Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

On the twenty sixth of December, in the middle of a snow-covered London street, a man was getting out of a taxi. He swore lightly upon his booted-feet touching the snow - the abrupt change in temperature from the taxi to the midnight-cold of London in the middle of winter was not something to be scoffed at. The man hoisted his duffle over his shoulder, and lifted a small suitcase from the boot of the taxi. He set the suitcase down on the frozen pathway and paid the taxi driver twice as much as the fare. "Merry Christmas." the taxi driver said as he accepted the money. He counted it and offered the large amount of change back to the man.

Orli shook his head in decline. "Here's to hoping your Christmas is going to be as good as mine!" He said, his words accompanied by a thick plume of misty air.

The taxi driver smiled brightly and laughed quickly before tucking the fare into his pocket and driving away. Orli didn't hang around on the street to see him go.

Opening the squeaky gate of his house he dragged his luggage up the path. The last time he had seen this path it had been bordered by bright flowers. The snow had long since destroyed them, but he was sure they'd reappear with the warmer weather. His hands shook from the cold as he pulled his key from his pocket and ceremoniously grated it into the lock. The door opened noiselessly, and coming into the entrance hall Orli was slightly miffed to note an almost complete lack of light. He dumped his luggage in the hall and tip toed in the lounge room, where a solitary lamp light the expansive room. He smiled brightly in the dark at the familiar furnishings of his home. There was his TV, his sound system, his couch, and sleeping peacefully on it was his wife. Lou was curled up tight under a blanket, which was obviously not warm enough. Out of the bottom of the blanket Orli could see Lou's be-socked feet, her fingers wrapped around her toes to ward off the cold. In her sleep she'd pulled her head almost completely under the blankets, but even so as Orli laid his hand against her cheek it was slightly colder than average. He grinned, playing with the idea of waking her up just so they could talk, but he decided there would be plenty of time for talking in the morning.
Orli turned off the lamp. Carefully he picked Lou up and quietly carried her down out of the lounge room, down the hall, and into their bedroom. He precariously pulled back the bed covers and laid Lou down before carefully tucking the numerous blankets that had been bought out of the Winter Cupboard - as Lou called it with disgust, she disliked London winters strongly - to combat against the cold.

In her sleep Lou wriggled down under the blankets, and though she didn't know it, sighed contently when Orli ran his fingers along the line of her face, even though she was asleep it was as though she could sense his close proximity.

Orli stood for a moment looking down at Lou before he sighed once more, shook his head with a grin, and walked from the room, stopping at the door to turn the heating up slightly.
Down the hall and into the next room he crept, over to the crib that stood on long, carved wooden legs - a gift from Lou's father - and peering over it's high walls he almost laughed with happiness. Lucinda Bloom, Blossom to her parents and her many adoring fans, was sleeping peacefully, warm and snug in her all-in-one and hand embroidered blanket - a gift from Lou's mother.
He stroked her dark hair, gently picked up the stuffed monkey that had worked it's way to the end of her bed, and propped it against the edge of the crib near her hand, should she reach for it in the hours between now and morning. Secure in the idea that nothing more could be done to further Lucinda's comfort, he quietly exited and room and crept back down the hall to his bedroom. Lou was lying on her side, her back turned to Orli as he laboriously removed his many layers of clothing in preparation for that split moment of agony that came after undressing, but before leaping into bed.

"You're late." a sleepy voice murmured as Orli tugged at his jeans.

He turned to see Lou staring at him, yawning and pulling the blankets further up. "I had to get a later flight, someone in L.A fucked up. Heathrow was a nightmare, one of the run-ways was down, and you'd be surprised how many people want to go to London on Christmas day." He said, hoping from foot to foot as he ran from the wardrobe where his clothes lay crumpled on the floor, to the warmth of the bed and Lou's arms. He peeled back the covers and threw himself into bed beside Lou, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"You're all cold Orli!" Lou giggled as Orli pulled her closer. "God knows why anyone would voluntarily come from anywhere to London in the winter. Siberia must be better than this." She chattered her teeth and wriggled around in Orli's arms to indicate her distaste for the cold.

