You should read ‘Your Silver Nights and Golden Days Pts. 01 – 04’ before reading this story to find out more about the characters in this story. Reading ‘Saving Grace’ wouldn’t hurt either.
Note that the following events took place in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, before there was any “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in place in the military. Being an active lesbian was risking your career, especially for an officer.
© 2021 Candy_Kane54
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July 1991
I was so excited. Mom was flying in today from LAX to visit us, and I was so looking forward to seeing her. Yes, I called her almost every day, but it’s not the same as talking to her face-to-face. This time, her visit would be crucial. I needed Mom to be here to watch the boys while Virginia and I took a week off to spend some much-needed quality time together. Virginia didn’t know anything about it because I wanted to surprise her with it. I had spent the last two weeks planning and setting things up for our ‘getaway.’
As I got the boys ready to go to the airport with me, I went over my plan in my head. The first part of my plan was getting Mom to come out to visit for a couple of weeks. The only thing I felt terrible about with this part of my plan was that Kathy wouldn’t be coming with her, so they would be apart as long as Mom stayed here. I never really understood Kathy’s phobia about flying. The one time she did come to visit with Mom, they had driven cross-country to do it. At least that time, Mom had put her foot down and insisted that they drive her car and not Kathy’s motorcycle to do it. Not that Grace was averse to riding on Kathy’s bike. In fact, she loved it. However, a cross-country trip with little to no luggage would not be a lot of fun. Mom had confided in me that they had gone on road trips up and down the west coast with just their toothbrushes and basic necessities at the drop of a hat when they were younger.
I knew Mom and Kathy were deeply in love with each other. I think I had known it since I was a teenager, but it had never really registered with me until I had hooked up with Virginia. Once we were together, it was Virginia who opened my eyes to the fact that Mom was in a relationship with Kathy. Once she pointed that out to me, then all of the little things I had observed throughout my life started coming together. That explained how she had quickly figured out that I was in a relationship with Virginia and had not opposed it.
We had never mentioned it to her or to the boys. It was evident that Mom didn’t want me, or the boys, to know that she was in a lesbian relationship with Kathy. Mom did this, even though the boys knew that I was in a lesbian relationship with Virginia. However, Mom finally decided to reveal her relationship with Kathy to Virginia and me and chose the night before we left to move to Ohio to disclose it to us.
April 1989
It had been a busy month, culminating with the movers coming and packing up all of our belongings except for the ones we had packed into our new minivan. We were going to spend the night with Mom before heading out in the morning for our cross-country trip to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) for Virginia’s new assignment. We had found a lovely three-bedroom ranch in Beavercreek, OH, to lease for the four years we would be there for Virginia’s new assignment.
This would be the first time that the boys and I would be living more than twenty miles away from Mom, and I was a little nervous about not having that lifeline to hold onto. Virginia reassured me that we could have Mom come and visit as often as she wanted to. In fact, we were planning to set up the third bedroom for her to use whenever she came to visit.
There were a lot of things that needed to be done before we were ready to move. Luckily, Virginia was used to moving from one place to another, so she knew what needed to be done to get things ready to go. I hated taking the boys out of school before the end of the school year, but they were both nearly straight ‘A’ students, so missing two weeks of classwork wouldn’t hurt them. We had already got everything set up to transfer them to their new school in Beavercreek once we get there.
I’ll admit that the enormity of the cross-country move weighed on me, but when Virginia pulled me in for a hug and then kissed me, I knew everything would be alright. I teared up, thrilled at the love Virginia had for me and that I had for her. When we broke, Virginia cupped my face in her hands and locked eyes with me. I could see the love she had for me in her eyes, and I knew she could see the love I had for her in my eyes. I thrilled, as I always do, when she said, “I love you.”
As I always did, I answered, “I love you more.”
As she always did, Virginia replied, “Not possible.”
I never argued with Virginia, although I was pretty sure that I did love her more. Still, I thrilled at Virginia’s declaration of love every time, knowing that she meant it with every fiber of her being.
Finally, the movers were finished and left. I started tearing up, thinking about all of the beautiful memories we had made here. Virginia took me in her arms and rained little kisses all over my face as I gently sobbed. Virginia said, “I love you,” repeatedly until I stopped crying and kissed her back. I loved that Virginia was okay with me being so emotional at times, never scolding me for being a crybaby. I always wished I could keep my emotions in check as Virginia did, but I also knew the price she paid for bottling them up. We locked up the empty condo and left to head over to the realtor’s office to drop off the keys and for Virginia to finish signing the paperwork.
Once we were done with the realtor, we headed over to Mom’s place. Mom was fixing dinner for us and had told us that Kathy was coming over too. When we arrived, Mom hugged me and then hugged Virginia. We went in to sit down in the kitchen. Mom was busy cooking dinner and refused our offer to help, so I grabbed a couple of Dos Equis out of the refrigerator and handed one to Virginia before sitting down myself. We chatted with Mom, going over our plans for the next two weeks while the boys watched TV.
When Kathy arrived, everyone except Mom lined up to hug her. Once the hugs were done, the boys went back to watching TV while Kathy joined us in the kitchen. Virginia and I started setting up the table for dinner. We finished just as Mom declared that dinner was ready. She had fixed pot roast with baby carrots and small potatoes, her specialty. I’ve always loved Mom’s cooking, and Virginia loved it too. I went to get the boys ready for dinner while Mom plated our food. We had a great dinner, and the conversations were wide-ranging.
After dinner, the boys went back into the living room to watch TV while the rest of us sat around the kitchen table talking. Finally, it was time for the boys to go to bed. Virginia and I tucked them in, and we both hugged them before going back out into the living room. Mom would let Virginia and I sleep in her bed tonight while she slept on the couch. I know Virginia didn’t like putting Mom out like that, but Mom always gets her way, so we agreed to her sleeping arrangements.
Finally, it was time for us to go to bed. Mom said, “Before you go to bed, there’s something Kathy, and I want to share with you.” Mom looked up at Kathy with a look that I recognized as one that Virginia always shared with me in a tender moment. She then turned back to us and said, “Kathy and I are in a lesbian relationship. We’ve been together since 1948, except for when I was married to your father. I’ve never wanted it to affect your life, so I’ve never told you about it. Now that you’re leaving, I don’t want you worrying that I’ll be back here all by myself.”
With that said, Mom and Kathy hugged and kissed, not holding anything back. Virginia and I exchanged a look since we had already figured out that they were in a relationship. We didn’t say anything. We jumped up and acted surprised as we came over to Mom and Kathy to hug them. When I hugged Mom, I said, “I’m so happy for you, Mom. I’m glad you have Kathy to lean on.”
Mom hugged me back hard and asked, “You’re not mad that I hid this from you?”
“No, Mom,” I said, kissing her on her cheek. “You did it to protect the boys and me, and I really appreciate it.”
Then I went over to Kathy and hugged her. I looked up at her and said, “I’m glad you’re here to help my mom while I’m gone.”
“I am, too, sweetie,” Kathy said. “I wanted to tell you years ago, but your Mom is just so stubborn.”
I looked over at Mom before I looked back at Kathy and said, “That’s where I got my stubbornness from, I guess.”
Kathy chuckled as she cupped my cheek with her right hand. She said, “You are your mother’s daughter, that’s for sure.”
I teared up before I said, “Yes. I’m so proud of Mom and how she’s lived her life. I hope I do as well with mine.”
“I’m sure you will,” Kathy replied as we separated.
Virginia also hugged both Mom and Kathy, congratulating them on their decision to tell us about their relationship.
Once all of the hugs were made, Virginia and I went into the bedroom and got ready for bed. We quietly spooned, Virginia bringing me to a mind-numbing orgasm before we switched, and I returned the favor. We fell asleep, but not before I lifted up a silent prayer to God, thanking him for the gift of Virginia’s love.
We must have switched positions during the night because when I woke up, Virginia had her arm over my ribs, her left hand cradling my right breast. I could hear her even breathing, which told me she was still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her just yet, so I lay there, her body up against mine. My eyes burned from the unshed tears I had promised myself I wouldn’t release, not wanting Virginia to worry about me.
Soon, I heard Virginia’s breathing speed up, and I knew she was waking up. I felt her hand tighten on my breast, and my nipple responded by hardening, that familiar ache making my heart flutter and my breath catch. Before anything more could happen, I spun around and wrapped my arms around Virginia as her arms went around me. “Good morning, love,” I said. “We’d better get going. It’s going to be a long day.”
I loved hearing the low moan of disappointment that came out of Virginia’s mouth. I gave her a small smile before I leaned in to kiss her. Virginia’s low moan turned to one of approval, and my moan joined hers as the kiss continued. Before it got too intense, I broke it and asked, “Wash my back?”
Virginia smiled and said, “As long as you wash mine.”
With that, we jumped out of bed and headed into the bathroom. We took turns peeing while the shower warmed up. We quickly showered but still managed to enjoy it. We dressed and headed out to the kitchen, where Mom was already fixing breakfast for the boys.
Virginia and I each gave Mom a quick hug before we sat down to eat. Mom handed us each a plate, and we dug in, enjoying one last home-cooked meal since we would be mainly eating fast food for the next two weeks. We all quickly ate and got ready to go. I teared up a bit when I hugged Mom. She kissed my cheek and told me that she loved me and was so happy for me. I kissed her cheek and told her how much I loved her.
After one final round of hugs, we got in the minivan to leave. As we pulled away, starting our trek to Ohio, I teared up again as I looked back and watched Mom waving at us. Virginia reached over and patted my thigh and said, “It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll be back one day.”
I didn’t want to upset Virginia, so I agreed with her. I dashed the tears out of my eyes and smiled at Virginia to let her think I was okay. I didn’t tell her that I knew I would never see this place again.
