Joanne Sterns

"Even to this day I still remember Becky walking into the shop and then an older version came in behind her. You have done all the hard work in this relationship so far so I think it fair to take the load off."

I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"I'm going to put the closed sign up and we are going to sort out dates for the wedding and once I know you have your stride back I will leave you to it. Jason has two houses he wants us to look at so we can do that tomorrow. I suggest you suspend your classes for a week or two while the marriage and move are sorted out since I need to keep the shop open."

Other than take a sip of her water and nod her head occasionally she didn't do much else. We heard the shop door open and went downstairs in time for Jason's wife to rush across the shop and hug Joanne.

"Your home a day early. Congratulations by the way."

The smile came from Joanne as she watched Becky still holding Jason's hand.

"We woke yesterday with every intention of spending the day in Disney World. Becky said she would rather go home so here we are."

I closed up the shop and we all hit the diner. Since the conversation was all wedding plans it didn't take Macy's small army of gossips to 'happen to overhear' our conversation. The rest of the town knew by sundown. Between the justice of the peace and Joanne they set a date for six days away. Joanne, Becky and Jason's wife just had to spend the day in Freetown since they didn't have a thing to wear for the wedding.

We fell in love with the second house we looked at. It was within walking distance of Becky's school so it was almost a slam-dunk. It would still take a week for the paperwork and money transfer to be completed but the old owners were happy for us to go in and get started on the clean up and any repairs that may need doing.

Danny and his wife turned up a couple of days before the wedding and stayed a week after it. The few that asked were told by Joanne that the wedding was only going to be a quiet one, including the justice eight people turned up and we all watched Becky skip around the room when we both said 'I do'.

Danny brought his tools with him and we got stuck into the house while the girls played catch up. Two other members of the town knocked at the house, Todd's wife was doing the computer classes with Joanne and volunteered her husband to help for the day since he was an electrician by trade. He smirked when he said that he would help, just don't tell the union.

Ernie was Macy's cousin so we figured out real quick why he was here, but give him his due, we made the mess and he swept it up and took it all outside. Once done for the evening I took all three down to the bar for a well deserved drink. That one day's work by all of us meant we could move in the same day as the paperwork was exchanged.

*******

The morning sickness thing came hard to Joanne and I got the 'it's all your fault' remark often when she came back to bed for a snuggle. At the first scan we were asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, Joanne said no straight away. Since it's not a question I was ever expecting to be asked it took me a while longer before I agreed with her. The box was ticked on the paperwork and from then on neutral colors were chosen for everything.

The part that made me loose it was when some microphone was placed on her stomach and the insanely fast beating heart of our child was heard for the first time. My wife handed me tissues and both she and the nurse talked and used words I never understood as they pointed to parts of our child on the screen and took measurements at the same time.

When the doctor took a look at the pictures and paperwork he mumbled allot but when he came up for air, told us that it was a healthy pregnancy and to enjoy it. The pregnant sex that followed was just something else. Many times I was woken in the middle of the night with Joanne's lips around my cock making me hard. Once she knew I was awake as well she would either climb on or get on all fours next to me.

I will hold my hand up and say that I did worry in the beginning, until Joanne told me the baby was tucked away nice and safe and no amount of sticking parts of me into her would ever make a difference. The added incentive to that conversation was that she also told me that she goes crazy horny when she's pregnant and if I failed to live up to my husbandly duties she would just have to tie me to the bed and take it from me.

The laugh that left my lips was short lived when the look on her face left me in little doubt she was being very serious. Joanne never did have to live up to her threat, the pregnant glow about her meant I could never keep my hands -or other parts of me for the matter- off of her.

*******

It was a week after the birth of Sarah Erin Fairfax that Joanne sat me down and asked me a question I truly believed there could never be an answer to.

"Honey, are you happy now?"

As I held her tight to me and kissed her I first nodded my head and then said yes.

"Let me show you something."

Joanne pulled her cell out of her pocket and played with it for a moment before she turned it around for me to see the screen. The picture showed me busy with the inside of a computer. The beard was two weeks old, the hair was down to my shirt collar and the eyes looked lost. I don't remember the day she took that, I hadn't even noticed. Joanne must have caught me when I was lost in my own little world.

She then turned her cell around again and found another picture; I was holding Sarah in my arms a stupid grin on my face, no beard and hair closely cut to my head. I remembered that day, I had just changed my daughter and although the smell was something else I did it all by myself. My eyes were alive, even on the small screen she held towards me you could see it.

"I liked the first man, I love this one. I promise never to do anything to hurt you, you have a family now honey its time to let go."

Joanne held her cell towards me and I took it. Downloaded the picture of me and Sarah and printed it off. Todd was working away for the week starting on Monday, I gave him a letter to post when he got to Houston. Danny phoned a week after Todd left and told me Beth got my message.

Now it was time to let go.

The End.