Part 475

In no time they were settled into the warm, comfortable living room of the corner apartment. Hot tea was steaming in their china cups and Garrett was happily settled against Mrs. Chambers’ more than ample bosom. "This is wonderful," Becca said with a sigh. "Thank you."

"You’re more than welcome. I hardly got a chance to say goodbye you know, the way you took off out of here last spring."

"Things happened very quickly," Becca said apologetically. Nick reached for her hand and she squeezed his fingers, looking at him with love in her eyes.

"Becca, how did you find this place?" Nick asked.

"I stayed in a small hotel downtown for the first week, and one morning one of the desk clerks told me that his aunt owned a small apartment building. I came over here, met Mrs. Chambers and that was the end of that."

"And a delightful tenant you were, too," she said. "Never a problem. No loud music, no wild parties… perfect."

Nick grinned as Becca rolled her eyes. Looking at Mrs. Chambers he asked, "Is anyone living in 3-C now?"

"No, I haven’t had anyone in there since Rebecca moved out."

"May I see it?" Nick ignored Becca’s attempt to stop him and smiled sweetly.

"Why of course you can, I have the key right here. Come along with you." She handed the baby back to Becca and led the way across the courtyard.

The heavy wooden door creaked as it opened, and Nick stepped into another world. Although very small, it was cozy and homey. A small living room held only a love seat, an easy chair and a small coffee table. The one bookcase held a small television, and it seemed to be the only modern appliance on the premises. Through one doorway he could see what was obviously a small kitchen, and the other door must lead to the bedroom. Leaving Becca standing in the middle of the floor, Nick went off to investigate. As he entered the bedroom he stopped short, a strange feeling settling over him as he tried to imagine Becca living here.

He tried to picture her waking in the morning, turning over in the small single bed and having no one to reach for. He imagined her showering in the small confining bathroom, and bumping her elbows on the wall as she tried to brush the tangles from her wet hair. He thought of all the days in her early pregnancy when she’d been so sick that she’d lain on the bathroom floor. Alone. His breath caught and he choked back a sob, wiping away the tears that were so close to falling. God, he wished he could have been here. To hold her, to help her, just to love her.

A sound behind him caught his attention and he turned to find Becca lost in her own similar thoughts, a silent tear falling slowly down her cheek as she ran her fingers over the polished mahogany of the dresser. "It’s so much smaller than I remembered."

"That’s because now it’s filled with your family," Mrs. Chambers wisely observed. She took the baby from Becca and moved to the door. "We’ll wait for you in my place," she told Nick.

"Thanks," he said gratefully. As the front door closed with a click, he moved to Becca and once again held her close.

"I can’t believe it," she whispered.

"What, baby?"

"I actually lived here, Nick."

"You were lucky, Bec. She took very good care of you. She was your family while you were here, baby."

"She found me outside on the bench the day I found out about Garrett. I was so scared, so relieved that I wasn’t HIV positive, so lonely…"

Nick was having a hard time swallowing past the lump in his throat. "What did she do?"

Becca laughed through her tears. "She patted my knee and made me hot chocolate. ‘Tea has caffeine,’ she told me. ‘No more of that. You need to take care of that baby.’" Becca smiled. "She made sure I had food to eat, most nights we shared dinner while she listened to me talk about you and how I didn’t deserve you. In her opinion it was always the other way around."

"I guessed that," Nick grinned.

"And this tiny little bed. My god, Nick, I wanted to wake up in your arms in the morning. Every night I prayed that you would be here when I woke up, but I knew you wouldn’t and that it was my fault. I would lie in bed, trying to remember what it was like to open my eyes and see your sleeping face just inches away from mine. I wished and I wished."

"Come here." Nick took her hand and pulled her to the bed. "Show me." He pushed her gently to the bed and watched as she curled up on her side, remembering. As she closed her eyes she felt him lie down behind her, draping an arm over her waist to hold her close. "Like this?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

"Mm hmm," she sighed, nuzzling her head back against his chest.

"What else?" he asked, combing through her hair with his fingers.

Becca turned over to look into his eyes. "I missed your touch, Nick. I missed the feel of your fingers in my hair, the feel of your breath on my face, your lips on mine-"

Softly he touched his mouth to hers, sweetly kissing away her pain as his lips coaxed hers apart. His tongue touched hers and she began to sob. Through her tears he continued to kiss her, leaving no doubt as to just how much he loved her. Her body shook beneath his and it broke his heart how much pain she was in. "Becca, stop, please?" he begged as she wept.

"I missed you so much, Nick. I was so lonely and scared and-" she sobbed, her fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt to hold him close.

"And you came home, Bec. You came home to me. You came home and brought the most precious thing I could have ever asked for, our son. I’ll never forget that day out on the beach, when I saw you by the water and I knew you were back. And then you turned to me and I saw-" Nick was crying openly now, too. "You were so beautiful, Bec."

They lay together for a very long time until their heartbeats stilled and their breaths were no longer labored with emotion.

"Bec, we need to go. We have to get back."

"I know," she sighed. "Let’s go say goodbye and thank Mrs. Chambers."

With one last glance around, they closed the door, not only to the tiny apartment, but also to a chapter in their lives. Their good-byes said, they were ushered to the waiting car where Becca strapped Garrett into his car seat.

"Wait! I almost forgot!" Mrs. Chambers pulled on Nick’s arm and he had no choice but to follow her back inside.

"What is it?"

"I found this after Rebecca left and I thought you should have it." She pressed a small leather-bound book into his hand with a smile. "You should read this, Mr. Carter. You can learn a lot from it."

"Ok," he said, puzzled. "I will, but it’s ‘Nick’."

"Nick," she said, trying the name on for size and finding it a nice fit. "You take care of those two precious people. It’s not many that get a second chance like you did."

Nick looked her square in the eye. "I’m well aware of that. I know how blessed I am Mrs. Chambers, and I don’t ever plan to take that for granted.

"See that you don’t," she said with a twinkle I her eye. "Now shoo, I understand you have work to do."

"Yes ma’am." As he turned to go he stopped, impulsively wrapping his arms around the old woman and hugging her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered emotionally.

"What for?" she asked, a suspicious dampness in her own eyes.

"For taking care of them, and keeping them safe. I’ll never be able to repay that."

"It’s your job now Nick, do it well and that’s payment enough."

He kissed her on the cheek and walked out, and was almost to the car before he looked down at the gold-embossed words on the front of the book she’d handed him. From the looks of it, it had been a gift at some time and he wondered that Becca hadn’t missed it. Before tucking it into his jacket pocket, he traced the script with his fingertip.

Part 476                        Index