She sat down and pulled him down on the edge of the bed next to her and placed her head on his shoulder. "I can ask you the same thing, honey. Most men that would look at me would just see an overweight, under-employed college drop out...with a pretty face."After a quiet moment he nudged her head with his. "Hey, stop talking about the mother of my baby like that. I happen to be very attracted to overweight, under-employed college dropouts with pretty faces."They sat that way for a while, quiet, holding hands and thinking about how lucky they were to have each other. "Tory…""Hmm?""I need to show you something."She looked at him. He seemed worried. "What baby?""I need your computer."She led him to the computer. She had the built in voice activation turned on so that he could use it to check his emails. He sat at her desk while she watched him peck away expertly. "Is everything okay?" She asked. He looked up at her. "Yes. I found this and when my parents were here I sh
"Why?" Francie asked. "Why can't you wait a few years? We're just starting to know our new sister and now you want to take her away from us!""Uncle Lee, it won't be the same without you here!""You can't leave now, Lee!"He held up his hands grimly. "I don't want to lose you guys, either. But if you think about it, Flores would be a wonderful place to raise that baby that is in Tory's belly, as well as all of the other ones that we plan to create. So you see-"Someone screeched in joy and then suddenly everyone had left their seats to hug and kiss the couple.Ten sets of hands touched Tory's belly although she didn't want to say that the roundness there wasn't due to a baby bump. In light of this new information there was a change of heart. The baby would be Portuguese and that was that. The parents had no say. It would be born on Flores and then they could return to the states at a later date. It was settled. Tory and Lee just hugged and grinned. Whatever; as long as the argui
It seemed like every day Tory was late for work. She'd already missed the first bus and was about to miss the late bus. She called the second bus the late bus because no matter what, she was destined to walk in to the office at least one minute late. But at least if she was only one or two minutes late it meant that she might be able to slip in unnoticed.She saw the bus rounding the corner and was forced to break into a run. Her neatly pressed hair was going to end up a mass of nappy curls.Tory sprinted, hoping not to twist an ankle, trying not to think about how embarrassing she must appear to the other commuters. She wasn't exactly small but despite her extra weight she moved with a speed born of desperation and managed to reach the bus before it pulled off.Breathlessly she searched for change and then almost fell when the driver began to take off before she was settled. She was forced to sit down in the handicap, elderly section so that she could dig through her oversized purs
The man from yesterday was there sitting right next to her. "Good morning," she spoke politely, still trying to catch her breath."Good morning," he replied. His husky deep voice sent chills down her spine. Something about it was very sexy. "Sorry again about yesterday." He didn't reply but his lips curled into a slight smile of amusement. The bus came to a stop and Tory quickly gripped her belongings and hurried to her normal seat at the rear of the bus. When she was settled in her seat she didn't bother to check the mirror. She already knew how she'd look. She peeked at the man, not wanting to get caught staring, but he was hard not to look at.Again, he watched the scenery as it passed with no interest in the other commuters. She tried to imagine what a man like that did for a living. She did it with everyone that rode the bus as a way to pass the time. Mr. Cutie didn't wear a suit, or uniform. He wasn't a construction worker; he was dressed too nice for that, but maybe an ele
"We have a fishermen's stew which has whitefish, white beans within a tomato stock. We have a Portuguese chicken which is mildly spicy, has rice, cheese and stewed in a tomato stock-" Tory watched the young woman intently as she rattled off the popular items. "But what do YOU like?"The waitress paused and allowed her eyes to linger on Tory. She smiled in a more relaxed manner. "My favorite dish is definitely sopa de couves."Tory was nodding her head. She had no idea what that was. "I'll have that please."The waitress gave her one nod. "And to drink?"Tory passed her menu to the waitress. "I'll let you decide."The woman retreated with the menu and Tory took in her surroundings in more detail, admiring the mural on the wall of an Island with palm trees and people looking suntanned and happy. Soft music played something that sounded like a strange jazz and Spanish fusion. The room was painted in vibrant tones and colorful pieces of art dotted the walls. It was trendy yet comfor
When her alarm clock rang, Tory was prompt to get out of bed. She ate half a grapefruit and an egg white omelet. She then dressed in a pantsuit that accentuated her breasts but downplayed her 'everything else.'Looking in her vanity mirror, she styled her hair then set it with hair spray, applied lipstick and a bit of eyeliner. She looked at her watch knowing that she had plenty of time to catch her 'regular bus'...and then chose to relax with a cup coffee instead. Confidently, Tory slipped on charcoal pumps to match her suit and strolled down the street at a leisurely pace. She sat on the bench and actually waited for the bus to arrive. There would be no entertainment at her expense today!When she stepped onto the bus, the first thing Tory did was to look for her favorite bus passenger and wasn't disappointed. He was in his usual seat. She sat down next to him before paying her fare, pretending to search for change.He turned slightly in his seat. "Good morning." His voice was
The next morning when the alarm went off, Tory thought fleetingly of calling in sick. She felt sick; her stomach was empty from skipping dinner the night before, but more than that her heart felt empty. So what if a man that she barely knew wasn't flirting with her? Only that it had made her so happy to think that he was and now that the feeling was gone, there was nothing else.Big deal; except that it had made her think back to high school when she liked some stupid jock or some egotistical popular guy who wouldn't notice her in a million years. And that is why she had cried herself to sleep last night.Dragging her pathetic self out of bed, Tory showered, then ate some toast and drank some juice in order to stop her stomach from complaining. Go to work, Tory, she said to herself. You have been late far too many times to just take off over some self-pity crap!Moving into action she thought about the late bus and having to see Lee. She didn't want that! She didn't ever want to see
"I'm nice too. Stop trying to scare her away." He was joking but his words caused Tory's heartbeat to quicken. "Tory, this is my sister, Macey. And Macey, this is Victoria; Tory.""Sister?" Her mouth was hanging opened. If Macey noticed that she was acting oddly, she hid it well, asking if she wanted lemonade to which she just nodded silently. Macey hurried away with a slight bounce to her rounded posterior.When they were alone again Lee stared at her intently. "I have four sisters. Two of them own this restaurant and the other's work for them. I eat here almost every day." He smiled. "I grew up on this cooking, so I guess I'm addicted to it, I'm not sure if that's an endorsement or not." Sister. She wanted to kick herself. Lee's sister returned with fresh lemonade for her and an iced tea for him. "Do you know what you want?" She asked Tory who was trying to understand the question, her mind still addled at her huge mistake."Oh!" She hadn't even looked at the menu."Shall I