CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A week after Darbi was released from the hospital, Darius thought he and Cherish deserved a night out. He loved his sister and brother-in-law dearly, but everyone needed a break. Darbi’s stubborn streak was wearing him down fast. Not only did he have to remind his sister the rules were for her own good, he had to remind Curry.

At dinner, Darius sat across from Cherish at a crowded restaurant. He had played the scene over in his head a million times that day, had even rehearsed it with Curry. Why couldn’t he choke out a simple marriage proposal? Four simple words.

He watched her as she perused the menu. She was gorgeous. Her shoulder length hair was up in a French roll, showing off the graceful column of her slender neck. Diamond earrings dangled from her delicate ears. She gave him a seductive smile, as if she didn’t know she was turning him on in a room full of people. He was about to speak when they were interrupted.

“Hi, Cherish.”

“Hello, Sunshine. How are you? This is my friend, Darius Crawford. Darius, this is Sunshine Brady, a client.” Cherish smiled with pride.

Darius stood and shook her hand. “Please to meet you, Ms. Brady.” So this is Sunshine, he thought. She lived up to her name. The petite blonde seemed to brighten up the room with that million-watt smile.

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Sunshine said as Darius took his seat. “I’m meeting Preston here for dinner to discuss the honeymoon plans. You know men, you have to make them decide on these things or they would never get done. I guess I’ll see you next Wednesday, Cherish. How’s Darbi?”

“She’s much better. Thanks for asking.”

“She’s nice. She should be a poster woman for pregnancy. She looks so radiant and that gorgeous husband of hers dotes on her like crazy. Preston better treat me like that when we start our family. Well, see you Wednesday.” Sunshine walked away from the table.

Darius watched the small woman leave the table, wondering when Curry had met Sunshine and why he hadn’t mentioned it. Darius instantly knew why. Since falling in love with Darbi, other women had ceased to exist in his eyes. “How are the plans coming?”

“Pretty good. She’s finally approved my sketches for her wedding dress. This is her fourth, you know.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. How can anyone be married that many times?” He watched as a funny look crossed Cherish’s face. Was she sick?

“I don’t know, Darius. Excuse me,” Cherish murmured as she placed her napkin on the table.

Darius watched Cherish walk hurriedly to the ladies’ room, minutes from an emotional outburst. Something was wrong. Why couldn’t women just say what was bothering them? He wondered if she was worried about Darbi. A few minutes later she returned. Darius spoke, hoping to ease her worry. “I’m sure Darbi is fine.”

“I know.” She smiled stiffly at him. “I’m starving. Where’s our food?” Luckily the waiter appeared with a rolling tray.

After the waiter distributed the food, he left the table and conversation resumed.

“How is Otis? I know he seems ready for the baby to get here. You think a baby will affect his illness in any way?” Cherish picked at her food.

“I’m hoping it keeps him active. He asked me if Darbi was going to stay at home with the baby or return to school. I know Curry doesn’t want her to work or go to school, so he’s pushing for her to stay home. But I can’t see her doing that.” Darius knew his sister wanted her college degree, even if she would never use it.

Cherish had thought about that too. “If she does return to college, I would love to baby-sit. I love kids and I don’t live that far from the college.”

“You could always come to the house to baby-sit. That way Dad would see the baby all the time.”

Cherish ordered a crème brulee for dessert. When it arrived, she picked up her spoon and cracked the top caramel layer with just a little too much enthusiasm, attracting the attention of the other patrons as well as Darius.

“Cherish, are you okay?” Darius hoped Cherish wasn’t having some sort of fit.

“Yes, Darius. I’m fine now.” She ate the custard and savored every bite.

* * *

When they entered Darius’s house, it was so quiet Cherish asked, “Should we check on them? It’s after ten.”

Darius nodded. Hand in hand they walked to Darbi’s closed door. Light spilled into the hallway from under the door. “They’re still up,” Cherish whispered, leaning against the door to listen for noise. All she heard was a passionate moan from Darbi. Surely they weren’t having sex, she thought. She knocked on the door, determined to protect her godchild. She waited a few moments, and then opened the door.

