Fallen

Fallen

By

Latonya D Young

Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. +

ISBN     978-1-387-83330-6

Printed in the United States of America

Copyright © Latonya D Young 2018

Publisher:  Latonya D Young

..

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Dedication

To my family with love.

Reach for the stars but never forget where you came from

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to my Heavenly Father. Without God nothing is possible, but with God, All Things Are Possible.   My children have always been my driving force, and that will never change.  I do the things that I do, in hopes of helping them to reach their goals.  I want to be their inspiration, their motivation, and their muse.  I want them to see their mother striving to be the best, and I want them to see that everything is possible if they pray and believe in themselves.  My babies are my muse, my reasons for writing and my reason for the striving to become the best author, photographer and designer possible.  Most of all, they are my inspiration to becoming a better person.   

Latonya D Young

Reach for the stars but never forget where you came from

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Chapter One

Love.

Unpredictable.

Undeniable.

Love.

You don’t choose love.  Love chooses you.  It grabs a hold of your entire being and there is nothing that can be done to shake it.  It chains you to the other person.  Keeps you bound to them for eternity.  Love does not ask your permission before it chains you to another.  It snatches you without warning and links you to another with or without your permission. 

Love.

That is how I got in the mess that I was in.  Love had forced its way into my life and had ripped it apart.  After love, my life had never been the same.  Would never be the same.  Love had altered the course that my life was on and had sent me barreling in a different direction. 

One that it had chosen for me.

Caught off guard by the choke hold that it had me in I was dazed and confused.  Unable to fight it off.  It had bloomed so quickly that I barely had time to remember to breathe. 

Love had intertwined two people who were not looking for it.  It had bound us together for life and now we were in a place where we would cease to exist without each other.  Our fates were intertwined.  We lived in two separate bodies, but we were connected as one. 

Our souls were forever connected for life.

Yes.  That is how love takes hold of your entire life.

I wiped at the tear at the corner of my eye and looked on. 

Miracle played in the backyard, so carefree that one would never believe the story of how he came to be.  Poor little boy would never believe it himself.  So, we have all vowed to never utter his mother’s name.  One and a half years old and he would never feel the warmth of his mother’s breath on his cheek.  He would never feel the warmth of her touch.

I tugged on my ponytail and let out a huge sigh.  He was motherless, and I had played a huge part in that.  My life had intertwined with his mother’s, for a brief moment.  And that brief moment had altered our destinies forever. 

As much as I loved Miracle, if I could unlock the doors of time and go back, that night never would have happened.  But the more I watched him the more I regretted even having that thought run through my mind.  With everything that happened during that period of our lives he was one of the best things to come from it.

We all hold the truth of those days, those years, close to our hearts.  Guarding it with our lives.

Hamza runs like a young boy, completely fascinated by that tiny human being.  I’d seen him smile more lately than I ever had in the past.  His son, his miracle is helping to heal the broken heart that will never fully heal.  There will always be a tiny open wound where she left it.  The boy that no girl could tame or tie down had not been able to resist Ariana’s pull.  She had done nothing to lure him in but be there.  That was all it took for him to fall into the deep abyss of love.

We’d fled Barbados, all of us barely making it out alive.  We’d been at war with Miracle’s uncle and the FBI.  I still remember the look in my father’s eyes as I turned to flee.  Silently, he told me that I was choosing the wrong side.  Silently, I told him that love had chosen my side for me.

If it had not been for Xavier’s careful planning and foresight we would have been on the run, completely broke without a pot to piss in and a window to pitch it out of.  But Xavier wasn’t the average man nor was he the average criminal.  He had been preparing for the move for months.

Men like him are always prepared.  They always have a getaway plan ready. 

Night after night I thank God that he was the man that he was.  Strong, bold, intelligent and yes ruthless.  But I loved him more than words could ever explain despite that ruthless side of him that I knew existed.  Night after night I thanked God that He placed Xavier at the head of our household.  We would not have survived that fateful night in Barbados if it had not been for him.

Some would believe my husband to be the equivalent as the devil.  If not the devil himself then just as cunning.

