Soooo. This is the full version. Hopefully they put it up this time. Come on site. I post a lot of stuff. Maybe too much. Anyway, enjoy the story.
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That Tuesday was the strangest of my life. I woke up to Sven in a rush, lumbering out of bed and barely hitting the floor. Watching my new husband, I realized he was adorably uncoordinated as if he never got used to his long limbs or large frame. Maybe in Sweden everything's built a bit taller and America's shorter stations did him no favors.
I checked my cell to see it was still quite early so I slipped out from the other side of the bed with careful steps. My body was still pretty sensitive from wedding night bliss. I listened to Morgan's steady breathing on the baby monitor before slipping on a robe and heading to the bathroom. My morning routine was quick and I made it downstairs in time to make coffee and put it in a thermos.
Sven's voice whispered across the baby monitor. "Pappa Γ€lskar dig."
Sipping my cup of tea, I furrowed my brows at the foreign tongue before I heard him come downstairs. His shirt was a gorgeous reddish gold like a robin's chest but otherwise, it was the same uniform of dark jeans, black boots and a black blazer. I held up the thermos and smiled. He crossed the kitchen quickly and scooped me up in a kiss, placing me on the counter. I gasped and moaned, gripping the braid of blonde hair down his back and putting the teacup aside.
When he pulled back I was panting, head back against the cabinets. "That's... some good morning."
He grinned happily and took the thermos. "You were so beautiful, I could not stop myself."
I smiled and reached out to gently stroke his cheek. "You're so hot and sweet. Do you want me to make breakfast?"
He chuckled and kissed my palm. "No. No. You rest. I'll go to the cafeteria." He turned my hand and brushed his lips across my knuckles with a pleasant smile.
"What did you say to Morgan? I heard Swedish on the monitor." I wanted to drape over him and never let him out of the house.
"Pappa Γ€lskar dig? It means 'Daddy loves you'."
I cooed and leaned forward to hug him, kissing his cheek. "My wonderful sweet husband."
He grinned in his total joy and wrapped his arms around me. "I love you my lovely Cordelia."
"Love you too, my Sven." It was so mushy but I loved it. I loved snuggling in his arms and kissed as much of his face as I could. An alarm went off on his cell phone. "That's a little late isn't it?"
"It is so I leave the house in time." He sounded disappoint and I laughed, pushing him back so I that I could hop down.
"You can't be late Professor Aas."
"Not even for Mrs. Aas?" I flustered as he gently reached around to cup my rear and massage it with a pout.
"Nope. You'll be on break soon though. Speaking of, have you ever had Thanksgiving?"
"The school does things but I guess never in the traditional sense."
"Then it's Morgan's and your first Thanksgiving next week so I'll go all out. Ok?"
He nodded before kissing my forehead. "I would like that very much. We have a cold front this week, might snow. Buy some more clothes for you and Morgan please?" He fished a full money clip from his pocket and took a debit card from between the bills. "Next day shipping."
"Sven that's a lot, I couldn-"
"We are married now. Just for me?" He cupped my face and ran his thumbs across my cheeks.
"Alright." I smiled up at him.
He grinned back and pecked me one last time before turning to leave. When he was about five steps away, he turned around and came back to give me another powerful kiss. I had to grip the kitchen island for support as he waved with his goofy merriment and left out through the garage.
I sighed before going to feed Morgan. She was a little fussy as usual during her first feeding but calmed and snuggled into me. I rocked in the little pink rocking chair as I thought of what she would need for winter.
It dawned on me that I didn't have anyone to ask about how to dress her for cold weather. If I could still talk to my mother, she'd tell me everything I needed to know. She probably had some of my old winter clothes as keepsakes. Sure, I could Google it, which I had to, but it just wasn't the same as learning it from the source and hearing all the stories.
A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. There was so much missed. So many events had no do-overs. Maybe showing up for the holidays would be more damaging than healing.
I burped Morgan, deep in thought, and carried her with me downstairs. Laying her in a bassinet beside me, I booted up my laptop and got to work. The research was surprisingly easy and I bought Morgan's things first. I opened up another tab to start shopping for mine but the doorbell rang.
We usually didn't get visitors during the day and Sven always told me about packages, so it was a strange occurrence. I checked the peephole, a pale dark haired girl stood in front of the door. She looked nervous and turned to walk away but I opened the door anyway.
"Hello?" I smiled at her as pleasant and comforting as possible.
