Chapter One
Six months earlier
Dr. Matthew Bailey smiled and waved good bye to Mrs. Escaban as she waddled out of the front door of his private obstetrics office. Chuckling softly to himself at the thought that he was the palest Dr. Huxtable in the world, Matthew turned to his last patient of the day and found himself staring….he also found himself not breathing and when he finally took in a breath, it sounded like a gasp. When she looked up at him, Matthew found that his entire body was enflamed with heat. Trying to shake off his weird reaction to the expectant mother, he pasted a smile on his face and tried to ignore his libido.
“Mrs. Riley?” he questioned as he stepped forward with his hand outstretched for a handshake.
“Ms Riley. But please call me Kyra, I mean you’re going to become very intimate with the most private part of me,” the beautiful mother-to-be stated.
Chuckling at her too true statement, Matthew briefly allowed his eyes to take inventory of the treasure in front of him. She was taller than most women, but shorter than his own six foot three stature. He’d put her around 5’8”. She had the most beautiful dark brown skin color, like milk chocolate, his favorite dessert. Her body was curved in all the right places, she wasn’t model thin, but she wasn’t too thick either, she was in a word…perfect, even with her stomach distended with pregnancy.
Seeing her head cocked to the side, with her shoulder length black and brown streaked hair falling over one shoulder, he realized that he was standing there holding her hand and gawking at her like a horny teenager. At least the teenager part is wrong, he admonished himself, as he coughed before showing her into his examining room. She didn’t waddle like the rest of his patients, but that could be because she wasn’t as far along as the rest of his patients. However, she was still very graceful to be pregnant, she walked gracefully even if she weren’t pregnant, she must be a dancer or took ballet at some point, Matt reasoned. Barely glancing at her chart as he asked her to have a seat in the chair in front of his desk, he replayed all that he knew of her case.
25 years old, 14 weeks pregnant, moved here from another base in Virginia with her husband who had that fatal accident a few months back, living in a suburban area right outside of Boston, here for her first sonogram, looking at her face as she looked over the paper he’d placed in front of her about her diet and admitted to himself, and stunningly gorgeous. When she looked up, he hastily looked down as if perusing her chart and ran his fingers through his thick black hair before looking back up at her, his erratic hormones finally under control.
“Well Ms Riley, are you ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat?” he questioned, his friendly doctor smile back on his face.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, and I thought I told you to call me Kyra?” she smiled.
“Okay, well Kyra, let’s go meet this little one.”
The two of them stood up from their seats and walked into the examining room. Matt helped Kyra up onto the examining table and placed the Fetal Doppler on her stomach to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Trying to focus on his job, Matt began to smile as he heard the baby’s heartbeat.
“Well Kyra, your baby is healthy…wait, I mean your babies are healthy,” he said.
“My what?” Kyra screeched.
Matt turned to Kyra. “Ms Riley, you’re having twins,” he stated a smile on his face.
Matt watched in amused silence as Kyra’s eyes closed in shock and then widened in awe. Her mouth opened and closed as if she was talking but no words were forthcoming. Finally her hand touched her baby bump and she swallowed hard.
“I’m having twins? That’s amazing! Not improbable, twins run in my family, on both sides, but I just never thought….I mean…I never figured….this is just incredible! I mean it’s a good thing right? I mean I can handle it financially. I mean, oh my gosh! That‘s why Maria said I was showing really early huh? This is so great!” Kyra stated in a stuttering manner.
Matt just continued smiling as Kyra slowly came to the realization that she was indeed having twins. Turning to him, she threw her arms around him and hugged him with all of her might.
“Oh thank you! Thank you Dr. Matt!!” she exclaimed.
Laughing outright, Matt went against his usual protocol and hugged her back. As the two hugged, the hug slowly changed from one of friendly excitement to something infinitely more intimate. Even though he knew that it was wrong, Matt could not make himself pull away from her. When the two of them finally did separate they were both very much aware of the other. Clearing his throat, Matt smiled nervously at Kyra and opened his mouth to say something about her diet and pregnancy and what to expect when she shocked him by speaking first.