July 1991
I headed out on I-675 North to get on I-70 West to go to Dayton International Airport to pick up Mom. The boys were excited about seeing their grandmother again. They had an animated discussion about who would be the first to spot her when she got off the plane. I couldn’t wait to tell Mom my plans for the next week.
Virginia was coming back home tomorrow from her week-long Temporary DutY assignment (TDY) to the General Dynamics facility in Ft. Worth, TX. Having Mom here to visit would be the first surprise I had for Virginia. At the thought of surprising Virginia, my heart fluttered as I thought about how much I loved her.
Virginia has been going TDY nearly every week for the last four months. Even when she’s not traveling, Virginia was putting in ten to twelve-hour days trying to do her job. What’s frustrating was the secrecy and that Virginia can’t really tell me what she’s doing. Not that I’m smart enough to help her when Virginia is struggling with anything. I know the long hours and hard work stress her, so I do my best to relax Virginia when she’s home.
I really love that when Virginia comes home, she is totally at home with us and is not thinking about work. She rarely brings her work home with her, and she always asks me first before she does. It’s incredible how Virginia can separate her work from her life with us. That’s why I don’t worry about the time she spends away traveling during the week because she’s home on the weekends, spending her time with the boys, making sure they know she’s there for them. While traveling, Virginia always talks to the boys every night to let them know that she hasn’t forgotten them. When Virginia’s not traveling, I have the nights with her, and that is all I really need. Virginia never fails to make it known that she loves me with every fiber of her being. I smiled as I thought about how thoroughly she assures me that she loves me.
As we passed the Colonel Glenn Highway exit before getting onto I-70 West, I looked over and spotted the Wright State University campus. I had just finished up my sophomore year at Wright State last month working on my Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. I’ll be starting my junior year next month and was looking forward to it. I’ve really enjoyed going back to school. It was something I had always wanted to do but never had the time or means to afford it until I got together with Virginia.
Virginia’s faith in me has made it so easy for me to go back to school after all of those years. I just can’t believe how patient she was with me whenever I ran into something I didn’t understand. Virginia was so intelligent. She always took the time to sit down with me and go over the material to make sure I understood it. Virginia never talks down to me when she’s trying to explain something to me. Once I’ve grasped the concept, Virginia always left it to me to do the work, knowing that I would only understand it by doing the work myself. My grades are near the top for my classes, and my GPA was high enough that I’m now on the Dean’s list each semester, thanks to Virginia. Each report card was a treasure as I saw my progress and how well I’ve done in my classes.
I wouldn’t be doing this except for Virginia. Ever since I met her, my life has changed for the better. All of those years working as a waitress, and other menial jobs, were behind me now. Virginia’s belief in me has made me want to better myself to prove that her confidence in me was not misplaced. Yes, I’m now busier than ever, but I’m also enjoying life more than ever.
August 1989
I was really nervous before my first class since high school. I had been a good student in high school, but at the time, I had never had any plans to go to college. Mom had seemed to get by working as a waitress or secretary, and she had never gone to college. I figured if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. I partied as I worked at many menial jobs, making enough to get by, living from paycheck to paycheck. Of course, once I got pregnant with Matthew and married Gary, I didn’t have much time for partying. Then I got pregnant with Mark and couldn’t work either.
When Gary walked out on the boys and me, it was hard going back to work and getting all of the hours I needed to make enough money to get by. Things were lean, but Mom was always there to help when I needed it, either by watching the boys for me or helping me to make it to the next paycheck. I know a lot of times, Mom offered to watch the boys just so she could feed them, wanting to help me without actually admitting she was. I hated having to rely on her, and I only did it when I was desperate, but I had no better option.
I tried to find someone to replace Gary, but none of the guys I found to date me were interested in the boys. That always turned out to be a deal-breaker, so I ended up alone and frustrated. I had heard stories about women who would abandon their children just to be with a man, but that was something I could never conceive of doing. I loved my boys. They were so precious to me.
I certainly never entertained the thought of prostitution to make more money. That was one line I wouldn’t cross. I worked as many jobs as I could get, some of them in places I would never go to myself. However, I did dress revealingly to try to get better tips. I had to put up with the hands all over my body, smiling brightly no matter how much I hated it, to get that extra money. A lot of nights, after I got home, I went straight to the shower to get the imagined filth off of my body. I then went to bed on the couch and cried, thinking about what I had had to do to get enough tip money to feed my boys and pay the rent.
Beavercreek was only fifteen minutes away from Wright State University. I had time to get the boys off to school and Virginia off to work before I needed to head out to my first day of classes. After I pulled into the parking lot of Wright State University and found a spot to park, I was momentarily overwhelmed by what I was about to do. I looked at myself in the rear-view mirror and chastised myself. “You can do this!” I said to myself. I steeled myself, not wanting Virginia to think less of me, and got out of the minivan. I headed into the Boonshoft School of Medicine building with my book bag slung over my shoulder. I looked around at the other students filing in, and I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only older adult here to attend classes.
I found my classroom and went in, noting that most of the students were seated in the back of the room. I chose a seat near the front so I could see and hear the teacher better. I was nervous, but I was excited at the same time. When the teacher came in, I saw that she was about my age, so my nervousness went away. She was wearing scrubs and looked competent. She introduced herself as Stephanie Waycross, a licensed practical nurse. She went on to explain what was required for the biology class.
Stephanie then started discussing the subject, and I really enjoyed it. My fear was that once she began discussing the material, it would all be incomprehensible to me. Fortunately, when I had bought my school books, Virginia had sat down with me and went through them with me, giving me a précis of what was in the books. Because of that, I was able to grasp what Stephanie was talking about. I made sure to take good notes if I needed to ask Virginia any questions about what we covered today.
This was one of several pre-requisite courses I needed to complete to get into the nursing program, so my first year would be busy. I had four other classes on that first day, and I was exhausted by the time I left to go home but pleased that I had actually enjoyed the lessons. Virginia surprised me by being there when I got home, knowing that my first day would be the hardest. She wanted me to see that she totally supported my effort to improve myself.
I was so glad to see her that my exhaustion faded away, and I practically dragged her into the bedroom to express my appreciation for her support. Afterward, I fell into an exhausted but satisfied sleep, knowing that Virginia was there to meet the boys when they got home from school. After a nice nap, I got up and started fixing dinner while Virginia sat down at the dinner table with the boys and talked with them about their schoolwork. I loved watching her interact with the boys. They just loved her, and they paid rapt attention to her. Like she did with me, Virginia always made the boys do the work themselves after making sure they understood the concept.
Ever since we’ve been together, the boy’s grades have been high, and they are now both nearly straight-A students, thanks to Virginia. While I waited for the casserole to finish, I stood in the doorway for a minute, watching the boys interacting with Virginia. Matthew looked up at one point and smiled at me, and I could tell that he was happy. I smiled back at him, and he returned to paying attention to Virginia. As I continued watching, I felt the burn of unshed tears as I hoped that he’d still be able to smile like that after I’m gone.
July 1991
I took the exit to the airport and found a parking spot in short-term parking near the concourse entrance. The boys and I got out and walked up to the entrance. Matthew opened the first door for me, and Mark opened the second door for me, acting like perfect gentlemen. I was so proud of them, and I could see the influence that Virginia had made on them. Considering all of the years that I raised them alone without a father, they’ve turned out very nice. They were and would always be my proudest achievement.
I looked up at Matthew, now taller than me, his 15th birthday coming up next month, and my heart clenched at the love I had for him. He was my favorite, but I never told him that, maybe being harder on him than Mark because of that. His blond hair and blue eyes made him look so much like his father, who had walked out on us shortly after Mark was born. I’ve never held that against Matthew. He was going to be a lady killer when he grows up. I’m just so glad that I’m still the woman in his life for now. Well, me and Virginia. Matthew just adores Virginia. I was so pleased that Virginia, right from the start, ensured that the boys were her priority, loving them as though they were her own sons.
I looked up at Mark, now just taller than me. He just had his 13th birthday in April. I loved him so much. Mark never knew his father, and he had never really asked me about him. He was always such a happy boy, smiling at me every time I woke him up, and he was such a joy. He had brown hair and eyes, and Mom said he looks like a male version of me.
By the time we made it to the gate, the passengers had started to come out of the jetway. We stood there waiting for Mom to appear. Matthew spotted her first and yelled, “Grandma’s here!” before dashing forward to hug her. Mark and I were right behind him, and we spent a few minutes exchanging hugs. Mom was teary-eyed by the time we hugged, and I nearly teared up when Mom said, “Love you, sweetie.” That was her pet name for me ever since I could remember. Virginia always teased me about it when she heard Mom call me that. Of course, I teased her back once Mom started calling her sweetie.
Mom was my height and has kept herself in shape. She has a slightly bigger bust than I do, but other than that, if we stood side-by-side, we looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Mom looks so good for being sixty-one years old. Virginia always tells me that seeing how Mom has turned out is a good indication that I’ll look that good when I’m her age. All I can say is, if I look half as good as Mom does when I’m her age, I’ll be happy.
We went to the baggage area to get Mom’s bags. The boys were happy to help with carrying Mom’s luggage as we left to walk out to the car. Once we were settled in, we headed out. During the trip home, the boys regaled Mom with what they’d been doing and what they planned to do while she was here. Since it was dinner time, we stopped at Mimi’s Café off of Indian Ripple Road. We loved their food, and since we found it, it’s been one of our favorite restaurants to visit.
Once we got home, the boys took Mom’s bags into the house and to her room. Before it was time for Virginia to call, I reminded the boys to not say anything about their grandmother being here when they talked to Virginia. When Virginia did call, we had an excellent talk. She told me she was looking forward to coming home tomorrow, and I agreed with her. We exchanged “I love yous” before I put Matthew on the phone. He excitedly told Virginia about his day before Mark took his turn to do the same. They both told Virginia that they loved her. My heart swelled with pride at how they have totally accepted Virginia as their second Mom.
