Chapter 52 : Saving Each Other

Luke POV Running out on my own wedding had been the best decision I'd ever made. Almost two years later, I still didn't regret that decision. "Up, up," a soft voice cooed to me. I pulled my eyes from the gorgeous Caribbean sky and bent down, scooping my beautiful daughter into my arms. Arianne had been a surprise, but a very welcome surprise. Cat had always been the embodiment of home and family for me. When she told me she was pregnant, that feeling had finally become completely real. We were going to be a real family, and now, we were. I balanced Arianne on my hip and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She giggled and squirmed in my arms. "No. No." she laughed, pushing at me. "Let's get home. I'm sure your mom is waiting for us," I said. I walked along the rocky embankment we'd been playing on and headed back home. Since the Caribbean project had taken up so much of our time, Cat and I decided to move down here. It allowed us to be closer to the project and meant a lot less international travel. Neither of us had wanted to leave our daughter with a nanny while we were traveling back and forth, staying in resorts, and working long hours. Moving down to the Caribbean had made the most sense. While I had worked on overseeing the project, Cat had taken on a project of her own. We'd arrived down here a few weeks after I'd walked away from Victoria. Cat wasn't showing yet, so we got married. The perfect wedding with just our most trusted co-workers and friends, right in the Villa cabin she'd stayed in the last time we'd been there. We stood on the dock and got married at sunset. A pod of dolphins had swum up during the ceremony. It had been perfect. I'll never forget the look on Cat's face that day, with her rosy cheeks and her stunning smile. "Go home now?" Arianne asked, tugging my hair. "Yes, we are going home. Did I ever tell you about our home and why it is so special?" I asked her, nuzzling her pudgy cheek with my nose. "No," she said, shaking her head. After we got married, Cat's project had been designing and overseeing the building of our perfect family home here in the Caribbean. "Well, while you were still growing in mommy's belly, she wanted to make sure that you'd have the best house. A house perfect for a princess," I explained, poking her stomach lightly. Arianne giggled and rested her head on my shoulder. I got to the front walkway of our home. The path was covered with white landscaping stones and lined with some of the most colorful tropical flowers. Cat had designed us a three-story house with colonial architecture. There was a big, covered wrap-around porch with a porch swing and some wicker furniture. Off the back of the house was a patio with a built-in firepit. The second floor, directly off our bedroom, was a deck that jutted out over the ocean. Sometimes, when the waves got really big, seaspray reached all the way up the balcony. Off the back patio, there was a sandy path lined with ornamental grasses that led down to our private beach. "This, my little princess, is your very own castle," I said, picking a flower and handing it to Arianne. She looked at the house, eyes wide. "Castle?" she asked. "Yes," I confirmed. When we got to the porch, I set her on her feet. She teetered back and forth for a moment and then took a few unsteady steps toward the screen door. Arianne was walking on her own, but she wasn't completely sure of herself. "Mama, I home!" she called inside, pressing her palm on the screen door. I chuckled and pushed the door open. Arianne headed inside with clumpy, stomping steps. Cat was in the living room with Adelle, hanging new curtains. Cat was standing on a stepladder and Adelle was holding the curtain up to her. "Mama," Arianne called to her again. She walked over to the stepladder and held her arms up to Cat. My beautiful wife smiled down at our daughter. "Adelle, can you finish this up?" she asked, handing over the curtain. "I've got it," Adelle said. She climbed up the ladder in Cat's place. "How is my baby girl?" Cat asked. She scooped Arianne into her arms and kissed her all over the face. I smiled, watching the two of them together. That was my family, and I loved them both more than anything else in the world. Moving over to them, I wrapped my arms around Arianne and Cat, hugging them both firmly and kissing Cat on the cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into me like she always did. It was the subtlest, yet most fulfilling, confirmation that she felt complete with me. "I missed you this morning," she whispered to me. "Arianne wanted to see the ocean," I said, rubbing our daughter's back. "Well, it is a good thing you got her out of the house. Adelle and I have been working all day to make things just perfect," Cat said. She put another big, wet kiss on Arianne's cheek before putting her down. Arianne wandered over to her play area and started picking up her toys, saying things that weren't entirely words as she started to play. "Okay, I