Heaven's Hellhound

The twins never wondered why both Carmen and I were there when they were brought home. At first, they were a bit reserved around their teacher but soon started to loosen up. I found it really difficult to restrain myself from permanently kissing or touching Carmen but didn't want to confuse the boys. After a while, the two disappeared to their rooms and we gave in to the desire to reconnect our lips. Soon, we decided to give Tracy a break.

"How did you get here? There was no car in the driveway when I arrived."

"Tracy got me here on the pretence of discussing the scholastic development of Jim and Scott. Your parents were here to pick them up as I arrived so I parked on the street."

I was a bit disappointed as I had hoped I could either drive her home or take her to my place. I think my feelings showed on my face.

"But I think I've had a bit too much to drink. Maybe you could take me home?"

"Drink? We haven't had anything but..."

My sister interrupted me before I got any further, "Stephen!"

"Oh," I uttered dumbly as I realised what Carmen had just done. "Yes, of course. I'd love to."

We collected our stuff - mobiles, handbag, and such - and made a quick getaway. I helped Carmen into the seat and carefully closed the door. I rounded the car and got in myself.

"Do you want me to take you home or would you like to come to my place for a coffee or something?"

"Your place and don't you dare try serving coffee. The hot liquid I'm after isn't served in mugs."

+

She got her liquid, plenty of it, before she had to leave. I tried to persuade her to stay the night, but she didn't want her mother to worry, so I drove her back to my sister's where she got into her car and left.

She called me the next morning and we met by the lake. I took her to lunch during which she seemed a bit preoccupied. It wasn't easy to keep the chatter going until we had finished and went on a walk on the promenade.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's on your mind or aren't you ready yet?"

"I don't know how to start."

Those were the most difficult ones. I was quite sure that if I managed to get her started, the rest would soon come naturally.

"I read somewhere that you should always start with something positive."

"That's easy. I love you, Stephen. I've loved you since I looked in your eyes on that day in February. I've never believed in love at first sight but that's changed. You hadn't even left the car and I already knew I loved you. I know it sounds crazy but I don't care. That's another reason I reacted so intensely when I smelled the beer."

"You're not still hung up on that, are you?"

She smiled thinly, "Not since last night. I think I understood the third or fourth time you made love to me that it was all in the past."

I smiled fondly when I remembered our lovemaking the night before. I had somehow expected her to be a wild and demanding tigress, but she turned out to be a tender and loving kitten instead. That was not bad, rather the opposite. It let me achieve something I hadn't done since my teenage years. I had cum four times in just two hours. Somehow I had just stayed hard after I had reached a peak.

"Good."

I kept my reply short because I had already interrupted her with my question and should have known better. Someone trying to breach an unpleasant topic shouldn't be given alternatives to talk about but my worries turned out to be unnecessary.

"I love you but I also love Mama. If we start a relationship, we'll sooner or later start talking about moving in together and that's where it all breaks down. I can't leave my Mama. She can't afford the current apartment alone and she can't get a smaller one on her own because of the debts she's carrying. I don't know what to do. I can't enter a relationship with you knowing it's not going anywhere. That wouldn't be fair to you."

I took a moment to reflect on what she had disclosed.

"So your problem is that you don't know how to solve something that might be an issue at some point in the future?"

Maybe it was a bit simplified but if I tried to strip the emotions from the problem, this is what seemed to remain.

"You could say that."

"Have you ever heard the saying 'Let's cross that bridge when we come to it'?"

She sighed. I even understood her. From what she had told me the day before, I knew that she and her mother were very close and Carmen felt a responsibility towards her because of the many sacrifices she had made to enable her to study and become a teacher.

"You don't drive your car down a road when you know the bridge is closed."

I chuckled because I thought that was a quite nice metaphor and it would only take a little tweaking to turn it in my favour.

"So instead of taking off with me to find out whether we together can find a way around an eventual obstacle, you decide to drive down a dead-end road all by yourself?"

She opened her mouth to reply but didn't come up with anything to say, so I continued.

"I love you, too, and I understand you love your mother. If I made you choose between her and me, I'd be a first-class-asshole who doesn't deserve your love. So if I want to be a part of your life, I'll have to find a way to help you help your mother."

I saw tears forming in her eyes. I could recognise the desire to believe in what I claimed but I also saw despair.

"But how?"

"I don't know. I haven't even met her yet, but if there's a will, then there's a way."

We fell quiet for a few minutes while Carmen fought her way through her confusion. There were some instances where she took a breath to start to say something but in the end, she just pulled me towards her.