“Well, I guess my libido isn’t dead huh? I haven’t been that attracted to someone for a long time,” she stated matter of factly, pulling her shirt down and cocking her head to the side in wondering amazement.
Matt spluttered in shock. He couldn’t believe that she’d said that! I mean, a person would have to be blind, deaf, dumb, and half-dead to not notice the sexual tension and attraction that was flowing between the two of them, but he’d never remark on it.
“Ms Riley-”he began.
“Kyra,” she corrected.
“Kyra,” he amended, “It is perfectly normal for a pregnant woman’s sexual urges to increase as the pregnancy advances, sometimes it disappears all together. Every woman is different.”
“Dr. Matt,” she chuckled as she started to slide off of the examining table, “I don’t care about other women that you’ve dealt with, I know me and I know my body. What I experienced wasn’t because of the pregnancy; it was because of me finding you extremely attractive.”
Matt could only stare as she stood before him, an angelic smile on her face, making her almost ethereally beautiful. His heart pounded in his chest as he considered that for just a moment she might actually kiss him. He thought about that as his eyes alighted on her full thick lips. He’d seen some big lips, but hers weren’t just big, they were shapely and…..juicy. He could imagine feasting on her lips all day long. As his eyes began to close he watched as her head lifted to receive his kiss. Hearing someone clear their throat had him jumping back quickly and trying desperately to hide his burning red face and calm his pounding heart as he went to respond to his assistant.
“Yes Mrs. Eslinger?” he asked.
“Mrs. Bailey is on the phone for you,” Mrs. Eslinger stated.
“Mrs. Bailey?” he heard Kyra whisper behind him, her words sounding hurt.
“My mother,” he stated to her before turning back to his assistant, “Can you tell her I’ll call her back.” Not daring to look into why he felt that he had to explain himself to his patient…..that he’d almost kissed.
“Yes doctor,” his assistant smiled, and he knew that she’d be grilling him about Miss Riley when the office closed.
“Well doctor, I better let you go,” Kyra said, and as he turned to her, he was shocked again as she kissed him lightly on his lips.
“See you next time doctor,” she smiled as she walked out the door.
Matthew stood in silent shock as she walked out his door before giving into the weakness that had settled into his limbs and collapsed into his chair. The woman was forward, brazen, blunt….in a word, amazing.
“You did what?” her best friend screeched on the phone.
Pulling the phone away from her ear at her best friend’s squeal, Kyra walked around her kitchen collecting all of the things that she needed for her special meal: apples, strawberries, oranges, grapes, chocolate syrup, bananas, pickles, kiwi and sliced turkey mixed together in a bowl. Hmmm, I’ll be glad when this pregnancy thing is over, these cravings are killing me, she thought to herself before turning off the light in her gourmet kitchen and walking on bare feet to her breakfast nook. Sitting down with her legs stretched out on the window seat where she sat, Kyra waited until her best friend Marie finished her Spanish ranting. Hearing her tirade draw to a close with “stupido,” Kyra swallowed the mouthful of her “special” salad and spoke.
“Mi amiga, I couldn’t help myself. He was muy caliente! I felt as if he were mi Corazon, mi amore. He was standing there, looking at me and all I could think about was kissing him to satisfy my curiosity. I think he may be the only man capable of giving me le petite morte,” smiling widely Kyra spoke in Spanish, Italian and French.
