Spring Break

* * * * *

The next few days passed in a lazy haze. He had work to do, but most of it was light and she spent time at the end of her dock sunbathing and reading as she waited for him to come over. He had practically moved in and it was clear that they were comfortable with each other. She swam and she came to sit in as he did a few paintings for clients, and as he did a few more of her, just as beautiful as the others. She was there when Abigail came home from the hospital and the little girl clung to her for a long time, a bond formed between them that night at the lake. She ate often with the Underwoods' and she felt more comfortable with them than with anyone she knew. It was a good feeling and she spent some time talking with Vanessa about the offer the older woman had made her. It was a good time and she was happy, happier than she had been since she found out her father had cancer. Inevitably, however, the days turned toward the weekend again and on Friday they both knew that she would be leaving the next day.

They spent the entire day in company with each other, ignoring the world and barely leaving the bed in her room, alternately loving and napping the day away. As night fell they made their way down to the water hand in hand and swam under the stars, wearing nothing but the cool, clean water of the lake and the blue-green fire of the auroras as they loved again, slipping under the waves and surfacing from time to time before they found themselves on the shore, laying and looking up at the stars hand in hand. It was a good night and they didn't even know that they slept until they woke up early the next morning as the sky bathed them with rain. They loved one final time then went up to the house to shower together. After two weeks they had finally figured out how to share the shower and yet they lingered there until the hot water was long gone and they were shivering in the cool spray. With a resigned sigh they got out and dried off and she started to pack. It was still raining as he helped her load her bags into the convertible and they spent a long hour kissing there under the eaves of the house.

"Can't you stay?" He asked and she smiled sadly.

"I have a job... obligations... even a home to return to." She said sadly and he held her all the tighter. They didn't need to speak of their love; they both knew it without the need for words.

"But..." He started and she interrupted him with a kiss.

"I'll be back in the summer just three months, and we'll have plenty of time then, I promise."

He wanted to say something hurtful all of a sudden, something petty and mean, but he stamped the urge flat like some misbegotten thing crawled out of a sewer and just held her a little more. When she finally got into her car he watched her go. As soon as her car was out of sight, he suddenly ran for his truck and went tearing after her. He caught up to her just as she was reaching town and cut her off at an intersection. She watched as he got out of the truck and walked back to her in the pouring rain. She opened her door and stood to face him and right there in the middle of the main street of town, he kissed her with all of the feeling, the love and the passion he could muster.

"I love you." He said finally when they parted, his fingers pushing her wet hair back from her face and she smiled as her tears mixed with the rain. A decision had just been made and she said nothing, wanting him to find out another way.

"And I love you, Christian. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise." She said and he let her go. He watched her sit in her car and drive off into the rain. His own tears hidden as he climbed into the truck and drove home. He went right to his studio and got out the biggest canvas he had and he started to paint...

* * * * *

Summer was high when he saw the little convertible pull up the dirt path to the house. It was laden with boxes and bags and he smiled as he started toward her. She waved at him and sat there, looking concerned as she took off her sunglasses. He slowed his pace at the worry that was clear on her face and when she opened the door he stopped and stared. She stood and rested her hand on the door, the other rested on the gentle swell of her tummy and she smiled at him, looking tentative and afraid. He stopped, staring and just as afraid as she was. The two of them just looked at each other for a while and finally Lora smiled nervously.

"You're sort of scaring me a little here, Chris..." She said softly as he finally approached, her face coloured with anxiety and her eyes couldn't quite meet his.

"YOU'RE scared..." He said as he reached out tentatively and touched her tummy with his fingertips. "I'm fairly terrified right now."

She laughed nervously. "You want terror? Terror is thinking you're sick and one of your co-workers asking when you're due. Terror is that little blue plus sign on the eighth pregnancy test." She said as she placed her shaking hands over his. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was trying to look anywhere but at him.

"So..." He said looking up and managing to meet her gaze, a soft smile curling the corners of his mouth. "Are we having a boy or a girl?.

