Love Never Fails Read online

  Patricia is a sweetheart and Monica really trusts her. She gave her a key to their home just in case no one was there. Patricia is in her late fifties. She started working for the Harrises six months ago when she left Mexico with her family. In need of a housekeeper, Monica was reluctant hiring just anyone from the local classifieds. But she’s glad she hired her. She cleans so well and does more than any house keeper they’ve ever had. When she was interviewing her, Patricia barely spoke English. But since she’s been working for the Harris, Monica speaks to her and helps her pronounce the words. Patricia just wanted a hundred dollars to clean the house and do the laundry, but Monica wouldn’t allow it. She feels Patricia deserves more than that especially since she does a great job. Monica decided to pay her three hundred dollars every week and that still seems too low for Monica. Patricia heads upstairs to greet Monica and Eric.

  Monica is worried of what the doctor might say. She hopes he’ll say she has a stomach virus. She isn’t ready for another baby. Eric still needs her full undivided attention.

  Monica invited Patricia and her family to Eric’s birthday party tomorrow. She has two boys that are five and six. She was pleased that Monica invited her to Eric’s party. She really likes Monica. She has been so nice to her since she moved here from Mexico. Monica has treated her and her family like family. Monica helped her family financially. That’s one good thing about having money. Monica is blessed to never worry about money, and she feels she should share the wealth with people who need it. Monica likes doing that for people. People who are thankful for what they have, and doesn’t always expect things from you.

  A couple of months ago, Patricia’s son broke his arm and they didn’t have health insurance or any extra money to pay for it. One Friday, Patricia seemed distant and Monica knew something was wrong. Breaking out in tears she explains to Monica what happened to her son. They didn’t have the money to pay for it. The hospital put a cast on his arm, but they had to follow up with a doctor. Monica could feel the worry in Patricia’s eyes. Monica offered to pay for the doctor bills, telling Patricia to make sure her son’s arm gets healed. Patricia offered to pay her back and asking if it was possible if hundred fifty dollars of her weekly pay go towards it. Monica refused her offer. She didn’t want her to worry about it. Patricia has other things she needs to be concerned about instead of paying her back. Monica told her to consider it as a gift from the Harris family. Crying, Patricia squeezes Monica, pleased to have someone helping her family.

  Monica sits on the examination table. Nervous. She hands Eric his toy, hoping he behaves.

  Tapping on the door, Dr. Phillips enters. “Hello Monica. And hello there little man.” He rubs Eric’s head.

  Looking up and with no clue on what’s happening, he continues to play with his toy.

  “What’s going Monica?”

  As Monica explains her symptoms, Dr. Phillips nods then jots her symptoms in her chart. She was caught off guard when he asks her when her last menstrual cycle was.

  A surprise look in her face. “My period? It’s supposed to start in a couple of days.”

  “Well let’s do a pregnancy test just in case.”

  “In case I’m pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  Monica feeling light headed, she whispers. “Oh ok.”

  What if she is pregnant? She knows Jake will be thrilled, but how will Eric react to not getting all the attention? He’s still so young, and deserves all of Monica’s undivided attention.

  Eric watches attentively as the nurse draws Monica’s blood. The waiting seems so long and moments later he comes back in the room with the results. Monica nervously shakes her legs waiting for the results.

  “Monica, you’re pregnant.”

  “What?” Not wanting to believe the doctor, she convinces herself there’s no way he can find out that fast she is pregnant. “How will you know that if I haven’t missed my period yet?”

  “That’s why we did the test with your blood. We can find out that way easier and faster.”

  “How many weeks?”

  “Well from what you told me, you’re five weeks. But we’ll know exactly more once we do your ultrasound.”

  Monica takes a deep breath, staring at her precious boy. He looks up at her still not understanding what’s going on.

  Dr. Phillips grabs a box from the drawer. “Here are some vitamins that I want you to start taking today.”

  Monica forces herself to smile. “Thanks doctor.”

  Has their family fully healed to add another member? Is Monica ready for another baby? Are Jake and Monica ready to have sleepless nights again, when Eric just barely started sleeping throughout the night?

