Reunited After 25 Years 30: Baby Hunger

Andrea and Anton cuddled in bed for a long time after making love. His kisses and caresses seemed to soothe away all the pain she'd felt since learning of Dennis' betrayal.

"I am going to work in the greenhouse some more." Anton kissed Andrea's nose. "You will come and get me if you need me, right?"

"Can I have one more quick hug before you go?"

He chuckled. "Of course you can!"

Andrea couldn't wait to talk to Denny and find out how things had gone with Phuong. She called him at the first opportunity. Darya answered the telephone.

"May I please speak to Denny?" Andrea asked.

"Sure," said Darya. A few minutes later Andrea heard her son's voice. "Hi, Mom! What's up?"

"I wanted to know how things went with Phuong."

"Oh, Mom, she's great! She cooked us an authentic Vietnamese dinner last night and it was delicious! She's going to be staying here with me and Dasha for awhile, and she might even decide to stay in the United States for good."

So she'd see Phuong every time she went to visit Denny and Darya from now on. A constant tangible reminder of Dennis' adulterous affair. Andrea swallowed a lump in her throat.

"What's wrong, Mom?" asked Denny.

"Oh...nothing. I'm fine. That's great that you and Phuong are getting along so well."

After awhile Andrea decided to go out in the backyard and see how the greenhouse was coming along. She found Anton busy at work, the skeleton of the greenhouse already well developed.

"Wow, looks like you've made some real progress," she commented.

Anton looked up and grinned. "It will be finished very soon. Then I will plant seeds and grow delicious food. Peppers, onions, many things."

"You're growing vegetables? I thought you were going to grow flowers."

"Flowers too, Andrea. Anything you like. What flowers do you like?"

"It doesn't matter, Anton. Anything's fine." He walked over to where she stood and propped his hand up on the side of the partially completed structure. "I just talked to Denny. He and Dasha had a wonderful time with Phuong yesterday. She's going to be staying with them for awhile and might even stay in the United States permanently."

"Well, it is good for him, I suppose, that he found his sister. Yet awkward for you, I know."

"It just really bothers me that Dennis' love child is going to be staying in my house."

"But it was Dennis' house too when he was alive, right?"

"I guess you could say that. He made the first few payments on it, and after he died, I continued to make payments with my widow's pension."

"So Dennis paid for the house too, and Phuong is his daughter. She cannot help how she got here, and she needs a place to stay. It makes sense for her to stay with her brother, right?"

"I know she can't help how she got here." Andrea sighed. "I guess I'm being selfish, aren't I?"

"You are angry and hurt. That is understandable." Anton took both his wife's hands and looked earnestly into her eyes. "But you must not stay that way, or you will become a sad, bitter person. I could not bear for that to happen to my sweet Andrea."

He took her into his arms, and she rested her head on his shoulder, basking in the comfort of his embrace.

The greenhouse was soon finished, and Anton bought seeds and planted a wide variety of vegetables and flowers. Andrea found that she greatly enjoyed working in the greenhouse alongside her husband. As they spent hours together grooming and caring for the new plants, all her troubles seemed far away.

"It's just so special to see the tiny little green shoots poking up through the soil after you've planted and watered and cared for them," she said to Anton one day.

"It is a wonderful feeling," Anton agreed with a grin.

"It makes me think of when Denny was a baby," said Andrea. "I remember the very first time I held him. It just amazed me that this tiny, red, wrinkled, perfect little human being was totally dependent on me. I just felt this overwhelming love for him, love like I'd never felt for anyone or anything before. Those first few months were so crazy! It seemed like he was hungry all the time, and I couldn't believe the number of diapers he went through! I felt so overwhelmed sometimes, but it felt so nice to hold his warm, soft little body when I would rock him to sleep at night, and one day, he smiled at me! That was just so precious!"

"It was the same way for me when Dasha was a baby," said Anton. "When she was first born, I could not believe how tiny she was. It was the first time I had ever seen a newborn baby. Nadya fed her, and she soon grew to be a big baby. She was happy, smiling and laughing a lot. A beautiful little girl. She made us very happy."

To her surprise, Andrea suddenly felt a longing deep inside, one which she hadn't expected to ever feel again.