But I was sure that was only because they had never peered into the heart of the man to see just how special he truly was.  He wasn’t nearly as immoral and downright evil as everyone on the outside believed him to be.  He was merely a boy who was dealt the wrong cards.  A hand that had hardened him.  Turned him into the man that he was.  The man who was feared not only by people he did business with but by the very people who wanted to slap cuffs on him and lock him away for the rest of his days.  Law enforcement detested him.  Hated everything about him.  Detested everything that he stood for.  The men he did business with did fear him, but they also respected him.  They knew where he had come from and what it had taken for him to get to where he was.  None of them pitied him because he was the little boy that no one wanted.  They admired him because he had been the teenage boy with nothing who was worth millions before he was legally old enough to sit behind the wheel of his first car. 

But the truth is no one would ever understand him like I did.  Not even his brothers would ever have the insight into the man that I had. 

I wrapped my arms around Xavier and looked over his shoulder at our daughter.  Out of all of the chaos in Barbados, Xavier and I managed to slip away with a bundle of pure perfection of our own.

When I walked into that abandoned building ready to risk life and limb to free Noemi I had no idea that I was two months along.  If I had known that she was growing inside of me I never would have gone in.  Someone had definitely been watching over Noemi because if Xavier had known that he was going to be a father he would have had us, all to fall back and Noemi would have been left in the hands of Ariana’s brother and his partner to do with as they pleased.

At six months in age she was perfect, the perfect blend of me and the man that I would go to my grave loving—my dark hair and slanted eyes, and her father’s curly locks, cheekbones and olive complexion.  Tears stung my eyes as I looked down into Xavier’s eyes and saw the love in them as he looked at his daughter.  She was perhaps the only person in the world that my husband loved and adored more than he loved and adored me.

I rub my fingers gently through her dark head of curls then rise and kiss her father on top of his head of dark curls.  He smiles up at me and nods.  It’s getting late.  The sun is slowly slipping behind the clouds causing a chill.

I grab hold of both sides of the wheelchair and wheel my daughter and husband in out of the cold.

Chapter Two

The government, law enforcement agencies, the biggest and most powerful mob bosses known to date.

Yes, they say that all that they do is for the good of the people but is it?  Or are their actions self-serving?  Seeking out the American dream can cost you everything if you aren’t careful.  From the department of education to the IRS, the government will do more harm to your lively hood if you default on a payment than the real so called, criminals would.

I’m trying hard not to feel angry about being used not only by the department when I worked for them as a UC but also for how the FBI used me as well but its damn hard to do.  I’m angry and most of all I’m hurt.  When I earned my badge, I had thought that it was an honor but in reality, I was just setting myself up to be used.

Everything that happened from the moment I was placed on the Hawthorne case was a lie that changed the course of my life. I took a deep breath and tried shaking off all of the unpleasant thoughts that filled my head when I thought of law enforcement.  It would be of no relief for me to hold on to the anger or allow it to consume me.   

I looked around at the spread.  The chef had gone all out.  He’d done everything that I had asked of him.  All of Xavier’s favorites were prepared and laid out beautifully.  Everything that the health nut that I loved allowed himself to indulge in once a year had been prepared.  Short ribs, fillet mignon, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, pies and cakes, the type of collard greens that my mom used to cook with all of the fattening stuff in them and a few other dishes that I was sure would put a smile on my husband’s face.

I smiled at the chef and nodded my appreciation for him spending his entire day doing what I couldn’t do for Xavier—cooking for him.  Something I will probably never be able to do with great success.  I wasn’t born to cook.  I was never cut out for being a homemaker.  I was born to be a cop.  Being a cop has always been in my blood.  Like father like daughter.  But my love for Xavier superseded my love for the force, the FBI, the adventure of being on a case, all of it. 

I miss it at times but not as much as I would have missed Xavier if he had been locked up and placed behind bars for life for what he’s done.  Funny, I never thought my life would change so dramatically when I began working the case against Xavier and his crew.  Now I was a part of him and his crew.  A crucial part.  I was his and he was mine. 

Maybe I did know how much my life would change from the first moment Xavier had laid eyes on me.  Despite my love for my job I think I knew that first night that I would never be able to make a quick break from him. 

