Another Memory
By Linda Schwartz

"Kwai, what took you so long? You know the girls will be here soon!" Laura took the grocery bags from her husband's grasp and brought them to the kitchen.

She still had a lot to do and she was having second thoughts about having her friends visit. It had only been two weeks since the birth of their son, Peter, and her friends were anxious to see her and the baby.

She looked over at her husband; he was standing by the door looking at her. It never ceased to amaze her how he could remain so calm and she was a bundle of nerves.

"Beloved, I will finish the tasks for you." Caine gently led his wife to their living room and made her sit on the couch. "Sit and relax."

"But Kwai." He silenced her with a kiss and went to the kitchen.

Laura kept looking at the time, then back at the kitchen doorway. She just couldn't sit still; she should be doing something.

Peter was upstairs asleep in the crib they had setup in one corner of their bedroom. Laura remembered when Kwai had presented her with the crib a few months before the baby came. He had made it himself. She was amazed at how handy he was and she knew he would make a wonderful father.

She got up and walked to the kitchen to check on what Kwai was doing. Her mouth dropped open. "Wow, Kwai, how did you...?" Before Laura could complete her thought, Peter decided to make his presence known by crying.

"Looks like our little one is awake." She went to their bedroom to pick him up and brought their bundle of joy into the living room.

"Well he's dry, let's see if he's hungry." She was breast feeding him so she sat on the sofa and offered Peter a nipple, which he took greedily.

"He has a big appetite," Caine had joined his wife on the sofa and was watching his son eat. He reached out a hand to caress his head. Peter opened his eyes, gazed at his father then continued to eat.

Peter had his full and Laura gave him to his father. She wanted to check the kitchen again. She was amazed at how much Kwai was able to get done. The punch was made, appetizers were out of the oven and the finger sandwiches were piled neatly on the serving tray.

Just then the doorbell rang. Laura went to greet her friends. She stopped momentarily at the mirror in the hall and fixed her hair before opening the door.

"Laura!" her friend Millie squealed as soon as Laura opened the door. They hugged and Millie moved out of the way so Karen and Tami could greet their friend too.

Laura led the way to the living room.

"Hi Caine," Tami greeted the Shaolin priest. Out of Laura's friends Tami liked him the best.

Millie was always polite, but was never overly friendly and Karen didn't like him at all. She was against Laura marrying the 'weirdo' as she liked to call him.

She couldn't believe that out of the boyfriends she had in high school, then in college, that Laura would settle for someone who looked like a bum. However Karen knew if she wanted to stay friends with Laura, she had to act civil with Caine.

She had to bite her tongue so she wouldn't say anything at their wedding. If you could call it that, the couple had their wedding in a Shaolin Temple outside of town. To Karen it looked like a cult and some heathen ceremony.

"So this is Peter?" Tami said with a smile beaming from ear to ear. She sat next to Caine on the couch. Caine had Peter nestled against his chest. Millie sat on the armchair opposite the sofa.

Karen smiled as she looked at the baby and gave Caine a scowl. "Here let me hold him." She stepped forward and snatched Peter away from his father.

"Oh he is so beautiful, Laura." Millie commented. She had walked over to Karen and was ogling Peter.

Caine observed them silently. Laura had asked him to make himself scarce so she and her friends could have a 'girls' afternoon.

"I will go tend to the garden." He stated to his beloved. Laura walked with him to the kitchen and stood by the back door, which led to the backyard.

"Thank you, Kwai," she kissed him, "I love you." She whispered. He smiled at her and went outside.

She brought the fruit punch and sandwiches into the dining room.

Tami was holding Peter now. He had dozed off and was sleeping soundly. "So how does it feel to be a mom?" She was the only one who did not have children.

"Wonderful, I didn't think I could feel so much happiness as I did when I married Kwai. But when I saw him holding our son as he was born my heart just burst!" she smiled.

"As he was born? You mean Caine was there after he was born." Karen corrected.

"No, I mean Kwai was there for the whole thing, it was so beautiful."

"A man has no place in the delivery room." Karen was aghast at the notion of Caine being there. Her husband was in the waiting room. He would have found the whole delivery thing too squeamish. He saw his baby in the nursery.

"Why not? Peter is his son too. It was the most wonderful experience for both of us. Peter was born in our bedroom. We had a midwife, but when Peter's head started to crown Kwai stepped in and helped deliver him. He slid right into his father's arms. He cleaned him up and brought him over to me and laid him on my chest and kissed me. He told me how much he loved me and our son."

"Sounds like Caine is a good father," Tami commented.

"Oh he is, and a wonderful husband. He so attentive to my needs, and he is very romantic too." Laura smiled sheepishly.

"You sure you're talking about Caine?" Karen had been jealous of Laura's marriage. Her own husband barely gave her the time of day. "I thought he was too busy doing voodoo or casting spells.

"Karen, that isn't nice to say," Millie chimed in. It was her turn to hold Peter and she just couldn't bear to hear Karen badmouth his father.

"Well it's true, he gathers all those herbs and casts spells."

"Kwai is an apothecary and a priest. He helps people when he can," Laura corrected. She tried to ignore Karen's comments, but it was becoming very difficult.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry," Tami could see she needed to change the subject quickly before Karen really put her foot into it.

Laura took Peter from Millie and laid him in a carrier, which she had on the floor. He slept very soundly. They enjoyed a very nice lunch while they caught up on the current gossip.

Karen reached over to get a napkin and ended up hitting a glass; it crashed to the floor. The sound promptly woke Peter up, he began to cry loudly in fright.

"OH, I'm so sorry," Karen felt so embarrassed and started to clean up the mess. The other ladies helped her.

Laura went to her son and picked him up. "Shh, Peter it's okay sweetheart." She tried to soothe him by patting him on the back and rocking him. Peter just kept on wailing. His cries were heard by the one other person whose heart loved him more than anything.

Caine had finished his work in the garden and was meditating. He knew Laura needed time to be with her friends and it didn't bother him to be sent out of the house.

His eyes snapped open when he heard Peter's cries. He looked over towards the house; he yearned to go to his young son to comfort him. But he had promised Laura he would not intrude.

"Kwai, please come in here." He heard his wife's desperate plea. He quickly entered the house.

"Peter won't stop crying. I think the sound of the glass breaking scared him." She had to shout to be heard above their son's cries. Caine reached out to Peter and gently took him into his arms and held him against his chest. He carried him outside into the garden.

Laura and her friends glanced out the window. They saw Caine sitting under the willow tree holding Peter. Caine was caressing Peter's face with his fingers and the baby had stopped crying. He was gazing intently at his father's face. It was unlikely that Peter could see him that clearly, but it was obvious that he responded to his father's loving touch.

"I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes." Millie was awed.

"I see they already have a strong bond," Tami murmured.

"Yes they do, Kwai had a connection with Peter even before he was born."

"That's impossible," Karen groused.

"Nothing is impossible when it comes to my husband. He knew I was pregnant even before I did. I think he and Peter will always have a very special bond, even when he's all grown up."

Caine held Peter against him; he closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. The image changed and he felt strong arms around his back and the scent of cologne in his nostrils.

"Thank you, Pop, for sharing another memory with me," Peter whispered to his father. They had taken a walk through the park. He'd asked his father to tell him about his mother. He was learning how much they had loved each other and him. It amazed him how he could view everything through his father's eyes, like he was there.

"You are welcome, my son." He caressed Peter's face like he did when he was a baby. They walked off together to spend the rest of the day enjoying other's company.

End