CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

At 23 minutes, they finished their practice with the equipment and began in earnest. She was careful with Carlos, explaining everything in minute detail, giving him just enough information for each step and no more. It was as if she were there watching him closely, reminding him of where to put the discarded pieces, telling him where to place the necessary tools for ease of use, making the whole process as natural as possible. And Carlos followed with not a single, fatal, misstep.

It was frustrating working with someone who had never done this work before, never even seen it done, but Maggie refused to let any hint of impatience show in her voice as she talked him through each step. He wasn’t fast but didn’t hesitate, at this point being efficient was the key to success.

Gerry softly called out the time, 16 minutes when they had only one more hurdle to cross other than the containment of the remote detonator.

Millie communicated with Maggie that the terrorist had been apprehended so the only problem now lay with the timed device that Carlos must de-activate. She decided not to tell him, since he seemed to work well under pressure and thinking that there was someone who could trigger the device at any moment was just the edge he needed to work as quickly and efficiently as he was able, like performing well in front of a audience that contained a heckler…sometimes it spurred the performer to greater brilliance.

The casing was off, safely put to one side, exposing the inner workings. So far it had been relatively simple, turning screws carefully, removing them in a sequence that under normal circumstances would not have mattered. This time it did…one false move and the flimsy successes they had so far had would all be for naught, dramatically so.

There was no note of panic in Carlos voice as he relayed what had been done and waited for the next steps, nor in Gerry’s when she softly encouraged him and counted down the time, but far off in Willisau both Maggie and Urs felt it. She reached out for his hand, not opening her eyes as she concentrated on her part of the job and he took it instantly, gripping it firmly, relieved to find that hers was no longer trembling. He left his hand lightly on her shoulder when she released his and went back to tracing the bumps and dots on the diagram.

The final step looked simple enough, a metal bar that protruded from the center of a device clamped firmly to a packet of Semtex, enough to bring down the shopping area above the underground station and the apartments that towered into the sky above that. It seemed inconceivable that such a small thing could possibly wreck so much death and destruction but the packet, the size of a soft covered novel was capable of that, and more. Wires and a metal bar protruded from it, another bar hung by even more wires directly above, the two points almost, but not quite touching.

A plastic strip had to be inserted between the two points to make it impossible for them to connect, the red wires leading to the Semtex could then be removed and it would be over.

“It is simple now…I just place the strip between….”

“NO!!! do not move toward the two bars!!!...in the kit is the small spray bottle, remember I told you about it earlier? Take it in your hand and gently spray the powder inside over the device at a height of 3 feet….then watch, but do not touch.”

She knew that when he sprayed the finely ground talc into the air, the infrared beams that criss-crossed the area would show up and when she heard his muttered curse, knew that he had seen them.

“If you had crossed one of those beams there would have been a drum roll crescendo such as never heard before….it would have been the last thing you heard before joining God’s choir of angels in Heaven. Look carefully at where the beams fall…in the center on the left side if you crouch down and place the device at eye level, there is a small space where a steady hand might insert the plastic strip, without coming in contact with a beam. It is a narrow opening but adequate. You will notice that the strip is long and rigid, adhesive near the tip on one side, so you must peel the backing off the adhesive area, hold the other end of it, adhesive side down and insert it into the space all the way to the bottom pointed bar and KEEP IT THERE for the remainder of the exercise. The top bar will fall but with the strip in place, contact will not be possible. As long as the plastic is between the two bars it is safe to cross the beams and gently pull the 3 red wires out of the Semtex. Do not let the uncoated end of the wires touch anything metal, cap each one as it is pulled out with the small plastic clamp. You will have to do this left handed but each must be done before you move on to the next.”

There was a murmur and then she heard him speak in a calm voice.

“I will do this thing and then pull the wires, one at a time and Maeve will clamp them so they do not touch anything……I am not so skillful with my left hand and we are a team.”

Maggie hoped that the catch in her voice wasn’t evident over the radio.

“Indeed you are, my dear friends…Please continue.”

There was silence for a moment, then a muttered curse, the murmur of someone voicing encouragement, then a sigh.

“It is in place…The first red wire is out…and capped….the second…..the last one….and all are capped by my beautiful team mate.”

“Vamonos Amigos y Bravo,…Well done!!! Call us when you get home.”

Millie announced that she would see to the wrap up and that from the sounds of the cheering, Carlos and Gerry were indeed being applauded by the security officers on the scene.

“’Call us’…does that mean we aren’t going back to bed?” Urs asked with a grin as he wrapped himself around her from behind and felt her relax against him.

“Could you sleep?”

“Probably not…. He did really well, Ja?”

“Definitely, Ja!! I wonder how he’ll play it when they call. My bet is he’ll be the way he always is with me, himself, not the ‘on stage’ Carlos.”

“You’re on…my Spanish brother never misses an opportunity to swagger.”

She just smiled and went to the kitchen to make an early breakfast.

**

Sebastien had stayed in London to be near Geena who had been scheduled to work. They planned to go for the last free week in October to visit his Maman in Paris and perhaps get in a little shopping before Christmas but the afternoon before leaving, got a call to please come in to the office. Simon had some information for them.

She was nervous when they went up in the lift, alternating between dreading the news and hopeful that it would be good. Seb held her hand, her wall of strength, not mouthing platitudes, just being there and quietly encouraging her to think good thoughts, to be strong.

Simon smiled when they entered the room, anxious to put them at ease and came around his desk to lead them to the long sofa behind the glass coffee table.

“We have found your son, Geena.”

Her hand flew to her mouth as she reacted, whispering a gently sighed “OH!” and was unable to stop the tears that welled in her eyes.

“His first year was spent in foster care, with kind, caring people by all accounts. He was fortunate since those situations do not always consider the best interests of the child. When he was 13 months old he was adopted by a couple with 3 daughters. The wife had complications and could no longer conceive so they chose to find a son through adoption.

“He was named Richard, though mostly he’s called Ricky or Rick by his friends. Anna and Ron have always been honest with him, explained from an early age that he was adopted, chosen from all the little boys in the agency to be their son, because they loved him from the first moment they saw him. They also have told him that his birth mother was forced to give him up, that she was unable to provide him with the things he needed to grow up big and strong, healthy and educated…they said she loved him so much that she did the only thing she could to give him a chance at a good life.

“Rick’s father was a teacher, a good one by all accounts, well loved by his family, friends and students. He died of Cancer two years past and Anna has shouldered the burden of raising the boy alone since then, on the pension that Ron had the foresight to provide for her. They do fairly well. The daughters are married or living away from home but help out when they can and they all are a close, loving family.

“He is a good student, works part time as a Photography Intern, a hobby that he developed several years ago and would like to turn into a profession.

“I have taken the liberty of meeting with Anna and explaining that you just wanted to know that he’s alright. It’s her suggestion that she should tell Ricky about you and see if he wants to meet you, but I thought you should be informed first. Anna sent this small album of photos for you.”

He handed Geena a photo album, not expensive but new, obviously something she had put together after arranging to meet with Simon.

The first pages were of an infant, the hesitant steps of a toddler, the big toothless grins, a smiling dark haired man kneeling to help him take his first steps. Each page saw the steady growth of a happy child, birthday parties with silly hats and cake smeared on grinning faces, doting sisters helping to unwrap Christmas presents, a chubby, smiling woman leaning down to beam a smile over the shoulder of a young football player in a mudstained uniform, a slightly more serious teen dressed in a suit, looking hurt and confused as he held the woman’s hand leaving a church, followed by his equally sad sisters.

The last photo was a school picture, Ricky wearing casual clothing, his neck circled by the straps of cameras that dangled in front of him, one held to his face as he gazed at something that had caught his interest and happily snapped away.

He was a good looking boy, tall and slender with a thick mop of auburn hair, like hers and eyes that shone with the same twinkling lights. There was a similarity to their faces, though his was more defined, more masculine. Strangely he also looked a bit like Ron.

“Cherie, would you like to meet him? He knows only good things about you. It would be human nature for him to wonder who you are, what you are like… and it may be a comfort for him to know that you still care about him.”

“I don’t want to interfere…”

“Mon Petite…I do not think it would be interfering to meet with him…his adoptive Maman thinks he would like it and she must know how he thinks, this young man who has been in her care for so long. She would not, I think, do anything which would cause him pain.”

She was trembling and so intent on Sebastien that she hadn’t noticed that Simon had quietly withdrawn to leave them to speak privately.

“He will ask me who his birth father is…I can’t tell him.”

“And you can tell him just that, honestly, for you do not know. You may also tell him that you have carried the love you felt for him before he was born, for the past 15 years, that he has never been far from your heart in all that time and that it is some measure of comfort to know that God placed him in the loving care of Ron and Anna. You cannot replace the only mother he has ever known…but you can offer this young man peace of mind and your friendship and that, I think, is a very precious thing to have.”

She was lost in thought for several minutes, leaning her head against Seb’s shoulder as he gently stroked her back and waited while she worked through the emotions that must have been raging in her mind.

At last she straightened and kissed his cheek softly with a whispered, ‘thank you’, then looked for Simon, mildly surprised to find him behind his desk with his gaze firmly fixed on some papers on the blotter.

“Simon, I would like to meet Anna and …Ricky.”

“Good,” he said abruptly and lifted a file card from the desk to hold it out to her.

They both rose and he explained as they came over and Seb took the card.

“That is the name and address, telephone number and e/mail address. They live in Sheffield, not a far drive from the estate should you decide to make a trip of it. I know Seymour and Mrs. Mac would be happy to have you for a few days.”

He dismissed them with a wave of his hand but when the door had closed, put down the paper he had been pretending to read and leaned back in his chair thinking about what had transpired. After a few minutes he rolled his shoulders and eased the tension from his neck, pleased that one of his favorite agents was well on the way to healing her personal demons.

**

It was cold out today, even when the sun finally came up, heavy clouds filled the sky, especially over the mountains, snow clouds, Urs claimed and she had no reason to doubt him.

They finished a leisurely breakfast and he dressed warm, going out to the farm to help in the race against the bad weather. Another couple of days and the outside work would be done, then they could work on the interior in the comfort of the heated building, another plus for working on a solar home and installing the power source first.

Maggie puttered for a while after Urs left, tidying up from breakfast, doing a load of dark clothing in the washer. She was restless after their early morning trauma, more than just a little jumpy, but she smiled when she thought of the call they had received from Carlos and Gerry, about 2 hours after the end of the incident.

“You should have seen him, Maggie…he was so cool and calm,” Gerry giggled as she related her birds-eye view of what had taken place.

“I was trembling like a tree in the wind, but on the inside,” Carlos interrupted with a laugh and Maggie smirked at Urs.

“And my Gerald was there through it all, her face smiling, keeping me calm…I could not fail with my dove so close.”

They talked for a while, and the couple in Switzerland congratulated their Spanish friends for a job well done.

“I do not think that I am eager to do this again,” Carlos admitted just before they disconnected. “There is no room for individual expression in this type of performance…and the results of a sour note or forgotten line are just too terrible to think of.”

Maggie collected her coat and walked in to the village, stopping at the local grocers for fresh vegetables, giving in to the urge for a dark chocolate candy bar, window shopping. It was when she had stopped at a shoe store that she saw him, a man she had noticed briefly in the grocers, again when she looked at the display of bedding in another window and now, lounging against a store front, studiously NOT looking at her. She turned and headed home, taking advantage of shop windows to watch him…YES! He was following.

There was a moment of panic….she could not lead him to their small temporary home where she would be alone, trapped and even if he did nothing he would then know exactly where they lived. She looked around, trying to appear casual while her heart raced…there, across the street was a familiar place, not really friends but acquaintances, someone who knew her, had known Urs for years…it beckoned to her like a light house in a storm.

She entered the coffee shop and took a table facing the door, smiling distractedly at the cheerful young waitress as she was greeted by name.
Willisau wasn’t a huge town and they had been in for coffee a few times, the owner another old school chum of Urs….today he was a safe haven from something that terrified her so much that the sites of her old stab wounds had begun to ache. He joined her at the table after a few minutes, asked after Urs and watched with a frown as she nervously sipped her coffee, her body tense, eyes darting to the large front windows and then back again. Clearly she was on the verge of complete melt down.

“I’m sorry, Marc…I’m not very good company today. Urs is out at the farm and something has come up. He has the car, not that it would do me any good, since I don’t have my license yet, but this man is following me, blue jacket, jeans, hiking boots, grey hair and a neatly trimmed beard, a black cap pulled down over his eyes, at least I think he’s following me and here I am babbling like a fool to you and you probably think I’m being silly but I’m pregnant and it must be my hormones but I just got so frightened and felt so vulnerable and I can’t stop babbling and I need Urs but….”

