When the Music Ends (The Winter Rose Chronicles) (30 page)

            Sean,
for his part, was delighted to have his wife with him all the time. She was
simply glowing constantly now, whether from her pregnancy, playing in the orchestra
she had always loved, or just being with him, he didn’t know. Perhaps it
was all three. He had taken to spoiling her, watching her closely for signs of
interest in some random object and then buying it for her, just to watch her
eyes light up. She would protest, of course, but she was getting much better
about simply accepting his little gifts. The thanks he received later in bed
were well worth any money he spent. Despite her increasing size, Erin was as passionate as ever, which pleased her husband very much.

            One
day, just for fun, Sean took Erin to the grocery store. It was early June, and
her concert would be the following week. With only two months left in her
pregnancy, she was beginning to feel uncomfortably heavy. Thankfully it was not
all that hot yet.

            Sean
left his wife for a moment to use the bathroom, while she browsed the fruits
and vegetables, her mouth watering at the smell of fresh new strawberries. All
she had to do was glance at them and her husband would buy her a box and feed
the ripe red fruits to her, kissing her after each bite. Hmmm. Maybe she should
shock him and just ask for them.

            "Erin?"

            She
turned towards the female voice. It was Valerie. Erin regarded her mother a
little warily. They had not parted on the best of terms five years ago, and
they had not spoken to or seen each other since. It was an awkward moment.

            "Mother."

            "It’s
been so long. My goodness you’ve gotten fat. You almost look
pregnant."

            "I
am pregnant."

            "Oh
Erin, didn’t I always warn you to be careful? You’re too far along
to do anything about it now."

            "Do
anything? Why would I do anything? I’m happy to be pregnant. It
wasn’t exactly an accident."

            "What,
you mean you did this to yourself on purpose?" Valerie regarded her
daughter with an expression one generally reserved for unmentionable things
left moldering on the sidewalk.

            "More
or less. It’s not a bad thing Mom." Erin kept her tone neutral,
though seeing her mother’s negative reaction to what was one of the most
joyous events in her life did sting a bit.

            "It
is. Once you have a baby, life is never the same afterwards."

            "I’m
okay with that. So is Sean."

            "Who’s
Sean?" Valerie’s eyes narrowed.

            "My
husband."

"Husband? You’re married?"

"I sent you an invitation, Mom," Erin reminded her
mother gently, "I’ve been married for a while."

            "I
never got an invitation. You must not have sent it."

"I did. Maybe it got lost somewhere. If so, I’m sorry.
But it’s not a surprise, is it, that we’re married? I mean
we’ve been together since I was in high school. I used to talk to him on
the phone all the time. He’s Sheridan Murphy’s brother."

Valerie shrugged. Clearly she had no idea what her daughter was
talking about.

            Sean
returned from the bathroom at that point. He slipped his hand into his
wife’s and turned to look at Valerie.

            She
gave him a rather thorough look. "Nice." She said finally, "I
wish I had been informed about the wedding."

            "We
sent an invitation," Sean said. "You didn’t get it?"

            "No,
I never did. Where did you send it?"

            "To
Motley. The last I heard you were living with Bill," Erin said.

            "With
Bill? I only lived with Bill four months. I moved back to town in the middle of
March four years ago."

            Erin furrowed her brow at her mother.

            "Seriously?
You dumped your husband, abandoned your child, all for a love affair that only
lasted half a year?"

            "Don’t
you dare take that disapproving voice with me young lady," her mother
said harshly. "You were glad to see me go. You couldn’t wait to
move in with your little friend. Now I see why."

            "You’re
wrong. Sean didn’t live with his parents. He had his own place."

            "I’m
surprised you didn’t move in with him."

            Erin ignored the comment.

            "At
any rate," Valerie continued, "you got what you wanted. You always
were the meanest little girl. It was a relief to get away from you and your
critical comments and your hard eyes." Erin tensed.

            "I
beg your pardon, ma’am," Sean said, "but that just
isn’t true. Erin isn’t mean at all. She’s the sweetest woman
I’ve ever known."

            "You
must have very low standards."

            It
was such a rude thing to say that Sean was stunned into silence.

            "You
can’t imagine what she said to me before she left to move in with your
parents. She told me I was selfish. Erin is the selfish one. She always has
been. All she cares about is playing that stupid oboe, and it’s loud and
annoying. I hate it."

            "Erin is not selfish at all. Nothing could be further from the truth." He slid his arm
around her and cradled her close to his side. "And as for her playing, I
can’t imagine what’s wrong with you. It’s amazing."

            "It’s
all right, Sean." Erin’s voice was calm and soft. "You
don’t have to defend me. It doesn’t matter."

            "It
does."

            "No.
I know she’s never liked me. It’s fine."

            "You
see," Valerie sneered, "she knows she deserves it. She’s just
mean by nature."

            "If
I’m mean, mother, it’s because I’ve learned from the best,"
Erin said, her voice hard. "But I’m not mean. If I were, I would
tell you what I really think of you. I would tell you you’re a tramp who
abandons a twenty year marriage in favor of a six month affair. I would say
that you always were a terrible mother. I would say all those things if I were
mean, but I’m not. In fact, Mom, there’s nothing wrong with me.
There never has been. I’m perfectly fine. Come on honey, let’s get
out of here."

            They
turned and left the store, leaving Valerie, her mouth open, gawking after them.
Erin had never defended herself to her mother before, but she had finally been
provoked beyond caring, and the response had been swift, and vicious, and
honest.

