Chapter 32 Moments
Moments
Never in my life could I have imagined what it would be to give myself to a man the way I gave myself to Daire.
First, I fulfilled a certain fantasy of his that involved wearing my red power lipstick and nothing else.
After which, he turned his attention to me.
I fully trusted him to take care of me.
To take care with me.
Trussed up in such a way that even my belly rolls were on display, his hands made love to my body, his worship set my soul on fire.
Utterly exposed in every way, I lay beneath him.
Took what he gave me.
Claimed it like it was mine to have.
Watched as he slowly lost control and unraveled at my proverbial feet.
Instead of the shame and insecurity I feared, I fairly floated off the ground.
Though it was early, we spent the rest of the night in bed. Holding each other. Drinking hot chocolate. Watching a movie.
In the morning, he made love to me again.
Slow and sweet.
Soft and lazy.
Instilling in me a happiness unimaginably complete.
Once he saw his students safely onto the bus or released them to their waiting parents, he met me at the resort.
With his help, it only took an hour to put the final touches on the hall for the Halloween Howler event. We grabbed something to eat in our on-site restaurant and retreated to my office to get into our costumes.
I was more excited for this Halloween than any other one that I could remember in recent years.
As the time wound down, I surveyed the results of my labors.
We were ready.
A few minutes later, families began to trickle in, little faces openly awed by the row of jack-o-lanterns lighting their path.
‘Caution: Do Not Enter’ tape crisscrossed the entrance to the hall leaving plenty of space for children and adults alike to duck inside.
I endeavored to keep the decorations as non-scary as possible, but that didn’t mean I had to forego the awe-factor.
Ghosts made from cheesecloth floated at intervals around the room.
Wide-mouthed jars, wrapped to look like mummies, housed artificial tea lights.
Branches made into flying bat mobiles hung over the snack table.
White helium balloons with happy ghost faces, held in place by skeleton hands, adorned the tabletops.
The popcorn, apple juice, bottles of water, and baked pretzels were ready to go, and the movie was cued.
Daire, dressed head to toe in dark green, a clock face hanging around his neck, and a crocodile hat perched on top of his head, stood beside me, ready to dole out the goodies.
“You’ve got some nice chompers there, baby,” I teased, jerking my chin up at his crocodile teeth.
He wagged his eyebrows. “All the better to eat you with.”
I leaned toward him. “Is that a promise?”
His eyes darkened. “Promise…threat…take it how you will.”
A tiny shiver raced through me.
His smile widened as something caught his attention behind me.
Twisting around, I saw Hawk, Noelle, baby Hunter, and Max framed in the doorway.
There are moments in life that seem to freeze. Some of those moments shatter, destroying everything you thought you knew. Others give off so much joy a body cannot hold it.
This moment was the latter.
Not until that exact moment did I know I’d been waiting for this day for more than a decade.
My arms shot into the air as I danced around my crocodile. “Have you got this?” I beamed at him, nodding to the table. “I’m going to dash over to see them really quick.”
“Go.” His eyes smiled, soft and warm, into mine. “I got you.”
Skipping around the table, I darted over.
Grabbing Noelle’s hands, I spun her around. “You look great!”
Dressed as Tinker Bell, with her long legs perfectly displayed by the flouncy skirt, tiny wings affixed to her back, and white puffs on the toes of her shoes, she looked every bit the part.
Hawk, with his perpetual toque, a red and white striped t-shirt, and ripped cut-offs made a rather well-built Mr. Smee. I opened my mouth, but my voice failed. Instead, I threw myself against his chest, wrapped my arms around him, and pressed my face into his chest.
His chest heaved beneath my cheek.
His mouth dropped to the top of my head.
And his arms tightened around me momentarily before releasing me with a small push.
I spun away from him, giving us both a moment to recover, and swiped beneath my eyes as I took Max in.
Max, sporting the goatee he’d grown especially for this occasion, put Killian of Once Upon a Time to shame with his sexy rendition of Captain Hook.
I slapped my hands over my cheeks. “Max! My God! The single ladies are going to fall all over themselves!”
“A fair few of the married ones, too, if I was to hazard a guess!” guffawed Susie from behind me.
Max blushed.
I laughed.
Noelle snorted.
Hawkley grinned.
And Susie slapped my ass as she passed. “Lookin’ good, kid. Where’s your mom?”
And Hunter, Hunter with his tiny green tights, his pointed slippers, tiny, belted tunic complete with fabric blade, and feathered hat made my heart sing.
He lay, despite the noise, fast asleep in his stroller.
“He’s so beautiful,” I cooed.
“You’re beautiful, Harley.” Noelle beamed. “I don’t know how you managed to make Wendy Darling look like a pin-up model, but you did it!”
“Well,” I chortled. “I filled out the costume in a way none of us could have predicted!” The scoop neck gathered bodice added a little extra up top while the wide blue ribbon around my ribs accentuated my smallest part.
Beneath that, the flare of my hips completed the hourglass effect. “But I did wear slippers!”
She looked me over, admiration shining in her eyes. Raising a hand, she touched my hair. “This half up, half down, hairband style reminds me of teenage Harley.” She dropped her hand to my hip. “But this body is all woman!”
I smiled my thanks. “I’ve gotta get back to my crocodile before the kids overwhelm him.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said smiling. “He looks like he’s got it all together.”
I looked over to find Daire holding court, his face animated while he spoke to the kids surrounding the table.
“Yeah. He’s pretty special,” I murmured.
An hour later, two dozen children sat enthralled by the movie on the screen, including little Audrey, her sunny shadow stretched out beside her.
Her face lit by the glow of the mummy lantern she claimed on her way in.
My eyebrows scrunched low.
It wasn’t like her mom to leave Audrey unattended.
I scanned the adults, skipping over Max briefly before snapping back.
He sat on a chair with his long legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. Beside him, perched warily on the edge of her seat, sat Audrey’s mother.
We’d gone to school together, though she was a few years ahead of me.
I remembered when she went away to university, and the uproar when she came back a couple of years later, pregnant, and alone.
I tilted my head to the side.
She must have been one year behind Max and Hawkley in school.
She didn’t have the best support system. Her parents never quite forgave her for getting pregnant when she did.
I searched my memory.
She hadn’t had an easy time of it. I would have only been about eighteen or nineteen when she came back from university.
We were all shocked when her parents kicked her out.
Mom and Dad gave her the use of one of the cabins temporarily along with a job.
She ended up having a baby boy who must be around eighteen now.
A bit of a wild child.
I smiled. Not entirely unlike Hunter.
Once he was born, and her parents fell in love with him, they brought her back into the family fold. A few years later she settled down, got married, and had Audrey.
But her husband couldn’t cope with Audrey’s diagnosis and took off when she was about four.
Max smiled at something she said.
I wonder if she would be good for Max? God knew he had the experience and compassion to care for a child like Audrey.
I looked around at what I’d pulled together.
It was all good.
I smiled to myself. Hunter would have been proud.
I huffed out a small laugh. He also probably would have leapt out from behind the screen covered in fake blood and scared the bejeezus out of everybody.
His namesake chose that moment to make his presence known. Mom scurried over and herded us out to the hallway. She took a picture of us in our costumes, just as she had for so many Halloweens, this time with tears in her eyes.
When she disappeared down the hall to the offices, my dad on her tail, I understood.
Seeing us all like this, as close to who we used to be as we’d been since our world fell apart, was a bittersweet agony.
Because while our hearts were coming back to life, one would forever be missing.