Oh, Ronnie!

"Unfortunately, he refused to back off so I told him everything you had told me then I threw them out of my house. He was furious with me—not with Gail—but Amy stood up for me and told him a few more things he didn't want to hear. The argument continued when they got home and, bottom line, he threw her out a few days later. I found her here that evening after work and offered her a place to stay until she found a permanent apartment. Shows you how little I know about women. I had always loved Amy, but as the little sister. It seemed she had other ideas. Changing the subject, are you any closer to finding out what happened to cause the crash?"

"No, we even had the people from Porsche in to check the wreckage, but everything was too badly damaged."

"Well, accidents do happen, especially when you're speeding and from what you've told me he should have been on a drag racing track instead of the interstate."

"We did find out one thing from the start of the accident to when the vehicle stopped. The distance the car rolled showed he was doing close to a hundred."

I shook my head. "I'm just glad he didn't kill some innocent person who was just minding their own business." Bingham agreed and left. I finished my job, throwing the old lockset into the trash before going inside to see Amy.

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We fucked and made love almost every day. After all, we were on a mission—to, as Amy had said--knock her up. Then one day I came home to find a gift on the entry hallway table. It was gaily wrapped with a fancy bow. A label on top said, "To Ronnie, With Love, From Amy." I was understandably curious so I walked into the living room to find Amy sitting quietly on the couch. After giving her a quick kiss, I asked, "What's the occasion? I know it's not my birthday."

"Just open it. You'll see."

I did and inside were three slender white cylinders. I turned them over in my hand and, as I did, I noticed that they all said "YES." When I turned around to see Amy, she was both smiling and crying. She jumped into my arms to kiss me—a much longer and more passionate one this time. Looking into my eyes she said those words I had grown to love, "Oh, Ronnie—I love you so much. You make me so happy. Oh, Ronnie!" Then she kissed me again.

%%%%%%

Amy quit work so she could be a full-time mom when she was in the sixth month of her pregnancy. Fortunately, she had an easy time as her term progressed, but we knew she would have to have a C-section because of her small size and narrow hips. In some ways I was glad because she would be able to avoid the difficulties of labor. She went into the hospital on a Tuesday morning and gave birth that afternoon to a beautiful six-pound four-ounce girl. I swear, in that moment I loved Amy more than I believed possible. My mom came to help for the first two weeks, leaving once Amy was able to get around on her own.

We struggled as all new parents do, but eventually things calmed down. We adopted a dog from the Humane Society to provide Amy with some company and protection while I was at work. We got a neutered lab-mix that already weighed fifty pounds when we brought him home. He sat calmly in the rear seat with our new daughter Beth Marie and his head on Amy's shoulder. I felt much better when I left for work Monday morning.

Amy was feeding Beth in our bedroom when Casey jumped up and ran to the front door, barking loudly when he got there. Amy laughed as she told me, "If that won't scare the bad guys away, what will?" I kissed her quickly then leaned down to kiss Beth's forehead before jogging to the door. I petted Casey as I opened the door then stood there in amazement as I looked at my mother-in-law. "Hello, Ronald. I heard from Jenny that I have a beautiful granddaughter so I had to come and see her for myself. May I come in?"

"Of course, Ellen. You're always welcome. They're in the bedroom." I led her up the stairs, stopping just outside. "Amy, you have a visitor. Okay to have her come in?" Then I stepped aside to marvel at the expressions on both of their faces. Amy had never said a word, but I knew that she missed her mom terribly. I was pleased when I walked into the room to see the joy as Ellen first kissed and hugged her daughter then took her sleeping granddaughter into her arms. There were tears in her eyes when she sat down to rock and whisper to our daughter, Beth.

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful daughter," Ellen told us as she slowly rocked back and forth. "This is a beautiful chair, Amy. Is it an antique?"

"Yes, Ellen," I replied, "it belonged to my great grandmother and it's been handed down from son to son."

Looking down as our sleeping baby, she commented, "Well, she certainly seems to enjoy it." Then she looked at Amy and said, "What a fool I've been. Can you ever forgive me?" The expression on Amy's face answered her and from that day on Ellen visited us often. George, however, never met his granddaughters. It was his loss as our four daughters loved their grandparents and expressed their love openly. Too bad; it was his loss, not ours.

Amy proved to be a wonderful wife and I made every effort to be as good to her as she was to me. My business flourished and I eventually had a dozen accountants working for me, auditing the books of small corporations around the country and even in Canada and Mexico. Dealing with Gail's abuse had been horrible, but I'd go through all of it again to be able to spend the rest of my life with her loving sister. I never tired of hearing Amy express her love with those two simple words—"Oh, Ronnie!"

The End.