Hesitation

"Now, your sister says you like lasagna; that right?" Edward asked Randy.

"Who those bears for?" Mindy squealed as she spotted the two bears and the tiger on the couch.

"Well, I don't know," Edward said, smiling. "You think you might like one?"

"Yeah!" Mindy screamed and ran for the couch.

"And you," Edward asked Randy. "You think you might want one?"

"Uh huh," Randy agreed, grabbing the tiger.

"Y'all. What y'all say?" Terri ordered.

"Thank you," both children said as they sat on the couch, holding the toys.

"Thank you," Terri whispered as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Welcome," Edward smiled.

In his kitchen, Terri leaned heavily against Edward and pressed her lips to his. She opened her mouth and gently licked his lips. The kiss became a heated one very quickly.

She moaned approval as Edward cupped her full buttocks squeezing them firmly. Her arms were around his neck, pulling him harder against her.

Edward could feel that Terri did have a bra on underneath the far too snug blouse. He could also feel that she wore a thong underneath the blue jeans.

"Man, I'll never get this done we don't cool it," Edward finally laughed.

"They're fine," Terri whispered, laying her head on his chest. "I gave them a couple candy bars before we left the house."

"Uh huh, but I didn't get a few candy bars," Edward chuckled, gently pushing her away. "Need get the garlic bread ready."

"I don't like garlic bread," Mindy called out.

"I do," Randy said.

"You make one piece that's not garlic bread?" Terri begged.

"Of course," Edward nodded, slicing the loaf down the length.

When she turned, Edward saw that the blue jeans were unbuttoned, unzipped, with a belt holding them up. She also had the bottom button of the blouse unbuttoned. Again, he felt that hesitation.

The girl was poor, probably some trailer park trash born into debt. And the swelling belly just proved that she had been taught to make poor choices, raised to continue making bad decisions, continue the legacy of debt and remaining in debt for the rest of her life.

"You. Are. Not. Forcing. Her. You are not responsible for her bad decisions, you are not responsible for her plight in life," Edward said under his breath.

Edward Blaine Deubler had been born to a single mother, a high school dropout and crack addict. She was on government assistance and they lived in Government Housing in Lowridge, Texas. Sometimes, Edward was taken from his mother, usually after she was arrested for solicitation, or possession with intent to distribute, and put into foster homes. Then his mother would get clean and sober and he would be returned to her.

The vicious cycle continued for years. And the cycle would have continued with Edward; he had dropped out of high school at sixteen, lied about his age and got on with the Oakleaf County Labor Division. Being the son of a woman on government assistance actually opened the door for him in that regard.

But by the time Edward was twenty, he was tired of standing, smelling hot tar, hot asphalt in sweltering heat. He was tired of being paid on Friday and being broke by Monday. He was tired of the endless struggle. He was tired of making poor choices, bad decisions. When his mother died from a heart attack, Edward had been unable to pay for a decent burial.

"Ain't no one going help you but you," Edward had said, and started saving his money.

His first thousand, he invested well. His second thousand, he put into precious metal. His first ten thousand, he put into real estate. When Connelly College wanted to build a football stadium for the Connelly Cougars, they found a perfect piece of real estate. And Edward owned what would become the perfect parking lot for the perfect stadium.

Three stores and one looming divorce later, Edward stood in his kitchen, his own kitchen, not a roach infested kitchen that someone else owned. He opened the door to an oven that was fully paid for, not leased and put the buttered bread into the hot oven.

"All right, I think hungry bears and hungry tigers and hungry kids can come and get it," Edward called out a few moments later, putting the plates on the table.

"All right y'all, let's wash them hands," Terri said, herding them into the half-bath.

A moment later, the three of them traipsed into the dining room.

"And..." Edward said, putting Mindy on one of the chairs.

He had placed a thick dictionary onto the seat, boosting the four year old girl slightly.

Randy's seat likewise had a few thick books placed on it.

"You need a couple of books?" Edward teased Terri.

"Randy, need say grace," Terri reminded the boy as he was about to stuff a bite of lasagna into his mouth.

"Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat," Edward said.

"Mr. Dwood, that's not how you say grace," Mindy said.

Terri had them join hands, then she offered up a prayer to God. She asked that the food be blessed, that it nourish their bodies as He nourished their souls.

Edward was Catholic, but he could not remember the last time he'd been to church. He sent Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church a check every year, usually for twenty five thousand dollars. He considered himself a good Christian.

