ok, ok!! here's 11!

Sorry girls, I had snot brain yesterday (excuse my rudeness) and was too tired to do anything that required thought. I am a little better this morning and will now post chapter 11! heehee!

11Amalia

    Anna thought she had two months until the baby would come and so she didn’t worry too much about collecting baby things. She had a few outfits for when the baby first came, but not much more than that. She bought materials to sew a blanket and other linens for the baby’s room. She worked slowly on that project. Walking around her neighborhood was a must to keep her sanity. Sitting alone in her house everyday was taking its toll. Amedeo and Emiliana were her saints. They checked on her everyday and took her for her checkups. They were her adopted parents and friends. At eight months she had a checkup and everything seemed normal. The next day she was sweeping her floors. She didn’t know why, except for her own satisfaction. Mid morning she was collecting the dirt in the dustpan when she had a severe pain in her abdomen. She ignored it and finished her chore. She sat down to rest and felt better. She hated just sitting around, so she decided to work on the quilt for her baby. She sewed away for several hours and completed the top. She took the backing, batting and top to her table to cut and pin. She had it all ready to sew together and carried it back to the room where she did her sewing. As she reached the door of her sewing room, the sharp pain returned. It was even worse than earlier in the day. She dropped everything in her hands and stood for a moment in the doorway; hoping the pain would subside. For just a second it did subside; then it hit her again with a vengeance. She nearly fell to the floor with the severity of the pain. She crawled over to her chaise and laid down. She thought the pain might go away as it had done earlier. However, it only grew in intensity and endurance. It took all her strength to stand up and grab her purse. The stairs frightened her in her debilitated state, but she made it to the bottom without falling. She felt like a vice was squeezing her belly and at the same time stabbing her pelvis. She made it to Amedeo’s door and banged with all her might. He immediately knew something was horribly wrong. He pulled her in the door and called for Emiliana. Amedeo got out his old, seldom used car and together they took her to the hospital. Once at the hospital, Anna’s pain was nearing unbearable levels. She thought of the ‘one through ten’ pain level charts she had seen on the walls of the hospital where she lost her first baby. “This would be a fifteen,” she thought as she tried not to scream in agony. While they were checking her in she suddenly lost consciousness. The staff took over and wheeled her off to an operating room.

    She woke up several hours later, but had no idea how long she had been out. She felt her belly and it was flat. A nurse came to check on her and she said nervously, “Where is my baby? Where is she?” The nurse came to her side and said, “She is fine. She is a little premature and we need to make sure everything is working. We will bring her to you as soon as we can. You must rest. You have been through an awful ordeal. The doctor will come and see you in a little while and explain everything to you.” Anna made sure the nurse understood that she wanted to nurse her baby. “We will bring her soon,” she repeated. She began to feel pain in her abdomen, but not the same as before. She knew instinctively that they had given her a C-section and she was feeling the incision. She wanted to stay alert for when they brought the baby to her, but she felt so groggy and was soon asleep again. What seemed like a little while later, the nurses came in to sit her up and give her medicine.  “Will this hurt the baby if I nurse her?” she asked of the pills in the cup. They told her no, and not to worry about anything. Finally, another nurse came in with a rolling bassinet. It was clear on the sides, so Anna could see the tiny bundle wrapped in pink inside. She put her hand over her mouth and started to cry. The nurse handed her the baby and everything else in the room disappeared. “Hello, my sweet, precious daughter,” she said. Another nurse took over and told her she needed to try and nurse the baby to get her milk going. She gladly followed their instructions. The baby latched on hungrily and Anna winced a little in pain. “Now,” said the nurse who had brought in the baby, “we must fill out her paperwork. What is her name?” “Amalia Kate,” she replied with a smile. “And, who is the father?” Anna’s smile disappeared and she had to contemplate what to say. “Oh, hang the spies!” “Her father is James Alan Grant,” she said. She managed to answer the rest of the nurse’s questions while the other nurses fussed with her and the baby. “May I have a few moments alone with her?” she asked of them. They told her she could have her for ten more minutes and then they would take her for more tests. Anna ignored the pain in her neck from looking down at her baby. “You are perfect. They don’t need tests to tell me that you are perfect. I love you so much, little one,” she said softly. Amalia slept sweetly until the nurses came and took her. They gave Anna strict orders to rest. She was unbelievably happy about her baby, but still so tired. She quickly drifted off into slumber. When she woke later, she called a nurse to help her to the bathroom. It was a huge ordeal and she was glad when she was tucked safely back in her bed. They brought Amalia back to her so she could nurse her again. “I must be turning into an Italian,” she thought as she was unashamed of baring her breasts for the nurse to help her attach the baby. She finished one side and turned the baby to nurse the other. She was still quite exposed when the doctor came to the room. She couldn’t cover her breast since the baby was still nursing. “Ah, here is the doctor who saved your life,” said one of the nurses. And, as if on cue all the nurses left the room at once. Anna wasn’t sure if the baby was finished yet and wished she could ask the nurse. She opened her mouth, but could not interrupt the mass exodus out of the room. She looked again at her hero doctor. He was absolutely gorgeous. The kind of Italian man that sculptures are made of and stories told about. Her butterflies seemed to be under anesthesia, but they were faintly moving in her belly. He smiled and came to sit beside her bed. “I am Dr. Carlo Marino,” he said in perfect English. “How are you feeling?” he asked. She was having trouble finding her voice. “Um, I’m not sure. I guess I’m okay. I think you are here to tell me how I am doing?” she said.  He smiled again, “Yes, of course. I do not need to tell you that you have been through tremendous distress. I will not go into all of the details with you right now, but you were close to losing your life and your baby last night. Your uterus has serious abnormalities and it’s a miracle you kept the baby as long as you did. Basically, your body is not made to have babies. I tied your fallopian tubes during the procedure to prevent further pregnancies. If you were to get pregnant again, I am nearly positive you would die. I hope you will not be angry with me taking that liberty, but it is my job to help save lives.” He paused to see if she had anything to say. “I lost another baby about two years ago,” she said. “That would explain the scarring we saw. Well, all that matters now is that you have a healthy baby and we will care for you until you are strong. Everything will be fine,” he said and patted her arm. She had stopped nursing Amalia and covered herself up. He called the nurse to come and get the baby so he could check her incision site. His touch was so delicate and caring and he put her at ease. “Where did you learn English?” she asked. He told her he had studied medicine in Boston. “Well then,” he said, “Everything looks good. I want you to rest and I will check you again tomorrow.” She looked him in the eyes and said, “Thank you.”

