Honey

26.) Memories

Kara made sure Myia was showered and in bed. Most of the guests were gone by the morning, but Ross had paid for any immediate family of the couple to have a vacation. So she, Zara, and Myia shared a suite although Zara had insisted she could pay for her own room.

Kara planned on taking Myia exploring around in the morning. She had heard of some snorkeling lessons near the hotel, and she wanted Myia to experience something good.

Kara got into the shower, wondering how she would deal when it was Myia exchanging vows. She'd had almost twenty-seven years of an unwed Tristan, but nothing could have prepared her, for knowing her son was a married man was a new experience. She was so used to him being hers.

Kara got out of the water and dried off to put on a short silk gown. It was the last gift Andrew ever gave her and he sure loved to watch her in it. She wore it sparingly to keep it nice.

She climbed into bed with a pang in her heart as she felt imaginary arms slide around her waist. As she felt the strong body of a lover who was long gone. The first year, they said, would be the hardest.

When Kara closed her eyes, she could see Andrew coming into their bedroom while she sat on the bed, five months pregnant with Tristan, looking out the window.

Andrew kissed his wife without a word of greeting. He just put his arms around her and kissed her. She looked up at him and he smiled, his long fingers in her hair.

"Why you looking at me like I never kissed you before, Kara?" he asked, still smiling as he rearranged her bang.

"I just wonder sometimes if I'm really here. That's all."

Andrew kissed her again and lay down with her. "It's real. You're here with me."

She lay on his chest, feeling his hands on her round tummy as he talked to their son about the sort of man he prayed he'd become. He wanted their little man to be a better man than his daddy.

Four months later, Kara saw herself giving birth for the very first time in the bathtub with Andrew right there telling her how great she was doing. She was crying into his shirt, and when her baby began to crown, she told him she couldn't do it. It felt like her whole body was being shredded to pieces by the child.

Andrew wiped her face and looked at her with love and sympathy. "You can do it, baby. Just imagine when you get to see him for the first time. Do it because you love him."

Kara nodded and took a deep breath and pushed. Tristan's head popped out, and Andrew caught it. Everything after that was a blur. The only thing she remembered was seeing the look on Andrew's face when he held that little boy in his hands. He looked so in love. Like no one could tell him anything. That was the first time Kara had witnessed her husband cry, and those tears of joy told her this was one of the happiest days of her life.

He passed the infant to his tired wife and kissed her. "Thank you."

She was confused and looked down at the staring infant and then her husband.

"For what?"

"For giving me a son. For letting me be a father, Kara. Thank you."

He kissed her again. She could never understand his gratitude for her giving him something... Someone so priceless.

As he looked at that little boy, he loved him. He wanted the best for him. He knew he could never put him through the hell he had been through.

Kara didn't tear badly, but she did need a couple of stitches. The baby had a big bobble head, but she felt accomplished. She had done something miraculous. She had given life. With the aid of only God and encouragement from her husband, she had delivered a child. There were no drugs, there was no machinery, there was only the midwife. She had done what many women swore they couldn't without drugs.