Chapter 6: Calm Before the Storm

Stefan's POV

The waves plummeted onto the shore and I felt the water through my toes. Breathing in the intoxicating salty sea air as I raised my head towards the heat of the sun rays, soaking in the last day of paradise. Katherine snuck up from behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and revealing margaritas for two in her hands.

I pulled her around towards the front of me taking in every bit of her beauty, "You were right, we needed this."

Her smile never faded as she caressed her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me in to kiss her soft lips once more.

Katherine and I refused to bring a marriage counselor into the midst of our problems, instead Katherine suggested a little time to recuperate from the damage I had created. Booking flights for two for a week's stay in Cancun, booking couple's massages, and the two of us enjoying each other's company. I was skeptical at first, however, during the days of our stay I found myself falling in love with Katherine all over again. I could feel our entire relationship blossom as if it had only just begun.

"It really was perfect," Katherine turned to face the sun as it slowly started to descend behind the sea, "Just like our honeymoon, only better." Intertwining her fingers with mine, she beckoned for me to walk along the shore with her. Not caring where we were going, just letting the shoreline lead the way.

I watched the margarita escape from her glass beyond her lips, mesmerized by how perfect she really was. Moments like now were the ones I had wished to freeze, just me and her. No outsiders, no surroundings, no Callie. My mind had finally stopped floating towards the memories with Callie, for the first time in weeks I was free of the cages that were binding me to her. Callie was fading.

"We should move," Katherine tossed the little bit of margarita left in her glass into the sea as she stopped us in our tracks, "Let's move. Relocate, just pack our things and leave." The twinkle in her eye made her almost irresistible to refuse.

I brought her closer to me, placing my hands on her waist. "It's not possible, you know that. Dad's going to retire soon, I can feel it. Someone's got to take over the firm, and I've been his right hand man for years. I've worked hard for this."

Disappointment filled her face, and I knew why. She knew this week was great, but in the eyes of a woman, deep down she was always going to wonder. I couldn't change that, the trust was ruined. Callie lived in the same city, our paths were bound to cross again. I wanted to reassure her, I wanted her to trust me.

She shook her head, releasing my hands from her waist. Tears were welling up under her eye lids, "The firm, that's your closing argument?"

The lawyer terms stabbed my heart like a pair of daggers, "You know that's not what I'm saying."

"You've worked hard, I understand that. I've been there through it all. The late nights, the business trips. Just let me know when it's going to be me for once," she walked back in the direction of the hotel, her words stinging as they left her lips.

I wanted to stop her, I wanted to put her back in my arms where she belonged. I wanted to reassure her, at the same time I wanted to give her what she wanted. I wanted to give her what she deserved.

She was right.

For years I had put the firm above Katherine. My father would need someone staying late, eyeing the office and going through case files. On the nights I stayed late, and even the nights I didn't, I was always found at Georgie's Pub versus at home with her. For six months, I dedicated any time I wasn't at the firm on Callie. Katherine was left at home, sometimes away on business herself, and rarely off with her friends. I recalled numerous times she would beg me to stay, thus leading to one of our many arguments which left our marriage crippled and on the brinks of a divorce.

∞∞∞

"You're going out tonight?" 

I was readjusting my tie and glancing myself over in the mirror, tidying up my shoulder blades and patting down some aftershave. "Drinks with Bobby and Chad," I turned to walk out of the bathroom, Katherine blocking the doorway.

She folded her arms across her chest and spoke pleadingly fiddling with my tie, "You could always stay in, I've been craving you lately." Brushing past her, uninterested, I grabbed the jacket to my tux and threw it on doing the buttons as fast as I could. She plopped herself on the bed moping, "We agreed to start trying for a baby, and you won't even touch me. Is it me, am I doing something wrong?"

The tension in the room was unbearable, but I couldn't bring myself to break the silence. The weight on my chest suddenly became much heavier, and the lies I was steadily carrying were starting to swallow me into an abyss of guilt. "Can we talk about this later? I'm already late," I glanced at my watch revealing that I was, indeed, fifteen minutes passed the time I had planned to leave.

Katherine reluctantly got up from the bed retreating to the bedside table to flip off the light on her side of the bed, "Talk to you in the morning. I know you're not coming home tonight." The pain in my chest was daggering at the strike of her words, but she was right.

I was greeted by Benji holding the car door open and an umbrella over his head, sheltering him from the pelting of the thick rain drops. "Motel on Gretna Benji, and put a step on it. I'm late," he closed the door behind me, then began making his way to the driver's side.

Both hands on the steering wheel, he gave me a sheepish look of guilt. "Sir, do you realize what you're doing to her? You're killing her from the inside. I know Ms. Katherine, she loves you. She's a wonderful woman inside and out, I don't want you throwing all of that away over some broad you met at a pub," the car was slowly put into motion, making it's way down the drive.

∞∞∞

The sun slowly sank behind the edge of the sea, the light of day finally turning to dusk. Katherine hadn't came back, leaving me there suffocating on my thoughts. The beach was quiet, a sign that I was the last person on it for miles. The hotel windows shined in the distance, the bedroom lights were the only sign of potential life in view. I could make out mine and Katherine's room, third floor up, the fourth or fifth window in. Both lights weren't shining, one a sign of vacancy and the other an evident Katherine in bed. I twiddled with my phone through the outer regions of my pocket, hesitating to retrieve it and send her a heartfelt message.

What could I say?

All of the sudden a buzzing from my phone broke my sudden train of thought, relatively I grabbed it out of my pocket seeing an unread email from an unknown address sitting in my inbox:

Hey stranger.

You're no stranger, but given the time it's been you're becoming more and more of a stranger. I need to see you Stefan, please. I know you don't want to see me, but it is in your best interest that we talk. Give me a call, you know my number. We can meet at Georgie's if that's what it takes, or our place. Let me know.

-- Callie

The email sent shockwaves through my spine, and I wanted to press delete right then. I wanted it to be erased, I wish I had never read it. A part of me still wanted to erase it, however another side of me still wanted to contact Callie and hear her out. Here I was still trying to mend my marriage, and it was all going great, it was going great because Callie was managing to keep her distance until now.

As much as I had wanted to ignore and erase any evidence of Callie lingering, my intuition was telling me I needed to hear her out. I needed some closure. I dialed in her number listening impatiently to the rings on the other end before she picked up, "Stefan, is that you?"

"It's me, why do you keep texting? You keep texting and calling, and now you've gone so far and emailed me on my business account? You know as much as anyone, you cannot keep doing this. I'm married, I'm trying to fix things with my wife. I can't do that with you coming around like this," I hesitatingly spoke into the receiver.

Just like that silence filled both ends, and I waited impatiently for her to click away from the line without saying another word. I tried to let her down as easy as I could, "I'm sorry, Callie. This is goodbye, please don't contact me any further."

"I wish it were that simple Stefan," her voice was cracking giving away that she was in near tears.

I choked on my words but managed to still get them out, "What are you saying? It's simple. You lose my number, block it even."

The silence returned and I had just took the phone away from my ear to hang up before she mumbled out two words, two words that struck me like a million knives in the back.

"I'm pregnant."