Romantic Camelot Cove

It’s odd how sometimes everything you never thought would come together can come together in an instant. The twins were toddlers now, and both Christy and Lancelot were grateful to be out of the year of infancy. While both of them had discovered that they very much did love children, they had also realized that babies were difficult to care for and rarely entertaining. Toddlers, at least, would be fun to play with and watch grow together.

Now that the first year was over it seemed that Christy’s moods were stabilizing and she was feeling much better about her life with her partner and daughters. Suddenly motherhood didn’t seem so bad — in fact, it had become downright awesome! The romance between Lancelot and Christy seemed to be growing day by day, and finally Lancelot decided the time was right to present the woman he loved with the ring he had spent so long saving for.

One night after the twins had been put to bed, Lancelot made his move. The ring was already in his pocket, now all he had to do was ask. And that was going to be the hard part! “Christy!” he called from the living room into the kitchen area. “Can you come here for a minute? I want to talk to you about something important!”

“Sure thing, hon! Just let me finish wiping down the countertops!”

Lancelot sighed. He hated doing the cleaning himself and he was grateful that Christy was willing to keep the house clean for their family, but he wished she would take some time to do some other things, including focus on herself. It seemed that she spent so much of her time taking care of him and the girls that she rarely had time to do anything else.

Finally she came into the living area and gave him a quizzical look. “What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Lance?” She looked into his eyes for a moment and then quickly became concerned. “Is something the matter? Is everything alright? Are you feeling quite well?”

Somehow that question seemed to break Lancelot’s tension and he chuckled softly. “I’m fine, babe,” he told her, looking deep into her beautiful blue eyes. “Just fine.” He smiled softly and slowly sank to one knee. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about though…

The man took a deep breath and gazed up at the lovely visage of the woman he intended to marry. “Christy, we’ve been together for awhile now and we have two beautiful children together. I should have asked you this a long time ago, but I wanted to do it right… Christy Stratton, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man alive by becoming Mrs. Lancelot du Lac?”

Christy gaped for a moment, shocked by the proposal. She had long ago stopped expecting it and almost stopped hoping for it. Then she smiled broadly. “Of course I’ll marry you, Lancelot of the Lake. I love you!” She held her hand out for him as he slipped the carat diamond onto her finger and then pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly. “I love you, she whispered in his ear as she showered him with kisses. “I love you.”

That night was spent celebrating their love for one another. With the twins in their cribs there was time for them to spend alone with one another, and they did just that. For both partners it was an expression of love that transcended all bounds. The night was beautiful, lit by candles and scented with incense and the musky odor of love in the air. It was beautiful and passionate and it brought them closer together even than they had been before. Truly a celebration of their relationship and their family.

For weeks it seemed that Christy went around the house glowing with pride. She hummed and sang when she looked after the girls and didn’t complain in the least even about the worst of their diapers. In fact, it seemed like nothing could get better.

Then she started to get sick. She could keep nothing she ate in her stomach and it seemed that even the smell of food would make her gag. She had previously been the cook in the family, but now Lancelot was doing the work for her and looking out for her with a concerned expression on his face every time she rushed to the bathroom.

Finally, after a week of sickness, he sat her down. “I think you need to go to the doctor,” he cautioned gently.

“I’ve been thinking about that, Christy nodded. “But I don’t want to go in just for a stomach bug. There’s nothing they can do if that’s what it is, really, and I’m certain it isn’t food poisoning… I’d be over it by now if it was!”

Lancelot shook his head with a chuckle. “No sweetheart. I think you need to go see Dr. Portland. Remember how you felt when you were pregnant with the twins?”

Christy was still for a long moment. “You might be right,” she said finally. “I’ll go see him this afternoon and have him do a test.” For another moment she was silent, staring down at her lap. “Um… if I am… You’re okay with that, right?” She frowned softly, trying to find the right words. “I mean… I think I want to be. Do you want me to be?”

Lancelot chuckled, a hearty sound. “Of course I do babe! I’ve always wanted a family! That’s what makes it all worthwhile, isn’t it? Having a family to come home to and provide for and support? Yes, I hope you are! If we have twenty children that’s just twenty children to love, right?” He grinned and hugged his fiance. “Go see Dr. Portland and we’ll go from there, okay?”

Christy returned from the doctor’s office that evening. The wait had been long and though she was tired from the wait and the examinations, she felt renewed and invigorated. There was going to be another child in their future, and that was something for all members of the family to celebrate. That evening the twins would be celebrating their fifth birthday and Christy thought it would be a perfect time to make the announcement.

Christy was relieved to see that Lancelot had taken the time to prepare the birthday cakes while she had been gone in town to see Dr. Portland and that the girls were napping in preparation for the celebration. Quietly she slipped into the nursery and lifted Penlope out of her crib, gazing at her with a deep, warm smile on her face. For a long moment she could not be disturbed until Lancelot entered the room to wake Amelia. He turned towards her and gave her a big smile and Guinevere knew he was eager to hear her news. But she was saving it for the moment and would only reveal what was to become of their family when she believed the moment was right.

Once the girls were sufficiently awake from their short nap, Lancelot and Christy carried them to the cakes their father had baked for them and helped them to blow out the candles. While their parents watched, both girls grew into beautiful children and left their parents glowing with pride.

The girls were still sleepy but their parents wanted to allow them to partake of some cake. While the foursome sat down and ate the delicious dessert that Lancelot had prepared they talked. “I have some news,” Christy said finally, when she felt that the moment was perfect. She looked around at her girls and then at Lancelot with a glowing expression on her face. “You’re going to have a little brother or sister!”

For a moment the twins just gaped at their mother in shock. Then Penelope broke out into a wide grin and jumped up to hug her mother. “We’re going to have a little brother or sister? Really mom? Can we help name him? Or her?”

Amelia, on the other hand, furrowed her brow a little bit. She didn’t like the idea of sharing her father’s attentions with yet another child, particularly if it was another girl. Nor did she like the idea of having to share her sister, with whom she was very close. Finally she nodded her head seriously. “Okay,” she whispered. “Can we go to bed now?”

Christy frowned softly but went to help the girls into bed. She and Lancelot would have plenty of time to do the serious planning that would need to be done before the baby came into the world, and they would talk about Amelia’s feelings about the new baby too. Her words put a bit of a damper on the evening, but Christy tried to just let it go and move on with happier things… Like her love for her fiance!