She and Maria were both multi-lingual and relished learning new languages just for the heck of it. Maria was born in Madrid, Spain and moved to the States when she was 10. She immediately met Kyra at school and having a heart of compassion and selflessness, the young girl took Maria under her wing and showed her the ropes of attending an American school. The two of them set about teaching the other different aspects of their own culture and their biological languages. Maria taught Kyra Spanish and Kyra taught Maria Italian which was what her father spoke. When they entered high school they both chose to learn French since they knew they would be cheating if they chose Spanish or Italian. After taking four years of the language, for their graduation presents they both asked their parents for a trip to Europe. They backpacked around France, England, and Spain. It was there that they both came to a realization of what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Maria loved art, art history, and the culture of the arts and promptly took up Art History in college to become an Art Curator. Many people felt as if she was overlooking her own artistic beauty, at 6’1”, Maria stood out in a crowd, but it wasn’t only her height that got her noticed. With her tan skin, thin frame and beautiful Spanish features, Maria’s parents had pushed her to model. Maria hadn’t wanted to be known for her looks, however, and had gone on to become one of the most successful and well-known authorities on art and artists. She hadn’t regretted one minute of her decision since she made it. She and Kyra took every summer to go to some foreign country and learn some of the language and the culture; it was their own special tradition.
Kyra’s story was a little different. She was raised by her aunt and her grandmother from the time she was eight, since her parents were both killed in the line of duty while serving in the military. The government sent her two checks and she received two Purple Hearts to honor the passing of her parents. Her aunt and grandmother were wise, however and invested the money that Kyra was sent by the government. By the time that Kyra was in high school she had so much money she was known as the “rich girl.” Her aunt married Kyra’s Chemistry teacher when Kyra was a junior in high school and they, along with her grandmother, really hammered into her the importance of being independent. So when Kyra and Maria went off to Europe for the summer, Kyra had no problem navigating her way through the country. Very proud of her African-American & Italian heritage and her culture, Kyra’s family was very pleased when she told them that she was going to become a chef. So when Kyra and Maria returned to the states she set about to become the most sought after chef in the country. To the delight of her family and in the honor of her parents, she’d succeeded. Kyra’s mother was African-American, a dark skinned, sized 10 woman with an amazing singing voice that she’d passed onto her daughter. Kyra’s father was an Italian man, the typical Italian man, he was very smooth and cool and very into his family. Kyra was his pride and joy and he’d spoiled her rotten while he was still alive. He’d taught his daughter Italian and also how to cook. Kyra’s skin color was a beautiful dark brown milk chocolate color, her mother’s African-American pigmentation coming through more dominantly, although Kyra’s hair and cheekbones attested to her father’s Italian influence. The Gargulas had taught her daughter that color didn’t matter and that if she found true love she shouldn’t but a color requirement on it. Kyra had taken that piece of advice to heart.
The two women were inseparable and shared everything with each other. Kyra was there for Maria when Maria got married and then a year later when she had her first child, Kyra’s godson Ricky. Likewise Maria was there for Kyra when she’d married a drill sergeant in the Army, SFC Riley, and then when her husband died tragically when a new soldier, a very eager one, accidentally shot her husband when practicing cadences with his buddies during Basic Training. Maria held Kyra’s hand and stayed with her for two months as she’d grieved and then as she’d found out that her husband had left her a very special surprise….
Kyra turned with wide eyes to Maria. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered. Maria’s eyes had widened also.
“What?” she’d croaked out. “I’m pregnant Mare,” Kyra repeated flopping onto the side of the bathtub.
“What? How?”
“The usual way, Mare,” Kyra chuckled, “Landon and I made love everyday, even the day he was killed.”
Maria turned from the sink where she’d been examining the tests and knelt before Kyra.
“You know it figures that Landon would find some kind of way to leave his mark behind,” Kyra laughed.
The two women had laughed and like that the cloud of grief that had been hanging over Kyra lifted. She still mourned her husband’s death but she knew that he’d want her to move on with her life and it seemed as if fate had chosen her OB to help her do just that.
“Cara mia, you can’t just go around kissing men though,” Maria said furiously.
“I don’t mi amiga, it was only this once. Mi dispiace,” she apologized.
“You have to stop switching languages in the middle of sentences chica,” Maria laughed.
