“I can’t imagine going through all that,” she mumbled, shaking her head trying to clear her mind of where her imagination was going. “Legs tied up like I’m some kind of wild animal . . . what a visual.” And the longer she could put off that reality the better.
As a young woman, she had never had discomfort during her time of the month, never even a simple bladder or yeast infection . . . nothing. And now, for the last few months, she’d been nothing less than miserable. She’d already had a bladder infection and some other foreign issue that caused her to require a suppository to relieve the itching and burning. She was puffy, swollen for the most part, and her skin was horrible—worse case of acne than puberty could have ever caused. Looking at her brittle fingernails, she figured a manicure was sorely needed as well.
She’d never had such issues with her appearance as she had now. “Glowing. What a big fat lie.” She giggled thinking about the day she met Tim. Those were the first words out of his mouth when he saw her, however, he’d not said it recently and she had to figure glowing was no longer the term that best described her.
Looking at her growing belly, she could not believe how big it was getting. She was sure she was waddling a little and her thighs rubbed too, causing her gait to widen just a little to avoid that friction.
Tim had offered to massage her thighs on her last visit to his clinic. Glen was with her and so she refused. There was something in the way Glen looked at Tim when he asked her that told her perhaps a nearly intimate massage like that wasn’t a good idea. Glen, if she recognized the look, was jealous of Tim. “Crazy boy,” she mumbled, climbing into her car—besides, Tim had a girlfriend, at least he was working on one.
Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had time to grab a sandwich and still make it to Tim’s on time. “Maybe Stephanie will be there to work my legs,” she reasoned, feeling the start of leg cramps. “Because this is like no joke,” she groaned, reaching down and rubbing on her calves.
Stephanie smiled at Tim who was busy folding blankets and straightening pillows. Finally, noticing her goofy grin, he looked at her. “What?”
“Nothing,” she answered, placing new bottles of lotion on the shelves.
“Her who?” he asked, sounding innocent.
Just then, the doorbells jingled. Tim quickly turned to the door with almost a look of guilt showing. Stephanie burst into laughter.
“What?” Glen asked, looking serious.
“Oh nothing, Tim thought you were somebody else,” she answered, not realizing the somebody else was just who Glen came to talk about.
“Hey, um Tim, can we talk?”
“Sure.” Tim folded up the last blanket and glanced at his watch. Glenda would be here soon. His heart raced. How foolish he felt. This all caught him so off guard, these feelings for Glenda. He’d yet to sort them however, and maybe it was just as well. She was married and he was younger . . . a lot younger. Just those two factors made anything on his mind nearly impossible—not even adding her baby into the picture.
“I want you to stop seeing my aunt,” Glen said, as soon as the door to the meditation curtain shut behind them.
Glen . . . a factor he hadn’t even thought about adding into the equation.
“Excuse me?”
“I . . . I don’t like it, man, it’s kinda freakin’ me out, you touchin’ on her like you do. And now she’s thinking about you being there when she has the baby, no, I don’t like it.”
“She is?” Tim grinned, smoothing back his freshly tended too twists. He was leaning towards dreads but right now he wanted to be able to change his mind, so he’d only had his hard twisted.
“Tim! I said I don’t want you seeing her anymore. I’m sure all this that you do here is legit and like with Stephanie, I’m sure you two are on the up-and-up and all but this is just not cool with me anymore.”
“But Glen, you are not having a baby and you are not the father of this baby so your stake in this baby is . . . what?”
“Glenda is my aunt and you are my best friend . . . why can’t you just respect my discomfort with all this.”
“Because it’s unfounded. Glenda enjoys her sessions here. She’s got a high-stress job and coming here relaxes her. This is her first baby and she’s well over the normal age of having children, Glen. She’s dealing with scary possibilities and the least I can do . . . we can do,” Tim corrected quickly, but not quickly enough, Glen caught the slip. “Is make her feel better about this whole thing.”