But, seeing a girl that had almost nothing, less than nothing, hearing her pray out loud affected Edward. In fact, it almost angered him.

"And this piece has no garlic on it," Edward said, giving Mindy a chunk of toasted bread.

After Randy had a second helping, they had cake and milk. Then a minor crisis occurred; both Randy and Mindy needed to go to the bathroom at the same time. And neither child was convinced that they could hold it.

Edward, who had never had a child found himself having to help a five year old boy find a bathroom. Then he had to make sure that the kid had sufficiently cleaned himself. Then he had to hoist the child up so that he could wash his hands.

"When you're at school, who helps you with all this?" Edward asked, washing his own hands.

"Mrs. Cabrerra," Randy said.

"You like Mrs. Cabrerra?" Edward asked.

"Uh huh. She's real pretty, and she's real smart," Randy said as they walked back down the stairs.

Uno was a minor success; the game took too long for Mindy. She kept playing with her bear, which only served to distract her.

"So, where, what we doing tomorrow?" Terri asked as the quartet walked to the door.

"Hmm?" Edward said. "Oh, yeah, it's Saturday. Well, I uh, I'm working. Usually our busiest day."

"Oh," Terri said, disappointed.

"But uh, how about you give the chef a break tomorrow? We'll go out, get a bite," Edward suggested.

He gave her his phone number, praying that she wouldn't give it out to any of her family or friends. It was a phone number that very few people had access to. She quickly texted him her address and agreed she'd be ready at five thirty the next evening.

"Oh, wait, where we going?" Terri asked.

"Nowhere fancy; don't need get this dressed up," Edward said, indicating her blouse and jeans and uncomfortable looking pumps.

After a quite steamy kiss that had both Randy and Mindy giggling, Terri and Randy and Mindy left. Edward watched Terri's cute backside wiggle and jiggle in her jeans until she got to the small car.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and read her address. Just as he had surmised, it was a trailer park in Sweet Oak, just a few blocks away from his Sweet Oak store. He committed her phone number to memory, but added it to his list of contacts.

Edward read quickly through his contacts. There were the three managers and three assistant managers. There was Sam Eisachs, his accountant. There was Theresa White, his attorney.

Edward realized, as he added Terri Blanchette to his contacts, there was not a single name in his contacts that he could call to just go have a beer with. He had called both Sam and Theresa the night Roberta left him, but that had been for legal and financial advice, not for comfort and commiseration.

Edward called the Tokyo Gardens Japanese restaurant and made a reservation for seven thirty the next evening. Then he logged on to the main register of the Great Oak store. They seemed to be doing a brisk business this evening. The Sweet Oak store seemed to be equally as busy. The Oakleaf store seemed a little sluggish, but the delivery docket showed that they'd scheduled nine deliveries for the next day.

"Hey, hey, hey," Terri sang out when Edward called her the next afternoon.

Edward had to smile, despite having to fire an assistant manager and two sales clerks; they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The last few times he'd called Roberta, shortly before her departure, she'd sounded neither happy nor upset to hear from him. She'd answer with a flat 'Yeah?'

"All right, I'm pulling, um, trailer F, right?" Edward said, pulling his BMW up to the trailer, behind a rusted looking truck and the sedan.

Edward got out of the car and walked up the wooden steps to the door. He had seen more than his fair share of trailers; a large part of his clientele lived in trailers. This was a clean, functional looking unit; a double wide in a stark white color. The faux shutters around the plastic windows were painted a dark forest green. The wooden door was also painted a dark green.

He knocked on the door; a small sign taped over the doorbell said to knock. He could hear muted conversation behind the door.

"Hi, Mr. Dwood!" Mindy announced when the door was opened.

"Hi, Miss Mindy," Edward said, which caused the girl to giggle.

The small girl then grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him into the trailer. She pulled Edward over to where a young man stood, looking amused.

"Daddy, this Mr. Dwood; he gave me my teddy bear," Mindy announced.

"Hey, you uh, you Ed?" the young man asked.

"Edward Deubler," Edward affirmed, wondering if this was the young man that had impregnated Terri.

"Hey there, Ralph Emerson," the man said, extending a hand. "Come on in, huh?"

"Emerson? I uh, I thought Terri's name was..." Edward said, coming into a clean, comfortable living room.

"It is; I'm her step-daddy," Ralph said. "And this here's my blushing bride."

