Trouble for the Newlyweds

“What the!...” JC read the letter over. The immigration people wanted to interview them in their home to check to see if they had a real marriage. No one could question how real his feelings for Gabby were. He’d walk through hell for his wife. He wondered who had stirred the pot – no one close to them would do this – and it wasn’t just a form letter.

“Mon mari, what is wrong?” Gabby asked when she noticed his angry face.

“Nothing, baby. Just some technical crap from the government.”

“Pardonne?”

“Next week, we are going to be interviewed.”

They had been interviewed many times before for the press...

“They want to make sure we are living as man and wife.”

“They want proof? Are we supposed to make love in front of them?” Gabby snapped irritably. “What proof do they seek?”

“Whoa! Calm down, baby. I’m sure it’s a formality.”

“Why? Why now?” Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over.

JC wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, baby,” he crooned. “Shh...Nobody is taking you away from me.”

“Josh...” sobbing softly, Gabby buried her face on his shoulder. “Am I not allowed peace and happiness?”

“Of course you are. Just calm down, princess.” He rubbed her back soothingly.

JC answered the door and saw a little balding man and a no-nonsense middle-aged woman.

“Mr. Joshua Chasez?” the woman asked.

“Yes.”

“Ann Pendleton and Kevin Todd. You were expecting us?”

“Yeah, come in.”

“Is Gabriella home?”

JC closed the door and showed them to the living room. “Call her that and she probably won’t respond. She’s Gabby and always has been to me.” He waved that they should be seated. “For the record, I don’t much appreciate this visit. It’s upset her.”

“And why would it upset her, Mr. Chasez?” Todd asked.

“Gabby ran away and she still has a fear her father will find a way to force her return.”

“Was that the door? Are they here? Do they want to check our closets?...” Gabby had come from the kitchen area, flustered and in a rush. She was smoothing her hair and rubbing her sweaty palms on her jeans.

JC smiled tenderly. “Yes. Yes – and I don’t know.”

“Oh...” Gabby saw the strangers and moved to his side like a frightened child.

“Ms. Pendleton and Mr. Todd, Gabby,” JC announced.

“Good afternoon,” Gabby said in a cool tone. “Might I get you a refreshment?”

“That is very kind of you, Mrs. Chasez, but we only have a few questions then we can be on our way,” Pendleton said. “Would it be possible for you and I to have a few minutes alone?”

Divide and conquer, JC decided fatalistically.

Gabby smiled up at him. “We have nothing to hide, do we, mon cheri?”

“Nothing, baby,” he agreed.

“Ms. Pendleton, would you very much mind if we speak in the kitchen?”

“Wherever you are most comfortable, Mrs. Chasez.” the woman said as she rose to follow Gabby.

“As much as I do enjoy hearing my title as ‘Missus’ other than ‘princess’, you may call me Gabby.”

The woman nodded.

Gabby immediately went to Wiggle’s pen to pick up the whining puppy. “Maman is here, mon petit,” she cooed and stroked his wrinkled forehead. “He dislikes being put in here. It means he’s not getting attention.”

“Gabby, I’ll be blunt. Someone has raised doubts that you are with Mr. Chasez of your own free will.”

Gabby frowned. “Who would say such a thing?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. They thought you might need to be removed.”

“That is ridiculous! Joshua has been wonderful to me.”

“You are not afraid of him?”

“Josh? Heavens! Certainly not. He was the one who had reason to fear. I had never done laundry or been in a kitchen!”

The woman smiled.

“He is most patient with me. I had barely learned to comb my hair and dress myself. The rest I had to be taught. Whomever this was has not seen us together.” Gabby set Wiggles to the floor and met the woman’s eyes directly. “He is the most wonderful, protective, caring husband in the world as well as the gentlest and giving lover. Does that answer any doubts – or would you care to look at our bedroom? We share a bed and closets and...”

The agent smiled. “I think I get the picture.”

“What?” They heard JC’s bellow from the living room. “Hell no!”

The guy was asking him if he held Gabby against her will! JC was stunned.

“We’ve had an inquiry....”

“I asked Gabby to marry me. She said yes. She wasn’t forced to do anything,” JC stated.

“If I should have to return home...” Gabby went to her husband’s side and wrapped both arms around his waist. “That would have to be force. They would have to drag me kicking and screaming in two languages from Josh.”