The kind man smiled and reached across the table to take her hands in his.

“My wife was like this with each of our children…laughing one minute and crying the next. Where is this man now?”

She looked out the wide windows again…he was gone…or hidden.

The color flushed to her cheeks …she thought how silly she must seem to this big, jolly man, how embarrassed Urs would be if he knew that she was making such a fool of herself.

“I should go home…It was probably nothing…I’m sorry for bothering you, Marc.” She dropped some coins on the table and gathered her bags up, preparing to leave, but Marc rose and took her arm.

“You do not seem to me the type of woman who would, how is the saying, ‘Cry Wolf’. My truck is out the back and I have wanted to see this farm since Urs told me about it. Let me take you out to see what he makes of this man. I must tell you that just as you entered I looked up and just such a man paused at the door, as if trying to decide whether to come in as well. He crossed the street and stood for a few minutes then left just as I came to join you. Come, I will feel better if I know you have told Urs.”

“But your shop…”

He laughed and shrugged into his jacket, waving at his young staff and calling out that he would be back shortly.

“One of the pleasures of being the boss is being able to vanish whenever the whim strikes me. So, Maggie, I understand that Magda is teaching you to drive? How is that going? She has the world of patience, my cousin…she taught my wife to drive after we almost had to divorce because of my impatience when I tried.”

“Have you lived here all your life, Marc?” she asked as they got in his economy sized Volvo truck and he started the engine, nodding when she put on her seat belt, not really interested in idle conversation but appreciative that he was trying to gently ‘talk her down’.

“Yes and so has my wife, Sonja. We have done some traveling, went out to see some of the cities but it wasn’t for us. Willisau is perfect…just over 7,00 residents and many, many tourists who come for the summer and winter sports, the sightseeing. The air is clean, the water good and the schools are excellent for the children. We are happy here.”

He glanced at her, huddled in a dejected heap, looking forlorn and just a bit frightened but trying to be friendly.

“Will you stay here while Urs travels? He said that the next year or so he will be touring with his new group. I wouldn’t think that the doctor will want you to be flying from place to place every day or so, at least not in the last few months.” Talk about the baby…that should be a safe subject…

She shook her head.

“That’s why we are really pushing to get the house ready. I can only go with Urs the first month, and even that is getting a little late. But we have the computers and he will have a few days here and there to come home…and I will be close to family so that will help.”

“You must meet my wife. Sonja is about your age and she can introduce you to some of the other young wives. And if you sing, they are always looking for good voices at the church.”

They arrived at the driveway and slowly approached the house. The day had darkened and lights blazed from the lofty, uncovered windows, giving the structure a golden glow as it appeared from the sheltering trees. A few trucks were parked in front and they drove around to the back to see more, as well as a few men carrying supplies on shoulders up a ramp and across the back terrace into the house.

“Stay here, little one…I will go find your husband.”

He slipped out of the truck, quickly, before she could protest, wanting a few moments alone with Urs to tell him what was happening. She thought of Urs reaction…would he be angry, amused, disbelieving, embarrassed? Just the thought made her cringe, ashamed that she had involved one of his friends, not sure anymore if what she had felt about the strange man had been danger or just a fervid imagination, stirred by the trauma of last night.

She saw Urs come out on the terrace with Marc, taking off his yellow hard hatand running his fingers through his hair, no jacket since he had been working inside the warm building, his tee shirt stined and sweat ringed, saw them standing close, Urs listening, Marc speaking earnestly. He glanced at the truck, looked back as Marc said something else and she saw his body tense, even at 100 yards she saw his shoulders brace, his hands clench, his brow furrow. He pulled his mobile from his jeans pocket and the two men started down the steps, coming toward the truck, Urs on the phone and striding rapidly, Marc following a step behind.

He was furious, she could see by the barely controlled way he was speaking to someone that he was cursing them, not allowing them to get many words in. His face was flushed and his jaw rigid as he closed the phone and wrenched the truck door open, his eyes dark and blazing with fury. For the first time ever, she felt a shiver of fear at the sight of this man she loved.

His Swiss German was too fast for her to catch and in his anger he forgot to go slowly.

“Urs…I…” she began in English, so close to tears that her throat felt squeezed shut.

“DON’T!!!...don’t say you’re sorry, Luv. You never should have been frightened like that. They watch you when I’m away and the agent was sloppy….you shouldn’t have been able to spot him. It won’t happen again.”

He gently cupped her face with his dry and grimy hands, kissing away the tears she hadn’t realized had escaped.

“Thank God you had the sense to go to a friend.”

He lifted her out of the truck, cuddling her close to his chest and spoke to Marc over her head.

“Marc, I owe you one. There have been some threats against Maggie, because of me. My boss arranged to have her guarded when I’m not with her, at least until we catch this guy and I should have told her. We have a couple coming to live with us, a handyman for the farm and a lady to help with the baby, company when I have to be away…they arrive next week so I put off telling her about the guards. He apologized but it’s a little late when he’s already scared her.”

Marc smiled.

“I’ve been married a lot longer than you so I can tell you…don’t keep secrets…they always find out, Always! Urs, glad I could help. Drop by the pub one of these nights…I’m sure the guys would love to see you…and you can buy me a beer.”

He gripped Maggie’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss her cheek in the European fashion.

“I’m eager to see this place when you two have it all done….we’ve been thinking about reducing our foot print on the environment…once Sonja sees what you’ve done there will be no peace in my house.”

He smiled and waved as he drove away and Urs walked Maggie to the Peugeot, sitting her inside and crouching beside her with a hand in her hair, the other laying softly against her bump.

“Let me go tell Dieter I’m leaving, then I’m going to take you home. We can be really decadent and sleep all afternoon.”

He jogged back to the terrace, leaping up the steps and entered the house. In just a few minutes he was back, pulling his jacket on and slipped into the car, tossing his hard hat in the back seat and leaning over to check her seat belt.

Her adrenal rush had ebbed and she craved nothing more than to sleep and restore her energy. She slipped her arm through the seat belt strap so she could lean against Urs and spent the entire trip home half asleep, safe against his comforting body, his strong arm around her shoulder, keeping her safe.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Long before they arrived home, Urs anger had abated to a more manageable level, thanks to the soft, tender feelings of love that he felt when he glanced at his exhausted wife, snuggled against him.

He had misjudged the situation, he knew that now, should have confided in her so she would be forewarned. Marc was right…she would always find out if he tried to keep things from her.

His heart swelled with pride as he thought that her instinct when in trouble was to be with him, though from what Marc had said she also didn’t want to worry him in case it was something trivial…. Like he would consider anything involving her trivial.

He parked the car, easing her back onto her own seat and walked up the short path to the entrance, thinking to unlock the door before carrying his sleepy wife inside. The woven basket by the doorway caught his eye. Usually a receptacle for the daily newspaper or the delivery of milk from the local dairy, now it seemed very full and when he moved the paper, there nestled in with the 2 glass bottles of milk he saw Maggie’s handbag and a plastic carrier of fresh veggies…she must have left them in the truck and Marc dropped them off.

He smiled and put them inside on the table in the tiny foyer, then went back for Maggie.

She stirred when he opened the car door and protested feebly when he picked her up, calming when he hushed her and rested her head on his shoulder, her lips against the pulse in his neck.

He pushed the door shut with his foot and carried her directly up the stairs to the loft, stripping her quickly and making a cozy cocoon around her with the thick duvet. She opened her eyes a bit and smiled at him.

“Sleep, Liebe. It’s my turn,” he said with his voice soft and tender, almost hypnotic.

“Your turn…for what?”

He kissed her brow, sitting beside her on the big bed with his arms on each side of her.

“To be the strong one…. Rest while I have a quick shower, then I’ll join you.”

He went back down the stairs as soon as her breathing indicated that she slept. The house was cool, the fire out, so he cleaned out the ash and lit another, replaced the screen and took his mobile out of his jeans pocket.

Dr. Mandel’s number was programmed into the memory and he clicked on it, waiting impatiently until he heard the doctor’s voice answering.

“Urs Buhler here, Dr. Maggie has suffered a very bad scare today, related to the attack we told you she suffered around Easter time last year. Is there any danger to the baby from what happened, anything I should do or watch for?”

“It’s good that you called me, Herr Buhler. Was this a physical problem or was she merely frightened by something?”

“No one touched her but she was so frightened it wouldn’t surprise me if the old wounds ached again…sometimes she dreams of the attack and the scars ache….she was terrified…. and now she’s sleeping.”

“Ah…it isn’t likely that any harm has come to the child. The best thing now is to rest, to know that she is loved and protected. Be reassuring, keep her mentally busy and make sure she isn’t in any physical distress. I would like to see her….tomorrow at…let me see…at 16h30, just to be safe. Call me again if you are concerned.”

He sighed with relief and went for a quick shower, pleased at the warmth in the air when he came back out, wrapped in a towel and took the stairs two at a time to reach the loft.

She was sleeping and he lifted the duvet to slide in beside her. When she felt the bed moving she smiled and snuggled closer, breathing in the scent of him.

“You smell tasty,” she murmured. “Who were you talking to?”

No secrets, he reminded himself.

“I just checked in with the doctor. He says that the baby will be fine but he would like to reassure us by seeing you tomorrow.”

He rested his chin on the top of her head and hugged her.

“I should have told you…he shouldn’t have been so sloppy but I was wrong not to tell you. ‘Tami…I have to stop making mistakes that end up hurting you.”

“Urs, you really have to clean up your language before the baby arrives or the first thing he will say will translate to ‘God curse me’,” she giggled as she glanced up at him, then kissed his chin.

“And he will not…. You make very few, only well meaning ones.”

She stifled a yawn against his chest and he could feel her long lashes as she closed her eyes and relaxed against him.

“Sleep a while with me, mein Geliebte. Let me restore my strength with your touch.”

Urs lay awake for a while, his mind not ready to turn off. He grinned as he thought about the baby and the fact that he would have to be careful what he taught their child….and the fact that Maggie always called the baby ‘he’. Did she have some innate sense that mothers had instinctively, knowing that the baby was a boy or was it just an expedient way of referring to their child? He thought about the months ahead, months when she would only have contact with him in cyber space or by telephone and a sense of sadness came over him. How he would love to be here, with her, to share the growth of their first born, all the things in the book that he knew so well. Still, he knew that other expectant parents had endure the same separations and made it work. He vowed that they would also, that nothing, not time nor distance, would spoil this adventure they had embarked on.

**

Maggie was back to her old self after an afternoon of rest and being pampered by her doting husband. Urs lost the guilty, worried look shortly after they rose from their rather lengthy nap when she bounced out of bed and decided that what they really needed was cake, chocolate cake with lots of calories and thick, gooey icing.

He helped, or rather tried to, succeeding in getting in the way often enough that she splattered him with a scoop of the rich, sticky icing…accidentally of course, though he took it as an attack and retaliated with a double fingered smear across her face…then proceeded to lick it off. There was just enough left for the cake when they finished playing and changed to clothing a little less ‘chocolaty’.

After dinner, and more dessert, they cuddled in front of the fire, in spite of the long afternoon nap, both not really tired but eager for an early night.

“You really should go visit your friends one of these nights before you have to go back to London,” she said and he knew by her tone that she was sincere.

He chuckled.

“We are so seldom apart, I’m not sure I could function without you around.”

“Urs, I know why you never leave me alone. I think I’ve known all along but it was so wonderful being with you that I didn’t want to think about it. You’ve done everything you can to make sure I’m safe, even more so now with the baby, but you are entitled to a life. We need some time just to ourselves so that we appreciate it even more when we’re together.”

“Are you tired of me already?” he asked, teasing.

“I love being with you, sharing whatever you’re doing or just being near, not doing anything, but we should get used to it and it isn’t fair to neglect your old friends, not to them, or to us either. And I need to meet some people here that I can be friends with. This is going to be our home for a long time, so I should become part of it, just as you are, or rather were and can be again. And along that vein, I would like to go to church this Sunday, maybe talk to the choir master about joining the choir.”

He smiled and nodded, playing with her fingers as he thought about what she had said.

“You might want to check with the school, too. They’re always looking for volunteers to help with the productions they produce each semester. I could call Phillipe…he’s an old friend and has been the Dean of Music and Drama for a few years. Gott, I haven’t seen him since I went to Amsterdam. I think they would be thrilled to get you.”
She rested against him, thoughtful for a few minutes, then he heard her giggle lightly.