"Being 'round you, I got reason blush," Paula said, offering a hand to Edward. "Paula Emerson."

"Edward Deubler," Edward said.

Paula Emerson was an attractive woman, or she had been at one time. She had the same blue eyes as Terri, but there were some deep crow's feet around them. Her long strawberry blonde hair had a few strands of gray mixed in, and her skin sagged, giving her jowls. Her handshake, however, was a strong one.

"Oh, hey, thanks for getting Mindy and Randy them stuffed animals," Ralph said. "Ain't put them down yet."

"Welcome," Edward said.

"Hey," Terri said, entering the living room.

Edward grimaced; Terri had, once again, put on far too much makeup. Her clothing again looked quite uncomfortable as well. In front of her mother and step-father, Terri gave Edward a chaste kiss, then clasped his left hand in her right one.

"She uh, any special time she's got be home?" Edward asked.

"We going to church tomorrow; Sunday School starts at nine thirty," Ralph said.

"And she's up past twelve? Takes forever get her butt out of bed," Paula joined in.

"Hmm, so, get her back by eleven?" Edward asked.

"Uh, y'all? I'm eighteen?" Terri huffed.

"GO to church, Ed?" Ralph asked.

"I uh, I no, honestly can't say I do," Edward said, letting the 'Ed' slide.

"Mr. Dwood! You need go to church!" Randy admonished.

"Ed. Ward. Edward," Terri corrected the room.

"Yeah, Mr. Dwood, need go to church. How you going tell God 'Hi?'" Mindy asked.

"Sorry 'bout that," Terri apologized as they backed out of the trailer park.

"About what? They believe. That's nothing to apologize for," Edward said as he put the car in drive.

"At least they believe in something," Edward said to himself as Terri started prattling about a cousin of hers that had been her best friend since childhood, until she became pregnant. But, now that Terri was pregnant? Alicia now acted as if she was somehow better than Terri.

"Where we going?" Terri asked as Edward pulled up to 1 Alliance Square.

"Please, please don't be offended," Edward said. "But your makeup? It just covers up what you have. I thought if these people showed you how to do it to bring out your natural beauty, rather than cover it up, well, you know..."

Edward could tell that Terri was offended. But she allowed herself to be pulled into the exclusive shop.

"Hello. Welcome to Elegantre," a stunning brunette in cream colored blouse, pleated skirt, and long, unbuttoned lab coat chirped.

The woman pronounced the name of the store 'eh leh GAHN tray.'

The lab coat she wore over her outfit did add an air of clinical professionalism. Edward smirked; it seemed to be an effective ploy. Another effective ploy of Elegantre was hiring none but extremely attractive young women to staff the store. The recessed lighting and the muted colors, the highly polished chrome furniture all added to the façade of detached grandeur.

"My girlfriend, as you can see, is a beautiful young woman," Edward said. "Thought some of your product line could help enhance what she's already got."

"Of course," the brunette agreed, pulling Terri toward a chair. "Let's take that off and see what we're working with. Now, all of our products are hyper allergenic but are you allergic to anything that you know of?"

Forty minutes later, Terri looked stunning. Looking at her, Edward nodded in approval and thanked the brunette for her expertise. The young beauty did point out to Edward that Elegantre also carried a men's line. Edward smirked and named the shave foam he used, as well as the sun block he applied after each shower.

The girl bagged up the various items she'd used on Terri, reminding Terri what each item's function would be.

Terri almost fainted when the girl rang up the total. Edward smiled and paid for the purchase, then herded Terri and her bags to the car.

"You, I you know what I could do with that kind of money?" Terri spluttered as Edward backed away from the store.

"No. Tell me. What could you do with that kind of money?" Edward asked.

"You kidding me," Terri complained when they pulled up in front of Brichelle's Boutique. "And what's wrong with what I got on?"

"Maternity clothes would look and feel a whole lot better than the outfit you got on," Edward said.

He moved her blouse up, revealing the jeans were again unzipped and held by the oversized belt. He could see a tuft of pinkish blonde hair peeking out through the gap of her jeans, just above a faded white hint of panties.

"Well..." Terri hesitated, looking at the shop's window displays. "But you not spending as much as you did at that other place."

"No," Edward thought. "Probably three times as much."

Brichelle's Boutique had a small, well-organized maternity section. A salesgirl grabbed Terri and had the beautiful eighteen year old trying on this and that, never letting Terri see the price tag on any of the clothing.

