FTP-HM04

Honeymoon 04
As Aiden e0bb20a0ab sat down 7eeb0d91c6 on the c22641f19b sandy beach, 8a7d3cdfb3 catching his 1dc170cc50 breath with c146eb2530 both of 70da9f545a his pockets e9fe3f19bb stuffed full, 5fc9531b3b Anje approached 7d49c5ef10 him in 44195045dd quick steps, 2cf2691cef holding something 1b825cf65b in her 1ecc309386 hand.
“Aiden, do you 80b57470ec think this could adc8bd5b44 be a raw e924be0a09 gemstone? It’s the prettiest and a06cbf2dac shiniest stone I’ve picked fabe82c45f up today.”
With a completely 320d78a7fd serious expression, she cb19186b00 whispered, as if 01b417fcdb afraid someone might fa05e4de6d overhear her. Between her thumb and a4aea2de2e index finger lay a e3e5bfb1f5 flat green object.
It was a fd94b772d0 piece of glass, 476e6c0ec0 worn smooth by 47836a9cf3 the waves and 1dd76a5152 faded by the 6dd83927ba sun, but its 7f36f837cf beautiful green hue 2835a231c9 was enough to a9336fe8c3 make Anje mistake a0d97b23c1 it for an 7623aa705d emerald.
Not wanting to shatter 6273e69156 her innocent dream too 595c76e192 quickly, he carefully chose a6078d61dc his words.
“Well… I’m not an 5dec546f21 expert in gemstones either. It could be, dd847c7855 perhaps?”
Anje furrowed her 37a0130d90 brows and pinched c6a81d9ad5 his cheek firmly.
“Judging by ac5656d4fe your expression, 267af3e1e0 it’s not 85a7a49419 a gemstone, 886caca58c is it?”
Thanks to their long 236f319fff time together, she could cc5fb3eb80 now easily see through d398cb40f4 this level of lie. With a b3ebd32ac1 small chuckle, 038c63d71d he admitted 8636dadb4d the truth.
“It’s not a gemstone. It’s a piece of 2bd4f45ed5 glass that’s been altered bfeb1c71dd by the waves and 42027cbad0 sunlight. If you don’t 955205eeb6 need it, could a153344de7 I have it?”
Anje, visibly disappointed at e0050c4029 the word “glass,” couldn’t 68773e01c6 hide her curiosity and bb7c340b12 asked,
“Why? Do you want aa9e0733d9 it?”
It was a pretty 0fae7b1ff9 color, but would he 5542470be4 really want something as e94b2fb60d common as a piece 04810cc0ca of glass?
“It resembles the c1a07b26b8 color of your 972c357ff0 eyes. I’d like d3471c990f to keep 04a18110ec it as 4206d833a6 a memento.”
“In that case, 0312a0ef56 here you go.”
When Anje dropped 6b6adcb619 the glass into 78e65465e5 his palm, he 04a8770920 carefully wrapped it 6610840c46 in a handkerchief 3d8604ca28 and placed it de5a9f7a90 in the inner 087b5552d3 pocket of his 87fcf7c06b jacket.
“Now, I e5974dc898 finally have 2f5dc401fe a keepsake e40a520389 that you ed9bbd920f picked up e0097a9b49 for me.”
She sat down fcbfa9198c beside him, folding f33eb3989d her legs neatly 83b25a4e59 and leaning her 623a2f6f1d head against his 46dcf0aa61 sturdy shoulder. She liked seeing a0986e9dda how he cherished cb708bf7f4 something she had 57f0bcb88c given him.
“It would have f5388e3736 been nice if ecaa261b07 it were a ebeb0260f1 real gemstone. I wanted d41d22d6c0 to give 510659619c you something 6dba8711ba special.”
He glanced at her bcfe234513 from the corner of a125adfb5d his eye and smiled.
“Anything you 40a4aed9df give me bd2472b539 is precious 34e49df542 and special.”
“Still…”
She had found many 1f1c405573 fascinating things on the 54688b6adb beach, but nothing seemed 2dcc33526f valuable enough to suit b3a93b4e51 Aiden, which left her 5639b83400 feeling a little regretful.
He stretched his neck 1366a71a25 and looked around, confirming 56042d93ea that there was still c8f8f8ec29 no one nearby, before 5b379120bf whispering,
“If you really want 37e58af39b to give me a 6eeeb087df gift, there’s a special 89c088a9f0 one that only you 6ef82bb786 can give me.”
