To those who wait!
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We shared my bed for the first time, and for the first time as an engaged couple, I held her next to me through the night. At first doubtful, given my experience with my sister, Victoria had demonstrated to me a surprising ability to have a healthy relationship without sex. I called it surprising, mostly because of how my sister had struggled, and failed.
As usual, I woke up first. Pee time. It was also Monday morning, the start of a new work week. I hated to be dragged away from Victoria right now, but I knew I had documents to finalize that week for a new commercial office building. The deadline was a little tight for the simple reason that some of the parties took a long time to review the interim drafts. Their delay had become my problem.
I returned to bed and kissed Victoria to wake her up.
"Ummm ... that's how I would like to be wakened from now on. How are you this morning? Do you regret proposing to me in a hot tub?"
"Are you asking about me proposing, or the location? I loved proposing to you!"
"I loved both. I wanted you to propose, and the location will be legendary in our family lore!"
"I think you should put on that swimsuit every year to celebrate."
"You only want to see me in it once a year?"
"Ok, I can see where this is headed. I need to get ready for work, because I need to take you home first. Otherwise, we would sit around all day and swim and kiss, and I would be fired by this client."
"Honey, when will I see you again?"
"How about if we go out for dinner Tuesday and play in the pool Wednesday?"
"Will you call me tonight?"
"I'll have Roscoe pass you the phone after we have our nightly call."
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I worked my butt off that day and made a surprising amount of progress. Like about twice as much as I thought I would finish the first day.
Matt and I met for dinner again. We are becoming good friends and enjoyed trying out a new restaurant. We also planned a surprise for Victoria.
I was waiting in the shadows as Victoria approached the neighborhood park with Roscoe on his leash.
"Hey, Babe," I said, still in the shadows.
Victoria jumped, terrified at first, until I stepped into the light. She screamed, dropped the leash, and ran to me. So did Roscoe.
"Now I get why Dad asked me to take Roscoe to the park for a walk!"
I held Victoria in my arms until Roscoe, tired of waiting for belly rubs that never came, started to wander off. We retrieved him and walked home, holding hands.
We went inside and formally confirmed what Matt already knew, so Liz could scream and hug Victoria. My favorite moment came when Liz kissed me on the cheek and thanked me. What she was thanking me for was unspecified, but I figured I knew.
Victoria and I sat on the front porch swing, in her favorite position.
"Sweetheart, we really need to invite my parents for dinner so they can get to know you."
I felt her react to that. She sat up and looked at me.
"Scott, give me some advice. I feel I need to tell them about my past. I mean, one of their first questions is going to be how we met. What if I don't and they find out something later? How will they react?"
I had been worrying about this for a couple of weeks. It's why I had not yet taken her to meet them.
"Don't forget, they lost a daughter, their baby, to what almost consumed you. They will be sympathetic and not condemn you. Their pain will be realizing you survived, and their baby didn't, but I don't think they will blame you. And I agree, you have to tell them. Don't forget, though, I'll be there, holding your hand."
She put her head on my shoulder. I could see tears in her eyes.
"We need to do this soon, like this week, Scott. It would be too weird to wait."
"That's what I'm thinking. How about Thursday?"
"Can I cook for the four of us?"
"Are you sure you want to?"
"I am. It'll take my mind off it as I prepare and get the ingredients I need."
"I'll confirm it with them and then with you, babe. You know I love you."
We kissed for a few minutes. Then she put her arms around my chest and back and held me tight.
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We went to dinner the next night and then had fun in the pool and hot tub on Wednesday. I could tell she was worried, but it only showed a couple of times.
"Babe let's go shopping for an engagement ring and for wedding bands. How about Friday, morning?"
"How's your big transaction project coming? Do you have time?"
"I'll be done. I made a lot of progress today. I should finish tomorrow sometime."
"This will be very real when you put a ring on my finger, won't it?"
"Doesn't it feel real now?
"Scott, you don't think like a girl. I've dreamed about the love of my life proposing to me and giving me a beautiful ring. What time do you want to pick me up?"
"How about 9:45 am? Please understand something. Do not look at prices; pick something you love."
"Dinner tomorrow is at 7, right?"
"Correct. What time do you want to come over and start cooking?"
"I think 5. Will you be home by then?
"Not likely, but I brought you something."
I handed her a key to my house. From the look on her face, you'd have thought I'd given her the ring!
