Blue Saturn (23 page)

And unfortunately that inclination came to a front more than once tonight. But Mike, as he promised he would, slowed everything down, until I gained control again. Or in reality, until he gained control again.

And I let him, because with Mike in control I felt so...

“What are you thinking about, baby?” Mike asks me, interrupting my thoughts.

“Nothing,” I say quietly.

“I can hear those cogs in your head turning from here. Tell me,” he urges me.

“I was thinking that...” I feel my lip start to quiver and I quickly bite it back.

“Baby?” Mike says as he moves closer to me. “Are you okay?”

I nod my head as tears come to my eyes.

“Are you having regrets?” he asks.

“No,” I say as a sob escapes my throat.

“Tell me what’s wrong, please?” Mike takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, gently kissing each of my knuckles.

“I was just thinking that...when we were...I felt so...” I shake my head. I can’t say it.

“What? What did you feel?”

I take a breath in and mouth the word ‘loved.’

“Loved?” Mike asks.

I nod my head.

Mike moves closer to me and takes me in his arms, tucking me in under his chin and wrapping his arms and legs around me. “That’s because you are loved Lyndsay. Very much.”

I cry into his chest for a few minutes before I pull away, coming up for some cooler air. I smile up at him as he pulls my hair away from my face.

“You’re not going to tell Gavin I cried after having sex are you?” I say.

Mike smiles but shakes his head.

“I know you two tell each other everything.”

“I’m not telling Gavin anything about tonight,” Mike says. “Except that my girlfriend looks even better naked than she does in that red and white polka dot bikini.” Mike rolls on top of me. “At least I think she does. I better get another look, just to be sure.”

22.

“Daddy, Santa is here!!”

Mikey is jumping on the bed. It’s early, really early. What is it with kids and Christmas morning?

“Okay. Okay,” Mike says as he slowly sits up. “Can you tell Santa that he’s early and tell him to help himself to some coffee?”

“Okay.” Mikey jumps off the bed and runs out of the room.

“What does he mean ‘Santa is here’?” I ask as Mike lies down next to me.

“I asked Steve to be Santa,” Mike says. “He’s an orphan, has no family. He was going to be alone for Christmas so I asked him to come here to celebrate with us. I thought it might be nice for Mikey if Santa visited.”

I laugh. “Steve must be thrilled with that.”

“He was surprisingly willing.” Mike leans in and kisses me. “Merry Christmas, Lyndsay.”

“Merry Christmas, Mike.”

I moved into Mike’s room the night after our weekend long stay in the hotel suite. Not that I had much to move. But Mike had insisted that we share a bedroom completely, including wardrobe and bathroom space.

I wasn’t so sure I was ready for that level of intimacy, but now, it seems like we’ve been doing it for years.

When I venture into the living room after having a shower, I greet “Santa” with a hug.

“Merry Christmas, Steve,” I whisper to him.

“Merry Christmas, Lyndsay.”

I smile up at him and shake my head. I’ve seen way too many sides to Steve, and I’m sure this one has taken me most by surprise.

“Santa” stays for about an hour and a half before he tells Mikey he has other little boys and girls to visit. Steve returns and joins us for a breakfast of waffles and pancakes, which he cooks. Not long after breakfast, Mike, Gavin and Steve go outside and talk at length. I watch them as I tidy the kitchen. The caterers will be here at nine-thirty and they specifically asked for a clean and tidy kitchen space.

Mike’s family will be arriving around midday for lunch, so I encourage Mikey to have a little play before his cousins arrive. He’s keen to open his presents, but Mike said he has to wait until we’re all together before opening presents. My present to Mike will be here around one o’clock.

Gavin comes into the house and wraps me in a huge hug. His hair is dyed green and red. “Merry Christmas, Lyndsay. I had no idea what to buy you so I didn’t get you anything.”

I laugh. “I didn’t know what to get you either so I donated fifty bucks to have a tree planted in your honour.”

Gavin laughs. “Lamest present ever.” He kisses my cheek. “But at least it makes me look good. Have a good day Lyndsay.”

“You too Gavin.” He leaves to spend Christmas with his oversized family.

The caterers have full control over the food and table settings, so Mike, Mikey, Steve and I are sitting out in the sun waiting for Mike’s family to arrive. Mike reaches across and takes hold of my hand.

“We leave to go to Auckland on the eighth of January,” he tells me.

“So soon?” I ask.