When the boys were done, I got back on the phone, and we exchanged “I love yous” again before we ended the call. I hugged both of my boys and told them how much I loved them before I shooed them off to get ready for bed. We had a busy day planned for tomorrow. We were taking Mom up to the Dayton Hydrobowl to watch the hydroplane boat racing that was going on this weekend. The races wouldn’t take place until Saturday and Sunday. However, the boats will be out practicing and running trials tomorrow. The boys were really looking forward to watching them.
As we sat there on the couch watching LA Law, I said, “Mom, thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it. Virginia works so hard, and she’s really getting stressed, although she won’t admit it. She really needs this time off.”
Mom said, “No problem, sweetie. I really enjoy being here with the boys. Don’t worry about this; we’ll have a great time. You just worry about Virginia and enjoy yourselves.”
“We will not have a telephone where we are staying, so we probably won’t call,” I said. “We’re staying at a cabin in Buck Creek State Park up by Springfield. You can call the main lodge to get a message to us if you need to. I’ll leave the details with you in case you need to get hold of us.”
“Did you have any trouble talking with Virginia’s boss about her having a week off?” Mom asked.
“No,” I replied. “Alice was delighted to do it for me. She had been concerned about Virginia working so hard, too. She approved it immediately and has already put in the paperwork. Alice also said that she would call the MPs to escort Virginia off the base if she tries to come in before the 22nd.”
“She sounds like she’s a great boss to work for,” Mom said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Alice is a very nice person, and I like her a lot.” As I said that, I reflected back to the time when Alice figured out that Virginia was a lesbian …
May 1989
When Virginia came home from her first day in her new assignment, I could tell that she was troubled about something. I pulled her into a hug and asked her what the problem was.
“I’m getting a vibe from my new boss, Alice, that she’s gay,” Virginia said, looking me in the eye. She went on to describe her interaction with Alice. I expressed my concern, and Virginia hurriedly assured me that she had absolutely no interest in pursuing anything with Alice.
Realizing that Virginia thought I was worried about that, I quickly said, “Sweetie, I’m not worried about you straying.” I then kissed her thoroughly to express my confidence in her. When we broke, I then said, “I just hope she doesn’t try pursuing you or putting you in a precarious position.”
“I’ll just make doubly sure that anything I say or do can’t be misinterpreted,” Virginia averred. She locked eyes with me to reassure me of her intent.
Luckily, nothing seemed to come of that. Over the next two months, Virginia kept me informed about each time that Alice seemed to be making an overture through her actions or words. I was sure that nothing would ever come of it, but I knew that Virginia was concerned about my feelings about it. Then one Friday night, Virginia came home, practically in tears. I rushed to her and pulled her in for a hug, asking her what was bothering her.
“I’m sure Alice has figured out that I’m a lesbian,” Virginia said. I could hear the anguish in her voice, so I did my best to console her, holding her tight and raining little kisses on her neck until she pulled back and looked me in the eye. “I screwed up and gave her a good look at my ring,” Virginia continued. “I’m sure she recognized what it was because I heard her breath hitch when she saw it, but she didn’t say anything about it or act any different afterward. Of course, she may have been hiding her reaction just as hard as I was hiding my reaction.”
By Monday morning, I had managed to convince Virginia that everything would be okay. After all, why would Alice want to make a big deal about it since it would expose her to the same scrutiny? Even though she was a civilian government worker, the stigma of being a lesbian could force her out of her job too.
When Virginia came home Monday night, she smiled when I asked her about her day, and she told me that everything seemed to be okay with Alice. Then Tuesday night, when Virginia came home, I could see a big smile on her face and a bounce in her step that hadn’t been there since her first day working for Alice.
She threw her arms around me and told me that she and Alice had talked today and outed themselves to each other. Virginia had explained to Alice that she was in a relationship, so nothing could go on between them. Alice had admitted that she had been interested in Virginia until she saw the ring. Alice assured Virginia that that wouldn’t affect their working relationship. Virginia said that she felt more comfortable working today than ever since coming to her new assignment.
Shortly afterward, I had a chance to meet Alice, and I could see that she was a beautiful woman and was a sweet person. We got along fabulously, and later, I thought that Alice just might be someone to take my place in Virginia’s life after I was gone.
July 1991
Once the 11 o’clock news came on, Mom and I said our goodnights and went to bed. As I performed my toilet before going to bed, I thought about what I was planning to do with Virginia tomorrow night after we got home. I looked at my naked body in the mirror, noting my toned core and legs. I had spent a lot of effort with yoga to keep my body in shape, not wanting to become a doughy blob, as some women do after having children.
I tried to imagine that I was Virginia looking at me and what she loved about my body. I looked at my pert breasts, still firm even after having two boys and nursing them. I noticed that my nipples were hardening and aching as I remembered loving how it felt as my boys suckled them. I noted the few stretch marks and thrilled as I remember how Virginia always pays attention to them. She always tells me that they were badges of honor, not something to be ashamed of and hidden. My hands cupped my breasts, and I massaged my nipples, reveling in the feeling as pulses speared through my body, making my clit pulse in response.
My gaze shifted down to my hot and wet pussy, noting the closely trimmed brown pubic hair that didn’t hide the fact that my lips were red and inflamed from the blood engorging them. I had waxed myself, so I could wear bikini panties, but I haven’t shaved my mound bald. My eyes followed the creases between my core and my thighs, again noting a couple of stretch marks that Virginia loved paying attention to. I remembered how hard I had worked to keep my skin soft and supple to reduce the chance of getting stretch marks while I was pregnant. Thinking about Virginia locking eyes with me as she nuzzled them made my gut clench, and a low moan escaped my lips.
My right hand slid down my core, and I ran my middle finger between my lips, feeling my juices lubricating it as my breath hitched. I used my left hand to continue rolling, pulling, and pinching my left nipple as the pulses went straight to my clit. I slipped my finger into my hole, curving it to make sure I hit my g-spot once my knuckles nestled between my lips. I felt the spongy spot and tapped it, making another pulse zap my clit. I started moving my finger in and out, adding my ring finger, creating that stretching feeling of fullness I enjoyed so much.
I sped up my thrusting as I switched nipples, alternating between my left and right nipple as I started losing myself in the feelings beginning to overwhelm me. I added my index finger, increasing the stretching sensation and fullness as I sped up, the base of my thumb hitting my clit as my finger hit my g-spot. My hips started rolling on their own as my orgasm started building up to crash down over me. My thighs started spasming, and I started gasping, moaning softly, “Oh, God,” over and over as I approached the point of no return.
Suddenly, my orgasm crashed over me, and I curled around it. I reached out with my left hand to catch myself on the sink as my pussy grabbed my fingers, tightening on them as spasms ran through my body. I started feeling light-headed as my vision grayed out around the edges. A small gush of fluid covered my fingers as I finally pulled them out. I brought my hand up to my face and lapped the juices off of my fingers, loving the taste of them, wishing that Virginia was here to taste them with me.
After I got myself back under control, I finished my toilet and pulled on a sleeping tee and a pair of panties before slipping into bed. As I lay there in my post-masturbatory bliss, I thought back to the preparations I had made before leaving California. These were preparations that neither Mom nor Virginia knew anything about.
April 1989
I had never been particularly religious while growing up. Mom did take me to Sunday school at the local Methodist church when I was a kid, so I knew my Bible. I accepted the concept of God, but I had no firm belief one way or the other. I did take the boys to Sunday school for a while when they were young, but I never really pushed them to be regular church-goers. I do remember enjoying Dr. Gene Scott and his TV broadcasts from the Faith Center in Glendale when I had time to watch TV.
Virginia’s love for me, however, has convinced me more than all of the sermons I’ve listened to that there must be a God. How else could I justify how great my life has become since meeting her? That’s why I’ve started thanking God every night for the gift of having Virginia in my life that day.
Maybe that’s why I started having the dreams that I interpreted as my time left on earth was limited. The first time it happened, I woke up shaken, wondering what had brought that about. I thought maybe it was due to the movie I had watched with Virginia the night before. Just then, Virginia rolled over in her sleep and spooned up against me, her arm draping over my ribs. I got my emotions back under control and snuggled into Virginia, comforting myself before I fell back asleep. Then, a week later, the same dream haunted me, and I woke up uneasy.
I remembered that I had had the same dream before, a dream that I watched Virginia standing over an open grave from a birds-eye point of view. She had a handful of dirt and was working it between her fingers, dribbling it on top of a coffin. Virginia had tears in her eyes, and my heart ached, not from the idea that I was dead, but from the thought that I had left her alone with a big hole in her heart that I had once occupied. My view pulled back, and I saw Mom and the boys standing back, all of them weeping. I looked around, and I wasn’t sure where I was, but I knew it wasn’t anywhere in California. Then, I slowly faded away, and everything went blank just as the first time I dreamed it.
I lay there, wondering why this was happening. I could feel the burn of unshed tears in my eyes. I knew moving away would be a new experience, but why am I being haunted by this dream? As before, Virginia stirred and spooned up against me, almost as if she were comforting me. I fell back asleep, determined not to let this get me down. I was so thankful for Virginia, and I vowed that no matter how short my time was with her, I would make sure that she knows I love her more than life itself.
One thing I needed to do, I didn’t tell Virginia about. I got a safety deposit box at my bank, Coast Federal Savings, and Loans and put all of my prized possessions in it. I put all of the holiday and birthday cards and postcards that Virginia had gotten for me in there, rereading them and treasuring each memory. I also put all of the receipts that I had saved from Virginia’s visits to Jack’s Salad Bar and Grill when I worked there with the cards. I had saved every one of them because when I saw her that first time, something told me that we would wind up together. As I sorted through them, I could see the notes I had scribbled on some of them. They brought back all of the memories I treasured of Virginia’s visits, especially the ones before we got together. When I came to the receipt from the first time I saw Virginia, I teared up thinking about that first meeting. My whole life changed at that moment in time, and I would treasure that memory for the rest of my life. I made sure that the receipt was tucked into a plasticine envelope to keep it safe.