Orli smiled dreamily and yawned. "I'm so tired. I almost climbed straight under the blankets with you on the couch before. I think I could fall asleep outside in the garden I'm that tired."

"But you probably wouldn't wake up again." Lou said thoughtfully.

"I bet you wouldn't miss me." Orli said with mock-hurt.

Lou laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. "Of coarse I would. You've been away two months, and look how the house has fallen into disrepair, light bulbs need changing, windows need cleaning, and the back door sticks when you open it." She said seriously.

"I promise I'll be handy man tomorrow, but right now I need some sleep. I was sitting next to the most annoying woman on the airplane, god knows where she learnt to sing, but I think I could recite every single word from Britney Spears' last album with out missing a beat."

Lou laughed, and Orli realised he was finally home when he felt the familiar sensation of Lou's laugh vibrating from her body through his. "I love you."

"I love you more." Orli countered before leaning out over Lou to turn the bedside lamp off. "We'll see about the door and the light bulbs in a few hours."
But only a few minutes had passed before the alarm clock was suddenly buzzing and flashing numbers. 12:01 am. Orli reached out over Lou and slapped the 'off' button on the alarm. "What does that mean?" He said, his voice heavy with sleep.

Lou sat up and kissed him deeply, messying his hair with her fingers, running the flats of her palms over his bare back. "That means happy anniversary, baby, and I love you lots."

"Happy anniversary, mi amore belle. I wish I had of got here sooner. I hate having to misplace Christmas for you and Bloss." Orli said regretfully.

"Shhh," Lou whispered, placing a finger against Orli's lips and pulling him down further beneath their mountain of blankets."plenty of time for that in the morning, now come here and remind me what I've missed these past two months."

*

When Orli woke again the bleak winter sun was shining brightly through the bay windows of his and Lou's bedroom. Outside the sky was white, and snow was falling lightly on a classic London Boxing-Day. He rolled over, expecting to encounter Lou's warm form snuggling into him, cursing the morning blue and black as she usually did. But the bed was bare. The blankets had been thrown back, and the sheets were cool.
Orli frowned and sighed heavily, considering rolling over and pulling a pillow over his head in an attempt to create artificial darkness, but in the end the prospect of where Lou had disappeared off to was too much for him. He leapt out of bed quickly, dashing across their room and into the walk in closet. He pulled the door closed behind and stood directly over the floor vent where warm air was being pumped into the tightly packed room. He turned to his side of the wardrobe, relieved to find much of his winter clothing was hanging peacefully, not tightly mashed into his suitcases in the main hall with the rest of his clothing.
When Orli had revealed to Lou, only months after they had moved into their new house, that he would have to move to Los Angeles for two months to film a movie, Lou had been deeply against the idea. They had both promised to take a few months off work to get the house settled and work out a comfortable routine for life in London, and Orli's decision to move to L.A had been a thorn stuck deep and fast in Lou's side. The producers of Orli's project had insisted that he was the only one they wanted, and while Lou had agreed to him accepting the offer, she had drawn the line at moving to L.A with him and working casual jobs as a make-up artist while he filmed. It had been decided that Orli would go to L.A, and every two weeks Lou and Lucinda would come to visit for a few days, before flying back to London, that way Lou could also work part time on any projects she was interested in at home. Everything had been settled, and both Lou and Orli had set about working as hard as they could on the house until Orli had to leave.
But when departure day had arrived faster than expected, Lou had realised how much she was resented the separation. As Orli had been packing she had sat by, whining about the amount of clothes he was taking, saying the more he took the longer he would be away, and the lonelier she would be. So Orli had been subconsciously forced into leaving half his wardrobe behind him to comfort Lou, and was likewise forced into buying many a new item of clothing in LA Many a moment had been spent pondering over how much more use Orli's clothes were to Lou in London as a comfort aid, than they would have been with Orli in L.A. Now he leafed through his clothes, picking out the warmest items he could find, and throwing them on. As he left the bedroom he turned up the heating and closed the door - the warmer the bedroom was the easier it would be to entice Lou to return there with him.
"Lou?" He called, walking quickly down the hall and into the lounge room. The first thing he did was turn up the heating.