know it is sort of my job, but can one of you help me with these curtains?" Adelle asked, laughing lightly. "I've got it," I offered. "Why don't you finish getting everything ready?" "Sure," Cat said. She blew me a kiss and headed into the kitchen. When we'd first moved into the house, I thought it was too big. I'd wanted Arianne to be raised more modestly, unlike me, but Cat's argument had been wanting a house big enough to fill with kids. That wasn't something I was going to argue with. She'd worked really hard to get the house built before Arianne was born. Now, about a year later, hanging the curtains was the last touch to fully make it ours. "Luke, hand me the curtain rod," Adelle requested. I did as she asked and she secured the curtain in place. She hopped off the ladder and stood next to me, looking at the curtain. "So, what do you think?" Adelle asked. "I think that I don't want to do any more home improvement projects for a while," I said with a sigh. Adelle chuckled and shook her head. "I think you guys are officially 'moved in.' She nudged me playfully. "And, just in time for another celebration," Cat said, coming out of the kitchen. She smiled brightly, holding a platter with a small cake on it. One I was sure Adelle had given her the recipe for and had probably helped with most of the baking. There was one candle on the cake that hadn't been lit yet. "I'll take that," Adelle said, coming forward and grabbing the cake. "You get the birthday girl." Cat's smile widened even more. No matter how many times I saw it, I never stopped being amazed at how beautiful and joyous she was. She scooped Arianne up, and we headed onto the back patio. "I'll get a fire going," I said. The sun was setting and our solar patio lights had come on. It only took a moment to get the fire in the firepit going. Now, it was a real party. Adelle set the cake on our picnic table and lit the candle. "Are you ready to celebrate, Arianne?" Cat asked. "Do you know why today is so special?" "Why?" "Because one year ago, today, you were born. It is your birthday," she explained. She set Arianne down on the picnic table bench. Our daughter stood there, staring at the little candle on the cake. "Okay. Happy birthday…" Adelle started singing and motioned for us to sing, too. Grinning, I put my hand on Cat's back and the three of us belted out a very off-key version of Happy Birthday. "Now, blow the candle out," Cat said. Arianne leaned forward and blew a raspberry at the candle. We all laughed, and Cat puckered her lips, blowing quickly so the candle went out. "Alright, I'll get this sliced up. You guys relax around the fire," Adelle said, shooing us away from the table. I sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and Cat sat in the one right next to it. I reached over and took her hand. We had a perfect view of the sunset over the flickering flames. Arianne was at the edge of the patio, humming to herself and picking some of the flowers out of our perfectly landscaped garden. "We'll have to get the gardeners back in here at this rate," I said, chuckling and nodding to Arianne. Adelle brought us each a slice of cake. "Do you want cake, you little rascal?" she asked Arianne. Our daughter dropped the flowers, grinning through her chubby cheeks, and toddled over to us. She held her hands out for the plate. "Sit in your mom's lap, okay?" Adelle said. Cat clapped her hands and held them out. Arianne came over and Cat picked her up, perching her on her knee and taking the cake from Adelle. "Happy birthday, my darling," Cat said, kissing Arianne's nose. Arianne giggled and then shoved her hands into the cake, smearing it around her lips. We all laughed again, and I leaned back in my chair, watching the sunset as I took a bite of the deliciously moist, homemade chocolate cake. "Well, we survived the first year," Cat said, sliding her eyes sideways at me. "Yes, I suppose we did," I agreed with a nod. "And we managed to make the perfect baby together." Cat laughed and popped some cake into her mouth. She closed her eyes slightly, a sign she was enjoying it. "She is perfect, isn't she?" Cat asked. She grabbed a paper towel and started wiping the cake crumbs off Arianne's mouth. Arianne slipped off her lap and headed back to her pile of flowers. Any second now, the sugar rush would kick in and we'd have a wild toddler on our hands. Cat glanced at me quickly and then looked out at the sunset. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day in our own little tropical paradise. "Are you ready to start filling the spare bedrooms?" Cat asked, grinning and biting her bottom lip. Smirking, I reached for her hand and brought it to my lips. I kissed her knuckles and brushed my nose along them. "If it means having more beautiful children with you, my love, I'm ready to fill every single one." I brushed my lips across her knuckles and then pulled her close to kiss her. Cat always said that I had saved her with my love, but I knew better. It had been Cat who had saved me.