Epilogue – Fairytale

 Fairytale

SPOV

One Year Later

I took my morning cup of coffee out onto the deck to enjoy the morning sunshine. The weather was beautiful and it just added to the overall happiness that my life had been filled with over the last year. I was truly blessed and as I sat there I remembered everything that had happened that brought me to where I am now.

I was surprised when Eric proposed to me but I didn’t hesitate accepting. I didn’t have any doubts whatsoever that he loved me and I knew that my love for him was so great that I would never be whole without him.

I had already filed for divorce from Bill using the same attorney that my father was using to divorce my mother. Even if Bill didn’t contest the divorce I knew it could still take months before it was finalized, but I really wanted for us to be married before the baby was born. Luckily Eric’s father knew some very influential people and they were able to push it through the courts much faster so that I was officially divorced a mere six weeks later.

On the night that I had walked out on him a few of the waiting reporters had followed Lorena when she left the house and it didn’t take long for them to discover that she had been Bill’s mistress. He held one press conference to try and deny any wrongdoing and I couldn’t stop laughing as I watched him try to worm his way out of it on TV with two black eyes. The press crucified him and the late night talk shows had a field day mocking him relentlessly. Bill’s political supporters dropped him and he had no choice but to withdraw his name from running for office.

Lorena had a healthy baby boy a week after our meeting and once Bill’s political future was no longer an issue he had surprisingly tried to be a good father. It wasn’t until a few weeks later when the baby’s dark hair lightened to blond that he began to question the paternity because both he and Lorena were brunettes. It turned out that Lorena had cheated on him as well and the baby wasn’t his. He tried to throw his hat back into the political arena but the public was having no part of it and he had to return to his law practice with his tail between his legs.

When the time came for Bill’s ridiculous lawsuit against the Northman’s to be heard by the judge I asked if I could testify on their behalf. Once I explained to the judge how our marriage had already been on rocky ground before the crash, as well as how I felt that morning in the doctor’s office and Bill’s horrible reaction to me afterwards I admitted truthfully that I would’ve left him not long after we returned even if the plane crash had never occurred. The judge appeared to have taken offense on my behalf when he’d heard that Bill had said I was ‘broken’ and basically laughed him out of court dismissing his claim against the Northman’s.

After there was no doubt that Bill’s future consisted of nothing more than a run of the mill lawyer my mother tried to befriend me again. I was leery of letting her back into my life fully, but I felt compelled to give her one last chance. I shouldn’t have. As soon as she heard that I was marrying into the Northman family she started telling me all of the things that I should do now to be a proper lady of society and swamped me with real estate listings for over the top mansions that were on the market. I didn’t want any of it and I certainly wasn’t marrying Eric because his family was wealthy. The final straw came when she criticized my engagement ring saying I should trade it in for a larger one. I kicked her out and had nothing more to do with her. The last thing I heard about her was that she had sold her story to the gossip magazines playing the victimized mother left penniless by her gold-digging daughter and I couldn’t have cared less. The people who were important in my life knew the truth and that was all I cared about although she had better watch herself if Eric’s mother ever came across her.

I was apprehensive going to see Eric’s parents for the first time which was the morning after we’d made up. I knew his father from work and I’d met his mother at business functions, but now I was meeting them again as their future daughter-in-law. Their pregnant future daughter-in-law. When we walked into their house his parents stood in the foyer holding hands beaming smiles at the two of us, but no one said anything at first. I couldn’t take the awkwardness any longer so I smiled and said; “Vi klär av sig” saying what I thought was ‘Good Morning’. Eric’s mother’s jaw dropped open while his father roared with laughter and when I looked over at Eric wondering if I’d said it wrong he was ten shades of red. When I found out I’d been telling him ‘Let’s get naked’ every morning for six months straight I could’ve killed him! It took weeks before I could finally laugh at it all, but I only trusted his mother to teach me Swedish from then on.

