Love Knows No Color Pt. 14

Births:

Waite, Miracle

Born, on November 22 in Pittsburgh, PA, to Jason and Shavonda Waite of Pittsburgh, a baby girl, Miracle Shavonda Waite. The baby was 21 inches long and 7 pounds 12 ounces. Mother and daughter are healthy and recovering at home. Miracle is the granddaughter of Ed and Julia Waite of Waiteville.

"They really do take things seriously down there, don't they," Shavonda said.

"Yes, they do. Not much else going on there," I replied. "Weddings, births and deaths are big news. Up here, Miracle's birth is lost among many. Down there it's news."

We had gotten into a routine of sorts. Ethan was still cutting up a bit, so I was trying to spend some time with him. At 5 years old, I figured he was old enough now to learn how to run my trains. I dug out one of my older locomotives, tuned it up and added a decoder so it would be compatible with my digital controllers, and let him run it to his heart's content. He was happy just to watch it make its way up the mountain and over the high bridge.

But Ethan didn't completely stop his antics. One evening, Shavonda had set Miracle in the baby carrier while she did the dishes. The baby was in the living room with Brittany and me. Miracle had started to cry. I checked her diaper and it was dry. I should have just picked her up and tried rocking her, but instead I went into the kitchen to tell Shavonda I thought Miracle was hungry.

We heard the little voice. "You better shut up or I'll give you something to cry about." Ethan yelled at Miracle. We ran into the living room just in time to see Brittany smack Ethan right in the face.

"Don't you DARE talk to my baby sister like that!" Brittany screamed. Miracle, frightened by all the noise, was screaming her head off. Shavonda picked her up and tried to quiet her, while I dragged Ethan from the room by his arm. I sat him down on his bed and told him, "If I EVER hear of you threatening Miracle again, I'm taking one of your toys away!"

"Brittany hit me," Ethan cried.

"And you were going to hit the baby," I said, "Weren't you?"

"Yes, Daddy," Ethan sobbed.

"Why?" I asked. "She never did anything bad to you."

"She stole my birthday," Ethan said. It dawned on me. We were supposed to have a small party for Ethan on Saturday the 23rd. Miracle was born on the 22nd. Shavonda and I had been in the hospital and Ethan's party was cancelled. No wonder he was acting up. I promised him we'd have a late birthday party for him at Chuck E Cheese sometime in January after we got the holidays out of the way.

The rest of December went relatively smoothly. Shavonda's postpartum depression lessened to the point where she could cope better, in part due to the daylight bulbs. By the second week of December, she was feeling well enough to start putting in a couple of full days a week on the job. She continued to slowly lose weight, and by Christmas day was down to 156. Half the baby weight was gone.

She insisted on having the traditional Christmas party for the employees at the house on the 14th of December. The early date was for Beth's benefit, as we knew Friday had been her last day of school before Christmas break. We had gotten pizza from Salvatore's like we had the year before, along with cake and ice cream. Brittany and Ethan ran around the house, excitedly.

When everybody had gathered at the house, Shavonda started with her usual speech.

"I'd like to thank y'all for making this past year the best we've ever had. I know that I wasn't around as much as I should have been. Court cases and the baby made sure of that. Y'all really stepped up your game and got us through the year in great shape. We had considered adding another employee to pick up the slack, but we weren't able to find anybody I really liked. So I know we were shorthanded, but y'all pulled through for me."

"In the past year, our sales have increased 150%. Last year at this time, we'd just opened the Carson Street store. Now, barely a year later, that store does 58% of our business. So, Ebony, Andre, Tamika, thank you for making our expansion a success. But I can't forget about the original store. So Velma, Nykole, Beth, you deserve credit there. Thank you."

"I'd like to especially thank Velma, my mother's sister, who was my first employee. She's been there with me since the beginning, in the days when we didn't have a store and sold our jewelry at flea markets. Now she practically runs the Ellsworth store by herself. Velma, I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without you."

"Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my loving husband Jason. Boy, you really looked out for me this year. Jason's concern about lead fumes from solder harming my unborn child led to him purchasing the ventilation booths we have in each of the stores, and helped make the workshops a little safer for everybody. Jason also did a lot of the prep work this year, allowing the rest of you to show your creativity without any drudge work to slow you down. Jason, thank you for believing in me, in us."