"Hold me, please."

"I hope this a 'welcome-in-my-life'-hug and not a 'farewell-forever'."

"The first. Definitely the first."

+

After the chaotic beginning of our relationship, we finally started to go out to get to know each other. It took only two weeks until I met Isabella, her mother, who was far closer to a bear defending her cub than the desperate, helpless woman my girlfriend made her out to be. She soon understood that Carmen was happier with me than without and therefore, welcomed me into their family.

Over the next weeks and months, I carefully explored the territory for possible solutions to Carmen's dilemma. Isabella was far more pragmatic than I had expected and never hinted at having a problem accepting help from me, or anyone else, for that matter.

My own family regarded Carmen to be some kind of miracle. My Mom had almost given up on me ever settling down and it was plain to see that she had to severely control herself to not talk about potential additional grandchildren.

A year after our relationship had begun, 'the bridge' drew noticeably closer. It was normal for Carmen to spend her weekends at my place and often stayed on weeknights as well. I heard from Walter, the officer who had had the misfortune of getting in the middle of Carmen's and my first clash, about a house that had been foreclosed on by a bank and was available on the cheap. Originally, it had been a farmhouse, but apart from the façade, nothing of that was left. The previous owner had seemingly invested a lot of money into the modernisation before he had disappeared amidst rumours of being involved in some kind of pyramid-selling scheme.

At an informal discussion with my bank, I found it to be well within my price range as they wanted it off their books. Now I just had to sell the idea to my girlfriend and her mother. I thought I could need some help with that, so I convinced Carmen that it was time our families met. The moment I expressed that she knew I was up to something, but for once I was able to resist her prodding.

Pouting, she agreed and two weeks later her mother, my parents, Tracy, and the twins met in my apartment. After the main course but before Carmen could serve one of her killer desserts, the boys took off to play some games on the computer and I let the cat out of the bag.

"I've been thinking about buying a house."

It was almost comical to see the tension rise in my girlfriend and her mother. But that was okay. I had a plan.

"Stephen, maybe it'd be better if we talked about that in private first."

"I don't think so. After all, it'd concern your mother just as much as you and me."

Carmen had come to know me well in the last year and she quickly realised that I had not forgotten about her worries. There was still some hesitancy in her voice though, as she decided to trust me for the time being.

"I've seen a house in the Westwood district," I said as I retrieved the floorplan and the documentation the realtor had given me. "The main house has four bedrooms on two hundred square metres but just as important is the fully independent two-room lodger flat which has its own kitchen and fully equipped bathroom."

"What do you need a lodger flat for?" Isabella enquired, but the tears that threatened to spill told me that she already knew.

But I was having too much fun to just answer her question.

"Guess!" I, therefore, replied, almost losing the top of my head from the wide grin on my face.

"Why would you want me in your house? I'm just an old woman, deeply in debt."

That statement wiped the grin off my face faster than if somebody had slapped me.

"Isabella, never degrade yourself like that in my presence again. You are a strong-willed woman who has suffered through abuse and all kinds of hardship and has come out on top. To me, you are one of the most honourable persons in the world."

Never before has my family so fully supported me and I've had a lot of support in my younger years. They were all over Isabella giving her examples of how great a woman she was. That brief distraction gave Carmen time to think about my idea. Rarely did I feel as loved as when she looked at me after coming to a decision. As the agitation settled back down, she feigned ignorance.

"What would we need four bedrooms for?"

"Well, wouldn't you want each of our children to have their own room?"

Now it was her time to grin widely. Having a smart girlfriend has lots and lots of perks but there are also a couple of disadvantages. One is that it's not easy to keep them from coming to the right conclusion before you were ready for the big reveal.

"Children? I don't remember agreeing to have children with you." She paused for dramatic effect. "Yet."

Everybody around the table had fallen deathly quiet. They all knew where this was heading. Maybe my dramaturgic talent needed some development. I reached under the table to retrieve the ring box I had taped to the underside. I tore it free and opened it.

"Carmen Alonso. About fifteen months ago, you called the cops on me to have me arrested. I later retaliated by brutally and publicly rejecting your apology as egoistical. We have since, with some outside help, managed to understand that our reactions were misdirected attempts to deny reality. That reality is that I loved you from the moment I first laid my eyes on you. Will you please marry me?"

Again she waited for dramatic effect but the glitter in her eyes gave me the answer I had hoped for. But Carmen being Carmen she wouldn't just say yes.

"How many children are we talking about?"

THE END