We had a small wedding ceremony in their backyard with just his parents, my father, Amelia and Claudine in attendance. Neither one of us wanted any fanfare and it was absolutely perfect. My waist was quickly disappearing by that point so I decided on an empire waist wedding dress that was custom made to look exactly like the dress in our fairytale book. I hadn’t given Eric any clues on what the dress looked like and the recognition on his face when he saw me standing on my father’s arm at the end of the aisle was priceless. Several tears and vows later and I was married to my real life Prince Charming who sealed the deal with a kiss that curled my toes.

We stayed with his parents until we found a nice home in between their house and my father’s. Our story generated a lot of interest and we were approached by several companies wanting to publish it so we decided that if it was going to be told that Eric would be the one to write it. They were hesitant at first but when he sent them the draft of the first few chapters they absolutely loved his writing style and when Eric told them that he’d always wanted to be a writer they asked him to send in anything else he’d written. They were impressed enough to sign him to a contract to write two more books with the option to extend it if they did well and he couldn’t have been happier. The best part was that Eric got to work from home so we were rarely ever apart which suited us just fine.

I chose to stay home to take care of our baby once he or she was born because I didn’t want to miss a minute of them growing up. Our parents seemed to be more excited than we were and Eric’s mother had made it her mission in life to buy every generic colored baby outfit on the planet. She taught me Swedish almost every day so I could teach the baby and she had quickly become the mother figure in my life. She confided in me what a mess she’d been while Eric was growing up, but anyone could clearly see that she was no longer that same person and Eric and I both looked forward to seeing her with her grandbaby.

We decided to wait to go on our honeymoon until after the baby was born since my morning sickness lasted through the entire pregnancy. Eric was worried, but the doctor assured us that it sometimes lasted throughout and as long as I still gained enough weight it wouldn’t be a problem. Eric was very attentive of my needs and learned quickly that I sometimes cried for no other reason than the Lifesaver commercial I just watched was very sweet. Many times I was sure I was the largest pregnant woman on the planet and would cry out, “Don’t look at me, I’m hideous!” only to ask him a minute later to go and get me garlic bread and Nestle’s Strawberry milk. If anyone deserved a medal for most understanding husband it was him.

My libido was in overdrive throughout the entire pregnancy and finding ways to have sex around my belly was challenging, but thankfully Eric was always up for a challenge. Literally. He always told me how beautiful and sexy I was no matter how many times I rolled my eyes in silent protest, but I knew deep down he believed what he was saying even if I thought he needed his eyes checked.

My water broke twelve days past my due date and I’d never seen Eric more nervous than he was at that moment. He had acted swift and assured when our plane crashed in the middle of the ocean, but seeing the puddle of water forming in between my feet on the kitchen floor turned him into all three Stooges with him running around getting towels and my bag and the camera. The hospital was only a short ride away and my contractions weren’t really painful yet so I stood there calmly while he packed the car like a madman, but when I saw him jump into the driver’s seat and speed away I got a little worried. He only got halfway down our street before I heard the brakes screeching against the pavement as he turned around to come back for me with a sheepish and apologetic smile on his face.

My contractions became much stronger once we were at the hospital and Eric stayed by my side rubbing my back and feeding me ice chips until the sound of his breathing and blinking became too annoying and I made him go see our parents in the waiting room only to have the nurse go and fetch him two minutes later because I missed him. Rinse. Repeat. After eight hours I couldn’t take the pain any longer and asked for an epidural. By the time it kicked in I loved the anesthesiologist so much for giving me his wonder drug that if we had a boy I was going to insist on naming him Doctor Larry Feinstein.

That wouldn’t be necessary because four hours later our daughter came screaming into the world. We still hadn’t decided on a name yet, but as soon as I saw her I knew her name was Erica because she was the spitting image of her father. We counted her fingers and toes and peeked under her little knit hat to see her blond head. I cried tears of joy seeing Eric hold his daughter for the first time with tears streaming down his face and laughed when his first words to her were, “You’re never dating.”