    Early the next morning she was able to bathe, clean her hair, and put on a little makeup. She felt a little more human after that. Her milk came in making it much easier to nurse Amalia. After she settled back in her bed, they brought her the baby so she could hold her. A few minutes later Amedeo and Emiliana came for a visit. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you two taking care of me the other night,” she said after their initial greetings. Amedeo said bitterly, “Your rotten husband should have been here to take care of you and he does not even know he has a beautiful daughter!” Anna had the thought that the spy network had probably already informed him about the baby. She didn’t want to think about him. She was convinced that had he wanted to be a part of their lives, he would have come home. He had been gone four months so far. She turned her attention back to Emiliana who was holding her daughter. “She is so lovely,” Emiliana said. “Yes, she is,” Anna said unashamedly. They stayed for about half an hour and then excused themselves telling Anna she needed to rest. The nurse came and took the baby so she could nap for a while. She was so happy that she loved this hospital and the wonderful staff who had taken such good care of her. A little before noon, she woke to see Dr. Marino sitting in the chair next to her. He was busy making notes in his tablet. When he realized that she was watching him, he smiled and put down his work. “How are you today? You look lovely,” he said. “I feel good today,” she replied simply. “I do not want to ask you questions that make you uncomfortable, but I must say what kind of man leaves his beautiful wife when she is having a baby?” She smiled nervously. “He travels and is gone most of the time. In fact, he doesn’t even know about her.” Carlo raised his eyebrows, “Is the baby his?” Anna thought the Italians do not hesitate to ask very personal questions. “Yes, of course,” she replied. “Well, if I were your husband I would not ever leave your side,” he said firmly. This did make her uncomfortable. He sensed it and changed the subject, “All right, let’s have a look at the incision.” When he was gone, they brought her a big meal. She was glad. It seemed the past several days of trauma and nursing a baby had made her ravenous. “The doctor ordered this for you especially,” the nurse told her. Anna blushed a little and then demolished the food on her plate. The handsome doctor came to see her again in the evening. They chatted for a while. He was single and spent most of his time at the hospital. She told him about her books and that she lived here so she could have a peaceful place to write. That wasn’t entirely true, but it was becoming more so as the days went by and she was more attached to Trieste.

    In three more days she and Amalia were ready to go home. Amedeo came and picked them up. Emiliana had been busy while Anna was in the hospital. She found a housekeeper to come and help Anna and also take care of the baby. Her name was Gisella and she had a serious exterior, but an obviously soft and caring heart. Amedeo told her that Gisella had lost her husband a year ago and had never had children. She was in her forties and still very energetic as if she were in her twenties. She had already cleaned the house from top to bottom, finished all of the linens for the baby’s bed, set up the bassinet in Anna’s room, and had done enough baking to last a week. The house smelled of fresh bread and rich soup when they came upstairs. Anna was starving and ready to have some home cooked food. Gisella laid the baby gently to bed while humming a sweet tune. Anna decided in that moment that she wanted Gisella to be with her for the rest of her life. “Grazie, Gisella,” she told her when she came to the kitchen. “Sieda! I get you some food!” Gisella said. The soup was heavenly and filled every inch of her being with comfort. “Now I must ask you about where I sleep,” Gisella said sheepishly. “Let’s set up a bed for you in the baby’s room. She doesn’t need that much space,” she replied. As they all settled into a routine, Anna felt so happy. The only speck of unhappiness she had was thinking about James.