“And they’d have to go through me.” JC added with certainty.

Ms. Pendleton nodded to her partner. “I believe we have been sent an erroneous claim. We are sorry we had to put you two through this.”

“Check back in a couple years,” JC offered. “Gabby’ll still be my wife.” Because he had no intention of letting her go – ever! At that moment, he felt a tug at his pant leg and automatically bent over to pick Wiggles up. “Can’t you see we’re busy?” he asked the puppy teasingly, rubbing his ears. “He may have shredded all my pants by then,” JC chuckled.

“The clerk said a puppy was a perfect way to see what sort of parents we would be.” Gabby remembered the conversation.

JC’s voice was soft and dreamy when he met her eyes. “Yeah.”

“Well, I believe we have enough to make our report. Thank you for taking time to speak with us.”

The last thing the two agents saw was Gabby reaching up to kiss JC as the puppy squirmed between them.

“Baby!” JC gasped as he pulled his mouth from hers. “That didn’t feel like it was for their benefit.”

“It was not for them.”

“Oh, God, Gabs...” The look in her eyes was unmistakable. She wanted him – now!

Gabby lifted an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

“Not a problem. I’m just amazed how open you are about it.”

“I would never hide from you,” she whispered. “I want you as much as I require air to breath, mon mari. J’e t’aime.”

Closing the door, he set the dog to the floor.

“Josh, he will mess...”

“Like I give a fuck right now?” He growled as he backed her towards the sofa. He shoved her tee shirt up to bare her breasts. Thank God, she wasn’t into wearing bras at home.

Her eyes went wide. “Oooh...”

“What makes you think I don’t feel the same way you do?”

“You do?” she bumped into the back of the sofa.

“Oh, hell, yeah!” He made quick work of her jeans and panties before he set her up on the sofa back. It was just the right height for this, he thought as he pushed his pants down.

Gabby found her enthusiasm dampened. He had meant sex – she had meant love. He never said he loved her. But his mouth was at her breasts and his fingers found her wet center. She could be so angry she wanted to murder him at times and still he could make her crave him. Once he was buried and rocking into her, she pressed her tear damp face against his neck.

“Mmm...Baby, yeah, just love me,” he commanded huskily.

“I do,” she whispered, her heart aching because he demanded what he would not give.

JC began to worry. After the INS visit, Gabby had become increasingly quiet, distant in a way he couldn’t explain. She was always ready to make love – it wasn’t that. Something...almost as if she was preparing for...something. He didn’t have a name for it – only that it made him fearful of losing his precious princess.

“Have you talked to Gabby about it?” Lance asked one afternoon when JC voiced his concerns to him.

“And say what? I have this feeling?”

“Hey, women are more tuned into that then men are.”

“I don’t want to push any buttons, man. What if she tells me that this fantastic life we have is on loan – and it’s nearly done? I don’t wanna give her any reasons to leave. Hell, not once has she said she loves me...”

“She shows you all the time, C. She’s never looked at another man. You’ve never had to buy her affection. She’s been damn open about her feelings if you ask me.”

“She’s grateful. I take care of her. Gratitude is not love.”

“Do you two still go at it like sex-starved rabbits?”

JC had to chuckle at the description. “Yeah.”

“Does Gabby ever talk to you in French?”

“Well, yeah, quite a bit.”

“Do you understand it?”

“Some of it. Mon cheri is my darling. Mon mari is my husband.” JC shrugged, “Why?”

“You say she never says ‘I love you.’ What else does she say that you don’t understand?”

Again, the husband shrugged. “Something like ‘ju tem’ and ‘ju tador’ I think she says she adores me.”

“Close, but no cigar, buddy.” Lance shook his head. “I’m betting that is ‘je t’aime’ and ‘je t’ador’.”

“Sounds right.”

“‘Je’ means ‘I’. The ‘t’ is short for ‘tu’, the familiar ‘you.’”

“There is an unfamiliar ‘you’?”

“The formal or plural is ‘vous’.”

“So, I was right. She adores me.”

“You have no idea what the ‘aime’ is, do you?”

JC shook his head.

“Love.”

“‘Amour’ is love.”

“Nope, that’s a noun. The familiar or intimate form of love is ‘aimer’. I love you – Je t’aime.”

“What?” JC bellowed in surprise. “How do you know this shit?” he demanded.