  After grocery shopping, Monica made the mistake of starting to put decorations up. Eric would unroll the ribbons, and she had to reroll it back. Eric rips his birthday banner in half, and instead of fussing at him, she just patiently tapes it up and stores it on top of the cabinet. Away from Eric’s reach. She will never be finish the ways things are going. Having to constantly fix whatever Eric does. Opening the curtains, the sun shines through the glass wall. Eric plays on his playground while she decorates. Her cell phone rings and since she doesn’t recognize the number, so she doesn’t answer. Her voicemail alerts her of a new message. She listens.

  It’s the party supply store. “Hello Mrs. Harris. This is Raul from Everything Party. We’re supposed to be by tomorrow at noon to drop off the moonwalk, table, and chairs. We will be running behind tomorrow. We wanted to know if it would be possible to come today and drop off and set up everything? Please call us back to let us know what you want to do. Sorry again.”

  That’s one more thing out of the way. Monica calls them back letting them know it will be ok to drop everything off today. It would probably be best. Fifteen minutes after making the call, the doorbell rings.

  The guys from the party supply store sets up the tables and chairs. They show Monica how to turn the moonwalk on for tomorrow. As they’re finishing up, Monica notices they forgot the balloons. Just as she’s fixing to ask them about it, one of the guys runs back to the company truck. Seconds later, he hands Monica the flat balloons and a helium tank. With it being their fault that they have to deliver everything early, they tank is for free. Before leaving, he suggests she puts the helium in the balloons an hour before the party. They’ll last longer. After they leave, she sets the tank away from Eric’s reach. Glancing at the security monitor, she checks on Eric, and then continues decorating.

  The hotdogs she made for lunch didn’t set well. She runs to the bathroom. The morning sickness is already starting and she’s feeling miserable. As Eric watches Barney, he dozes off for nap time. Perfect timing. Now is the time to do the decorations and party favors. There will be ten kids coming tomorrow. While putting the party favors together, she starts thinking about her pregnancy. Her pregnancy is bitter sweet. She’s happy to be having another child, but feels bad that Eric will not be getting all the attention he deserves. That’s not fair to him.

  The baby is already draining her energy level because she dozes off. Waking her up slowly, Patricia informs her she is leaving. Monica thanks her, pays her, and then slowly gets off the couch. While Eric is still napping, she decides to start cooking dinner. After checking up on Ella, the doorbell rings. Who could it be at this time of the day? Then it snaps to her. The toy store is delivering Eric’s car today. She instructs for them to leave it in the garage. Following the guy into the garage, she’s amused seeing Eric’s Hummer parked next to her Mercedes. Eric picked a white Hummer to be like his daddy. Monica over doing everything, she tweaked it some to look exactly like Jake’s. As the guy leaves, Jake pulls up the driveway and chuckles seeing Eric’s white Hummer parked in the garage. He knew Monica was going to order a toy Hummer but did not know she would have it specially ordered to look exactly like his.

  After greeting her with a kiss, he wraps his arm over Monica’ shoulders. “Eric has good taste in cars.” Jake jokes.

/>   “He gets it from his momma.”

  “Yes he does.”

  Wondering why Jake is home early, she glances at her watch. “You’re home early?”

  “I wanted to come home early to help you get things ready for tomorrow.” He returns to his Hummer and pulls out something for Monica. “Plus I wanted to bring some roses to my beautiful wife.”

  “Roses? Did Doctor Phillips call you?”

  Confused, he stares at her wondering, “Why would Doctor Phillips call me?”

  “So why did you buy me the roses?”

  “I have to have a reason to buy you flowers? But you still haven’t answered my question. Why would the doctor call me?”

  She thinks for a minute, thinking of a way to explain. “I kept throwing up, so I went in to see him.”

  “And?”

  “He says I’m pregnant.” Monica bites her upper lip. She knows Jake would be happy. Or hopes he would be.

  There’s excitement in Jake’s voice. “That’s good news right?”

  “Yeah I guess.”