She stared at me as if in shock before opening her mouth and closing it then opening again and closing. I thought she looked like a pretty fish. She gripped the bottom of her jacket as if to ground herself and then slowly walked back to the door.
"Hi." Her eyes couldn't meet mine just yet.
"Can I help you?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
She let out a huff of frustration, her breath forming a cloud in the chilly air. Her hands smacked her skinny jean clad thighs. She was working herself up. "Are you married?"
"What?" I watched her with growing concern. It was stupid of me to keep answering doors to strange young women with Morgan so vulnerable in the house.
"Are you married to him?" She practically yelled it and I could hear fussing behind me. This bitch just woke my baby.
I slammed the door in her face and locked it. "I'm calling the police!"
She cried out and I could hear her banging on the door. "Please don't! I have to find out for her or she'll hate me! Please don't, I'm sorry!"
I didn't care; I scrambled to the other side of the room and picked up my cell phone, dialing 911. Morgan had already begun to cry so I scooped her up and rocked her as I talked to the operator then called Sven. By the time the cruiser got there, the girl was long gone. I did my best to describe her but their hands were pretty tied.
Sven stumbled through the door while I poured the officer coffee. I'd just gotten Morgan to stop crying and she babbled sweetly for him in her high chair. "Officer, this is my husband."
The officer nodded and shook his hand. He reminded me of my father. Older with short prematurely all grey hair and skin the color of tobacco. He was kind and soft spoken and took every detail he could even though it wouldn't mean much. Sven sat next to me and gripped my hand to the point I had to remind him that bones indeed existed in it.
His voice rumbled out soft and deep. "I'm sorry I can't be of much help but going ahead and making a report will serve you in the long run. It troubles me that this is the second time it's happened. Do you often have trouble with your students Mr. Aas?"
"No. Never this bad. I have had the flirters, all of my associates have, but it is a moral quandary to have relationships with students so I avoid it like the plague." He sighed and Morgan reached for him. He scooped her up and held her dear. "Thank you for coming here so quickly."
"It's no problem, just doing my duty. If you're worried about your family, I would suggest updating your security system. There're an unfortunately large number of entry points in your house. A dog might help as well. These sound like young, love struck girls but in my line of work, I've learned that precaution can be quite valuable."
"Thank you officer. " I smiled at him sincerely. He finished his coffee and wished us the best before leaving.
I hadn't even locked the door before Sven was calling a security agency. Walking up to him slowly, I wrapped my arms around his waist. Morgan was still cuddled into his chest and reached to hold one of my braids in her hand. I let her and put my face near hers, forehead to forehead. We listened to the vibrations and muffled hums from his chest as he talked to the operator.
When he finished on the cell phone, he kissed my forehead. "I'm taking off December to spend it with you."
"You're not going to lose your job over some girls." I tightened my hold around him.
"Well I'm staying until they put in the alarm system."
"That's fine." I kissed his jaw. "Thank you. You came so fast. I just..." I reached up to cup his face and kiss him deeply.
Sven was like a fairytale. I was just so happy that he was there for us. He swooped in like a gallant knight and all I could do was love everything he was.
We sat up together, even after Morgan was long asleep. She was on his chest and we were both on the floor, my head on his shoulder. I absent mindedly traced my fingers across his ribs, counting the bones. We didn't speak; just felt each other's warmth. In the three of us, there was a little bubble of safety against the world.
I finally spoke first. "You know it was her."
"I know." He sighed
"I gave her name to the police."
"I'm worried it's going to be he said, she said."
"The officer said the same but it's good we have her name on file."
"You're not safe enough. I hate it." I felt him turn toward me and I smiled softly.
"It will right itself and if not... have you ever thought about another college? You're a great professor."
"Well, if it works out with your family... why not Alabama State?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
I stared and smiled. "If it works out... maybe." I put my head on his shoulder. "Why did you leave Sweden?"
He sighed and smiled. "I wanted something different. In late spring or early summer, I'd like you to visit with me. I want my family to meet you and Morgan."
"I'd like that. Will they like me?" I put my chin on his shoulder.
"They will love you. While we are here, how about we talk?" He smiled at me.
"Talk?"
"Talk. We will talk about everything, the past, the present, the future. I want to hear about your favorite episode of your favorite cartoon, I want to hear about where you want Morgan to go to school. I want to share my life with you in more than name."
"Ok. Tell me about you." I smiled.
"I was born and raised a little outside of Gothenburg, the youngest of 5."