Lastly, I had written four letters, one each for Virginia, Matthew, Mark, and Mom. For the letters I wrote to the boys, I thanked them for being a part of my life, telling them how blessed I was to have had them in my life and how proud I was of the men they were growing into. I said to them that Virginia was their mom now and asked them to help Virginia move on with her life now that I was no longer around.
In my letter to Mom, I told her that I had known about her relationship with Kathy and that I was glad that she had Kathy there to support her. I thanked her for being the rock for me as I grew up, thanking her for the sacrifices she had made for me. I told her how sorry I was for the grief I had given her while growing up, telling her how I now realize that she was only looking out for me. I asked her to support Virginia and to encourage her to find someone else to love.
When I wrote the letter meant for Virginia, I poured my heart and soul into it, thanking her for her love and faith in me. My life was so much more since I had met her. I wanted her to know that and that I appreciated it. I asked her to find someone else to love. I didn’t want her to be alone for the rest of her life. Oh, I knew she would be there for the boys for as long as they needed her, for which I was thankful. My knowledge that Virginia would be there for the boys made it easier for me to accept that I would not be there for them for much longer.
With that task accomplished, I gave the key to the safety deposit box to Mom and told her that I had stashed some papers in there and she could retrieve them for me if I ever needed them. I said that so she wouldn’t worry about why I was doing this. I didn’t tell her the real reason for doing it, that I had had a premonition that I would never be coming back to California. Mom said she would hold onto it for me and hugged me tight, telling me how much she loved me. I told Mom how much I loved her and thanked her for everything she had done for the boys and me. I also thanked Mom for accepting Virginia into my life. I had tried hard not to make it sound like I was saying goodbye. Despite my effort, Mom pulled back and looked me in the eye for a moment before she pulled me back in for another hug. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that I had managed to deflect her from thinking I was saying goodbye.
July 1991
I woke to sunshine coming through the drapes, a good sign that it would be a beautiful day. I donned a robe to cover my sleeping tee and headed out to the kitchen. Mom was already cooking breakfast for the boys when I got there, a boisterous conversation going on between them. I side-hugged Mom before pouring some orange juice for myself and offered to help her with breakfast. Mom shooed me off to the table, and I sat there with the boys, planning our day. They were excited about going to watch the boats but also excited that Virginia was coming back today. I just smiled, silently agreeing with them. I couldn’t wait to see Virginia either.
We enjoyed breakfast. It was a treat to enjoy Mom’s cooking again. Neither Virginia nor I can make pancakes like Mom does, and the boys and I frankly got stuffed on them. Once breakfast was over, I helped Mom clean up while the boys showered and dressed for the day. I side-hugged her and thanked her for a delicious breakfast before I went off to perform my toilet.
In-board racing was going to be the main event this weekend at the Dayton Hydrobowl. They were going to have a couple of static displays so the kids, and adults, could get a close-up view of what the boats looked like that were going to be racing. There were hydroplane-style and runabout-style boats that would be racing over the weekend. They would be running the smaller classes of craft, so there weren’t any unlimited boats with jet engines that can go 200+ MPH (325+ KPH).
Finally, we were all ready to go. We piled into the minivan, and I drove us out to Eastwood Lake, next to the Mad River. There was plenty of parking available, but it was filling up fast with all of the cars lined up to enter. I finally found a parking spot and barely got the car parked before the boys jumped out, excited to see what was going on. The boats were already out on the lake, doing practice runs, trying to get their boats dialed in for the races that would take place tomorrow and Sunday. I cautioned the boys to be careful and not get too far ahead of us. Mom and I took our time getting up to where the action was, scoping out where the facilities and concessions were.
We found a nice spot on the side of the dike to stake out a place to sit where we could watch the boats out on the water. Mom and I sat down and put up our umbrella to have some shade. The boys were excited and wouldn’t sit still for very long, constantly jumping up whenever a boat went by on our side of the lake. As we watched the boats go through their routines, they excitedly tried to figure out the boat’s class that was racing by.
Luckily, the boat’s number tells you the class of craft it is, if you can see it. Numbers with a prefix of ‘Y’ were hydroplane in-boards, while numbers with a prefix of ‘P’ were runabout in-boards. If you can’t see the number, the rooster-tail was a dead giveaway that it was a hydroplane inboard boat. If two people were sitting side-by-side in the stern, it was a runabout inboard boat. Some of the rooster-tails were big, and the engines were loud. Apparently, mufflers were not considered necessary.
Every once in a while, two boats would start racing each other around the lake, and the boys would get excited watching them flying over the water. It was impressive how the hydroplanes seemed to skim above the water with only the propeller and the sponsons touching the water. Even the runabouts appeared to glide over the water, but they sat lower in the water, so there wasn’t a big rooster-tail behind them.
Eventually, there was a lull in the activity, so we got up and wandered over to where the static displays were set up. The boys were really excited while looking at them, pointing out details to each other as they went over the boats. They had lots of questions for the people manning the static displays, and Mom and I just stood back, enjoying how the boys were polite even in their excitement.
After a while, I gathered up the boys, and we went to the concession stand to get some lunch. While it was your typical concession stand food, it was good and filling. Once we were done eating, we could hear the boats starting up again, and we went back to the dike to find a seat. They were going to start running trials this afternoon to determine which boats would be in the races this weekend.
The first race we watched had four runabouts racing for three spots in the race tomorrow. It didn’t matter if you won the race or not, only that you weren’t last and got eliminated. The loud crescendo of the engines was an indication that the race had started. There was a lot of jockeying of the boats as they went around the circuit. Nobody really got ahead to a big lead, and the race ended with all four boats nearly side-by-side as they crossed the finish line.
The subsequent trial had the hydroplane boats participating. This race was a lot more exciting since you had a distinct advantage going into a turn first because of the enormous rooster-tails. All four boats had held the lead at one time or another before they finished, again nearly side-by-side, with all four boats going all out for the finish line, roster-tails flying high.
Eventually, after another three trials were run, I told the boys that it was time to go. I wanted to make sure we didn’t get held up in traffic since we needed to get to the airport to pick up Virginia. As excited as they were about the races, they were more excited about Virginia coming home, so we quickly picked up and headed back to the car. Once we had everything stowed, we took off and managed to get out without being held up by traffic.
We made it to the airport with time to spare. We checked the board to see which gate Virginia’s flight was coming into and worked our way there. The boys always enjoyed looking at the murals and reading about the history of powered flight and the Wright brothers’ legacy, who called Dayton their home. We had actually visited the building that was their bicycle shop before they got into building airplanes. We finally made it to the gate. The boys were excited about Virginia coming back home. In contrast, Mom and I were excited about the surprise we were springing on Virginia.
When Virginia came out of the jetway, I braced myself as I always did when I went to the airport to pick her up. I watched as her gaze swept the concourse as she looked for me. I noticed that people reacted to her gaze as though they could feel it, unconsciously flinching or turning to see who was looking at them so intently. Finally, our eyes met, and Virginia’s gaze hit me like a physical blow. I thrilled as our eyes locked, and I could see the absolute love Virginia had for me in her gaze. At that moment, the only things that existed were the two of us. Nothing else mattered. My eyes burned with unshed tears as the heat of her love for me washed over me, cleansing my soul with its fire.
To any outside observer, our gaze may have seemed to last for just a few seconds. However, so much was communicated between us in that short time. I felt Virginia’s love for me, her longing for me, and her desire for me. I was broadcasting my feelings for her too. I willed Virginia to feel the absolute love I have for her, my needy longing for her, and my carnal desire for her. My breath caught, and I must have let out a small moan because when our gaze broke, I saw that Mom was looking at me intently, a small smile on her lips.
Virginia’s gaze gathered in the boys for a moment, and then she realized that Mom was there, and her eyes got big. My heart thrilled that I had surprised her. The boys excitedly pushed forward to meet her. Mom and I held back long enough to give Virginia a moment with them. I loved how Virginia greeted them, hugging each of them and looking them in the eye as she told them how much she loved them and had missed them while she was gone. I could see how the boys reacted to that. My heart thrilled again for the love they showed for her.
Virginia then greeted Mom, hugging her, kissing her cheek, and exclaiming how surprised she was to see her. Then Virginia turned to me, and I struggled not to just fly into her arms and devour her, showering her with kisses. I could see the struggle in her eyes as she steeled herself to greet me. Virginia stepped up to me and chastely said, “It’s good to see you again, Bonnie.”
Just as demurely, I replied, “It’s nice to see you too, Virginia.” Inside I just wanted to shout my love for her to the world. However, I knew I couldn’t do that because of the military’s prohibition on homosexual relationships, so we had to act as though we were just friends greeting each other. I know it chafed Virginia because she always worried that I would misinterpret her aloofness as not caring for me. I’ve often had to reassure her that I knew she loved me because a blind man could see the love she had for me in her eyes. I was always afraid that I would do something to give it away, so I made doubly sure that I behaved appropriately in public. Of course, once we were in private, there would be no appropriateness displayed at all.
With our greetings out of the way, we headed to the Baggage area to get Virginia’s bag. While we waited for her luggage, we chatted about the weather and the fact that Russia had elected Boris Yeltsin as their president. The boys were eager to tell Virginia about the boat races they had seen today, and she paid rapt attention to them while they did. We would exchange smiles and glances from time to time, and my nipples grew hard and ached, and my pussy burned with the fire her glances ignited in me. My juices started flowing, attempting to put out the fire. I could see her desire for me flare each time she looked at me before she turned her attention back to the boys.
