Hue Alexander's life had been difficult the last few years. She felt down and like a looser. At least she started to get a foot hold in life again. When she was seventeen she had married her high school sweet heart Oliver O'Malley. Her parents weren't happy, because they thought it was way too early, and Oliver and Hue should get their education first. In the end they gave in to see their daughter was happy. Of course they proofed right. Hue realized Oliver and she couldn't agree on anything. They had horrible rows, especially how to raise their two beautiful kids Roscoe Stephen and Christina Olivia, who were only a year apart.
Oliver was causing another argument, when Hue said she wanted to go to evening school to study Chemistry and Biology. Oliver believed his wife should stay at home as long as the kids were small. Hue saw it as an investment for the future for all of them, and Oliver or his or her mother could have looked easily after the kids, while she was gone for a few hours in the evenings to attend classes. For the moment she gave up, but Hue brought the issue up again later. Oliver agreed to have a think about it, so Hue informed herself about the options she had.
Returning with a stack of leaflets, she arrived just in time to see Oliver smack Roscoe's hand. It was a huge disappointment for Hue, because as responsible parents they had decided not to use physical punishment and now Oliver did just the whole opposite. It was the last straw for her. She demanded a divorce. When Roscoe turned three it had gone through.
Money was very tight, so Hue took on a part time job as cashier in a super market, leaving her kids with her parents.
When she was financially stable, she started her studies. It was difficult combining work, the kids and going to evening school. It barely left Hue time for herself or a lot of cash.
The classes were a welcome change, though, and broadened Hue's horizon. She gained a few new friends and liked her Professor Harry Krohn. In her opinion he was a great teacher. Professor Krohn seemed to like her too. Soon she was his favorite. When not in class, and they met on the campus, he was flirting with Hue. At first she didn't know how to react, but it felt good somebody found her attractive.
It all came to a heat, when a college friend celebrated her birthday in August and threw a big party. Hue didn't want to attend at first, because she wanted to spend time with Roscoe and Tina, but her sister Tuyet urged her to go and promised to look after the children. After long discussions Hue gave in. Looking back in retrospect Hue had mixed feelings. The party changed her life, but overall she was glad about the decisions she took.
Hue had a great time and was a bit tipsy. Professor Krohn, who was medium in height and red haired, had again flirted with Hue. One thing let to another. He kissed her. Hue kissed him back after holding back for a moment. Professor Krohn made Hue feel like a woman. He was charming and intelligent. A lot of reasons that made him attractive to her. There were sexual undercurrents going on the whole evening. When Hue left, Professor Krohn offered to bring her home. She took it up. Hue thought having sex again after a long time would be nice. Unfortunately it wasn't as she expected. Professor Krohn had a Volvo station wagon. He stopped the car in a quiet side street near her home. They kissed passionately. His hands touched her breasts, making her nipples stand erect. "Why don't we move to the back seat?" Harry asked husky. Hue nodded her agreement. They made themselves as comfortable as possible. He was lying between her legs. Harry seemed not to care about a lot of foreplay or protection. It was over within minutes. In silence they drove to Hue's home.
Harry tried to rekindle their relationship, but Hue struggled with her conscience. She found out, when it was too late, he was married. Had she known this tidbit before, she would have never agreed to have sex with him. Hue was glad he wasn't her teacher during the next college year, so she wasn't depended on an affair to receive good grades and could avoid him.
Hue thought she could leave the episode behind her and go on with her life as normal. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. Unconscious she noticed her body changes.
A few months later Tuyet wanted to introduce her new boyfriend to the family, so Hue took Roscoe and Tina to the dinner. For Hue it was love at first sight. Of course she didn't want to destroy the budding relationship between Tuyet and her boyfriend, so she didn't show her feelings. One of Hue's younger brothers loved zoos. Somehow it was brought up, and Sam invited Tuyet, Hue, their younger siblings and of course Roscoe and Tina to go to Baltimore Zoo the next Sunday. Tuyet couldn't make it, because she had to work, but more or less forced Hue to go.
On the big day Hue felt a little bit queasy, but put it down to being overworked. She had worked longer hours than usual and studied until late in the night for a week or two and was now tired. Hue frightened her siblings, kids and Sam, when she swooned. Thank goodness Sam kept a cool head and knew first aid. When she gained consciousness again, she was on the way to hospital. Hue felt embarrassed. She thought Sam must be thinking she was daft or something. In hospital tests were done to find out, why Hue had lost consciousness. She was overworked as she thought and to her dismay pregnant. Since she hadn't slept with anyone else since Harry, she knew who the father was. Hue was concerned how she was going to deal with another kid, how to finance it and how her parents were going to react. Besides being in love with Sam, she trusted him and told him under tears she was pregnant. Somehow he guessed she was pregnant by her teacher. He was reassuring and calm. Hue felt better after telling Sam about it. He offered to help her and spontaneous invited her to go with her to St. Louis. The doctors thought Sam was Hue's husband and had told him the diagnosis that Hue needed to rest and recommended a vacation. Hue wanted to refuse, but she couldn't. It gave her the chance to be near to Sam, but also to get away from everything for a while.
Tuyet reacted jealous, which was understandable, and told Sam in clear terms it was over, if he was going to take Hue on the trip. Sam tried to reason without divulging Hue's secret. She hadn't told anyone so far. Neither Tuyet nor Sam was willing to give in. Hue was sorry for both and felt guilty.
The trip was a success. Afterwards Hue was much clearer what she wanted. Sam wanted to give her a diary he had kept during the darkest days of his life, so she went from the airport to Sam's home and from there to Harry's house. He needed to know he was going to be a father. Hue hoped Harry was going to agree on paying child support. She was willing to grant him visiting rights. Harry turned violent and beat Hue up, punching her couple of times in the abdomen, hoping to cause a miscarriage. Hue was in shock and didn't know where to turn to. She was bleeding heavily by the time she arrived at Sam's house. He came to the rescue again. Hue found herself in hospital. It was a little miracle she hadn't lost the baby, and Sam admitted he was in love with her.
This development caused a rift in the family. Hue's mother was quite unforgiving Hue had had a one night stand with a married man, was pregnant by him and also to "steal" her sister's boyfriend. Her father took it cool, nothing changed for him. Some of Hue's siblings were influenced by Tuyet and her mother. Each took sides. It was a difficult situation for Hue, because she loved her family and hated conflicts and tensions. Over time, especially after Alyssa was born, it got better. Tuyet was unable to forgive her sister or her ex boyfriend, their relationships were beyond repair.
Even if one misstep had caused Hue a lot of sorrow and pain, she was happy with Sam. He not only loved her, but also her children and treated them like they were his own. Hue's life before Sam had been boring. Now it was much more exciting and included good conversations, good food, culture and travel.
©2012
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