Lance tapped his laptop. “The Internet has infinite information – you just have to look.”

“Thanks, dude. You just may have saved my marriage.” Why he hadn’t thought of looking it up? JC wondered. Gabby had been telling him she loved him all along. He had been the one holding out! “Excuse me. I have a secretive princess to see.”

On the way home, JC practiced what he would say to Gabby. Should he challenge her on hiding her love in words he didn’t understand? He really didn’t want to scold her – he wanted to love her, fully and openly. They were in love. They were married – and they both wanted it that way!

Gabby lay across their big bed in misery. She had cried until her face ached. She and JC had never used any sort of birth control. Even a sheltered princess knew that so much time making love, as she and JC spent, was bound to bear fruit. Would he blame her as her father had his mistresses when they announced they were with child? Would he come to hate her for trapping him in a marriage he had entered with every intention of leaving? She would not deny her child life if he insisted on abortion as her father had. She would see if Etienne could help her. If not, she would somehow make a life for herself if JC turned her out.

Not once had he answered her whispered words of love with a declaration of his own. So, he might care for her after a fashion...he certainly enjoyed the sex...but he didn’t love her...

“Gabby!” JC called when he entered the quiet house. It was too quiet, too somber. Where in the hell was she? Her car was in the garage. She wasn’t in the kitchen. “Gabby!” This time his voice held a note of desperation and panic. Oh, God! What if he’d waited too long to declare his love? What if she had gone? He raced up the stairs to the master bedroom. “Please, baby, be there,” he murmured.

Hearing JC’s bellow, Gabby sat up against the headboard and steeled herself for what was to come. She would not put off the inevitable.

JC let out the breath he had held in relief when he saw Gabby on the bed. “There you are!” he sighed. His ease quickly turned into concern when he saw she’d obviously been crying. “Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. “You sick?”

“No. Not now.”

“Not now? Are you okay?”

“I am wonderful.”

He smiled. “That you are.”

“Joshua, we have never discussed the repercussions of our marriage...”

“Repercussions?” What was she talking about? He wanted to tell her he loved her, not talk about consequences.

“Yes. We have been remiss.”

“Gabby, you’re getting that snobby European speech,” he told her. She did that when she was spoiling for a fight. To waylay any argument, he moved to straddle her legs and kissed her deeply.

“Sex does not–“ She was cut off by another sensual assault from his mouth.

“Joshua, I...”

He kissed her again. “Give it up, princess. As long as you got breath to talk, I can kiss it away.”

“It solves nothing,” she protested.

He shifted their bodies so they lay on the bed, facing each other. He captured her lips oh-so tenderly. “Je t’aime, ma cherie,” he whispered.

Gabby’s eyes went wide.

“I guess you thought I knew some French somehow. I don’t. You’re gonna have to teach me. Lance told me you’d been telling me all along.” He smiled at her dazed expression. “Now, let’s say it in American. Your English is a helluva lot better than my French.” When she remained mute, he took her left hand to kiss each fingertip. “Okay. I’ll go first. Princess Gabriella Celestine Marie du Gautier de La Rosa, I love you.”

“Non,” she whispered.

“No?” Had he been wrong?

“I have not been that person since I met you, Joshua. I am Gabby Chasez – and I do not wish to be anyone else.”

Their happy smiles matched.

“Thank God, baby!”

“Joshua Scott Chasez, I love you with all my heart.”

“I’m so glad. You’ve been kinda...well, shut off from me lately.”

“I was certain I was about to lose you.”

“Lose me? Hell no! What gave you that idea?”

Gabby took one of his large hands and held it to her flat stomach. “A repercussion.”

It was his turn to be stunned when it dawned on him what she meant. “That’s not a repercussion, Gabs. That’s our baby!”

“You are not angry?”

“Considering we still go at it like sex-starved rabbits, like Lance says? I’d have to be a moron not to realize a lot of my little swimmers were goin’ for it!”

Gabby giggled. “You have a most charming way of putting it, mon mari.”

“How’s this? I’m happy as hell we’re pregnant.”

“I like that.” Happy tears spilled over her cheeks and he wiped them away tenderly with his fingers.

“How do you want to celebrate?” he asked. “Whatever you want. Fly to Paris? Dinner in New York?....”

“Stay at home with my husband, order in Chinese, and have a Star Wars marathon.”

JC grinned. “I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you.”