            The
couple drove home in silence. Sean was slightly impressed at how strong his
wife had been. Erin, as her anger wore off, began to feel a twinge of regret.
She had, perhaps, gone a little too far.

            Back
at the house, Erin found Mrs. Murphy watching the Food Network in the family
room. It appeared that shepherd’s pie would be on the menu soon, as she
was frantically scribbling down ingredients and instructions. Erin waited for
the commercial before kneeling beside the chair and giving her mother-in-law a
tight hug. It had all started with this woman, who had raised such an amazing
son and daughter that they could see past Erin’s shyness and hurt and
love her. What a wonderful woman Ellen was to put off her own righteous
indignation at Sean and Erin’s choices, which really had been handled
badly, and welcome Erin into the family anyway.

            "I
love you Mom," Erin said softly, kissing Ellen on the cheek. Then she
walked out of the room and headed upstairs.

            "What
on earth was that about?" Ellen asked her son.

            "We
ran into Valerie James at the store."

            "Oh,
I’m sorry to hear that. Is Erin all right?"

            "Yes.
She finally stood up to her mother."

            "Good.
You’d better go and make sure she’s handling it though."

            "Right."
Sean went up to his room to check on his wife. He found Erin lying on her side
on the bed. She was not crying, nor did she look upset. She was simply gazing
off into the distance as though deep in thought. He slipped onto the bed beside
her and wrapped his arm around her waist, placing his hand on her belly so he
could feel their son moving. The little boy was active today, and pressed hard
against his father’s touch. Sean grinned.

            "I
love you," Erin told him softly.

            "I
love you too. You know why, don’t you? Say it, Erin, and believe
it," he urged.

            Erin looked at her husband. Her voice was calm and sure as she told him, "You love me
because I’m a good girl and I deserve it."

            "That’s
right. You are." He trailed his fingers down her cheek.

            "I
think I should apologize to her."

            "Why?
You told the truth. She is a terrible mother and there isn’t anything
wrong with you."

            "I
know. But I shouldn’t have called her a tramp. That wasn’t
necessary."

            "So
send her a card. Don’t call. I don’t want you to talk to her
anymore. Nothing good can come of it."

            "You’re
right. I’ll double check the address this time, though."

            "So
are you all right?"

            "Yes.
I’m fine."

            "You
look a little sad."

            "Do
I look like a girl who needs to be made love to?"

Sean grinned at the old often repeated comment.

            "Yes,
you do. Turn over, baby, and let me help you with that."

            That
revived Erin’s smile. She rolled into Sean’s embrace, a little
awkwardly with her big belly throwing her off balance, and wrapped her arms
around his neck, pulling him over to kiss her. He didn’t resist. Erin still, always, had the sweetest most kissable mouth, and Sean was no more immune to it
than he had been the night of the homecoming dance. He opened his mouth on hers
and she responded in kind, letting his tongue plunge between her lips. She
hummed a little as he plundered her deeply, loving the heat that was rising
between them.

            And
now Sean was lifting her shirt over her head, unhooking her bra, revealing her
breasts. They were very large now, bigger than he had ever expected, and he
lifted one in his hand, testing its weight before lowering his mouth to the
tender peak. Erin pressed her husband’s head closer to her, urging him to
give the straining nipple a thorough tending-to, and Sean complied, tugging,
sucking, nipping gently, until Erin was making soft pleasure noises with every
breath. Then he released it and went directly to the other to begin again.

            When
Erin’s breasts were completely stimulated and needed a little break, he
pulled back and began stripping off his clothing. Erin wriggled awkwardly out
of her pants and underwear, baring herself for the consummation to come
shortly. But first, she wanted to give her husband back a little of the
pleasure he gave her.

            "Lie
down, Sean," she told him, her voice sultry and slow. He did and she
crawled over to him, taking his sex in her hands and stroking it. He made a
soft approving sound as she worked the large shaft. Erin could hardly wait for
that thick sex to plunge into her. But first this. She lowered her face and
rubbed her cheek against the sensitive head before pressing her lips to the
tip. Her dexterous little tongue snaked out and she licked him. Sean groaned. Erin took her time, teasing him all over, nibbling with her lips, before she returned to
the tip and opened her mouth, taking him deep inside.

            "Oh
Erin," Sean moaned, "that’s amazing." He always loved
for his wife to tend to him this way. She had such control of her mouth and
lips and tongue from her years of playing the oboe, and that control gave her
excellent skills for oral sex. And she wasn’t a bit shy about doing it.

            Erin pleasured her husband with her mouth and hands for long moments before he asked her to
stop. He didn’t want to let go in her mouth, not this time. Not when Erin
hadn’t had her pleasure yet.

            "Stop
now, baby," he told her gently, "It’s time for me to be
inside you."

            Erin gave her husband one last thorough lick before releasing his sex. In the past it had
been their custom for him to be on top, but during late pregnancy, the weight
of the baby was uncomfortable in that position, so Erin simply stayed where she
was, kneeling, and Sean moved around behind her, parting the petals of her sex
and caressing her, making sure she was ready for him. She was, wet and relaxed
and eager, and Sean took her sweet invitation, pressing gently into her,
groaning as that tight little passage slowly opened around him.

            Erin wanted to squeal with pleasure as Sean’s big penis slid home inside her, but she
knew that her mother in law was downstairs and didn’t want to be
overheard, so she held it in.