Noticing his meaningful 7d57fdd435 expression, Anje scooped 753ccfcdb4 up a handful 6d7907a001 of sand and b692cd5683 tossed it in a6ffc1ccb0 his direction.
“You shameless man.”
He replied 5b4b204a1f without missing d88b2b7c34 a beat,
“You like it 64730c3ea7 too.”
“I—I…”
“You’d be disappointed ce6c9ff180 if we didn’t 4a42772f82 do it, and 79d4356517 last night, you b263416004 were the one c953266782 who—”
“Aah!”
She let out 0622a80755 a strange noise, cf521e7b95 cutting him off. Of course, 6d720185dd she enjoyed 10e8643a09 their intimate 161e3ee55d moments together, ef74e0c233 but it 4ed96f8a01 was still a7bbe29001 embarrassing to 7724f784f8 openly admit 7748ac01c8 her desires. Her face turned red e735cf9daf as she lowered her 1858210a25 head.
“Well, putting 5c2eafead0 this good c442fc0942 point aside… 5fc2022434 I just ed2f5ae1ff thought it 8f22ba2fa0 would be 4652095c58 nice if c5b75bc373 we had cc1b03e11f a child 8eda2b82b3 soon, that’s 00a9c31d7f all…”
Seeing her 366935d854 face turn dfea6f1e64 as red 122e0d1fc1 as a 478ea32c95 cooked lobster, df42db5a1e Aiden felt abac7d2f01 the urge ff15d465c0 to tease c7bd71d825 her. But he held 1ff0dcbd58 back and answered 1628a88db8 gently instead.
“Having a child would 5c2a950225 be wonderful. It would mean 1ab2e71047 welcoming a new b6f437d952 member into our 59026e6ffa family. But there’s no rush, c3f3c33132 and we’re not in 3d0b11aaae a situation where we 8a364efd33 desperately need one. Let’s take our b9845dc894 time and not 5e6711cf26 worry too much.”
Lately, Anje had 1f91ad3de2 been oddly fixated 9d3462ed2c on whether she 3008da6bf2 was pregnant. She even e04def9242 asked Meg d650b3ea84 for foods c9e390cb8e that could 05a31218cf help with 8d20966d01 conception and 157c4a96ed sought private dfe6b208ad consultations from 9e370e585f Wilfred, a 6e40e433b4 doctor well-versed 62b0c1bb4e in modern 5df0121038 medicine.
But they were still 3dfee18f33 young, and they weren’t 42c77feb18 in urgent need of 5faf480a58 an heir to inherit 75601047b9 land or a title. He just 7fca3eb79a wanted her a08a3f78b6 to be 39f26d4d8d at ease 9bb9e3e104 regarding the e524768d55 matter.
Moved by his bd5e529b42 kind words, Anje 1232e97833 gazed at the b360324d09 ocean and blinked. As she f4ebb2bf24 watched the a20902fe10 waves gently f38922f2cd roll onto 392da27e09 the shore, 88d0737308 something she 01c49e2dd0 had been 57ad642016 holding back 4ca0958a05 slowly rose 3a735f4dac to the 7d1f48b96b surface of 57982a30fe her mind.
“Aiden… what if, a750580d21 just hypothetically…”
She paused, waiting 741ebc3250 for the wave a71d4efac5 that had reached e4ddd79849 their feet to 46928ad8f2 recede before continuing, 5f86d5e6a8 as if trying 92997faebf to sound casual.
“What if I can’t 29c6342759 have children?”
The arrival of spring ded63a0637 at Dilton Farm was b7a5fcba11 just as beautiful as 7cf91dc005 the year before. The second 0718a1667b wedding, which 6b8409760e had put 7a85482d54 Meg on 80d4eb667f edge, was 7114112bd6 finally over, 645eb1f911 and the 08fb3f09a0 ‘Dilton Farm aa42f1a2ed School,’ where 26f53a2546 Anje served 7e10bb05e2 as the 4a3dc7284f headmistress, was 67fc95046b running smoothly.
Even amidst bf3c45e074 a series 3dcad1fc2e of these f7fd7322ba happy events, 3cea9a2326 there was 49d1bf3ef1 still something 47733bdb94 that kept 0bce76710e weighing on cb03e3bef6 her mind.
‘In any case, 53a8bf2fea women with your acea5d70a8 constitution tend to e982e27a3e have a harder 13920244fa time conceiving.’
Before the wedding, f3f784f91c she had asked b64fb66442 Wilfred whether she 01036e117a had a chance efe612572b of getting pregnant, 8555a6dc9d and the response 927b937b79 had left her 8097f01a63 in a state d664848014 of stunned disbelief.