“Yeah. All the permits have come through. Some really awesome bands have committed. Tickets are selling quickly. It’s all go.”

“Okay,” I say. “Do I have to go? Or can I stay here with Mikey?”

“I want you to come. Both of you.”

I nod my head. Auckland. Earthquakes and prying step fathers. I don’t have fond memories of Auckland. “How long are we going to be there?”

“Four days,” Mike answers. I know he can feel me shaking because he squeezes my hand to reassure me but I get up and go inside.

I’m half way up the staircase when I hear Mike call out after me. I keep going, taking the stairs two at a time and go into my old bedroom.

“Babe, what are you afraid of?” He’s standing at the entrance to my room. I am standing by the windows looking out to the driveway.

“Everything,” I say because sometimes it feels like that.

“He’s in jail. He can’t hurt you,” Mike says slowly walking toward me.

“I know.”

“And the chances of there being another earthquake are so slim...”

“I know, I know,” I say.

“We’ll be together the entire time.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“I’ll keep you safe.” He’s standing right in front of me now.

I smile up at him. “I really hate New Zealand,” I say through a laugh.

“Then after this, we will never go back there.” He wraps his arms around me and holds my head against his chest. I love that I fit so perfectly under his chin. He kisses the top of my head before I feel his head turn to the side. “My family are here,” he says. “Let me look at you.” He holds my face in his hands and smiles down at me. “I’m so nervous to see them.”

“You’re nervous? I’m the one who’s supposed to be nervous.”

He briefly kisses me. “We can both be nervous.”

“Is there anything in particular I should be nervous about?”

“No. Only that I haven’t seen anyone in years. I don’t know how they’re going to feel about me.” He takes my hand and we walk together from the room.

Cherry, Jacob and the kids were the first to arrive. When Cherry and Mike embraced, they held each other so tightly, for so long that it brought tears to my eyes. They whispered endearments to each other before looking at each other and then they laughed. Cherry kissed Mike’s cheek.

“You’re a handsome devil,” she said before standing aside to allow Mike to shake Jacob’s hand.

Clarke took to Mike instantly, telling him all about his new bike that Santa had brought for him. Chloe on the other hand, wouldn’t go near him.

“She’ll warm to you,” Cherry said.

Mike introduced me to Jacob before we all went through to the back of the house. Steve and Mikey were still sitting outside. Mikey seemed to be playing air guitar and Steve was playing air drums.

When Clarke saw Mikey, he ran out to greet his cousin. They immediately made their way to the jungle gym where they playing for the majority of the day.

“You could’ve told me Steve was going to be here,” I heard Cherry whisper angrily to Mike.

He gave Cherry a puzzled look before he laughed. “I forgot about that.” Mike looked at me and shrugged. “Cherry and Steve had a thing for a while.”

“Once,” Cherry said. “We slept with each other once, long before I met Jacob.”

“He was her first,” Jacob said, gently patting his wife’s bottom.

“And it was terrible,” Cherry added.

I laughed and looked at Mike, shaking my head.

Steve’s face went from relaxed to tense as soon as he saw Cherry. But Cherry decided very quickly that she was going to be the bigger person in that situation and warmly greeted Steve with a hug and a kiss to the cheek before introducing her husband and kids.

The caterers quickly brought out a tray of mock-tails and we all settled down on the outside furniture awaiting the arrival of Mike’s father and brother.

They arrived soon after. Mike asked me to accompany him to the door when the bell sounded.

The first thing I noticed about Mike’s father was how eerily similar Mike was to him. I looked back and forth between the two of them, clearly seeing a glimpse into the future, knowing that in another thirty years, that is exactly what Mike will look like.

“Son,” Mike’s father said in greeting.

“Hello Dad.” Mike’s voice broke as he greeted his father.

The two men stood looking at each other, neither one acknowledging my presence. Finally, Mike stood forward and hugged his father. If his reunion with his sister hadn’t quite brought me to tears, that one did.

The two men held each other for a long time before they each patted each other’s backs. “I’m sorry, Dad,” Mike said before releasing the embrace.

“I’m to blame also.” Mike’s father looked at me. “You must be Lyndsay.”

“Sorry,” Mike started. “Lyndsay, this is my father, Victor.”

“Call me Vic.” Vic put his hand out for me to shake.

“It’s nice to meet you Vic.”

Vic stepped into the house. “So, where is my grandson?”

Mike answered the door alone when Carey and Bianca arrived. I was in deep conversation with Cherry about Victor and Mike’s strained relationship.

