them that Eva was having a baby in May and she would need to go on leave in February for health reasons. A couple of the older men were a little unhappy but overall we got a lot of support. It bothered me a little hearing those two old farts grumble. We were a young couple and it wasn't unreasonable to expect us to have another child. We'd continue to receive both our paychecks and Eva's health insurance would keep getting paid. When it came to the bottom line, they were happy with the work we were doing. The test scores were up, as were acceptance rates at Ivy League universities and their equivalents. And we helped raise a couple of million dollars for the endowment fund, always something that boards look at closely. These people were all about money.

Cammy came that weekend and spent time with her family. That was especially important to Connor, who considered his aunt his best friend. She loved the role but was so busy at that time. On top of her studies, working part time at the law firm and seeing Mark, she was also applying for clerkships for federal judges, something that looks great on a young lawyers resume. We were thrilled she found a free weekend for us.

"You know, you could have brought Mark, sis" I said to Cammy when we were alone. Eva took Connor to pick up some Chinese food, still Cammy's favorite. "It's not like we think you're a pure and innocent young thing. Even Connor would understand; he could sleep with you in your room."

"I know, Jon. But I haven't spent time with you guys in over a month. I needed my family fix. Besides, Mark and I are kind of cooling off." I was surprised: I was under the impression the last time she and I talked he could be 'the one' for her. "I'm going to hopefully get a job as a clerk for a year and I'm way ahead of him in our class rankings. I'm in the top five still and he's in the middle somewhere. He kind of resents it. He doesn't say it, but I can tell. I'm not dumbing myself down for any man. Not even Connor." She grinned but there was a little sadness there. As someone who married a woman smarter than himself (though not by that much), I knew a lot of men's egos couldn't handle being seen as less than the woman in their lives.

"I'm sorry, Cammy. I thought you were going to tell me something else. Like you were moving in together."

"I thought we might be going that way. But since before the summer, he's been getting mean, when he didn't get a prime internship and I did. He's not even likely to clerk for a local judge. He loves me but he resents me at the same time. I don't know why I don't just end things with him. It's inevitable."

Then she started crying and I held my sister like I used to, her big brother, her protector. It would always be my job to some degree. Not because Eva and I signed some papers. Because Cammy was our sister and we loved her.

She dried her eyes just before Eva and Connor got home with two bags of of decent Chinese food (we were still trying to find a restaurant we really liked).

Connor carried both bags; our little gentleman wouldn't let his mother carry anything since he found out she was pregnant. It was sweet.

In bed that night I told Eva about Cammy and Mark and she was equally disappointed. We both liked him a lot and thought he was good to her. But Cammy needed to decide things for herself; she just turned 24 a few days before and we were taking her out the next day for her birthday. It had been a long time since she was anything but a full grown woman, but we still felt protective of her.

We had a fun day that Sunday. It was warm for the time of year and we went to a cafe with outdoor tables for brunch, then we went to Valley Forge Museum and walked around the grounds. I explained to Connor the significance of Valley Forge in the Revolutionary War while Eva and Cammy talked like sisters. We finished the day by taking her to dinner in South Philly at one of the excellent Italian restaurants there. It was a perfect day.

The semester went fine, with the usual high end school type problems. There were rare incidents of fighting, at least on school property. There were, however, occasional incidents of drugs that had to be dealt with seriously. One student had to be expelled for selling on school grounds. We didn't call the police but we did inform the parents of both the seller and the buyer, who also got a 3 day suspension. Any other usage of any drugs resulted in suspensions; thankfully they were few and far between.