As we headed home, Virginia sat in the back with the boys, catching up with them on what they’d been up to while she had been gone. Occasionally, she would look up and catch my eye in the rear-view mirror. When our eyes locked, we both widely smiled before I would tear my eyes away to pay attention to my driving. I didn’t resent the time she spent with the boys now because I knew she would devote her full attention to me once we got home. In the meantime, I thought back to one of the many times Virginia spent time with one of the boys when they needed answers …
March 1989
Virginia was sitting at the dining room table, working on a presentation. She didn’t usually work at home, but since she got home early today to go with me to Matthew’s school for their basketball tournament game, she would spend an hour working. I knew she hated having to do it, but it was time-sensitive work that needed to be done before leaving for her new assignment. I hugged her and kissed her to let her know that it was okay with me. I then went in and sat on the couch to watch TV with Mark.
I saw Matthew come out of his bedroom, and I could tell that he was troubled by something. I expected him to come over to me to talk about it, but instead, he went over to stand next to Virginia. I saw Virginia look up at Matthew. I could tell that she had instantly switched hats and became ‘Mom’ when she began speaking to Matthew. She wasn’t just going to brush him off or be irritated with the interruption. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could tell from their body language that they were involved in a serious discussion. My heart thrilled at the thought of how Virginia was totally into her conversation with Matthew.
After a couple of minutes, I saw Matthew suddenly smile, and I could tell that what had been troubling him had been sorted out by his talk with Virginia. Virginia stood up and hugged Matthew before he turned and walked into the living room. At the same time, Virginia and I locked eyes for a moment, and we smiled at each other before she sat back down and turned back to her work. Matthew came over to the couch and sat down next to me and side-hugged me before he said, “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, sweetie,” I said. “What were you and Virginia talking about?”
“I just had a question that I needed an answer to,” Matthew said. He looked me in the eye and said, “I asked Aunt Ginny if she was a lesbian, and she answered that she was.” After a short pause, he continued, “Mom, I love Aunt Ginny so much. She’s been so much like a second mom to me that I hope you don’t mind if I start calling her ‘Mom 2.0?'”
I teared up as I hugged Matthew and said, “Oh, sweetie, I don’t mind at all. I’m so glad you think that much of her.” Inside, I secretly thrilled. I was so happy that Matthew felt comfortable enough to call Virginia ‘Mom.’ I looked over at Virginia, working away, deep in thought. At that moment, I knew that my boys would be in safe hands with her after I was gone. My only worry now was the emptiness and loneliness that Virginia would experience. I knew she would internalize it, and I desperately hoped she wouldn’t let it destroy her.
July 1991
Mom and I chatted about what we were going to do for dinner as I drove us home. She wanted to cook a nice meal for us tonight, and we went over the inventory of food while she planned the menu. Once we got home, the boys argued briefly about who would get to carry Virginia’s bag into the house. Before it got too boisterous, Virginia decided for them by asking Matthew to take her suitcase in and put it in the bedroom. Virginia and I held back and let everyone else go ahead before we walked into the house hand-in-hand. We were unwilling to wait another moment to touch each other, even if it was to only hold hands.
Once we were inside and the door closed, Virginia and I turned to face each other and wrapped our arms around each other as we finally kissed. Knowing that we weren’t alone, we broke it quickly before it got too intense. We locked eyes as we rested our foreheads together, and I could see the promise in her eyes that she wasn’t finished with me. I hoped she saw that same promise in my eyes. I wanted to get her in bed as soon as possible and welcome her back the best way possible. As hard as she tried to hide it, I could see the weariness in her from working so hard.
When I reluctantly let go of her and stepped back, I said, “Why don’t you go lay down for a bit. You look tired.”
Virginia smiled and asked, “Will you be coming in to check on me?”
I smiled as I said, “Yes, I’ll be in shortly.”
Virginia went off to the bedroom, and I got with Mom to make sure she had everything she needed to make dinner. I also tasked the boys to help their grandma clean up and get dinner ready while I went in to check on Virginia to see if she was okay. Mom winked at me and started giving the boys tasks to help her while she made shooing motions at me with her hands. I smiled back at her and left, heading for the bedroom … and Virginia.
I entered our bedroom and heard the shower running. I closed the door and immediately began shucking my clothes as I headed into the bathroom. By the time I got to the shower door, I was naked. I opened the door and slipped in, taking Virginia in my arms. I pressed my breasts up against her back and my hips up against her ass. My arms then went around her ribs. I leaned in and nuzzled her ear as I murmured, “Hello stranger.”
I heard a slight moan work its way out of Virginia’s throat, and my body immediately reacted to it. My nipples hardened and started aching as they dug into her back. My pussy started burning from the heat I felt, and I could feel my juices start flowing in a futile effort to put out the fire. Virginia placed her hands on top of mine. She then arched her back, pressing her ass into my hips and her shoulders into my breasts. She murmured, “God, Bonnie, I’ve thought about you touching me all the way home, and I’m about ready to explode.”
“So, how did you want me to touch you?” I purred into Virginia’s ear as I moved my left hand up to cup her right breast, making sure to capture her hard nipple between my thumb and forefinger.
When I tweaked her nipple, Virginia’s breath caught before she moaned, “Oh, God, Bonnie.”
“Did you think about me doing that?” I asked as I started sliding my right hand down over her core, feeling her abdominals spasm from my touch. I continued massaging her breast with my left hand. I dug into her supple flesh with my fingers, enjoying the dichotomy of her soft flesh and hard nipple.
“Oh, God, Bonnie, yes!” she exclaimed, pressing back against me. “I love that.”
As my hand slid down and cupped Virginia’s mound, I knew that Virginia was primed, so I wasn’t going to waste a lot of time with foreplay. Virginia widened her stance as I worked my middle finger between her lips. I thrust it in, the base of my thumb hitting her clit as her pussy adjusted to my penetration. I immediately slipped my ring finger in, stretching her hole, loving how tightly my fingers were squeezed. After a couple of more strokes, I added my index finger, stretching her even more as I pistoned my fingers in and out as fast and hard as possible. The base of my thumb was slapping her clit, making her body spasm with each contact, and I made sure to curl my fingers to hit her g-spot. Virginia immediately began gasping, “Oh, God,” repeatedly as I assaulted her pussy.
I nearly growled in her ear, “Come for me, love,” as I felt her getting ready to crash over the edge. By now, Virginia’s entire body was reacting to my ministrations. She was up on her toes as I felt her let go, and Virginia quietly screamed, “Bonniiieeeeee …” as she gave in to her orgasm, nearly collapsing as her thighs snapped shut on my hand. Only my arm around her ribs, her breast crushed in my left hand, and my right hand clamped between her thighs was keeping her from hitting the tiles.
As soon as Virginia could stand up on her own, albeit shakily, we quickly finished our shower, making sure to get each other’s back. When we were done, I started toweling Virginia off. I started with her head and eventually working my way down to her feet, making sure to dry every nook and cranny of her body. As I knelt in front of her to get her feet, I was at eye level with her pussy, and I could smell her arousal and see her blood-engorged lips weeping her fluids through her closely trimmed blonde hair on her mound. I locked eyes with her and leaned in and kissed her pussy, nuzzling her lips as my nose bumped her sensitive clit, making her buck her hips and softly moan, “Oh, God, Bonnie.”
I stood up and quickly dried myself as Virginia headed toward our bed. I joined her, and when she tried to take me in her arms, I shook my head, pushed her onto her back, and straddled her hips. Usually, Virginia was the pitcher, and I was the catcher in bed. However, when I was welcoming her home, we reversed roles, and I took control and set the pace, and determined how we would please each other. We locked eyes, and the desire I saw in Virginia’s eyes made my breath catch in my throat as I reveled in that desire. Her eyes were nearly black with a thin rim of sapphire blue as I leaned down and kissed her, starting softly but quickly ramping up as our desire took over.
When Virginia again tried to bring her arms up to wrap them around me, I grabbed them. I pushed them up above her head, momentarily breaking our kiss to softly say, “No.” I saw the struggle in her eyes to not give in to me. Then I suddenly saw Virginia’s capitulation in her eyes, and her entire body relaxed as she gave in to me. My heart thrilled that this beautiful, confident, and strong woman would submit to me, letting me know that she thought so much of me that she felt I was worthy of her submission. It was always at this moment that I vowed to myself that I would do whatever it took to remain worthy of that trust.
Again, knowing that we’d have all the time we needed later to enjoy each other’s body to the max, I didn’t waste any time with foreplay. I quickly nuzzled her breasts, making sure to grab each nipple with my teeth to pull them out and let them scrape out from between my teeth as they snapped back into place. Each time, it elicited a gasped, “Oh, God, Bonnie. Yes!” from Virginia. I then quickly kissed my way down to her pussy and dove in tongue first, lapping up her love juices, savoring their taste.
I started plunging my tongue in and out of Virginia’s hole, swirling around the edge each time as she started rolling and thrusting her hips to maximize the contact. I brought Virginia quickly to the edge, locked eyes with her, and sucked her clit into my mouth. I tongued it, teasing her clit out from its hood, and lashed it. I felt Virginia crash over the edge, her thigh muscles spasming as she screamed, “Oh, God, Bonniieee …” Virginia’s eyes rolled up into her head. Her entire body suddenly arched up, only her head and heels touching the bed as she succumbed to her orgasm. Her body then collapsed, and her head lolled to the side as she blacked out. A small gush of her ejaculate hit my chin, and I quickly moved down and lapped her delicious juices up. I promptly cleaned her up and moved up to lie beside her.