“They’re too much alike,” Cherry explained. “They both had dreams and Mike has reached his. Dad, well Dad was a concert pianist, but an injury during his early twenties rendered his middle and ring finger on his left hand useless and he had to kiss that dream goodbye.”

I looked over at Victor’s hand and noticed that those two fingers were permanently curled up.

“I think a lot of it is that Dad is jealous, but seeing Mike abuse his talent...I think Dad was disappointed more than anything. And then there was the whole thing with Mum.” She stopped talking when she saw Carey and Bianca walk into the yard. “Check out those boobs,” she said, hiding her lips behind her glass of orange juice.

I wanted to ask her what happened between Mike and his mum, but I never got a chance to.

Carey is a lot shorter than his brother, and a lot fairer. But he has that Greene bone structure that gives his face a very handsome appearance. I instantly picked up on the tension between the two brothers as Mike introduced me to Carey and Bianca. And just as Cherry had said Bianca had a thin waist – really she has a thin and toned everything – and two very oversized breasts. They looked completely unnatural for her small frame and the fact that she wore a tight fitting white dress didn’t particularly help to hide them.

But other than that, Bianca is actually quite easy to like. She has a good sense of humour and at times during the afternoon when things got a bit tense, she had a natural knack of making everyone feel easy.

Mike’s “present” was due to arrive at any moment. I kept an ear out for the doorbell while I told Carey and Bianca a little about myself.

Finally, when the “gift” did arrive, I brought him through to the outside deck.

“Who is this?” Mike asked, scanning the photographers’ bags and the camera which hung around his neck.

“I didn’t know what to get you for Christmas. You’re not an easy man to buy things for. But I thought, well...you don’t have any photos of your family. Mario is a photographer. And since your family are here today...” Mike was staring at me blankly as I rattled on my explanation. “I thought it would be nice to get some photos and then you can hang them on the walls...if you want to...or you don’t have to...you can ask Mario to leave...he signed a NDA...Gavin gave me your lawyers number...it’s all...been...arranged...” Mike was still staring at me. “I should’ve just minded my own business.”

The words were hardly past my lips when Mike came at me and pressed his lips firmly up against mine, holding me tightly against his body. He kissed me for a long time before he rested his forehead against mine and looked deep into my eyes. “You’re always so thoughtful. Thank you. It’s perfect.”

My instructions to Mario had been that I wanted candid, casual and relaxed shots, no posing. He was very discreet as he spent a bit over an hour taking photos of Mike and his family together, before he shook my hand, thanked me and said he’d be in touch once the photos were ready to preview.

After lunch, we sat down to open presents.

There was an array of presents handed out, ranging from soft toys and books for little Chloe up to a beautiful diamond necklace for Bianca from Carey.

When it came time for Mike to hand out his gifts, he left the room for a minute before returning with two large boxes and three envelopes in his hand. He gave one envelope each to his father, Cherry and Carey.

“Open them all together,” he said before sitting back down next to me, holding my hand tight.

Vic, Cherry and Carey all looked at each other and opened the envelopes. As their eyes scanned the printed paper, each one slowly opened their mouths in shock and their eyes became wide.

“He’s paid off the mortgage,” Cherry said, showing the piece of paper to Jacob.

“Mike,” Carey said. “We only just got the loan. That was a six hundred thousand dollar loan.”

Mike shrugged and smiled. “I live comfortably. You should too.”

“Mike,” Vic said. “I can’t accept this.” Vic was holding three sheets of paper and I wondered just how much debt he had been in.

“You have to, it’s all done.” He leaned into me and whispered, “I’m going to give you your present later, when we’re alone.”

“And the car loan.” Bianca said then, looking down at the sheet of paper in her hands. “Mike, thank you. Thank you so much.” Bianca stood up and came toward Mike. He stood and met her for a hearty embrace. “Now we can have the wedding we dreamed of.”

“The wedding you dreamed of,” Carey corrected.

Mike laughed. “As long as I’m there, I don’t care what sort of wedding you have.”

“You’ll be there,” Bianca said, kissing his cheek. “Maybe Blue Saturn can play a few songs.”

“Maybe Mike can write you a song for your wedding waltz,” Cherry chimed in.

“Oh could you?” Bianca asked.

“Sure,” Mike laughed and looked at me. He was smiling and laughing and I realised then, this moment had made him complete. He was with his family, his closest flesh and blood and he was happy.