The two women laughed heartily and spoke of pregnancy matters before moving on to their plans for that summer.
“Make sure you check with your doctor that it’s okay. I mean you’ll be six months when we go, but with it being twins... who knows if the rules are different,” Maria advised.
“I will. I have another appointment with him in a few weeks, I’ll ask him then…” Kyra stated. Then she teased, “Or I could just show up to his office and ask him.”
“Kyra!” Maria exclaimed.
“Okay, okay. I’ll wait,” Kyra acquiesced.
The two talked for thirty more minutes before Ricky cried for attention from his mother. They said goodbye with plans to talk the next day before they hung up. Kyra sighed as she absently rubbed her distended stomach. Standing up she walked back into her gourmet kitchen, which looked as if it had come directly from an Italian kitchen, with garlic hanging over the stove and sterling silver pots hanging above the island. The color scheme of the room boasted of an Italian upbringing, with the red cabinets, white countertops, and green appliances. Placing her now empty bowl into the almost full dishwasher, Kyra’s mind drifted to her husband. The choking tears that usually came with his memory didn’t come this time, she saw his smiling face and the conversation that they’d had one week prior to the accident.
Landon flopped onto his back after exploding his seed deep inside of his wife’s womb. Smiling as he heard her gasping for breath, he rolled over onto his side and pulled her to him.
“I want you to always be happy,” he’d begun.
Kyra had begun to giggle because she’d thought he meant sexually.
“Well honey if you keep doing the same moves that you did tonight, you might just get your wish,” she’d said as she ran her hand over his chiseled, hairless, olive colored skin. Landon was a full-blooded Greek man with black hair and blue eyes whose body looked as if he lived in the gym. The two had run into each other at the supermarket that was located just off base. They were instantly attracted to each other and shocking family and friends alike were married within six months of meeting each other when they eloped in Las Vegas. They’d gone back and had a wedding six months after that, in an effort to appease bruised feelings, but they always celebrated the first wedding as their anniversary date.
Landon laughed and tickled Kyra lightly, he stopped when he saw that she was losing her focus and starting to yawn.
“No, honey, I mean that I want you to always be happy in life. I mean sex is a part of it…with you it’s a BIG part of it,” he chuckled when she playfully smacked his shoulder, “but I mean, if anything should happen to me, if I should die or something, you have to promise me that you will do your best to be happy and as quickly as possible.”
Kyra had looked at him confused as to why he would be talking like that, but when he persisted she agreed and in an effort to drive the haunting look from his eyes, she’d made love to him, slowly and thoroughly. She’d forgotten about that conversation right after but soon after the funeral it had come back to her with sudden clarity and hadn’t stopped running through her mind.
Kyra closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. It was an old meditation trick that her mother had taught her in order to keep her emotions at bay. Whenever she thought about Landon she instantly thought about her horrific experience when she was four. She hated thinking about that, it always stirred up what she saw as being unnecessary emotions. Exhaling slowly and raising her arms slowly in the air, Kyra was shocked out of her meditative pose by the sound of her doorbell ringing. Who can that be? She wondered as she walked through the hallways of her home to the front door. Smoothing her hands over her ponytail, Kyra turned on the porch lights and looked through the peephole to see who her late night visitor was. She gasped as she saw that Dr. Matt was standing outside of the door holding what looked to be her attaché case. Smiling at his generosity, she opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb.
“Well…Dr. Matt, it’s so nice to see you again,” she smiled.
“Um, yes, it’s nice to see you again also,” Matt stuttered.
Aww, that’s so cute, he’s all nervous to talk to me. What can I do to ease his worry? Kyra asked herself before having a brilliant and hilarious idea.
“Would you like to come in Dr. Matt?” she questioned.
“Well…I don’t know…I mean, it’s late and-” Matt began.
“Don’t worry I won’t attack you and kiss you like I did earlier, I promise…not unless you ask me to,” she laughed.
