Chapter 73: Chapter 73 CHRISTINA

Stephan lay back on the bed staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t heard from Scarlet or the children. He wasn’t worried about their safety of his family but the distance that grew between them with each second they spent apart.

When his phone buzzed he didn’t want to answer it. But then it buzzed again and this time he picked up, but it was a text message and not a call. It was a message from SJ, he scrolled through it and a smile crept upon his lips.

He grabbed his jacket and his keys and headed out of the house, ignoring the calls from the others.

*****

“This is beautiful. Do you smell that Christina?” SJ cooed at her sister, adjusting the zip on her little pink bodysuit.

“Christina?” Scarlet asked, “What happened to Chrissie?”

“I think I can call her whatever comes to mind considering I am her elder brother and the person who named her.” He took his little sister from Scarlet and tossed her in the air.

“Don’t do that!” Scarlet yelled. Even with her children’s obvious durability she always got nervous at the thought of them getting hurt. She watched her little girl curl in a fit of laughter.

“She won’t fall, mom. You need to chill.” He tossed her up in the air once more but this time he didn’t catch her.

“You shouldn’t do that to your mother.” SJ had Chrissie cradled in his arms.

“Dad! You got my message.”

“Message?” A puzzled Scarlet asked.

“SJ sent me a text. He asked me to come over and have a family fun day and I couldn’t say no.” Stephan struggled to articulate his words as Chrissie put her fingers in his mouth and tried to catch his tongue.

“Don’t do that my love.” Stephan took her little fingers from his mouth.

“Oh! So how comes I wasn’t told about this?” Scarlet glared at SJ.

“Because you would have said no.” SJ took Chrissie from Stephan, “So if you don’t mind, Chris and I are going for a swim.”

“Make sure you always hold on to her.” She called out.

“Take a chill pill mum.”

“Chris?” Stephan asked.

“Yeah, apparently he alone has the right to come up with her nicknames.” Scarlet chewed on her lower lip, she was trying to get past the awkwardness.

“How have you been?”

“I’m great. I went to the cemetery yesterday. I met Iris there.” It was easier to talk about things that didn’t concern them.

“How is she?”

“Fine, she misses Kayla.”

“I bet she does. Kayla doesn’t call her often enough.”

“Mmmmh.” Scarlet sat on the sand and played with the little grains in her hand.

“Aren’t you going for a swim?” Stephan asked.

“I will later on. I’m just letting those two have their fun.”

They watched as SJ held Chrissie up as she put her feet in the water.

“They are beautiful. Thank you, Scarlet.”

“What for?”

“Thank you for the greatest gifts in the world, those two. They are my world and my life. And so are you.”

“Can we not talk about this right now? How about we go join them. Did you bring your swimsuit?” Scarlet dropped the shawl around her waist.

Just as she turned back to look at him, she saw him pull his t-shirt over his head. Just as he did every muscle in his upper torso rippled making her mouth water. She thought about the night she spent caressing his muscled body and how his weight felt on her body. Scarlet stared not aware that Stephan was watching her with an amused look on his face.

“You look beautiful.” He cooed.

“What?” Stephan’s voice knocked her into reality. Dazzled she blinked a couple of times and shifted his gaze to his face.

“I said you look beautiful,” Stephan repeated.

“Oh, thanks. You don’t look so bad either.” Her eyes drifted away to his muscled hands and flowed over to his chest down to his cubed belly. She was getting lost in his beauty and all she wanted to do was touch him.

Stephan could see, feel and smell the desire she had for him as it built up. He was pleased that even though he wronged her she never stopped wanting him.

“What’s wrong?” Stephan poked.

“With what? Nothing is wrong. I was just admiring your swimming trunks. Black suits you.” Scarlet spun around and hit her head with her palm.

“What is wrong with you? Snap out of it, it’s not like you haven’t seen it before.” She whispered to herself.

“Seen what before?” Stephan asked as he fell in step with her. He had heard everything that she had said but he asked just to tease her.

“The ocean, it’s beautiful. Every time I come here I feel like it’s the first time.”

“Do you remember the first time we came here together? I made you dance in the water under the light of the moon and the stars.” Stephan was feeling nostalgic but he didn’t realize the can of worms he had just opened.

“What was Sotera doing when you met her at the beach?”

“The first time she was just there, playing in the water. The second time she was playing with the human children.” He had decided to open up to any questions that she had, this way he could hasten the process of reconciliation. He thought that if he was honest Scarlet would trust him once again.

“I’m surprised you gave me a direct answer.”

Stephan put his hand in front of her and blocked her way. She tried to walk around him but he placed his body firmly in her path.