"Since our year was so prosperous, I was able to give each of you a $2000 Christmas bonus. Enjoy, do something special with the money, and by all means tell me what you did," Shavonda passed out the envelopes. "Now, let's eat!"

We all dug into the pizza and had a blast hanging out with each other. This was the first time we'd had the employees over the house since the wedding reception. We were lucky, there was not a bad one in the bunch. I could understand why Shavonda felt the need to do something nice for them every Christmas.

The next week went fast. On Tuesday, I was able to stop at an Amish shop and buy Shavonda's Christmas present. They delivered it the next day, and Althea had them put it in the old office space Shavonda had subdivided in the second bedroom, next to the kids' old bedroom. That room was now a storage space, and I didn't think Shavonda would look in there.

Friday night, Barbara took the kids for the weekend and we spent the weekend alone in the house, just the two of us and Miracle. We sat and talked most of Saturday, listening to our music on the iPod. The conversation turned to the albums that had the most influence on our lives growing up.

Mine were pretty straightforward, and what was to be expected given my taste in music. They were: Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull, the first album I'd ever fallen in love with. I'd liberated it from Dad's record collection and wore it out. Yes, Tales from Topographic Oceans; King Crimson, Starless and Bible Black; Smashing Pumpkins, Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness; Depeche Mode, Violator; XTC, Nonsuch; and Giles Reaves, Wunjo. The album that turned me on to ambient music. Ironically, it was also the one Shavonda had on repeat play in the birthing suite. Now every time I listened to it, I'd remember watching my baby girl pop into this world.

Shavonda's actually surprised me. They were a bit more eclectic than mine. Hers also reached into her college years as well. Angie Stone, Black Diamond; Macy Gray, The Trouble with being Myself; Spirit, The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. A psychedelic masterpiece but not what you'd think she'd be listening to in the early 2000s. Brand X, Manifest Destiny. That one got her into jazz fusion. Radiohead, OK Computer; Morcheeba, Who can you Trust? Skye Edwards demonstrated that a black woman didn't have to sing soul/ r&b to make it big.

We spent the rest of the evening listening to our influential albums all the way through. No wonder I loved her so much. Like me, she'd taken the time to dig beyond what she was expected to listen to, and found gems she'd never known existed. Like me, she was still hungry for music yet to be discovered. And, though our musical tastes overlapped quite a bit, we were still discovering new things on our iPods, things that had come from the other person's music collection.

On Sunday night, when Barbara dropped the kids off, she had a letter for us from Rose:

Dear Jason and Shavonda,

Thank you so much for the photo of Miracle. I am glad that you had a healthy baby girl. She is a beautiful baby. Mother tells me that Jason was there with you, Shavonda, when you gave birth. I am happy for you. I know he would have been there for me too, but I insisted he drive long distance truck to support us. That was my mistake. I could have used the love and devotion he showed you when I gave birth. We missed out on that special time, twice.

Jason, Ethan told me you don't like him anymore. But Mother tells me that Ethan has been having trouble accepting his new sister. I hope you don't mind, but I talked to him about the baby. I told him that he has a new job now, to make sure nobody hurts his baby sister. I also told him that you and Shavonda still love him just as much as ever, but you have to make sure Miracle is taken care of first. Maybe that will help him to deal with not being the baby anymore.

I hope you two have a Merry Christmas. I understand that if I had behaved differently towards you two, I would be there celebrating it with you. My Christmas will be a lonely one for the next few years, but I will survive. Believe it or not, Shavonda, your forgiveness of me has helped me to deal with the situation here. I take some comfort in knowing that you don't hate me for what I did, and I continue to work on my feelings towards you and Jason.

Rose M Waite

Monday, December 23 was my last day of work before Christmas. Shavonda had scheduled appointments for both her and Miracle for their 4 week checkups. Everything was good. In fact, both mother and baby were doing much better than expected. I had gotten off the road early, and was home before Shavonda and Miracle. After I took a quick shower, Althea had made some chicken and rice for the kids, and we all sat down in the kitchen for a late lunch. It occurred to me how lucky I was to have a mother in law who actually loved me as one of her own.