“Are we getting predictable? A baby, a new home, settling in and becoming part of the community…. If this is what growing up and becoming a family is all about, then I have to admit, I like it. It’s comfortable and thrilling, routine and surprising, safe and yet full of adventure. It’s like reading a great book and being eager to see what is on the next page, but if you skip to the end you miss all the good stuff in between.”

He laughed and raised her hand to his mouth to tickle the palm with his breath and nibble on the fleshy part of her thumb.

“I just peeked at the next page and it clearly said something about being naked in front of a dancing fire and making love with a beautiful woman.”

She sighed and tried to hold back her grin.

“Well if you’re expecting company I could go take a bath I suppose…how much time do you and your friend need?”

“I don’t think so…two hours should be about right for what I have in mind and I’ve sworn off of any women who don’t carry my child in their bodies…so, you see… YOU are the only…game in town…” he had worked his way up her arm and dropped it over his shoulder as she leaned back onto him, sucking on her neck until she squirmed and moaned.

“Let me love you, Baby…let me show you something new and exciting. I been saving this for a special moment.”

For once the time-obsessed Swiss was not punctual, going well over his allotted 2 hours before he collapsed on the rug in front of the fire with his chosen mate purring by his side as the after shocks held her prisoner. He managed to roll partly on to her slick body and rest his hand on her bump, his face touching her neck, both of them only able to smile and breathe, not capable of much else, not yet.

“Urs?”

“Um?”

“Are we dead?”

He wiggled.

“Can you feel your toes when you’re dead?”

She smiled.

“I don’t think so.”

“I can feel my toes.”

There was silence for a moment then she snuggled closer, just a bit.

“I’m sleeping right here.”

“Me too,” he answered and reached one long arm slowly for the throw on the sofa, flipping it over them and closing his eyes.

The only sound after that was the merry crackling of the fire that cast flickering shadows over the mound of contented lovers.

**

The meeting with Dr. Mandel went well. He knew when they arrived in his office that the problems were over, at least for now, but he checked Maggie out thoroughly, fetal heart beat, mother’s blood pressure, weight…he chatted with them for a while, learned that they had registered for classes nearer to Christmas, assured them that he would always be available on the private number and sent them happily on their way.

Sunday they went to the little church on the edge of town, Urs favorite of all the lovely churches in the area. Inga and Nikolai had saved them seats in the family pew and they received smiles from many of the other parishioners, a lot of whom were either relatives or friends that had know the Buhler family for many years.

It was lovely to be there and Maggie wondered why she hadn’t thought before of attending. There was a peace about this quaint little church, a sense of belonging and when the choir sang the processional she wanted to sing with them, overcome with a feeling of joy that made her discreetly seek Urs’ hand to hold.

They sang the chosen hymns together, both keeping their voices in check so as to not over power the rest of the people but still those close to them glanced and smiled.

After the recessional, Urs introduced her to the preacher, then the choirmaster.

“Ah yes… of course I heard your voice during the hymns, Urs, but also a lovely soprano…I assume that was you, my dear?”

She blushed and had a bit of difficulty with her Swiss German from her embarrassment, but finally answered.

“Guilty, I’m afraid. Herr Knoebler, I was wondering if you might need another soprano in the choir? I will be traveling with Urs for a few dates in late January but after that I will be at home, at least until our baby arrives.”

He was delighted, as Urs had known he would be and they arranged for her to come to practice the next week.

They shopped for Kosta and Heidi, stocking the cupboards in the apartment with the necessities and the day before their expected arrival purchased a large bouquet of welcoming flowers for the dining area table.

That day they also made the rounds of the craftsmen that were working on various projects for their home, checking on the progress of the unique table for the dining area, made from a weathered slab of imported redwood that had been embedded with turquoise, fire opals and assorted other stones that they just considered beautiful, the top resting on a sturdy gnarled tree stump and twisted roots…it was being finished in a draft free room, the 2nd of 11 coats of protective sealer just drying and they had to don masks to enter the room briefly. Already it was lovely, something that would never be completely duplicated, that would be theirs alone.

The same craftsman was making two more pieces, a smaller table for the games room, this one with the base formed of a thick stump and roots but with a marble top, a thick, irregular cut that appeared to have been formed by merely excising a portion of one seam. The other was a long L shaped counter for the bar, made out of a lengthwise cut of wood and laminated as the dining table was, this one with the bark still on the edge and complete with rustic bar stools as an accessory. It would sit on a rough stone base and would undoubtedly be the centerpiece of that area.

The teak head and foot board for the master bedroom was finished, along with the side stands and Urs noted that they would compliment the teak wardrobes he had purchased in Thailand and were coming from London, soon.

With only a few days left before he had to go back to London Urs took Maggie with him daily out to the farm, wanting now to spend every second he could with her nearby. They inspected the frames for the furniture that Nikolai was producing, talked to a crew that was working in the neglected orchard and learned that most of the trees would come back and be productive, that it would just take some care and time….and one lovely clear day they walked up to the falls, watched the otters for a while and talked about posting the land to deter hunters. To their delight they learned later that the area was legally restricted so they shouldn’t have to worry.

Maggie received the e.mail with flight times for Kosta and Heidi and on Tuesday they were at the airport in Luzern to welcome them. It was crisp and cold, and to Maggie’s delight, on the return trip, there was a thin drift of snow-flakes swirling on the road ahead of them.

“Luck is on our side,” Urs said with a grin. “We have everything done outside, at least until spring when they can work on the landscaping. The work inside is going well with so many on the crews, so it looks like January first or maybe even before Christmas.”

“And the cottage?” Kosta asked.

“Done, except for the painting. We were hoping that you wouldn’t mind choosing the color scheme yourselves since it will be yours…and anything you didn’t bring with you we’ll ask you to pick out, if not in Willisau then in Lucerne.”

Kosta stared at Urs for a moment, then smiled.

“I can see that this is not going to be the normal employer and staff relationship.”

“We were hoping for something more along the lines of family… I’m about to trust you with my most precious possessions… a wise man wouldn’t do that with mere employees…. And sometimes I have moments of being wise.”

He laughed when Maggie reached from the back seat and tugged on his hair.

“Only sometimes, Herr Buhler,” she teased.

Their timing was excellent for they had just finished lugging the cases up to the apartment when the delivery van with their belongings arrived. Urs and Kosta left Maggie and Heidi to unpack while they lead the van to the storage unit and helped unload, came back and they went out for dinner, both couples eager to catch up on the news before going out the next day to see the house and cottage.

They had decided that since Urs schedule was so tight this time she would not go with him, the schedule in November almost as bad because of the launch of the new CD but at least then she could Christmas shop and catch the rehearsals for the production at the school.

“We can practice sending naughty IM’s,” Urs said with a laugh when they had left their friends at the apartment and were getting ready for bed in the small house.

Maggie was busy rubbing lotion into her bump, hoping to contain the stretch marks to only a few, but she looked up and grinned.

“I have some suggestions tucked away in my memory… you are going to be so sorry if you start anything.”

“Yum…now that’s a threat I hope you’re willing to back up. How do you feel about a quick trip during our December holidays? Carlos , Seb and I would like to do a bit of payback for all the jokes that David has played on us and we’ve been working on something.”

She laughed.

“I’m in… does Pet know?”

“Hell no!… this has to be top secret, no one will know until the last minute…well, except for his Mom and Dad…and Simon…and all David’s friends in the Denver area…and the Jansen’s maybe…and David’s sisters… and the nieces to take care of Paul…”

She was rolling on the bed laughing now and gasped out…”Why don’t you just take out a front page advert in one of the tabloids. Urs, that’s a lot of people to try to keep a secret.”

He threw himself on the bed beside her, grinning until his eyes nearly disappeared in his scrunched up face.

“It will work…listen, this is what we have come up with….”

He outlined what the three men had cooked up and Maggie laughed until the tears flowed and she begged him to stop.

“Don’t tell me any more… let me enjoy the surprise too. Urs, if you three pull this off you, realize that David is going to get you for it…it make take years but he will seek revenge.”

“But Liebe, it will be so worth it.”

Even after they were cozy and relaxing into dreamland he heard the occasional giggle as she went over their plan again.

He smiled and breathed in the soft scent of her one last time before resting his hand on their child’s little bump and drifting off to sweet dreams.

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE



Kostas and Heidi were nearly in tears when they saw the ‘cottage’. It was a stone and wood structure, 2,273 sq. ft with one bedroom and bath downstairs off of the cozy Lounge, Kitchen, dining Area, a Great room they would call it in the States, another bedroom and bath in the loft for guests. It was situated on a slight rise in the land, the yard in the front scattered with Ram boulders that gave the appearance of natural stones laying about when in reality they were heat collectors for the structure. That, supplemented with a power supply from the main house and a fieldstone fireplace should keep the place cozy even on the most blustery winter days. There was a walkway over the little rill that had been diverted from the mountain stream, something that Maggie wasn’t sure had a purpose other than esthetics but loved anyway. Both that and the pathways that lead to the garages and the workshop were heat coiled to prevent ice during winter months, since the older couple would spend a fair bit of time going back and forth between buildings and sliding on the ice could lead to painful falls. Kosta was happy because it meant less clearing of snow.

In the garage the new Volvo truck, very similar to the one owned by Franz, was waiting, delivered the previous day, the plow blade attached but raised and Urs was pleased that Kostas knew exactly how to operate it. On a whim he had chosen red as the color, explaining that it would stand out nicely against the snow…and anyway he didn’t need a reason, he just liked the color.

It was lunch hour and they went in to check out the progress in the house. It definitely looked like a work in progress with jobs half done and equipment laying about, intermingled with lumber, stone for the fireplaces, piles of bamboo flooring and a few paint or laminate cans with the lids replaced until the crews came back.

Urs saw Maggie’s grin when they headed into the bedroom wing and smirked when she found that a shiny new lock had been installed on the nursery door. He dangled the key in front of her and laughed when she tried to grab it.

“No one is allowed in, Liebe, especially you, not until I get back. Patience is a virtue, Geliebt, and lately you seem to be decidedly lacking.”

He replaced the key in his pocket, poking it down deep and pulling her on to the next room to join their friends.

He had packed before they came out to the farm, called his parents to say good bye and to remind them to keep an eye on Maggie, received a good natured scolding from both Nikolai and Inga that he could even suggest they would abandon her and was ready to depart as soon as they returned to the little house.

Heidi had all the contact information, in case there was a problem, as well as both Urs and Maggie’s schedule and they left Urs and Maggie alone at the house to say their goodbyes in private. Kosta would return with the new truck to drive him into Lucerne in half an hour.

It was snowing again, a little heavier this time, enough to need the wipers and they stamped their feet to remove the snow as they waved at the departing couple and entered the house. His bags were neatly by the door. Maggie had the childish urge to kick them as she passed but she knew that any sign of stress would make leaving harder for him.

“I put a tin of those squares and cookies we made in your carry-on so you won’t fade away to a mere shadow of yourself.”

Urs took her hand and swung her around to cradle her against his chest.

“I’m going to miss your meals. You have become a good cook, Luv, and in such a short time. I really hate leaving you…but we both know it has to be done. Do you promise to be a good girl while I’m away?”

“Maybe…I can promise to take my vitamins and to keep getting fatter and to miss you like crazy. I plan on keeping very busy so the time goes faster.”

“You’ve finished your lessons with Magda…when do you take your test?”

She laughed.

“Soon I think…I don’t want to wait till the roads are all snowy.”

“You will be fine… I have faith in you. Baby are you sure you feel comfortable with the alarm system?”

“Excuse me? Are you forgetting that I spent nearly 10 years tearing these things apart and can work them with my eyes closed?…in fact I do better blind than sighted. It’s a good system, Urs, even if we did leave it rather late to be installed.”

“Sorry about that, but yesterday was the first open slot they had to do it.”

He peered down at her lovely face, memorizing her features for the weeks ahead. She smiled up at him and his heart tightened as he saw how brave she was trying to be.

“I love you, my little wife, I just love you, so much that I don’t have the words to tell you.”

“I don’t always need the words Urs…you tell me in so many other ways…the way your face lights up when our eyes meet, the way you tease, how tender you are with me when I need it, the way you understand what I feel or think, as if we were one person, one mind, connected. I’m so proud of you, of how you are as a person, of this immense talent that you share so beautifully. I will always love you, more every day.”