Matt blinked before he realized that she was trying to put him at ease. Laughing good-naturedly at their earlier meeting, Matt nodded his head and followed her into the door. Walking behind her to the living room, Matt tried to pay more attention to her home décor than to her beautiful derriere swaying before him. She lived in a very nice home. It was a two story home, with each room having a different color and theme. The hallways were a golden color and were filled with figurines of Greek mythology and paintings of Greek gods and demi-gods. As they passed the dining room and the kitchen on the right, Matt quickly glanced in and saw that the dining room was very classically elegant with cabernet carpet and maroon paneled walls and a huge table that looked as if it could seat a third world country. The kitchen was fit for a gourmet chef and looked as if it came directly from an Italian restaurant. On his left they passed what looked to be the formal living room which was completely white. Raising his eyebrows, Matt promised himself to ask her about that room. The next room on his left seemed to be a ballet studio, with ballet bars, mirrors on both walls and a desk with a boom box sitting on top of it. Following her around a corner on the left, Matt stopped when he saw the informal living room. It was every man’s dream room. With a bar on the left, a refrigerator on the right, what looked to be dark green felt carpet with lines as if the carpet were a football field, Matt could see why footballs were kept in a case on the side beside the refrigerator. His eyes took in the pictures on the walls. They contained Kyra and another man at different sporting events. He stopped perusing the walls completely when his eyes came upon one picture, his breath catching in his lungs he walked closer to the picture.
Catching where he was headed Kyra tried not to laugh.
“Y-y-you met the Boston Red Sox?” he whispered in awe.
Kyra laughed as she took his hand and brought him over to the large photograph on the wall next to her 64 inch television screen. While the first picture showed her, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, and Johnny Damon this photograph showed her standing in the middle of the Boston Red Sox at two of the greatest times in their recent history, when they won the World Series in ‘04 and then again in ‘07. Matt turned to stare at her with a look of admiration in his eyes.
“How?” he questioned.
“My mother knew “Papi” from when he was a kid. His family kept in touch with me after my parents died. So when he started playing for Boston I got season passes. I’ve always been a huge BoRSo fan and Papi introduced me to Johnny, Manny, and Pedro,” Kyra stated rolling her r’s as she said Pedro.
“BoRSo?” Matt asked.
“It’s what Maria, my best friend, and I call the Boston Red Sox. Anyway, Papi introduced me to the fellas, I started cooking for them whenever they were in the same city as me, they came to my wedding,” Kyra stated and then pausing she whispered, “they even came to my husband’s funeral.” Then shaking herself out of her reverie she finished with a smile, “I make them promise to not discuss their teams or baseball when they’re all around me, to me they’ll always be BoRSo players. These pictures on these walls remind me of that.”
“I’ve never met a woman who liked sports, much less liked the Red Sox and knew the players. I mean, they’re my favorite team of all time. It’s one of the reasons I asked to be transferred out here, I’ve always loved Boston,” Matt turned to Kyra and got down on one knee while holding her hand, “Will you marry me?” he teased.
Kyra laughed heartily and asked if he wanted a drink to which he accepted, forgetting that he’d come over with the express purpose of delivering her attaché case and leaving, not wanting to be alone with her for fear of his hormones spinning out of control. Following Kyra through the house Matt was consistently amazed at how peaceful her home felt, and how much it felt lived in already. He tried not to smile like a big kid when Kyra poured him a beer in a Boston Red Sox cup, but failed miserably.
“Why do you have beer in your home? You’re pregnant,” he questioned after taking a few big gulps.
Kyra laughed again before answering and he felt his groin stirring to life at the sound. What was it about this woman? He asked himself before focusing back on her.
“I checked online Dr. Matt, they said I could have one beer if I’m craving it, and I’ve been craving beer since I’ve gotten pregnant. Plus, I have family and friends who come by a lot and they all like to drink, so I always make sure that I have some beer in the fridge for them,” she explained before pouring herself a glass of ginger ale.