They were on top of the bed covers, dressed in pajamas and lying spoon fashion. Curry stopped caressing Darbi’s stomach at the sight of Darius and Cherish in the doorway. “What is it?”

Cherish blushed. When Curry didn’t remove his hands from under Darbi’s nightshirt, Cherish averted her gaze, noticing their feet. They were entwined and rubbing against each other. The pose did nothing for Cherish’s libido. “Nothing. Just checking on you guys, goodnight.” She hurriedly closed the door. Why couldn’t Darius be just a little like that?

Darius led her down the hall to his bedroom. Once inside, he sat on the bed, watching her every move as she prepared for bed. “What’s wrong, Cherish? You’ve been in an odd mood for the last few weeks. Is it because we haven’t made love in three weeks? You know we have both been very busy.”

Cherish shook her head. Men! How blind, dumb, and thick could one man be? “No, Darius. I hadn’t even thought about it. I guess I was thinking about Darbi and Curry. They look so happy together. Their gold bands always seemed to shine at me. Sometimes I wonder if they had this last year to do over if they would have still met and gotten together.”

Darius nodded. “Probably. It was weird that they hadn’t met before that class. Just like us. It was meant to be.” Darius slid from the bed and headed for the shower.

* * *

A ringing phone woke Darius early Saturday morning. He answered by the third ring and sat up as he recognized the caller’s voice.

“Darius, this is Sarah Fitzgerald, Curran’s mother. I was wondering if Curran and Darbi are out of town? I thought she couldn’t travel anywhere. Is everything all right? I’ve been having an awful feeing lately. I’ve called the house several times with no luck. I even called the shop and got no answer.”

“They’re staying here, Mrs. Fitzgerald. Is Mr. Fitzgerald all right?” Darius asked, remembering about Curry’s father’s heart condition.

Sarah giggled. “You’re as bad as Curran. I can call with something other than bad news. Thomas is fine. I was just calling to see how Darbi is. I got worried when I didn’t get an answer at the house or at Cherish’s shop.”

“They’ve been here a week. Darbi was in the hospital for a few days last week and is on bed rest. Curry wasn’t going to have time to hire a nurse to take care of Darbi while he was at work, so they came here,” Darius explained.

“Why didn’t he call us? We’re family, too!” Sarah’s voice rose slightly. “We could have flown down there with no problem and taken care of her. That’s our grandchild, too,” she whispered in a small voice. “All he had to do was call.”

Darius was stumped. Sarah sounded hurt that they hadn’t called her. He didn’t know what to tell Curry’s mother. “It was not intentional, Mrs. Fitzgerald.” Darius pleaded Curry’s case, knowing there would be hell to pay with this woman.

“I’m sure it wasn’t. Could I speak to my son, please?”

Darius looked at his phone as if it had just bit him. “Sure, Mrs. Fitzgerald.” That woman was pissed. Darius took the cordless phone down the hall to Curry.

He opened the door to their room, and smiled. Curry and Darbi were sound asleep. Even in their sleep, they held each other closely. Reluctantly, he tapped Curry’s shoulder. He moaned, snuggling closer to Darbi. Darius repeated the action. Curry finally opened his eyes. “What is it, Dare?”

“It’s your mom.”

Those three words woke Curry completely. He eased out of Darbi’s embrace and got out of bed. He took the phone out of the room and into the hall. Darius followed him, closing the door. Curry took a deep breath, looked at Darius, and whispered into the phone, “Hi, Mom.”

“Curran, you could have called us. We are also your family.”

“I know, Mom. Everything just happened so fast.”

“Well, how is she doing?”

“She’s better. She just has to stay in bed for the next few weeks. We’ll know more at the next sonogram. The doctor says the baby will be likely a month early.”

“You could have just called us. We would have been happy to help. In fact, we still will. I’ll call you with our flight information.” Sarah ended the call before he could say anything else.

Curry looked at the phone as it hummed at him. He turned the phone off and leaned against the wall for support, closing his eyes.