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her, trying for soft and tender but, with his departure upon them, they had little control and the give and take escalated until she was pinned against the door, her body shuddering with the intensity of the emotions they had stirred.

“No time,” he muttered as he parted her jacket and inched her shirt to one side to taste her skin. “I need you, one last time, but Kostas will be here any minute.”

She flattened her palms against his chest and pushed, lightly, since her emotions were screaming at her to co-operate.

“I’ve been told that Patience is a Virtue…..” she said and he laughed.

“Well that sure came back fast to bite me…” He smiled and sighed, holding her around the shoulders and breathing in her delicate scent. “Just remember where we were for when I come home.”

“Urs…have you always been so…so…” she couldn’t think of a word that wouldn’t sound like criticism.

He grinned at her discomfort and helped out.

“Randy? No…I’ve always had a pretty healthy libido but after I learned how to control myself with Tantric…. Let’s just say I’m always ready, but until I met you once or twice a week was enough.”

He brushed his hand over her cheek and smiled at the memories from their time together.

“And then I met this beautiful, innocent temptress and you, my darling wife, really push my buttons. The wonder that such a special woman could love me, only me, fills me with such emotion that I crave you, like an addiction. Since I met you I’ve had a problem with …shall we say, timing. There are times when I try not to think about you because it shows, pretty quickly. Music used to do that to me sometimes but now…between thoughts of you and music….I’m glad we wear suits with jackets and not jeans.”

They heard the powerful engine pulling up outside. Urs picked up his shoulder bag and grabbed the handle of the small bag that he would slip under the seat. Traveling first class had some advantages.

Kosta came to the steps and took the bags, returning to the truck with them while Urs held Maggie and smiled into her glistening eyes.

“If you cry, I won’t be able to leave,” he murmured with such a tender look that she had to struggle to keep her tears from spilling.

“IM me whenever you get a chance,” she said, proud of the fact that her voice sounded normal.

“You know I will or I’ll e.mail if it’s late and you should be sleeping. Remember how much I love you, my sweet Maggie.”

He kissed her one last time, his hand resting on her bump, leaned over to whisper something to the Baby and kissed the mound that contained their child. Their hands were reluctant to part and stretched across the steps as he went down, then with one last double-eyed wink he lost her fingers and got in the truck.

She watched from the steps and waved as he looked back. The truck disappeared around the corner and she went inside to have a good, long, self-indulgent but cathartic cry.

**

“Mrs. Jeffers? Good morning. My name is Geena Kerrigan…I’m… Ricky’s birth mother.”

“It is so good of you to call, Miss Kerrigan. I know how difficult this phone call is for you to make. Please, call me Anna.”

“Thanks you, Anna…and I wish you would call me Geena. Simon said that you have no objections to telling Ricky about me and asking if we could meet. I would very much like to meet him, not for any ulterior motives, just to see him. I wasn’t allowed when he was born and there has always been this emptiness inside me, wanting to put a real face, a real person in my thoughts…I’ve thought of him often over the years. It’s such a relief to know that he has loving family.”

She could hear the sigh on the other end of the line, one of relief she thought.

“Geena, Ricky will be home soon. He has been working at his internship with a local photographer today but I expect him any time soon. I have to admit that he knows me so well that he knew there was something going on. He knows that you have located him and we’ve both been eagerly waiting, hoping you would call. As soon as he gets home I’ll have him call you.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries then disconnected and she turned to stare at Seb who had heard one side of the conversation as he watched her face, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Well?”

She stared at him for a moment then he lips curled in a beaming smile.

“He’s going to call me …he should be home soon and Anna is going to have him call me.”

She burst into happy tears and he hugged her, making soothing sounds, smiling as well, as he rocked her gently back and forth.

Half an hour later the telephone rang and she picked it up on the second ring, not wanting to appear too anxious and needing a moment to calm her voice.

“Hello.”

“HI…is this Miss Kerrigan?”

His voice was young, just beginning to deepen and just a tinge of nerves showing.

“This is Geena…Ricky?”

“Yeah…Hi. My Mom…I mean …”

“Wait…Ricky, lets start off as we mean to go on. Anna is your Mom, she has been for all these years and always will be. Please, call me Geena.”

“Thanks…well she said you called and that I should call you back if I wanted to meet you…and I do. Do you live very far away?”

“Actually I live in London when I’m not traveling with my work but I’d be happy to come up to Sheffield any time that is convenient for you. My schedule is pretty flexible. My fiancé and I could drive up there easily enough and stay over the night in a Hotel. We could maybe go out for the afternoon or for dinner, with Anna too, of course. I would love to meet both of you.”

“How about this weekend? I have a football practice early Saturday morning but the rest of the week end is free….is that too soon?”

She breathed a sigh…he sounded so eager.

“It’s perfect…Ricky thank you…this means so much to me.”

“Me too, Geena. Call Mom when you get here and we’ll arrange something.”

“I will…Bye”

“Later.”

She replaced the hand set and raised her hands to the ceiling in a cheer.

“He wants to meet me…oh Seb, he wants to meet me.”

She heard the sound of a cork popping and looked up to see that he had opened a bottle of champagne, one she wasn’t even aware he had.

She laughed as he poured the bubbling quaff into two flutes, handed her one and raised his in a toast.

“To healing 15 year old wounds.”

“I’ll toast to that,” she answered.

“And to the love of my life accepting my marriage proposal…you called me your fiancé.”

“So I did…I guess then you better make an honest woman of me, Monsieur Izambard.”

He nodded at her flute and she glance into the depths to see a circle of gold and a lovely solitaire diamond.

“I’ve had it for months, carried it everywhere, in hope that someday…”

Geena was laughing and crying as she fished the ring out of the flute, cleaned it by insertion briefly in her mouth and held it out for him to place on her finger.

“Mon Petite, I need to hear the words. Will you be my wife and let me cherish you forever?”

“Yes, my patient lover, Yes!”

The tender moment lasted for hours, long past the dinner that they forgot about, past the phone calls when they merely glanced at caller Id then forgot, breaking only when the champagne ran out and they had to switch to a lovely young Cabernet Sauvignon. Geena made them a snack around 10 while Sebastien booked a suite at the Sheffield Marriott and arranged for a car on Friday afternoon. He wandered out to the small kitchen to watch Geena as she arranged crackers on a tray with fruit and cheeses and 2 small jars of Tapenade from the Spanish boutique, humming softly and swaying to the rhythm, clad now only in a lacy deep green bra and matching panties.

“Your underwear is so much prettier than mine,” he pouted, tweaking his ‘Smilie’ boxers, a joke present from David on his birthday.

She turned and appraised him for a moment, sampling one of the crackers.

“Hmmm…I would have thought you would be a ‘thong’ type of guy. Maybe I should get you some.”

“Thong?...what is this thong?”

She leaned to his ear and to describe the garment in question, laughing when his eyebrows raised and he shook his head wildly.

“This sounds like what our tall friend calls a wedgie and I know for a fact that it is very uncomfortable. David showed me once, too quickly for me to stop him. No, my precious…do not inflict this ‘thong’ on me.”

“Then I think nice tight Calvin Kleins… or you could go commando?”

“This one I know…”

The Smilies disappeared in a flash and she moved closer, suddenly no longer interested in food as lovely blue/green eyes smoldered and that sweet Frenchie beckoned her into his arms. Who needed food when you had a Frenchman to keep you happy?

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Anna and Sebastien watched discreetly through the café windows as their two loved ones walked on the extensive grounds of the hotel, pausing to exchange words now and then, once the tall young man reaching out to take the shorter woman hand and hold it while they walked, keeping it in his as they continued. They made a striking pair, both with that burnished mahogany hair, thick and wavy, Ricky’s just a little long as if he needed a hair cut or perhaps preferred it that way. Seb couldn’t help smiling as he thought that Urs would approve.

The tension had been thick in the morning when they waited for the car they had sent to arrive with Anna and Ricky, but once they had arrived it eased almost at once, the young man with the so familiar hair and eyes, smiling shyly at Geena and coming to her to give her a hug.

“I think if I had seen you on the street I would have recognized you. I see you in the mirror every day.”

He was very unaffected, polite and well spoken, meeting the eyes of the person he spoke to in a very mature fashion and, except for a bit of hesitation when it came to asking questions, not suffering overly from nerves.

“It was lovely of you to send a car for us, Sebastien. I really dislike driving in the downtown traffic,” Anna said as Seb took her coat and settled her in a comfy chair in the Lounge.

Room service had sent up the requested tray with tea, coffee, juice and biscuits and Geena poured for everyone while Anna admitted that she had recognized Seb’s name and was a fan.

“We start our first world tour in January and Geena will travel with us part of the time, so unfortunately we won’t be in the UK much until around May of next year.”

“That’s something I’d like to do after I graduate,” Ricky said. “Not the music part…people would stone me if I tried to sing for them…no, I would love to document a World tour….all that traveling, seeing so many places, taking action shots behind the scenes…a lot of work but it would be fun.”

“We’ll see how our success goes…if we’re still around when you graduate we’ll talk,” Seb said with a grin.

“Geena, you said you do a lot of traveling with your work…what do you do?” Anna asked.

She had anticipated the question, had been asked it on other occasions and was ready with an answer.

“I’m a medical doctor, trained in relief and rescue and I work for a multinational security organization. We often get sent out for varying lengths of time to help out…disasters, wars, political kidnappings…pretty well anything where people might be injured and the country of origin can’t cope…we have to be ready at a moments notice so we don’t plan anything personal too far in advance…it’s interesting and worthwhile work…I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“Cool…I thought about being a doctor, or a teacher like Dad was, but then I got a camera for my birthday and joined the Camera club at school and now I guess I’m hooked.”

They talked for nearly two hours, about Seb’s career, Ricky’s school and friends, what everyone was doing for Christmas, the places Geena had been, the part time job Anna had taken lately working in the local library, books they had all read and liked and suddenly Seb realized that it was lunch time.

He invited them to the restaurant downstairs, said he had a private room reserved so they wouldn’t be disturbed and they all went down to continue their ‘getting to know you’ chat over a meal.

Now Ricky and Geena had decided to walk off some of the meal and both Seb and Anna knew that it was time for them to be alone and deal with some of the more delicate discussions…why did you give me away?...why did you wait so long to find me?...are you happy?.. Have you had a good life?

Anna claimed laziness and Seb opted to keep her company so the two red-heads collected their jackets against the blustery day and went out to walk on the winding pathways.

They had been gone a long time and only now seemed to be returning, stopped one last time just under a swaying tree while Ricky used a tissue to wipe something off of Geena’s face and she did the same for him…Tears? They entered the building and joined their party at the table, rosy cheeked, smiling and ready for a hot drink.

Geena took Seb’s hand under the table and squeezed it. Yes, she had been crying but was smiling widely now, content with how this so important meeting had gone. He felt his heart swell with relief.

“I think we need to celebrate this day,” he said with a grin. “Who wants cake?”

**

Urs had only been back at his flat for half an hour when he finished unpacking, had the dust covers off of everything and booted up his lap-top to see if Maggie was on line.

‘Hey little Mami Bear…you there?’

‘Just chasing the boy-friend out so I can talk to you…Good trip?’

‘Pretty flight attendants…not that I noticed of course.’

‘LOL…okay you win…the house is echoing without you here. I put on a stack of CD’s to keep me company…are the others back yet?’

“Don’t know…I just unpacked and then sat down to call you…I’ll have to go out to the little market near the school and get some essentials, but at least the lady has been in recently and done the necessary …watered my plants and vacuumed a bit. You didn’t have dinner did you?’

‘Wasn’t hungry…and don’t nag me, Urs…it’s hard to cook for one.’

‘Ah but you aren’t, remember? Promise me that when we finish talking you will go eat something…’

‘Yes, Dear, I promise!! And how about you…are you going out or to the school or meeting up with the guys?’

‘I thought I would drop by for a few minutes, just to see how Camille is doing…’

‘Say HI for me, Luv…Urs don’t search through your bag for that pale blue tee shirt…I snitched it so I can sleep with it’

LOL…I know…I saw the edge of it peeking out from under your pillow…I traded scarves with you, left you my black one and took that soft grey one…your scent is still on it’

‘LOL… anyone would think we were lovesick teenagers…we’ll get through this, my Love and anything else that gets thrown at us. Together we can do anything’

‘It would be easier if I didn’t love you so much, Mama Bear. What keeps me going is the memories, so many memories and not just of amazing lovemaking. Loving you is so much more than just sex and I don’t think I ever understood that until I fell in love with you. You make me very happy, my little wife and I can barely wait to hold you close again…. These weeks will go fast and then I’ll be home….we have so much unfinished business to take care of.’