I laid there on my side, watching Virginia, her eyes closed, totally limp, enjoying the endorphin-induced haze from our lovemaking. When Virginia is awake, she is always intense. At moments like this, when she is totally relaxed, I thrill at how beautiful she is. Her tousled honey-blonde hair haloed around her head made her look like an angel. I watched her chest rise and fall from her gentle breathing, her perky breasts rising up, her nipples pointing to the ceiling. I ran my eyes over her body. Her toned cord led into her vee, her toned legs, and her slim, high-arched runner’s feet made her look perfect in my eyes.
My eyes burned from the unshed tears as I reveled in the knowledge that this beautiful, perfect woman loved me above all others. As I always do in this time, I wondered what I had done to deserve this woman’s love. It was in moments like this that I understood why Alex still loved Virginia …
January 1989
I got a call from Virginia telling me that we would have dinner at El Burrito with her friend Alex tonight. I wondered how Alex and I would interact. Virginia had told me soon after we began seeing each other that they had had an intense but brief affair in 1981. Virginia had broken it off over concerns about her career. Virginia told me that she had acted poorly and had hurt Alex terribly, but they had reconciled and were now friends. I didn’t view Alex as a threat to my relationship with Virginia, so I decided that I would be friendly with her and try not to be awkward around her. I called Mom and arranged for her to keep the boys for dinner. I explained why and Mom said to act graciously. After all, I have Virginia and Alex doesn’t. I had no intention of shoving it in Alex’s face, so I agreed with Mom to play it cool.
When she got home, and while she was changing, Virginia spent some time reassuring me that she and Alex were just friends. I put my index finger on her lips and said, “I know you love me and that Alex is no threat to our relationship. I’m glad you get to see your friend again, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you too.”
The look Virginia gave me when I said that made me glad that I had taken that tack. After dropping the boys off with Mom, we got to El Burrito a few minutes early to reserve a table. We got a table inside since it was a little too cool to sit on the patio. Just as we were seated and before we could order drinks, I saw a beautiful woman matching Alex’s description enter the restaurant. Virginia waved to her and, as Alex walked over to join us at the table, I checked her out. I could see Alex had a puzzled look on her face when she looked at me, sizing me up and trying to figure out why I was there.
At that moment, I realized that Alex was still in love with Virginia. I looked over at Virginia, and I could see that she was glad to see Alex. However, I saw nothing in her eye to suggest that she was still in love with Alex or even realized that Alex was still in love with her. I relaxed a little at that point, thinking that everything would be okay.
“Virginia, it’s so good to see you again. You haven’t changed a bit!” Alex said as she joined us.
“It’s good to see you too, Alex. You still look as delightful as I remember. I’d like you to meet Bonnie, my life partner,” Virginia said, turning to me, her love for me evident in her face.
When Virginia introduced me, I saw a look of raw anger flick across Alex’s face so fast, you wouldn’t have seen it if you weren’t looking for it. I was looking for it, and I saw her quickly cover it up and smile, pretending to be okay with what Virginia had just said.
“Bonnie, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Alex, extending a hand to me after a beat. I could tell that she was making an effort to be sincere. The anger Alex had felt was not directed at me in particular but at the situation. “How did you convince Virginia to come out of her shell?” she asked as I took her hand and shook it.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, I said, “Well, I nearly had to strip naked and throw myself at her, but I did finally manage to land her.” I then smiled at Virginia to make sure Alex could see the love I had for her in my face.
“You two make such a cute couple,” Alex said, and I could see that she was determined to keep it light. When our server came up, we all ordered Dos Equis. While the server went to get our beers, we looked at our menus. I kept a close eye on Alex, and I noticed that she kept glancing over at Virginia. I could see the pain in her eyes, and at that moment, I felt sorry for her.
To break the silence, Alex turned to Virginia and asked, “So, what’s the story with you being Major way earlier than me? I know we both pinned on Captain at about the same time.”
“I can’t really talk about it. I can say that a couple of Generals’ careers were enhanced by something I did,” Virginia said, trying not to sound like she was bragging. “I’m not trying to be mysterious, but the incident never officially occurred. My normal hard work also played a large part.”
“Congratulations!” said Alex. “I’m glad your hard work is being recognized. You deserve it. I just got my line number for Major, so I’ll be pinning on myself before too long.”
Virginia smiled, happy for her friend, and replied, “Congratulations to you, too!”
“Thanks,” Alex said. She then turned to me and asked, “What do you do for a living?”
I was determined not to sound defensive when I answered, “I’m a waitress at a restaurant not too far from here. I was a single mother raising two boys before I met Virginia.” I then turned to Virginia, took her hand, smiled, and said, “It’s not as glamorous as being an officer in the military, but I do the best I can.” Turning back to Alex, I asked, “What do you do?”
“I do software quality assurance on the avionics systems for the Advanced Technology Bomber program,” answered Alex, obviously proud of her position. She smiled at me to let me know that she didn’t think less of me. She then added, “While the perception that what we do in the military is glamorous, I have nothing but respect for a woman raising two boys on her own.”
Turning to Virginia, Alex said, “I’m going to be coming out here for my next assignment. It should be about six months or so, so I would like to pick your brains about housing, and the like, in the next few months.”
Virginia smiled and said, “Sure, I’d be glad to. I’m working my next assignment to the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, so I’ll be picking your brains about housing and the like in return.”
We then ordered our food and talked about world events while we waited. Once our food was served, we chatted about lighter topics. Alex was trying hard to keep up a happy front, but her gaze kept darting to Virginia, and I could see her pain at the betrayal she felt. I realized that Alex was hurt because Virginia had set her aside for the sake of Virginia’s career but was willing to risk her career for me. Any time Alex talked to me, I smiled and did my best to keep the conversation light. I showed her photographs of the boys, bragging on them, proud of what they’ve accomplished. Finally, I felt that Alex was accepting me as a person and not as a rival. Our conversation became easier and more natural. Alex even laughed a couple of times at the antics of my boys that I shared with her.
Eventually, we were done eating, and Alex said she had to call it a night. She would be meeting early in the morning with the contractors and then flying back in the afternoon. Alex and Virginia exchanged contact information, and after parting hugs, Alex headed back to her hotel.
Virginia and I headed over to Mom’s place to pick up the boys. On the way there, I grabbed Virginia’s hand, leaned onto her shoulder, and said, “I like Alex. I’m glad I got to meet her. I can see why you two got together. I know that if I was still unattached, I’d make a play for her,” I finished, giving her hand a quick squeeze.
“I’m glad you like her. She’s a dear friend. Thank you for accepting her as a part of my life,” Virginia said, squeezing my hand back. I looked closely at Virginia and saw that the seed I had planted had taken root. I never said anything more about it, but I was glad I had met Alex. She still loved Virginia and could be a possible replacement for me after I’m gone.
July 1991
Just as I finished reflecting about Alex, Virginia’s eyes opened. I fell into those perfect sapphire blue pools, the unshed tears breaking loose and flowing down my cheeks. Virginia reached up and touched a tear with her fingertip as she softly asked, “Why?”
It was just one word, but so much was conveyed in that one word that it would take a treatise to describe the enormity of her question. At that moment, I bared my soul, and I expressed my greatest fear when I answered, “I don’t deserve you.” With that, the floodgates broke, and my tears flowed like the Amazon River.
Virginia immediately cupped my face with both hands as she pulled me down and rained little kisses all over my face. She then looked me in the eye, tears in her eyes, and said, “That’s not true. If anything, I don’t deserve you. My God, Bonnie, you are an incredible woman. You deserve everything I can give you and more. I am in awe of you. Your incredible strength, your endless love, and your unquestioning faith in me force me to work as hard as I do to try to live up to your example.”
I saw the sincerity in Virginia’s eyes, and I knew she believed what she said. I had no choice but to accept what she said as truth. I smiled through my tears as I said, “No wonder I love you. You sure know what to say to make a girl feel good.”
With that, our lips met, and our eyes closed as the world went away for a time while we enjoyed each other’s lips. When we broke, our eyes opened and locked as Virginia said, “I love you.”
My heart clenched at those words. I replied, “I love you more.”
“Not possible,” Virginia averred. She was so sincere that, at that moment, I almost believed it.
Rather than argue with her, I said, “Get some rest, love. I’ll wake you when dinner is ready.” With that, I got out of bed and tucked Virginia in. I quickly threw on my clothes and went out to see what the status of dinner was. The boys watched TV, ignoring me as I walked through the living room and out into the kitchen where Mom was busy fixing dinner. I grabbed a glass and poured myself some iced tea before sitting down at the kitchen table.
Mom glanced over at me and smiled before she asked, “Is Virginia resting now?”
“Yes,” I replied, returning her smile. “I relaxed her enough so she could get some rest before dinner. Do you need any help with anything?”
“Not at the moment,” Mom said. “I’m just about ready to put the lasagna in the oven. When it’s about time, you can help me with the salad.”
“Okay,” I said. I watched as Mom put the lasagna in the oven and set the timer. She then grabbed her glass and came over to the table to sit next to me.
“Did you tell her about your plans yet?” Mom asked.
“No,” I said. “I thought I’d talk about it during dinner, so everyone will be on the same page for the next week. Besides, she won’t argue with me about it in front of the boys.”
Mom did a double-take before she smiled and said, “You don’t fight fair, do you?”
I smiled back at her and said, “No, not when it comes to Virginia. You’re the one who taught me that ‘If you ever find yourself in a fair fight, you’ve already lost,’ or words to that effect.”
Mom reached across and took my hand and smiled as she said, “So, you did listen to your mother from time to time.”
I looked Mom in the eye as I said, “I always listened to you, Mom. I just didn’t always put it into action. I’m so glad you never gave up on me. For that, I’ll always love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” Mom said. “Giving up on you was never an option, just like you would never give up on the boys.”
