Love Nows No Color

After what seemed like a lifetime a doctor appeared in the waiting room. "Shavonda Jenkins? Who's here for Shavonda Jenkins?" I arose from my seat. "Are you the husband?" he asked.

"I am," I said. "How is she?"

"She's dehydrated and has low blood sugar and slightly low potassium. She'll be all right, but she does need to take better care of herself in her condition," he stated matter of factly.

"What condition is that?" I asked, perplexed. Shavonda had no medical condition that she'd told me about.

"You didn't know? She's pregnant," he said. "She didn't tell you?"

"She can't be pregnant, because she can't have kids," I told the doctor. "Did you tell her yet?" I remember thinking this was a cruel joke they were playing on her.

"She's sleeping now. We put her on a drip to get her electrolytes back up. But no, I haven't been able to talk to her yet," he replied.

"Are you absolutely sure she's pregnant?" I asked.

"I am. The blood test came back positive. But I've ordered a sonogram just to make sure," the doctor looked at me shaking his head. "Neither of you knew? She appears to be pretty far along for you not to have known."

"She's been having mood swings, cravings and sickness for a while now. But since we were told she couldn't get pregnant we assumed it was nerves. We've had several court cases in the past couple months, and a wedding yesterday," I explained. "Can I be the one to tell her?"

The doctor agreed, and they let me back into the room. Since she was out of danger, they'd moved her into a regular room, but they were keeping her overnight for observation.

I sat in a chair beside the bed, taking her hand in mine. I rubbed the back of her hand, and she opened her eyes. She smiled at me. "Hey, baby. Did they tell you what was wrong with me?"

I grinned at her. "Yes, they did. It explains the vomiting, the cravings and the mood swings. You've been extra horny lately because your hormone levels are through the roof." I started, not sure exactly how to explain to her. "You are dehydrated and have low blood sugar and potassium. They'll be giving you a sonogram shortly."

"Sonogram? Does that mean I am..." Shavonda let the question dangle.

"Apparently so. They tell me I put a baby up in you," I said.

"Wooooooo!" she yelled. "I'm gonna have a baby! Thank you!" She kissed me repeatedly on the lips as the nurses came running to see what the commotion was about. Shavonda was ecstatically happy, smiling from ear to ear. "Who else knows?"

"Just me and you so far," I said. "Tamika and Brian are still in the waiting room."

"Did they say how far along I am?" she asked.

"No, but the sonogram will tell us," I said. "The doctor said you were pretty far along. Last night I noticed a little bit of a bulge in your tummy, so I'd guess you're just about to show."

In a little while, the sonogram arrived. The nurse spread gel on Shavonda's belly and ran some sort of probe over her belly. I hurriedly dialed Althea's number. The image on the screen definitely showed a baby.

"Hey, Jason. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. What's up?" Althea said, worriedly. I put the phone on speaker.

"Von collapsed this morning. She's ok now, but there's somebody here I want you to meet." I placed the phone next to the sonogram monitor, where the baby's heartbeat could clearly be heard. Shavonda listened intently to the sound of the new life she carried within her.

"What's that noise?" Althea demanded. "It almost sounds like a heartbeat."

"It is," I replied. "Meet your new grandbaby."

"Von's pregnant?" Althea cried in disbelief. "How? She was sterile!"

"Miracles do happen," I said. "And we've been blessed with a miracle."

"How far along?" she asked.

"It looks like twelve weeks, give or take," the nurse told me. I passed the information to Althea.

Shavonda shook her head in disbelief. "Twelve weeks," she said. "That would put conception around the end of February, maybe the 22nd?"

"It's possible," the nurse said. Shavonda and I looked at each other and bust out laughing. The nurse looked at us, eyes questioning.

"It's a long story," I said. "Let's just say Feb 22 was a unique day for us."

We'd forgotten about Althea on the phone until we heard the squeal. "James, your daughter is gonna have a baby!"

I let Shavonda talk to her parents while I walked back out to the waiting room. "She's having a baby." is all I said. You'd have thought I told Tamika she'd won the power ball. I led her and Brian back to the room, where the baby was clearly visible on the monitor, the sound of the heartbeat filled the room.

The doctor told us to let Shavonda rest a day or two, and to make sure she ate a lot of fruit.