‘Including that secret room…can you at least tell me when it will be done?’

‘Before Christmas, I promise…you aren’t planning on going out and picking the lock, I hope.’

‘LOL…as much as I would like to, no…that would be betraying your trust and I won’t do that…’

‘Thank you Luv…now go have some dinner while I go see if I can cadge a meal out of Cookie. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow…I love you.”

“Just smile at her and you know she will melt…I love you too, my Swiss.’

Her little teddy bear appeared, waving and huge red lips sent him a smacking kiss, complete with sound effects. Again he had forgotten to ask how he could do that so he just laughed and sent her x’s and o’s and signed off.

Maggie sighed, remembering that she had promised to eat. Actually she felt better now, having spoken to Urs, even if it was in cyber space.

She went to the Kitchen and opened the refrigerator, thinking to maybe have some fruit and yogurt and drew in a sharp breath when she saw what he had left for her.

The small round, cut glass platter contained a broiled chicken breast, a portion of finely diced potatoes and a small dish with a mixed salad, all covered with a plastic wrap and on top two roses, one white, the other red, wired together with a silver bow. Underneath was a card, carefully penned in Urs scrawling penmanship with a list of the Language of roses and his signature, followed by a heart surrounded with the x’s of kisses.

When had he done this? And how? He must have looked up the list of meanings on line and she felt a surge of pride that he had gone to the trouble of mastering his ‘labtop’ well enough to find the site.

She glanced at the list and found what she already knew to be the meaning, wanting to read it in his own hand as if that made it more precious, as if he was there saying the words.

Two roses, twined together…Commitment….the white rose for purity and spiritual love, the red for passion and respect.

She took the slender stems and removed the water vials from the bottom, angle cut them again and placed them in a bud vase to place on the counter where they could be seen…at least they could by anyone who didn’t have eyes welling with happy tears.

With a smile she took the food and nuked the potatoes and chicken to heat it and tasted the salad…perfect…just the right amount of oil and vinegar dressing.

She sat at the counter in the kitchen, listening to the CD he had made for her, enjoying the food and the rose message from her romantic lover/husband, thinking of him, of their life together even when apart.

**

Urs wasn’t surprised when he returned from the school to find a note under his door. Seb was back, eager to catch up on news and offered an excellent new Red if the Swiss was interested.

He laughed and went up to Seb’s suite, tapped on the door and entered to find all three of the men in the Lounge, sipping wine and regaling each other with tales of what they had been doing.

Seb offered Urs some wine, poured a glass and went on with his tale about meeting Ricky.

“He really is a nice young man. Geena is so relieved, knowing that he has had a good life, that he’s happy and doesn’t hold any grudges against her. His adoptive Maman is a lovely woman, very caring and mature, very open to having us be a part of the boy’s life. We will keep in touch, maybe even visit at Christmas time for a day, definitely in the summer when he is out of school.”

“What are you doing for Christmas, David?” Urs asked nonchalantly, managing to keep from grinning.

“Home…to Denver…Petra’s parents are coming over too. After the time they spent with my folks in London they decided they really like each other and Mom invited them, so we don’t have to spend half the time here and half in the US.”

“Will they have enough room what with your sisters coming home too?”

“No problem…we’re in the country, about 2 miles out of town and there’s an old bunkhouse that used to be for the hands when it was a ranch. Dad has always kept it up to use for guests and it’s really cozy.”

“And my Dove and I will spend part of the time with family then go to Marbella and stay in our new house,” Carlos interjected, not to be outdone. The news was met with astonishment since he hadn’t mentioned it before.

He explained that they had decided while in Madrid and fell in love with the place at first viewing, that the paperwork was nearly finished and that his Gerald was ‘over the moon’, planning on furnishings, decorating…and that it had a lovely pool which was secluded enough that they could swim naked if they wanted.

“Does Gerry swim? I could give her lessons if she does not…” Seb teased and received a glare and raised brow.

Urs roared with laughter.

“I’ve seen you swim, Frenchie…remember at that Hotel in…was it Toronto?…you do more splashing than actual swimming. Better leave the lessons to me.”

“My Gerald is an excellent swimmer, Herr Seal in the Water and Monsieur Froggie. And you have your own mujeres to play with.”

Seb refilled the glasses and opened another bottle to breathe.

“So, Urs, is Maggie getting really round…and how is the house coming along?” he asked with a grin.

“Maggie is glowing…and she’s only gained 6 pounds so she’s only round in the tummy…but it’s so amazing. We can feel the Baby moving now, these little kicks at her womb, sometimes several, one after the other like he was exercising or something, sometimes it’s a kind of long stroke like he was stretching. It feels incredible.”

He had a dreamy look on his face that stopped the others from teasing. The only comment brought him back from his memory of the wondrous feeling of his child moving inside Maggie’s body.

“Wow!! I wish I had my camera…your face says it all, Urs,” David said with just a twinge of envy.

Urs was uncomfortable being quite so open and changed the subject.

“The house is coming along great. They finished outside and are working on the interior since we already have a bit of snow. Yanni thinks we can be in by Christmas or at least the New Year.”

Talk of the New Year lead to talking about the tour, discussing the release of the Ancora CD in a few short weeks and suddenly the 3rd bottle was finished and it was past time that they should retire. The day tomorrow would start very early with an interview at GMTV and would be filled fully for the rest of the day.

Urs got ready for bed, following his usual routine but his mind wasn’t there in Chelsea. Instead he thought of the little house in Switzerland, of his tiny wife and of the feelings he was swamped with when he lay his hand on her bump and felt their child moving.

He was smiling and content as he wiggled into a comfortable position in the big, empty bed, her scent filling his senses from the soft grey scarf that he had wrapped around the pillow.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Urs had missed Seb’s announcement of his engagement to Geena so it wasn’t until the next day when they were in the people mover that he found out and offered his congratulations.

“I hope you two will be as happy as Maggie and I are, Frenchie. For such a long time I was against getting married but there’s something about meeting the right woman that makes your mind suddenly see the reason. It isn’t about having regular sex, although that’s a bonus…it’s about the sharing, the love that goes both ways, the little silly things like deciding on what color to paint your bedroom and finding ways to make your partner happy because you love to see her face light up, because making her happy makes you feel good. It’s knowing that this special woman is going to continue to love you even when you’ve done something stupid, and you will, trust me you will.”

David chimed in from the seat where he was stretched out, trying for just a few more minutes of rest before the interview.

“And don’t keep secrets…they always find out.”

Urs choked out a laugh.

“UN Huh!! So you got caught too? Man I’ve learned my lesson…I was really a dumb-a** and Maggie found out about something that I didn’t tell her about and she got so frightened…I was really scared for her and the Baby, but it worked out and she forgave me. Never again!!”

“So what do we say in the interview when they ask about someone special in our lives? We going public with this or not yet?”

Urs considered the question for a few moments, his face serious and eyes hooded.

“I don’t know about you and Pet, but I don’t think I want to do more than say that there is someone very special in my life. The tabs already broke that piece about us at the Ball…I’d like to leave it at that for a while yet.”

“Me too,” David admitted. “I’m not ready to share quite that much of my private life right now. I’m not going to hide the fact that we are a couple but I’m not going to push the envelope …maybe after the last two of us fall, then we can make a group announcement.” He laughed as he said it, thinking that he hoped someone would still care by that time.

Surprisingly there was a small crowd waiting outside GMTV when they arrived, though it was still early, only 5h45 and a misty rain was falling. They walked along the front edge of the waiting ladies, smiling, shaking hands, posing for pictures, genuinely touched that these people would come out and wait in the cold dawn for them.

After the interview and performing one track, they went for yet another fitting, a meet and greet at a Book store, lunch with some Sony BMG execs, then a photo op for the book that would come out on the tour, on to the Zoo for more pics which involved a lot of hurry up and frozen smiles as they tried to look natural though they often had to hold the same ‘impromptu’ pose for 15 minutes or more. They ended the tiring day with a session at the office, signing posters for the boutiques that would be open at each concert, forming an assembly line to do each one personally, a touch they had insisted on rather than having the signatures printed on the posters. They wanted to establish a personal feeling between themselves and the fans and were prepared to fight for it, right from the start, even if it meant writer’s cramp from all this signing.

They were tired when they had the people mover drop them off near the shops in Chelsea, no one having purchased any supplies yet.

Carlos left them to go for take-away while Urs, Seb and David entered the little market and found something to tide them over for the night.

Both Pet and Geena were working tonight, just as well since Seb and David were too worn out to be good company. They plodded up the stairs to their flats, waving at Urs as he went into his own.

“Transport will be here at 8 tomorrow, guys,” he called out as they vanished and he went inside. He kicked his shoes off, remembered that they were his dress shoes and placed them neatly in the closet, using the kit on the floor to give them a dust off, was satisfied with the shine and shut the door, slipping out of his suit jacket and draping it over a chair carefully. He was out of his trousers quickly, putting them with the jacket, both ready to be dropped off at the cleaners…he would wear the dark grey tomorrow.

He booted up his laptop and left it to start while he opened his deli dinner and collected an icy cold beer from the frig, a habit he had picked up in the States where people were horrified to think that some people drank their beer warm.

It was after 9 in Willisau and he took a chance on Maggie being home until he realized that she was likely at choir practice. But there was an e.mail and he clicked on it eagerly.

“Gruezi, Liebe:
I did as promised and found the lovely dinner you left for me. What a nice surprise…and the roses with the card that explained what you felt….so romantic and beautiful and so perfect to fill the void your absence left in my day. Thank you Liebe…you spoil me and I love your for it.

Kosta and I spent part of the day out at the farm today while Heidi went into the shops and picked out colors for the cottage. I stopped by the office for licenses and made an appointment for my road test tomorrow since the weather is supposed to be lovely again. Wish me luck.

Urs, the crew finished the mantle on the fireplace today and it looks outstanding, that lovely gnarled wood imbedded in the fieldstone is so striking. What a great idea you had!! They’ve also finished the base for the counter in the games room and Yanni says they should take delivery of it in the next couple of days and it will only take an hour or so to install it. We weren’t allowed to walk on it yet but the floors in the Lounge and Kitchen are in and drying…they look even better than the picture. You will be so pleased when you get back…the guys are moving everything along so fast!!

I think I should learn Morse code since I’m sure all this kicking that Junior is doing must have a message in there somewhere. Today has been a very active day…maybe a football game or at least practice. And he seems to be a hungry little devil too, at least something is stimulating my appetite…and yes I am sticking to healthy food, just lots of it.

Tonight is my first choir practice and I’m as nervous as if I were doing a performance…maybe that’s what the food cravings is all about…I’ve always nibbled constantly before going on stage and this kind of feels like it. I do hope it works out…you know how I feel about music and I really would like to meet some of the people who have lived here for so long. Marc called today and offered to give me a ride since both he and Sonja are in the choir and they have to go right past. I really like your friend, Urs, and can hardly wait to meet his wife.

Last night I slept with your tee shirt on my pillow and it was so comforting that I dreamed of you…we were up in the meadow, near the stream and it was summer, the flowers were blooming and the sky was so clear and blue…you told me you loved me and the words came out of your mouth in musical notes, swirling around in the breeze and wrapping around me gently, then they became butterflies and flitted off across the grasses while we held hands and watched…I woke up from the dream, all warm and cozy, breathing in your scent and I knew that I could wait forever if need be for you to come home…nothing would change, not the way I love you or the faith I have in your love for me…then the baby did one of those stretching things he does and I felt that precious part of you inside me and everything fell into place. Do what you must, what your talent demands of you. You owe it to yourself to give your best to this project, to make it work, to bring your voice to the world. I love you because of who you are and what you do with your life, not in spite of it. We will be here to welcome you home, no matter how long it takes.

I love you, my lover, my husband, the father of our child…..I will always love you.

Your Maggie’

He read the e.mail a second time, then used his new skills and printed it to put in a folder, something to read again if he needed bolstering. For a moment the thought about sending her a reply but decided to wait, hoping to catch her on Instant Message when she got home from practice.

What she said made him feel relief. He had been dreading the tour, the separations, but now…now he felt that they would cope, that somehow it would work out, that being apart but still connected would make them stronger.

He tidied up from his dinner and went for a shower, lay across the bed to wait until she should be home …and woke to the insistent ringing of his alarm at 5h30, exhaustion taking him into a dreamless sleep throughout the night.