“No,” I said, “Never.” We sat there in silence for a while, just thinking about motherhood and all that it entailed. I thought about Virginia and how she loves the boys as much as I did, even though she hadn’t borne them in her own womb. While it was a fact that Virginia doesn’t have that same bond with them that I have, having given birth to them and suckled them at my breasts, she certainly makes up for it with how she interacts with them. I’ve seen her with a slight look of wistfulness at times while looking at the boys, and I know that she’s wondering how she would have done as a mother. At those times, I would just hold her and remind her that the boys call her Mom 2.0, so she’s as much their mom now as I am.
Eventually, the lasagna was almost done. Mom shooed me off to get Virginia up before I started fixing the salad. I slipped into our bedroom and saw that Virginia was lying there asleep. She had thrown off the covers, and my eyes ran over her naked body, loving what I saw.
I leaned down and gently laved her nipple with my tongue. Virginia’s nipple immediately reacted and started growing, her areola getting bumpy. After a couple of swirls, I wrapped my lips around her hard nipple and started sucking on it. Virginia stirred, a low moan escaping her throat as her breathing sped up. I continued stimulating her nipple until her eyes opened, and she murmured, “God, Bonnie, I love being woke up like that.”
Our eyes locked, and I raised my head and moved up to kiss Virginia’s lovely lips. The world went away for a moment as we kissed, our tongues gently caressing each other. After an endless time that was only a few seconds, we broke, and I said, “Time for dinner, my love.”
“Thank you, my love,” Virginia said. I stood up and headed back out to help Mom finish dinner while Virginia got up and started dressing. I made it back out to the kitchen just as Mom pulled the lasagna out of the oven. I quickly assembled the salad while Mom popped the breadsticks in the oven for browning. I helped Mom set the table while Virginia called to the boys to wash up for dinner. Like a finely choreographed dance, everything came together at once, and we all sat down at the table as one.
Once we plated our food and started digging in, I looked at Virginia and said, “I know you’re wondering why Mom is here. Well, I have arranged a surprise for you.” I saw Virginia perk up and get a sparkle in her eye as I then went on to explain, “You’re on vacation for the next nine days. I called Alice and got it approved.”
Virginia started to object, but I cut her off and said, “Alice told me to tell you that if you show up in the office before the 22nd, that she’s going to have the MPs escort you off the base.”
I could see that Virginia wanted to argue with me about it, that she had important work to do that couldn’t wait, but I knew she wouldn’t want to discuss it in front of the boys. I watched as she processed what I’ve arranged. Then she smiled at me and nodded her head as she accepted the inevitable, knowing she wasn’t going to win this argument. I breathed a sigh of relief at that, and the boys jumped in, saying how glad they were that Virginia could spend more time with them. Virginia reached her hand out, and I took it in mine and squeezed it as we shared a smile, and Virginia visibly relaxed. She knew she had been working too hard, and I could see that she’s actually relieved that I took the initiative and did this.
Virginia then regaled the boys with what she had seen and done while in Fort Worth, reminding them about the sights we had seen two years ago when we had come through there on our move to Ohio. The boys were particularly interested in the simulator that Virginia had tested while at General Dynamics. While Virginia was busy talking to the boys, I shared a smile with Mom, and I could see that she was proud of how I had won that argument with Virginia.
When dinner was over, Virginia and I shooed everyone into the living room. Then we cleaned up and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Virginia took advantage of the temporary privacy and hugged and kissed me, thanking me for what I had done. She apologized for working so hard and for so long that I had felt compelled to take the actions that I had. I hushed Virginia’s apology with a kiss of my own that left her with no doubt how I expected to be thanked once we went to bed tonight.
Once we were done, we went into the living room and sat on the couch with Mom. We quietly discussed the details of our plans for tomorrow while we watched Quantum Leap, one of Virginia’s favorite shows. I enjoyed the show, but not for the same reason Virginia did … Scott Bakula was a juicy piece of eye candy. It was a repeat, so Virginia didn’t mind our talking during it. I told Virginia about the cabin I had reserved at Buck Creek State Park. Virginia smiled and reminded me how much we had enjoyed staying at the place near Yosemite Park in Groveland, CA, a few years ago. I could tell by looking in her eyes that Virginia was now wholly in vacation mode and was going to enjoy what I’ve planned.
Eventually, it was time for bed. We were leaving in the morning, so we had some packing to start tonight and then finish in the morning. Virginia took turns kissing the boys goodnight before shagging them off to bed. We shared a look, and I knew she wanted to tuck them in for the night, so I told her to go ahead, that I’d go start packing. Mom hugged both of us and promised that she’d fix our favorite breakfast in the morning before she went off to get ready for bed.
I pulled out our bags, which I had already started packing earlier this week. I had packed all of our climbing gear since there were several areas along Clifton Gorge where you could do some top-line rock climbing. It was something that I had always thought about doing. Virginia wanted to do it too, ever since we had watched the rock climbers at Yosemite several years ago. Neither of us was an expert by any measure. We enjoyed the workout, and we’d done it a couple of times before at Clifton Gorge since there were instructors who did classes there from time to time. There were several areas where you could climb along the trail that ranged from easy to complex, and I planned for us to try it this next week.
I kept busy packing until Virginia came in and joined me after getting the boys in bed. I stopped for a minute and enjoyed a hug and a promissory kiss as Virginia again thanked me for arranging this vacation. I could already see a glint in her eye that hasn’t been there earlier, and I was glad that Virginia so quickly gave in. That told me that she was as ready for this opportunity to decompress as I was.
I showed Virginia what I had packed so far, and she smiled when she saw the packed climbing gear. She quickly started pulling out clothes to put in her bag, along with a selection of walking, running, and dress shoes. While we planned to rough it for most of the time, we planned to dress up and go into town to dinner at least once while we were on vacation.
Finally, we had everything packed except our toiletries, so we went into the bathroom to prepare for bed. The sexual tension between us was ramping up so much that I could barely concentrate on brushing my teeth. I kept glancing over at Virginia, and I could see the look in her eye that she wanted me in the worst way. I thrilled at the thought of what was going to happen once we went to bed. I went to put on my sleeping tee and panties, and Virginia grabbed my arm and said, “You won’t need those.”
“Oh?” I asked, a look of innocence plastered on my face. “Why is that?”
“They’ll just be in the way,” Virginia said, nearly growling. The predatory look in her eye made my heart clench. I knew that I was going to be screaming Virginia’s name over and over tonight, enjoying every second of it.
“In the way of what?” I asked, egging Virginia on as I turned to head into the bedroom, waggling my ass at her.
When I heard Virginia’s breathy “Oh, God!” behind me, I knew she was primed and that I was moments away from experiencing heaven on earth.
***
After five, I lost track of my orgasms, surrendering to the Class V white water of Virginia’s love for me. I don’t remember the moment I lost consciousness, but I remember waking up in the middle of the night; Virginia spooned up tight against me, her arm over my ribs. I could hear her soft, even breathing, telling me she was sound asleep. I could feel every part of my body that Virginia had ravaged as she had transported me to heaven.
Then I realized why I had woke up. Nausea had started to overwhelm the afterglow of our lovemaking. I eased myself out of Virginia’s embrace as quickly as I could so I could go into the bathroom. I made sure the door was closed before I knelt in front of the toilet. My nausea increased to the point that I started dry heaving, trying to do it as quietly as possible so that I wouldn’t wake Virginia. After about twenty minutes, it subsided without any vomit, so I quietly washed up, donned my sleeping tee and panties, and eased back into bed. Luckily, Virginia didn’t wake up. The bouts of nausea had only started in the last month or so, and this hadn’t been the first time I woke up in the middle of the night nauseous, but it was the first time it happened while Virginia was home. As I fell back asleep, I wondered if I was going through menopause early.
When morning came, I woke up with Virginia spooned up against me, her ass in my crotch, my arms draped over her ribs. I could tell from her breathing that Virginia was already awake, waiting on me to wake up. I nuzzled her neck and said, “Good morning, love.”
Virginia turned over to face me, and our lips met as we welcomed another morning together. When our kiss broke, Virginia said, “Good morning to you, my love. Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby,” I said, lying to Virginia with a straight face. I wasn’t going to burden her with my problems any sooner than I needed to. It may have just been reflux, and I saw no need to worry Virginia with something as mundane as that. I leaned in and kissed Virginia again to distract her if I hadn’t been totally convincing.
“As long as you’re my baby,” Virginia said once the kiss ended.
“Always,” I averred, locking eyes with her so she could see the truth of my statement.
“I hope you enjoyed last night?” Virginia asked.
“Enjoyed doesn’t even come close to describing it. I think I saw the face of God last night,” I said with such force that Virginia smiled, pleased that she had pleased me so much. I said, “We’d better get up and get going. We’ve got a lot to do today.”
We quickly showered and performed our toilet before heading out to the kitchen. As promised, Mom was already up and fixing Virginia’s favorite breakfast; blueberry pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs, ranchero style. The boys were still sleeping, so Virginia and I got to enjoy a quiet breakfast with Mom, chatting about her plans for the time we were gone. Finally, we were done with breakfast. Virginia went to wake up the boys while I helped Mom whip up another batch of pancakes for the boys.
The boys eventually came out, still in their pajamas, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. They both hugged me and said good morning before sitting down and digging in. I went into our bedroom to finish packing my bags, finding Virginia already there packing her toiletries. She smiled at me when I entered and said, “I’m so glad you did this for me, Bonnie. I get too wound up in my work and lose my way. Thank you.”
“No problem, my love,” I answered, cupping her face and kissing her delicious lips. When I broke, I finished, “The only work you will be doing this week is relaxing and letting me take care of the logistics.”
With that, I finished packing my toiletries. We both double-checked the other to make sure we didn’t forget anything. Then we started taking our bags out to put by the door. We would take Virginia’s Mustang so Mom could use the minivan for running the boys around while we’re gone.
