Trouble finding Blondie (19 page)

The boys were still laughing, walking towards their mom with open arms. “Ok, Queen Elizabeth, here we come.”

“Don’t be a smart ass, Arye.”

“Come on, mom. It was priceless.”
“Perfect execution, too. I think you may have traumatized Francois for life.”

“No worries. I’m getting all of you back for this one.”

Simona kissed all her boys, and Francois was finally happy to hang on her neck. They all started talking about the airport. Simona was bouncing Francois on her hip, listening and laughing to their stories. Andre leaned against the doorway, amused by the picture in his view. She was spreading joy, motherly love, completely unaware of how attractive and irresistible she looked. He wanted to grab her, kiss her, and make love to her right that moment. He was getting excited, and had to deviate his thought process. He focused on the dress, and when she twirled with Francois, the dress flew like a butterfly spreading her wings, exposing a
 
palette of ocean colors. Andre didn’t admire the fabric or the colors. He immediately noticed the opening and caught a glimpse of Simona’s lacy underwear in the matching color.

Simona put Francois down on the carpet to play and announced that she was going to change out of her clothes. Andre followed her to the bedroom.

“That’s a sexy dress.”

“Yes, it is. I love it.”

“I can see your underwear.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Well, I did. And if I could with your little twirl, then everyone else can with a little wind.”

“Is there a point to this speech?”

“You dress like this for a friendly lunch?”

“Are you jealous of Philippe?”

“I’m jealous of any man being with my woman, possibly knowing what color her underwear is.”

Simona was enjoying this new game of Andre being threatened. She took all her accessories off and walked towards Andre.

“So, what color is my underwear?”

“Royal blue.”

“Are you sure?” she was close, whispering in his ear, noticing his bulging pants.

“Very.”
 

“Silk?”

“No. Lace.”

“Impressive. It’s Perla. Would you like to inspect the high-end quality?”

Andre was trying really hard not to touch her, holding on to ‘I’m crossed’, like a Tarzan on his rope. Simona touched his crotch and gently squeezed Johnson, rubbing him up and down. Andre sighed in agony. Then she leaned closer and whispered in his ear, ”Ok then, I will get out of this dress and my lacy undies.”

She floated away to her closet. Andre stood there for few seconds, then walked over to the closet, grabbing Simona with passionate kisses, with one hand traveling down to inspect the lace. Sensual gratification turned into a physical satisfaction delight. She was squirming like a snake, and when he pushed her against the wall, she finally surrendered, unzipping his shorts. Andre loved caressing her until the lace was soaked with nectar juices. He didn’t bother taking them off. He just pushed them to the side for Johnson to come in. Then he slowly thrusted himself in, just slightly past the opening in a very sensual kissing motion: vulva kisses. And only when he felt her body tremble, he let Johnson in, in his fullness and stature, filling up her inside. Andre’s delight was Simona’s multiple orgasms inside, like hot lava inside a volcano. The vertex wasn’t their combined orgasm, but Andre’s finishing groan. It was music to Simona’s ears, and she could never get enough of that sound. Andre loved all Simona’s noises and moans, covering them with either hissing or kissing. They were both standing there, leaning against the wall of the walk-in closet, sweaty with raised heartbeats, Johnson still inside, kissing and smiling.

“Who said quickies are not good?”

“Quickie? This was a full meal, my dear. Foreplay, kisses, the whole nine yards.”

“Haha. Ok, Greek God, gift to all women, I’m hopping in the shower.”

“Why?”

“Because you made a mess out of me.”

“I would love to get seconds and make a mess out of this inviting bed.”

“Nice try, Romeo. Go check on the boys.”

Andre didn’t realize there was another room with a bathroom until the boys arrived. Their room was actually a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen. Simona added the second apartment after weeks of persuasion of the owner who didn’t live there, who inherited the apartment from his grandmother. Simona combined the apartments into one by blocking the outside door for the boys not to have a separate entrance. It was a perfect scenario for them to have their separate quarters with thick walls for their loud music, their own bathroom, and even a little kitchen for late night snacks, but the only way in or out was through the family door under mother’s watchful eye. Arye was home as often as he could, usually every other weekend. He transferred from Barcelona to London, living in a dormitory. During his game season, Simona travelled to London, and in the off-season, he was happy to come to Paris. He would often bring a friend. Paris was always in demand. Cori spent the year between continents, finishing middle school. He had a few more weeks to make the final decision about high school. He was hoping to have some clarity after the upcoming Barcelona soccer camp.
 

The weekend was great. Everyone was enjoying each other’s company, lots of catching up. Andre’s interest in the boys was something new. Simona was questioning his motives, especially after Arye expressed the same feeling.

“Mom, Andre is different.”

“Different how?”

“Not sure what to call it. Not sure if it’s genuine, either, but he is making a great effort.”

“You mean with Francois, you guys, or in general?”

“Well, I guess all of the above.”

“I know he looks so happy.”

“It’s not just happy. He looks like he hit the jackpot.”

“Well, maybe he did.”

“With you he did. With Francois, too. But he makes it look like it’s all of us.”

“Stop saying it like you just met him and he is after my money.”

“That’s not what I meant at all. He was with you before you had money. I do have a question though.”

“Shoot.”

“Were you never going to tell him?”

“Hmm. You are talking about Francois, right? I didn’t go into witness protective custody or into a total hiding. I knew that it was a matter of time, but I really didn’t think he was going to look for me.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yes, Arye, I’m totally serious. I thought he moved on, and I was on my way...”

