Thanks to WAA01 and Killerarmyguy for the edits.
******
My name is Nathan Hal; at the age of thirty-seven, I thought my life would be on the path I had set out, but that wasn’t meant to be when I came home one day early from work (where I’m a rising bank manager for a well-known bank so I won’t be giving their name), given it was our anniversary. How stupid I was. I never fucking saw the signs until it was right before my very eyes as my now ex-wife and her then boy toy intertwined on my fucking bed! I will never utter her name again, so let’s call her ‘Bitch’! The whore has to have a name right and the shoe fits. The nerve of the cunt to tell me to get out so they could finish! Well, I got out alright, right to a fucking motel. Fuck ever sleeping in that bed again or that house; there was no telling how many men she’s been fucking behind by back.
A little about our former marriage before I go on. We married very young; that is what two stupid kids do when they’re supposedly in love. I knew I loved her at that point in time; now, I wonder if she ever loved me in the first place. Anyway, a year into the marriage, our daughter was born, then two years after that, our son. I know what you’re thinking. They aren’t mine, given her whoring ways. But hate to burst your bubble they are, had them tested the week after I left their mother.
As I was saying, there I was in my motel room, paid cash. Didn’t want that Bitch to know where I was if she looked online at the charge on our shared card. Well, it was ours until tomorrow when I paid the damn thing off and canceled it. I couldn’t do much at the moment with my finances given the late hour of the day. So I knew I had to move fast once the sun came up tomorrow to protect what I had worked my ass off for. I wasn’t letting her get one damn cent that I didn’t have to give in the divorce settlement. Fuck forgiveness! I wanted the bitch to burn! So there I was, making call after call and internet searches for the best divorce lawyer in the city. Money wasn’t a problem, I made six figures, and with a promotion looming, I could easily absorb the hit to my account. Plus, being in the banking industry, I knew all the loopholes to keep the courts from laying a finger on my money, yet that would have to wait till tomorrow when I went into the office if I went in. I was contemplating on heading home and packing my belongings while she was at work. Now whether or not the Bitch would notice my things gone, I didn’t fucking care!
I know the Bitch tried calling me repeatedly, but I never answered. Then the texts started to come in, telling me I could come home now. That she’s cleaned up, and it meant nothing. That this didn’t have to mean anything if I didn’t make a fuss out of it. Did the Bitch not fucking know me?! Then it got to begging when the hour struck six that night, and I knew the kids would be home inquiring about me, no doubt seeing how I’m usually home by then. Wondering when I was going to come home so we could go out to dinner for our anniversary. At this, I suspected the Bitch had lost her damn mind! Did she really think I’d want to celebrate our wedding anniversary after finding her fucking another man in my bed! She really has to be fucking stupid! That was when my daughter called, I did hate lying to her, but I wasn’t going home not that night or ever again unless it was to pack my belongings.
“Hi, honey,” I answered after steeling myself.
“Dad? Where are you, Mom’s freaking out?!”
“Good!” I thought. This meant either she couldn’t find me or that she was worried I already told the kids about what a slut she was. Both were plausible. “Sorry, baby, I had to go on a business trip at very short notice. But don’t worry, I’m not alone; you remember Ms. Tyler?”
“Yeah, she was a nice lady, but why are you on a business trip with Ms. Tyler?” An evil grin spread across my lips at the sound of the Bitch’s ‘What!’ that I could hear over the line. I knew the Bitch hated her guts. I never knew why; Kris, her first name, was a very kind woman and a lesbian, so I don’t know why the Bitch always felt threatened by her. Now that I think about it, maybe she was afraid someone would sweep me off my feet and steal me away from the slut. As I thought on that, I wish someone had, then I wouldn’t have wasted seventeen years on the cunt.
“Oh, the presenter for the conference which I wasn’t going to since today is such a big day,” my sarcasm was clear not that my daughter picked up on it, I said it in case the Bitch was listening in, “came down with food poisoning and had to drop out, so being one of the few managers who know the material my boss asked if I would fill in, and Ms. Tyler was already going so we’re traveling together.”
“But when will you be home?”
“I don’t know, maybe a week, Ms. Tyler wants to explore the city while we’re there so…” Just then, I heard the phone being snatched from my daughter’s hand.
“Nat, you come home right this instance?!”
“It’s Nathan or Mr. Hal to you, cunt!” I could hear she was taken aback by the tone of my voice. “You lost all rights to that name when I found you fucking another man on my god damn bed!”
“Nat… Nathan, I know you’re upset; we can work this out. It meant nothing?!”
“It means something to me, you stupid bitch!”
“Fine! If you want to act like a hurt little child and not talk about this like reasonable adults, go right ahead. If you want to stay away, fine! But know this, I am going to be fucking every man I can from now on in this house!”
“Go right ahead, Bitch, you’re dead to me now anyway,” I heard her gasp as I cut the line.
And so it went downhill fast from there, especially after she came home the next day to find the house empty of anything that belonged to me. I had movers in to pack everything in a few hours so I wouldn’t have to ever return to that house. I had it stored in a storage unit across town, paid in cash for three months until I could find an apartment in the city. My marriage might be over, but I wasn’t about to disappear on my kids. I had an appointment with a lawyer the day after I moved out. I also had our shared bank account closed and half the money transferred to one set up in her name and moved what cash I wanted to keep out of the court’s greedy hands offshore where she could never touch a cent of it; I was so amused. I made a big spectacle of hammering that worthless gold band into nothing but junk in front of everyone at work before tossing the hunk of metal away. If that didn’t start rumors, I don’t know what would. So after talking to my lawyer, she had a P.I. following the Bitch’s movements; I don’t know why but whatever. Don’t really care; I simply wanted that cheating cunt gone!
However, things really, I mean, really blew up the moment the Bitch was served! I wish I could have been there! I bet the look on that cunt’s face was priceless! I have to admit the lawyer’s P.I. did get some very juicy tidbits, and I so was a vindictive bastard. Hey, if you fuck a married woman, expect fucking consequences. From what I heard, later on, none of those men that couldn’t keep their dicks in their pants made it out with not a penny to their names. Especially the Bitch’s boss! I heard his wife took him for everything, a whole twenty million! I rolled on the floor laughing hysterically when I heard that. It seemed his wife was one smart cookie and had a prenup with an infidelity clause in it.
Nonetheless, I missed my kids. The Bitch was messing with my court-appointed visitation days, which my lawyer handled. I didn’t need to be there, but I heard the judge told her if she heard about one more missed visitation, she would throw the Bitch into the lockup for defying a court order. The first visitation or any others after that did not go as well as I hoped. My kids blamed me for breaking up our family. I told them I wasn’t the one that broke us up. That was their mother, not going into too much detail, yet I did explain to them that I had walked in on their mother with another man in our bed that was why I couldn’t be with their mother. Then the day my world came crashing down around me happened.
“Dad, do we have to keep doing this?” my sixteen-year-old daughter, at the time, asked.
“What do you mean, honey?” I asked, curious as to what she meant as we had lunch at a Hardees. I kind of found it odd that the Bitch was still sitting in the parking lot.
“I mean, do we have to keep coming on the weekends?” I felt my heart dropping to my stomach at those words as they left my daughter’s lips.
“Do you not want to see me?” I asked as calmly as I could as I set my drink down.
“I don’t mean that just on the weekends, we can still see each other on birthdays and holidays…”
“This what you want, too?” I asked, looking at my almost fourteen-year-old son.
“Dad, why do you have to make a big deal out of it. It’s just sex?! Can’t we just go back to the way things were?” My eyebrow twitched when my own son couldn’t be bothered to look me in my eyes.
“So, I’m just, what, the giver of presents to you? Is that all I’m good for? See, that doesn’t work for me, I’m your father, or I am not. Choose,” I said sternly. I so hoped they wouldn’t buy into their mother’s bs. Apparently, I was fucking wrong?!
“Well, mom’s boyfriend is nice; he takes us places when you aren’t….”
“You fucking knew!” I yelled, slapping my drink off the table, causing my kids to jump in startlement. “Fine, you don’t want me as your father any longer, so be it. Then I no longer have any children, have a nice life.” With that, I walked out of the restaurant and their lives. Did I hear them calling after? Of course, I did, but I wasn’t about to turn around so they could stick another knife in my heart. Not that I wanted to, but when your kids no longer want you, you don’t really want to stay in the same city. Because I was a fucking wreck! I raised those kids. I went to every damn boring game they had and cheered. Why? Because that’s what a father does, be there for their kids, at least the ones who appreciate them.
So when the promotion I was up for came in, I didn’t even blink when they told me I would have to move to Charlotte, North Carolina, to take over the regional manager position for the southeast there. I had sold off the bedroom items I had bought for my kids, thinking they would want to be with me when I found a big enough apartment for us. Why keep things around when you know it’s just going to make you feel even more miserable than you already are? Did the kids try to call? Of course, did I answer? Nope, if they didn’t want me, it would be better on my heart not to hear their voices. A person’s heart can only be broken so much before it’s irrepairable. So when the time came to sign the divorce papers, the Bitch had the audacity to bring the prick she’s been fucking behind my back along with her.
“This didn’t need to happen N… Mr. Hal,” the Bitch said with a smug look on her face which quickly faded when she noted my anger. “We could have worked out an understanding between us. But you had to throw away seventeen years….”
“No, whore, you did, the moment you allowed that prick between your legs, so don’t blame this on me. And I wasn’t about to let you string me along any longer so you could have a live-in babysitter while you slut yourself out.”
“Alright, I’ll admit I did, so what? I fucking had a blast doing it!” I looked down as my lawyer placed her hand on my arm, keeping me from doing something stupid.
“Ms. Smith, we aren’t here for you to antagonize my client. If that’s all you’re here for, then I think this meeting is over, and we’ll see you in court,” my lawyer said, gathering up her papers as she rose.
“Alright, alright,” the Bitch sighed.
The good thing that came out of all this was no fucking alimony! The Bitch thought that asswipe loved her and was planning on marrying him before the ink was even dry. Well, I say keep the fucking whore, at least make her turn tricks, then she would have earned that name. Pulling out my checkbook, the one check I was really looking forward to signing. Writing out the full amount for the child support for the next six years and giving it to my lawyer with a comment in the memo section that said: ‘Eat shit, choke on it and die!’ After signing the divorce papers and seeing the slight smirk on my lawyer’s face as she read what I wrote, then sliding the check across the table as I rose. I no longer wanted to be in the same fucking room with the Bitch. I felt fucking soiled.
“What’s this?!”
“That’s the full amount for your child support, don’t expect another check.” I heard my lawyer say as I continued my exit from my former life.
