November 7, 2010
Chapter 18: Love Is As Love Does
Author’s Note: Ok all, I know that I have taken the longest time with this legacy, and for that I apologize. But the end is this near (the next chapter in fact), so I hope that you bear with me just a little longer.
====
Chapter 18: Love is as Love Does
Life in the Van Pagan household proceeded very quietly after the birth of the children. It was as if motherhood quelled the all the old rivalries between the twins, instead allowing them to be close as they should have been as children. It was something that Petra and Joanne were extremely grateful for as they were getting older and wanted to have as much happiness with their family as possible in the little time that they had left. And it seemed as if all that happiness revolved the next heir of the family, baby Havana.
Baby Havana
Baby Melbourne
Havana was utterly adorable, though it seemed as if Vienna had overdone it in the hair dye department, because the toddler soon sprouted a head of bright pink hair to match her mother. A bit feisty, the toddler was smart, and a virtuoso in the music department. And it never took her long to have everyone she met soon wrapped around her little finger. Growing to school age only added another layer of people to fawn over her. Tommy had a hard time keeping the boys away from his house, though Vienna encouraged it as everything about Havana was like the persona she had always dreamed of having when she was younger, but without the effort. Melbourne on the other hand was more just as smart, but more laid back than his older cousin, which often left him in the background, though he preferred it this way. His mother Venice, in her oft reclusive ways, was grateful for this.
Whateva!
Mommy & son date
Teen Havana
Teen Melbourne
Havana’s talents and beauty only seemed to grow as she aged into an adult. Finally she was able to get the freedom she had long craved, especially since after the sudden deaths of her dad and uncle, her mom and aunt decided to move out of the house to escape the sad memories and bought a condo in town, leaving her and Melbourne on their own. Left freely to her own devices, Havana set out to put her mark on the world…and every bachelor in town. Fortunately after guy number two her guy chasing came to a sudden halt when two new “family” members moved into the Van pagan household, Ruben and Dewey, Melbourne’s half-brothers, his father Adrian’s two children from his first marriage.
Rockin out!
Dewey & Ruben
For Havana seeing Ruben, it was love at first sight, and she put all her well learned talents to use to claim him for herself, including her almost daily “accidents” of walking in on him while he was in the shower, and her absentmindedly falling asleep in his bed. As to be expected, it wasn’t long at all, before Havana had him heading to the altar in a private wedding with just the two of them under the stars.
Mr. Right
Havana was ecstatic, she felt like she was finally ready to settle down, and for awhile everything was perfect. The two of them even had a baby on the way, and Ruben got a new job as a firefighter, something he had long dreamed of. But, as was typical of the Van Pagan household, this did not last long.
Ruben’s firefighting job kept leading him to spend more and more time at the firehouse, often on call there for more than a few days at a time, increasing steadily with each promotion. Ruben was happy with this arrangement, but it led to Havana more and more feeling alone and estranged from her husband. He was never home, and when he was, he was either sleeping or talking about the job, and there was only so much talk about chasing pyromaniac garden gnomes a woman could take. As a result, Havana found herself turning more and more towards her brother-in-law Dewey, the only person who seemed to be around whenever she felt the need to talk or hang out, her cousin Melbourne often out with his girlfriend to be available.
Dewey comfort
Dewey was perfect company for her. He was a cook at the local restaurant, and yet he always seemed to have time for her, whether it was to talk, watch a movie, or even just to give her a back rub whenever she seemed tense. The two of them had a lot in common; they could sit in silence and still not get bored with each other’s company. He understood what the problems between Havana and Ruben were doing to her, and he tried his best to make things better, including talking to his brother to try to smooth things over between them. But with Ruben working towards his next promotion, he didn’t really have time to listen to what his brother was saying. It was Dewey and Melbourne who was there to take care of Havana when she went into labor and baby boy Brisbane was born, Ruben not showing up until they were already home from the hospital. And though he was thoroughly upset at having missed the big event, the guilt didn’t have him changing up his hours one bit.
Confrontation
Baby Brisbane
For Havana, enough was enough. If Ruben wasn’t willing to be there, she wasn’t going to worry about it anymore. She had Dewey, and he was more than enough. Without him, baby Brisbane would have no father figure at all. Kind, sweet, available, it was no wonder that she soon found herself falling in love with him, and subsequently sleeping with him as well.
An affair to remember
Havana thought she would feel more guilt about her secret trysts with her brother-in-law, but honestly, Ruben was around so seldom that it was like she wasn’t keeping anything secret at all. The affair was so out in the open, that it was almost as if Havana wanted to get caught, often finding herself falling asleep in Dewey’s bed while Ruben was home, and yet he remained oblivious to it all. Even Melbourne ignored it all, at times finding it hard to remember which brother his cousin was actually married to. But finally things came to a head when Havana found out she was pregnant.
And, being that Ruben hadn’t touched his wife in more days than he could remember, he was more than a little suspicious…
Due date?
