Sex and Lies. Donna Hill

could try again to make a miracle happen.” Her eyes looked at him from the depths of her soul.

      Blake stroked her cheek. He knew how desperately Savannah wanted a child. They’d been trying unsuccessfully for nearly a year. He saw the sadness in her eyes when every month she’d stay as regular as a Swiss clock. They could buy stock in those little testing sticks with the amount of money she’d spent on in-home pregnancy tests.

      “Listen, I don’t want you to make yourself crazy about getting pregnant. The doctor said it could take time.”

      She pushed out a sigh. “I know.” Her tone was full of dejection. “It’s just that every time we make love I keep hoping…ya know?”

      He kissed her tenderly. “I know. And when the time is right, it will happen.” He rolled gently on top of her. “But in the meantime you know the old saying of practice makes perfect.” He stroked her hip.

      Savannah giggled. “Yeah, I had heard something like that…”

      And as she took her husband deep into her body once more, she sent up her continued chant, maybe this time.

      Savannah was in the kitchen fixing them something to eat before they both passed out from hunger and sexual fatigue when the phone rang.

      “I got it,” Blake yelled out from the bedroom where he hadn’t moved from since they woke up.

      Several moments later she could hear him coming up behind her chuckling and saying, “yes, ma’am.” He handed her the phone. “Mom.” He turned and sauntered back to the bedroom.

      “Hey, Mom.” She tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder and continued to fix the western omelet.

      “Hey, sweetie, can you talk?”

      Savannah took a quick glance over her shoulder. “Yep. What’s up?”

      “You tell me,” her mother said in a conspiratorial whisper.

      Savannah lowered her voice. “I didn’t get a chance to look at it yet.”

      “What? Savannah,” she said in that tone she used with her as a little girl. “This is important. You wouldn’t have been chosen if they didn’t completely believe in you.”

      “Mother, I know. It’s just that…well, I’ve been a little tied up.”

      Her mother said, “Chile, you’re going to kill that man one of these days.”

      Savannah bit back a laugh. It never ceased to amaze her how out there and open her mother was about sex. “We are trying to have a baby, so I never want to miss out on an opportunity.”

      She turned off the flame beneath the frying pan and placed the omelet onto a platter. Savory steam wafted up to her nose.

      “I told you before, stop trying and it will happen.”

      Savannah sighed. “Yeah, that’s what Blake keeps saying.”

      “And he’s right. Relax, sweetheart. I know you and Blake will make beautiful babies together when the time is right. In the meantime, I suggest you take a look at your assignment. I want you to do well on this. People are depending on you.”

      Savannah swallowed hard. “I’ll take care of it. Promise.”

      “Good, and if you need me for anything, let me know.”

      “I will.”

      “Love you.”

      “Love you, too.”

      Slowly Savannah hung up the phone then took the platter and put it on the kitchen table. A part of her desperately wanted to read what was inside that envelope and another part of her dreaded it. But if she only had three weeks to pull off whatever it was that needed to be done, she couldn’t ignore the contents for long.