“I’ve stated my peace and well, frankly, I think you’re using her and this baby for your own motives and it’s wrong. It’s unprofessional and . . . wrong.”
“Would you feel better if I didn’t touch her anymore?”
“Would she?”
“I happen to know for a fact that Glenda is uncomfortable with you touching her like you do.”
Tim’s heart sank. Perhaps Glenda had told Glen something she had not told him. Perhaps he had been out of line and he didn’t even realize. Maybe where he thought they were bonding he was, in fact, crossing that forbidden line between client and doula.
“Then fine, Glen, I won’t touch her anymore, but I’m going to continue our meditation sessions because she needs them. She’s too far from focused and . . .”
“Whatever dude, just stop touching her.”
“Hello, Glenda,” Stephanie said loudly, as if she knew the men were behind the curtain discussing her, besides the fact that she had overheard a little bit of what they were saying.
Glen quickly exited the room and joined her in the main part of the clinic. Glenda’s eyes widened in her surprise to see him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I just stopped by to see Tim for a minute. We are pawdnas ya know. I mean, before he got all wrapped up in all this baby stuff,” Glen said, working hard to keep the jest in his tone. Glenda caught his effort and looked at Tim for an explanation of why he was really there. Tim said nothing but instead pulled his jacket off the rack.
“Trudat and I forgot that I had another appointment . . . a date. Actually she just called and well . . . new relationship and all that,” Tim lied. Glenda grew instantly flustered. “Stephanie can handle the session today right?” His words were curt as if he hadn’t thought them completely through before they flew from his lips.
“Well . . . sure,” Stephanie stammered, caught off guard slightly. Tim rushed out, leaving Stephanie, Glen, and Glenda standing there.
“Wow, she must really be something.” Glenda sighed heavily. Glen caught it and felt instantly remorseful.
“Yeah, she is,” he said. “He cares a lot about her.”
There was a long silence between all present until Stephanie finally clicked the stereo system, filling the air with natural sounds.
“Okay Glenda let’s get started. You’ve grown since I’ve seen you last.”
“Tell me about it, and my legs hurt like heck,” she said, easing down to the floor with Stephanie’s assistance.
“Well, let me check out,” Glen said, backing out of the front door. Glenda gave him a halfhearted wave as she was concentrating too much on getting to the floor carefully.
Chapter 13
He and Glen had had words over the sessions and Tim was going to make a point of staying on his side of the tracks where Glenda was concerned. It was not worth it to lose his friendship with Glen and the respect of an admirable woman like Glenda Dixon.
Apparently, Glenda had told Glen about the sessions and spoke with an air of sensuality attached and that was not good. It was clear that Glen was okay with Stephanie touching Glenda, but Glen was not cool at all with all the personal attention Tim was giving her. Tim had to wonder if Glen had seen the truth. Maybe it showed in his eyes or the way he and Glenda would walk around the track on Saturdays talking about life, her dreams and goals . . . maybe Glen was jealous.
And that’s stupid, Tim fussed internally. She is my client and since when can’t I
handle a client . . . since when can’t I work with a patient. I’m a nurse for crying out loud. I’ve seen women naked many times and . . . and more!
Turning his car around Tim headed back to the clinic where he found Glenda and Stephanie finishing a massage on Glenda’s thighs. Stephanie looked up at him and smiled, glad to see that he had come back, proving he was the man she had figured he was.
“Do you want to take over from here?” Stephanie asked. “I really do have a date,” she whispered in his ear as she passed by him closely. Tim smiled at her, feeling the heat coming up in his face.
“Sure, I’ll do it,” he told her.
Working her feet, Tim noticed the tension. “What’s on your mind?” he asked her finally. They’d both been silent for about five minutes.
“What did I miss here today? I mean, I’m not dense but I have been a bit distracted lately, however, I could swear something weird happened here today.”
