"I know. I just wish we could all be together in one place."
I kissed her forehead and thought about my new family and how I enjoyed talking with my brother and sister and visiting my mother, even if she had no idea who I was. I felt like there was this special hole in my life where they were supposed to be all this time, but I'd been filling that hole with other stuff – work and music and the foundation and the corporation. Now, that hole was starting to feel like I'd found what fit perfectly inside. My mother hadn’t abandoned me. She saved her own life by moving away and finding a new one. She always loved me but couldn’t look after me because of her depression. When she finally got over it, she had a new life that didn’t include me out of shame and guilt.
But she did love me. Before she lost her mind, she told her second family of her regret and how she wanted them to meet me one day.
I squeezed Kate and tried to shut off my brain but it was hard. After more than half an hour of lying awake, my eyes open, Kate rolled over and slipped her arm around my neck.
"You still awake?"
I nodded. "Yes. Can't seem to fall asleep."
She moved closer, and draped one leg over mine. "I know what will help."
Then she kissed me, rolling me over onto my back and lying on top of me. The kiss deepened and I ran my hands down her back to her buttocks.
"And what is that exactly, Mrs. Morgan?" I asked in mock innocence.
"I'm going to make love to you. I've heard that when men have an orgasm, it puts them to sleep. I'm going to test it out."
I smiled in the darkness. "An experiment? Haven't we tried this remedy before?"
She kissed me, one hand moving down my body to grasp hold of my rapidly thickening cock.
"You need to test and retest before you can draw any real conclusions."
When I opened my mouth to reply, she covered it with hers and shut me up.
There were no more words spoken between us except for gasps of pleasure.
The morning went fast as we woke and had breakfast on the patio one last time with Ethan and Elaine before we left for our old place to turn in our keys. Elaine and Kate cooked up a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and toast. The five of us sat at the big table and ate al fresco, shaded from the warm sun by a large umbrella.
After we cleaned up, I packed up the rental car and we said goodbye, hugging and kissing Ethan and Elaine before we left.
"We'll be joining you in two weeks," Ethan said when he saw tears in Kate's eyes. "You'll pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel for a few nights until we take possession of the house. We'll Skype any time you want. The time will go by so fast, before you know it, we'll be back home."
"I know," Kate said and kissed Ethan once more before giving Elaine a hug and kiss.
We fastened Sophia in the car seat and then the two of us got in the car. Ethan and Elaine waved at us as we backed out of the driveway and turned around.
When we got back onto the main coastal highway, I took Kate's hand and kissed her knuckles because I knew she was still upset.
"Everything will be fine," I said. "Ethan was right. We'll be so busy getting settled back in that we'll barely notice the time passing. You'll see."
"I know," she replied and turned to watch the highway as we drove to the house. The rental agent was there when we arrived. I did one last walk through with him.
"We really enjoyed the house," I said as I handed over the keys.
"Contact me if you want to come back. Any time."
I nodded and we shook before I returned to the car. I took one last look at the house and yard, catching sight of the beach through a gap in the hedge. We'd had a lot of enjoyable times on the beach and at the house. I expected we would return at some point for a month or so when we had time and hoped that we'd find another place like it.
Then, I hopped in the car and we returned to the highway. We drove to the airport where we'd meet Brenda and Liam and say goodbye to them before we each took our respective planes. I let Kate and Sophia off at one entrance, and after getting a cart to carry our luggage, I dropped off the rental car and made my way back to where Kate waited for me.
Together, we walked to the United lounge where we'd arranged to meet Brenda and Liam for a brief visit before our flight.
There they were, sitting at a table for four people beside the window overlooking the tarmac outside, where a plane was being boarded. I reached into one of the carryon bags and removed a small wrapped toy I bought for Liam the previous day. I wanted Sophie to give it to him before they left so he'd have something from her to remember her while on his trip to Malaysia. I placed it in Sophie's hands as we arrived at the table.
"Drake! Kate!" Brenda said and stood up, coming to us to give us both a hug. "There's little Sophie." She bent down and stroked Sophie's cheek. "Come and say hello to your father," she said to Liam.