You Love Me To Hate You Ch. 3
Todd had tried to get Gwen to go somewhere tropical for their honeymoon, but she had only one place she wanted to go - Las Vegas.
Her reasoning was that with her baby bump, the pictures of her would mostly be in beachwear and she couldn't hide it as well. She also had never been to Vegas and her parents rave about it. They go there 4 or 5 times each year for long weekends. Her mom loves the restaurants, shows, and concerts and her dad liked blackjack. Todd didn't put up too much of a fight. He'd never been to Vegas either and her parents were paying for their trip.
They exited the airplane and took the tram to the main building at McCarran. Todd looked comical as he grabbed their luggage. He struggled along with bags in each hand, under each arm and he even had a strap around his neck.
They had decided to rent a car and be able to see more without having to over-exert the five-month pregnant Gwen, by walking or standing and waiting for cabs or Ubers. When they finally got off of the shuttle and found their car, Todd was exhausted.
"Jeez, I feel like I ran a marathon," he complained.
Gwen laughed and said, "I love you, baby. You can rest when you're dead though. We're in Las Vegas!"
Todd smiled and thought about what they had planned for their 10 days on The Strip. Every night would have a different show or concert. They had reservations at every "must eat" restaurant for either breakfast or lunch. They had pre-ordered tickets for museums, and art exhibits, and when Todd heard that he was shocked. He didn't even know there were museums in Vegas, let alone art exhibits. The one he was looking forward to the most was the erotic heritage museum, of course.
It took more than an hour to get from the airport, through hotel check-in, and into their suite at The Bellagio and the first thing Todd did was lay on the bed. Gwen laughed at him and said, "Come on, pooper. We have reservations for lunch at Giada's in an hour."
He groaned and stood up, then he pulled her into a hug, kissed her neck on the spot that he learned makes her knees weak, and said, "Okay, Mrs. Allen. Let's go to lunch."
They almost never made it out of the room, once he kissed her. After a long make-out session, she pushed him away and dragged him out of the room.
*********
Craig and Izzy were showing her parents her ring when there was a ring from the doorbell.
"Mr. Ashe!" Sheila shrieked. "Come in, come in. What can we do for you?"
Rick and Craig stood and were on guard immediately when she called out his name. They walked over to the foyer and watched over Sheila from a few feet away.
"Sheila, Rick, I've come to apologize. May I come in and sit?"
"Sure, come on into the living room," Rick said.
After introducing Craig and Izzy, they sat and let Mr. Ashe have the floor.
"Let me start by apologizing for my son's actions. The attack on your son on his wedding day was disgusting. Especially since we all know that you were cleared by the police. Second, I want to apologize for his seduction of you, Sheila. We didn't raise him to be what he is and my wife and I can't tell you how disappointed we are."
Rick looked at him warily and said, "Thank you for that," and waited for him to continue.
"Lastly I want to tell you that I fired one of my lawyers less than two hours ago. He was the fixer who worked with Bryson and handled his needs."
Rick and Sheila looked on with confusion as to why that mattered to them. Craig thought that he may have been upset that Bryson didn't get off, and accepted a deal.
"My son had this fixer set up a mugging and beating of your son, to happen while they are in Las Vegas."
"Are you fucking kidding me!" Rick screamed as he jumped up. He was about to attack Ashe when the man held out his hands.
"Please sit, Rick. I stopped it. This man had a change of heart and came to me after visiting Bryson this morning. It was the final straw for my son and I've cut him off. I had the attorney call the man and call it off in front of me. I also have one of my security men flying out to Vegas right now, to make sure that your son and his bride are safe. I wish no harm to come to you or your family. This has to stop and it stops now."
"Mr. Ashe, if anything happens to my son or his pregnant wife, you'll never see me coming."
"Rick, I understand and I've taken the steps to ensure this ends. I don't know if you or Todd attacked my son, but I know Detective Jordan very well. If he cleared you, it's good enough for me. Hell, my shit-head son deserved the ass-kicking he got from what I was told. You'll have no further issues with my family and Sheila, I hope our business relationship can be restored."
Sheila visibly relaxed. Her business was in trouble without his business and Rick had demanded that she cut off all ties with the Ashe family because of Bryson. It was one of the conditions of their attempt at reconciling.
"Thank you, Mr. Ashe, for your help. If anything changes, please let me know immediately," Rick said as he stood ending their meeting.
"Of course," Ashe said as Rick escorted him to the door and shook his hand.
Immediately after shutting the door he called and warned Todd to keep an eye out and stay in public places.
"Jesus, I hope that finally ends it," Craig said.
"He seemed sincere," Rick said. "There was no reason to come here if he weren't. I'm inclined to believe him."
"Thank God," Sheila said crying. Izzy hugged her and let her cry it out.
Sheila still struggled with the repercussions of her one night stand with Bryson. She couldn't believe the collateral damage that came from one bad decision. She was still seeing her own therapist, along with the couples counselor, to deal with her nightmares and emotional breakdowns resulting from her indiscretion.
With all of the drama settled for the day, Craig finally kissed Izzy goodbye one last time and left for school.
**********
Todd hung up the call from his father and tried to hide the worried expression on his face. He didn't do a good enough job and Gwen picked it up when he returned to their table. She had just finished her sun-dried tomato frittata when he came back to the table looking nervous.
"What is it, baby? Is everything okay at home?"
"Yeah, sweetie. Everything is fine now."
"It wasn't fine before?" She asked.
Todd frowned and since lunch was over, he decided to tell her the events of the previous morning and the revelation he's just received from his father.
When he'd finished, Gwen was silently crying. All that she could think about was her baby and possibly losing her husband. Todd held her hand and said, "Baby, there's nothing to worry about. Mr. Ashe is helping us and it's all over. Let's go back to the room and get some rest. We've got the wax museum to see later and you need your rest."
Gwen nodded and they hugged for what felt like an eternity.
*********
Life went on for Craig and Izzy. They Skype called every night and we're occasionally able to use the time to have mutual self-love sessions. Craig came home once a month for the weekend and they spent as much time as they could together.
With their second child soon getting married, Sheila and Rick were still able to continue on with their reconciliation. Rick lost a couple of friends when they chastised him for taking his wife back, but he felt that they weren't really his friends if they didn't support him in rough times.
While he struggled with doing so, the thought of entering the second phase of his life without the only woman he ever loved hurt too much. The thought of watching his grandchildren grow, without his wife next to him, was unbearable. The family was everything to him.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Gwen woke in the middle of the night feeling a contraction. "Oh wow!" She said. She shook Todd awake and said, "It's time, baby."
Todd snapped awake and slipped on the gym shoes he had sitting next to the bed and like a scene out of a classic sitcom, he grabbed the bag ready by the front door and jumped in the car. He was about to back out of the drive when he saw his wife standing on the porch waiting for him.
"Shit!" He shouted and opened the door. He ran up the walkway to help his wife, who was in between bouts of laughter and pain, down the icy stairs.
"Sorry, love. I guess I'm still half asleep," he said worriedly.
She kissed his cheek and said, "I love you, puddin' head. Get me to the hospital please."