“He can’t do that!”
“There is no law preventing Mr. Hal from paying the full amount for his child support all at once.”
“Nathan!” I heard the Bitch scream, yet I didn’t give a damn. That was the last thing she would ever get from me. I gave my lawyer my new address to the condo the company had supplied for me in Charlotte so she could mail the divorce decree to me when it came in. Personally, I’d say burn the damn thing; I no longer wanted a reminder I was married to that low-down type of a person. I was gone an hour after the divorce signing. I no longer had a reason to stay in that city.
I heard from my parents, ad nauseum, how broken up the kids were when they found out I no longer lived in that apartment when they went over to it a few days after my departure. I’d like to say I didn’t care, but they were still my kids even if they no longer wanted me as their father. I did find it strange that they would bother to go there in the first place. Maybe it was because I hadn’t taken their calls in over three weeks, or maybe I hoped they saw the error of their ways. Either way, it was too late. They made their bed; it was time to get on with my life. Although they did implore me to speak with them to at least give them my new number, which I had changed the moment I left the city. Which I flatly and firmly said no. They wanted this I did not. It was time for them to learn actions have real consequences, even if it tore my heart out.
******
Seven years later…
I’m forty-four now; I’ll admit even my wife will agree I was a bitter asshole for the first two years I was in Charlotte. Seeing how I arrived in my new home city with no wife or kids. I really didn’t have much of a social life during those years. I threw myself into my work. With no social life, I also hit the gym. Granted, I did get a little pudgy, but I put my family or did, in this case, first before heading to the gym; how stupid was that given the way things ended? I met my second wife, Catalina, after my second year there. I have to say she had some balls marching into my office like she did and demanding that I pull whatever crawled up my ass out of it. I couldn’t help myself. I nearly fell out of my chair, laughing my ass off, at the audacity of the woman. I had seen Catalina around the building but only in passing at the time.
“So you can laugh and smile.” Catalina had this exotic, alluring tone to her voice as she smiled. I won’t ever tell her this, but I kind of think she knows; I was smitten with her. I mean, no one ever talked to me like that, at least not at work. I kind of had an aura around me that said piss off and die. Yet, here was this five-foot-one-inch Hispanic woman that couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds dripping wet mouthing off to the regional manager of the banking side of the business. Catalina has this fine ebony hair that’s as smooth as silk. Those warm brown eyes of hers never held an ounce of anger in them. Not like mine did at the time. Those lush lips of hers just beckoned to be kissed. I tried to keep it professional; nonetheless, my eyes didn’t heed my brain’s command as they took in that petite body of hers, and I did like what I saw.
“Nathan Hal,” I introduced myself after I rose from my chair.
“Catalina Rodriguez,” she returned the greeting with that dazzling smile of hers.
And so, that began the rebuilding of my life at the age of thirty-nine. Don’t get the wrong impression Catalina didn’t automatically jump into my arms. Took me three months to build a rapport with her before she would even consider going out on a date with me. She got to know about my story and what brought me to Charlotte as I did with hers. Seems people who supposedly love you are the ones who are your worst enemies, can cause the most damange, given how she had caught her then-fiancée in bed with another man. Which took me aback a bit, but cheating is cheating, be it either man or woman. I felt for her, but I tried to reassure her that she found out then and not seventeen years down the road like I did. Ever so slowly, that anger I felt was no longer there. I made sure with HR that Catalina and I dating wouldn’t cause any problems, which it wouldn’t, seeing how she was in a different department.
It was around our fourth date that we finally had sex. Not that I didn’t want to way earlier before then, yet Catalina was apprehensive in getting that involved with a man again. I can’t blame her; it took me two years to trust a woman again. Dating Catalina was like night and day compared to the Bitch. When the topic of children came up, I grew silent; she knew I was holding something back. She does choose the weirdest of times to ambush me like she did when she asked me why I wouldn’t speak about children when she was riding me hard and fast, and I loved it!
“They disowned me,” I looked away; the hurt was still fresh even after all that time.
“What?!” Clearly, that took her aback; it wasn’t something anyone would have done in her family. Catalina comes from a very close knit family. By that time I had met them, they were a very nice bunch of people even though I knew they were talking about me in Spanish. I didn’t tell Catalina I was taking Spanish classes (because that’s something one does for the one they love), so when she got angry, I could understand what the hell she was calling me. Let’s face it, I’m a guy; I’m an idiot sometimes. I’m going to stumble. I am human, after all. “Oh, honey,” Catalina cooed down at me as she took hold of my face so I could look at her. “I’m so sorry they tossed you away like that.” Hey, I did not hate the fact that she buried my face in those firm breasts of hers when I told her everything that happened that day. “Have you ever thought of having more?” My eyes went wide while still in that heavenly valley.
“Catalina?”
“I know, I know, but we’ve been dating for a year now, yet I’m not getting any younger….” She was thirty-three at this point in time. “I love listening to you talk about anything. I love that you listen to me rant without you feeling you have to fix something. That you just let me vent.” Trust me, that woman can vent like it was nothing. Don’t tell her this, but sometimes I irk her a bit just to see her mad and let me tell you, she is hot as fuck when she’s mad. And the angry sex? I thought I had died the first time we had that form of coitus. “I know we’ve both been hurt so deeply, but I want this. I want you.”
“What are you saying, Catalina?” I asked after she had released my head. Although, in truth, I so wanted to be back in that valley.
“I’m saying….” She was so cute when she blushed as she was at that moment. “I want to have a baby, and I want you to be the father.”
“Umm… honey, is this the right time to be talking about this?” I inquired while still hilt deep inside of her. Like I said, she chooses the weirdest of times to bring up very important topics. I had to bite my lip as she shook her head in a child-like way.
“There’s no time like right now to talk about it after all…” Squeezing her folds as she glided forward on my cock, causing me to moan loudly in bliss as I fell back onto the bed. “It’s why I stopped taking my birth control. I know that woman hurt you. I know it’s taken a long time for you to trust me. I didn’t let on that I knew you held doubt in your heart about my faithfulness. I never condemned you for that. As, I’m sure, you felt my aloofness at taking things further with you. Yet, have I not proven to you that I am in no way, shape, or form like that woman?”
“No. You are definitely not like her, that’s for sure,” I agreed. “But won’t your parents be angry if you have a child out of wedlock?” I knew they would be, they were very devout Catholics, and I knew they would not approve of this white man knocking up their daughter without a ring on her finger. That was when I saw that devious grin appear, and I knew I had walked right into that trap of hers.
“What are you trying to say, Mr. Hal? Are you saying that you want to marry me?” As she asked this, she was still riding me, not as hard as before but well enough to keep me at that edge. Her face filled mine as she leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of my head. That curtain of ebony hair closed me in, so the only thing I could peer at was that angelic face of hers. “If you are, know this, I will be the most perfect wife you’ve ever had. You will want for nothing, this…” The way she just massaged my cock with only her folds nearly had me erupting in that hot, wet, love tunnel of hers, “will always be taken care of, because I’m never going to give you up, ever?!” Did I really want to be married again? Was I even ready for that kind of commitment? Honestly, I didn’t have a fucking clue. However, as I stared up into those brown eyes of hers. I couldn’t see a future without her in it. I knew if I said no, that would be the end of us. The thought of her walking out of my life, forced to see her every day at work and know what I had thrown away, oddly, hurt more than finding out my first wife was nothing but a cheating slut.
“Si,” I uttered in Spanish. I didn’t want to let on just yet that I could speak more than just yes or no. I wasn’t fluent in it yet, but I understood what they were saying. I watched how those eyes softened and moistened and quivered all at the same time. Then she proceeded to fuck the ever-loving shit out of me, and I enjoyed every fucking second of it!
That weekend, at Catalina’s monthly family get-together, I saw her clustered around her mother, aunts, cousins of the female gender, and her two sisters, talking about something in rapid Spanish that I couldn’t hear from my vantage point, seeing how her Uncle by marriage was a very loud talker even when you were standing right beside the man. Not that I could hold it against the man; the man was going deaf due to years of working construction jobs without adequate hearing protection. As I was taking a sip of my Corona, not my brand, but guests can’t complain when you’re offered a free beer; that would be rude and disrespectful to the host, and Catalina would have my hide if I was ever rude to her family without a very good reason. That was when I saw those women’s faces going from a range of intently listening to shock then downright joy as they surged from their seats and embraced Catalina. That was when her mother came rushing towards me, speaking rapidly in Spanish, not that she couldn’t speak English, which she could; however, those from another country normally revert back to their native language when they’re either happy or pissed off. So I didn’t catch everything; I was still at an intermediate level. However, I did catch ‘My son, my son’ as she repeatedly kissed both of my cheeks with tears in her eyes.
“I’ll only move forward if I have your and Hector’s (her husband and Catalina’s father) blessing,” I said in the best Spanish that I could. I could see how everyone’s head turned towards me in shock. They had no idea I could speak their language, granted, not well at the time, but I could speak it; I understood it better than my ability to pronounce it.
“Nathan, baby, when did you learn Spanish?” Catalina asked in English with a mix of awe and happiness. Since I think she knew I did it so I could understand her heritage and not be an outsider in her family.
“The moment you said yes to our first date,” I replied in Spanish. Watching her hands flying to her mouth, how her tears of happiness reamed her eyes as she gazed at me.
“Are you fluent?” Her mother asked, not bothering with speaking in English.
“No, I’m still learning, I can understand you, yet I can’t pronounce everything correctly… yet,” I replied, keeping to their language.
“You’ll get there, see Catalina; this one is definitely a keeper. Much better fit for you than that last one,” her mother said with an approving nod.
“And I’m never letting him go,” Catalina said dreamily and meant every word she spoke.
From that point forward, English was banned from the gatherings all so they could help me improve my Spanish skills, and Catalina took her lessons to a whole different level. I think, if the way Catalina taught me was done in school, learning another language wouldn’t be so hard. Then again, I don’t think Catalina’s way would be appropriate for school given how her lessons were taught in the bedroom. Trust me, I learned a whole new set of curse words that I am going to enjoy using!
When it came time to tell my parents I was getting remarried. I dreaded going back to that city after three and a half years. I knew my daughter would be in college, if she went to college. After what happened in the restaurant, I had to keep myself away from them. Otherwise, I’d kill myself at the loss of my children, who had meant the world to me before they ripped out my heart. It wasn’t that they didn’t know I was dating again. They just didn’t expect my arrival at my childhood home with Catalina standing beside me. Were they happy to see me? Of course, did they pester me to contact my children again? Yes. Did I? Not a fucking chance! I wasn’t opening that can of worms. While they were happy for the two of us, I saw the disappointment at my refusal to reconnect with my children. We stayed ’til that Sunday afternoon before we had to drive to the airport. I thought I saw my daughter passing us in an old ’96 style car as we headed for the airport. However, the slamming on of their brakes did raise the suspicion that it was indeed my daughter. Did I stop? Nope.
