Lalique Flynn Ch. 6 The New Place

Just before the move to the new house Lalique's pregnancy had begun showing and she'd been very nervous about it. She hardly went out of the house, having Arlene do the shopping and anything else that required being on public view like getting the mail and the paper, or taking the kids outside to play. On the day that they actually moved to the new house and her two brothers-in-law, Gareth and Mark, came over to help she knew that she'd have to inform Errol and Olivia and Yvette. The hardest part had been admitting she'd let herself become involved with a married man. Yvette was married to a much older man herself and wasn't too surprised at the age difference. Her parents, however, while not as upset about the marital affair aspect--after all they'd been a part of Hollywood for many years--were quite startled to learn that the man in question was their long time neighbor and friend, John Lassiter. Shame flared in Lalique's cheeks but she forced herself to hold her head high.

"Please understand we're not trying to criticize you, dear," Olivia assured her, "It's just quite a shock, John's nearly our age and we are friends and neighbors of the Lassiters; I'm very fond of Melora. But you know you always have the support of your father and I. We will love the baby just as we love Alain and Desiree and Scarlett and Simone."

When the day came that she went into labor, Lalique found out that she had not only one baby courtesy of John, but two. After all, he'd sired one set of twins when Trey and Lori had been born, perhaps Lalique should have been prepared for the possibility, but she was not. They were fraternal twins, like Adrien and Desiree, one boy and one girl, and both healthy and strong. She promptly named them Bretton Gerard and Noelle Ondine. The only one who did not know of the babies' existence by now was their father. But that, of course, was a status that was changing, although she did not know it.

For the last couple months Lalique had been able to keep her mind off John and on moving, but as she held her newborn babies she couldn't put off thinking of him any longer and found herself wondering what he would have thought about them if he knew. Her days, more than ever, were filled with mothering her children, all four of them, but at night...well, at night she still dreamed of John. She thought she had accepted the circumstances. That she would always be connected with him because he was the father of two of her children, she knew, but it was harder to keep it in perspective than she'd thought it would be. Harder to remember he had to be just "someone that she used to love". She'd done everything in her power to keep him from knowing about the babies, but at times she wanted so very much to tell him; to have him be a part of their life. To be honest, way down deep she still wanted him to be a part of her own life as well. The decision had been made to leave all that behind and she had no plans to change it; but the longing was there all the same. She was sure she would never stop loving John; never care for anyone else; she considered him the love of her life. Her children would be all she needed for the rest of her life. They were worth everything. She was through with love. It was too miserably painful anyway. 

I ought to be used to being alone by now, I've always been on my own. At least I know now that it was possible for me to love someone, I used to wonder if I could. I just chose the wrong person. How very me.

The house Lalique had moved to was secluded and looked out over the bay. She still couldn't believe she'd been able to afford to rent such a lovely place. Even though the house was immense with spacious rooms, there would be no separate playroom for the kids; however, the nursery was large enough to keep a big space for a play area.

The backyard was not enormous, but it was larger than the one in her house in Pleasantview and she put in swings and a merry go round as well as the little ponies that Adrien and Desiree played on. Another plus was the detached garage which offered storage for, not only the van, but out of season gear and the few tools Lalique had gathered together when she moved to her first house.

There was a large foyer that ran the center of the house from front to back and included the stairs to the second floor. After Lalique had her walk-through with the agent the house had been completely repainted on the inside by the real estate company, who was the actual owner of the house. She'd been a little leery since they did not consult with her on the colors, however; she was gratified that the foyer, dining room and kitchen were all painted in one of her favorite shades, French blue. They'd been a nondescript beige before. An immense dining room was on the left as you entered the foyer. It was quite formal, but they would make it work somehow. Once a couple of high chairs were in place it would not appear quite so grand. And the kitchen was dear to Lalique's heart, being almost twice the size of her old one. Plenty of room for both Arlene and her to work in there at the same time. Slowly but surely Arlene was learning to cook something besides mac and cheese.

The living room was in Lalique's very favorite color, green. Really, it was amazing; as if it had been decorated with her sensibilities in mind. There was even a grand piano! So far they'd been so busy with the children, and thee was so much room upstairs for TV watching and relaxing that they'd scarcely used the living room.

The guest bathroom opened off the living room and was in earth tones with sumptuous fixtures.

Behind the kitchen was a room already decorated as a dance studio/exercise gym. Truly Lalique felt it was as if she had been in on the design when the house was build. Mind-boggling. Lalique planned on giving Alain and Desiree some very simple dance lessons soon and this would be wonderful.

Upstairs on one side of the hall was the nursery and Arlene's  room. Again she would be sharing the bathroom with Alain and Desiree just as in Pleasantview. This one was rather kid-friendly in design, but Arlene had no problem with that. Her bedroom was even painted in a similar color to her old one.

The master bedroom was generous and had a large alcove, evidently meant for a boudoir/dressing area of sorts. Lalique had planned to keep the new baby there but when two babies arrived she had to quickly shoehorn in a second crib. But the alcove had a door that opened to a deck with only a wrought iron fence around it. Lalique locked that and had a deadbolt put in, too. No little toddlers were going through that door. In fact, she ended up nailing it shut and too bad for her landlord. She would go without a deck for now. If she was still here when the children were older, well, maybe they'd eventually use it again.

The master bath was nicely equipped and somewhat masculine looking, but Lalique had shrugged at the sight of it during the walk-through. It had everything she needed, masculine or not, and once her lotions and potions were spread around it would suit her nicely.

The piece de resistance was the indoor pool and spa. They would have the option of swimming year round and the jazuzzi was a bonus--she'd never had one before.

Lalique thought the back deck was charming and planned to entertain out there often. In fact, as soon as she caught her breath she hoped to have the family over for a cookout.

The first night Arlene and Lalique were exhausted, but neither could sleep; too much excitement. Arlene had heard from Ray and so she was daydreaming about making a coconut cake for him. She hoped Lalique soon got the report on him so she could invite him over to the house and she could show him how domestic she was.

Lalique, herself, was wondering why John hadn't called her with information on Mr. Ray Nolan. She hoped the delay didn't mean bad news. She would not call John though. This was a "business transaction" to her way of thinking and she did not want things to become personal again. Mainly because she was afraid she'd slip and he'd find out about little Brett and Noelle. They were such sweet babies; just like Alain and Desiree. She thought they would also have black hair but could only wait to see.

Then Ray called and asked Arlene if she AND Lalique would meet him for dinner at the Eden House Restaurant downtown. Then Lalique could at least get a first impression. It was a quiet place in a good part of town so she decided it would be all right.

John still had not called with any information, Lalique didn't know if that was peculiar or not; she had no idea how long these kind of investigations took. However; perhaps no news was good news. Surely if he'd found out something terrible he would have called her right away. Arlene, of course, was over the moon. Lalique had to admit she was very curious. Was this man basically decent the way Arlene said he was? Cynical by nature, Lalique decided if he was a fraud she'd spot it immediately. And it wasn't like they were having him to the house. Yet.

Next blog update: Lalique Flynn Ch. 7 A Real Talented Guy