“What is it?” Darius asked, hoping there wasn’t another crisis around the corner.

Curry opened his eyes and faced his friend, shrugging his shoulders. “Not much, my parents are coming here to take care of Darbi.”

“You’re kidding. Your mother? Sarah Fitzgerald? Just when did hell freeze over?”

Curry nodded. “I know, but she says I should have called her. I just can’t figure Mom out anymore. She calls sometimes and never speaks to me.” He opened the door to the room and told Darbi the latest.

* * *

When Darius returned to his room, Cherish was still asleep. He smiled as he watched her feel his side of the bed for him. Immediately, she sat up and looked around the room for him, smiling as she noticed him in the doorway.

He walked back to the bed and got in. She welcomed him into her embrace and snuggled against his strong chest. “Is Darbi okay?”

Darius kissed her forehead. “I don’t know. She was asleep.” Slowly he pulled her on top of him. “Curry’s mom called and I went to give him the phone.” Darius kissed her deeply as his hands roamed freely over her naked body.

Cherish spoke when he finally ended the kiss. “Maybe you should put a phone in their room.” Cherish handed Darius a gold packet.

Darius slid the condom on in record time, instantly reaching for Cherish. She gasped as he entered her in one smooth move.

“Actually, his parents are coming to take care of them. So they’ll be going home soon.” Darius moaned. “We can either talk about them or we can continue this activity. Which shall it be, Cherish?”

“Since you put it like that, I guess the latter.” She kissed him loudly on the mouth and wiggled her hips. He had just rolled her over so that he was top when there was a knock at the bedroom door. He looked at Cherish and whispered, “See, you were too loud. What?” he yelled.

A discreet cough was his answer. “Mr. Crawford, I was just wondering when you want breakfast served.”

“Give us about thirty minutes,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, Mr. Crawford.”

It was more than thirty minutes before Darius dragged out of bed. After he had coaxed Cherish into another lovemaking session, they took a shower, dressed, and went downstairs. Cherish’s small hand warmed his entire body as he held it going downstairs.

They took a seat at the table and Mrs. Collins soon brought their plates. They ate breakfast in silence until Curry joined them. The nurse put a plate in front of him almost as soon as he sat down.

“I see you and Darbi are doing fine, huh?” Cherish giggled.

“Yes, we are.” Curry glanced at Cherish. She had a smirk on her face.

Darius coughed. “What Cherish is referring to is that hickey the size of a nickel on your neck. I trust there was no sex involved.” He also knew Curry hadn’t had it earlier.

Curry quickly rose from the table and walked to the downstairs bathroom. He returned, muttering to himself. “I don’t remember that, pity. It must have been after that massage.” He smiled to himself as he resumed eating.

As she refilled the coffee cups at the table, Mrs. Collins asked, “Mr. Fitzgerald, would you like me to carry Mrs. Fitzgerald’s breakfast to her?”

“No, Mrs. Collins, she’s still asleep. I’ll take it up to her later.” He smiled at the nurse and thanked her.

“I’ll leave it on the stove for you.” She exited the dining room quickly.

Darius couldn’t believe the changes in Curry in the last few months. He was no longer the hollow man that love eluded but a man deeply in love. He was content and happy and it showed, making Darius envious. “It’s nice to know that you aren’t neglecting my sister, but remember, she’s twenty-six weeks. Be careful.”

“We are careful. She attacked me while I was asleep. Mom’s phone call really freaked me out this morning, but when I told Darbi, she was all calm about it. I so hope that kid is a boy. I just can’t seem to figure women out any more.”

Cherish giggled as the men continued talking as if she weren’t there. “Curry, you aren’t supposed to figure us out. That’s what makes it fun.”

Curry shook his head. “Mom sounded really upset that we didn’t think to call her. I know a lecture about the responsibility to family will accompany this visit.”

“I think it’s sweet that your mom is coming. It shows she really accepts Darbi and wants to help,” Cherish offered as she sipped her coffee.

“See, Dare. This is what I mean.” He pointed at Cherish as she giggled uncontrollably.