I stood back watching as the chef breezed his way through the kitchen like the expert he was.  Periodically he would talk aloud letting me know what he was doing like he thought I’d remember his pointers and magically pick up on this wonderful thing called cooking.  Little did he know but I would never enjoy standing over a hot stove preparing a meal. 

I sat down at the kitchen table chin resting in the palm of my hand.  Everything has to be perfect I think to myself.  Xavier hadn’t celebrated his last birthday.  He had been still sulking over being paralyzed.  Nothing any of us did had brought him out of that funk.  He was angry and vengeful.  He had talked many days of hunting Armando down and taking his legs from him.  It had taken his brothers and Octavio to talk sense into him and convince him otherwise. 

Today had to be special for him.  We were celebrating his new life and the hopes that this new year would be everything that he was dreaming of.  I knew that he loved me more than life itself and he loved his daughter possibly more than he could ever love me.  But if he were to ever truly be happy again I knew that the day that he stood on his own two feet again would have to come again.  

How is he?

He’s good.  Where the hell have you been?

Jenson had disappeared for a week.  I had tried calling him and he had not answered or returned any of my calls.  When I took my concerns to Xavier he waved me off and said not to worry giving me no explanation whatsoever for Jenson’s disappearance.

He almost smiled.  Out, he answered flatly.  How’s his physical therapy coming along?

Although Armando’s intentions had been to kill Xavier the bullet had paralyzed him instead.  The jealousy had taken its toll and was boiling over by the time the two men stood face to face in that old dank building.  That look in Armando’s eyes had scared me.  I’d never seen so much pain in them before that moment.  The moment he realized that there was nothing left for the two of us he clicked and turned into someone who was out for revenge and not justice.

Armando had been so angry and volatile when he took that shot.  The pain of knowing that I had allowed what we had to be destroyed was too much for him to bear at that moment.  The only thing that he could do was to take his anger out on the man that had taken me from him.

The bullet had gone straight through, but Xavier had lost a lot of blood before we got him to help.  The doctors weren’t sure if the paralysis would be permanent or not.  It was strictly up to Xavier and his desire to walk again. 

Since the birth of our daughter his demeanor was much better, but he still wasn’t himself.  But he was coming around, getting his spirits back.  She was his motivation.  He had gone from shying away from physical therapy to overdoing it because of her. 

Out?  That answer was not going to fly with me.  It was not like Jenson to just disappear for days on end without checking in.  Something was going on and I intended to find out what he was hiding. 

He shook his head and smiled as if I were annoying him and said, If you have to know, I met someone.

Now that knocked me for a loop.  For as long as I could remember Jenson had eyes for no one but me.  Not that it was the way that I wanted it to be.  It was just that I had never known him to be seriously involved with anyone.  And for some reason the thought of it was not sitting too well with me. 

Why don’t you bring her to dinner, I suggested flatly?  I’d like to meet your new love interest.

There’s no love involved.  She’s just a girl and we’re just dating, he said curtly.

I sat in silence, just looking at him, studying his facial expression.  Was he telling the truth or was he hiding his true feelings about this girl from me?

Just a girl?  You’ve been gone for a week.  And she’s just a girl?  Why don’t I believe that?

Yes, I’ve been gone for a while, he said in an amused tone.  Not all pleasure, nosy.  I was also working.

Working on what, I asked, honestly curious about what he could be out there working on for a week with no contact with the family?

Business, he said flatly.

I chuckled.  Once again, I was on the outside looking in when it came to their business endeavors.  I had no idea what they were into and no one wanted to share that information with me.

Okay, business.  I’ll leave it at that for now.  So how did you convince this special girl to come over to the dark side?

I didn’t say she was special.  And we are just dating Ocean.  She knows very little about me and our family.  And if you could please stop digging I’d appreciate it.

I looked into his green eyes.  I’m digging because we’re family and I care about you.  I wouldn’t want someone who’s unworthy of you to snatch your heart, I said, with a smile.  What does she look like?  What is she like, I asked, still prying?

He exhaled sharply and looked me over.  She’s nothing like you.

I looked up at him.  Jenson was nearly as good looking as Xavier and he definitely held his own.  Luscious lips, a body molded straight from heavens hands and that overabundance of confidence and cockiness that all of the Hawthorne men possessed.  Yes, he definitely held his own.