I didn't try to call my parents right away, figuring they'd be on the road returning home. Neither had a cell phone. What was the point? They lived so far back in the mountains there was no service anyway.

I ended up sleeping in the hospital room, while Tamika and Brian stayed in our hotel room for the night. The next day, Shavonda was released from the hospital, and I took her back to the motel to rest. I called Mom once we got Shavonda settled.

"Mom, it looks like you were right," I said. "Von's pregnant." I held the phone away from my ear as a high-pitched squeal filled the room.

"Ed, Von's having a baby!" I heard her tell Dad. With the phone on speaker, we were all able to talk. I explained Shavonda was about 12 weeks in, at the end of the first trimester. She would be showing quite a bit when we got together in July for Grandma's birthday. They were looking forward to seeing her baby bump.

After I hung up the phone I laid down some ground rules for my pregnant wife. I was concerned about her and the baby's well-being. We'd been given one chance. We might not get another.

"You know what this means," I said. "You have to start eating bananas, and we have to watch what else you eat. You also can't do any more solder work in the store. Teach me what you want done and I'll handle it. I can't have you breathing lead fumes and hurting the baby."

She called her doctor back in Pittsburgh, and was able to get an appointment the next week for prenatal care. We were lucky. Somebody had cancelled and there was a slot open.

We opted to continue the honeymoon. The doctor had told us we could continue to have sex as long as Von was comfortable with it, which she was. If anything, the thought of the baby being there made her desire me even more. The feeling was mutual.

"Did you mean it when you told Grandma you'd flood the family with little brown babies?" she asked. "You know we might be able to have more after this one."

"I sure did. As many as you want," I replied.

"I'd like to have at least two. A boy and a girl," Shavonda said excitedly.

"First, let's get this one delivered and healthy," I said. "Then we can try for more."

We were out on the balcony, Shavonda leaning against the railing and me behind her, holding her as we watched the sun set on our first full day of marriage. It felt so good. Things were going our way finally. Though we had a lot of work ahead of us, we also had a bright future.

That evening I took the first of a weekly series of photos of Shavonda's naked form. These were not meant to be naughty pictures. Instead I wanted to document, week by week, the progression of her pregnancy, and the changes to her body. I also took a series of her fully clothed, for public consumption. I wondered when exactly the body changes would become noticeable. All we knew was the thought of Shavonda carrying my baby was turning us both on.

That night, and the next day, we spent naked in bed. We only dressed to go eat. Shavonda had her mood swings, and I held her during those times when she was in tears. But at least we knew she wasn't going crazy now. We knew it was her body nurturing the baby that was causing the erratic moods, the nausea, and the cravings.

When I made love to her now, I tried to be as gentle as possible. Shavonda had packed the oils and jellies from her bachelorette party. I also found out she'd gotten a vibrator that fit on one of our fingers like a ring. It really didn't matter whose, it made for some intense stimulation. I knew if I held it to her clit I'd make her come. So, I did, while we were in a sixty-nine position. She was on top of me, grinding her pussy into my face, and I had my tongue buried deep inside her. Her mouth was working me into a frenzy of desire, the lips and tongue working their magic on my throbbing penis. I placed my finger with the vibrator on it directly on her clit, feeling its vibrations on my chin. The effect was immediate. Popping me from her mouth, she sat erect on my face, arched her back, and let out an unearthly growl, one I'd never heard from her before. It was followed by a high-pitched squeal as her orgasm took control of her body. I had the tiger by the tail, damned if I was going to let go. I licked and sucked her juices, but couldn't keep up with the flow. "Jason, please, stop, Jason, Jason!" she squealed as a second orgasm took her. As she shuddered through this one, I turned the vibrator off, letting her rest up a bit. She'd forgotten about me in the throes of her passion.

"Damn you," she said.

Remembering what we were doing before she lost her mind, she grabbed my manhood in her hand and stroked me sensually. She turned her body around, and positioned her opening over my aching dick. Slowly, she lowered herself onto me, until she was sitting on my lap. Instead of riding me up and down, she worked her hips forward and backward while still sitting. Her warm wet sugar walls gripped me like a glove. I could feel her pulsing around me. I started to thrust back into her, enjoying the movements.