Six months later, Catalina and I were married. I flew my parents in for it; they were not happy I didn’t invite my kids. But they chose a side; they didn’t want me in their life, so why should I include them in mine? What no one knew at the time was that Catalina was already a month pregnant. We honeymooned on a cruise line. It was nice, not my cup of tea, but nice. Then married life settled in. I knew what to expect Catalina did not. Did she make some screw-ups, of course, as did I, but we are human; we are fallible. Did her out-of-control hormones drive me crazy; oh yeah, as I am sure some of my quirks did as well. Yet we talked, we worked through all of that like man and wife should. Not hiding, no fooling around on the other, or any of the crap the Bitch pulled in the seventeen years I was unfortunate to know her.
Then the big day came, the day Catalina’s water broke while she was at her desk one day. I got the call immediately and rushed with all my haste to get to her. Our daughter, Alondra Hal, was born at two am the next morning crying to the heavens with fine ebony hair like her mother. As I stood there with bated breath watching the two of them, as Catalina held Alondra in her arms, I couldn’t think of a more beautiful sight than how Catalina gazed lovingly down at our daughter in her arms.
“I love you so much,” Catalina cooed as she held my hand. “You’ve given me the most perfect gift I could ever ask for.” Even covered in sweat due to the pain of child birth Catalina was still the most stunning woman I’ve ever had the most fortunate of fates to know.
“And I love you, too, now and forever,” I whispered as I pressed my forehead against hers before kissing her and my daughter.
“Will you get them? They have to be dying to know what’s happening?” Catalina asked, brushing her thumb along the back of my hand.
“Sure, honey,” I said with a warm smile on my lips.
The women in her family clustered around the bed, cooing to my daughter while the men congratulated me. I thanked them, of course, but said Catalina did the hard part; all I got was a fractured hand. Which, to my amazement, got a hoot out of them. So life moved on, like it always does. I think I went without sleep for a month one time during the first year after Alondra’s birth because all I remember was a waking haze. Then again, I did experience that taking care of my other children. Alondra was not once brushed off or ignored; she was spoiled rotten; Catalina’s relatives saw to that. I’m guilty as well, but I’m the dad I’m supposed to spoil my daughter. It’s in the unwritten code of fatherhood.
Three years had passed, and Alondra was in daycare. I was watching the feed that the daycare supplied to those with children in their care. I know Catalina watched it as well, seeing how she would call me to tell me to turn the feed on if Alondra did something she found adorable. We had taught Alondra both English and Spanish when she started to talk. I wasn’t going to deprive her of that. After all, her mother sings to her in Spanish, and what child doesn’t want to know what their mother is singing to them? Although I have no idea where Alondra learned Spanglish from, over the past few months, she’s gotten into the habit of using all three in a conversation. That kind of threw me for a loop for a while before I read up on Spanglish. Were our lives perfect up to that point? No. Nothing is perfect, yet if you work together, stick with each other through thick and thin, and talk to one another, it could be damn near perfect. That was when my cell phone rang, I didn’t know it at the time, but my past was about to catch up to me. Picking it up and answering it without bothering to look at the caller ID. If I had, I might not have answered it.
“Hello?” I answered, smiling as I watched Alondra playing with her friends.
“Dad?!” My heart was in my ears pounding so loudly it almost drowned out my daughter’s voice. “Dad, please talk to me?!”
“Who is this?” I asked, knowing full well who it was.
“Don’t you remember the sound of my voice, Dad? It’s me, your daughter?!”
“The only daughter I have is four years old,” I said before ending the call. How I fucking hated to do that. I watched for a minute as my phone rang again and continued to ring and ring. “Yes?”
“Please, Dad?! Please talk to me?!” I could hear the tears as she pleaded with me.
“What do you want, Amber? Is your new stepdaddy not making you feel all warm and fuzzy now?” I asked my bitterness was very clear. “What could you possibly want from the man that helped to bring you into this world, raised and cared for you when you disowned him for something new and shiny?”
“Please, Dad, can we not fight? Please?!” I heard the tone of her voice. I knew she was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Then tell me what you want so I can go back to watching my daughter.”
“I’m getting married….”
“Well, lucky you, let’s hope you didn’t take after your mother, or whomever it is your marrying doesn’t have a wandering eye. Because you know some of us take marriage vows very fucking serious.” I arched an eyebrow when it sounded like someone had taken the phone from Amber.
“Mr. Hal, I know you don’t know me, but I’m your daughter’s fiancée…”
“Again, I have to reiterate; I only have one daughter, if you’re speaking about the woman that was on the phone. I’m not her father anymore. Not my doing, that’s on her. So what do you want from me?” I asked, tapping my finger on my desk.
“Well, she was wondering if you would walk her down the aisle.”
“And why can’t her stepdaddy do that?”
“If you’re referring to the man your ex-wife married, that didn’t last.”
“Why am I not surprised.”
“So… what do I tell her?”
“Tell her to find someone else. I only have one daughter,” I repeated. “And don’t call me again.” Was I purposely cruel? Maybe, I’m not sure; I think my hurt, that’s never gone away from their rejection, worked itself into my words. I shouldn’t have answered my phone again, yet I did. I did miss hearing my daughter’s voice. “What?” I sighed.
“Please, daddy, don’t hang up! I’m sorry, I was stupid; I shouldn’t have listened to Mom. She thought if we did that, you would come back home, but you didn’t, and I lost my daddy.” I leaned forward, resting my elbow on my desk; my fingers kept my eyelids closed in hopes it would keep me from tearing up. Yet that proved futile because here was my little girl, whom I helped teach how to walk, talk, build pillow forts, and every other childhood lesson one learns growing up, balling her heart out over the line.
“And what do you want from me after all this time?”
“I want to be your daughter again. I want to talk with you like we used to…”
“I don’t know if that’s possible you hurt me very deeply. Do you know how bad it is to know your own children don’t want you any longer?”
“I know, and I can’t begin to apologize for that. But I’ve missed you so much. I go to Papa’s every Sunday hoping that you called or left some message for us, but nothing, never a word. That’s when I knew how much we really screwed up. They always tell me you don’t want to talk to us. But, daddy, it’s been seven years, I’ve missed so much of your life, and I don’t want to miss any more!”
“And what of your mother?”
“Screw what she thinks! She’s the one that caused this mess in the first place!” Okay, I had to chuckle at that.
“And where was this fire seven years ago?”
“I was a kid! You know I never had a serious boyfriend at that time, so I never saw what Mom did as anything wrong since I had no clue what sex was really like.” I couldn’t help myself; I did smile. “Neither of us understood the consequences we would be facing if we went along with Mom’s plan. We just wanted you back?! We tried to call after you as you walked out, but you never turned around. If you had, you would have seen how devastated we were. We would have taken it all back right then and there and told you the truth, but you kept walking.”
“How’s your brother?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Oh, Carson is doing great! He joined the army to get away from Mom.”
“He did?” Fear built in my heart at the thought of my boy dying on some foreign soil, far from home.
“Mmmhmm, but he said he was only going to do four years, so he should be out by next year.” I heard the hopefulness in her voice. “Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you get remarried?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Don’t be mad, but I found you on Facebook.” It wasn’t my Facebook page. It was a family page that Catalina had set up so her relatives back in Mexico could keep up to date with how we were doing and how Alondra grew over the years. “I wish I could have been there; I bet it was a beautiful ceremony.” I heard my daughter sigh. “So… Dad, what’s my sister’s name?”
“Alondra Hal,” I stated proudly.
“She looks so adorable. I’d like to meet her when you’re ready, no pressure.” I heard the fear in my daughter’s voice that if she pushed the subject, it would be the last that she would hear from me. Honestly, I couldn’t really say on that subject. I was kind of torn at the moment. “Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“I want you to meet David. He’s a good man. He reminds me of you. Would it be okay if we came to see you? We promise we won’t impose on you or your new family. I’d really like to get to know them.”
“I don’t know… I’ll have to discuss this with Catalina.”
“I understand. Please, Dad, don’t forget about me.”
“Amber, I’ve never forgotten about you,” I admitted. “How could I? You’re my daughter; I could never forget you.”
“Oh, daddy.” I heard her sigh before breaking down again. Then I heard the rustling of something over the line.
“Mr. Hal, would it be alright if we called you back. Amber’s going to need a moment.” I looked at the clock noting it was time to get Alondra from daycare, and it was my day to do so. Catalina and I switch off so one of us can have a few hours of peace before heading home to a rambunctious four-year-old. Don’t get me wrong, I love Alondra to death, but sometimes she can take it a little too far. Then again, that is the point of growing up; to test the limits of one’s life.
“I have to pick up my daughter from daycare; she can call in an hour,” I said, gathering up my things and shutting my briefcase as I rose.
“I understand; I’ll let her know.”
Pulling out my cell phone, opening up my files on its hard drive, and selected the one file I hadn’t opened in years because it would just hurt too much. I did feel a tear forming as the picture of my daughter, who was fourteen at the time the picture was taken, filled my screen. Wondering what life would have turned out like if I had turned around that day in the restaurant as the pad of my thumb ran down my daughter’s face. I won’t deny it; I missed them so much. Closing out the picture and pulling up my wife’s number.
“Si, Amor?” Catalina’s alluring voice filled my ear when she answered.
“You won’t guess who I got a call from just now,” I replied in Spanish. We always talked in Spanish when we were at work so that no one could eavesdrop on our conversations.
“Who?”
“My daughter.” I heard her gasp over the line.
“Are you okay?” I heard her worry in her voice.
“Honestly, can’t say,” I admitted as I walked towards the elevator so I could take it down to the fifth floor where the daycare was located.
“What did she want?”
“To tell me she’s getting married and that she wants to meet you and Alondra,” I stated as I waited for the cab to arrive.
“I see; we’ll discuss this when I get home. Are you on your way to pick Alondra up?”
“Of course, dear,” I said with a smile on my lips.
“Good.” Catalina had this sexy little purr to her voice. She always did when she watched me doing my dad thing with Alondra. “I’ll be home soon; will tacos be okay for dinner?”
“Honey, if you’re making them, you know I’ll eat six of those things,” I joked, which was true. I might not like refried beans and a few other Mexican dishes, but I loved Catalina’s cooking. A smirk rose the corner of my lips at the sound of my wife’s soft giggle.