“Do you see them? Those are our children and they need us both so I will not hide anything from you if that means you will come back home.”

“You came here to spend time with your family, not to pressurize me into making a decision.”

“Our family’s future rests with your decision. Remember that.” Stephan turned and jogged towards the spot where his children were playing.

He scooped Chrissie in his arms and beckoned SJ to follow him. They walked deeper into the water and there he taught SJ how to swim. Chrissie was bouncing in his arms and at times slipping out of his grip.

“Let me help you.” Scarlet held out her arms and took Chrissie leaving Stephan with his hands-free to help SJ float.

“Thanks.” He brushed aside the hair on her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“SJ you need to be flat. We need to see if you can float first.” Stephan teased.

Scarlet held Chrissie firmly in her arms facing her in her father’s direction. She watched as Stephan and SJ bonded and as her daughter discovered the new things in the world. She felt at peace and a home with her husband and children around her.

“So are you going back home?” Scarlet asked once it began getting dark. She twisted Chrissie’s hair around her finger as she snoozed in her father’s arms.

“I am. I will be heading to the airport in an hour, and I was hoping to take my family with me.”

“That isn’t possible right now Stephan.”

“What are you going to do here? Continue living in a motel while you have a huge house back in Kings. If I have to, I will leave and you can come back home with the children.” He offered.

Scarlet put her finger on her lips when Chrissie stirred. She waited for a while for her to fall back to sleep before she spoke.

“That’s not it. I need to look into something before going back home.”

“What?”

“Stephan pleases. Can you just give me this time without asking me what, where, and why?”

“Ok, fine. I won’t ask anymore.”

“Thank you. Do you need a lift to the airport?”

“I think it’s best if you don’t take me. I’ll get a taxi or something. Look at that.” Stephan pointed. “Look at how the sun just deeps into the horizon.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you are but still beautiful and priceless.”

“Let me guess not as priceless as I am but still priceless.” Scarlet teased.

Stephan chuckled then smiled, “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

“Smooth talker.” She teased.

“I think I am how else could I get you to marry me. But I think my talents are wearing off.”

“No, no they aren’t. I’m just using all my strength to repel them.”

“No wonder, by now you could have been putty in my hands.” Stephan leaned forward and kissed her bare shoulder.

Her body rippled at the touch of his skin, but she clenched her jaw, biting it down making sure that whatever that would have come out of her mouth betray her.

“SJ seems to be having fun. But I wish he wouldn’t swim so far.” Scarlet watched SJ’s powerful strokes hit against the water.

“I’m pretty sure if he meets up with any sharks he will be able to take them.”

“Sharks!” Scarlet yelped, alarmed, “You never told me that there are sharks in the water.” She began to stand up when Stephan held her back.

“I’m joking. You can never find sharks in shallow water. Sit down and relax and know that there is nothing strong enough in this world that can hurt our son.”

“That wasn’t funny and I think I should thank you for that. Unlike other mothers, I don’t have to worry about them getting hurt or sick or dying.”

“But you still do. This is a good thing. That way you keep them out of trouble.”

“SJ is the poster boy of trouble.”

“That’s why you have me.”

Scarlet could feel the subject of her going home loom around and since she didn’t want him to bring it up again she got up and ran into the water.

“Mom are we going home now?” SJ asked when she swam up to him.

“Do you want to go home?” Scarlet knew how selfish she was being.

“Please can we go home?” SJ pouted.

“Fine.”

Scarlet drove to the airport, she could tell that the mood had lifted ever since she had told Stephan that they were going back home. She was in his arms once more when he picked her up and spun her around.

She pulled up at the airport and parked the car. Although Stephan had urged her to go to the rentals first to hand in the car she instead went to the ticketing counter. Scarlet bought SJ’s ticket and gave it to Stephan.

“What is this?” Stephan asked flagging the lone ticket in front of her.

“SJ’s ticket, what did you think it was?”

“Where is yours?”

“I’m not coming with you.” Scarlet turned and walked away.

“But you said you are coming home.” Stephan caught her and turned her around to face him.

“SJ said that he was coming home, I didn’t tell you anything.”

“He used the word ‘we’ and I thought that meant all three of you.”

“He doesn’t know I’m not coming with you, so let me be the one to tell him.”

Stephan gave up trying to reason with her, “What about Chrissie?”

“I wanted to keep her here with me, but I think you should go with her. You need to hold her when you are on the plane.” She instructed.

“I know that, but why did you pack your suitcase?”

“Don’t ask me questions.”

“I’m supposed to ask you questions I am your husband.”

“Stephan you agreed to give me some space and time. So please just do that.”

“Fine. You better tell him then. He’s not going to be happy about it.”