    After a week, Dr. Marino came by her house to see her. “Darling, you have been through so much. I will make house calls for you here.” Gisella took the baby and he gave her an examination. A very thorough examination, Anna thought. His gentle touch all over her abdomen was just about more than she could handle. She had to bite her lip to get through it without letting out a sigh of arousal. He held her hand and spoke close to her face as he told her that everything was healing well. “I must come once a week to check your progress,” he said before leaving. She was beginning to wonder if all this “checking” was necessary or if he was somehow attracted to her. “Surely not, he is such a handsome man. I’m sure he has a line around the block of women,” she reasoned with herself. The next week, his caresses were sending her through the roof and his hands were getting dangerously close to her breasts. He caught her biting her lip again and asked, “Are you alright? I’m not causing you any pain, am I?” Her voice squeaked, “I’m fine.” His good bye kiss was more on her mouth than on her cheek. She was used to the familiar Italian greeting, but this was something else entirely. After he was gone, Gisella said, “Anna, he is in love with you. No doctor kisses their patient like that.” “That’s what I was afraid of. I have no idea why he would be in love with me,” Anna replied. Carlo came week after week, well beyond the time when her incision was healed. He never expressed his feelings with words, but his touch said everything. She kept reminding him that she was married and he would ask, “Oh, and where is he now?” She had absolutely no idea and could not give him an answer. She would just shrug her shoulders and give him an innocent smile. Once, he kissed her full on the mouth. She pushed him away and said, “No, please don’t. Although he is not here, I am still married.” He nodded, but still ran his fingers through her long brunette hair. “You are so beautiful, Anna,” he said and she felt a shiver go through her body. “I need to travel again,” she thought after he was gone.

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not too busy for chapter 10

Only 5 chapters left!!! I'm getting ready for a busy day. Still have an icky throat, but the show must go on. (or something). I thought I would post a funny picture of my hair. I have 3 girlies who wanted to practice braiding and this is the result:





 

10Travel

    When she was nearly six months pregnant, she finished her second Pseumish book. She loaded Return to Pseumish on a flash drive, and then hid it in a special case in her room. She stood for a few minutes looking around her lonely house. “I do love it here, but I should travel some before the baby comes. I can’t just wait around the house for James. He didn’t even know when he would return,” she thought. “Hmmm, where do I want to go?” She sat on the chaise and planned her trip. She would ride the bus to Venice and spend a week there. Taking the flash drive to her publisher in London was a necessity; so that would be next. She would drop off the flash drive and enjoy London for a couple of days. Then she would fly to Zurich, Switzerland. She wasn’t sure how long she would stay there. From there she could ride a train all the way back to Trieste. She figured that was a zigzag enough trip for a spy. She told Amedeo and Emiliana about her plans. They, of course, thought she was crazy for traveling so extensively while pregnant; and alone at that. She laughed them off and told them, “It’s now or never.” She also shared her concerns about James. Not his occupation, but how his work kept him away so much. She told them that he didn’t know about the baby. They were always sympathetic listeners and had wise words to share with her about anything she was going through. The following day, she packed her bag. She decided to take a big one and leave it half empty for purchases along the way. She called a cab to take her to the bus station. The trip was a little over an hour by bus. Anna was breathless at the sight of Venice; or maybe it was just the baby pushing up on her lungs. Either way, Venice was beautiful. She caught a cab from the bus station to her hotel. Hotel Rialto took her breath away as much as the city had. It sat on the water and was very luxurious. She was glad she had chosen to stay a week there. The valets and concierge were going out of their way to welcome her and help her when she arrived. They were obviously going ‘the second mile’ for her since she was pregnant. She took a long, warm bath after she had settled into her room. She dressed up as best she could being six months pregnant and went out for dinner. On her second day there, she thought she spotted someone following her with a camera. At first she was a little worried; then she was angry. She realized it must be the spy network keeping tabs on her. “Well, I suppose I’ll do my best to ignore them,” she said to herself. She found she couldn’t spend a lot of time on the gondolas because she was more prone to sea sickness while pregnant. She had to laugh out loud at how the Italian men tripped all over themselves trying to be kind to the pregnant lady. She didn’t have to touch a chair in her entire stay in Venice. Someone was always there to scoot it in and out for her. Mostly, she enjoyed walking in Venice. She walked several hours every day. The little woman who came up to her room at night to rub her feet was her new favorite person in the whole world. “You take care of the pregnant feet, signora,” the sweet woman would say. She wanted to tell her that her feet were not pregnant, but didn’t out of affection for this wonderful woman. All too soon, she was at the end of her visit to Venice. As she arrived at the airport, she said, “Ciao, Venezia. Hello, London.” When the plane was in the air she had her first thoughts of James since she had left Trieste. She was thinking about her first flight from London to Milan with him. She was so scared, but so in love with him. They had been lovers on the plane and lovers for two days afterward. How things had changed. She tried to put his last visit home in a positive light, but it only turned dark and depressing. He did not smile or show emotion. He didn’t want to hold her as he had done before. She felt the now familiar knot making its way to her throat and decided she needed to think about something else. She did not want to cry.