"This dress?" Edward interrupted. "Think you could find this in her size?"

By the time they'd finished, Terri had three dresses, two pairs of khaki slacks with stretch panels, two pairs of jeans, also with stretchy panels, and two pairs of shorts. She also had several cute tops designed to accommodate a beautiful pregnant belly.

"The blue dress, mm, the nude stockings; wear that out?" Edward asked of Terri.

"Now, why I need nine pairs of stockings?" Terri whispered, leaning heavily against Edward as the salesgirl rang everything up.

"Because I like stockings," Edward stated.

Edward checked his watch and deduced they had just enough time to reach Tokyo Gardens restaurant.

"We, we're eating here?" Terri asked, gaping at the trendy, expensive restaurant.

"Uh huh. Oh. Let me guess, you're sick of the place," Edward said as he opened his car door.

"Ha ha, no," Terri said as he helped her out of the car. "Never been here."

"Then I think you're in for a treat," Edward said, as he slipped on his suit jacket and quickly knotted his tie. "You sit on pillows, on the ground, and the chef cooks everything, right in front of you."

Looking at the reflection of themselves in the glass doors of the restaurant, Edward saw himself, an older man, with a gorgeous young woman. Her makeup was impeccable, and her clothing was stylish.

He felt a momentary twinge of conscience. He hesitated a moment, looking at their reflection.

"Well, Edward Deubler, I'm so glad she now meets with your approval," Edward thought bitterly, pulling open the door of the restaurant.

He pushed the bitterness down and told the attractive Asian woman his name. She checked and smiled.

"Yes, Mr. Deubler, your table is ready," she said in a clipped accent. "Come please.

They were seated and handed the thick menus. Edward quietly pointed out what he normally ordered, but did not pressure her. Terri read each entrée and their description before making her decision.

Terri's nod must have been the signal their waiter was waiting for; he approached. They ordered and Edward poured them each a small cup of the hot tea.

"Thank you," Terri whispered, leaning against Edward.

He kissed the top of her head. He smiled when she let out a breath of contentment.

The chef's movements enthralled Terri. Her beautiful eyes watched his every slice and dash, the smile never leaving her face. The chef, seeing that he had a new audience, hammed his performance quite a bit, making many silly jokes as he flashed, clattered and clanged his way through the execution.

Terri only ate half of her meal and clutched the plastic bag of left overs as they left the restaurant.

Not knowing what else to do, Edward drove them to his home. Inside of his garage, Terri looked over at his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, blue eyes wide.

"You taking me on that, hear?" she demanded.

"Uh huh," Edward agreed.

"I mean it," Terri said when Edward opened her door.

"I do too. If we didn't have the clothes and the makeup and the food? I'd take you home on that," Edward said. "Next time."

"For real?" Terri asked.

"For real," Edward said and kissed her.

Standing in his warm garage, with the smell of gasoline and paint and rubber, the kiss became heated. Terri pressed herself against him, as tightly as her belly would allow. Her breasts mashed against him; Edward could feel her hard nipples through bra and dress.

"Come on," Terri whispered.

Edward nodded and pulled her to the door. They went through the kitchen and up the stairs. Edward held tightly onto her hand, afraid if he broke contact, she'd change her mind.

"Shit! Place is bigger than my house!" Terri said when Edward pulled her into his bedroom.

He didn't answer her. He just dropped jacket and tie onto a plush chair in the corner of the room. His shoes were slipped from his feet and wedged underneath the chair.

Terri watched him for a moment, amusement evident on her face. She then slipped the pumps from her feet. She sat on the lip of his bed and pulled the hem of the dress up to get to her stockings.

"Leave them on," Edward ordered.

Terri regarded him for a moment as he hurriedly unbuttoned his shirt. She then smiled and slowly unzipped the dress.

Standing again, she swayed to some unheard melody, then turned her back to him. She allowed the dress to slip off of her shoulders. With a wiggle, the dress slipped past her belly and hips.

Her long strawberry blonde hair hid her bra straps and panties from his sight. But Edward could see her luscious legs, in their stockings. His cock twitched and jerked in his boxer shorts.

Terri began to turn. As she did so, she whipped her hair around. The maneuver now hid her front partially from view. Her bra was still covered, as was her belly. Just her small white panties and stocking clad legs were visible.