Author's Note - This story has 8 parts which I am releasing as I finish editing them. For the best experience, please read them in sequence or you may not be able to follow the story properly. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on real characters and events. All names and locations are fictitious. Thank you.
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A Night Of Discovery
Eva
Exiting my shower, my mind was still on Ava as I dried myself off and walked back into the bedroom. I felt full and totally relaxed from the meal, beers and shower. I had to think for a moment on the most likely place I might find my jammers. Since I usually slept in just my boxers, it had been a bit since our 'jammers' days. I dug through the bottom dresser drawers until I found them, slipped them on and headed back down to the family room...
Lounging on the sofa, Eva turned her head to look at me as I came into the room. I paused on the steps and imitated her twirl to show off my attire, my amateurish spin drawing a big smile and chuckle from her as she patted my spot on the sofa next to her.
"I got you a fresh beer," she said, pointing to it on the coffee table. "I also changed the TV channel to some music...I hope you don't mind."
I nodded in agreement as the sounds of classic rock played. "At least you picked some good stuff!" I teased, as I walked across the room, grabbed my beer and slid into my corner. She leaned forward and poured herself some more wine from the bottle on the coffee table. 'She must be feeling relaxed by now', I thought to myself, noting the nearly empty bottle. Leaning back, she swiveled sideways on the couch to face me, tucking her legs up under her butt. I sensed she was finally ready to get serious and tell me what was going on.
She started off slowly, searching for the correct words as she went. Knowing that she usually gave me clues about her feelings and wishes from her facial expressions, I watched intently as she spoke.
Jeff and her had separated...it wasn't because they didn't love one another, but rather because she couldn't have children. She described how they had started trying about a year after they had moved in together. She had gotten pregnant once, but had a miscarriage a few weeks later, then she had trouble getting pregnant again. They finally went to several doctors and confirmed Eva's fears...she had the same problem that her mom had. Ava and I were very blessed to have had Eva. The doctors had said she was a miracle birth, so we had decided to forgo further attempts and just devoted our lives to Eva.
Jeff, however, didn't deal well with the news and wanted a natural offspring...no adoption, no surrogate, no exceptions. It tore them apart in the end. As she told me of her heartbreak, her sadness deepened. After setting my drink down, I instinctively did what I always had done in the past and opened my arms to her.
"Come here, cuddlebug." She placed her glass on the table and crawled into my arms just like she had done hundreds of times before. Cuddlebug was the nickname that Ava and I had given her because it was her favorite thing to do when we had our jammers on...Ava on her left, me on her right and our cuddlebug sandwiched in between us on the sofa. I could feel her softly crying as she burrowed into my side and finished telling me her story of their final breakup and her heartache. I held her in silence, gently stroking her hair while she cried her pain out.
Minutes later, she spoke again. "I don't want to make any decisions right now, dad," she whispered, her voice slightly breaking up. "I just want to be with the one person I know who truly loves me...I just need to feel that now."
"You came to the right place, then!" I answered. She gave me an ardenthug in response.
Her head was tucked under my chin and her cheek was against my chest. When I moved my right hand up to her face and slowly stroked her hair and cheek, she raised her head up and kissed my neck. "Thanks for being here for me, daddy." she murmured in my ear.
"Always!" I assured her.
She shifted in my arms and I relaxed my hold when she declared, "I need to pee! And I'm sure I look like a mess. Don't go anywhere! I need to cuddle some more, okay?"
"Sure thing, sweetie. I'll be right here." As she stood up to leave, I added, "Good thing it's Friday, cuz, I drank a little more than normal." I closed my eyes and laid back as the Eagles 'Peaceful Easy Feeling' began to play. It was one of my favorites and I sang along for a bit...