"I'm in here!" came Lou's response.

"Where is here?" Orli said as he tried to follow Lou's voice. She only laughed in response. He found her sitting in the drawing room, at the old piano Orli had bought her when they had first returned to London after filming Ned Kelly in Australia. Lucinda was sitting on her lap, gazing lustfully at the piano keys, slapping them energetically every few seconds, but as soon Orli came into the room her attention was diverted, her little round face bent into an ecstatic smile, a cooing laugh as she recognised her father.
Orli sat down beside Lou as she lifted Lucinda into Orli's arms. "Oh, come here Bloss. How are you, lovely?" Orli said lovingly. Bloss giggled and sucked her thumb, pushing her face into Orli's shoulder.
Lou grinned at Orli as he gave her a utopian smile, then turned his attention back to Bloss. "My god, she's grown so much since I last saw her!"

Lou laughed and shook her head. "Orli, we only left L.A a little over a week ago. She hasn't grown that much, believe me, I was there."

Orli sighed sadly, lifting Bloss up to look into his eyes. "I've missed this so much."

Lou nodded and laid her head against Orli's shoulder. Lucinda promptly wound her chubby little hands into Lou's loose hair, yanking periodically on the locks of hair she ruled with her chubby little pale olive fist. Her eyes glistened brightly as she divided her attention between her father's face and her mother's hair.
Lou tapped half heartedly at the piano for a few moments as Orli sat in silence.

"It's painful for me to imagine what you two have been getting up to without me while you're here in London. The two Bloom women, running amok, and having all sorts of adventures, no doubt." Orli said finally.

"It's funny you should mention that actually." Lou said absently as she continued to run her fingers along the keys.

"What do you mean?" Orli said, curiosity and suspicion taking him over. He turned to face Lou. "What have you been up to?"

Lou sighed heavily, turned to straddle the piano stool, staring down at her hands. "I went to the doctor-"

"What?!" Orli screeched. Bloss stopped playing with Orli's collar and pouted up at him. "Why did you go to the doctor, what's wrong?"

Lou stroked Orli's cheek and bit her lip. "Do you remember when I was in hospital after having Bloss, and the doctors said I probably wouldn't be able to have another child..." she said quietly.

Orli frowned and gripped Lou's hand, lowering his head to gaze into her eyes. "I remember, we said it wouldn't bother us, we said we'd adopt." He said quietly. "Is that what this is about baby, you want to adopt? Because you know that if that's what you want to do, I'm there with you all the way." He finished firmly.
Lou laughed softly, startling Orli. He frowned in confusion. "Lou?"

She looked up and smiled brightly, tears running down her cheeks, she shook her head. "I know that, Orli. I know you'd be fine with adopting, but I didn't want it to come to that. I mean...I always thought that if we wanted more children that's what we would have to do, which killed me inside, you know, because I want more than anything for us to have a family, because I know you want them-"

"Lou..." Orli tried to interrupt.

Lou waved him away, wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks. "No, Orli, it's ok. It's ok, because as it turns out, it won't come to that. To adopting, I mean." She finished, taking a deep breath.

Orli sat in suspense filled silence for a moment before speaking. He had to compose himself to string together his sentences. "Lou, what do you mean? You're not...I mean, that's impossible." He said confidently, but already the bubbles of excitement were rising within his heart.

"It seems it's not that impossible after all, Orli." Lou said quietly. She worried her lip and stared into Orli's eyes, knowing as long as their eyes met Lou didn't need the words she was too excited to say.

"Lou," Orli began seriously. "I'm too jet-lagged for you not to tell me what is going on..."

