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A Romantic Surprise

Chapter 1

By Rachel

2014

 

“Jade, can you hand me a rose?” I asked impatiently.

My sister walked across the room and handed me four roses. Then she flopped down on the loveseat in the corner of the bedroom. “You know you could have just bought rose petals.”

“But I wanted it to be authentic, Willow.” I sighed. It was Valentine’s Day and I had something special planned for AJ when he got home. Jade was being a good sister and helping me. Well at least she was trying.

“Geesh, who peed in your Cheerios?” She remarked rudely, mainly because I called her by her first name. I rolled my eyes at her and continued pulling petals off the roses.

Once I finished spreading them around room, I walked around replacing all the rose petals that weren’t in the right place. Then I started placing candles throughout the room. When I finished, Jade was fast asleep.

She was currently pregnant and just starting to show. I was jealous of my older sister. AJ and I had been trying since before we got married to have a baby. Unfortunately we had no luck. Both of us had been to doctors to see if anything was wrong, but we were in perfect health. About two years ago, I decided to leave it in God’s hands. If we were blessed to have another child it would happen.

Gently, I took a seat beside her trying not to wake her. My thoughts were on AJ. I hoped he would be surprised with what I had planned for tonight. I had taken a lot of time planning a romantic evening for the two of us.

“Geesh Red. We’re you going to let me sleep all afternoon?” She said with a yawn.

“No, but I know how tired you are.” I replied softly.

“But I don’t think you want me to be over here while you and AJ do the deed.” She laughed when she saw the look on my face. “Ah, Red. There’s nothing wrong with fucking your man senseless.”

My face burned red. “Twig, stop!”

“Fine.” She sighed. “Make love to the man of your dreams. Is that better?”

“Umm….well…sure. Let’s not talk about my sex life.” It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable with talking about my sex. Wait, yes I was. My sex life was personal. It wasn’t an exciting as Jade and Lilly’s sex life. I was happy and so was AJ. What more did we need?

Jade let the subject drop, which made me happy. “Well, I better go pick up the girls from school. I’ll have Reese call you in the morning.” She stood up.

“Are you sure you don’t mind Reese staying over. What about you and Nick?”  I got off the loveseat.

“Calleigh is excited about the sleepover. Nick and I are fine. We already celebrated Valentine’s Day. Just relax and enjoy your night with your stud.”

After my sister left, I quickly slipped into my red dress. Then I made sure that everything was ready for dinner. Now all I had to do was wait for AJ to come home. He should be home in the next hour.

I took a seat on the couch and read a magazine to pass the time. Usually I had the patience of a saint, but not today. I’m really antsy. I just want AJ home. I looked up at the clock. He’s running late. I got up to check on dinner.

I turned down the temperature on the roasted rack of lamb I was making. No need for it to dry out. I set the towel down on the counter.

I prayed that AJ was late due to traffic. He knew I was planning something for tonight. I was starting to get upset, but I forced myself to calm down. There was no need to get upset because he was a half hour late. Instead I sent him a text message.

When I got no reply after twenty minutes, I started to get concerned. I reached for my phone. “Jade, has Nick come home yet?”

“Hey sis. Nick’s been home for twenty minutes. Shouldn’t you be romancing your husband?” She asked curiously over the noise. I could hear Reese and Calleigh carrying on.

“He’s not home yet. I texted and he never responded.” I was frustrated.

“I’m sure he got caught up in traffic and his phone died. He’s notorious for forgetting to charge it. Or maybe he’s off buying you some sexy lingerie. Maybe whips and chains.” My sister laughed at her own comment. I didn’t think it was funny.

“You’re no help, Jade. I’m going to go in case he tries to call me.” I hung up on my sister.

Three hours later and no word from my husband, I was livid. Dinner was officially dried out. My hair was flat and my makeup wore off. I turned off the downstairs lights and went upstairs. I put my fleece pajamas on and got into bed. It might have only been seven thirty, but I wanted the day to be over.

I couldn’t believe AJ. Where could he have gone? Was he in an accident? Was he cheating on me? He had never been this inconsiderate in all our marriage. Maybe he was leaving me and it was easier to run away. My imagination was getting the best of me.

Just as I was getting under the covers, the bedroom door opened. In walked my husband with a single rose in his hand. I chose to ignore him and got into bed.

“Aspen this is for you.” He slid down on the ground beside the bed and gave me the rose. I didn’t accept it. “I’m sorry that I was running late. I left my phone at the studio. When I went back it was dead. I was going to call you because I got stuck in traffic coming back.”

I turned over, so that I wasn’t looking at him. I was pissed. His story sounded like a bunch of lies. I didn’t believe him. Why would he lie to me?

“Sweetheart.”  AJ started rubbing my back. I scooted towards the middle of the bed, so he wouldn’t be able to touch me. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Let me make it up to you. We can go downstairs, and I’ll make you dinner.”