“Nauseous?” he asked, making a mental note of the symptom.
“Just a little, it comes and it goes,” she replied before taking a sip.
“Well, that’s perfectly common,” he stated although his eyes were cautiously aware of everything.
“I know that, Dr. Matt, my best friend, Maria, explained just about everything when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Oh, really?” Matt asked amused. “So, you really don’t have a need for a doctor like me then huh?” He chuckled softly when Kyra looked as if she were contemplating the idea.
“You know something? You’re right! I don’t need a doctor…” smiling mischievously at him she teased, “but you’re just too cute to fire, so I guess I’ll let you stay on as my doctor.”
The two shared a laugh and then drank their beverages in a friendly silence. When his pager went off, Matt was surprised, for a second he’d almost forgotten where he was, who he was, and his relationship…his professional relationship with Kyra. Looking at the number he sighed, someone was going into labor which meant that he had to go.
“I’m sorry-“ he began.
“Don’t be,” Kyra interrupted, “you’re a doctor, you’re a ‘baby’ doctor, of course you’re going to get paged.” She stood up with him, taking his glass and placing it beside hers on the counter. She turned to walk him to the door and he tried his hardest not to stare at her posterior as she walked but found himself failing at that as well.
“Dr. Matt? Are you checking out my butt?” Kyra’s voice laughed at him from in front of him.
“I’m trying not to,” he answered truthfully and was rewarded with a healthy laugh from her.
“Don’t feel bad, she has a tendency to hypnotize men. That’s how I got my husband Landon,” she said.
The room suddenly got very quiet, this time not a pleasant quiet like from before, but a silence that was thick with emotion and pain.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Matt whispered when they got to the front door and she opened it. “I wish there was more comfort that I could give you, but I’m afraid that I can’t.”
Kyra placed her hand on his arm before she spoke, “It’s okay, your desire to comfort is more than enough. Thank you.”
He nodded his head and turned to walk back out of the door. Stopping suddenly, he turned back to her, “What’s up with the all white living room?” he questioned.
Kyra’s eyes blinked in confusion and then crinkled at the sides as if remembering a very pleasant scenario. “I’ll tell you all about it when you come over for dinner this weekend,” she hinted.
“You want me to come over for dinner this weekend?” Matt asked in confusion.
“Aw! Thanks for asking me Dr. Matt! I’d love for you to come over for dinner this weekend. Let’s make it Saturday at 7pm okay? Okay. G’night!” Kyra smiled before leaning up to kiss the very confused doctor on his lips and pushing him out the door. Closing the door on his still shocked face, Kyra started laughing when she heard his soft but still dazed reply.
“G’night.”
What a way to start this post but literally my brain is stuck on a few facts right now and they keep playing repeatedly.
Yes, I know it was just a song and it wasn't directly for me but it helped make that whole thing bearable.
And last week when I was doubting that I could be in a relationship with Daniel, when I was thinking about breaking things off with him so that he could find someone good enough for him, Whitney's song "I Believe in You and Me" came on and then "Saving All My Love for You" right after that, even though iTunes was on shuffle.
Just like with Michael Jackson, listening to Whitney Houston got me through some of the toughest moments of my life. The first time I auditioned for American Idol, I sang Whitney Houston's "I Want to Run to You." And when I got ready to move to New York "The Greatest Love of All" was playing on my phone/iPod as I sat on the plane and in between connecting flights.
So while others may not understand why I'm crying over Whitney's death, seeing as how I never met her (although I did meet CeCe Winans and talked to her about Whitney, so I was almost there), but her death devastates me, because her music, her voice got me through so much heartache, pain and devastation in my life and while I knew that it would happen one day, her death makes me relive those moments. As irrational as it sounds, listening to her music, crying to her music, made me feel that she was going through them with me, her, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera and Michael Jackson were the ones who were with me, the ones who saw me cry, who heard my words, saw my pain and losing them means those moments become even more painful.
