Kingdom Burning

Mitzie stood on the edge of the cliff staring into the ocean blue sky. Not a cloud to hamper the vision of her hazel-colored almond-shaped eyes. She flicked the long ash from her cigarette and smiled like she’d never smile again. Her dark chocolate locks, which were normally just above waist length, fell below her voluptuous heart-shaped butt as she threw her head back and let out a loud laugh that originated in her not-so-flat stomach.

“What’s so funny?” her husband, Alford, asked standing behind her with a look of concern on his face. Mitzie pulled her head back up, and turned ever so slightly to where she could see Alford from the corner of her right eye. Damn he was sexy. Mitzie’s smile never left her face as she took in Alford’s appearance.

Alford was visually appealing, to the point where he garnered attention from women and men alike wherever he went. He was also very attentive to her physical and emotional needs. She felt if there was an award for a man who knew how to handle his business and please a woman in and out of the bedroom, Alford would be the winner every time.

Even though she knew what kind of man she had, Alford never gave her a reason to feel jealous. If anything, he made others jealous of her, not the other way around.

Mitzie and Alford shared a love like she could never imagine. To her it felt like an other worldly kind of love, not one she’d ever witnessed between two people before. And even growing up in a household where she knew her parents were very much in love with each other, it still did not seem to be as in tune as the connection between Mitzie and Alford. It was strange to her, and she sometimes wondered how it was possible.

Towering over her 5-foot 7-inch frame, he was easily 6 feet 4 inches tall. His perfectly proportioned build was slender with muscle that wasn’t bulky, but very defined.

Gazing at Alford’s chiseled jaw that wasn’t too square, yet wasn’t too triangular, she smirked as she turned her full body around to his honey complexioned face and caramel-colored eyes. She got lost in those eyes frequently and cherished every moment of it.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she playfully scoffed as she took one final puff of the now almost wasted cigarette and flung it over the edge of the cliff.

“Aside from the fact that you’re a mad woman, I’m sure something that has you smoking while carrying our child has got to be the reason?” he jokingly asked with a cocked right eyebrow.

She knew she shouldn’t be smoking while pregnant and she shouldn’t be smoking at all, but the constant nag at the back of her mind regarding the baby had her on extreme edge lately. Mitzie hadn’t smoked a cigarette in years, but today was a day that she felt she just needed one. She didn’t even really smoke this cigarette, she figured she took maybe 3 puffs of the entire thing before it burned to nothing but ashes.

Mitzie let out a deep sigh as she ran her hand over her subtle baby bump. The smile that she adorned turned into a straight line, as she glanced down at the same time. How would she ever tell him that she felt something isn’t right with this baby? She’d been to the doctor for a check-up when she first discovered she was pregnant almost 4 months ago, and everything appeared to progress as normal. However, sometime between then and now, Mitzie got the feeling that something had changed.

She was starting to feel the baby’s subtle movements, but there was a gut instinct that this would not be a normal pregnancy.

She couldn’t help but think she would have a rare experience like her mother’s, only as a single fetus and not a twin.

She hadn’t been back to the doctor, as something deep in her told her that was not a good option. Whatever the matter was that would tell her getting proper medical care during pregnancy wasn’t a good idea was a strong enough feeling to keep her away from the medical facility.

Not like there was an issue with the doctor’s office, as Alford would have nothing less than the absolute best Obstetrics doctors and hospitals on hand for his wife and child. When the time came for delivery, however, she could only hope that her gut instinct was wrong, and that things would go according to her and Alford’s plans for their new family.

Alford took cautioned steps towards Mitzie as she remained with her head down, looking at her sun kissed bare feet against the rock covered ground. Here hand never left her stomach as she gently caressed the current casing of what she hoped would be a happy and healthy baby.

He pulled her into his arms and placed his head on top of hers as she deeply inhaled his tantalizing scent. Alford did not wear men’s cologne, but to Mitzie, he had a natural Irish Spring soap scent. Gosh how she loved that smell. She closed her eyes and smiled while she laid her head against his solid chest.

“Hmm” was all that she could muster while enjoying the feel of his strong arms encapsulating her.

“I suppose when you’re ready to share whatever little private joke that was, you’ll tell me” Alford spoke in a soothing voice.

“Never mind” Mitzie said as she pulled away from Alford grinning and turned to find where she’d kicked off her flat sandals. “We have business to tend to. Shall we?”

Mitzie retrieved her shoes from beside one of the large boulders that sat near the cliff’s edge, maneuvering the red sleeveless sundress to allow her to easily bend.

When she turned back towards Alford, he was waiting by the car with the passenger door opened for her. As she walked towards the latest model Aston Martin swinging her sandals in her had while still holding her stomach, she smiled as she looked at the devastatingly handsome man with short curly hair before her.

He stood at the front of the car with his arms folded across his chest, leaning on the hood waiting patiently for her. He returned her smile and moved to close the car door once she entered.

“I suppose we shall, Mrs. Damos” he said as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and closed the door before walking around the front of the car to the driver’s side.

Mitzie sat watching Alford through the windshield as he walked. As he crossed in front of the car, he glanced at her and gave her one of his million-dollar smiles. “If only I could explain to him how I’m feeling” she thought, smiling back at him.

Once Alford was in the car with his seatbelt buckled, he placed his hands on the steering wheel and looked at Mitzie with a small frown.

“We do not have to go to this dinner if you’re not feeling up to it. I know we RSVP’d, however, if the baby is giving you trouble, the partners will understand,” he stated, concern laced in his voice.

Mitzie sighed as she rubbed her stomach and stared out of the windshield. “No, I’m fine. I don’t suppose the partners would really care what our little bean is doing. They only care about what money we’re bringing for them.”

Alford looked out of the windshield in thought for a moment, considering Mitzie’s words. He silently started the car, carefully backed down the entrance to the cliff, and drove towards their home.