  “You don’t seem happy.”

  “I am, but I just wished I had more time to spend some mother and son time with Eric. He’s so young, and he still needs me. And we just barely got back with our normal lives. What about Ella?”

  He hugs. Perfectly fitting in his arms, he rests his chin on top of her head. “What about her?”

  “I don’t know if she’s fully healed from what happened between us?”

  “Baby Ella is just like you. She is a lot stronger then you give her credit for.”

  Monica laughs. “Excuse me.” It’s Jake who doesn’t give Ella any credit especially when it comes to her boyfriend.

  “Yeah. Yeah. She’s strong alright. And as for Eric, he’ll need you even if he is older. I think this will be great for him, so he has a smaller sibling to play with. He won’t be how Ella was. She was always bored playing by herself.”

  Monica agrees with Jake. Maybe this is what they need. Something new for a fresh start.

  “Everything will be alright baby. I promise.” Pulling her tighter against his chest he teases her. “Can I ask you a serious question?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s not the pizza man’s right?” Jake laughs after Monica hits him on his stomach.

  They lock their fingers together and walk back inside. Since Eric is still sleeping, Jake begs for them to go upstairs. He leaves delicate kisses as he follows behind her. Turning off the stove, he turns her around, pressing his body against hers. She leaps on his back and he carries her upstairs to their bedroom.

  That was the quickest quickie they’ve ever done but it was much needed for the both of them. Giggling inside, Monica dresses. Ella comes home from shopping and her parents dress faster as they hear the front door closing. She sees Eric on the couch; gives him a kiss on his head, and starts looking for her mom.

  As they’re heading downstairs, Monica whispers, “Don’t tell Ella just yet. I’ll tell her when it’s the right time.” Jake nods in agreement.

  Kissing her dad on the cheek. “Hi daddy. You’re home early.”

  “I finished bossing people around.” Jake tries to be a smartass.

  Ella rolls her eyes, and ignores her dad, knowing her dad isn’t as mean as he claims to be. While Jake sets the table, Monica turns the stove back on. Slowly, Ella wakes Eric up gently. His smile is so beautiful and precious. He wraps his arms around his sister, and she carries him up to take him to the kitchen. To the Harrises eating dinner is how they spend most of their quality time.

  “How was school baby?” Jake takes a sip of his sweet tea.

  “It was school.” Ella inhales wishing her dad won’t ask about Luke.

  “So tomorrow is the big day huh?” Jake bridges his brows before taking a bite of the chicken pot pie.

  With a confused look, “Big day? What do you mean daddy?”

  “We get to meet ‘the guy’.”

  Being the smartass teenager she is, Ella snaps at her daddy. “The guy is my boyfriend daddy and his name is Luke.”

  Not wanting to talk about Luke, Ella changes the subject and asks Eric if he’s excited for tomorrow. Jake snickers because he knows exactly what Ella is doing. She’s avoiding the conversation. He’ll let her slide today, for tomorrow it will be a different story.

  While Monica loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen, Jake gives Eric a bath, reads him a bedtime story, and tucks him in bed. He nearly had a nervous breakdown when he checked on Ella, and she’s on the phone. Knowing she was talking to Luke, he took a deep breath.

  “Who are you on the phone with baby?”

  “Luke.”

  Jake blinks his eyes in disappointment, “Make sure you do don’t stay on the phone all night.”

  “I know daddy. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight sweetheart.”

  As he’s walking to his room, he hears Monica throwing up. He hurries to the bathroom, she’s on the floor by the toilet, and he tries to comfort her.

  “I’m so sorry that you have to go through this again baby.”

  “It’s not your fault. Oh wait. It is your fault.”

  “Don’t rub it in. As I recall you didn’t mind what we were doing to put you through this.”

  Monica gives him the don’t push your luck expression. Throwing his hands in the air to let her know he will now shut up.

  Jake heads downstairs and comes back with a glass of water and saltine crackers. Placing them on the nightstand by Monica, he helps her to bed.