More tears were shed when my father and Eric’s parents came in to meet their granddaughter with each of them holding her in turn. We were able to take her home three days later and we put her on our bed in between us and just stared at her for hours while giving each other goofy grins. We were so in love with her it was sickening. I had started breastfeeding her while we were in the hospital and she took to it well so I was going to keep doing it for the time being and while Eric agreed that it would be the best for her I think he was a little put out at not having them all to himself anymore.

We eventually had a routine going with each of us doing what needed to be done in the house and with the baby. Eric would normally speak in Swedish to her whenever he held her and my heart melted each and every time. It also turned me on hearing him and he often reaped the benefits. She started sleeping through the night, well for at least five or six hours, by the time she was two months old and I thanked any and every God I could think of. I’d been trying to sleep whenever she did, but that wasn’t always possible. Eric was a trooper too, always getting up whenever she cried and changing her diaper before bringing her to me to feed and I loved him all more for it knowing how lucky I was to have him.

We finally got to go on our honeymoon when she was four months old with Eric keeping our destination a secret. We took the Northman’s private jet with Erica in tow because I was still breastfeeding and neither one of us could stand the thought of not having her with us for any length of time. When we landed at a private airfield there was a car waiting that took us to a marina where a large luxury yacht was docked. I thought that was the surprise, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

EPOV

We were at sea for a full day when I woke Sookie early in the morning asked her to come up on deck with me to see the sunrise. I tried to be romantic whenever I could and hoped this gesture wouldn’t arouse any suspicion. It had been hard keeping this secret from her but I was pretty sure she’d forgive me. I knew she thought our honeymoon was going to be spent cruising on the yacht but I had other plans. I held her in my arms and once the sun started peeking up over the horizon our island came into view. She could barely see through the tears but I knew they were happy ones so I just hugged her a little tighter and we sat there and watched as it slowly got closer and closer.

It looked exactly the same only our hut had been replaced with a real house. It was our wedding gift from my parents and while I worried Sookie would balk at the amount of money they must have spent having it built I hoped she would love it too much to care.

One of the boat’s crewmen ferried us over in a smaller boat and I watched Sookie’s reaction to it all as we sped towards the shore and knew that she loved it just as much as I did. The house wasn’t particularly large or extravagant but its simplicity is what made all the more beautiful. Practically the entire front of the house was nothing but windows and I knew the view would be spectacular. When we finally got to the shore the crewman helped unload our luggage and told us they would return whenever we said we were ready to leave before going back to the yacht.

We took our time walking up to the house with both of us in awe at the sight. I had known what my parents were planning, but they never showed me what the finished product would look like. When we got to the front door I made Sookie wait while I took Erica inside and then I came back and picked her up bridal style before carrying her inside and my eyes welled with tears remembering the first time we’d done that on this island. As soon as we were inside I pulled her lips to mine whispering “Welcome home” before kissing her until she couldn’t see straight and I fell in love with her even more.

Erica chose that moment to wake up so our ‘celebrating’ would have to wait until she went back to sleep and we decided to tour the house in the meantime. There were solar panels on the roof to provide electricity and a satellite dish gave us telephone, television and internet access. The large pantry we found in the kitchen had already been stocked with enough non-perishable items to sustain a small village for months and the rest of the room was loaded with every modern convenience we could possibly need and while we’d made do the first time we were here I wasn’t going to complain about having a real kitchen. Or a bathroom with a toilet and a door. Luxuries.

The entire downstairs was one huge great room with no walls separating the kitchen from the living room or dining area and the view of the ocean could be seen no matter where you were. We climbed the stairs that ran along the side of the room and found the master bedroom had its own bathroom and a separate door that connected our room to the nursery. Since there were two more bedrooms I didn’t know if they were meant for guests or future children, but I loved both of those ideas so it made no difference to me.

It was time for Erica to be fed so I took her into the nursery to change her diaper and hoped she would be ready for a nap by the time she was done eating. She was starting to smile more and she had me wrapped around her pudgy little finger from the start. I never realized how much a parent loved their child until she was born.

