Fate's Redemption (3 page)

“Hello ma’am, this is Call Hope call center.
I was told to call you if a certain woman contacted us.”

I sit up quickly and turn on the lamp beside
the bed. Danny mumbles and grumbles in his sleep, but I just put
him over away from the light. “Dominique?”

“Yes ma’am. She called about five minutes
ago. She wanted to relay that she will be at the Target in Yves
tomorrow at noon. It’s her lunch break at school and she walks
there.”

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll be
there.”

“Goodnight ma’am.”

The next day I force myself to grab drinks
from the coffee shop and a slice of pizza. I sit at the small bar
so that I’m facing the baristas and wait. I see Dominique the
second she rounds the corner. Her braids sway with her movements
along her back. She wears an oversized sweatshirt, and if I hadn’t
seen her before then I would never guess she was about to have a
baby. I watch her eyes scan the room until they land on mine. I
force my face into a slight smile, knowing that strong emotions
will terrify her into leaving.

She climbs onto the stool with a roll that
reminds me again of her baby and the challenge of such high stools.
“I’m sorry, we can get a table if you want. I didn’t consider your
condition when I chose these seats. I just thought it would be
easier for you to not have to worry about being seen with me,” I
say, sliding over the food and hot chocolate.

“It’s fine. Thank you for the food. I can pay
you back.”

I wave her offer away and follow her lead to
facing forward. I read different coffee choices for a few minutes
as Dominique eats. Judging from how fast she’s eating I regret not
getting more pizza. I get the attention of a barista as she passes
and order a slice of carrot cake and milk. When they’re delivered I
slide those over too.

“Carrot in a cake?” Dominique asks
skeptically.

“With cream cheese frosting. It’s amazing.” I
push the plate closer to her.

She pushes it back toward me. “Why don’t you
eat it?”

I nudge it back. “I already ate, and I got it
for you.”

Finally the girl cuts a tiny piece off, but
it doesn’t take her long to return for more. After she finishes her
milk and wipes her mouth on the sleeve of her hoodie, she slides a
sideways glance at me. “I looked you up, or your center or
whatever.”

“Yeah? How’d you do that?”

“At the library at school. You killed your
husband.”

I take a deep breath and nod gently. “Yes,
but only because I didn’t have any choice.” I wait.

“He did stuff to you? Made you do stuff?”

“Yes he did, and that’s why I started the
call centers. I didn’t have anyone to go to and I never want
someone else to feel like that.”

Dominique sits back in her seat. “Why didn’t
you go to the police?”

“I did. My husband forced me to retract the
accusations. I had someone see what was happening, even when I
didn’t want anyone to know. He saved me.”

“Your husband now.” It’s a statement but I
answer anyway.

“Yes. Danny noticed the signs the same way I
did with you.”

“What’s the process to get me away from him?”
she asks in a shaky voice.

I take a deep breath. “Well, you have two
options. The first is we wait until you’re eighteen. You said that
was just a few weeks away, right?” I wait for her nod before I
continue.

“When you become eighteen there is no legal
standing for your parents to force you back into their house. You
walk out on your birthday and you don’t have to answer to them, and
we can protect you. He would never find you. The second option is
we get you out right now, through Child Protective Services. You
would go into a foster home assigned by the state, there would be
an investigation and things would hit the papers pretty
quickly.”

Dominique’s head is already shaking but I
raise a hand to stall her protests. “If you have reason to think
your life or the life of your child is in danger, we have contacts
with the system. It sounds scary, but they’re really good people.
Can I ask you what you want to do after high school?”

Dominique pushes the tines of her fork into
the crumbs of her cake. “I’ve been planning on graduating early for
a long time. When I found out I was pregnant and they wouldn’t let
me get rid of it, graduating early was suddenly a great idea to my
parents.” She shutters and becomes silent. I stay as immobile as
possible, barely breathing as I wait her out.

“I applied to colleges before I knew.”

“Did you get accepted?” I ask just as
quietly.

She nods, a tear sliding down her cheek.
“Yeah.”

“Which ones?”

Her soft brown eyes meet mine as another tear
falls. “All of them.”