  5

  In the middle of the night, Monica wakes up feeling woozy. Barely making it to the toilet, she hurls. Sitting there for a while thinking morning sickness is a bitch. Jake wakes up from the sound of her throwing up, so he goes and checks on her. Thank goodness it’s a weekend. Jake would be so tired tomorrow with constantly waking up every time Monica threw up.

  Being the gentleman he is, he goes downstairs. As he’s walking back to the bathroom, Monica is still heaving. “I have water and crackers when you’re through babe.”

  She lifts her head, giving him a sweet smile. “Thank you baby.”

  Placing the glass and plate of crackers on the counter, he grabs a hand towel, wipes her mouth, and then helps her back to the bed. She sits up and drinks the glass of water he hands her. Laying the plate of crackers on the nightstand, he sits on the bed across from her. She can see his boner piercing through his pajama pants. Licking her lips, she sets the glass aside. As she bites her bottom lip, he leans over. Not knowing if she wants to, he caresses her arms. When she didn’t stop him, he continues by giving sensual kisses on her neck. Tingles of pleasure creeps all over her. She digs her fingers on his back, pulling him on top of her. Rubbing his hard erection between her legs, she moans. Jake knows Monica is always horny when she’s pregnant, so he takes advantage of the situation.

  Rays of sun beams through the cracked curtain opening and hits Monica’s face. She looks at the alarm, and it’s already eight thirty. Jake is sound asleep on his stomach, arms and legs all sprawled out. They made love for hours and he gave her multiple orgasms. He should be really tired. Monica lays there hoping today will be great day. What can go wrong she thought? But she already knows the answers to her own questions. What if her mom brings Reese to the party? What if her mom doesn’t come? Even though she blew up at her mom the other day, she expects her to be there. Grandparents are always supposed to be there for their grandkid’s birthday. No matter what, differences should be put aside for the grandkids’ sake. Today is the big day. A special little man’s first birthday. Then she thought about Ella and Luke. What if Jake doesn’t like Luke? What then? Ella really likes him, and she will be heartbroken if Jake makes them break-up. What if Jake and Luke’s father doesn’t get along? What if the caterer is late? What would she feed the guest? Monica’s heart starts to beat fast from worrying too much. Shaking the doubts, she turns to face her husband.

  He’s so handsome even when he sleeps. Jake wa
s always gorgeous in high school, and with age, he is now beyond gorgeous. There are no words to explain how handsome and sexy he is. Just like wine. Gets better with age. She just wishes he’ll act right today, hoping he won’t be his normal stubborn self. He acts first then thinks later. As she gives him a kiss and whispers I love you in his ear, he slowly opens his eyes; when he sees her getting up, he turns his head and goes back to sleep. The love making last night kicked his butt. He did do all the work, making sure he pleased her in every possible way. She lets him be, and checks up on the kids.

  Eric didn’t wake up in the middle of the night again. Monica wonders if he’s over that stage. If he is, thank god. But, it just snapped to her. Once the baby is born, they’re going to have to do it all over again. Great. She will never get a break.

  The kids are still asleep. Yawning, she precedes downstairs to make coffee. After turning on the morning news, she wipes the condensation on the windows to watch the hot steam rise from the bay. On the news, the weatherman informs tomorrow, the temperatures will drop with heavy rain. Just yesterday the temperature was in the hundreds. Baytown weather. One minute it’s scorching hot outside, then the next minute, it’s pouring freezing rain. You have to wear two different outfits every day just to accommodate the weather.

  While the coffee is making, she decides to put some cinnamon rolls in the oven. It’s so easy to make, and less cleaning up after. She can’t wait to eat some good ole barbeque. They’re having their favorite barbeque restaurant cater. The food should be arriving at noon. Thinking out loud, she goes over what else needs to be done before the party. There’s really not much left to do before the party, but the balloons. After putting the rolls in the oven, Monica turns and sees Eric standing behind her.

  Picking him up, she squeezes him. Oh how she loves this little man so much, “Happy Birthday munchkin. I didn’t hear you coming downstairs. You’re one today.” She kisses him on his head, “Are you hungry baby? It will be done soon.”