The next day… Stepping out of the shower, Beth stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. Really looked at herself. The phases of her life flashed before her mind’s eye like a slideshow, going from her happy moments to her sad ones, over to her joyous and ugly ones, and in all those moments, one thing remained constant. Though it shone brighter at certain times, it was always there. An ever-present friend and ally. Determination. There through thick and thin and rough and smooth, her determination had always remained steady. Standing out like a beam in the midst of all the gloom and ache, it never deserted her. Always present. Much like it was present right then. Elizabeth took a deep look into her eyes and smiled a small smile at herself. While there was doubt, gut folding anxiety and the borderline traumatic fear of embarrassing herself, there was also willingness, interest, excitement and a great desire that far outweighed the fear. It had been over a mo

The next day was claimed by work, bright and early. While that was a damper, Beth took it all in good stride. After all, she was a firm believer in doing anything to get what you want.While Brandon sat at his desk in his newly incorporated home office receiving calls, sorting faxed files and taping away at his laptop, Beth was with him every step of the way, being the perfect distraction. When she wasn’t helping him sort through his papers, she was playing with Lola, bending over, taking off items of clothing—because of the terrible heat—whispering in his ear what she could just say out loud, laughing softly, or just plain staring, and whenever he caught her, she would hold his gaze, smile and turn away.2 p.m. rolled around and deciding that he needed to see some people in person and get other things sorted, Brandon announced that he was making a quick trip to the office. Now, what kind of a wife would Beth be if she didn’t tag along? After ensuring that Lola had enough food and wat

When Brandon woke up, the sun was on its way to setting and beautiful hues of pink, light brown and the palest purple decorated the sky, giving it an eye capturing glow. The light of the sky danced into the room through the open slide doors, accompanied by the gentle evening breeze, bathing the room in gentle lights even as the breeze lifted the transparent curtains, giving the room an ethereal, peaceful feel. It was a story book sight. One a photographer would love to capture. Absolutely gorgeous, yet, as extraordinary as it was, Brandon found himself sneered and captured by the nymph partially atop him. She moved in her sleep, grazing his sleep hardened manhood with her thigh, and he closed his eyes and let out a groan.“Sorry,” she mumbled.He opened his eyes and looked down at her. At the same time, she rose sleep softened eyes up at him and smiled.“Hey.”He returned her smile. “Hey.”“Did you sleep well?”She dragged her thigh over his bulge as he went to respond and watched hi

Two years later…Brandon watched his sleeping wife with a worried look on his face.She had returned from work earlier looking rather pale and drained. When he had asked her what was wrong, she had given him a weak smile and waved him off. Mere minutes later, he’d found her asleep on the couch with her laptop open in front of her. His worry had begun when he had carried Beth, the usually light sleeper, up to the room and she hadn’t budge. Not once. Less than forty minutes later, Micah had called to ask how she was. Apparently, she had been sick in the office earlier, after which she passed out. After assuring Micah, Brandon sat, lost. Why hadn’t she told him? What was wrong with her?By the time she awoke three hours later, he already had dinner ready and waiting. Pulling her down on his lap at the dining table, he held her there and just watched her eat. Beth turned after a while and finally asked,“What’s up?” His silence was unusual. After observing her for a while, he sigh

Dedicating a whole five minutes one morning to begging her not to do anything she shouldn’t and then going ahead to prepare her a healthy breakfast of steak and vegetables because she just absolutely loved her meat, Brandon finally went and got ready for work, then devoted another five minutes into pleading with her to eat and rest. As a plus, he had somehow gotten the eight months pregnant Sherlie to leave work and come spend time with her. That afternoon, she ended up fussing over Sherlie and lulling her to sleep. Sherlie’s pregnancy wasn’t a walk in the park either and as she neared her due date, extra care had to be taken. Though, how she escaped the horrible nausea and got to go to work and do whatever she wanted, Beth didn’t know. Lucky.Rebalancing on the feet, Beth heaved and planted her hands on her waist. Looking up, she licked her dry lips and sighed. It was further than it looked. Pulling in a deep breath, she pushed up on her tiptoes again and stretched up as far as she c