Our last day in New York City wouldn't be any perfect if our flight to Brussels last night wasn't postponed to an early hour this morning.
Our last evening opened up with a shopping trip to one of the fanciest designer houses in Manhattan.
Proceeding with this funny and pleasant moment, we spent another couple of minutes in an electronic shop and later drove over to a popular jewelry parlor where we spent money on a good amount of items.
Dwain wanted to spend our last minutes of the night at a popular beach, Downtown, but I refused his offer and proposed a cinema night since a walk on a vacant beach at night might be way dangerous for either of us.
Luckily enough, he agreed to my head and we went forth to secure two entry tickets for a horror movie which gave us goosebumps when the end rolled up the screen.
Neither of us awaited the creepiest plot twist of all time which led to the most unrealistic ending of any horror/romance movie.
The rest of the night went great.
Our plane arrived at Brussels headquarters later in the evening after two hours of waiting for a connecting flight, on top of the fact that we didn't take a proper nap, and we couldn't even sleep during the flight because my wonderful husband booked us a commercial flight.
Babies wailing left and right, kids arguing, grumpy old people snoring and coughing, and a whole lot of other weird stuff happened.
When we exited the plane, my whole body ached down to the sole of my feet.
Everything about our flight went wrong in all ways possible.
Orlando made his appearance on time in a shiny black SUV and stepped out of the car in a stunning maroon tuxedo.
He recognized us from a distance and rushed for our luggage which he packed into the trunk of the car.
We hopped into the backseat and Orlando slammed the door after us, before settling in the driver's seat and driving us out of the airport.
Manly fingers played with my hair, untangling a hand full of knots and moving stubborn strands out of my face, while a heavy breath graced my puffing cheeks.
I snapped my heavy eyes open to a screeching halt and found a pair of the world's most beautiful blues eyes staring down at me in a calculating gaze.
The sweet smile I'd grown fond of for these past days, broke on Dwain's lips, pulling them apart.
I'd fallen asleep on Dwain's thighs during the drive to the mansion and somehow, cuddling up into the fetal position on his thighs didn't turn out bad even though it was weird.
My hands were folded under my head, covering the right half of my face to his thighs while the other half was exposed to his gaze.
I rolled my eyes at the ravishing prints of his hard abdomen on his white short-sleeve partly buttoned-up shirt.
"We shouldn't keep them waiting, " he brushed a thumb over my nose, and his touch burned my skin, sending electric impulses to many wrong places.
I blinked a few times and took in a deep breath to trash my nasty thoughts away as I rose to sit position from his thighs, and stretched my hands over my head.
"C'mon, it's cold out here."
Orlando held the door out for me and I stepped into the dry evening wind which blew my hair to my back and nudged a few strands to my face.
With a swift hand gesture, I swept the locks of hair to the back of my ear and gather the rest on one shoulder, where I allowed them to tumble in waves down to the small of my back.
Straightening the hem of my belly skirt which swayed in the cold, I made my way to the staircase where Dwain held out his muscular arm for me.
Orlando and a good number of house staff, transported our luggage into the mansion while Dwain shoved his free hand into the pockets of his denim white shorts, balanced his weight on his white Nike sneakers, and whispered into my ear.
"What happened in New York City, remains in New York City, " a trembling breath flushed my neck, and his hands reached out to mine out of the blue and fastened my arm with his. "Understood?"
The proximity between us started a dangerous fire that dried the thick lump in my throat.
With him towering over me and his head almost deepening into the hollows of my neck, words dissolved at my lips, quickening the pounding at my chest.
Holding my gaze to the floor, I did a reluctant head nod to his request.
Why shouldn't it even remain by the way?
It had plenty of conflicting memories that ought to rest in perfect peace.
"Good, now bring back that smile. It's not yet my funeral. "
He cupped my cheeks in his palms and lifted my face to the darkness of his gaze, amusement dripping from his words.
"Tasha must not be aware of the discussion we had," his playfulness ceased, and his words fell to my skin like ice cubes, freezing me along with the night cold.
"Never mind, what happened in Castle River, remains in Castle River."
Our little talk came to pass and his hand tightened around my arms once more and we walked through the sliding glass door.
I couldn't wait to set my eyes on the forever breathtaking beauty of the mansion, but then, the lights of the mansion were off, and there was no noise.
Negativity swirled in my chest, settling low on the last floor of my belly.
"Would they be asleep by now?"
My grip fastened on Dwain's arm as we strolled in the blackout.
His patience started wearing out as he called on Camilla, ignoring my question each time in a straight row of asking multiple times.
Okay, this wasn't a horror movie, right?