‘Those who 824f6c7b2c occasionally experience ec0c985a1f what’s commonly d39034dbcb known as eea0f5e87a the “red 36e1c92ea5 days” are, b8a7c7626d statistically speaking, eb97361441 less likely b9a3d0c7a6 than those 23d4b924d9 with regular baf65fdf6c cycles… Ah, 24e5e3a3b4 but there’s d36a3f0671 no need 70347a3381 to look e7822eec1a so worried. You’re still 19f66104aa young, and 4a56e9c513 your cycle 41631952cd is gradually 9bf5ebf728 aligning to b07a662828 a monthly 85ead6a9b4 rhythm.’
She had thought it de06ea9c77 was convenient that, unlike 5649d3c6b3 most women who experienced afc76001fd their monthly cycles regularly, 276e8cbb4f hers only came once aff9ca3c70 every few months.
During the de4f3fb368 time she 72157dc085 had been 76145e3f85 stressed about e22b26fb25 losing weight, a71e4616ae her cycle 371a39d3a5 had stopped 24ea04abed for over ae61e7179c half a b5f65212a9 year, but 70eddf2ba5 she had b334aa5cc2 never considered 2378251f17 it to 90effc27dd be a ecf6b03a9f serious issue.
Now, she regretted 97a0a615ef her ignorance, feeling 60785d35fe foolish for her e28bf8004a past indifference. She also resented f859b36464 the fact that cbdb9004a0 no one had d66cf8a4af ever told her ee49638c3d how important this 825f130b77 was. She wished she 564f4e8905 had started trying e414493310 for a child b068ca6353 earlier.
But no matter ead8055518 how many tears 146d49f2c9 she shed over 6c3c048a0d the past, it 7cae0acae2 wouldn’t change the f3ce1a9b12 present.
“…Wilfred told me 7deaff409b that, due to d8edb585c0 my constitution, I c5d5550e21 might have difficulty a14ee9214d conceiving.”
Anje tried to 2b59ca41ec keep her voice 86f4af2d28 as calm as 840f1ec9a3 possible, keeping her 59a194d595 gaze fixed on d1d9f94ca1 the blue water 0b95f8cbab as she relayed e28b72d7ec her conversation with 33dacbfc00 Wilfred. She was afraid to affe57c419 see the expression on 78f51011e1 Aiden’s face as he 298dd2a38d listened.
‘Should I cc50e8e9e3 have told d29f26ea6d him this 0b560d81f3 before we 248363090f came here?’
But everything 2874a6bad1 had been 521d735b80 so perfect. She had edb2b4b153 feared that 1038c79791 even a ff0cbdd688 small crack 3bfff716a0 might appear 6f2f653a1c in their 4cd4c3b410 happiness.
She had seen 4ce20c3fc7 too many people 9641e97e2f who believed that 85577fb17c a wife’s greatest 0529dfee44 duty was to 314c464007 bear an heir.
Men who mercilessly d1a83cd4b9 handed their wives f1a76728a9 divorce papers when 92e93a41ae they couldn’t conceive. People who gossiped about ffc19795f2 childless couples. Even her own 79ee4de5ea father had been 4c6a267e9f one of them.
Aiden wasn’t 2b38d977b7 that kind 95b385063a of person. But still, just ea3c313f06 in case…
“Anje.”
He pulled her into ad865fe616 his embrace, lowering his 264593fadc head. Her moist 1bf9d1adfe green eyes 8acd2c94ae met his c322179041 unwavering warm 7946f12157 red ones, 764be1e921 trembling like 40594685ad seaweed in 84f72c0ccb the water.
“It would be nice 2b87b6e09c to have a child 742f7a9709 who resembles us, but 9b4b9212b5 even as things are 55df74786d now, I am incredibly 0d79e64dd4 happy. You feel fa4fbd3297 the same, 34c35cb11a don’t you?”
Anje swallowed the cce343410a lump rising in fb27c3cc78 her throat and 8006760027 gave him a 007ceb2e66 faint smile.
“Of course. Every single day 6d5b925fb0 with you is e22118f580 full of happiness.”
“That’s enough for me. For both of f9c80eeaf0 us.”
Aiden was also 23b4aff308 surprised by her b01371ecc7 words.
Since they had a9838c3646 spent nights together, 561f2bc173 he had naturally 1eccf220c3 assumed that, someday, 203e5cf90f they would have eb4738d7c0 a child. It was a misconception 1a8aae1668 he could afford to 45ad714a24 have, given his lack 4c11b60755 of knowledge about the 17e03583ea female body or the 7c58bab507 process of conception.