“Nothing to concern yourself with,” Tim told her. He didn’t want Glenda to feel one way or the other about what Glen had told him. If indeed he had been improper with her, it would never happen again, as he planned to be the utmost professional with her, but on the other hand, he was not going to stop servicing her if it wasn’t what she wanted.
“Good, because for a minute there I thought you were changing the guard on me. Like I told Glen, I’ve been thinking of you assisting me in my labor, Tim,” Glenda told him. Tim stared at her, while still holding her foot. His heart was pounding.
“Really? Why . . . I mean . . . yeah, why?”
“Because, I trust you and . . . well, I can’t imagine having to go through this without you. I know we just met not too long ago, but you are a very special young man and well . . .” Glenda stopped herself, feeling as though she was saying too much, getting too personal. “And whoever the women is that you are involved with . . . she’s very lucky and I just hope she understands our relationship . . . I mean . . . the relationships you have with all your clients,” Glenda corrected.
Tim was speechless. “Of course I’ll be there for you, Glenda. I’ll be whatever you need me to be . . .” he said before stopping his words. He didn’t even attempt to straighten out his last comment.
Chapter 14
Glenda carried the picture with her everywhere she went these days just in case she ran across the home of her dreams. She was going to put in a bid on the spot. And today she found it.
It was Sunday and she and Minx were out shopping for the baby—as usual, when they ventured to Half Moon Bay. There were some trendy shops there and she was hoping to find just the right bassinet, but instead she found the house.
“It’s perfect,” she told Tim during their session later that afternoon. Stephanie was out with her partner and so Tim was planning to both massage and meditate with her. Glenda had to admit it was way past wonderful when Tim touched her. Intimacy was never one of Simi’s strong suits. Sure, he remembered her birthday and their anniversary, but just spontaneous lovemaking . . . especially the nonsexual kind, was not his forte. It was hard to keep it professional when Tim’s strong hands touched her feet, calves, and back but she promised herself she would work harder at it. Maybe that was what Tim was trying to say to her . . . that he was too young for her to have any of those ideas about and maybe she was embarrassing him with her feelings . . . that were way too hard to hide, especially when then they would meditate. It was so easy for Tim to take her and her unborn child to a heavenly place. His voice alone could transcend time and space. Sometimes she would shed a few tears from the inner peace he helped her find. By the time she left his clinic, she always felt beyond satisfied in spirit. And most of all, she loved her baby more and more with each passing day. How could her feelings be wrong about Tim? How could he make her feel those things without feeling anything for her?
But he had set the rules and she was going to do her best to stay within them. He was Glen’s best friend . . . not hers. He was just her doula and that was all.
“So you really are planning to leave your job and move to the hills and raise your baby?” he asked after she described the house.
“You make it sound like I’m talking crazy,” she said. “Minx thinks it’s a wonderful idea and I’ve all but talked her into leaving the phone company and joining me.”
“You don’t think you’d need a man or—”
“No!” she blurted. Tim touched her temples.
“Now you know that was not said to change your vibe,” he said, shushing her to calmness. She closed her eyes, smiling as his hand ran down the side of her face cupping her under her chin. He held her face longer than intended because her eyes opened and caught him in a bottomless gaze. He audibly gulped, jerking his hand away.
Here I go again, Tim thought to himself. Get a grip Tim, he scolded himself.
But never once had Glenda even implied that he was moving into Glen’s or Minx’s place in her life. Never once had Glenda even given him a hint that she was ready to replace Simi. . . .
Never once, Tim sighed.
“Would you like to come see it before I make a bid?” Glenda asked.
“Of course I would,” he answered quickly, sounding excited and boyish.
“Well, help me get up and we’ll go,” she giggled, reaching out her hand for him to take hold. When he did, again she felt that tingle that shot up her arm and ended with a pounding in her chest.