There wouldn't be some psychopath in the dark, waiting on us with a pocket knife, aiming for the veins of our hands, right?
Even steady moves freaked me out.
"Is this some sort of Hiding and Seek?"
Nothing good could make its entry into my mind, not even hope and all the questions I asked Dwain, exposed my frailty to any potential attack from any creature around.
"The one at the cinema didn't turn out well remember?"
In between quivering lips, I refused to keep moving forward, prevention was way better than cure.
Whispering noises stole the silence, and as much as I didn't want to believe that there was a rat invasion in the mansion, nothing could bring me back to sane reasoning as the whispering grew bigger over time.
I couldn't take this anymore, and rushing out fast into the courtyard, screaming for help at the top of my voice came to mind.
"Dwain, I'm out."
Fear stroke my heart to its peak.
"No, wait."
He struggled to hold me back.
I didn't pay attention to his plea but instead stumbled over a bunch of furniture in the living room, failing hard to figure my way out as the lights flickered on.
Remaining stiff, I swirled on my heels in slow moves, my hair taking time to spin around my neck as my eyes pinned to my back.
Behold, something popped open.
"One, two, three, go, " Brielle, Leonard, Jana, and Perez, popped another round of champagne bottles in the air. "Welcome home."
The house staff, and everyone present, with Liam being in the front line as their lead, in his bugs bunny pajamas, shouted at the top of their voices, smiles tearing their lips apart and deepening dimples on their cheeks as drum rolls came tumbling after the blissful trend of events.
Damn speechless as I was, I didn't forget to mock my hypothesis of a psychopath being in the mansion, what phobia took control of my thoughts?
Strange question with no answers.
Holding my hands over my mouth in a protective way to stop screams from escaping my lips, I scanned my surroundings.
I couldn't have wished for anything better than the current setting.
Pink, white, and blue balloons, littered the whole living room, and heart decorations with, 'Welcome Home, ' words on them, rested above us.
A solo player was playing music in the background.
Dwain's expression was priceless, from all indications, he hadn't expected such a grandiose heart-to-heart welcome from the Horton household.
He smiled at first, then rubbed his temples, and still, he couldn't make any formal speech.
He lacked words to express the tones of emotions flickering in his heart.
His constant rocking back and forth on the tiles in his sneakers, invited Brielle to press him deep into her embrace.
"Buddy, " Liam broke loose from the rest of the household and sprinted towards me.
I couldn't hold back the joy in my heart when my buddy lashed his hands over my belly skirt and hugged my thighs.
Crouching to the glimmering tiles, I pulled him to rest his head on my exposed shoulder while my hand circled his back.
"Did you miss me as I missed you?"
His grip deepened around my neck as his shaking words rushed to my ears.
I'd forgotten how it felt like to hold Liam in my hands during the span of the honeymoon, and this negligence of mine couldn't be forgiven.
I squeezed him to myself like he was going to dissolve in the next seconds if I didn't hold him in a protective and possessive hug.
I caressed the curls of his hair and sipped in the heaven flavor of his baby hair.
I missed holding him close to me.
I'd missed him so badly for these past weeks and now I didn't want to let go of him, not when I hadn't gotten drunk of his presence.
"Your absence brought nothing but sorrow to my heart, buddy, " I held his face in my palms and placed an endless trend of pecks on his face, molding his fluffy cheeks in my hands. "You are my best feel, buddy."
I closed him one more time at my chest and weaved a hand through his hair.
"Really buddy?"
He raised his head and widened his shiny eyes.
"Yes."
"Everyone, everyone, all eyes on me for a second. I said this countless times and I will say it again. "
Leonard held his bottle of champagne to his chest and hopped on one of the white sofas around the wooden coffee table.
"Elizabeth didn't miss us even one bit as we missed her, all she ever cares about my felons is her Liam and quite boring workaholic of a husband. So. . . "
He skipped to the floor, " hug your champagne bottles and cushions because she won't hug any of you tonight. The wise saying of wise felons my friends."
"I won't use the word felons if I were in your shoes, " I released my grip from Liam and matched up to Leonard's body frame, " come here, come to rest."
I spread my arms around his broad chest, and in his turn, he enclosed his arms around me.
His cardigan smelled like lemons, and the scent held me in his muscles much longer.
"Leonard, is the biggest baby amongst all the Hortons, " I poked a finger at his chest and many did drown in laughter.
"Leo is a baby, Leo is a baby."
Liam whipped his curls up and down, jumping on the sofas and laughing.
Seriously, nothing was cuter to see than Liam making fun of his trusted allies.
Leonard's bulging eyes couldn't be traded for any gold, damn priceless.