    In London, she checked into her favorite hotel. They knew her, but were shocked to see her maternal state. She immediately noticed that the British weren’t as keen to care for pregnant women as the Italians had been. “Oh well, I’m only here for two days,” she thought. She met with Bob and gave him her new book. He was thrilled, of course. “If you need to make any modifications, just call me. I’m not living in London anymore and can’t get here often enough to work on it,” she told him. She hoped he would not fish for any more information. Thankfully, he was busy and cut their appointment short. She visited a few of her favorite places in London before arranging her trip to Zurich. She bought a soft ankle length coat for her stay in Switzerland. The flight was beautiful. She felt so peaceful staying in a hotel in sight of the Alps. The food was comforting for a pregnant woman. The people were friendly and made her feel welcome there. She wanted to stay a week there, but the cold started to get to her. So, she only stayed four days and then she arranged for her train ride to Trieste. The train trip was filled with amazing views. She would have enjoyed it much more had there not been a strange man across the aisle gawking at her. He was constantly trying to engage her in conversation, but she had no interest. He sounded American. When he wasn’t trying to talk to her, he seemed to be pushing every button on his cell phone making a horrible racket.  He started to get pushier and was offended that she wouldn’t talk to him. He couldn’t imagine why she would not want his companionship. After all, she was a helpless pregnant woman. She tried her best to make him aware of her capability and that she had no need of his help. She wondered if he was trying to be annoying or was he genuinely creepy? This was the only moment in her travel that she wished she were not alone. He was really upsetting her. She had to go to the bathroom and he got up and waited for her outside the door. She finally talked to a conductor who passed through the car. The conductor had compassion and moved her to another car. Only the last hour of her trip was peaceful. She vowed to never ride a train alone again. She managed to evade him at the Trieste train station and was so thankful when she was back safely in her home again. Over all she was glad she had taken the trip, and she could now be more tranquil about waiting in her home for the baby.

    After she unpacked and started some laundry, she went downstairs to check in with her neighbors. She told them all about her trip. Emiliana told her she looked happy and healthy, so it must have been a good trip. She cleared her throat and asked, “Did James come while I was gone?” They both shook their heads. “He is not good to you,” Amedeo said. She didn’t know how to respond. In a few moments, she stood and excused herself. She found she was suddenly very tired. She slept for several hours that afternoon. When she woke she sat on the chaise in the dark and thought. It had already been two months since James left. Images of the Bond women came again to haunt her. Did he regret marrying her? Was he even thinking of her? Surely there was a way to do his job and still come home to see her. Her doubts and fears were getting the best of her. She got herself up and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. She patted her belly and said, “I’ve got to feed you, don’t I?” In the back of her mind she was asking herself, “How long should I wait for you, James?” 

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Chapter 9, so divine!

Hi there! I'm feeling icky with a sore throat, but still happy about sharing my silly book with you!

9Italy

    They packed her things quickly, because it was a little awkward to be staying at her aunt’s and his cousin’s house as a married couple. She said especially heartfelt good byes to her aunt and uncle feeling strongly it would be a very long time before she saw them again. As they left Crofton, she pondered all that her time in that house had meant. She felt completely liberated of all Pseumish influences in her life. She no longer felt guilty for looking in the mirror, wearing short skirts, pants, or flattering clothes in general. She left the fear of her former in-laws and their alleged desire for revenge. She did miss her parents, but she knew in her heart that her mother was happy for her and her freedom. She had a new life now. She was on a new page. She would never again be the woman she was when she arrived at Crofton. A few tears fell to her lap as she processed the roller coaster of emotion. James looked worried, but she told him, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m just going down memory lane a bit before I throw away the map to get there.” He smiled and then clenched the wheel as they were entering London traffic. They went to James’ flat and started to pack his things there. She couldn’t believe how tiny it was. “How many square feet is this?” she asked. “Oh, I have no idea. Not enough, that’s for sure,” he said as he laughed. “Well, I guess it’s good we are moving,” she replied. A truck came late in the afternoon. It was black with no decals or names. Anna assumed she was not to ask about it, but James told her, “They will take our things to a shipping container and bring them to us when we find a house. Save out a suitcase to travel with.”  She looked through her clothes and picked out what she wanted to have with her. It was so nice having beautiful clothes with variety and not just having to pick out which plaid shirt to wear. “Ready?” he asked her. She suddenly had so many questions, but thought it best to ask just one, “James, what about the marriage license?” “Oh, that’s already been taken care of,” he replied. She wondered if you could get a license with just the groom in this country, but then she couldn’t imagine when he would have gotten it done because he had been with her since the wedding. They loaded the car and drove for around half an hour. James pulled into a small parking lot. The lot didn’t seem to service any business around it and there were very few cars there. “What are we doing?” she asked. “You’ll see,” was the only response she got. James took everything out of the car and then dropped the keys into the trunk and closed it. In less than a minute, an unassuming taxi pulled into the lot. The driver pulled next to their things. He and James loaded the cab and they got in. Before driving out of the lot, the driver turned and handed James a large envelope. James opened it and began looking through the papers inside. “Ah, there is your marriage license, my love,” he said, handing her one of the papers. She looked over the document. “How….” She couldn’t think what to say. “Darling, our papers cannot be public record, these are all done by the agency,” he said. He handed her the rest of the papers. She shuffled through them and saw there were passports, residency documentation for Italy, and other British papers for Anna. She was shocked and sat in silence on the trip to the airport. She was realizing she really knew nothing about his job and what their life was going to be like in Italy. She focused on the papers again and looked at her name, Anna Grant. Seeing that made her smile and bolstered her strength to face the future without so much fear. She handed him the papers and he stashed them in his backpack. She smiled at him, trying to convey her acceptance of the situation. He smiled in return and relaxed his brow. “I love you so much, Mrs. Grant,” he said. “I love you, too.”