The drive to Half Moon Bay was very romantic as the warm breeze blew over them. He’d dropped the top on his convertible PT cruiser. Glenda laid her head back against the seat and enjoyed it. He would only imagine them on their way home after a day in the city. Glenda and the baby meeting him at the hospital after a double shift—they would go home to their beautiful house in the hills where he would have his practice now and Glenda would have started some kind of home business so that she could spend quality time with the baby.
She would have cooked a delicious dinner—since she loved to cook so much. Surely he would pick up those fifteen pounds his mother always said he needed to put on. By the way, his parents would love Glenda . . . they had a lot in common. Glenda was sharp-witted and smart and beautiful. It wasn’t as if Glenda was his mother’s age. Tim was a latter-born child. His mother was forty when he was born. Perhaps that was why he felt so close to Glenda. He could relate to her situation. His mother nearly died having him and so he knew how much care and consideration Glenda needed in order to carry this baby safely to term.
Again Tim’s hand wandered and he found it rested on her belly. When he looked at her, she was staring at him. Again he jerked his hand away.
How he wanted to kiss her there, on her full stomach, how he wanted to touch her swollen breast, maybe even taste her no doubt sweet milk. He was craving Glenda Dixon. No, these were no motherlike feelings he had for her. They were totally man/woman feelings. Her being a mature mother was the only connection he felt to her in comparison to his mother . . . he was sure of that.
The house was monstrously large. “You can afford this?” he asked without thinking.
“Yes, I wouldn’t be looking at it if I couldn’t,” she answered flatly, opening the door with the key from the lock box. She hadn’t hesitated to get a hold of the Realtor who, after glancing at her financial portfolio, was quick to grant her a look-see.
“I’m sorry, that was wrong of me to ask you that.”
“It’s okay Tim. I mean, frankly, I was a little surprised myself, but after all these years of not spending my money, thanks to my husband, I really can afford it.”
“But do you think it’s wise to buy during a separation?”
“Oh please honey, I have an attorney. That situation will be taken care of prior to this house-clearing escrow. Remember this is what I do for a living,” she reminded him. “I teach people to think before they make life-changing decisions.”
“Do you always know what you’re doing?” he asked, moving close to her. It was a natural move on his part and she didn’t m
ove away.
“I like to think so, I’m mean when the situation is within my power to control, yes,” she corrected.
“Unlike Jr., here,” he said, patting her stomach. Glenda grinned.
“I like when you do that,” she confessed, holding his hand on her stomach. The baby moved under his large palm. His other hand touched her face; his fingers ran through her hair onto the back of her neck. Her eyes closed as he pulled her into a kiss, one that engulfed his very soul. She moaned and bit on his lips hungrily giving into the passion as he pulled the thin straps of sundress she wore down her shoulders, easing her large breasts from the bra cups, kissing each tenderly, causing her to seethe with pleasure.
“Tim,” she purred. “Ohhhh Tim,” she repeated as he squatted before her lifting her hemline to expose her pleasure cove pulsating with life. . . .
“Tim!” she repeated, causing him to jerk back into reality. “Where did you go?” Glenda asked, noticing his vacant eyes.
“Oh . . . uh, I was uh . . . I think I’m hungry,” he lied, stepping back from her. They were standing way too close to each other . . . yep, that was the problem, he realized.
“Okay, well come see the rest of this place real quick and then we’ll go,” she said, taking his hand from her stomach and holding it while leading the way through the rooms and then into the large backyard.
“So when did you say this was all going to happen?” he asked again, his mind still soaring from the fantasy he had yet to recover from.
“Soon,” she said.
Chapter 15
Simi couldn’t believe it. He was being opted out of his position. Early retirement was being offered at only a fraction of what he could make in a year. “And they call that fair!” he yelled out.
“Hey mack, you’re getting too loud. Why don’t cha go on home to ya wife,” the bartender said.
“I don’t have one any more,” he growled and slurred in the bartender’s face. The bartender leaned back slightly and then signaled the bouncer to extricate him from the bar.