Their Miracle Baby

Chapter 5

When Lewis dropped Venetia off after their trip, they were both loaded down with boxes and bags, the result of the shopping spree. Venetia was floating on a cloud of bliss, her body still vibrating with the pleasure Lewis had given her over and over again that weekend. As they climbed the stairs, her landlady poked her head out of her door.

“Ms. Venetia, you got a package while you were gone. I signed for it, it’s in here,” she said, gesturing behind her.

“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Rodriguez. I can take it now,” she said, starting back down the stairs.

“No, I don’t think so. The box is very large,” she said in her heavily accented English. “You’ll need to come back and bring that big strong man.”

They dumped the packages and boxes in the apartment then went back downstairs to retrieve the package which did indeed turn out to be quite large. “I haven’t ordered anything lately. I don’t know what this could possibly be,” she said, helping Lewis through the door.

“I wonder,” he said, a silly grin on his face.

“What have you done now?” she asked, suddenly suspicious.

“You’ll see,” he said, grunting under the weight of the box. “But right now I need to get this inside your apartment. It’s really heavy.”

“Poor baby. See what you get for being sneaky,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.

Once inside the apartment, Venetia tore into the box expecting to see more clothes, but instead she found every art supply she could ever want. From water colors to canvasses and the best brushes, the box held it all.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I saw the look on your face when you talked about your painting. You miss it, I can tell,” he said, wrapping his arms around her where she stood looking into the box.

“But I don’t have time,” she said, her fingers itching to get the supplies out of the box.

“You need to make time. It’s important to be balanced. Don’t tell me that you don’t feel better after our weekend away,” he said, nuzzling her neck to soften his words.

“I do, but I can’t just drop everything and paint. I have too many responsibilities,” she said, turning in his arms to look at him.

“It’s time to start letting go of some of those responsibilities. You told me yourself that there’s enough money to hire another doctor. Do it, then give yourself a life. You won’t be sorry and don’t forget that I’m part of that life.”

Venetia thought about his words, then smiled up at him. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to see what all is in this box.”

When Lewis finally left that night, Venetia hardly noticed. She’d found the charcoal and sketch pad and was happily reproducing some of the places they’d been that weekend. He kissed her on top of the head, then let himself out, happy that she was so distracted by something other than the clinic and her patients.

Late that night, snuggled in her bed, Venetia thought about their perfect weekend; from the shopping spree to the Broadway show, it had been everything she’d ever dreamed of. The fact that she’d shared the experience with Lewis had only been a bonus. She’d almost forgotten what it was like to have fun, to have a life. But starting tomorrow, she was going to change that.

The next morning, Bernice beat her to the clinic, something that rarely happened. When she came through the door, her cheeks red from the cold, she tried to escape to her office unnoticed, but Bernice wasn’t having any of that.

“Are you trying to sneak past me?” Bernice said, blocking Venetia’s path to her office.

“No, but I’m late,” Venetia said, knowing there was no way Bernice was going to let her by without some snippet about the weekend.

“Not so late you can’t tell me about your weekend. Is that a new outfit?”

“Yes, and we went to New York for the night,” Venetia said, a big grin spreading across her face. She just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“As in New York City? For one night?”

“Yes, and it was magical. Bernice, it’s time we hired that other doctor. Do you still have those resumes somewhere?” she said, trying to get into her office again.

Bernice still didn’t move but said, “So, that’s how it is.”

Venetia blushed then said, “Yes, that’s how it is.” But she couldn’t wipe the silly grin off her face.

“Well, it’s about time you got a life. I’ll start scheduling interviews right away.”

Venetia couldn’t just drop her responsibilities, but over the next few weeks she worked hard to make time for Lewis. The search for a new doctor to join the clinic had been difficult. She wanted just the right person in the job and none of the candidates she’d interviewed had been quite right.

She’d known it would be difficult but hadn’t anticipated just how difficult. Lewis was beginning to become annoyed with her, sure that she was being too picky. It had nearly resulted in a fight several times last week.

“I just think you’re expecting too much,” Lewis had said after she’d turned away the last doctor on her list.

“I know, but I’m not going to feel good about this until I find the right person. Please, be patient,” she’d pleaded.

He’d pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be here when you’re ready. I think you should move in with me, after all we spend most of our time there. We can redecorate the back bedroom and turn it into a studio for you.”

“Can we wait until I find my new doctor? I just can’t think about anything else right now.”

“We can, but I’m going to help you find that doctor. There has to be the perfect person out there, you’re just not reaching them.”

“I take any help I can get,” she said, leaning her head against his chest listening to his steady heartbeat. “I know how hard it is for you to understand how important this is to me, but don’t think I don’t appreciate you. I’m going to find that doctor and then we’ll talk about me moving in.”

“Deal,” he’d said, then led her into the bedroom where he’d made love to her, slowly and thoroughly, a promise of what was to come.

When Dr. Mathew Billings’ resume was slapped down on her desk, she looked up to find Bernice grinning broadly at her. “I’ve found him. He’s perfect, just look.”