Katrina Ch. 07

They told me how good I looked and that I had a happy glow about me. I told them that I had a loving husband and a daughter who was precious as can be; I also had one on the way, as they could see the start of my baby bump. When asked where my husband was I told them he would be a few minutes late. He had to work over.

"Did you hear what happened to Matt Balo yesterday?" said my friend Marie. Before she could tell me, more classmates had arrived and she told me she would talk to me later.

The hall was filled but I wondered what had happened to Matt. When Jeff came home last night he didn't say anything to me. I talked to a number of old classmates who asked me how I was doing and of course I asked about their lives.

I saw who I thought was Matt sitting at the bar. He turned in his seat and I saw a large patch over the left side of his face covering his left eye and his cheek. He saw me and quickly turned back around.

I was nervous and wondered if Jeff might have done something. My mind was thinking the worst. As I was talking to one of my friends I felt arms go around me from behind. I jumped and wondered if I should elbow the person like Jeff had showed me. I looked back and Jeff smiled at me.

"Hi Honey, I just came in my uniform to save time. I turned around and hugged him and then introduced him to my friend Nicole and her husband. Most everyone knew Jeff even though he had been a year ahead of us in school.

My friends told me how lucky I was to land a guy like Jeff. Many classmates said they knew we were always a couple so we stopped telling them that we were just friends, during our school years. No one believed us anyway.

"Jeff, I need to talk to you privately." I took his hand and we walked into another room.

"Is this about Matt?" he asked me.

"Yes, did you have anything to do with that patch on his face?"

Jeff smiled at me. "Sort of," he replied with a smile.

"Jeff, it isn't funny, I don't want you getting into trouble, everything is going so well for us now."

"Honey, it's not what you think. I found out that a number of guests were coming in from out of town; Matt was one of them. I went to his room to talk to him. I knew it was bugging you, and I had a talk with him. I told him that he was not to have any contact with you whatsoever and if he mentioned to anyone that he had sex with you, that I would see he never talked to another soul again."

"Did you punch his face in?" I asked.

He laughed again. "No, he told me he had no intention of telling anyone about his time with you. He said his parents had said they would have to pay out a lot of money, if he did."

"So, what happened to him?" I asked.

"After our talk he went to a party in the lounge with some of his old classmates who also came in a day early. He made the mistake of drinking a bit too much and put his hand on Michelle's ass and her husband decked him. We were called to the lounge and I took Matt to the hospital.

"I did remind him that if he talked about you, that his face would be unrecognizable when I got through with him. He told me he got the message and understood. Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes, I love you so much and always worry about you," I said.

"I love you too and I will always be here for you."

We went back to the party and I said "Hi" to Michelle and her husband. He and Jeff shook hands; they had met the night before. Matt didn't want to file charges because Michelle then, would have filed charges against him.

We spent most of the evening with Michelle and her husband Ben. It just so happened, that Ben had recently returned from the Middle East and he and Jeff had a lot to talk about.

Epilogue:

That's my life so far. Lori is attending Ohio State and Mom and Ross are very happy together. My brother Pete is into sports and comes over when I work on the weekends and hangs out a lot with Jeff, Alecia and Jeffrey. Yes, we had a son and named him after Jeff.

I understand now why my Mom seemed so hard on me. Being a good mother isn't as easy as it looks. Thank God, I have Jeff to help share the burden of parenting. To be honest, I wouldn't change places with anyone. I have a wonderful understanding husband, and two wonderful children.

There is nothing more beautiful than coming home from work and see three smiling faces sitting at the breakfast table.

Life really can be good, but you have to work at it.

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Thank you for reading my story

Comments are welcome and appreciated.

DG Hear.