Baby Kisses

Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Surprises Go Both Ways

A week after Tooty had shown Miles her book he hadn't said anything about the last poem, but he had been very encouraging about her writing. She knocked on his bedroom door and it opened a crack.  Hesitantly, she peeked inside. "Miles," she said softly. The room was empty. A movement out his window caught her attention and she saw him rolling toward the trees. She'd wanted to ask his opinion on an idea she had about redecorating the boys' bedroom, but more importantly, she wanted to tell him about receiving her first email from a fan. It made her giddy just knowing someone had read Sweet Torment and liked it enough to send her an email.

As she turned to leave, she noticed a paper on the floor. Bending to retrieve it, she started to set it on his desk, but stopped short when she saw her name. Feeling like a snoop, but unable to reel in her curiosity, she read the sentence with her name. Gasping, she read everything and then reread it to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Placing the page back on the floor where she'd found it, she stepped from her husband's room and went to the porch swing, pondering what she'd read.

Harris and Eli burst out of the house and onto the porch. "Where's Daddy going?" Harris pointed at Miles, now stopped at the edge of the drive and close to the trees.

"I think he's just enjoying the lovely fall leaves. He'll be back soon."

"Can me and Eli play on the grass before it gets dark?"

"Sure."

For the next hour Tooty watched her boys play while Miles sat near the tree line. At dusk, she called her children inside to take baths. She heard Miles enter the house and then his bedroom door open and close.

Later, she and Miles and the boys ate leftovers and then he tucked their sons into bed and returned to his room. Tooty soaked in a fragrant bath of lilac salts. Pinning her hair up and dressing in a simple cotton gown with spaghetti straps, she sucked two shaky breaths, left the bathroom, and knocked on Miles door. Without waiting for him to open it or call her in, she cracked the door. "May I come in?"

"Of course."

She stepped inside and closed the door, leaning her back against it. Miles lay on his bed, his back propped against pillows, with a book in his hands. He laid the book against his chest and looked questioningly at her.

Tooty's pulse pounded in her throat. Hesitantly at first, and then with more courage, she stepped forward until she stood next to the bed. Never taking her eyes from her husband's glittering ones, she reached and began pulling pins from her hair. He didn't say anything.

She asked, "Do you love me, Miles?"

"Yes," he answered softly.

She put her knees on the side of the bed and leaned toward him. When her lips were just inches above his, she asked, "How shall we end our sweet torment?"