Chapter 30

Evie turned off the stove, sat down at the now-empty table and started to eat her dinner; life was once again lonely and distant. What it used to be, and she didn't want that again. Evie sighed and looked at the clock; Richie was currently on a plane flying to Perth about now, the last show of the tour. Thank goodness for that. Slippery was a long tour and she couldn't wait to spend quality time with Richie again, they could stroll down the beach, have a good sex life and they could cuddle together at night and she would be protected once again. Yep, the plane would be taking off about now; Richie would be dozing off and would have a half- empty beer can by his seat and his Ovation guitar would be stuffed behind him. She knew him too well, how he always thrown away pick up lines to a unsuspecting crowd. She smiled for a brief moment, and then she continued to eat her dinner. All of a sudden, a loud ringing came from the telephone in the kitchen. She stood up and rushed to the kitchen, picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?" she asked, twizzling the cord around her finger, looking out towards the night sky.

"Hello Evie" came a voice

"Richie? Is that you?"

"The one and only. I sent you a present, open the front door" she listened intently; she walked over to the front door, following Richie's instructions. She opened the door and found a lump come to her throat.

He was there, Rich was really stood there. Evie brimmed ear to ear and grabbed Richie for a very short but passionate kiss on his soft, sweet lips. She ran her hands through his hair, and grabbed him into a massive hug. He smiled and carried her inside, she was the Queen and he was her King, the King of Swing that is. She was too busy with his arrival that she forgot to ask why he wasn't in Australia.

"Rich, if I may ask, why aren't you, you know, in Australia?" she asked as he sat her down on their sofa, she looked at him and he swallowed a lump in his throat that he never knew he had.

"We made up the concert in Perth, Jon told you so coming here would be a surprise. The tour's done now, you'll be pleased to hear" he replied, giving her a quick peck on the cheek and crashed next to her, and yawned.

"I was pleasantly surprised, it sounds like you need sleep, Mr, so you have enough energy for later" she replied, a devious grin forming on her lips as he obliged to her commands and plodded up to the bedroom, where his fatigue got the better of him and he lay down, drifting into a peaceful sleep once again. She smiled and stripped down, and climbed into bed with her future husband, she could cuddle against her warm heater again and quietly drifted into a very peaceful and relaxing sleep.

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Richie groaned and rolled over, landing looking at Evie. She woke up with Richie rubbing her forehead and wiped the hair from her face, and passionately kissed her on the lips.

"Well, no sex for another nine months, Mr, you're going to have to be patient"

"Aww, damn" he muttered under his breath, as she lifted his creamy, fine jawline and kissed him once again, short but sweet.

“Besides, once the nine months is over, you will have to wake up in the middle of the night and feed the baby, as well as other things”

She sat up and ran her hands over her face, and gently groaned. Richie strolled to the far end of the room and dressed, Evie on the other hand, slipped on her clothes and gently closed the door and walked downstairs.

Once down there, fully clothed, Evie sat on the sofa and gently played a few chords on the old acoustic, Richies’ one. Richie walked down, he was wearing a white shirt, most of the buttons done up, jeans and black cowboy boots to match his signature Stenson.

"What's the occasion, Rich?" she asked, standing up and putting the guitar back on its' stand.

"We're going to dinner, its' for me getting back off the tour, and to celebrate the baby"

She smiled. A romantic date between a love-struck couple, soon to be husband and wife.

She trotted over to him, took his arm in hers and went to the car to a secluded restaurant for a very special dinner.

Once there, Richie got out of the drivers side and opened the door for Evie, as a nice gesture, she took Richie's hand in hers and they strolled across to the awaiting, exquisite restaurant. Inside, the walls were a sandstone brick, the beams were a solid oak on the ceiling and the place was surprisingly light and airy. They were met by a waiter who shown them to their table, there was no one around in the place where they sat, great for Richie so he wasn't noticed.

They both looked at the menus and ordered their meals each, Evie had never been here before, it was secluded and hidden from ordinary view, it was relatively large, though it wasn't busy at this particular time of night. Richie had bought coke for Evie and the same for him, he didn't want to be drunk tonight, their dinners had come, Richie tucked in and by the looks of him,was hungry, she eat hers slowly as always. She kept on asking about how the tour had gone, and Richie looked exhausted after it. 

"You look exhausted, I think I should drive home" she told him, while she pushed some food onto her fork. He nodded and lay back, full. She finished soon after, the bill arrived and Richie left money on the table, she walked with him to the car. She was driving tonight as Richie crashed on the passenger seat, she would check he was alright, as always and carried on driving towards their home together.