"You, come here, " Brielle attacked me with a bear hug and squashed my bones together in her hold, pressing me like my existence was limited and endangered into her off-the-shoulder chiffon pitch gown.
She struggled to lift my feet off the ground but failed, so she rested her teary eyes on my neck, allowing her scattering emotions to flow onto my skin.
"I won't come asking for the details, but you will find me and fill in my query in a precise order. . . the clock is ticking girl, don't keep me waiting."
I chuckled against her skin fully aware of my promise to Dwain.
No matter how we tagged along, betraying Dwain's confidence wasn't an option at this strengthening stage of our friendship.
Anyway, I could tell her a few things which weren't far from the actual things which happened. . . a somehow twisted truth could suit her thirst.
God bless Jana, she alone out of many was the most modest of all with the lowest compatibility to craziness.
Her hug couldn't even crease the fabric of my dress.
It was so professional and cultured that I didn't plan on letting go of her embrace any sooner.
She played with my nose and for the nth time of knowing her, she again surprised me.
She whispered into Leonard's ear and in no time, he rushed into the dining and out of it with a silver crown in his right hand while he held his champagne with the other.
Pearls were scattered in fine order, glittering like diamond stones under the white lights of the living room.
It was wonderful, a perfect fit to my head and it matched my one-shudder blouse nicely
On it was inscribed, 'Welcome Home, We Love You.'
I took the life out of her in the next minute which followed.
I couldn't resist the need to appreciate her act of love and the glamour in her flowery top and belly skirt which was similar to mine. "Jana, I can't say a lot of thanks, but I want you to know that you have a place in my heart."
The refrain of the melody going on in the background was accompanied by the singer's words.
Camilla wept as we hugged each other.
She whispered sweet things into my ears and brightened my mood.
She made funny jokes about Dwain's childhood and begged me not to let a word fall off my lips.
She also gave me a summary of Liam's stubbornness in my absence and how Leonard encouraged him to rebel.
This woman had all it took to be a perfect mother.
She was like one of those fairy tale godmothers who brought to life the wish of every Princess, pushing her to build a dynasty of her own.
If only all women could be like her, then many troubles of this world must have been resolved by now.
The evening took a different turn as Dwain walked toward me and circled his strong arms around my waist.
He pulled me into his chest and interlocked our fingers while he made use of his creative side to rumble on and on, about one of his far-fetched speeches of goodwill.
His sincere gratitude and thanks were an official opening to the evening.
Fireworks screamed from outside and balloons floated in the air as the house staff and everyone else chorused a charming heart-melting family come-together song.
When the craziness and fun in the mansion had exceeded limits and many people were making fools out of their selves, Dwain agreed with me on distributing the goodies we had brought back home straight out of New York City.
He brought the house to order with just a single call for silence and invited everyone to assemble in the living room where Orlando and some other staff had taken time to place the gifts around the coffee table with all their labelings as he was instructed to.
The largest of all the boxes could only be my precious Liam's own and he danced around not willing to open it till his birthday even though I made him understand that there was another gift in waiting for that particular day, but this sweet kid still refused a million times.
His wisdom couldn't be understood by many, myself included.
The next boxes contained shopping bags with designer clothes and shoes which Dwain agreed with me to buy with the money from the credit card that he'd offered me.
Getting a gift for Jana was way harder than expected, so I settled for a striking feminine business suit and pointed fur heels.
Brielle's package contained a sketch box for all her designs and the best of Gucci accessories.
Leonard's box contained a complete collection of Amazing Spider man's suits.
Yep, Dwain picked it for him.
Camilla had a makeup kit and evening gowns.
Perez had a full men's grooming kit and a suit straight from the 80s.
The other boxes had swimsuits and gowns for the female maids while the males had printed family shirts and matching pants in varying sizes that didn't have any labels.
Tasha didn't show up for the rest of the evening and as much as Dwain participated in all the activities that led to the close of the evening, his peace of mind was troubled and his patience was getting out of hand.
The enjoyment in the mansion hit a different nerve in most people's heads and they began playing the Hide and Seek game.
Liam didn't partake in the game but desperately craved to spend the rest of the evening in Dwain's hold.
The kid brought along a crown that had the exact printed words mine had and stood in his Tom and Jerry socks close to Dwain.
Dwain picked him up in his hands and he placed the crown on Dwain's head, then kissed Dwain's forehead.
"Welcome home, I missed you."
Bromance had never been this sweet to see, Dwain playing scramble with Liam and Liam tickling Dwain.
Leonard captured every moment with his smartphone and Dwain had to battle with Leonard for him to delete the pictures he took.
Another bromance, this time three cute guys were going dirty on the floor.
Liam being the smartest of the three; hid the smartphone under the sofa.