Shavonda was giddily happy when she arrived home with the baby. She told Althea that the checkups went well, and the doctor wanted her to start on birth control asap. She had the prescription filled on the way home, and was to start taking the pills immediately. Interesting, I thought. Evidently, there was a very real possibility she could have more children. We were going to have to sit down and have a serious talk about this. I knew that I would father as many children as she wanted, but could she handle more than the 3 we were already taking care of? And if she could, how far apart did she want them in age?

Althea, meantime, was making more chicken and rice so Shavonda could eat as well. She stayed until well after dark, talking to us around the kitchen table while the kids played and Shavonda nursed the baby. It was amazing how nobody gave it a second thought when she did this now. With Miracle comfortably positioned in her sling, the only way you could tell what was happening was the soft sucking sounds the baby was making. And you had to be looking out for that or you'd never hear it.

Later, after Althea had left, and the kids and Miracle were asleep, Shavonda pumped her other breast and made bottles for the baby. She smiled at me. "See anything you like?" she asked. Her brown eyes gleamed beautifully, telling me something was up. There was something she didn't want to tell me in front of her mother.

"Jason," she purred. "The doctor told me to thank you for doing those massages on me before the birth. Evidently, by stretching me out, you had prepared my body enough for the birth that I have healed enough to be intimate again. He cleared me to have sex anytime I feel like it. And I feel like it right now."

I smiled. This was going to be a good night.

"Not so fast, Jason," said Shavonda softly. "First, there's something I've always wanted to do with you. Something I had intended to do the first night you spent with me. But the power outage prevented it. Since this is like our first time all over again, I'd like to do it now." She lifted her maternity dress over her head, and stood there in nursing bra and red panties. "Remember, we started to slow dance while slowly undressing each other? I never got to dance naked with you." She slipped out of her bra and slid her panties down her legs, then stepped out of them. I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and dropped my pants to the floor.

Shavonda turned on the stereo, with one of the iPods in the dock. I came up behind her as she flipped through her playlists, selecting one called slow jams. She turned around and put her arms around my neck, kissing me deeply as the music started. We swayed to the beat, our bodies held close together as our tongues danced. It felt so good being in close contact with her soft brown skin once again. We should have done this the first night, and many times since then. But somehow, we'd always been clothed when we danced. I felt her body move against me as we danced, her breasts bouncing slightly against my chest, her stomach rubbing up against my erect penis.

"We'll just let our bodies tell us when it's time," she whispered. "We've got all night." I nodded, looking deep into her beautiful brown eyes. They showed a mixture of contentment and need, I knew she wanted me as bad as I wanted her. 4 weeks of abstinence was killing the both of us. But at the same time, we were both enjoying the dance, and neither one wanted it to end just yet.

We must have danced for an hour or more, looking into each other's eyes, hands roaming freely, cupping, squeezing, feeling. It was so sensual, so natural. We were meant to be together as one.

"I'm ready," she said softly. She led me by the hand to the bedroom. I lay back on the bed, watching her sway and jiggle as she walked around the room lighting our pine scented candles. The flickering light set her dark skin aglow. Finished with the candles, she crawled up the bed to me. Straddling my hips, Shavonda whispered, "I am still a little sore down there. I need you to be gentle. So, I want you to lay back and let me do the work. Don't try to help me. Let me get used to having you inside me again." She gently positioned my throbbing dick at her slippery entrance, slowly lowering herself onto me, then rising up before working my manhood just a little bit deeper inside her. I watched in awe as my white shaft slowly disappeared into her dark folds. They had shaved her bare for the birth, and Shavonda had maintained the bald look since then.

"I need to taste you," I begged.

"You will," she said. "But first I need this. I've been waiting a long time for this. After, you can taste me all you want." Shavonda finally had me all the way inside her soaking pussy, her walls gently massaging me as she worked her way up and down, back and forth. My hands gently squeezed her hips as she rode me, breasts swaying gently just out of reach. She shuddered as the sensations took hold of her body. Her eyes closed as she moaned her pleasure. My queen was never more beautiful than at times like this, when she lost herself in her pleasure. At moments like these, nothing existed except our two bodies, joined as one, moving in mutual pleasure.