I jumped out of the bed. AJ fell on his ass in shock. “Leave Me Alone!”

“What is wrong? I didn’t think you would be this pissed at me. It wasn’t intentional.” He said as he got up.

“What’s wrong? You really have to ask me that? You just don’t get it, so there is no need to explain.” I stomped out of the room.

I went into the kitchen and started to clean up the mess I called dinner. What a waste of a perfectly cooked meal. I scraped the lamb into the garbage can. I was so mad I was ready to break the dish in my hand.

“Aspen, baby, please don’t be mad at me.”  AJ whispered in my ear, as he wrapped her arms around me. I tried to shove him away, but it wasn’t working. His lips moved to my neck. It felt good, but I wasn’t going to let him off that easy.

“STOP! You can’t just walk in here, kiss me and think everything is alright.”  I yelled. He let go of me. I moved towards the sink. “I planned a romantic evening for us.”

“Sweetheart, I am sorry. You know I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally.” He said sincerely.

“But you did.” I started toward the living room. “I’m not over that fact. I just want to be alone.”

I collapsed on the couch. I finally let it all out. Tears streamed down my face and clouded my vision. I was much too emotional over AJ being late. He wasn’t lying, so why was I so pissed? Maybe I was trying too hard. I was never the romantic type. So, why was I trying so hard? Just because it was Valentine’s Day didn’t mean I had to change who I was. AJ loved me for me. I was a fool.

He sat down beside me and took my hand in his. We sat quietly both lost in our thoughts. I didn’t want to make the first move. I’d probably do something stupid.

“Aspen, I want to thank you for the romantic evening you planned for us. I feel guilty for ruining it. You went to a lot of trouble to make it perfect.” He said thoughtfully. He kissed my hand.

I leaned into his body. “It wasn’t your fault. I overreacted. You can’t control traffic.”

“Yeah, but I feel like a jerk.” He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him.

“Don’t. I’ve just been stressed lately. It’s got me feeling moodier than normal.”

“I know things have been rough. We both want a baby. I know seeing Jade pregnant is hard on you. We need to get away from everything. You need to relax. I can feel how tense you are.” AJ rubbed my arm trying to get me to relax.

“I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Maybe weren’t meant to have another child.” I sighed, not wanting to talk about it.

“You know we can always adopt.”  AJ said carefully.

“I know.”

Our conversation stalled from there. This was a touchy subject for me. I wasn’t opposed to adoption, but I wanted to be pregnant. I wanted AJ to experience that since he didn’t get to with Reese. Other times I felt like a failure. There was nothing medically wrong with me and yet I couldn’t get pregnant for the past few years.

My stomach started to growl. AJ looked at me and started to laugh. “That was loud. I think you need to eat.”

“Well, dinner is in the garbage. I guess its peanut butter and jelly.” I joked.

AJ pulled me up from the couch. “I have a better idea. Go get dressed and I’ll take you out to dinner.”

“I’m a mess.” I ran my hands through my hair.

“You look beautiful to me. Put your hair in a ponytail or a braid. Throw on jeans. I can’t have my wife starving.”

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed and putting on my shoes. My stomach kept rumbling. I couldn’t believe how hungry I was. I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn’t look that bad.

I made my way downstairs. AJ was on the phone with my sister. “Jade, she totally fell for it. Thanks for helping.” I wondered what they were planning behind my back. I decided to play cool.

“You ready?” I grabbed my purse.

“Yes, let’s go.” He takes my hand and we head outside.

I saw a limo sitting in the driveway. What was going on? I looked towards my husband in confusion.  AJ gave me the biggest shit eating grin I’ve ever seen. He continued to drag me to the limo. I gained composure as the driver opens the door.  AJ pushed me inside.

“What’s going on? Why are we in a limo?” I asked.

“We’re going away for the week.” AJ had the biggest smile on his face.

“You can’t be serious. I didn’t even pack. What about Reese? We just can’t take a week’s vacation out of the blue.” I started to panic. My husband always had some hair brain idea.

“Relax. Our luggage is already on the plane. Reese is staying with Jade and Nick. She’ll be fine. I explained everything to her before I came home tonight.”

I didn’t know whether to be excited or mad. I took a few deep breaths before I spoke. “You had this planned. You purposely ruined my dinner!!” I exclaimed.

“I just wanted to surprise you.” He gave me a sheepish grin. I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re going to love it. I promise.” He kissed me deeply.

“You’re a jerk. It’s a good thing I love you.” I pinched his cheek. “So my sister was in on this.”

“Yes, she was.”

“So where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise!” He laced his fingers with mine.

“You know I hate surprises. Tell me or I will refuse to go.” I said seriously.

“Liar.” He stuck his tongue out at me. I returned the gesture. “Fregate Island.”

I was deeply touched by the fact the AJ was taking us back to where we spent our honeymoon. Maybe this is what we needed.