    They boarded a plane bound for Milan. She was wondering why they weren’t just flying straight to Trieste. Once they were situated in their seat, James turned and whispered in her ear, “I can’t leave a paper trail that we’ve gone to Trieste. We will catch a bus once we get to Milan.” “Oh, I see,” she said. This spy business was so complicated. She thought it was probably much simpler for James before he decided to take a wife along. The flight was not long and they were in Milan before she had time for a good nap. James took his wife by the hand and they headed for the baggage claim. She was glad she only had one suitcase since they would be traveling by bus. As she began to listen to the environment around her, she was happy she had bought a good program for learning Italian. “It’s a beautiful language,” she thought. When they reached the street outside the airport, James hailed a cab. As soon as they were seated in the cab, Anna realized that James could speak fluent Italian. “Of course he does!” They went to a hotel and settled into a nice room. “We will stay here for a couple of days,” James said. “Oh, nice! Can we do some touristy things?” she asked. She knew she probably sounded like a crazy, sheltered person; which, she was. “Sure, whatever you like. There is a lot to see here,” he replied without a condescending tone. “I thought you might want to do some shopping, too. This is a fashion capitol, you know.” She was so excited! Shopping in Milan; that was not something she thought she would be doing a year ago. She could go see the original Last Supper painting and Castello Sforzesco. The adventurous side of her was going crazy and the rational side of her was reeling her in. “James, we can do what you want, too,” she said. James had one thing on his mind that evening. He picked her up and carried her to the queen size bed with luxurious linens in their room.  She giggled and welcomed his affection. They skipped dinner and spent the whole evening giving pleasure to each other.  The next morning, they had a nice Italian breakfast of coffee and pastries. “I need to meet with some people while we are here, but there is a woman coming to take you shopping. She will pose as your stylist and translate for you,” he told her once they had done a little sightseeing. “Okay, just so we can do a replay of last night, this evening,” she said. She winked at him and smiled. She could tell that he liked that idea as well. “I’ll meet you back at the hotel at 5:00. Oh, here is your stylist,” he said and introduced Anna to a beautiful Italian woman.  “We are going to have fun today,” the woman said. “I know where you can get great bargains for the best things.” Anna liked bargains and thought, “She probably thinks I am in great need of the style she is about to offer.” They did have fun and Anna bought another suitcase to hold her purchases despite her former thoughts about one suitcase and the bus. When she was nearly finished packing her new things, James came into the room. “Wow, you did quite well today!” He said. They kept their evening plans and enjoyed each other until very late. She did not ask him about his contacts that day and was resigned that she would probably never know what he had done. The next day, they did leisurely sightseeing and ate more than they had on the other days. Anna was so happy.

    The following day they went to the bus station. James purchased their tickets with cash and wore a cap and glasses through the station. The drive to Trieste was absolutely incredible. Anna’s eyes were glued to the gorgeous scenery beyond her window. Once in Trieste, they found an inauspicious hotel and checked in. “Tomorrow, we will meet with a realtor to find our new home,” James said.  Anna thought that night about her other first home. It was an ugly reminder of all that had happened in Platzville. The house in Knoxville had been so plain; plain like the people in Platzville. She fell asleep dreaming about beautiful Italian architecture. The realtor took them to several modern apartments. Anna was growing bored with them and asked, “Do you have something old, with more character?” The realtor’s eyes lit up and he said, “I have just the place to show you.” They drove for some time and came to a very quiet, old neighborhood. The building where they stopped had three homes in it.  The middle one was for sale. The front was a dark stone façade. Downstairs was a garage and extra apartment and upstairs was the main house. They went through the door and Anna immediately began to fall in love with this house.  They climbed the stairs and saw that the top floor was a large square with an atrium roof in the center. Sunlight seemed to stay in the middle of the house, under the atrium, and at the front of the house where the windows were. The rest of the space had a dimness that was comfortable. There were three bedrooms, a large living area, and a kitchen upstairs. The whole floor was gorgeous old wood planks. James looked at Anna’s face and knew she loved it. “I think we have a winner,” he told the realtor. They started the paperwork right away and had possession in less than a month.  Tired of living out of a suitcase, Anna was very ready to live in her own home. The agency shipped the rest of their things and then Anna took inventory to see what they needed to set up housekeeping. She became very familiar with the shops in Trieste and furnished her home in the rustic French country style she had always wanted. Her favorite piece was an overstuffed chaise that she placed in the shadows of the living room. She put lots of brightly colored pillows and soft throws on the chaise. “I will get lots of writing done here,” she thought admiring her work. She loved the little kitchen, too. She painted all the cabinets butter yellow and had wood block countertops installed. She sewed beautiful curtains for the whole house. Wispy white for the kitchen, heavy velvet drapes for the living room, and light weight privacy curtains for the bedrooms. It was her first experience of decorating a house to her liking and she felt deep satisfaction when it was done.