I knew Sookie thought she looked exactly like me, but she was wrong. Erica had her nose and chin and I kissed those two spots often loving them just as much as the ones her mother had. I knew she would grow up eventually but I didn’t have to like that fact and I was completely serious when I said she was never dating.

Having spent the years before I’d met Sookie as a manwhore there was no way any male was getting near my daughter. Sookie hadn’t learned enough Swedish yet to know that when I spoke to Erica I normally told her how much fun it would be to be a nun when she grew up and no man other than God himself was good enough for her.

I brought her back to Sookie to be fed and just enjoyed watching their bonding time while Sookie and I talked about all of the different places we wanted to go back and see again. The lagoon. Definitely. I could see how happy Sookie was being here again, as was I, and she said she was going to have to try and surprise me herself. There was a leer in her eye that made me think I would be liking her surprise very much.

SPOV

I was still in a nostalgic mood after I finished my coffee and I went back inside to change knowing Eric would be back with Erica soon. Over the previous couple of weeks since we’d been back on the island he liked to take her for walks down the beach, even though he was the only one actually walking, calling it his ‘Daddy and Daughter’ time while giving me some time all to myself. I used it to work on my ‘surprise’ for Eric and when I heard them come inside I stayed in the bathroom until I heard Eric go into the nursery before making a beeline downstairs.

I’d already set up my ‘props’ beforehand so when he came downstairs I hit the play button on the iPod and began my routine. Eric stood there with a shit-eating grin on his face when he saw me in his ‘birthday outfit’ consisting of the new grass skirt I’d made and lei of flowers. I started dancing seductively towards Eric and sang along with Harry Nilsson singing in the background:

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime; His sister bought another one, she paid it for a lime.

I was standing directly in front of Eric by then so I playfully started undressing him bit by bit, pushing his shirt off of his arms once the buttons were opened. I turned to slide the back of my body against Eric’s half naked front and Eric joined in singing with me:

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up. She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up. She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up. She put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up, and said, “Doctor, ain’t there nothin’ I can take, I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?

Eric wasn’t waiting for the song to end because in the next minute he threw me over his shoulder and grabbed the baby monitor before taking me outside to a blanket we kept out on the sand. We hadn’t ventured outside to have sex since we’d returned and by the way we were quickly stripping each other it seemed that we were both eager to experience it again.

I’d forgotten what a turn on it was having sex with Eric on the beach under the sun. As soon as he put his lips to mine I knew he’d taken Erica to the market because I could taste the pitanga berries he had eaten and remembering the first time we’d eaten them turned me on even more. It didn’t take long before Eric started making his way down my body with his mouth and hands and I enjoyed feeling the goosebumps he raised on my flesh battling with the heat of the sun.

I cried out when his tongue made its first pass through my folds and he took his time bringing me to the edge of climaxing before backing off time and again. Just when I was sure my whole body was about to revolt he thrust two fingers inside of me and I was surprised I didn’t pass out from the force of the orgasm that ripped through my body and when my vision returned I found Eric looking down at me while he hovered above.

He brought his lips to mine whispering “I love you” and I echoed it back to him as he pushed his way inside. Our bodies fell into a perfect rhythm and tears welled in my eyes feeling that we’d finally come full circle being here together again. I loved him so much and while I made sure to tell him that every day I don’t think he had any idea of just how much. My life hadn’t been my own to live until he came along and showed me the way to happiness. The tears finally fell from my eyes as we both tumbled over the edge and Eric leaned down kissing away my tears.

“Are you okay lover?” he asked with concern.

“Yes.” I felt the smile form on my lips because I was so much better than ‘okay’.

He settled beside me and pulled my body against his as he nuzzled his face into the side of my neck and asked , “So did the princess get her happily ever after?”

The sound of Erica crying came through the baby monitor at that moment signalling that her nap time was over and I looked at Eric and smiled saying, “She most certainly did.”