**

‘Good morning, Liebeling:

Sorry I didn’t send you this last night. I lay down on the bed for just a few minutes to wait for you to be on IM and the next thing I knew it was morning. Your message to me was just the tonic I needed to relax after a killer day and the scent of your scarf around my pillow wafted me into such a restful sleep I don’t even remember dreaming.

How is it you always know just the right thing to say to make me feel better…about being apart from you, about missing you so much and missing being able to feel the baby moving? Your words seem to leap out of the screen and wrap around my heart, soothing the pain of not having you near. I still miss you but knowing that you are patiently waiting makes it less of a wound.

We have another busy day today…some last minute sound bites and an editing session that Simon insists we attend…then it’s off to meet the hair and grooming people so they can see what they have to work with. I have to be braced for that since they will probably want to cut my hair and that just isn’t going to happen.

Geena and Seb are engaged now, finally. It sounds like the meeting with Ricky went very well. He sounds like a great kid…I’m sure that Gee will be messaging you about it and maybe this coming summer we’ll get to meet him. We should think about having everyone over to visit for a few days when the tour ends, for some R&R and to get to know our Baby. Speaking of which I have some things coming for the nursery the day before I get back. It will all go right out to the farm and Yanni will store it in the workshop…NO PEEKING!!

Good luck on the test today, Luv, though I’m sure you’ll Ace it. I will be back from the running around about 6 your time so I hope to catch up with you then.

I love you.

Urs XXXXX

PS: There’s only one cookie left!!!
PPS: Look under the dress socks in my sock drawer…something for Good Luck!!’

Maggie smiled when she rose from her sleep and checked her mail. Yes, there was something from Urs and though she had been disappointed last night not to have a return message, as she had hoped he had slept well. She laughed at the whine about the lack of cookies and wandered into the bedroom to check out his sock drawer.

He was always planning some little surprise for her, something endearing or to make her laugh, some little thing that meant so much to her, that made her smile. An idea came to her and she giggled thinking that there was something that would make him happy…it just required a phone call.

She opened the sock drawer and rummaged under his dress socks…well not actually rummaged since that implied being messy and she knew how annoyed it would make Herr Neatness Personified. Underneath the cubicles that held his black silk socks was a small silver wrapped package and she took it, sitting on the edge of the bed to look at the tiny card before opening it.

‘For my own personal Andretti…I will risk my life and limb with you any day…Urs’

Inside the flat box was a silver keychain, shaped like an Irish Cladagh ring with the clasping hands, a small Emerald on the delicate feminine hand, the spare key for the Peugeot dangling from the loop.

She laughed and went immediately to the foyer and put the ring and key in her pocket for the test later in the day.

She went to the computer to check if he was still on but it was too late, so made herself some breakfast and thought about the choir practice last night.

Marc and Sonja had been on time, of course and they chatted briefly on the short drive to the church. Sonja was tall and slender, reminded her somewhat of Petra with her blonde hair, willowy figure and ready smile. She told Maggie about Urs during their school years, admitting that he didn’t know it but before she fell so hard for Marc when she was 18 she had a major crush on Urs, who was at that time the lead guitarist and singer of a heavy metal band.

“He had this killer way of smiling, kind of lowering his chin and looking up at you through his lashes…it made all the girls wild, including me but I think I was all of 13 then.”

Maggie laughed.

“He still does that. The woman who does the cooking at our school in London nearly swoons when he turns that smile on her. Strangely, he doesn’t realize the effect it has on women.”

“Right!!” Marc said with a tinge of sarcasm.

“I’ll bet he practices in front of a mirror. Although, in school if it didn’t sing he didn’t pay much attention….except for bosoms…he’s always been a ….”

“MARC!!” Sonja cut him off before he could get into trouble but Maggie just laughed.

“When are you due, Maggie?” she asked, not wanting to let Marc put his foot in his mouth again.

“About April 9th, Dr. Mandel figures…which means I can only go on the tour for about a week the end of January. Urs is going to try to be home for the delivery but we just can’t be sure if his schedule will allow the travel time.”

“Mandel is wonderful…I had him for both of ours and had no problems…and if you need a good pediatrician for after give Dr. Moya a call. She’s great, about our age with 2 of her own.”

They arrived at the church and went inside to join the others as they shed coats and boots and gathered in the tiers to each side of the altar.

Sonja introduced Maggie all around and there were a few comments, about hearing her singing with Urs last Sunday, about the fact that they were happy for Urs to have found someone…one elderly lady expressed her opinion that it was ‘about time that young man had a family’.

The choirmaster came in and when everyone had settled he asked Maggie to do some a cappella bars to get a feeling for where she belonged in the various sections.

He frowned, realizing that though she had been note perfect she had held back.

“My dear…if I wanted someone who can whisper well, I would have brought my mother to practice. Open up…let me hear what you have.”

She raised a brow at him, recognizing a challenge.

“May I accompany myself, Herr Knoefler?”

He nodded and moved aside so she could get to the piano but she went around him and went to the standing harp, ran an arpeggio on the strings to test for sour notes and settled herself to perform O Holy Night, one of her favorites.

She started the intro and saw him frown slightly, unsure what she was doing since she preferred to speed up the tempo of the old favorite, just a bit. Then she began to sing, holding nothing back, her voice raising to the ornate beams of the vaulted ceiling, filling the quaint church, every corner, pew, crevice, spilling out the door when a late arrival opened it to enter. When she finished and the last note finished vibrating along the stained glass of the windows, there was silence as she tilted the harp back into place and rejoined the choir, waiting patiently to see if she had passed her quality test.

Herr Knoefler cleared his voice then began to laugh, joining the incredulous twitter among the choir members.

“Don’t look so stricken, Frau Buhler. People, I think we just found our soloist for the Christmas services. Please stand with the sopranos, Frau…may we call you Maggie?”

“Of course…thank you.”

“Stand in front of me, Maggie, or no one will be able to see you,” Sonja said giving her a little nudge.

Thinking about the evening she smiled. It had been fun, even a bit exciting, meeting so many people and getting to use her voice again. She had invitations for brunch, phone numbers of half a dozen women who made her promise to drop by when ever she had a chance. It was a start.

She cleaned up from breakfast and went in to have her shower, trying to organize her day around the dreaded test, then laughing when she thought that there was no way she could fail. She already had the magic key chain to help her through whatever the examiner threw at her.

**

She scurried home to make sure she was on time to talk to Urs, full of all sorts of news but mostly just wanting to share everything with him.

He wasn’t on yet when she booted up Millie and she slipped into the kitchen to make a hot chocolate, still a bit chilled from being outside. Winter, whether it was official or not, was here as far as she was concerned and it was beautiful, cold but beautiful. Just for good measure she put an extra log on the fire, replaced the screen securely and had just picked up her mug again when Millie shrieked at her, as she had been asked.

“HE’S ON…WAITING FOR YOU!!!”

She laughed and slipped into the office, easing into the chair and peering at the screen which had a single line of message.

‘HI…Millie says to wait..’

‘Sorry my Swiss Lover…it’s bloody cold in here and I was adding fuel to the fireplace….Urs I passed!!! I am now legal!! And it’s all because of your magic keychain!! Thank you, my darling!!’

‘LOL…I think your skill likely had more to do with it but Bitte! How was choir practice last night?’

‘Excellent…Jules wants me to do a solo of O Holy Night at Christmas…they put me in the soprano section and I’m right in front of Sonja….I met so many people it’s hard to keep the names straight but then I bumped into Helene downtown today, she’s an alto and after my test we went to Marc’s coffee shop and met up with Janti and Nicole…they told me all sorts of stories about you when you were a teen…. I can’t picture you being such a Nerdy guy….sorry love, I’m babbling…your turn.’

“LOL…. No problem…I like it that you’re making friends…and those girls have never told the truth in their lives. Next you will be believing that I had long hair that looked like it had been electrified, thick glasses and didn’t discover girls until I was 15….and that was an accident.’

‘I think I have to hear about that sometime…it’s hardly fair you know…you know all about my first time…I should know about yours.’

‘There’s a world of difference…my first time lasted about 12 seconds and I hate to even think about it now, it was very embarrassing since the girl was quite experienced and gave me a black eye for being so fast.’

‘Oh Urs…you certainly have come a long way…LOL’

‘Have you talked to Mami today? She hasn’t been online for a couple of days.’

‘Every day…she has a touch of flu, nothing serious but enough that she won’t risk visiting Shannon or me…doesn’t want to spread her germs. Papa is making her soup and babying her. Oh and he says the upholsterer has our chairs and sofas done, just waiting to hear a delivery date.’

‘BRB….. someone at the door….’

‘K’ she waited with a grin on her face, checking the time and pretty sure she knew who was delivering something, just as promised.

‘I LOVE YOU!!! You know who was there, don’t you? Andy said to tell you Cookie has added a few extras just to be safe…..OMG…you should see it, there’s squares and 2 pieces of that Chocolate layer cake she makes and a bunch of different cookies….ummmm…this one is peanut butter. Baby you have to get the recipe for that cake…the icing is fabulous…Tami, I can’t reach the forks from here!’

‘Sounds like you need to go to the gym soon… no gym and no sex, makes Ursy a fat boy….I read somewhere that sex is an excellent form of exercise.’

‘LOL the way we do it sure is…alright then while I’m away I better go work out….I won’t need to when I get back to you, my insatiable wife.’

‘Promises, promises…I’ll remember this, M’Lord….do you have a busy day tomorrow?”

‘Very…we’re off to Glasgow first thing, staying overnight after an appearance on TV, a signing and a special short program at a local center. I’ll take my ‘puter so we can chat later in the evening.’

‘When you come home I’ll give you a tutorial in setting up the camera and using it. The picture won’t be wonderful but it’s better than nothing.’

‘Baby the guys and Pet should be here any minute and I have to hide the goodies before they force me to share…we’re going to Pronto for dinner since it’s so close….what are you having tonight?’

‘You don’t want to know.’

“Maggie!!’

‘Rosti.’

‘You’re right…I don’t want to know. Oh well soon you can make it for me. I love you.

‘I know Urs, and I love you too, so very much.’

One more time he swore as he remembered too late about the cute icons that she sent at the end of her IM.

Just in time he put the large tin of goodies away and there was a tap at the door as his friends walked in.

“You have chocolate on your mouth…what have you been eating, something that Maggie sent?” Seb was looking around for the stash but Urs just wiped his lips off and grinned, waiting by the door until Seb gave up. They all went out for dinner without eating dessert first.

CHAPTER SIXTY- SIX

“I would like to pick you up, Urs since Kosta is really tied up getting their things moved into the cottage…but…”

He wondered at the hesitation he heard in her voice, a bit disappointed since he had been excited enough about being done early and had called on the land line to tell her the flight time.

“But? Baby I thought you would be happy.”

“And I am, I just don’t know if you want to run the risk of someone seeing me with you…my clothes are getting really tight and it’s pretty obvious that I’m with child. I don’t want to cause you any problems.”

“Maggie, I’m not ashamed of the fact that we’re expecting a baby, and never, NEVER, ashamed to be seen with you. If someone sees us together, then so be it. The fans know that there is some-one very special in my life and if someone takes a photo then I would never deny the truth. I will not hide the way I feel about my beautiful wife or the child we have created. I’ll wear a sign that tells the world if it will make you happy. Please…come for me…I need to hold you again.”

She sighed, he hoped with relief, and promised to be there when he came through Arrivals.

“I’ll be the one with the huge smile and the very round tummy. Be warned, Papa Bear…Baby and I have really blossomed this last few weeks.”

He laughed.

“I can’t wait. They’re calling my flight…see you in a few hours, Geliebt.”

It wasn’t a long drive to Lucerne so Maggie took the time to change the sheets on their bed, had a shower and smoothed fragrant lotion on her skin, then went to the Kitchen to check on supplies for dinner…just in case they got around to eating.

When it was nearly time to leave she put on the only things that looked relatively presentable, wondering if she should try in the next couple of days to talk Urs into a shopping trip for some maternity wear. The few things she already had no longer were useful for anything except working and since they planned on this being the first of many times the expenditure would be logical…very Swiss she thought with a laugh.

It was a lovely day for a drive, the fields on either side of the road covered with fresh snow, the mountain peaks in the distance glistening in the sunlight. Traffic was light until she reached the turn off for the airport but even that was manageable with her new skills. She found a parking spot quite easily and left Urs old wool jacket in the car, tugging the heavy grey sweater that Inga had knit for her, trying to close it over her tummy but giving up after a minute as she walked rapidly into the terminal.