She moaned and started to ride me faster. She looked down at me, piercing me with her dark brown eyes. Her breasts bounced and swayed with her movements. I couldn't resist, and moved my hands from her hips to her nipples, feeling their hard, rubbery texture between my fingers. I could feel myself getting close, the pleasure was building to unsustainable heights. I fed myself a nipple, squeezing her tit with my hand, while I moved the other hand to squeeze her delectable ass. Somehow, I had the presence of mind to hit the button on the vibrator with my thumb. She jumped as the vibrations stimulated her cheek. I worked my hand lower until I had the vibrator in her special spot on her inner thigh, where it met her cheek.

Shavonda emitted that unearthly growl and squeal again, as she went over the edge yet again. She ground herself into me even harder, and I let her inner contractions take me over the edge with her, exploding deep within her convulsing tunnel. "Jasonnnnnn!" she screamed. "Oh, noooooo." She collapsed on top of me in a quivering heap. She reached behind her to my hand and slipped the vibrator off my finger. I have no idea where she threw it, all she knew was she had to get it away from her sensitive spots, and she knew I'd continue to tease her as long as I had it under my control.

We lay there, hearts pounding, riding out the aftershocks. I'd worn her out, and she fell asleep on top of me, still connected together in intimate bliss.

I loved my pregnant wife. And I knew she'd get me back good for hitting her sweet spot. She always did. I looked forward to my punishment.

Next morning was payback time. I had the most interesting dream. I was naked in a field where people were flying model airplanes around me. Their buzz was turning me on, and my penis jutted out in a full-blown erection. People were pointing at me, saying words I could not hear. I opened my eyes to find the buzz was not airplanes. Shavonda had the vibrator on the finger and was running it over my most sensitive spot, the little flap of skin just below the head of my penis. The other hand gripped my base, holding me upright. She was watching me to see if I'd wake up. I was almost ready to blow, and I told her so. But she refused to remove the vibrator. She watched, fascinated, as I shot a geyser about a foot and a half into the air. We ended up in a wild sixty-nine. When she started to lick up the mess she'd made I knew I had to taste her as well.

We spent the rest of the week taking day trips around the area. On Wednesday, we revisited Dolly Sods like we did on our first trip to this motel. We also explored some other places in the vicinity, including Big Bend in the Smokehole Canyon. Shavonda felt like taking a walk, so we walked the loop trail around the bend. The loop was less than a mile. I found the bent and folded rock formations there to be fascinating and we spent much of the afternoon photographing them, with us posing as well. The tripod and extra-long shutter release cable I had in my camera bag came in handy.

One rock formation in particular looked odd. The trail ran over the top of it, and the smooth rock arched up in the middle, sloping down on either side. It sat about 20 feet above the river. It finally dawned on me what it was, and why it looked odd. Excited, I grabbed Shavonda by the hand, led her back down the trail to a spot where we could get down to the river, then we waded out into the shallow water. As I headed back upstream toward the formation, my hunch was confirmed. We'd accidently stumbled across the most tightly folded anticline I'd ever seen. The rock layers were bent completely double in the space of about five yards. The trail passed over the top of the arch, which could only be seen in full from the river.

"Von, would you look at that?" I said. "Can you imagine the immense pressure that rock must have been under to deform like that?" She was, as usual, impressed. I was turning her into an amateur geologist.

We picked our way back to shore, and continued our trek. The other rocks were twisted in interesting ways as well, but nothing could have topped the anticline.

She handled the short one mile hike well, and we returned to the motel room where I made love to my pregnant wife. I loved the sound of that. My pregnant wife. The one I loved more than anybody else in the world, except my kids, was building me another child. One that was half her, half me. I wondered what the baby would look like.

Thursday, we headed east to Baltimore for crab legs, once again riding the train and streetcar into town.

On Friday, Shavonda was up for another hike, so I decided to try something just a little longer. We headed into Maryland, following 51 east of Cumberland. In about 25 miles, we saw the sign for what I was looking for and turned into the parking lot. Paw Paw Tunnel, an abandoned canal tunnel through a small mountain. Yes, they actually ran boats through a tunnel.