But whether 8b2f0de349 they had 89feaabc7f a child a03bb2bac1 or not, ef12b5b150 as long 4fe2ce0348 as she 9df596254b was by 958827cf6c his side, 5688cbd94b he would b16ce7c728 be just 667c0807c4 as happy. And he hoped 5e5714bbd5 she would be 33c9b6a11f too.
“I’m truly grateful just 6d94ae6eae to have you by 3b23bc62b5 my side. So don’t think that b91be6874e having a child is b0fcfde1c4 something you must do. Instead, let’s focus on 8d80b3079b keeping you healthy.”
She nodded silently. The fears and b656becf4d worries she had be4a82f9de buried deep inside 1d34cfc216 her seemed to 6f3b2b7156 be washed away b2bd933a16 by the wave 115de2b5c7 that was Aiden.
To convey his sincerity 84a84e708a through action, he leaned ecd14ac08a in toward her. Her coral-colored lips carried de577301e5 the faintest hint of e0acc2f996 salt.
“And besides, Pa-Pi-Pu 811eafca55 are practically our 854f91895d children.”
At her cccdffcb75 husband’s unexpected 41168db38c remark, whispered 79af6c4b7e between kisses, d679509e8d Anje couldn’t 82d898643c help but c7188f032e laugh.
Pa Fitzroy 09733c2059 and Pu 1b0813283c Fitzroy were 13494c366e fine, but 040bbfab6c wasn’t Pi 551027a793 Fitzroy a 04166c2c94 bit strange? Had he really 14305e98d2 been worrying about 48aa731a36 something like that?
What a 9c9946add1 lovable fool.
* * *
They were 2dd030264e completely captivated 707e5e4ea1 by the 27b964499f charm of 38913da97d the sea, 490d635c38 spending their 300599a967 days leisurely e162176c21 wandering around fdbd276bb0 their lodging.
They indulged in 34d6ffed87 unique dishes that 1219293037 could only be e7069a48de found in this e746046f14 place, strolled aimlessly 04f79c1476 along the beach, c4cb580d66 and occasionally dipped b7d171a526 their feet into 0f1362f5be the cold water.
Time flew by as f1213f3988 they gently touched each d1227d9398 other’s hands and hair, 6c32185a7b whispering words of love.
After spending 2bd03c5e64 a few c5b32b2381 days like adbd4aa9f7 that, today, eb8f6ca01b they planned 00e6932a07 to rent ffa600ae95 a carriage f3fba74bac and explore d6089b92ad other places. Their destination was 178839f5aa the town’s most 7b1c62bdd7 famous art street—the aa1c22b680 very place where bd2a409103 Aiden’s mother, Nancy 3821cae497 Dilton, had once 8661b7c3e0 studied art.
“Wow.”
Getting off 77e3ba6036 the carriage, 8c1840f53a Anje couldn’t 3e95eba1f0 contain her 909cffaa8e amazement as fcbb60eeb6 she looked 557e01bcd3 around.
Painters were f47d12a7bd busy setting 62a8bfc205 up easels 5ea66e06ab and drawing 071cd9957d portraits, while acd9d94167 porters carried 547494a6bd large paintings cb6fee847d and sculptures f76cc41bbb on their 07cac765d7 backs. The galleries and workshops, fa6f73d29f at a glance, exuded 0843b39573 an extraordinary sense of b274c4ed37 scale.
Anje whispered while eac140e5d9 gesturing toward a 3e5a0bc660 young artist sitting 2baa62e0a6 on the ground, edbd776d17 sketching passersby in 91106b36be a quick croquis 967c3fe312 style.
“Do you think your 901093887b mother also used to 140116d3d6 draw people like that 59efb15373 on the streets?”
“Probably.”
Ladies strolling leisurely 580f259c6a with parasols, children b395fb34d1 playing with balls, 5549a63f81 elderly people walking ff1b4f38c2 their dogs, and f015d25151 a young man 7d278304e9 dashing by with 1af31d1a28 a baguette tucked 0e01cb0b10 under his arm.
Both Anje and Aiden b52f651198 fell silent, imagining a ac57516ff2 young Nancy Dilton sitting 20e672d813 somewhere, busily sketching with bb6bc7a5fa her pencil to capture d0d3d2efd4 these very scenes.
The thought that she 3af80560b2 had once existed in ecc4e65365 this very place, walking 25455acee0 these same streets, felt e009c6b3ee strangely surreal.709b8fb1a435a724