The Valley Road

"Marry me, Maria," Quan whispered, his voice desperate. "Please. I'd get down on one knee but it would take me half an hour to get back up."

They both laughed. Nervously. The tension went away as their fingers intertwined around the ring box.

She lost herself to his gentle touch. Since she went away to college, Maria asserted as much control over her life as she could. It wasn't always easy, and it had earned her a reputation as a bitch and a cunt. In reality, she was acting just like the men in her profession, but since it wasn't expected from a woman, she was labeled as "difficult."

But that drive served her. She was tenacious and fierce. Fearless. Intimidating. Most importantly, she won. A lot.

Maria was the first woman to be made a partner in her law firm. And the first of any of them to argue before the Supreme Court.

She made it her life's mission to atone for the sins of her father and his father and his father before him. Maria took cases fighting for women's rights, for civil rights, for gay rights. She made lots of enemies among those in power. She endeared herself to anyone who had been oppressed.

But right then, she would have given anything to go back to being eighteen years old again: pregnant with her son, poor and estranged from her family, but with the man she loved. Deep down, she knew the reason why she had never married was she always carried a torch for Quan Liu. No matter how hard she denied it, even to herself.

"You know I can be the world's biggest bitch, right?"

"My wife was a Chinese tiger mom," he said with a slight smirk. "I think I can handle you."

"Even after fifty years?"

"I've kept my eye on you," Quan winked. "Well, from a distance. I couldn't let my wife find out. But your name popped up in the newspapers every now and then, so it was easy to keep track of you."

"What if your wife hadn't died?"

"Then we wouldn't be having this conversation, and one day I'd sell this property for twice what I paid for it."

Maria snorted and playfully smacked him in the shoulder.

"I looked you up a few years ago, too," she said softly. "Well, I had someone else look you up. They said you were married and had kids, and ran some kind of private business. I figured you were happy, so I never checked up again."

"I was happy, Maria," he replied wistfully. "I loved my wife and my kids are wonderful. But I a part of me always wondered what would have happened to 'us'."

"Do your kids know about me? What will they think?"

"They don't know specifics, but they'll like you. And you'll like them. My daughter is a lawyer, too."

"I hope she's not an ambulance chaser. They give us a bad name."

"No, environmental law."

"I like her already."

They sat there for a few minutes. Listening only to the birds and the sounds of the water on the shore.

"I can't marry you, Quan," she said resolutely, as much for herself as for him. "Not today. You can't come back into my life and expect to pick up right where we left off. I'm a different person now. So are you."

"I want you to fall in love with me again."

"I want that, too," she whispered. "Ask me again in a year."

Quan framed her face with his hands and kissed her. Deep and passionately.

The buzzing of Quan's cell phone broke them from their reverie.

He glanced at the screen and then helped Maria to her feet before tapping out quick reply text. She followed him down the spiral steps and back across the deck to the field towards the parking area.

The car pulling up stopped her dead in her tracks.

It parked next to the Lexus SUV and four people got out.

Maria grasped Quan's hand to steady herself. She held on as if her life depended on it.

The man looked just like his father, but just a little taller. He was thin with the same black hair streaked with grey.

"I'm going to kill you for this," she whispered softly enough that only Quan could hear. He only grinned sheepishly.

The six of them stood there for what seemed like forever.

Maria's eyes never left her son. Their son.

It took every ounce of willpower she had to spur herself in motion. She crossed the field at a brisk walk, her head held high.

The man walked out to greet her.

They stopped an arm's length apart and faced each other, unsure of what to do next.

Maria reached out to touch his face. She ran her fingertips over his cheeks, wondering if it was a dream.

Tears leaked out of her eyes. She didn't move to wipe them away and didn't dare take her eyes from him.

"They never let me hold you," she said bitterly. Apologetically.

In response, he took her hands in his and squeezed them sympathetically. He was trying not to cry.

After the baby was born, Maria wept. For months. His birthday passed by year after year, unobserved except for the tears she shed in solitude. She hid her shame from the world and vowed never to cry again over the child she gave away.

They wrapped their arms around one another in a tight bear hug, as if neither ever expected this day to come.

Fifty years of guilt faded away in that moment. The first time she had ever taken her child in her arms.

A part of Maria wanted to laugh. A part wanted to cry.

So she did both. These were tears of joy. Joy at finally holding the son who was taken from her.

He lifted her off her feet. His strong arms enveloped her as if he was going to crush her. Maria wouldn't have traded that feeling for anything in the world.

Finally, they pulled back, if only to look at each other in disbelief.

"I'm Marc," he said softly. He had a clear, deep voice with no trace of the southern drawl of his birth parents.

"You're beautiful, Marc," she replied, trying to will her stoic control back. "I'm Maria."

"All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word," he quoted, his eyes dancing with delight, his smile radiant. "Maria."

Marc reluctantly released her from his embrace and took her hands. He motioned to his family.

"This is my wife, Angelina—" the g sounding as h using the Spanish pronunciation, "—And these are our children, David and Isabella."