Ouch.

Jenson raised his hands.  The corner of his mouth twitched.  That wasn’t an insult Ocean.

Sure, as hell sounded like one to me.

Jenson closed his eyes and sighed heavily.  Look, I love you, he said bluntly.  But that is never going to amount to anything because Xavier found you first.  But since we left Barbados and I watched my niece growing inside of you for months, I’ve come to terms with never being able to have you.  I went out and met a girl who was the total opposite of you.

Still doesn’t sound like a compliment.

Well it is.

Our relationship was complicated.  I guess things between us had been pretty complicated from the very beginning.  And things between us had just become distant during my pregnancy.  Almost as if he could never stand to look at me.

Bring her to dinner tonight, I said, spreading my arms and gesturing towards all the food.  This is a special day for our family.  Your brother is celebrating another birthday!

I was trying to sound cheerful but something in my gut turned over.  For some reason the idea of Jenson having someone wasn’t sitting too well with me.  I wasn’t surprised that he had found someone.  I was actually more surprised that he had remained single for so long.  In my heart I knew that he had been waiting for me, but he knew that I would never leave Xavier.  Not for him or anyone else for that matter.

He follows my gaze and says, You’re right this is a special day.  We came damn close to losing him.  But I don’t think I’m quite ready to bring this girl home to meet the family.

I leaned back in my seat and took in his handsome features.  Ashamed of us?

He shrugged and smiled.  Well Xavier isn’t the friendlies these days, Octavio is torn up over Noemi deciding that he just isn’t the one so he’s running around all doom and gloom.  He paused for a moment.  Hamza, well Hamza is Hamza.  He paused again and took a deep breath.  His voice was low when he began speaking again.  And then there’s, you, he says, with a sly smile.

I don’t understand.

There was an animalistic hunger in his eyes that scared the hell out of me.  Anyone with vision can see that there are some unresolved feelings between us.

That’s all in your mind Jenson.

He frowns while studying me.  He slides his tongue over his lips slowly and that frown deepens.  No, it’s not.  We both know it isn’t.  He leaned forward and shakes his head.  I’m sorry I’m making you feel uncomfortable.

Have you seen Xavier since you got in, I asked, changing the subject.

He chuckled, knowing exactly what I was doing.  No.  Talked to him every day I was away though.

I shrugged nonchalantly and bit my bottom lip.  Oh.  Xavier had not told me that he’d spoken with his brother on a regular basis while he was away.  He hadn’t really told me much of anything. 

Did you need me to check in with you too, he asked curiously?

I looked him squarely in the face.  Of course not.

He studies my face for a minute.  You sound like you were worried about me, he said, giving me a slow once over.

Well you are a Hawthorne.  Trouble just seems to find you.

Jenson’s eyebrow rose.  Ah so you were worried.

I wink at him.  Bring your lady friend to eat with your family.  Everything should be ready in a couple of hours.  The chef just has to put the finishing touches on the cake.

Jenson rose gracefully to his feet and crossed the room.  He placed his hand over mine and let his fingers caress the top of my hand.  He shook his head and squeezed my hand.  Nice try, he says, clearly annoyed.

You’re family.  I just want you to be happy.

He tilted his head to the side and peered into my eyes.  I’m trying to be happy Ocean.  It’s just hard to do without you.

Chapter Three

All I wanted was for my daughter to live a normal life, a normal life where she was just a little girl with two parents who loved her. 

I dressed her in the frilliest little pink number that I could find.  A pink bow was keeping her curly locks from falling onto her forehead.  But all the pretty things in the world would never make little Aasa just a normal little girl. 

She was the daughter of Xavier Hawthorne.  That alone was going to follow her for the rest of her life.  And not in a good way.  I dreaded the day we would have to tell her that she had to be homeschooled and that regular middle school and high school were not options for her.  We couldn’t risk her ever being too far away from us.  The Hawthorne’s were wanted.  Nothing would ever change that.  We would be hiding from the law for the rest of our natural lives. 

And then there was Ariana’s brother.  Despite what his sister wanted he wanted his nephew to grow up with him and his family and as far away from the Hawthorne family as possible.  He was always going to be out there somewhere.  He would always be a threat to our entire family.  For that reason alone, Aasa would never be able to stray too far from the family. 