I swallow thickly and bring my face close to
hers. “Close your eyes for me.”

The girl shoots me a wary look before closing
her eyes. I whisper, “if you could go to any college in the
country, where would it be? What sweatshirt are you wearing a year
from now if all of your dreams come true?”

I watch her lips tremble. More tears fall
from her eyes, and I have to restrain myself from wiping them off
of her apple cheeks. “William and Mary.”

I smile and hand Dominique a napkin when she
finally opens her eyes again. “Virginia, wow! Isn’t that the oldest
university in the States?”

She smiles behind the napkin she’s blotting
her face with. “Second, Harvard is the first. William and Mary is
where Thomas Jefferson and sixteen signers of the Declaration of
Independence went though.”

“Oh my God, you’re going to be the president
some day!” I exclaim, and am rewarded with the best sound.
Dominique’s laugh is like tinkling bells. It makes your smile
wider, and before you know what happened, you’re laughing too.

“I do want to be a lawyer,” she admits.

I want to jump up and down. I want to pump my
fists. She’s dreaming. “Most politicians are lawyers.” I get
another smile and eye roll, so I lift my hands in surrender. “Just
sayin’.”

Dominique checks her watch and sighs, sliding
off of the seat. “I need to get back to school. Can I think about
what we talked about?”

“Yes, absolutely! If you want, I can get you
a cell phone, or just give you my number. You cannot get caught
though, not just for your health, but your baby.”

The girl nods absently as she thinks. “Can we
meet here on Friday, same time?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Did you know that William and Mary was
founded in 1693? Can you imagine the history and great minds that
place as seen?”

“Well what do you think she’s going to do?”
Danny asks, before making wop sounds as he spins the helicopter
blades to make it fly.

I set the laptop aside and join the boys on
the floor. After grabbing an ambulance I make a horrible rendition
of a siren that makes both boys laugh. I laugh with them and kiss
Ollie’s sweet head before I answer his dad.

“I have no idea, but whatever it is, is what
we’ll do everything possible. Isn’t that right little man?”

“Yeah!” Ollie claps and make’s my heart all
over. I love them more than life. A few years ago I couldn’t
imagine my life without them, but dreams do come true.

“Are you ready for Christmas, Bubba?” I ask
Ollie as I tuck him into his bed. His blue eyes go unfocused as he
thinks.

“I think so,” he says but his ‘think’ sounds
like ‘fink’. I fight to control the grin that can’t help but form.
If there is one think I’ve learned since Ollie has come inot my
life, is that the love of a mother is unconditional, at least for
me. When I let this little guy into my heart, I would move
mountains just to see a twinkle in his eye. There really was no
choice in him being there. From the second his daddy brought him
home from the only home he had ever known, he had a place with us.
Sure he’s Danny’s blood, but he found out about Ollie’s paternity
when he was almost two years old. We learned to be parents
together, and the journey of raising a child is priceless. Why then
am I hesitant to have another?

“What you want Santa to bring?”

Ollie plays with his blanket, little pudgy
fingers that are slowly losing the dimples around the knuckles that
mark him a baby. “It’s a secret.” Secwet.

I lean closer and whisper, “What is it? You
can tell me and I’ll make sure he knows.”

“Well Parker and Josie gots people to play
with all the time. I want one of those.”

My brow furrows. “You mean like going to the
park?”

“No. Like the kinds that stay at their house.
I want that.”

“Can you see these people? Are they around
all the time?” I ask, thinking maybe he means an imaginary
friend.

“No, Momma,” he says, getting frustrated.
“Parker says his cries and takes his toys, but they have fun too.
Josie always gets to play with hers and shares toys. I wanna
share.”

I sit up. “Are you talking about a brother
and sister?” I ask, recalling that the kids in his daycare class
have siblings. Ollie’s eyes light up.

“Yeah! I want one. But Josie says it takes
forever and ever.” I blink at the almost four year old and wonder
fleetingly if Danny has been talking to his son about having a
baby. I dismiss the thought as it forms.

“Alright. I’ll ask Santa.”

“Thanks, Momma.” He gives me a kiss and
hug.

“I love you, Bubba. More than the moon and
the stars.”