Setting my briefcase down and kneeling on one knee as my daughter came racing towards me shouting ‘Daddy!’ when she saw me. I held Alondra very close to me as her little arms wrapped around my neck, reminding me how Amber would do the same thing when she was Alondra’s age.
“You ready to go home?” I asked to which my daughter vigorously nodded her head. Scooping up my four-year-old in my right arm as I rose, nodding to the man who was in charge of the kids that day, he switched off every other day with his wife, as I rose to my feet. “Did you have fun today?” I inquired as we exited the daycare and headed for the elevator. A warm smile was plastered on my face as Alondra chatted away rapidly about how her day went as I carried her to my car. Normally, Catalina and I share a car if Alondra wasn’t in daycare; if she was, I went in early so I could be off when it was time to pick Alondra up; it was the same with Catalina when it was her day.
“Go put your stuff away, honey,” I directed as we entered the three-bedroom condo Catalina and I had bought after coming back from our honeymoon. The one the company had supplied wasn’t large enough for our needs after Alondra’s birth. Contentment flooded my heart at the sound of my daughter’s feet racing towards her bedroom. I was in our bedroom as I changed out of my suit when my phone rang. “Hello?” I answered as my t-shirt slid down my chest. When chasing a four-year-old old comfortable clothes are a must!
“Dad?!” My lip trembled at the sound of my son’s voice.
“Dad, I put Carson on a three-way call with us. I hope that’s alright. He wanted to talk with you, too, when I told him I had reached you.”
“And how exactly did you get my number?” I inquired as I walked back out to the living room as Alondra was sitting in her little chair at the coffee table with her coloring books and crayons before her. Walking into the kitchen, getting Alondra’s favorite cup, that she just had to drink from, out of the cabinet and pouring her a glass of apple juice before screwing the lid on and placing a straw through the hole for it on top of the lid. It helped to keep spills to a minimum should Alondra accidentally knock it over. “Here you go, honey,” I said in a loving voice setting Alondra’s drink before her.
“Gracias, Papi,” Alondra chirped with that toothy loving smile of hers.
“De nada, mi Amor” I replied in kind. Watching those cheeks heat like her mother’s always did.
“Dad, who was that?” Carson asked, confused.
“My daughter,” I spoke truthfully as I lowered myself onto the couch. “Your baby sister,” I informed them. Watching my daughter’s head snapping up at that.
“Papi? Do I have a brother?” Alondra asked, switching to English like she normally does. I got used to it, so I just roll with it.
“You do,” I nodded, “and a sister.” Smiling as I watched my daughter jumping from her seat and racing around the table, she climbed into my lap.
“Papi, I want to hear, too,” Alondra spoke with those doe-like eyes as she peered up at me.
“Okay, honey,” lowering my phone and putting it on speaker, “Carson, Amber, I’d like you to meet your sister, Alondra Hal, say, hi, baby,” I encouraged her as I rubbed her back.
“Hola!” Alondra said excitedly as she bounced on my leg.
“English, honey, they don’t know Spanish,” I informed her, seeing her nod in understanding.
“Hello, little sister, I’m your big sister.” I heard Amber’s trembling voice.
“Hi! Where are you, are you here? Or are you close? Are you coming over?” Alondra spoke rapidly like she always does when she was excited.
“That would be hard for me, li’l sis. I’m in California at the moment. But I would really like to meet you,” Carson said; I heard my son trying to hold back his own emotions.
“Amber told me you joined the Army.”
“I did; I had to get away from Mom. It got worse after you left. I’ll tell you later….”
“No, don’t, I don’t care what happened to her. That’s in the past, and I’d rather keep it there,” I said sternly.
“Okay,” I heard my son sniff, “so Dad, I heard you got married again.”
“I did, and she’s the most amazing woman you’ll ever meet,” I said proudly.
“I hope I can. Only if you’re okay with it. I know I said something hurtful to you that day. For the past seven years, I’ve hated myself for it. Can you forgive me?”
“I think we all handled that day very poorly. I let my emotions get the better of me, but I was beyond hurt…”
“I know, Dad, and we can’t apologize enough for it. But can we try to build back our relationship that we ignorantly destroyed? I know David and I would really like to be a part of your lives,” Amber cut in.
“First, answer my question.”
“I found it at Papa’s one day when I was helping clean out a room for them. They said they’ve been waiting to give it to us, but you always told them no.”
“Ah.” Which was true. I did tell them no, a lot.
“Amber,” I nodded when Alondra looked at me when she silently asked if she said it right, “where do you live?”
“In Dad’s old hometown, I never left.”
“Kansas City, honey, I’ll show you later,” I supplied when Alondra looked up at me in confusion.
“Papi, when can I see my brother and sister?” That caught me off guard; I was not expecting her to ask that.
“Dad, why does she call you Papi?” Carson asked, confused.
“Because she’s half Latino, and Papi means dad, father, daddy, depending on the context,” I stated.
“Really? You married a Latino woman?” I could hear the disbelief in my son’s voice.
“I did, best decision I’ve ever made, otherwise I wouldn’t have this little munchkin,” I said, tickling my daughter, listening to that giggle of hers.
“Papi, stop?!” Alondra said between giggles of laughter.
And so, we sat there chatting away as the minutes grew from ten to twenty, to an hour then two before Carson had to say goodbye to head off to his duty station. I agreed that Carson could call later when he was off duty. Then Amber left only after a tearful goodbye to the two of us. With Alondra standing on the couch between my legs and my chin resting on her left shoulder with her leaning against my chest, we took a picture together. We sent it to the two of them. Then my son sent one to us, after texting me his number, of him in his uniform. I have to say my boy did look good in it. I was very proud of him; I worried, but I was very proud of my son. Takes a lot of courage to put your life on the line, no matter if he only did it to get away from his mother. Then came the picture of Amber and David snuggled together. I could see my daughter trying not to cry in it. How my daughter had grown so beautiful while I was away. God. I hate myself for missing these years with them. However, what’s done is done; nothing can change it. All we can do is move forward in hopes of making up for lost time.
Catalina walked in that evening at her usual time. 5:30 on the dot. I never have to worry about her sneaking off like the Bitch did, for however many years she whored herself out. No, not Catalina; I knew her family would disown her if she broke her vows of marriage, not that she ever would. That’s how much I trust Catalina compared to the nightmare of seventeen years. It’s funny, isn’t it, that you don’t see the signs until it’s already over and history.
“Mi Amor, te he estranado,” Catalina sighed as she sank down into my lap after cuddling with our daughter. It was her favorite saying whenever we were a part for a long period of time which translates to: ‘My love, I’ve missed you.’
“yo Tambiean a ti,” I replied before embracing those lips I will never get tired of kissing.
“Do you want to talk about today?” Catalina whispered in my ear as her hand lightly rubbed my chest. She could tell how torn my heart was right then.
“I think I do,” I nodded.
“Mi Amor,” Catalina cooed to our daughter, “why don’t you turn on your cartoons while your Papi and I have a little chat, okay?”
“Okay!” Alondra chirped before rushing to turn the TV on.
Catalina rose from my lap, that fine ass of hers brushing along my manhood as she did. Taking me by the hand and leading me towards the kitchen. She likes to talk while she cooks. Plus, I think she knows I stare at her ass when she does this. I have to say, who wouldn’t stare at it; it was divine! So, I stood there watching her prepare our dinner for the night. She never lets me cook; says I have no skill in the kitchen. Hey, if she wants to cook, I’m all for it; it doesn’t mean I don’t do the clean-up since she did the work. That’s what a marriage is supposed to be like a united front, each sharing the load equally, or that’s what I think anyway. Plus, I have to admit; she is a better cook than I am. I noted how she listened intently as I told her about the conversation Alondra and I had with Carson and Amber.
“He so looks like you,” Catalina cooed sweetly when I showed her the picture of himself Carson had sent me. “Oh? Don’t they just look adorable together,” she uttered when I showed her the picture of David and Amber. “So, honey, what do you want to do?” she asked, shooting me that look of hers. I know it never sat well with her that I and my children were estranged, yet she never pushed the subject when I knew it cut against her upbringing. To her thinking, family is supposed to stick together no matter who pissed whom off. Blood is thicker than water, as the saying goes, and her family adhered to that saying like they did their faith.
“I want to see my daughter; I want to see my son. Hell, I just want to hold them again,” I stated, arching an eyebrow when Catalina began to smile.
“About time,” Catalina said, throwing her arms around me and planting a kiss on my lips. “I know it will take time for the three of you to get back on good footing, but I’m going to be here with you. I am your wife after all, and I’d never leave you stranded,” she said in this loving tone as she stared up at me.
“So you ready to become the mother of two more kids?” I asked to which Catalina just nodded vehemently to my question. Catalina came from a very large family, and I knew she wanted more kids. We were waiting to get Alondra into kindergarten before we tried for another. That way, Catalina wouldn’t be overburdened with a four-year-old underfoot and her pregnancy.
“Now, you call that daughter of yours; I wish to speak with her and set a date for their visit,” Catalina said, patting my chest.
“Amber, do you have video calling on your phone?” I texted her.
“Dad? I didn’t think you would contact me so soon. And no, not on my phone, but my laptop does; why?”
“Go get it; someone wants to speak with you,” I texted back, giving her my Skype ID. I use it to talk to Alondra whenever I have to go out of town for business.
“Who?”
“Catalina.”
“Okay, hold on, don’t go anywhere?!”
“Of course, she’s excited; she gets to see her Papi,” Catalina said in a loving tone as she caressed my cheek when I showed her Amber’s text. “Relax, it will be okay,” she reassured me when she saw how nervous I was to see my daughter after seven years apart as the ring tone for my Skype played.
“Dad!” Amber said excitedly, the moment our lines connected.
“Hello, honey,” I greeted; I couldn’t help it. I was smiling as I peered at my now twenty-three-year-old daughter. She wasn’t the only one trying not to cry at that moment. Leaning against the counter next to the stove so my phone would capture the two of us. “Amber, meet Catalina, Catalina meet my eldest daughter, Amber,” I said, introducing the two of them.
“Hello,” Catalina said with that warmth she just naturally radiates.
“H-hello,” Amber spoke with a trembling voice.
“It’s okay to cry; this is a joyous event. So if you have to, don’t let me stop you,” Catalina said in a motherly voice. “You must be David?” she uttered when we watched as Amber’s fiancée eased down beside her and wrapped his arm around her as Amber’s tears of happiness ran down her cheeks as she gazed at me.