"It's so nice to meet all of you," Maria let go of her son's hand and reached out to greet his family with warm southern hugs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Quan and Marc speaking softly, their arms around one another. Both were smiling and laughing.

"Let's go back to your house, Maria. We can catch up there," Quan suggested. He paused for a second, looking down at the ground where they stood, then towards the lake, then at both Marc and Maria. He chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Marc asked.

"I was just thinking . . . You're standing right at about the spot where you were conceived."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake!" Maria flushed with embarrassment and playfully smacked Quan on the shoulder.

Quan's eyes sparkled with laughter.

Marc let out a nervous chuckle. His wife and kids snickered.

With an exasperated sigh, Maria took Quan and Mark by the arm and led them towards the Lexus SUV. "We have a lot to talk about."

"You go with them," Angelina said to her husband as she and the kids got in their car, which looked like a rental. "We'll be right behind you."

Maria and Marc got in the back seat as Quan drove the short distance back to her house. She didn't want to let him go. It was as if touching him was the only way she could convince herself she wasn't hallucinating.

The six of them spent the rest of the day getting to know one another.

"Where did you grow up?" she asked their son.

"Dad was stationed at Warner-Robbins during Vietnam. We moved around some before he got out, and then settled in Minnesota. I always called Bloomington 'home' until I moved to Kentucky."

"And that's when you met Angelina?"

"Marc was my AP history teacher," his wife blushed.

"I'm sure there's a story there," Maria winked. Angelina and Marc had matching shy smiles that told her enough.

Enough to know that they were still madly in love after all this time. She was suddenly jealous of the couple who sat across from her and her long-lost lover.

"What do you all do now?" she asked to politely change the subject.

"I work for the Kentucky Department of Education. I run a program that promotes vocational and technical education around the state," he gave them the short version of his job description.

"I'm chief financial officer of an aeronautics and robotics company," Angelina said when it was her turn.

"We're seniors at Duke," David said.

"Both of you? What are you studying?" Maria asked.

"I'm in the pre-med program. I'm going in to a PA program," he replied.

"I'm in the visual arts program. I want to work on movies," Isabella said.

"Work on movies? Not be in movies?" Maria asked curiously. "You're too beautiful to be off-screen, sweetheart."

The younger woman blushed. "Thank you. I want to be a stuntwoman."

"I can make some calls if you need a foot in the door. I know some people," she winked as Isabella's eyes widened with surprise and delight.

"It sounds like you all are doing well in your lives," Maria complimented her new extended family. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group.

She was used to being in control of her environment and knowing more than anyone else in the room. For once, she was behind and dealing with incomplete information.

"You want to know why, don't you?" she said softly. She was speaking to Quan and Marc.

Both nodded.

Maria took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

"If you would like to have this conversation privately, we can go and meet you later for dinner," Angelina offered.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Maria smiled appreciatively. "That's not necessary. You all have a right to know."

She looked at her old lover and her son.

"My life was mapped out for me from the moment I was born," she said softly. "My family is old money around here. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with someone like Quan. And when I got pregnant, it was a scandal. You had already left when the whispers got out. I don't know if your parents ever knew; I don't think so, though."

Maria's eyes fell to the floor.

"I want to tell you that I gave you up because my parents made me." She was disappointed in herself. "But I couldn't raise you here. Not by myself. And I couldn't drag Quan back to this little backwater town. Not where he would have been made an outcast like me. I gave you up and hid you from Quan because I knew I couldn't raise you. Not in Jefferson County in 1968."

She looked up at her son with fear and self-loathing in her eyes.

"Do you have a good life, Marc?" Maria whispered.

He got up from his chair and sat next to her on the couch. His hands covered hers. His voice was gentle and understanding.

"Yes," he looked her in the eyes with his father's big brown eyes. The ones that promised love and safety. "You did right by me, Maria. You gave me to a family that loved me. My mom and dad were better than I could have asked for. I had every opportunity in the world."

"How can I make it up to you?" Despite her efforts, Maria's voice broke.

"You owe me nothing," he replied. "My parents told me that my mother and father put me up for adoption because they loved me and wanted what was best for me. I thought about looking for you, but I didn't know if you wanted to hear from me. If it hadn't been for that home DNA test my kids wanted, I never would have found you."

"I guess our kids know what we need sometimes," Quan smiled. "Even if we don't."

"I just want to get to know you," Marc took both of his parents's hands. "I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world and have two great children. Every day of my life is a bonus day. I want whatever relationship you want to have with me and my family."

"Are you parents still alive?" Maria asked.

"They are," he replied. "Dad just retired a couple of years ago. Mom still works at the university."

"I want to meet them," she said. "And tell them they raised a wonderful young man."

**************

"I love feeling you inside me," Maria sighed as Quan's weight settled down on top of her.

They seemed to melt into the memory foam mattress.

The first rays of morning shone into the big bay window overlooking the lake. Their lake.

Quan leaned in and kissed her. She ran her fingertips over his bare shoulders.

She spread her legs as he filled her up.

With one hand, Quan reached up to palm her breast. He pinched the nipple just the way she liked.