"Jason, baby, don't fight it. Let me take you over. I want you to come with me." Shavonda was moaning, her words punctuated by little grunts as she came ever closer to her peak. Her movements quickened, her muscles tightened around me as she reached her peak. "Jason, baby, ooooooh." She'd reached the edge, her body tensed as she hesitated for a second before giving in to the urge. I was close as well, my toes curled on the edge of orgasm. Involuntarily, I began to thrust up into her hovering body. Shavonda hadn't expected me to take over like that, just as she reached her peak. "That's it, baby. Fuck me hard," she screamed in passion. That was all it took, and I groaned animalistically as I gave up control of my body. Shavonda collapsed on top of me as I emptied myself deep inside her soaking pussy. I squeezed her tight to me as our spasms subsided.

We lay there a minute, catching our breath, before she slid her body off of mine. Our love leaked out of her as she repositioned herself. "Now you can taste me, boo," she purred as she swung her hips over my face. I eagerly buried my face in her crotch as my tongue snaked out to lick our juices. I felt Shavonda lower her lips onto my wilted dick, her tongue licking me clean. I had missed this position so much. I missed her sweet taste, I missed the aroma of her arousal and our lovemaking. Most of all, I missed the feel of her labia gliding over my lips as my tongue probed deep inside her.

She ground herself against my lips, allowing me to pull another orgasm from her body. Her lips and tongue worked their magic on my other end. The combination of pent-up desire, her intoxicating aroma, and the sensations she was giving with her willing mouth were bringing me back to life. Round two anybody?

The second round was a slow, sensual missionary. I gently worked in and out of her body as she lay back, moaning softly. I was determined to make this one last. I loved watching her body react to me when we made love slow and easy. Her passion built in waves. Once primed and aroused, she was multiorgasmic, and she rode the mini orgasms moaning her pleasure as I watched her dark breasts gently bounce. We ground our hips into each other in a horizontal slow dance. My pleasure built slowly, and I stopped moving when I felt close to the edge. I let myself teeter on the brink of orgasm a couple of times, holding Shavonda's hips so she couldn't move. Even the slightest shift in her position would have taken me over the edge.

Once safely out of danger, I let go of her hips and let her move against me again. This time, she wrapped her legs around me, pulling me deep within her with every stroke. She was ready for the big one. I was too. I pulled her legs over my shoulders, lifting her ass off the bed as I did so, and drove deep into her. She moaned loudly as I did so, her hands grabbed my ass and she pulled me into her. "Don't stop," she said breathlessly. "I missed this."

Driving deep and hard, I could feel her pulsing around me as her face contorted in the sheer pleasure of orgasm. Riding the edge of my own wave, I let myself fall over the edge into unimaginable pleasure as I plunged into her depths. We both shook with the intensity of our release, a month's worth of pent up love and lust flowing out in spasms as I filled her with what seemed like a never-ending series of spurts. She stared into my eyes, face contorted in a silent scream. It was awesomely beautiful. Someday I want to take a photo of her face as she comes.

Drained, I collapsed on top of her quivering body, trying to use my elbows to keep some of my weight off her. Her legs were still slung over my shoulders, and I had to have been crushing her. "Don't pull out," she said. "I'm not ready to let you go yet. But I need to shift around."

I instinctively knew what she wanted. Raising back up on my arms, I gently lifted one of her legs over my head, kissing it as I did, then letting it down beside the other as I carefully rolled onto my side. Still connected, she completed the move by rolling onto her side as well. We were now in spoon position, with me still buried deep within her. Her muscled still gripped me tight, the aftershocks of her orgasm gently massaging my dick. I put my arm around her and played with her nipple as I nuzzled her neck.

"Damn, boy," she exclaimed, "You gonna put a sista to sleep like that,"

"You wouldn't be the only one," I said. "I'm exhausted. I can't do any more without rest."

We fell asleep like that, intimately curled up into each other. She was mine, and it felt good. Shavonda was well worth anything I had to go through to keep her. She was incredible in bed, beautiful and intelligent in the real world, and she made me proud wherever we went. And even though she was a strong woman who could take care of herself, she entrusted her well-being to me. It was an awesome responsibility, one that I took seriously. 19 months into our relationship, I finally understood what her being my queen meant. We were both the pillars the other relied on in bad times, and the person we most wanted to be with in the good times. It meant that we were more than inseparable. It meant neither of us was a complete person without the other. Emotionally, we were Siamese twins.