“I am; it’s nice to meet the two of you,” David said politely.
“I’m sorry. I told myself I wouldn’t cry anymore today,” Amber uttered, drying her eyes.
“Amber, it’s fine; you should be crying. It’s the natural thing to do. Now I hear from your father you’d like to visit us,” Catalina said, giving me this look that said: ‘See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?’
“Yes, we would, only if it’s alright with the two of you. We can find…”
“I will not have my stepdaughter sleeping in a cheap motel when we have a perfectly good room here,” Catalina said, cutting Amber off causing her to gasp. “In my family, everyone is welcome here, and you are family. I’m sorry it took your father this long to wise up, but he can be stubborn,” she spoke, wearing this teasing smile as she did.
“We’re talking now; that’s what matters,” Amber said, her eyes glanced between us.
“So,” I couldn’t help myself as I glanced down and ogled my wife’s ass as her skirt moved along it as she reached for her spice mixture she handmade for tacos and other dishes, “when were you wanting to come?” Catalina asked, lightly smacking my arm when she caught me. Yet she had this bashful look in her eyes as she brushed her hair behind her ear while heat flooded her cheeks. I can’t help it. After five years together, it still felt like that first date. In all that time, her beauty hasn’t waned.
“Not this weekend, but next, we’re free to fly in for a few….”
“No, no,” Catalina wasn’t having it, “you must stay a week with us. How else are we to get to know each other? In two days, it can’t be done,” she said in that motherly tone. “When’s the wedding?”
“March 16 of next year,” David supplied.
“Hmm… does Alondra have anything planned in the next three weeks?” Catalina asked, looking at me, knowing I would remember off the top of my head.
“No.”
“Then you fly in on that Saturday and stay till the next Sunday. Since you’re a part of this family and you’re joining it soon, you must meet the rest of your family,” Catalina spoke as she stirred the sizzling meat and the onions mixed with green peppers. She likes the heat; I can’t handle that high, so she only uses jalapeno peppers and bell peppers to cut down on the heat level.
“Dad? You okay with this?” I could see how nervous Amber was as she waited for my answer.
“I am; I want to see you, honey. I’ve missed you so much,” I said truthfully.
“And I missed you too,” Amber said, trying not to let her emotions get to her. “David, can we?”
“Of course, baby, whatever you want.” I hate to admit, what father likes some guy when he’s dating his daughter, but it seemed to me David was a pretty decent guy. “We’ll just have to put in the request for the time.”
“You two work together?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.
“We do, I got a job as a pharmacy tech, and David is the manager of the store I work at,” I noted how my daughter had this loving gaze as she peered at David.
“Don’t chide them; remember we met at work too,” Catalina said with this sexy little smirk of hers.
“You did?!” Amber asked, her interest pegged.
“It’s not an appropriate story with a child within earshot,” I said, hearing the sounds of my daughter’s feet racing towards us.
“Mamá, may I have some more juice?” Alondra asked, holding up her glass.
“Of course, Mi Amor.” Wiping her hands on the dish towel that hung on the oven’s doorhandle.
“Papi, who are you talking to?” Alondra asked, peering up at me and my phone. I noticed how Amber had her hands cupping her mouth when Alondra stood before me.
“Your sister,” I answered, smiling down at my daughter.
“Really?!” Alondra uttered in a high pitch squeal. “Hi!” She waved ecstatically as she bounced on her feet.
“Hello, Alondra, it’s nice to see you,” Amber said sweetly.
“You look so pretty?! Are you coming to visit?” Alondra asked again.
“Very soon, and thank you, you’re adorable,” Amber nodded.
“I know,” Alondra said with a wide grin as she swooned.
“Alondra, why don’t you go back and watch your show while we work things out,” Catalina said in a loving, motherly voice as she bent down and handed Alondra her drink.
“Bye, big sister!” Alondra waved up at my phone before scurrying back to her cartoons, or that’s what I thought she was doing. Only to have Alondra run back into the kitchen ten minutes later with a drawing she had just made. “Look, Papi?!” she said excitedly as she held up the picture of five crudely drawn stick figures standing beneath a blue sun.
“And what do you have there querido,” I asked as Catalina turned to look at it as well.
“A picture of all of us,” Alondra said proudly.
“Oh?”
“Mmmhmm, that’s you, Mamá, my brother and sister, and that’s me!” Alondra said, pointing to every person on the drawing.
“But why a blue sun?”
“Because it’s pretty!” Alondra said as if that was a logical response. Which to her probably was, not that I would criticize my daughter’s artwork. That would be poor of me as a father.
“Well then, shouldn’t we put it up on the fridge for your sister to see when she comes?” I asked to which Alondra nodded her head very vehemently.
“Go on, let your Papi and I finish our discussion with your sister,” Catalina said, guiding Alondra out of the kitchen after she had hung the picture on the fridge’s door.
“Okay, dinner is almost ready, we must say goodbye, for now, it was very nice meeting you. I’ve wanted to ever since your father told me about the two of you. But you know how stubborn your father can be,” Catalina said, getting a giggle out of Amber. “You two have a good night, and don’t hesitate to call.”
“We will, bye Dad, I love you, we’ll call when we know something about our vacation,” Amber said, pressing her fingers to her lips before lightly touching the screen on her laptop.
“Now the handsome father should set the table,” Catalina said, giving me that look that I knew meant one thing; I was so getting fucked tonight.
God, those tacos were good. I ate four that night. As I led Alondra to her bedroom, I peered back at my wife, who sauntered seductively to our bedroom that was on the other side of the condo. Watching how she reached back and slowly lowered the zipper of her skirt. Allowing it to cascade down her legs and pool on the floor. Showing off that firm apple shaped ass, her black thong parted her ass cheeks. I felt my manhood rousing, knowing just what she would be doing while I read Alondra a bedtime story.
That was the longest twenty minutes of anticipation I’ve ever had, knowing my hot wife was just across my home getting herself ready for tonight’s event. The sweet scent that she always wore when she readied herself for our night, mostly nightly lovemaking. Sometimes it didn’t happen; it happens after all when you have a young child you’re raising. Sometimes you’re just too damn tired for sex. That didn’t mean we didn’t get each other off. There she stood, her hands pressed against the doorframe of our bathroom. Those 32C breasts of hers stood proudly on her chest as the soft light of our bedroom played along her light brown skin. My lips instinctively smacked, longing to be wrapped around those brown nipples of hers. Our condo complex has a gym on the ground floor, so we stay fit, not ripped muscle out the ass but enough definition to know we have them well in Catalina’s case. I still have the hard body I earned in the two years of going to the gym every day. I felt my cock flexing in my old shorts that I only wear around the house as my eyes ran down her body. Rolling my tongue in my mouth to swallow the drool that was overwhelming it at the sight of my naked wife as my eyes ran along her triangle patch of trim fur. Down those legs of hers that I knew felt so divine brushing along my hip when I was between them. Then again, let’s be truthful, they fucking feel great regardless!
“So is my Amor ready for the ride of his life?” Catalina asked in this sultry tone as those brown eyes of hers ran down my body as I quickly stripped.
“Llevame al cielo,” I replied, watching those eyes of hers flare then narrow as the fires of her passion grew as my words settled in her ears.
“Heaven, huh?” Catalina mused as her index finger pressed on the middle of my chest as I walked backward to the bed. Only to have my knees buckle, dropping me down onto its surface.
“Have you met you?” I asked with a coy grin. “Definitely Heaven.” My hands ran up Catalina’s thighs as she straddled my lap.
“That so,” Catalina purred before her lips hungrily tore at mine as her inhalation of breath was loud in my ears. Her hips rocked forward as my hands held firmly onto her ass. Feeling the heat of her womanhood on my rod as our tongues explored one another’s. Hearing her light mewing in my ear as I nibbled lightly down the side of her neck. Her gooseflesh danced under my touch as my hands moved up her back. “Then let me take you to seventh Heaven,” Catalina purred in my ear.
“Lead the way,” I replied like I was ever going to pass up the chance to feel the inside of that velvet pocket of hers. I wasn’t that damn stupid?! Her eyes always had this warmness and sultriness to them whenever we had sex. Telling me only I was on her mind and always would be as she eased off my lap and slid onto the bed. I couldn’t help myself when that round, firm backside stared at me and those chocolatey lips showed themselves to my eyes.
“Nat?!” Catalina gasped as I buried my face between those firm cheeks. “Mmm… don’t you dare stop,” she moaned like I would ever. I made that little peach cream like a husband should as she returned the affection. She wasn’t one to take and not give like I noticed the Bitch would do after everything went to shit. No, not Catalina; she would give as good as she got, and let me tell you, she could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. How I had that woman howling into the bed as I teased the hell out of her pussy.
I watched how those predatory eyes of hers were on me, well, my cock actually, as she zeroed in on her prey. Biting my lip to keep my voice down so as not to wake Alondra with my moans of bliss when Catalina inhaled my cock. Her head rocking along its length as I lay with my back on the bed. Feeling her hand working the base of my root while her lips and tongue teased and pleased the rest of my length.
“So baby, you ready to climb the stairway to Heaven?” Catalina asked, staring down at me while she held my rod against that hot, wet sex of hers.
“Oh, hell yes!” I uttered eagerly, ready to be back within that welcoming heat. I watched this knowing smile forming on my wife’s lips as she eased up slightly; my fingers curled around our bed covering as my mushroom top separated her wet labia before she sank down its length.
“Then you just enjoy the ride as this angel takes you to your afterlife,” Catalina cooed down at me as she began to rock her hips.
While I loved watching that woman riding me, yet I couldn’t let her do all the work. That would be poor of me as a man. So rolling her onto her back, my eyes watching how that rich ebony hair of hers feathered out around her as she stared up at me with those love-filled eyes. Her mouth opened as my hard cock eased back into her hot little peach. Watching her breasts jiggle as I thrust into her. Feeling her folds tightening around my rod as it brought pleasure to my woman. How I loved watching that woman cum, especially when she cursed in Spanish when Alondra was staying at her grandparent’s house. I learned so many new words that way! Yet not that night, no, that night it was simply the soft whispers of two people in love with one another whispering sweet nothings to one another.
As always, life moves on; Carson did call the next day, which I didn’t mind, apologizing for not doing so that night, seeing how he forgot it would have been eleven at night on the east coast when he got off duty. He didn’t want to call so late and wake up Alondra. Which I can understand, Alondra is hard to get back to sleep if she is awoken too soon from her slumber. By the time we got off the phone, two hours had passed, and I had yet to do a damn thing at work. Then again, as the boss, I could get away with it. After two weeks of Alondra asking when her sister was coming kind of got on my nerves. Well, she is four years old, so it kind of went with the territory. So, when the time came for Amber and David to fly in, I kissed my wife and slipped out of our condo early in the morning. Catalina wanted to go with, yet getting Alondra up at five o’clock on a Saturday morning was like asking someone to part the Red Sea — impossible.
