Page 69 of Milk

I smiled at her. “I would love to share everything I’ve ever loved with you – starting with India. And to love it all more because of you.”

We sealed the promise with a kiss. Two monsters, two lost creatures that, deserving or not, found warmth and love in each other. Her bikini grew wet and warm as milk sipped through it.

“Oh gosh, even my tits are crying,” Tiff teased. “I guess that makes this official.

We laughed as we held each other. She was my sweet cow. I was her owner. But we both belonged to each other.

Forever.

Six Months Later

Iheard Carter opening the door of our beachside bungalow-style home. Our own secluded New Zealand paradise was perfect in every way, his wedding present to me. I hummed at the thought as our son suckled on my breast almost as greedily as his father did. I caressed his bald head with my hand while Carter sat on the large wicker couch swing we had on our large wooden deck. He had a beer in hand and looked handsome in his khaki shorts and sandals.

“Enjoying the sight?” He asked, as he looked towards the sun setting on the horizon.

“How can I not?” I asked, chuckling. “Joe decided to have an early dinner.” I gently adjusted our three-month-old baby.

“Look at him go,” Carter praised, leaning forward to place a kiss on our son’s head. “He knows what’s good in life, doesn’t he?”

“Takes after his father, for sure.”

Carter laughed. I loved how often he laughed now. My soul felt light and blissful. Since we left the facility, since he asked me to marry him, life was all but perfect. I exhaled, satisfied. I was a little horny, like I always was next to Carter, but especially breastfeeding. We would have plenty of time to enjoy each other once Joe was asleep. I just had to be patient. Carter had proved over and over again, we had no time limit. We had each other forever. Then I remembered.

“Oh right, Wren and Susan will be dropping by with the twins later today,” I informed.

“They’re back from the States?”

“Yeah. Got back a day ago, but Wren was exhausted. It’s a seven-hour flight from Vermont to Dubai and another fourteen from Dubai here.”

“Plus a couple hours’ drive from Wellington.” Carter nodded. “I’ll ask the cook to make us something nice.”

“I already talked to her. I just wanted to let you know.”

He leaned forward to kiss me. I expected one kiss, but he treated me to two, a tease of his tongue, then drew back just enough so he could speak against my lips. “What would I do without my beautiful wife?”

“I don’t know, but you wouldn’t have this beautiful baby boy, would you?”

Carter smiled; the sweet smile of a man without burdens. “No. I would not.”

He took a drink of his beer and stared out at the ocean, lost in thought. I could see the gears in his head turning. I knew what he was going to ask before he spoke.

“Maybe we should consider giving Joe a sister. Not right now, but when he’s about a year old?”

“I think that would be great,” I agreed softly. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and have our own set of twins?”

Carter smiled. “Yes. Maybe we can. That’ll take a lot of practice.” He looked me over. “A lot of work making twins.”

“That’s something we can both handle,” I teased with a wink.

Joe stopped suckling for a moment, and I settled him against my breast, his face against my collar bone, to burp him. As Carter got up to get a small towel, I thought about all the turns and twists my life had taken. Then I smiled at my sleepy son and thought about how, in a strange way, he and Carter were both bonded to me so deeply, so intensely. Carter wiped Joe’s face and the thought solidified. All the love, happiness, and sense of fulfillment I had with my son and my husband started with one thing:

Milk.