“You know dad always felt that it was super unfair to Andre.”

“What was?”

“That you didn’t tell him. That he had no clue about Francois.”

“Yes, it was very unfair and selfish, but I earned that one.”

“What do you mean?”

The discussion got interrupted by Andre and Cori walking off the court, finishing their tennis match.
 

“Dude, you are so lucky. I almost had you.”
 

“Hold on to the almost, Andre. You are getting old.”
 

“Watch yourself, boy. Rain check tomorrow.”

“I thought you were at my mercy tomorrow,” Arye said.

“Hell no. I’m gonna take you both. I’m not losing two days in a row. Arye, you are going down.”

“Good Lord help us, Francois. Do you see all these knuckleheads? You will never be like them. I’m going to make sure that you won’t have this ego maniac competitive gene,” Simona pretended to talk to Francois, making clear statements to the rest of the clan.

Francois was smiling as if he understood. The rest of the male population was laughing, surrounding the stroller.

“It’s called being a man, dear,” Arye said.

“Sorry, he won’t have that gene, dear,” Simona replied.

“I’m sorry, mom, but it’s simply impossible. It’s just natural male testosterone.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but this child is not going to have it. I will have it surgically removed if I have to.”

Everyone was laughing hard. Francois was happily jumping up and down in the stroller. Arye took him out. He was still jumping up and down, slapping his face with his tiny hands, laughing. “Don’t you worry about mom, Francois. We got you.”

Andre grabbed Simona around her shoulders. Cori ended up pushing the stroller with all the racquets. It was picture perfect happiness. Simona couldn’t help but feel a sensation of completion. Full circle came to her world. And with all those amazing feelings, doubt started to sneak in.
Is it a teaser? Is it real?
She couldn’t help but feel like two opposing voices in her head, too much noise. She needed to shut down and process it all. But how? When? ‘Alone’ wasn’t coming any time soon.

❖ ❖ ❖

The next morning Simona got up with Francois and nursed him in the living room on the fluffy carpet, listening to the coffee dripping. The aroma was filling the whole kitchen and living room. Simona was starving. She was always hungry in the morning, but nursing took it to a whole other level. She didn’t want to rush Francois, but the vision of toast and coffee were heavenly. It was as if Andre read her mind. He came in, smiled, took pictures of them with his phone, and started to prepare toast with almond butter and jam, pouring coffee in Simona’s favorite mug, putting it all on a tray. He walked over and sat the tray down on the carpet. The good news was when Francois noticed Andre, he was done nursing. The minute he was off the boob, climbing over Andre, Simona was pulling the tray with sparkles in her eyes.

“You two are priceless. Wait. Pay first!”

Simona smiled and leaned over to kiss Andre as payment for her breakfast. “Yuummy! I love you. Merci.”

“You are seriously a man. Your love goes through your stomach. It’s unbelievable.”

“You try that once. I was hungry before he sucked me dry.”

“Well, Francois, how dare you make your mother starve like Les Miserables?” Francois looked at Andre, then at Simona. He crawled down and climbed over to her to kiss her. It was so bizarre, as if he understood what Andre just said. They exchanged weird looks, and before they could say anything, Francois was bouncing in excitement again. They didn’t see what it was, but Francois was laughing hysterically. He started clapping his hands, and when his amusement stopped, he decided to crawl towards the kitchen. Finally Cori emerged, and they figured out the mystery source of ‘peek a boo.’

“Good morning everyone.”

“Hey, how did you sleep?” Simona asked.
 

“Nothing like noisy Paris,” Cori said.

“Yes, it always takes you a week, island boy, before you don’t hear it anymore.”

“True, true. Francois, let’s go wake the sleepy head.” Cori bent down and lifted Francois.
 

“No, let him sleep,” Simona said.
 

“Hell no. Slept enough. Let’s go.”
 

Simona conquered her second toast, and Andre couldn’t stop smiling.

“What?”

“You are priceless. I love you. Another toast, Madame?”

“Yes, please. Pretty, pretty please…”

Andre laid down next to Simona, still smiling. Simona couldn’t help but to feel jealous. He looked so happy, so sure, so content.

“What is it?” Andre asked.

“Nothing...”

“It’s something. Spill it.”

“You look so happy.”

“Because I am. You are not?”

“I am, too...”
“What’s the but?”

“I need to process...”

“You are overanalyzing shit again? I’m not going anywhere this time.”

“See, that’s just it. I’m not used to not having my alone time. I got spoiled, and now I feel like I can’t breathe.”

“That’s fine. I will give you space. You can take the whole day. We will get out of your hair.”

“That’s not it, Andre. All of this is too much, too fast. Too good to be true.”

“Stop it. I want to enjoy every minute of it. This is the honeymoon state.”

“Exactly. It’s surreal. And when the reality hits, we will be...”

“What are you saying? Are you not sure about us?”

“I’m saying it has been a roller coaster, and I could use some decompression.”

“Please don’t do this. It’s like you are rehearsing tragedy again.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m just saying I’ll go to Barcelona as planned. You can go to Prague to get your stuff.”

“I don’t ever want to be apart from you or Francois again.”

“It’s only 10 days, silly.”

“That seems like eternity. I hate it already. Please don’t send me away.”

“You are being overly dramatic. Nobody is sending you away.”

“Why can’t we all go to Barcelona then fly to Prague together?”

“I need to be alone.”

“Blondie, I don’t want to be alone. I was alone my whole life.”

“You know what I mean...”

“I want my family to meet Francois.”

“What are you saying? You will go, but only with Francois?”