All through the drive to the Charlotte-Douglas airport, I was a nervous wreck. As I stood there waiting for my daughter’s flight to come in. My eyes never left the arrival board as I paced. I noticed the TSA agents eyeing me. Yet, they never approached. Then the moment happened, the moment my eyes locked onto Amber’s as she and David made their way through the crowd. I saw the man nod before Amber bolted into a run as she raced towards me.
“Dad!” Amber shouted in joy as she rushed towards me with open arms. I saw the tears glistening in the airport lights as they ran down her cheeks. “Dad?!” Her cry was muffled due to her face being buried in my chest as she hugged me hard. I admit I hugged her hard right back. After all, this was the first time I had seen my grown daughter in seven long years. I was not letting her go! We got some looks from people I didn’t fucking care! We stayed like that for five long minutes. I noticed David was standing there patiently watching us. He had to be six foot one, given he was taller than I was and I was six feet tall. His brown hair was cut neatly and combed; it showed me he cared about the image he put out in the world instead of the unkept hair of her past boyfriends I remembered. His clean-shaven face showed a blue tenge to it. While his clothes weren’t formal-formal, they did show he wanted to impress me. “Dad, I like for you to meet, David,” Amber said, sliding her arm around her fiancée once she had left my arms.
“David Callister,” he said, holding out his hand to me.
“Nathan Hal,” I greeted, noticing the firm grip he had.
“Dad? Where are the other two?” Amber asked, looking around for Catalina and Alondra.
“You know how hard it is to get a four-year-old up at five in the morning on a Saturday when cartoons aren’t involved?” I asked with a pointed look. “Catalina stayed at home with her.”
“Right,” Amber had this bashful look on her face when she said that.
“These all your bags?” I asked, looking down at the one David was managing to hold in one hand due to the extended handles of their rolling suitcases.
“Yes, sir,” David answered politely.
“Come on, my car is this way,” I said, nodding towards the exit. Halfway to my car, my phone rang in my pants pocket. “Hey, honey,” I answered after seeing my wife’s ID on the screen.
“Hello, mi Amor, has their flight come in yet?” I heard her moving around the kitchen over the line.
“Yeah, walking to the car now. We should be home in half an hour, depending on traffic,” I said, pulling out my key fob and listening to the sound of my car unlocking as we neared.
“Okay, I’ll get breakfast going and the coffee. Can Amber eat eggs?”
“Yep, let me ask David,” I said, turning back to them who were following behind me. “You’re not allergic to eggs, are you?”
“No, love them,” David answered with a toothy smile.
“He can eat eggs,” I said, knowing what she was planning on making.
“Good, it will take a while for the veggies to cook, so we’ll be waiting for you three to get home. Drive safe, baby.” I heard the love in her voice as I heard her chopping the veggies for her version of a Mexican omelet.
“Always, honey,” I replied as I hit the trunk button on my key fob. “Te Amo.” I could see in my mind’s eye how red those cheeks were.
“Yo también te quiero.”
“Dad, when did you learn Spanish?” Amber asked as David laid their bags in the trunk of my car.
“After I asked Catalina out on our first date,” I said truthfully.
“Oh?” Amber’s eyes went wide when I said that, “You must have really liked her to do that.”
“Yeah, I was totally smitten with her; just don’t tell her that,” I said with a warm smile on my lips.
“Does she know you did?” Amber asked as David closed the lid of the trunk.
“Yeah,” I answered as I moved along the side of the car to the driver’s door.
“Did you ever do that for…” My eyes cut hard to my daughter as she almost spoke the Bitch’s name.
“I did everything to make that… woman happy. Yet that wasn’t enough for her to not give out what she shouldn’t to every man she could,” I said heatedly.
“Sorry, Dad, it’s just… never mind, forget I ever brought it up,” Amber said, shaking her head. “Let’s chalk it up to a brain fart. I promised myself I wouldn’t bring up the past; I’m sorry I couldn’t keep…”
“It’s fine, Amber, as long as you don’t bring that… up again,” I said, catching myself before calling her mother a bitch, which she was.
“I promise, I won’t.” I saw she believed those words she spoke.
“Well, get in, I’d rather not miss breakfast,” I said, which was true, I did tell you Catalina can cook, and I never missed a meal of hers.
“Dad, didn’t you get a house?” Amber asked as we pulled into the parking garage of my condo complex.
“Been there, done that, living here I don’t have a lawn to mow and keep up with everything else,” I said, popping the trunk after cutting off the car. “Plus, it’s close to work, and I’m not buying a house in this city. The taxes are outrageous!” I said in feign shock.
“So, David, you two looking to buy?” I smiled wickedly when the young man struck his head on the underside of the trunk lid. “You’re not going to tell me the two of you are living together out of wedlock?” I asked, pretending to be a stuck-up prude. Which I wasn’t; I just found it amusing to torment my future son-in-law. I mean, what father hasn’t done that to the man about to marry his daughter?
“Dad?!” Biting my lip when that tone I haven’t heard in seven long years left Amber’s lips. It was the same tone she used when I did the same thing to the losers she dated as a teenager. However, I can’t say David was a loser; a father needs to ensure that the man is good enough for his daughter. “Don’t pester David; he’s a good man.” Amber had this stern look on her face as she crossed her arms. It kind of reminded me of the Bitch when she would get mad.
“Couldn’t help myself,” I said, shutting my trunk.
“It’s fine honey, your father is just sizing me up; I would do the same,” David said, giving me a nod.
“Smart boy, maybe there is hope for him,” I mused to myself. “If either of you need to workout while here, there’s a gym on the ground floor. Not hard to find; if anyone gives you trouble, just tell them your guests of 1003,” I said as I led them into the building proper. Seeing them nod in understanding.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but you look, good Dad, I don’t remember seeing you so thin,” Amber said as we walked towards the elevator.
“Well, I had two kids to raise, and going to the gym was a distant second in making sure you and your brother had what you needed,” I answered, pressing the call button.
“Can I ask, Mr…”
“Call me Nathan,” I interrupted.
“Can I ask, Nathan, when you married your new wife did you delve into the Latinx culture… did I say something wrong?” I saw David look at my daughter when I had a scowl on my lips.
“I’m going to say this once, so let this be a warning to you, do not, I repeat, do not call them that. They hate that word. It’s like calling a black man or woman the ‘N’ word. It’s either Latino or Latina, nothing else. Understood?” I said firmly.
“I meant no offense,” David profusely said.
“I know, but it’s better me telling you this now than you saying it in front of Catalina or her family; you wouldn’t walk out alive. They really hate that word. They feel it’s as if the white man is trying to erase their culture because people today want to push their views on a group of people who know exactly who they are,” I said, paraphrasing the rant I heard Catalina having about it to her cousin when we were dating because a few people kept calling her that at work. Seriously, could they not tell she hated that word? Some people are just idiots, I guess.
“I understand; no wonder Pablo constantly gives me the stink eye.” I heard David whisper from behind me as I stepped onto the elevator.
“Catalina and Alondra can understand English and speak it; if the two of you can’t speak Spanish, don’t try,” I said, seeing their nods in the reflection of the elevator door as I pressed the floor button for my condo.
The moment I entered the home I shared with Catalina, my face lit up seeing my wife and daughter, who were still in their PJs, standing there waiting for me to return. With my customary kiss in and the hug to my legs that Alondra gave me, I stepped aside to let the two people who have been the most important people in my life for the past five years gaze at my grown daughter and her fiancée.
“Amber, David, I’d like you two to officially meet my wife Catalina,” squeezing Catalina into me, “and my daughter, your sister, Alondra,” I said, watching my eldest daughter lowering herself to her knees before holding out her arms to Alondra.
“Hello, baby sister; I’m so happy to see you.” I heard my daughter whisper as she hugged Alondra and gently rocked her.
“Hello, Mrs. Hal,” David said, holding out his hand to Catalina.
“Catalina, please, a family shouldn’t stand on formalities,” Catalina said; I noted how David was taken aback when Catalina hugged him. “Nat, why don’t you show them to their room, and I’ll get the omelets started.”
“I hope you two are hungry because you won’t be after breakfast,” I said, leading the two of them to our guest bedroom with Alondra running in front of me. “What are you doing, you little goof?” I asked in a teasing light as Alondra danced in front of the room.
“Nothing?!” Alondra replied with her trademarked toothy smile.
“When your done unpacking, there’s coffee in the kitchen if you two want any,” I said, standing in the doorway with Alondra beside me, holding my hand.
“We will; we skipped breakfast to make our flight on time,” Amber said, laying her suitcase on the bed.
“Good, because Catalina likes cooking large meals. Reminds her of her childhood; we’ll let you two get settled. Come on, honey, let’s give them some privacy,” I said, lightly patting Alondra’s hand.
“Si, Papi,” Alondra replied as she gazed up at me.
“He seems nice,” Catalina said offhandedly as I walked into the kitchen while Alondra went to watch her ‘My Little Pony’ show.
“He does, a rather polite fellow,” I answered as I got mugs for all of us.
“It smells heavenly in here,” Amber said from behind us. I would have thought she would have unpacked. “Couldn’t wait for that coffee, don’t want to pass out before breakfast,” she said as if she read my mind.
“Thank you,” Catalina said, taking pride in her skill as a chef.
I saw her eyes lighting up as I set the fresh cup before her. “Creamer is in the fridge, or there’s milk, and here’s the sugar,” I stated, pushing the small dish that Catalina places it in for guests in case they do partake of a good cup of java.
“Thanks, Dad, this is just what the doctor ordered,” Amber sighed as she inhaled the scent of the coffee. I noted how she mouthed a thank you to Catalina, who nodded in return when she set the creamer down before my daughter. Who wasted no time in getting her coffee just the way she liked it. “So good,” Amber moaned into her cup.
“Thank you, my cousin owns a coffee farm in the highlands of Mexico; he sends us a couple of bags a month knowing how your father really loves his coffee, as do I, but my cousin really likes your father,” Catalina said, shooting me this knowing smirk. It wasn’t that the man liked me; okay, he did, but that’s only because I saved his business from going under when a disease wiped out his crop two years ago. Hey, I wasn’t complaining, I’m a silent owner of a coffee farm, and I get free coffee, so I say that’s a win-win in my book.