She checked the arrivals board and noted that her timing was perfect…his flight status changed to arrived even as she watched and she took up a good viewing position among the crowd waiting for friends and loved ones.

It wasn’t long until the first passengers began to straggle out of the double doors, the seasoned travelers who had very little luggage and most of those who had been in first class and cleared customs quickly.

“Maggie…I thought I recognized you. Urs coming home today?”

She turned to her side and was surprised to see one of the older tenors from the choir, Magnus if her memory served her, a jolly widower who had mentioned that before he retired he had delivered milk for years to Urs family home.

They were still chatting, about his 3 day jaunt to Geneva to visit his son and of course she couldn’t be rude and watch for Urs so when he walked into the arrivals area she missed seeing him.

He spotted her immediately and felt his breath catch at the sight of her.

Her hair was wild, curling freely, just the way he loved it, her skin actually glowing, maybe from the chill outside air or maybe from her condition…and she had certainly ‘blossomed’. She had never looked more lovely to him and he wound through the crowd just as a man who looked vaguely familiar bid her good bye and she turned to search for him.

Her face lit up when their eyes met and she grinned, taking a few steps toward him. He dropped his carryon handle and took her hands, holding them out to the side.

“Look at you….you look incredible!!”

It didn’t matter that there were people all around, that anyone could snap a quick picture. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, bending to kiss her neck, whispering ‘How I’ve missed you!!’ in her ear and then kissing her, not the toe curling kisses of their private time but also not the chaste ‘Hi how are you?’ peck on the cheek that some of the other passengers had received from their loved ones.

After a few minutes they separated, Urs collected his carryon and hand in hand they walked out to the parking lot.

He couldn’t stop grinning, glancing down at her, making a mental note that she should go shopping soon but personally he liked to be able to see her not so little bump.

She gave him the keys to unlock the car and he set his luggage in the back seat, then raised an eyebrow when she held her hand out for the keys.

“Uh…you want to drive home?”

With a grin she pulled the card that had come with the key chain out of her sweater pocket and read the message out loud…’For my own personal Andretti….I’ll risk my life and limb with you anyday…Urs.’

He laughed and handed the keys to her, closing the door after she slid into the driver’s seat and he walked around to adjust the passenger seat to his longer legs and climbed in beside her.

“Before you do up your seat belt, I need a proper kiss.”

She leaned to him with a smile.

“I just happen to have one that’s been waiting for you,” she murmured as he cupped her face with his hands, lost himself in her eyes and feasted on her sweet mouth in a kiss that had no beginning, no ending, only sensations, a give and take of love, yearning, commitment and promise.

“How I’ve missed being able to touch you,” he murmured against her hair when they came back to reality.

“So many times I almost began a sentence, wanting to share something with you or to ask a question… the nights were the hardest…I would reach for you and then remember.”

“Let’s go home, Andretti… I’m glad you’re driving actually. The last few days have been crazy and for once I didn’t sleep on the plane.”

She pulled smoothly out of the parking lot, concentrating on the traffic and Urs watched surreptitiously, hoping that she wouldn’t notice and get nervous.

They pulled onto the motorway and got up to cruising speed and she laughed, glancing at him once, briefly.

“You can breathe again, Urs, and stop watching me…I really do know what I’m doing.”

“I guess I can’t get away with saying that I just like looking at you?”

“Not this time…if you frown any more you’ll make a unibrow …relax!!”

“Alright… I have been checking out your driving…you are very good….you must be a natural.”

“You of all people should know how quickly I learn new things.”

He grinned and rested his hand on her thigh.

“Ja, seems to me I remember teaching you some things and you caught on fast…with some practice.”

His fingers refused to stay still, massaging her thigh until she gasped and he stopped, remembering that she was driving.

“When we get home perhaps you need a refresher course.”

She chanced another quick glance and smiled, that sultry look that he knew so well and they spent the rest of the trip talking about safe subjects…the house, the choir, his Mami’s recovery from the flu.

**

Yvette watched from across the room as Frank played on the floor with Hans, thinking how very different this gentle man was with her son. Laurenz had never mistreated the boy but had never seemed to be able to relate to him as a person, never getting down and enjoying the interaction of the little fellow as he tried to explore his world.

Frank, on the other hand had taken to the child instantly when she finally relented and invited him to the estate for a meal and to meet Hans.

He looked up and smiled, catching her intent gaze as Hans used him for a ladder to get to his feet again, at the stage when walking was a lot of ups and downs and anything solid was fair game to get back on his tiny feet.

“You suppose he thinks that I’m a giant toy you’ve been so kind to provide?”

She laughed, that little tinkling bell-like sound he had come to love, one that was seldom heard the first days of their classes together. Now it seemed she had more to smile about and he treasured each time she let herself relax enough to laugh. He looked at her as if for the first time, admitting to himself that this was not just a woman he desired, though he did and suffered for it often. He loved her with a purity of emotion that made him shiver, unsure yet hoping, that there would be a future for them, a very long future.

“I love you, Yvie,” he said softly as Hans took a handful of hair to use as a handle and walked around the tall man to deposit one of his very wet kisses on a willing cheek. Frank’s eyes never left hers. He saw her pale, then a smile started on her rosy lips, sent from eyes suddenly glistening.

“Frank, I…”

He pulled Hans onto his lap and belly kissed the boy, making him giggle and squirm, then looked up at her again, cutting off what she had tried to say.

“You don’t need to say it, Love. I can wait as long as it takes. Right now I think this young man needs some drier clothes. Seems I tickled him until he lost control and he’s a bit soggy.”

They put Hans down for his nap after the clean up and stood near the window in the nursery, watching him fall into a contented sleep.

“I love you too Frank. You are the man I should have met, long ago but wasn’t ready for. Frank you know it may be years before I’m free.”

He gently put his arms around her, wanting to ease the tension he felt in her shoulders, the controlled way she had tightened her arms over her bosom.

“You are free, Little One, just not legally yet. You have taken control of your life and I love how strong you have become, more every day. We have all the time in the world, Yvie. Just let me be here for you and Hans. There’s no rush for more.”

For the first time her kiss was not quite as chaste as it had been, the edges of her control blurring and it was only with a great deal of effort that he kept his body in check. He loved her and she was worth waiting for, however long it took.

**

The Peugeot pulled into the cleared spot in front of the little house and Maggie shut off the motor. By the time she had opened her door, Urs had his carryon and computer case out of the back seat and was bounding up the steps to the front door. He fished his keys out of a pocket, opened the door and rushed inside, coming back out as she started up the steps and he swept her into his arms to carry her inside.

He leaned back against the door, locking it with one hand and smiling at her as she stood staring at him in amusement.

“Now, exactly where were we?” he murmured, reaching out to take her shoulders and pull her closer.

She trembled at the look of naked desire in his hooded eyes.

“I think it was something like…here and maybe here…” she whispered, easing his jacket over his shoulders and letting it slip to the floor as her hands inched under his tee shirt and she stood up tall so her mouth could reach his neck for tender kisses and nibbles.

They shared a soul searing kiss, plucking at clothing, leaving a trail across the floor to the fireplace, pausing for only a second as Urs added logs to the embers in the cooling fireplace and covered them with the thick throw from the sofa. Under the downy softness he touched her mounded belly reverently then rolled her to her side to spoon against her.

“Let’s see if you’ve forgotten your lessons, little student,” he murmured against her neck. His busy hands made her moan and she squirmed a bit, proving that she had paid attention to every detail ….just as wild and eager as he was to reach for the stars again, unwilling to wait, not needing more than a touch, a soft caress, to feed the yearning, too long denied.

Urs raised himself off the soft comfort of Maggie’s body, pulling the throw off his head, just long enough to glance at the fire, then dove back underneath, laying on his stomach with his head on Maggie and a hand on her bump.

“It’s still cool in the house,” he announced and she laughed.

“Not under here,” she said and felt him smile.
“That’s why I came back under…it has nothing to do with wanting to touch you.”

“I think we just set a new land speed record,” she teased.

“Team work…isn’t it wonderful?”

“You let them cut your hair… still it looks good, especially now that it’s gone curly again…the tie from it must be somewhere in here.” Her hand was playing in his curls and smoothing his hair back behind his ear.

“We compromised…it’s still long enough for a short ponytail and I’m supposed to get it straightened for concerts, at least all but the ends.”

“Silly a**es…don’t they know how wild it will make the fans if it’s left to curl?”

“Maybe that’s the point…they don’t want wild fans. We won the argument about rose petals and about sitting on the edge of the stage so we had to let them win something and I guess hairstyles was it.”

“Won’t it make you nervous, sitting there and being so vulnerable? What if there are crazies in the crowd and some one pulls you off the stage or touches you inappropriately?”

“Baby, we love our fans and have to trust them. We’ll see how it goes but I think most of the fans will show respect for what we’re trying to do.”

“Urs…”

“Yes, Liebe?”

“I’ve had enough rest.”

He chuckled and raised his head, sliding his hand up from her mound until it met an obstacle.

“Me too,” he answered, his voice gone husky and he began their journey again, slowly this time.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

The only light on in the dark house was the fireplace when they woke from a short nap and peeked out from under the cozy throw. Faintly through the windows they could see a street light had come on…it was early evening and they had spent enough time under the comfort of the throw for the house to be warm enough to think of something other than desire.

Urs stomach made his hunger known in a soft growl that made them both laugh and he pulled her up to her feet to give her a swat on her firm bottom and a nudge towards the kitchen.

“I didn’t eat on the flight, the food just looked so unappealing, even in first class. Should we get dressed and go out or…?”

She smiled at him and gave his cheek a pat.

“I’m way ahead of you, Lover. I know what you really want now that you can think of something else.”

He laughed and admitted that even more than food he really wanted to see how far along the work had progressed on the house.

“Do you mind?”

“Of course not…I asked Dieter to leave the lights on…I knew you would want to go out…and I have something ready to take with us so we can have a picnic once we get there.”

He swept her into a Bear hug that left her breathless.

“Woman, it’s no wonder I love you….Let’s go.”

“It’s just a tad too cool to go au naturel…best if we throw some clothes on first,” she said with a giggle and escaped to gather up their discarded clothing and head up the stairs to the loft.

Urs fed the fire, banking it so it would last for hours and joined her just as she slipped into warm, stretchy sweats and a matching jacket that refused to stretch far enough to be done up. He dressed quickly and met her downstairs to take a wicker hamper from her, laughed when they reached the car to see her slip on his old jacket that she had left in the driver’s seat.

“I know it’s not fashionable but its warm and actually zips up.”

“And it looks better on you than it did on me…I think a shopping expedition is in order in the near future, Little Mami.”

It was a nice clear night, a waning moon but still the sky was fairly bright and there was a reflection off of the light snow cover. The gate was closed when they arrived and Maggie hopped out to open it, thinking how much nicer it would be when the new one went in since it would have a remote switch in the car…then she laughed at herself for becoming lazy. She shut it behind the car and slid back inside.

“You can see the glow of the lights through the trees,” Urs said with a little catch of anticipation in his voice.

“I’ve never come out at night,” Maggie said. “I wanted to see it all lit up the first time with you.”

They rounded the last curve, clearing the trees and roses and Urs let the car coast to a stop as he stared at their home. He slipped the gears in neutral and reached blindly for Maggie’s hand, holding it tight against his heart.

The crew had left most of the lights inside and outside the house on and it glowed with a radiance that reflected off the wood work and the sloped yard of snow, the tall windows glinting with yellow and gold radiance. There was a warm, welcoming feeling about the openness of the building, as if the uncovered windows were beckoning to come closer, to enter into the warmth and be wrapped in love, to be treasured.

“It’s our dreams come to life,” Urs whispered, not wanting to break the spell. “All those squiggles and lines we drew on so many sheets of paper, ideas that we had, wishes…. It’s exactly what we hoped for …and more.”

He wrenched his eyes away from the sight of the house to look at Maggie and saw that her face was awash with tears, Happy Tears, he knew and he unclipped both their seat belts and hugged her as she laughed shakily against his chest.

“I think we’ve found our ‘Somewhere’, my darling Swiss. Naming the farm Irgendwo was a stroke of genius.”

He laughed and kissed her brow before releasing her and putting the Peugeot in gear to approach the building, slowly.

“So that means two moments of brilliance…one when I claimed you for my wife, the other naming the farm.”

She laughed at his logic.

“There have been some others but I didn’t mention them…I would hate for you to become conceited.”

“I’m Swiss…we do aloof and quiet, but not conceited.”