     James was in and out with a few short missions, but was still able to help Anna set up the house. “This would be a nice house for children,” she said one day. James got a very serious look on his face. He turned and took her hand, “Anna, I love you so, but I don’t think we should have children at this point in our lives.” Anna nodded and tried to swallow the knot forming in her throat. She didn’t want to tell him that she had not been on any sort of birth control since they had been married. She thought perhaps she couldn’t get pregnant, so it didn’t matter. Still, she longed for a baby to fill that aching void in her heart.  Anna was curious about the neighbors around them; thinking that having friends might help her feel better.  The house on their left was inhabited by an elderly couple, Amedeo and Emiliana. They were so sweet and Emiliana wanted to bring food over every day after they made acquaintance. Anna was thrilled to have them to help her practice Italian. They were kind and patient teachers. The house on the other side was owned by a couple from Rome who used it very rarely for vacations. After 4 months, James started going on longer missions. First, he was away for two weeks and then two months. When he would come home, Anna was desperate for his attention. She would make their home as romantic a place as possible. He was home for two weeks and then told her, “I’ll be gone longer this time. I’m so sorry it’s this way.” Amadeo and Emiliana thought it was horrible for James to leave his new wife like he did and for so long. She went down to their house often to practice Italian and visit with them. After he left, she found a movie rental store that carried American movies. She rented all of the James Bond films they had and conducted a Bond marathon. She was horrified. Her husband was claiming to have a similar job; and yet, this man was constantly in serious danger, killing people, and with a new woman at every whim. “I truly hope his job is not like this,” she thought. When he was gone for nearly a month, Anna began to feel sick. She had serious nausea for several days before she realized what was going on. She walked to the closest pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test. Part of her hoped she was just sick, because she couldn’t bear the pain of losing another baby. However, when she was back home and had conducted the test, it was positive. “He is going to be so upset,” she conjectured. She was distraught when she thought about not being able to tell anyone about the baby. It would give away their location. Several days later she did tell Amadeo and Emiliana. They took her under their wings and helped her to find a prenatal care clinic. She was reluctant to go, thinking that she would probably lose the baby anyway. She ate well and took walks with her neighbors and her morning sickness passed in a few weeks.  She was still thin and didn’t show that she was pregnant. She felt ugly. She would lie on her chaise and think about the Bond women James was with who were making him happy. She imagined him having to seduce women for information. Her mind went wild with fantasies of his busy nights with the subjects of his inquisitions. She finally told herself, “You’ve got to get out and do something else.” She decided to explore all of Trieste. The more she saw of the city, the more she loved it. “I will stay here the rest of my life,” she thought.

    After four months James came home and she decided not to tell him she was pregnant. He was different this time. He was very serious and distant. She was afraid he would want her to be intimate with him a lot and that would hurt her pregnancy, but he didn’t. His eyes were shifty and he kept running outside to talk on the phone. Her Bond woman fantasies seemed plausible with the way he was acting. She didn’t want to believe those things, but she didn’t like who he was this time. Little did she know that he had been charged with intel gathering among dangerous groups in the Middle East. Every day his life was in danger and he was tasked with staying focused to stay alive. They really had nothing to talk about since he couldn’t talk about his work or where he had been. She figured he knew all about Trieste and wouldn’t be interested in her rambling on about her exploring.  After trying to spend time with him and being mostly uncomfortable, she would go down and visit the neighbors. When he had been home only six days, he left again telling her, “I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

    One morning several days after he had gone, she suddenly comprehended that she had not lost her baby. She was a week past the time when she had lost her first baby. She scheduled regular checkups at the clinic. The baby seemed healthy and Anna was thankful. She began to show and all the Italian women would come and touch her belly and say kind words. She enjoyed shopping for maternity clothes. When she found out the baby was a girl, she started shopping for the baby. Cautiously at first, because she still wasn’t sure she would go full term with this baby. As the weeks passed, she became increasingly attached to the little girl growing inside of her. She picked one of the bedrooms in her home for the baby’s room; even though the baby would be in her room for several months. “Is it wrong for me to hope that James doesn’t come home before the baby comes?” she quizzed herself. She was worried that he would be angry if he came home and she was obviously pregnant and hadn’t told him. Happiness occupied every part of her heart, though. She couldn’t wait for the baby to come and be with her.  This little person wouldn’t leave her after just a few months. One of Anna’s favorite shops was owned by a woman named Amalia. Anna absolutely loved that name and decided to name her baby Amalia Kate.

     She was happy to be in Italy, but missed her family and being able to tell them what was happening. She would write them very vague letters.

“Hello Mom, Hope you and dad are doing well. It’s warming up here in Europe. There is a lot to see in the spring. We are doing great. Almost finished with book two. Will send you a copy after it prints. Love you!! Anna”

Her mother grew tired of these broad stroke letters and wished Anna would use some of her writing talent on her letters. Anna was frustrated for having to write them. She could not tell her own mother she was going to be a grandma. She couldn’t tell her that she had learned Italian, could navigate Trieste, had found all the good markets, and loved her new home. She was aware that the agency was monitoring her emails; or she would have been tempted to just tell her mother everything. “Blasted James Bond!” she said as she sent another email devoid of any real information. Beth had called her once and Anna had to lie and say that they hadn’t settled on a place yet. She told her aunt they were constantly moving around. “You never know where we’ll be,” she said. That statement was true; for her family would never know where she was.

this book is copyrighted.   This is an actual picture of the water by Trieste. Borrowed this from a friend who lives there!