They made love long and slow as the sun came up.

"I am never letting you go again," he vowed for the millionth time.

Maria never tired of hearing those words.

Her fingers dug into Quan's rear end as he thrust a little harder. A little faster.

Their lips met again, as tender as their first kiss all those years ago.

But this time, they weren't hiding from anyone. Their love was no secret. There were still some disapproving stares, but the times had driven the bigots and racists underground and forced them to hold their tongues in public.

"Don't stop," she gasped. The tingling started in her toes. Quan pulled back until he was almost out of her. "Don't . . . stop—oh!"

He pushed forward suddenly until he was buried all the way inside her.

Maria caressed his strong arms as Quan built a hard, steady rhythm.

She saw him bite his lip, knowing he was close.

"Oh, Quan," she moaned as the orgasm washed over her. Her hips met his thrusts. "Cum for me!"

Her womb filled with warmth as they orgasmed together.

Quan collapsed on top of her. His weight was comforting. His touch felt so right.

"I love you, Quan Liu," she whispered in his ear. The words felt so right to say. And they came so easily now.

They lay together for several minutes, not moving. It wasn't until they heard footsteps upstairs that they stirred.

He pulled back and sat at the edge of the bed for a moment before heading to the master bathroom. She admired his nude form.

Still slender and fit, Quan was the envy of men twenty years his junior. His muscles were still toned. He had filled out some since high school, but the sight of him still took her breath away.

Maria got up and slipped on a terrycloth robe. She went in to the bathroom. Quan was brushing his teeth.

She reached over and gave his backside a playful pat.

In response, Quan reached into her robe and groped her breast. Years of conditioning made Maria uncomfortable with public displays of affection. Combined with the shame she felt when she came back to Jefferson County, Maria was never one to even hold hands with anyone where they could be seen.

Quan was slowly breaking her of the bad habits. She was still proper and well dressed in public, but privately, she was open to all of the pleasures Quan brought her.

And after that day a year before, she never shied away from slipping her arm into Quan's or kissing him on the cheek for the world to see. It helped that they spent most of their time at her house in Alexandira, his apartment in New York or traveling the world together, and not stuck in Jefferson County.

She was like they were eighteen again. Only with dashes of back and knee pain.

And the possibility of breaking a hip if they got too acrobatic in bed.

"Shower with me," he whispered in her ear.

"You just want to put that thing in me again," she snickered.

"I always want to put it in you, Maria," Quan pushed the robe off her shoulders. "Besides, you made me dirty. I think you need to clean me off."

She let out an exaggerated sigh that was supposed to sound exasperated, but they both knew she would never refuse him.

"Don't wear yourself out, honey. You've got a big day ahead of you."

The hot water started. Quan led her into the custom-made glass-enclosed shower that was large enough to accommodate four people if they wanted. The body jets massaged them as they took a long, indulgent time together.

Her hands lingered on him and his on her.

Maria savoured his touch. As she did often, Maria wondered how their lives may have turned out if they had made different choices.

But that was in the past, and there was no sense in wondering about things that could not be un-done.

Even after their morning coupling, Quan was ready to go again when she stroked him a few times. It was like he was making up for lost time.

Maria wasn't complaining.

He pushed her up against the heated tile wall. She held on to him under the gentle spray of the body jets.

Crying out every time he hit bottom.

Quan called out her name as his cum coursed up inside her. Right where it belonged.

A short time later, they emerged from the master bedroom to find his son Kai and his wife Kelly cooking breakfast. Michelle and her wife Alesia were snuggled up on the couch with the younger kids. The teenagers were nowhere to be found, probably still burrowed under the covers in the upstairs guest rooms.

"You have a wonderful house, Maria," Michelle complimented. The house itself was mostly finished. It just needed a little more landscaping around the wrap-around porch, but they were holding off on that until the pool was done.

"Your father built it," she reached for the offered mug of coffee. "I just wanted a little summer cottage here on the lake."

"I built this monstrosity so our family would always have some place to stay," Quan scooped up one of his grandchildren and sat down with him on the couch. Left unsaid was that he never wanted to set foot in the Bradford family home again. Except maybe to tear it down.

Maria would never let him do that. She did have some sense of family and history. But she had a few ideas of what to do with the antebellum mansion.

"So what's with the extra bedrooms?" his daughter asked. "Do you really need to show off how rich you are to everyone who ever wronged you?"

"Your kids are going to have kids one day," Quan winked noncommittally, even though she wasn't far off the truth.

Maria smiled at her fiancée's brood. They were everything her father had loathed. Everything she grew up knowing nothing about.

Asian. Buddhist. Black. White. Catholic. Mixed. Queer.

They were beautiful.

And that didn't include her half-Asian son, his Latina bride and their brilliant children.

"When are Marc and Angelina going to be here?" one of the kids climbed up into Maria's lap as if she always belonged in their family. After their granddad, Uncle Marc was their favorite because both men spoiled everyone rotten.

"Later this morning," Maria said with a rapturous smile. "Don't worry; the wedding won't start without them."