She laughed and it descended quickly into sobs of relief. He enfolded her in his arms as she clung to him, the bulge of her pregnancy between them as they just stood there and held each other for a long time. After a long time he steered her into the house, got her situated on the sofa with a glass of water and he sat down on the coffee table. Pulling her shoes off he rubbed her feet and relaxed her before he spoke again.

"So, a boy or a girl, or don't you want to know?" He asked.

She laughed out loud. "Oh, I don't know... how about one of each?"

"Let's get through this one before we plan another, Lora." He said with a smile.

"Chris, you don't understand." She said as she looked at him. "It's twins. That's why I'm so big at three months."

As the words sank in his eyes got bigger and bigger and then he was hugging her again and they were laughing and sobbing together.

* * * * *

"So do you want to know?" She asked later as they relaxed on the sofa, her head on his lap and one of his hands on her tummy.

"I want to know they're healthy." He said "Beyond that..." He shook his head.

"And you're not going to ask if I'm sure they're..." She started and he silenced her with a soft touch to her lips.

"You say they are, and I believe you. I love you, and I don't doubt you." He said.

She smiled beatifically and forged on with the next bit of news. "Well, they wanted me to work the summer since I'll be on maternity leave in the fall."

"So you have to go back?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No, I quit my job in Oshawa." She said. "You mother told me about a friend of hers at the school here who's retiring in a year or so. So I applied for the job and he's willing to stay on while I finish my maternity."

He stared at her in incomprehension. "So you're..."

"Moving here... to be with you." She said with a smile and he leaned down and kiss her.

She clung to him again, it being the sort of day that they would spend a lot of time doing just that. After a while he went to get them something to eat and she sat on the sofa, her feet up and her hands rubbing her belly for comfort, relief flooding through her and the sudden irrepressible need to empty her bladder came to her. She groaned and worked her way to her feet then made her way as quickly as she could manage to the small washroom. When she had returned there was something leaning against the wall near the door. It was covered by a cloth and Christian's father and brother in law were both there. Brian came over when he saw her and she could see the shock on his face. Ryan was just as shocked but he gave her some distance and just smiled as she told Brian the news. Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, Seraphina came inside, holding a huge bouquet of wildflowers. When she saw Lora her eyes got huge and she broke into a massive beaming smile.

"I'm going to be an aunt again?!" She asked then Lora was laughing as the young woman, just turned thirteen, came and gave her a huge hug. Brian smiled and laughed and soon he was hugging them both. When Christian came out to see what the commotion was it turned into a family hug and Ryan, a father himself, watched with a smile.

When the four of them had settled down, tears were wiped away and they were calm again Lora turned to the covered object that had been brought in. It was clearly a painting, and a fairly large one at that, four feet or so tall and about six feet wide.

"Is this something we need to see in private?" She asked with a smile, knowing his love of painting her nude.

"No, this one's kid safe." Chris said, riffling Seraphina's hair.

Looking skeptical to say the least, she went and pulled the cloth off of it and the picture he painted of her took her breath away. It was herself, painted in almost photo-realistic detail. Her face was turned in profile with her familiar soft smile curling her lips up and soft lines at the corner of her eye. Her hair was streaming in the wind and her shoulder and arm and neck were marred only by the white line of a spaghetti strap where a top would have been. She was visible to the waist, but as his style with her was, her clothing was visible only as blank canvas. She was at the far left side of the canvas and she was looking out across the lake. The water and the sky were reflections of each other, spangled with stars and lit with a gently glowing aurora. The trees were delineated by the light and the water, but like her clothing they were otherwise blank. It was the most beautiful work she had ever seen.

"Oh, Chris..." She said, turning to look at him. It's..."

He was down on a knee in front of her and he smiled and held up something in the palm of his hand. The diamond flashed and sparkled in the light and she was shocked all over again. He asked the question that she knew was coming and, tearful, she gave him her answer.

The End