"I'm pregnant. We're pregnant. Happy anniversary." She said simply, a wide smile breaking out across her face. "Oh my god! Lou! Oh my god!" They jumped up in unison, standing dumbly for a moment as Orli stared at Lou in disbelief - he didn't know what to say. So many times he'd thought, no, dreamt about having more children with Lou, but his dreams playing happy families had always ended with sadness and guilt. Sadness that Lou wouldn't have children again, sadness that he had to see the dejected look on her face when she spent time with Sean and his daughters, sadness when she apologised to Orli for not being able to give him the big family he wanted. But it was Orli who felt more guilty, for being selfish enough to wish for something that couldn't happen, for not being thankful that Lou was even alive after giving birth to Bloss.

"Orli?" Lou said finally, bringing him back from his day dream. "What do you think?"

Orli thought about it all for the moment, struggling with the idea that he might be a father again. "How did this happen? The doctor said that the chances were so minute..."

Lou shook her head and grinned. "I suppose when the idea of falling pregnant is impossible, then so is birth control..." she murmured.

Orli frowned and ran his spare hand through his hair, balancing Bloss on his hip. "But is this safe? Is this going to hurt you?"

Lou sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Bloss stopped sucking her thumb for a moment and instantly reached out her hands, clenching and then spreading her fingers repeatedly in the direction of Lou. Lou took Bloss from Orli's arms and stroked her baby daughter's hair. It was so like her own. "You know I never thought I'd have a child. At first I didn't want any, and then I couldn't imagine finding someone I loved enough, and then I met you, Orli...and from the moment we started seeing each other I couldn't imagine not having your children. But I very nearly died when I did, and it was the single most painful event of my life." Lou paused and Orli felt his heart drop. Then he felt Lou reach out and touch his cheek, and she was smiling when their eyes met. "But I'll do it again if that's what it takes." She said slowly. "And the doctor said that now they know something might go wrong it will be easier to pick it up before it's too late. I won't do this without you, Orli. If you don't want to do this, then it doesn't happen."

Orli felt tears prick his eyes. "I just don't want to see you hurting again. I was there when they wheeled you into the operating room, and I was there when you came out, looking pale a sheet. You didn't wake up for so long Lou." He spread his hands out helplessly, trying to rid himself of that memory of Lou's anguished, pain riddled cry only moments before she'd been wheeled away by the nurses. But he couldn't. And much as he would have loved to have another child with Lou, that memory never seemed to go away. That sense of helplessness he had felt at seeing his own wife, the love of his life, in such obvious agony, was enough to make his stomach turn. But that's just something I'm going to have to live with...He thought with new resolve. Lou was ready to look past the pain she'd endured, so why shouldn't he?
Orli took Lou in his arms, Bloss was nestled between them, and babbling and giggling non-sensically when she didn't have her thumb securely planted in her mouth. "I want to do this. Let's do this."

Lou squealed and jumped up and down, Bloss clapped her hands together repeatedly and imitated Lou's squeal. When finally Lou had calmed down she kissed Orli so tenderly he stopped thinking all together for a moment, and contented himself with simply being the cause of Lou's happiness. "I know you're worried, Orli, but we're not going to regret this." Lou said softly, brushing her hand through Orli's hair.

"I hope not." Was all he could find to say, but he promised himself that this time around he'd be more strict with Lou, make her attend check ups more frequently. Lou wouldn't be happy when she found this out...

"So that's a good present I got you for our anniversary?"

"That's a great present you got me." Orli confirmed, kissing first the tip of Lou's nose and then Bloss's, but within the blink of an eye Bloss had Orli by the ear.

"So what did you get me?" Lou said curiously as Orli tried to disentangle himself from Bloss's seemingly Hurculean grip.

Rubbing his ear Orli frowned for a moment before running from the room. "It's not much compared to the promise of a second child, but it seemed like a nice idea at the time..."

***

Chapter Twelve--Coming Soon!

A Chance Meeting Home

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