Giving chapter 8

Hi friends! Happy Monday! (Is that an oxymoron?) Anyway, we are taking it easy here. Since we've already accomplished so much this year, we are taking the rest of the Mondays off from school. OH YEAH! Well, I know you don't want to read my ramblings about Monday; so here is chapter 8. I wish I had lovely illustrations to go with my book, but alas, I can draw like a 2 year old! Imagination, people, imagination.

8Another Wedding

    Friday, Anna woke bright and early and called a cab to come to Crofton and take her to Newbury. She wanted to be alone while she made purchases. James had also gone out early to find someone to officiate the ceremony. She wandered around Newbury until she found a small resale shop. Thankfully, they had a whole rack of used wedding dresses. As she sifted through them, she thought, “Gosh, are they all from the seventies?” Finally, near the end of the rack she found a gorgeous, strapless, taffeta gown in her size. She tried it on and nearly cried. It was perfect. “Well, at least I can say I’ve tried on a wedding dress now.” She bought the dress and headed out to find a fabric store. She found one and bought a roll of wide, pale pink satin ribbon, some thin ribbon of the same color, and some tulle for her veil. She stopped at the supermarket and bought a do-it-yourself-in-the-dryer dry cleaning kit. She knew she would never have time to take the dress to be cleaned professionally. “Um, I think that’s all,” she said as she climbed into a cab and asked to be taken to Crofton. As soon as she got back in the house, she took the dress to the laundry room. She sat on the floor and read all the directions for the do-it-yourself dry cleaning-- twice, and then started the process. Her aunt found her and wanted to hear all about the morning’s acquisitions. “I’ll help you press the dress when it’s done,” she said. Anna got out Beth’s sewing machine. She cut the tulle into a large rectangle with rounded corners and then sewed the thin pink ribbon around the edge. She gathered the top and fixed it to a large barrette. “Well, that’s the veil,” she thought looking it over thoroughly. The dress made it through the home dry cleaning well and Beth pressed it so it looked brand new. “It’s lovely,” she told Anna. James came back to Crofton in the afternoon and said he had finally found a preacher in a small church to come out for the wedding tomorrow. “You would think half of Newbury is getting married tomorrow,” he said of his difficulty in finding someone. “Well, it is awfully short notice, “ Beth said and winked. “What about the license?” she seemed to suddenly remember. “We will handle all the legal stuff when we get back from our honeymoon. There’s no time to do it now,” he answered. Anna’s mind went to the mountain of paperwork they would have to do for her British citizenship, name change, and marriage license. “At least I will have James to get me through all of it.”

    Saturday morning, Beth was out in the garden early to pick a bouquet of perfect pink roses the same color as Anna’s ribbon. She wrapped the stems in a wet paper towel, plastic wrap, and then wound some of the pink ribbon around to cover them. Anna’s eyes teared up when Beth gave her the bouquet. She began to think of all of the differences between this wedding and her first. There were no flowers at her first wedding; that was a frivolity in Platzville. Today, she would be surrounded by happy, smiling faces and love. She knew without a doubt that she was completely and totally in love with James. She knew what it was like to be held by him, to kiss him, and even to be intimate with him without fear. She absolutely knew she would go into her wedding night without a speck of hesitation. This man knew how to make her feel loved and special. Her one and only regret about this wedding was that her parents would not be there. She had called them on Thursday, but there was just no way for them to travel to England on such short notice. She seriously doubted her father would want to travel that far anyway. Thinking of them, she decided to call her mom. “Hey mom, I just wanted to call you today, so you would be a part of my day,” she said when her mom answered the phone. Her mother expressed her happiness that her daughter was getting a second chance at life shared with someone special. She was especially happy that Anna was marrying someone who would never pin her down in one place, or keep her from the adventure she craved. As she hung up the phone, James came in the room. His smile was so big, Anna thought his face would crack. He held her close and kissed her long. “Have you had your breakfast yet?” he asked her. She thought for a moment and then replied with a sheepish grin, “Um, no, I’m a little distracted because I think something is supposed to happen today and I can’t remember what.” “I think what you are forgetting is the grand opportunity to become my wife,” he said. He walked her down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before they had to get ready for their wedding. They had decided to do the wedding at 11:00 a.m., so they could eat lunch afterward and then have the whole afternoon to travel to their honeymoon. Anna went to her room and Aunt Beth helped her to dress and fix her hair. She tied a long piece of the wide pink ribbon around her small waist. They also tied a ribbon in her hair for after the ceremony when she would remove her veil. The veil was clipped to the back of her hair and flowed beautifully down her back to the floor. She did her makeup as best as she could without having any formal instruction on such things. Her aunt did give her a few suggestions on her hair and makeup. She slipped on a pair of pink heels she had bought in London on a whim. This whim matched her ribbons perfectly and she felt so beautiful. Her aunt stood back and just kept saying, “Wow!” over and over. She was gorgeous and she loved the feeling of knowing it. “You stay here and don’t wrinkle anything. I’ve got to make sure everyone else is ready,” her aunt said as she raced out of the room. She stood in front of the mirror for a long time. She reveled in the feeling of happiness that was more than she had ever experienced in her whole life. There was an absolutely gorgeous man downstairs who wanted to spend the rest of his life only with her. It dawned on her as she looked into the mirror that her dream from many months ago was coming true. For she was standing there with a dress she loved and handsome blonde groom waited for her.  “Wow! I have to think about something else or I’m going to explode!” she thought. Explosion was evaded when one of her cousins came to her room to tell her it was time. She walked slowly down the hall and staircase, taking large breaths to keep from fainting. Her cousin walked her out to the garden where a small gathering of people were waiting for her. Everyone sat in chairs except for Beth, Peter, the preacher, and James. She walked calmly to where James was standing. The ceremony was a dream with this small town preacher and his pleasing British accent. He read from a book of ceremonies and picked one that was short, sweet, and beautiful with symbolism. Anna loved the sincerity of James’ voice as he recited his vows. His eyes also told her that he was extremely serious about this day and that she was what he wanted most in the world. She tried to hold back tears as she gave her vows to him. She came to the line “’til death do us part” and was especially choked up. She had to take a breath and told herself that James would not be taken from her that way. In contrast to her first wedding, when the preacher pronounced them man and wife, she received the kiss of her life. She was left a bit light headed as they went to the dining room for their reception lunch. Everything was beautiful and peaceful as they sat at the table surrounded by loved ones. James leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You are the most beautiful and stunning bride I have ever seen in my life.” Her face turned red for a second. She looked him in the eyes and said, “You’re not a half-bad groom, either.” They laughed together and then got up together to cut the cake that Anna had made herself the night before. It was a delicious layer cake of strawberry and lemon cream. It was delicate and melted in the mouth. She thought about the nasty cake of last year. She ate every bite on her plate. James had two pieces before announcing that they should go change for their trip.