“He does?” Amber shot me a glance.
“Oh yes, your father is a very kind man,” Catalina said, buttering me up. Shooting me this coy smirk as she rolled the omelet up after lining the middle with the caramelized onions, the roasted peppers. She took out the seeds to cut the heat down and the roasted tomatoes before plating it. Watching her making a much smaller one for Alondra. We both knew Alondra wouldn’t eat all of it if she was given a full-sized one. I couldn’t help it; my eyes couldn’t look away as Catalina bent down, causing her pajama pants to become taut along her ass as she pulled the croissants from the oven. What can I say? I love ogling my wife’s body. I think that’s why she does things like that. My eyes flickered up as David ambled down the hall. I think he took over unpacking so Amber could chat with us under the disguise of coffee. “Now, Nat, make yourself useful and carry these to the table,” Catalina said in a teasing voice as she held out two plates to me.
“Alondra, come to the table,” I said in a fatherly voice, seeing my daughter glued to the TV.
“Si, Papi,” Alondra uttered, sliding off the couch and scurrying over to the spot she always sat in. “Gracias, Papi,” she said, peering up at me with that loving smile of hers when I set her chocolate milk before her.
“You’re welcome, honey,” I whispered into her hair as I placed a kiss on the top of her head. I noted how Alondra nodded vehemently when Amber asked Alondra if she could sit beside her.
“Oh, this is so good,” Amber moaned from behind her cupped hand.
“I hope it isn’t too hot for you. Your father doesn’t like a lot of heat,” Catalina said in a motherly voice as she gazed across the table at my eldest daughter.
“No,” shaking her head, “adds a little kick to it,” Amber said in a polite manner.
“I wouldn’t mind a little… thank you,” David said with a smile when Catalina held out the bottle of El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Chili Habanero Hot Sauce she ordered from Mexico to him. “It’s hot, so use sparingly; I was raised on it, so I’m used to it.”
“Thank you,” David said, taking the bottle from her. I watched how David did a taste test of it on a little bite of his omelet.
“You okay?” Catalina asked, rubbing David’s back as I watched the heat getting to him.
“Never better; what is this called again?” I thought he was mad as he added more to his omelet.
“El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Chili Habanero Hot Sauce,” Catalina said matter-of-factly. “I order it from Mexico, it’s not the hottest sauce out there, but it is hot. Do you like it?”
“Oh yeah, better than Tabasco sauce,” David said with a nod.
“Good, then you’ll love our family get-together; they all bring their own with them,” Catalina said with this rather happy smile on her lips.
“We’re going to Ashville tomorrow to the zoo. Would the two of you like to join?” I asked, seeing Alondra getting excited in her seat at the thought.
“Only if we won’t be an inconvenience to you three,” Amber replied, looking around the table at us.
“Amber,” dabbing her lips, “you aren’t an inconvenience to us; you’re family, so never think that,” Catalina said in that motherly voice of hers. Like I said, she does come from a large family, and I knew she was never comfortable with just the three of us in the house. Don’t get me wrong, she loved us dearly, yet I knew she wanted more. All week I could see how excited she was to have a full house.
“So, how did the two of you meet?” Catalina asked, slipping her legs beneath her as she sat in her chair on our balcony while sipping her morning coffee.
“David here was already working at the store when I got hired to work in the pharmacy as the assistant manager,” Amber said, sitting across from us at the small round table we placed out there for such times while Alondra enjoyed her cartoons.
“Worked your way up the ladder, huh?” I stated, to which David nodded. I can respect that of a man. “What’re your plans going forward?”
“I think that in a few years after I get some more experience under my belt, try for a more corporate job at the company,” David said with me nodding along approving of his plan.
“Do they have a program to help you train for such a position?” Catalina asked, slipping her hand into my lap and squeezing my thigh.
“They do, but I want to make sure they won’t turn me down, hence why I’m going to wait a few more years,” David said before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Sounds reasonable,” I nodded. Knowing if he was a manager in my bank region, I too would be looking for someone with a little bit more experience managing a branch before thinking of adding them to the corporate ladder.
“So tell me, how did the two of you meet?” Amber asked, her eyes darted between Catalina and me.
We looked at one another, our eyes asking each other that silent question on who would tell that story. In the end, I thought Catalina telling it would be a bit funnier than if I told it.
“Well, we have to go back to when your father first arrived here. At the time, I was engaged to someone else, but he wasn’t faithful.” I saw David nod in understanding as Catalina’s hand never left my thigh. “Yet I always saw your father walking around the building with this face that sort of looked like someone shoved a pine cone up his keister,” Catalina said, getting a giggle out of Amber and a light chuckle from David. “I mean, he is a handsome man, yet I was engaged, and I don’t stray.” I noted how Amber dropped her head at that. “So anyway, as time went on, that face never left him for the two years he was here. So when I walked into his office that day, I had been single for a few months. I told your father to pull whatever was up his ass out of it, and who knew the man could laugh,” she teased me, which I deserve. I was an asshole during those years. “Then we built a friendship, I know he wanted more, but he was patient with me. Then after three months, we had our first date, and it went from there, and I never looked back,” Catalina said with love-filled eyes as she looked at me.
“So, I thought if you two aren’t too tired, we’d explore the city for the day, get you two used to the lay of the land, then come back, and I’ll cook us a nice big dinner,” Catalina said; I heard the eagerness in her voice to make the both of them feel welcome.
“Oh, you’ve never been to the beach,” I said, noting how my daughter’s eyes widened. “Seeing how we have this week off, how about we head down to Roberto’s place, if he’ll let us use it for a few days?” I spoke, looking over at my wife. Knowing the place was large enough to hold the lot of us.
“You sure, honey?”
“They’re here, and it’s easier to go to the beach here than it is in Kansas City,” I stated factually.
“You know I’m fine with it; I know Alondra will be ecstatic to go, but you’ll have to talk to Roberto,” Catalina said, looking at me.
“I know,” I nodded. Seeing how it was my idea Roberto was the type of man that respected you more if the one who thought of the idea was the one to ask, or that’s what I picked up from the man over the years of knowing him. “I’ll go make the call,” I said, rising from my seat. The sounds of the city below us faded to nothing as I slid the glass sliding door closed. “You enjoying your show, munchkin?”
“Mmmhmm,” Alondra hummed her attention squarely on the TV like it always was on a Saturday morning.
Walking out of Catalina’s and my bedroom with my phone after it had charged. My thumb scrolled up the screen as the names of people who’ve I’ve met and grown close to since coming to live in Charlotte flew past as I neared Roberto’s contact info.
“Buenos días, Nathan.” Roberto’s thick, accented voice came over the line.
“Good morning, Roberto,” I greeted. He didn’t mind if I spoke English instead of Spanish since he knew I could do both. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
“Oh?” The left corner of my lip lifted when he switched to English. All of Catalina’s family could speak English; they only pretended they didn’t know when someone was making an ass out of themselves in front of their family. I watched it a few times when some passing salesman tried to pawn off his wares while not outright insulting their intelligence, but you knew what the man was doing. It was always fucking hilarious when the ladies joined in then the teenagers would only to watch as the person would scurry back to their car.
“Yeah, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if Catalina and I used your place at Canadian Hole,” I said, seeing my daughter instantly whipping around in her seat, knowing what that meant. I tried to pretend I couldn’t see that glee on her face when I said that.
“Of course, you can, amigo. What’s the special occasion?” He had a reason to ask, given we normally went to the mountains for vacations a lot cheaper on the wallet and fewer people around. We usually only went to the beach when the whole family went to Canadian Hole.
“My eldest daughter flew in with her fiancée, and she’s never seen the ocean,” I said truthfully. The whole family knew about how we were estranged but understood why I walked out like I did.
“¡Es una gran noticia! ¿Los traerás el próximo fin de semana?”
“Si,” I answered when he asked if I was bringing them over next weekend. I heard my sister-in-law’s voice in the background asking what had him so excited. That was when I heard that excited voice of hers I knew well when he told her. Then I heard her speaking rapidly in Spanish before her voice faded away, knowing that in less than ten minutes, the whole family would know.
“Do you want me to bring the keys over?”
“Nah, we’ll pick them up when we show them around the city, say around one?” I spoke, still ignoring my daughter’s antics on the couch as she bounced on it.
“Ciro has a game today, but I’ll leave them…” I nodded along as he told me of the secret hiding spot he usually kept a spare house key in.
“You tell Ciro I’ll be rooting for him. I expect five home runs,” I heard my brother-in-law chuckle over the line. I knew Ciro could go pro, he was just that good, and I wish him all the luck in the world.
“I will; I hope she enjoys the beach.”
“As do I,” I said before we ended the call.
“Papi, are we going to the beach?!” Alondra asked with bated breath.
“We are,” I said, pocketing my phone, smiling at my daughter’s antics as she bounced on her knees.
“When?!”
“I was thinking we go on Monday and enjoy the beach till Thursday. Is that okay with you, Princess?” I mused; I couldn’t keep my smile from touching my lips at Alondra’s vehement nod. “Now behave while you continue to enjoy your show,” I said before stepping back out onto the balcony. Feeling Catalina’s hand on my back as I sank back down into my seat.
Hours later found us cruising through the streets of Charlotte; Alondra sat between David and Amber on the back seat as she pointed out places she loved to go to — namely the Discovery Place. It was a little expensive, but worth it, it was a very informative place, especially for a four-year-old’s mind. When lunch rolled around, we stopped at a popular downtown sit-down restaurant. Where I watched as my two daughters just chatted away. I noted how my wife had this rather happy, content look on her face as she watched my two children from across the table. David and I had a pleasant conversation about his 401K. While I wasn’t a stock trader I did know my way around them. So I gave him some tips about who and what I put my money into with my own 401K. I noted how he was listening intently to every word. It told me he was planning ahead, and I hoped the two of them didn’t go the way the Bitch and I did. I have to admit, David was a pleasant man, just don’t tell him I said that. I do have to keep my father-in-law vibe going. Yet, I was happy that Amber found herself a man that appeared to be a genuinely good guy.
After lunch, we headed over to Roberto’s place. I could see David’s and Amber’s confused looks when we pulled up to their house in Derita. I told them to wait in the car before quickly hopping out of it and heading off towards the spot Roberto had told me he would leave his house keys for his place in Canadian Hole. It didn’t take me long to find it. The keys jingled in my hand; a warmth spread through my heart when I read Roberto’s and Catalina’s sister’s note they had left with them. I could speak Spanish not read it, so they wrote in English. I was very touched by their words. Ever since I started dating Catalina, her sister did size me up and told me not to hurt her sister, or I’d have to deal with her and Roberto; however, over the months of our whirlwind romance, I grew on her and my brother-in-law. They were the first ones to help out if Catalina got overwhelmed with caring for Alondra when she was first born. Not that I blame Catalina; having your first child is fucking nerve-racking. I know Catalina went to bed every so often with worry on her mind if she would be a good mother and whatnot. So I called in the troops and took my wife out when those days happened. To show her that she was indeed a very good mother.