“Me too.”

I close the door quietly and walk down the
hall to the master bedroom. My husband is in his glory, already
naked, propped up against the headboard. What should look
presumptuous and ridiculous makes my breath hitch. He’s already
hard, his erection standing proud as he slowly moves his hand over
the length.

“Shut the door, Kinley,” Danny orders
quietly. I slowly push the door closed, the click sounding loud in
the otherwise quiet room.

I start with my ever-present cardigan, and
toss it on a chair. Danny’s eyes track my movements with a
single-minded focus. “Did you talk to Ollie about babies?”

His eyebrow rises at the topic. “No. Isn’t
three a little soon for the birds and bees?”

“He said he wanted Santa to bring him a
friend that lived in his house,” I explain as I take off my top,
then bra.

“And you said?” he asks absently, distracted
with the jeans slowly sliding down my thighs. I watch in rapt
attention as his hand squeezes at the top, before moving down his
length again.

“I said I would ask. What else could I
say?”

“Why don’t we figure it out later and you
come over here?” I can see by the flexing of his stomach that he’s
prepared to get me himself if I don’t follow his suggestion.

Moving to stand at the foot of the bed, I
crawl up his body, using my tongue to trace the veins in his feet,
which I know are particularly sensitive. I’m rewarded with a hiss
and muffled curse, the sounds bringing my heart on a steady climb
to pounding.

I open my mouth on the tender skin on the
inside of his knee, and suck. “God damn it Kinley.”

I move my eyes up to meet his eyes. “You want
me to stop?”

“Fuck no. The show might be over before you
get above my balls, but we’ll risk it, K?”

I smile against his thigh and nuzzle the
slightly course hair there with my cheek. “You’ve never given me a
reason to doubt your stamina.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,
sweetheart.”

I spread kisses up one thigh, then down the
other, opening my mouth and tonguing, sucking at random.

“Swear to Christ, Kinley,” he growls, lifting
his hips slightly.

“Are you regressing now?” I tease.

“I was shooting for fifteen, actually. At
least I don’t have pants on,” he pants.

I move closer to his inner thigh and say
against the sensitive skin in between his length and lower, “you’ve
never come unless I wanted you too.”

“I have no idea what you just said. My brain
went white for a second. I think I may have just seen the
light.”

“I’m speaking perfect English.”

“Let’s try speaking in tongues and see how
that goes?”

I slide my tongue up his length and stop at
the glistening drop at the top. “But, I’m not done playing yet,” I
whisper as he strains against my bottom lip. Danny’s mouth opens
and closes, whether he’s trying to form words or gasping for
breath. Either way I’m more than ready, but seeing Danny speechless
isn’t a thing to squander.

I sip the wetness from him and hum at the
taste. To say that I learned the art of sex with this man is an
understatement. He has brought me more pleasure than I can even
conceive and I love giving it back. When I finally take his length
deep into my mouth, his fists clench in the sheet beside him. He
quickly lets go and moves the hair out of my face so that I can
watch his baby blues sparkle with lust.

I can tell when he sets his mind to
forestalling his release. Sweat breaks out on his brow, his eyes go
half mast and his jaw clenches. Using my hand to take the base of
him, I set a rhythm that slowly increases in tempo. I lick and
suck, swirl my tongue and go down again until his hips are clearing
the bed, and his hands are more forceful, but always mindful to not
go too deep. My scalp prickles where his hands are clenched and
makes me go faster. My nipples are being abraded by the hair on his
thighs, and I arch my back to get more contact. I moan with him as
deep as I can and swallow.

“Fuck, you’re done,” I barely hear over the
pounding of my pulse. He grabs me swiftly under the arms and I’m
fully seated with him inside of my body before I have time to close
my mouth. Danny takes full advantage and sits up in the bed,
attacking my mouth. His tongue mimics the hard ride he sets with
his hand on my ass.

I strain my legs to keep the fast pace, and
move my hands to his hair. Arching my back, I finally stop trying
and let him do with me what he will. Danny moves his hands to the
sides of my breasts, his fingers spanning my ribs, lifting me
effortlessly as he takes first one nipple then the other into his
mouth.