The tunnel was about a quarter mile walk from where we'd parked the car. Being a canal towpath, it was completely level, and an easy walk. We hiked all the way through the tunnel, into a narrow valley on the other side. On one side of the valley, bare rock tilted up at an odd angle, arcing slightly away from the trail and the canal. There were small grooves in the rock. Fascinated, I explained to Shavonda that the grooves were evidently put there by another layer of rock when the whole area was deformed eons ago. The other rock layer had long since eroded away.

We continued down the trail a little further, until Shavonda wanted to turn back. All told, we hiked a bit over three miles that day.

Shavonda was holding up well. She was pretty much up for any adventure I could think up. I couldn't ask for more. We were both in heaven on earth. Arriving back at the motel, I gave her a nice foot massage that ended up with me using my mouth more than my hands. I worshipped her pretty brown toes while she lay back on the bed and enjoyed her feet being pampered.

And so the honeymoon went. We went on outdoor adventures during the day, and had our indoor adventures at night. It was like when we'd first met. We explored our bodies, discovering each other all over again. Though we'd never lost each other in the first place. She still had her bouts of morning sickness, and the cravings. It was rough on her, but she took it all like the trooper she was. She was having a baby! My baby!

By Sunday morning, her bulge had become more pronounced. It was now noticeable if you were looking for it. Tomorrow was the traditional Memorial Day cookout, and we knew everybody there would be looking for the first signs of her pregnancy.

We checked out and headed for Bedford diner one last time. The Indian clerk wished us a happy marriage as we turned in the room key. Shavonda had worn one of her dresses, and it was getting tight on her stomach. She proudly showed the lady her growing bulge.

At the diner, she had her liver, with the onions scraped to the side. I had the steak and eggs I loved so much. We decided to make it a train day, and stopped off at Juniata shops to see the locomotives being worked on, before heading over the mountain towards home. We stopped in Cresson for a takeout Pizza from Vito's, which we took to Cassandra and the railroad overlook park. I'd never taken her there before, and she really enjoyed the place. We sat at a picnic table overlooking the tracks, and ate our pizza as the trains slowly ground past clawing their way to the top of the mountain at Gallitzin. Westbounds, descending the mountain, sped past making sixty on their downhill run. Traffic was heavy for a Sunday, no doubt because of the holiday they were trying to move as much freight as they could. Tomorrow would be dead, as the train crews all worked into their home terminals for a much-needed break.

We left Cassandra around five. I wanted to be there when Rose dropped off the kids at eight.

Although we didn't know it at the time, Rose had shown her ass again while we were gone. What follows is the account we pieced together from Barbara and Althea.

Rose was due to pick the kids up that Friday. They were staying with Althea, and Barbara had anticipated trouble so she arrived at my house before either Althea and the kids, or Rose. She was sitting on my porch when Althea pulled up, and quickly warned her about Rose, who had no idea we'd gotten married.

When Rose pulled up a little while later, Barbara and Althea were sitting on the porch, chatting like the friends they were. "Where's Jason?" Rose demanded. "And who are you?" She glared at Althea warily.

"Jason and Von got married. They're on their honeymoon," Althea replied coolly. "I'm Althea, Von's mother."

"M-m-married?" Rose stuttered and looked like she was about to cry.

"She's pregnant, too," Barbara said.

"P-p-pregnant?" Rose stuttered. She looked devastated.

"Yup, and they happy now. No more drama in their lives," Althea said.

Rose hardened her mood. "I'll turn her and Jason in to the police for what they did," she threatened.

"Your word against theirs," Althea replied. "There weren't any witnesses."

"If you do, don't bother coming home," Barbara said. "They held up their end of the deal. Jason mortgaged his house to pay your bills."

"And if you don't leave them alone you'll have to deal with me. And Von's sister," Althea replied. "And her brother and cousins. We're a strong family."

Rose looked scared.

"You know, child," Althea continued. "Your mother is my friend. She's family now, because of the kids. In spite of what you did, she's become one of us."

Rose looked at Barbara, tears in her eyes. "So, it's true? What Von said about you not liking me? About you being their family now?"

Barbara shook her head sadly, "I'll always love you. You're my daughter. But what you did to those people... Just let it go. You've destroyed your life over this. If you'd have let it go, you'd still have everything you had. Now it's all gone and you only have yourself to blame. Just let it go."