And so, as night descended on Charlotte, my little family clustered in the living room to spend family time simply watching a movie. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you do it together. It was Alondra’s bedtime when I noted Amber and David nodding off. I couldn’t blame them; they have been up since the wee hours of the morning to catch their flight. Catalina gave me this look that I interpreted as ‘Go do your dad thing.’ I can’t deny I was watching that ass of hers as she carried Alondra to her room.
“Amber,” I whispered, lightly shaking her.
“Dad?” My mind flashed back to when she was just a little girl when she would mutter in that sleepy tone of hers.
“Let’s get you two to bed,” I said, seeing her eyes peering at me through the slit of her lids.
“Sorry, I did….” I waved David off when he roused in his seat.
“It happens, don’t worry about it,” I said lightly. The moment Amber got to her feet, her arms slid around me.
“I’ve missed this for seven years,” Amber whispered into my chest. “Good night, Dad,” she said before placing a kiss on my left cheek and slipping her arm around David’s waist.
I was laying in bed waiting for Catalina to come sauntering in which she did after fifteen minutes had passed. Which was quick for Alondra; it told me Alondra was worn out. I felt myself hardening when I saw that sultry smile on my wife’s lips as she walked along the bedside towards our bathroom. My cock thumped against the covers at the sight of my wife’s gorgeous body as she strode out of our bathroom in nothing but her underwear. Those eyes of hers noted the movement of the sheets, which only intensified that sultry smile of hers. How that soft body of hers felt so divine beside mine once she had slid beneath the sheets. I bit my lip when her fingers wrapped around my rod.
“My Amor shouldn’t be going to bed with a hard-on,” Catalina cooed to me in that sinful tone of hers. “Does the handsome Papi like my hand stroking this hard cock of mine?” she purred, which I nodded like a fool. Who wouldn’t?! “Does my sweet, caring husband want his hot wife to drink it all down?” Again, my head nodded very, and I mean very vigorously. “Good, that’s where it belongs.”
“Oh God!” I moaned lightly as Catalina wasted no time in taking me into her mouth. I slept like a baby after that, wouldn’t you? Yet all too soon, strange how that is, five o’clock came around, and our alarm went off. Which meant I had to get Alondra up so we could be on the road for the three-hour drive to Ashville.
Catalina was like a paparazzi with the number of pictures she took that day, of me, me with Alondra, Alondra with her sister, Amber with David, and so on. I was pleasantly pleased Amber and Catalina got along as they talked about their wedding plans and venues. David was very attentive to Alondra, always heading off with her when Alondra wanted to show him something she really liked. As always, I was the watchful Dad, as was David, which I appreciated. You never know these days, and there are some sick fucks out in the world. We had lunch there at the zoo. Then we wandered the grounds some more before we were all worn out and had very sore legs. By the end of it, I was carrying Alondra on my shoulders. Not that I minded, I knew soon, far too soon, she wouldn’t need me as much. As sad as that was, that is life. Nothing stays the same forever. Halfway home, I noticed how Alondra was napping in Amber’s lap. I noted how Amber shot me this smile in the rear view mirror.
“Honey, would you mind if we order in tonight?” Catalina asked in a tired voice.
“No, you two up for pizza?” I inquired, looking over at Amber and David.
“I don’t mind a slice, you?” David spoke, peering over at Amber, who shook her head.
“Supreme alright with you all?” I queried, knowing Alondra wouldn’t eat anything else. Catalina liked it as well, I don’t, but I normally got overruled on the subject.
“No, David is allergic to olives,” Amber said, laying her right hand on David’s chest.
“Then how about this, a small supreme for them, and a small meat lovers for us guys,” I uttered with a smile.
“I can go with that,” David nodded along. Earning us both an eye roll from Catalina.
“You get the pizzas ordered; I’ll get Alondra packed for tomorrow,” Catalina said, flashing me that dazzling smile of hers as she and Alondra walked hand in hand to her bedroom.
“Dad, you know we….”
“Do you know what would happen to me if I reneged on the beach?” I asked with a pointed look once I had placed our order. “Are you trying to get your father killed?” I joked. But Alondra would put up a fit for weeks about it.
“I just don’t want you all to go to too much trouble for us.”
“It’s fine, Amber, plus I did tell you I would take you to it a long time ago, when you were little, and I like to keep my word,” I said, seeing that Amber too remembered that conversation as I did when she was ten.
“So, Nathan, when were you planning on heading out?” David asked, following me into the living room.
“Say seven in the morning; it’s a six-hour drive to Roberto’s place at Canadian Hole; yes, that is the name of the beach,” I stated, seeing their disbelieving looks. “We’ll stay till Thursday so you two can enjoy yourselves there. It’s really a lovely place.”
“Honey, what time is it?” Catalina called out to me from Alondra’s room.
“Seven-twenty,” I hollered back.
“Something going on?” Amber asked, confused.
“A football game is on,” I said, which was true a game did start soon. I saw David racking his brain trying to determine if there was a football game on, given it was late spring. “Soccer,” I clarified, seeing how David wanted to smack his forehead for not thinking that.
“I didn’t know you liked soccer,” Amber said, pulling her legs beneath her as she snuggled against David on the loveseat.
“I could take it or leave it; Catalina and Alondra love the games. I just grew accustomed to them,” I said offhandedly. “Her family are big fans of the sport. They have this big party when the world cup is being played which I attend. As they hold one for the super bowl for me when it’s on. Because that’s what family does, compromise with one another.”
“I know, we’re about to sit down to it.” My eyes flickered over to Catalina when she and Alondra walked in talking on her phone. Before switching to Spanish, which I knew she only did if it was private. Smiling as Alondra raced into the living room and climbed onto the sofa, getting into her spot waiting for the game to start. Turning the TV on and switching the channel to ESPN-3 for the game between Mexico and Brazil. Don’t tell Catalina this, but I was rooting for Brazil; she takes football (soccer) as seriously as Americans take football.
I patted Catalina’s leg when a knock came on our condo door, knowing it had to be the pizzas. Her attention was squarely focused on the game as Mexico was in the lead during the first half of the first period. Personally, I found soccer boring as I know she thought the same about football. Still, being a good man and wife, we put that aside and just enjoyed the time we shared together. Paying the teenage boy and giving him a very good tip before taking the pizzas from him.
“Pizzas here?!” I called out to them as I carried them into the kitchen and got enough plates out. Amber and David ambled into the kitchen, yet Alondra and Catalina were glued to their seats. I knew Alondra did so because she wanted to be like her mother. “Make yourselves a plate,” I gestured, carrying their plates to them.
“Thank you, honey. Can you get me a beer?” Catalina asked, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Sure babe, Kool-Aid for you, though,” I teased my daughter.
“Aren’t they going to join us?” Amber asked low after I sat down with my plate.
“Nah, not with Mexico in the lead; they won’t move from that spot,” I said before taking my bite. God. I missed meat lovers pizza.
“Oh, this is good,” David said before inhaling his slice.
“I know best pizza joint in town,” I stated, savoring the meaty toppings knowing it would be some time before I had another meat lovers pizza.
“¡Sí! ¡Ir! ¡Ir! ¡Patea la pelota!” Catalina shouted as she surged from her seat with her plate in one hand and her beer in the other, with Alondra mimicking her mother. “¡No?!Pendejo. Como puedes dejar que te quiten la pelota,” she bemoaned as one of Brazil’s forwards stole the ball before Mexico could score.
“Alondra! Language,” I chided when Alondra took her mimicry a little too far for a four-year-old. Casting my wife a glance, she looked away in embarrassment, knowing she let her mouth lead her mind a little too often when a game was on.
With our stomachs full of good pizza, and a few beers for us, I carted Alondra off to bed at her normal time. I was surprised to find that David was into the game by the end of it. Saying our good nights to one another, we four parted for our own rooms. Catalina was up at half-past five the next morning, making breakfast for us all. I knew she was excited at the prospect. I knew if Carson was here, she wouldn’t know what to do. Wrapping my arms around her and kissed her neck as she flipped the pancakes that were cooking on the flat skillet. Feeling her lean back against me as we just enjoyed that moment of silence.
“Nat!” Catalina gasped, causing me to chuckle as I pinched her nipple as I went to get the kids up.
“What? Did you think I wasn’t going to? You must be crazy to think I’d keep my hands to myself when I have my sexy wife in my arms,” I retorted, seeing Catalina blushing madly.
“You better not.” I heard her bashful whisper. Got to say that did put a smile on my face; why wouldn’t it? After all, I have a gorgeous wife, a hyper daughter, and a grown one about to start her own adventure into married life. Life was good at that point.
“Wake up, munchkin, pancakes are nearly ready,” I said, rousing my daughter from her slumber. “We don’t want to miss the beach, do we?” I whispered when Alondra rolled over to go back to sleep. Biting my lip when that seemed to jolt her awake. Knocking on the guest bedroom door and opening it slightly.
“We’re awake; just give us a few to get dressed.” I heard David’s voice through the gap.
“Okay, just checking; breakfast should be done soon,” I said before easing the door closed.
“Thanks, Dad,” Amber said as I handed her and David their cup of morning java.
“Honey, pull the orange juice out and set it on the table,” Catalina directed as she placed the last of the flapjacks on the stack she had built.
Setting the juice and Alondra’s morning cup of chocolate milk on the table, I went back to help set the table and aid my wife in carrying the food… I couldn’t stop smiling as Amber was in the kitchen helping out Catalina like I was about to do with David lending a hand.
“Don’t just stand there gawking, Dad, get the plates,” Amber teased as she carried the plate of flapjacks to the table as David handled the two plates of sausage. One for breakfast sausage and one of a more spicier blend.
I caught my wife’s content smile as she got the syrup from the cabinet as I got the plates for us all. I watched as I walked back to the table at how Catalina moved around it, acting like Amber and David were her own kids, and I saw how Amber latched onto that. It made me wonder what truly happened to my children while in their mother’s care. As much as I don’t want to hear a damn thing about that woman, I think I’m going to have to bite that down to find out the reason. We were out of the condo by quarter till seven with the dishes done, the car packed, we headed out to the sandy shores of Canadian Hole.