Neither would poor Miracle.

As long as his uncle was out there hunting for him Miracle would never be able to live a normal childhood.  Hell, as long as he was hunting for all of us none of our lives would ever truly be carefree and normal. 

I took in a deep breath and exhaled heavily.  I hated the fact that so much of my time was consumed with thinking of Ariana and her brother and what he would be planning for us.  He wanted his nephew with him and his family and I was certain that he was sitting at the drawing board sketching up a plan to get Miracle away from us.  And I was also certain that he was sitting at that same board drawing up a way to do as he had promised.

He wanted to tear our hearts out.  And rightfully so for what we had done to his sister.  If he never got his hands on us I was sure that we would all surely burn in hell for eternity over the hand that we had dealt Ariana. 

I shook those thoughts off and picked up my cell phone.  I took a peek over my shoulder before punching in the number. 

We got the pictures of the baby!  She’s adorable Ocean!  When can we come visit, she blurted out as soon as she picked the phone up.

I glanced over my shoulder again just to make sure that I was alone.  Alair if it were up to me, you, Aggie, mom and even Aspen would be here with us.  But you know that’s impossible.  I’m not even supposed to be calling you.

I was taking a huge risk communicating with Alair.  I just missed my family back in Miami so much.  It was nice to have some contact with at least one of them.   

I know.  Armando filled us in on everything that happened.  He needed a shoulder to cry on, so we gave him three.  But he didn’t tell us about the baby.

He didn’t tell you about the baby because he didn’t know about the baby.  And he won’t find out about her right?

She hesitated for a moment.  My lips are sealed Ocean.  I’d never break your confidence and I’d never risk breaking his heart any more than it’s already breaking.

Armando will be just fine without me Alair.  He doesn’t need to be crying on the shoulders of my sisters.

Armando is like family Ocean.  We can’t just cut him loose because you have beef with him.

Just make sure that no one knows that I’m in touch with you.  Especially not mom.

You know that Aggie would love to hear your voice.  She misses you terribly.  And mom would die to see you.  Even if you were just video chatting it would make her day to see your face.

Mom is in contact with dad now and Aggie can’t keep a secret.  I can’t lose Xavier, Alair.  Our daughter needs her father.  Hell, I need my husband.  At this point I know that I can’t live without him, so I can’t take any more chances with his freedom.

Armando would have given his right arm for you to love him half as much as you love Xavier.

I know Alair.  I know that Armando loves me, and I know that I hurt him.  Trust me it’s killing me to know that I hurt Armando.  But there was no choice to make when it came to leaving Xavier or going with him.

What the hell was her deal?  My family had always loved Armando, and everyone had always assumed that in the end the two of us would marry and have a child or two.  But things did not end up that way.  Why could Alair not understand that and move on?

You really do love him, don’t you?

More than I can ever express.

I’m happy for you Ocean.  I just wish that you were here with us.  We miss you.

I miss you all like crazy.  How’s mom?

She’s good.  Cancer is still in remission.  She’s falling in love with dad all over again.  She’s happy until she thinks about you and not seeing you.  She just doesn’t understand the sacrifices that you’ve made to be with Xavier.

The sacrifices that I made are no different or no worse than those that her husband made when he chose the job over his family.  And she should be happy now.  She has her husband back.

Something I said to my father must have hit home.  He took a break from the life he had chosen over us to go back to his family.

She has him, but she still misses her baby.  You know you’ve always been mom’s favorite.

If I thought that I could trust dad not to turn my family in I’d send for all of you.

I get that you love them Ocean, but we are your family too.  And we were your family long before the Hawthorne’s were.

I scooped Aasa up from her crib and held her close.  I love you Alair but I have to go.

I haven’t upset you have I?

No, no.  I just have some things to do.  You know, the baby.

Give her lots of hugs and kisses for me.  And call me again soon please.  I love you.

Not wanting to hold everyone up I hung up with my sister who I missed dearly and run downstairs to join the fun.  As soon as I round, the corner and see Xavier sitting at the head of the table an uncontrollable smile creeps to my lips.  Even in a wheelchair he was powerful.  He just exuded confidence and masculinity.  He looked up at me and returned my smile with one of his own.  I just hoped that he knew that even if he never walked again I’d still love him more than I had ever loved him before. 