    James put their suitcases in his car and after happy “good byes and see you laters” were said, they headed for London. “Where exactly are we going?” she asked him. “Let me just surprise you,” he said. She sat back in her seat and enjoyed being with her new husband. He drove to the airport and they caught a small plane to Paris. Anna was beside herself with elation. To honeymoon in Paris was an icon of the ultimate honeymoon. They checked into a nice hotel and suffice it to say, they did not come out of their room until the next day. That morning they ordered room service and had a lovely breakfast in their robes. When they were done eating, James took Anna by the hand and sat her on the bed. He sat next to her and said, “Anna, I really need to talk to you about something and I need you to swear to me that you will never, ever tell another living soul about the things I tell you.” She started to get a little frightened. “I’ve never sworn in my life, but if it’s that important to you, I promise I won’t tell anyone,” she said. He began to tell a story that would change her life forever. “When I was in the army, I was in specials ops and did many secret missions for my country. I was trained in everything you can imagine for executing these special ops and I did them well. The reason I got out of the army was not because I retired or was discharged. I was actually asked by the government to join MI6. Since you are American, you might not know what that means. It just means I’m on a team of the best spies in England. It’s a James Bond type of a job, if you’ve ever seen that. My cover story given to me by the government was the illustrator for children’s books. I do like to draw and they took that and created my cover. I hope you don’t feel like I’ve lied to you. I really hate that part of this job, but I am allowed to tell one person who I trust implicitly about my job. You are my one person. I’m going to give you a card with the name of my handler and her phone number. It’s a fake name on the card, but one that she will use only in a situation when you need her help. Hide it and don’t ever show it to anyone. Alright, moving on to the next bomb. We are to move to Trieste, Italy next week so I can begin reconnaissance tours of countries to the East. We will rent a home there under the guise of needing a quiet place for you to write books and for me to draw. Let me repeat, you can never tell your family or anyone else what I do, or why we are in Italy or exactly where in Italy. Love of my life, I can see I’ve shocked you completely, but I know you are strong and will acclimate to this life.”  Anna sat there for a moment in stunned silence. She didn’t even know what to say or ask.  She looked into his eyes and found what she needed: the solid reassurance that despite what he had just told her, he would love her for the rest of his life. “I’m going to need to process all of this for awhile, but I pray to God that you will be kept safe and not taken from me by some terrorist,” she said. The rest of their stay in Paris, she didn’t want him out of her sight. She no longer wanted to see the sights of Paris; she wanted only to be with James. “I knew you were the right woman for me,” he told her after remarking how calm she was about the whole spy thing. “If he only knew how frightened I am right now.” The flight back to London they were quiet and sober, but determined to face their new life together. They found their car and started to drive to Newbury to pack up the rest of Anna’s things. Anna suddenly turned to James and asked, “Tell me again why we are moving to Trieste? I mean what was I supposed to tell Aunt Beth? “You tell them that we’ve decided to move to Italy and find a nice house where you can write books and I can draw pictures,” he said. “Okay, yeah, I can tell them that they know how much I’ve wanted to see new places,” she chimed in. He loved that she was going along with his life and even doing her part to protect him. 

this book is copyrighted.