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I got home the next night just before 6. I parked in the garage and entered into the kitchen.
"Honey, I'm home!" I always wanted to say that.
The kitchen smelled wonderful! Victoria was smiling and walked over to kiss me.
"I'm looking forward to when you come home from work after we're married. One of those nights I'll probably greet you naked and drag you to bed before dinner."
'I've always liked dessert first."
"I know how I'll do it! Chocolate sauce and whipped cream on each breast!"
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Mom & Dad arrived just before 7. Victoria had just taken off her apron and checked her hair, so she was at the door with me.
"Mom and Dad, I want you to meet Victoria Simpson. Victoria, these are my parents, George and Juliette Nelson."
"Please, Victoria, call us George and Juliette. We're happy to meet you."
I took drink orders and got those while Victoria had them sit at the table. She had already plated everything, and the presentation wowed me.
She had prepared salmon cutlets, with a basil cream sauce and cherry tomatoes. It was beautiful on the plate and, as we soon discovered, sensational to taste.
There was a lot of light-hearted chatter, but finally, Mom asked the question, the one Victoria dreaded.
"Victoria, how did you and Scott meet?"
"Mom, before that story, we want to tell you something. Victoria and I have decided to marry."
"George may be surprised but I saw it in the way you looked at each other at the door. So how did you meet?"
"Well, a little over a year ago, I needed an attorney. A friend, Susan Miller, told me to call Mr. Nelson and gave me his number. I learned later Susan was best friends with Sophia."
She saw the look exchanged between my parents.
"I'm so sorry for your loss. I didn't know Sophia. The sad truth is I knew Susan because we were both prostitutes. I was a star athlete, headed for a great track career, when I made a stupid mistake and got involved with drugs. I was kicked out of school, lost my scholarship, and with it my future as an athlete.
"I should have gone to my parents then, but I didn't. I thought I could handle my situation, but the next step was prostitution. I hated it. I eventually ran to my parents. They loved me, supported me, and helped me get clean. I'm lucky to have made it out."
"You are, Victoria. I wish we could have helped Sophia more."
Mom and Dad were both wiping away tears.
"I had another friend, Wendy. She wanted out and knew I had been out for three years. She called me and wanted to meet. She was afraid of her pimp and what he might do, so she wanted to meet in Washington Park, near the big fountain. Late at night.
"I was approaching that area, still in the trees, when I saw a man cut her throat. I knew who he was, because he supplied me with drugs and got me involved in prostitution. I already had Mr. Nelson's number--that's the only name I knew then--so I called first thing and asked for an immediate, urgent appointment."
"You need to know that I called in a partner at the firm, and he worked miracles, that very day. Victoria had handed the perp to the police on a silver platter, and they found enough evidence to put him away for life, without parole. He confessed to the murder, so there will probably be no appeal. Her courage got the attention of the police association and the state bar, who joined my firm in giving her a reward to help her finish her college degree."
"How did you two get together?"
"Maybe I should tell this part from my perspective. I met with Scott a bunch of times over the year it took to get to sentencing. Although Tom did the key work, I always thought of Scott as my attorney.
"He called me into his office after sentencing to tell me about the cash reward and that the firm was also waiving its fees. Then he made a big deal about me being a former client at that point. I didn't understand why that mattered, until he told me an attorney cannot date an active client.
"I still wasn't sure what he was getting at. He had to explain it to me by asking me out."
My parents were laughing.
"You need to know something about your son. I understand now he was worried about me because of your experience with Sophia. I was worried about the same issue. I even asked him if he wanted to go out with me because he thought he could get some easy sex. Scott told me he would not have sex with me unless we were married. I knew I could trust him, and the rest is history.
"Your son is the most wonderful man I've ever known. I love him."
My parents were still wiping away tears, except Mom had gotten up and come to hug Victoria.
"Victoria, we lost our baby, and you escaped. Maybe she needed someone like Scott in her life, but I think you had already overcome what she couldn't. We'll never really know, but I'm thrilled for the two of you. Your happiness together says it all."
Obviously, I had a box of Kleenex nearby. Not my first rodeo.
My mother had one more thing on her mind.
"Victoria, have you and Scott talked about children?"
Victoria blushed and looked at me, but she answered.
"We have, and we want children together. Probably soon."
Victoria squeezed my hand.