They drove around the back and parked in the large cleared area. Urs carried the basket as they went hand in hand up the steps to the back terrace, one that would be used extensively in the summer months since there was an L shaped extension at one end that contained a summer kitchen, both of them considering that air conditioning was really not all that healthy for you….and they loved the idea of actually being able to cook outdoors.

Maggie gave Urs the key to the large glass doors and he opened them and motioned her to step inside. This doorway entered into the Mud Room off the Kitchen area, a rather inelegant name for a room with shelving and hooks for coats, benches for removal of boots, entrance to a small room that housed a very utilitarian shower, toilet and sink…a handy spot for anyone who didn’t want to traipse through the house if they were particularly grubby.

He drew in a sharp breath at first sight of the actual kitchen…as far as he could tell it was finished, merely waiting to accept the boxes of utensils and other supplies that still sat in storage. The counters gleamed, the woodwork shone with coat after coat of veneer, the appliances were in and waiting patiently.

“Is there anything left to do? I can’t believe it but so far I haven’t seen one thing that needs finishing.”

She laughed and spun in a circle with her arms out, then grabbed him and kissed him soundly.

“Surprise!!! There’s only a bit more to do in the games/music room then we can move our things in. Yanni and Dieter told me yesterday that we can be in by the weekend. They had an extra team that couldn’t work outside on another property and they’ve been working around the clock.”

They left the basket in the kitchen, removed their shoes and explored, going from one room to the other, so pleased and for Urs so stunned with the surprise, that the grins were permanent and words began to be repeated.

“Better than I had imagined!”
“Look at that…it looked so good on paper but I wasn’t sure!”
“Wow!!”
“…come see this!”

At the top of the house they finally checked out the master bedroom with the large ensuite bathroom, the giant tub with whirlpool jets that snugged up against a wall of glass looking out over their property and the glass shower stall with handy bench at one end and multiple nozzles that could be used all together or separately. There was a working fireplace in the suite and Urs raised his brow remembering the fluffy white, faux-fur rug that Maggie had insisted on, knowing now exactly where she planned on putting it. The walls were a raspberry red, a color he hadn’t been sure of at first until she had placed a strip of fabric against his teak wardrobes and he realized how perfectly it brought out the grain and color of his pieces. Now when he looked at the subtle color of the stone in the fireplace he knew that this was a room that would feel like home to him after the traveling he was sure was in his future.

He stood running his hand over the stone surface and Maggie realized that his eyes were glistening, ready to spill.

“Urs…Love what is it?”

He laughed at himself but curled an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

“I’m a bit overwhelmed by everything…I’m 35 years old, able to work at a job I love, married to the woman who holds my heart, about to become a father and for the first time in my life have a home, somewhere I belong, with family, my own family, not as part of a family and in some very nice but temporary digs that belong to someone else. I actually belong here, with you, with our child, children I hope and it feels so good, so right. This is our dream, Maggie and it feels like God has given us a gift….it’s only beginning, this adventure we are creating. I feel…frightened and awed, eager and excited, like I can do anything so long as I have you and our home. Am I making any sense?”

She smiled and hugged him, stood up tall to reach his mouth and just before their lips met whispered ‘Welcome home, Urs…Welcome home!!’

**

They nuked some of the food Maggie had brought out and had dinner, albeit a very late one, in the mostly finished Kitchen, planning what needed to be done the next day.

Urs wanted to touch base with Yanni and see exactly what was left to do. He knew that one of his jobs would be to contact the sound engineers about the wiring and installations in the music room/studio and he was eager to have a few hours to finish the nursery, unknown to Maggie he had all the actual work done, now it was just a matter of setting everything up and collecting the handmade items that he had commissioned, through Inga, from a group of the ladies from the church.

“How is the David thing going? Are you guys still determined to go through with it?”

“You bet,” he said with a boyish grin. “Simon has offered the Sony jet to get us all over there without David knowing, and the Millers have said that there are about 40 people from the Denver area who want to help out. Some of the ideas offered are a bit too wild so we had to say that we already have everything planned…we don’t want anyone getting hurt or frost bite or anything. Mrs. Miller came up with a suggestion though,, that I think will have everyone rolling on the floor laughing…except Pet and David of course. She thinks we should…”

By the time he had described what David’s mother had come up with Maggie was laughing so hard she spluttered her hot chocolate across the counter and broke into hysterics at the astonished look on his face.

“Your fault,” she shrieked when he came around the counter to retaliate, tickling her senseless.

When she finally calmed down and sat on his lap to wipe the chocolate off his face, she was still smiling but frowned and paused.

“Urs…they don’t have any traditions like Chivaree in Switzerland do they?”

He chuckled.

“No, thank god or we know what Stretch will do to get even. We will have to be very careful for a long time, not give him a chance.”

“Just keep me pregnant…he won’t do anything mean to an expectant woman…will he?”

“Now that’s an offer I will gladly accept…Seriously, Liebe, we’re talking David here…he won’t do anything mean to anyone, just embarrassing and funny…. and evil and insane….Yep, we’re going to be in BIG trouble.”

She could tell from the huge grin that he could hardly wait.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT….FINISHING THE NURSERY

Urs was awake in the morning long before Maggie, from years of habit his body clock rousing him with the sun. He fed the dying fire and thought how essential it was to get moved into the farm as soon as possible. This little house was charming but he worried about the cold and his little wife having to cope with it.

He came back to their warm bed and slid in to cradle her against him, wrapping his cooled body around hers and sharing her heat. She stirred a bit and murmured his name then was gone again, breathing lightly and exhaling softly against his chest, making the curly hair stir.

Of all the things he missed when they were apart this tender closeness was the one he missed the most, the way she had of completely giving her keeping into his care, of trusting him, trusting that she would be cherished and kept safe from the world. He felt as he had before they had loved that first time…awed that she would give herself to him and no other, that of all the men in the world she had waited for him, chosen him above all others. She was a strong woman, there was no doubt of that but had no problem with letting him be a man, the head of their growing household, her partner in whatever the future held for them. He was swamped with emotion as he held her and thought about their days together, their future….. with Maggie he could be himself, just Urs: strong yet caring, intelligent but playful, romantic and sometimes just a bit cheesy, cautious and adventurous, wildly amorous and patiently tender…everything that made him the complex person that he was. The only changes that being with Maggie had made in him were good ones…more confidence, less moodiness caused by loneliness, the deeply fulfilling contentment that loving and being loved empowered him with each and every day.

He inched his hand down to her bump, wondering if their Baby was awake yet, left it there when he felt little flutters against his palm, smiling as he thought about being a father. There was so much he was eager to experience….the delivery, if at all possible and he was determined that he would be there, somehow. The thought of holding his child, carefully, was a bit frightening but how he wanted to! He chuckled quietly…he wanted it all..the changing diapers, bathing their baby, watching Maggie feed him…or her, bringing Baby to her for nocturnal feedings, using one of those Snuggli carriers to take his firstborn out for a walk, safely pressed against his chest,….everything.

He napped for a few minutes, immersed in his thoughts and when he woke it was to find that Maggie was gone. He could hear her humming softly in the bathroom as she brushed her teeth and stole in to lift her hair and give her neck a ‘Good morning’ kiss.

She rinsed her mouth and turned to him for a proper kiss, tasting all minty and fresh.

“Good morning, Liebe. Oh My!!!....and just what have you been dreaming about?”

“My girlfriend….and a shower,” he answered with a grin and untied the belt to her robe, letting it fall to the floor as she leaned against his lean body and raised her face for a toe-curling kiss.

They had mastered the confined space of the small shower stall, ignoring the bumped elbows and the cold tiles, small annoyances that did nothing to cool the need they had for each other.

When they were sated…and clean, Urs wrapped Maggie in her fluffy robe and braided her wet hair, her little trick for somewhat controlling the unruly waves that occurred when she let it dry naturally. He pulled on a soft pair of sweat pants and a matching shirt and they went down to make coffee and breakfast.

“I suppose I should wait a bit to call Yanni,” he said as he glanced at the clock.

“He usually checks out the site about 6h30 so I’ll bet you can catch him on his mobile. He’s very like you in that respect…an early riser.”

Urs keyed in the preprogrammed number and was answered on the first ring.

“Had breakfast yet?” he asked with a laugh.

“Urs!! Maggie said you were due back soon…actually no…I’m a terrible cook…I was going to head out to the farm and grab a take out coffee on the way.”

“Come by the little house and we’ll buy you breakfast…Maggie makes a killer omelet.”

“Deal…I’ll stop by the bakery and get some fresh croissants. See you in a few minutes.”

He glanced up, smiling to see Maggie taking cheese, some vegies and fresh eggs out of the frig.

“Thank you for the back-handed compliment, Luv. Will you take care of the coffee?”

“You bet…” he stole a quick kiss and a caressing squeeze to her bottom as he went past, making her laugh.

He scooped ground coffee into the French Press and filled the kettle, putting it on to boil, then went in the Lounge to choose a stack of CD’s, turning the volume down so they could all talk when Yanni arrived.

The coffee had just finished steeping and Urs was plunging it when the knock came at the door and he called out for Yanni to come in.

He entered with a bag that wafted heavenly scents around the room, toed off his boots and came in to kiss Maggie’s cheek and shake Urs hand.

“Um…it smells great in here. I should find me a woman who can cook.”

Maggie laughed as she folded the last omelet over on the griddle and slid it off onto a warm plate.

“All I knew when we first met was how to microwave things…Mami has taught me a lot since then.”

“Ah…Tante Inga is a marvelous cook…. Danke, Urs,” he said as he accepted a mug of coffee and the two men sat at the small table in the alcove off the kitchen.

Maggie put the still warm croissants in a basket with a soft cloth to cover them and placed plates in front of the men with fluffy cheese and vegetable omelets, little rounds of perfectly browned sausage meat and sliced fruit, added a small tray of assorted conserves and butter and joined them with a smaller version for herself.

Urs poured them all a large glass of juice and told Yanni that he had been to the house the night before and was astounded with the progress.

“Ja, we made much better time than we had hoped…having that extra crew so they could work 24/7 made about 3 weeks difference.”

“Baby, you’ve really outdone yourself. This is superb!”

Urs reached out to caress her cheek, his mouth much to busy with food for a kiss at the moment.

Yanni agreed and also complimented her on the conserve that he saw had a hand printed label.

“This is wonderful…did you make it too?”

She blushed furiously and nodded.

“I…Uh…I had lots of free time while Urs was away…there wasn’t much I could do at the farm except get in the way so I begged some extra elderberries that Inga had frozen and her recipe and practiced …this was my first attempt.”

“All these hidden talents are beginning to come out… if you keep on cooking like this I’m going to get fat,” Urs said as he took another croissant and lathered it liberally with the conserve.

“Oh, I rather doubt that… not with all the exercise you enjoy,” she answered with a smile and raised brow and he laughed, getting her inference to his libido rather than the gym.

He cleared his throat and turned to Yanni.

“So how much work is left to do? I don’t want to rush things but as you can see this place is tiny and cold. The sooner I can get Maggie someplace warmer, the better.”

“Exactly what Dieter and I thought…how about on Friday we do a walk through inspection and if everything passes, I’ll turn the keys over to you Friday afternoon? You need to have a crew in to install the specialized equipment for the studio, but that can be done anytime. Have your handyman available then too, though he’s been out often and I think understands all about the storage and maintenance of the power cells. He’s a nice guy, very capable and quick to grasp what he’s told. Good choice.”

“Kosta and Heidi already moved all their things in but they didn’t want to move until we do. they insisited on doing the decorating on the cottage themselves…I helped with the lower stuff…they wouldn’t let me climb the ladder.” She pouted and Urs grinned as he took her hand.

“Good or we would have had a few words.”

“Yanni what do you suggest about moving in? Is there someone we could hire with a good strong crew? Some of our things are pretty bulky…like the piano and my teak wardrobes.”

He laughed and Urs frowned, not seeing the humor.

“I would say that the person to contact is Onkel Nikolai. At one time or another nearly every person in the area with any Buhler blood in their veins has been out to visit him while he was in the workshop, as well as half the town that just knows your family …and of course they had to have a quick peek at the house… I’ll bet if you supply some lunch and maybe beer there will be more helpers than you can use. Everyone is happy to see our famous home town boy come home…and everyone who meets this sweet woman of yours loves her. Make a party of it.”

The ‘sweet woman’ was blushing bright red again and Urs eyes nearly disappeared from the grin as he scooped her onto his lap.