I just stand there for a minute looking at him.  Almost mesmerized by that smile and that sexiness that seemed to just roll off him naturally.  I kiss our daughter on her cheek and make my way to the seat next to Xavier. 

I look around the table at all the people who love my husband and I thank God for each and every one of them.  Even Noemi and Hamza.  I noticed how close the two of them were sitting and glanced over at Octavio who was seated on the other side of Noemi.  I just hoped that she wasn’t up to her old tricks again.  If she were back to sleeping with Hamza it could eventually cause a huge rift in the family that we definitely didn’t need.

All of the trouble that we went through to get her back because Octavio loved her so much and now she was treating him like he had the plague.  But she sure was awfully chummy with Hamza.  I made a mental note to snatch her to the side later to question her about her intentions where the cousins were concerned.

I watched her place dainty bites of food into her mouth, chewing slowly and leaning in every now and then to whisper into Hamza’s ear.  Still the beauty, she was wearing a short burgundy dress with a low v that allowed her huge breasts to spill over, leaving nothing at all to the imagination. 

And of course, Hamza being the man that he was, was happily giving Noemi the attention that she was craving.  My fingers itched to throw one of the bottles of champagne on them both. 

Xavier pulled Aasa from my arms.  You’re distracted.

I could have kicked myself.  I was far too interested in the love triangle between Noemi and the cousins when Xavier deserved my undivided attention.

I’m sorry.

I’ll deal with that later, he said, nodding towards Noemi and Hamza.

The last thing that I wanted was to have Xavier stressed.  He needed to be concentrating on walking again and not concentrating on making sure that his brother didn’t take his cousins girlfriend to bed.  I frowned just thinking about him dealing with a mess he should not have been stressing himself out over.

You have enough to deal with without having to keep the two of them in line.

He threw that dazzling smile on.  That smile that was known for hypnotizing the opposite sex and said, It’s what I do as the head of this family Ocean.

I want you concentrating on your health Xavier.  Not foolishness.  When you are back to being one hundred percent again you can stress over the two of them all you want.  Right now, I want you concentrating on nothing but therapy.

His eyes were fixed on my face.  I know that physical therapy is important.  But what good will it do if I’m walking again and our family is in turmoil, he whispered?

As usual he was right.  He was the most level headed of the brothers, so it was his job to keep everyone grounded and in line.

How is everything, I said, looking over at his plate?

You outdid yourself, beautiful.  This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.  I have my family here with me.  He looked down at Aasa.  But most importantly I have my daughter here.

Everything looked amazing.  From the elegant table settings to the long stemmed, glassware, everything was perfect.  But of course, I couldn’t take all of the credit for how wonderful his birthday meal had turned out.  Not when everyone, present knew that I could barely find the knob to turn the stove on.

I’m glad that you’re happy.  And we both know that I didn’t lift a finger to prepare any of this.

He laughed.  And my goodness I loved the sound.  His laughter reminded me of the old times.  The days when we were so damn happy it made everyone around us sick.  Well I do know that everything that I love has been cooked for me tonight.  And I’m sure that I have you to thank for that.

I grabbed my glass and took a sip.  Well when you put it that way, I did work pretty hard at getting the menu together.  I leaned over and kissed him on his lips. 

When I went to sit up he wrapped his free arm around me.  I kissed him again and relaxed.  I wanted to savor that moment for as long as I possibly could.  He very rarely touched me those days.  It had nothing to do with him not being able to perform in the bedroom.  All of his manly parts still worked.   I think that the fact that he was no longer in control and had to depend on me made him shy away from being intimate with me. 

I looked up into his face and let my eyes roam over his unblemished olive skin.  It didn’t matter in the least to me that he could no longer walk.  I still thought that he was the most attractive man that I’d ever laid eyes on.  The man was perfect.  And even with the paralysis he was still perfect from head to toe to me.

He gently ran his hand through my hair that I had left loose for the night.  I very seldom wore it down, but he loved to see it cut loose from the usual ponytail that I sported.  So, I made sure that everything that I could do