By the time we were ready to go, the boys had finished breakfast. They jumped up and took turns hugging us, telling us how much they loved us. Virginia and I both admonished them to behave themselves and do what their grandmother told them to do. We then took turns hugging Mom. I thanked her for taking care of the boys so I could have this time with Virginia. I must have given something away because Mom pulled back, grabbed my shoulders, and looked me closely in the eye while I tried my best to present a puzzled look. She didn’t say anything, and I’m not sure I derailed any suspicion she might have had. In any event, she didn’t say anything except, “No problem, sweetie. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom,” I said, grateful that she hadn’t pursued her suspicions.
The boys helped us load our bags in the car, and we got ready to go. Usually, Virginia likes to do the driving. However, today, I told her that she was being pampered and to get in the passenger seat. After donning our sunglasses, we waved as I backed us out of the driveway, and then we were on our way. Virginia exchanged a look with me, and we both smiled widely. The weather was nice, so we had the top down, letting the wind blow around us as we went down the road.
I didn’t want to drive the interstates, so we went east on Indian Ripple Road until it ended at Upper Bellbrook Road, which took us into Xenia. We then hopped onto US 68 North which took us through Yellow Springs and then on into Springfield. I got off at US 40 and went east until I got to North Bird Road. That took us straight to the entrance to Buck Creek State Park. We stopped at the office and got a one-week all-access pass for all of Ohio’s state parks since we would be visiting more than one of them during the week. The ranger directed us to the lodge, where we picked up the key to our cabin and the directions to get to it.
I had reserved the last cabin in the row on Park Road B to have a little privacy. We found ours, checked it out, and found it to be a rudimentary cabin with an open kitchen area and living area on one side. Two bedrooms and a 3/4 bathroom (sink, toilet, shower, no tub) made up the other side. The power was on, so the refrigerator was cold. We could buy some groceries and cook our own meals when we didn’t eat out. There was no A/C, so we’d be sleeping with the windows open if we wanted to cool off.
What I really loved about the cabin was the fact that there was no phone. I didn’t want Virginia to be tempted to phone into work or have someone at work trying to get hold of her. There was no TV either, so we would have to supply our own entertainment. I had given Alice the number to the lodge if something came up, with a promise from her that she wouldn’t use it unless a national emergency had been declared.
I had nothing planned for the next two days except spending some alone time with Virginia in the cabin. We might do some hiking around the park, or perhaps go swimming. So after we unloaded our stuff, we headed into Springfield to get groceries at the Kroger store. We stopped at Mic’s Italian Restaurant for lunch before heading back to our cabin. By the time we put the groceries away, I was in a state, the sexual tension building so high I didn’t wait to get Virginia into the bedroom. I started stripping right there in the kitchen, pulling my top off and looping it around Virginia’s neck to pull her up to me. My arms went around her neck as her arms went around my waist. Our breasts crushed together as our lips locked and our tongues tangled in our mouths.
After an eternity of bliss, Virginia’s hands slid up my back and unhooked my bra. I unwrapped my arms from around Virginia’s neck and slid my hands down to the hem of Virginia’s top. I pulled it up over her head before I lowered my arms to shrug my bra off. Virginia reached back to unfasten her bra and released her perfect, perky breasts for my enjoyment.
We both bent over and pushed our shorts and panties down around our ankles before stepping out of them. As soon as Virginia was back upright, I made her back against the table. She hopped up on the table and spread her legs in invitation. Without hesitation, I grabbed the back of her knees. I spread her legs further apart, pushing back and up, so Virginia reclined back on her elbows. I locked eyes with her as I bent down and drew in a deep breath, thrilling at the aroma of her arousal. Virginia’s eyes dilated to almost black as I slowly lowered my face to her pussy.
I broke our gaze to look at Virginia’s beautiful pussy. Her lips were inflamed and puffy from the blood engorging them, a few drops of her juices weeping out from between them. I extended my tongue and lightly swiped it up her slit, gathering her precious dew to taste. As I retracted my tongue, I nuzzled her vertical lips with my horizontal lips, gently suckling them. Virginia softly moaned, “Oh, God, Bonnie,” and my heart thrilled as I heard the lust in her voice. I worked my way up to the top of her slit and gently nuzzled her clit, making Virginia buck her hips in response.
I locked eyes with Virginia, loving the lidded look she returned. I moved in and French-kissed her pussy, working my tongue between her folds. I swirled my tongue around her entrance before plunging it into her hole. Virginia started rolling her hips, attempting to make more contact with my mouth. This made my nose bump her clit, making her jerk again. A quickly gasped, “Oh, God,” was forced out of her mouth as she threw her head back each time this happened. Then she would snap her head back forward and lock eyes with me again, her eyes demanding more, which I was happy to do. As I got her closer and closer to the edge, her eyes changed from commanding to pleading. I kept her on edge, slowing my pace each time I felt Virginia was getting ready to go over the cliff. Each time, this drew a moan of disappointment from her. Virginia moaned, “Please, Bonnie,” each time, and I would obligingly pick up the tempo until she was ready to explode again.
Finally, when I knew she was ready, I locked my mouth over her clit and attacked it with my tongue. I teased it out of its sheath and felt her clit stiffen as I continued my attack. Virginia pulled in a big gasp, held it, and came undone, spasming and screaming, “Oh, God, Boonnniiiieeeee!!” as she flew over the edge. Her hips began to spasmodically thrust as I continued laving her clit with my tongue, each flick making her whole body spasm. Virginia started gasping, “Oh, God!” over and over as I kept up my assault, her chest heaving and her head rolling back. Her hands went to my head, trying to push me away, but I resisted. Virginia eventually lost control of her hands. Her whole body suddenly went limp as a gush of fluid hit my chin. At that point, I stopped attacking her clit and moved down to clean up the juices that Virginia had generated.
Once I had Virginia cleaned up, I started kissing my way up her core, savoring the salty sweat that had beaded there. I continued nuzzling her up between her breasts and then onto her neck, making sure to get all of her favorite spots that make her swoon. Finally, I made it to her lips. As I leaned over her body, my nipples brushed her breasts as I peered into her face. I once again saw that totally relaxed, blissed-out look on Virginia’s face. My heart clenched from knowing I had done that to her.
Finally, Virginia opened her eyes, and a smile appeared on her lips. I leaned down and met her lips with mine, and we gently nuzzled for a bit as I allowed Virginia to gain back her ability to speak. When I broke the kiss, Virginia said, “God, Bonnie, that was incredible.”
I smiled and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed making you scream my name.”
I stood up and pulled Virginia up until she was perched on the edge of the table. She slid off onto her feet, and we embraced and kissed once again. I thrilled at the feel of her body pressed tightly against mine as the kiss continued on until we broke, both gasping for air.
Once we recovered, I explained to Virginia that, until Monday morning, I was going to take care of her in every way imaginable. She would just relax and enjoy not having to do or be responsible for anything until then. I may have said it pretty forcefully, especially the part where I told her that clothing would not be necessary until then. When I was done, Virginia cupped my face with her hands and fervently said, “I love you.”
I saw the truth in her eyes, and I cupped her face with my hands, and with unshed tears burning my eyes, I said, “I love you more.”
For the first time ever, I saw Virginia hesitate, staring intently into my eyes, before she finally said, “Not possible.” I heard the tiny shred of doubt in her voice when she said that, and my heart thrilled. She then kissed me, and the floodgates opened on my tears. We clenched, and I tucked my head into her neck as my sobs wracked my body. Virginia whispered, “I love you,” over and over in my ear until I got my tears under control.
Finally, I pulled back and dashed the tears out of my eyes and said, “I’m so sorry for my tears, my love. I know you love me, and sometimes that knowledge just overwhelms me.”
It was then that I noticed the tears in Virginia’s eyes. I was stunned because Virginia seldom sheds tears when she gets emotional. Virginia looked me in the eye and said, “Your love for me overwhelms me at times, too.”
I leaned in, and just before our lips met, I said, “It should.”
***
True to my word, Virginia was well relaxed when Monday dawned. Today, we were going over to the east end of John Bryant State Park to hike Clifton Gorge. The gorge was formed by the Little Miami River cutting through the limestone around Clifton, Ohio, as it made its way to the Ohio River, just east of Cincinnati.
I made breakfast for us. I served Virginia in bed, giving her a kiss between each bite, which naturally made breakfast last longer than necessary. Finally, breakfast was finished, and we jumped into the shower to take a quick shower. Because of the small water heater in the cabin, all showers were short and required both of us to shower together unless you enjoyed a cold shower (I didn’t). We dressed for a day of hiking, wearing high-waist shorties and polo tops with low-rise sneakers. I wore my frilly ankle socks that Virginia just adores while she wore regular ankle socks.
We took our climbing equipment with us, although we didn’t expect to do any climbing today. It would be a beautiful sunny day with highs in the low 80’s so it would be great for hiking. We were going to check out which climbing areas would be open and plan for our climb later in the week. We were hoping that one or more of the local climbing clubs would be there today to arrange to climb with them. We didn’t want to climb by ourselves since we weren’t experts and it’s always better to have other people with you in case of an accident.
Virginia drove us down to Clifton, taking Route 72 south all the way into town. We turned west on Water Street, going by the Historic Clifton Mill, which was now a restaurant that we planned to eat dinner at once we were done hiking the gorge. After a right onto Jackson Street, we turned left into the parking lot by the gorge trail. There weren’t many cars there when we pulled in, indicating that we wouldn’t have to fight the crowd along the narrow gorge trail.
We both had small backpacks that we had packed with our lunch and water bottles so that we could spend the day hiking and resting. I had also packed a beach towel in my backpack. I had a little surprise planned for Virginia. Later in the day, when we got to a part of the hike where we had previously found a small secluded area off the trail, we could rest there. After we geared up and checked that each other’s backpack was positioned correctly, we walked to the trailhead at the end of the parking lot. “Ready?” I asked as we set foot onto the trail.
“Absolutely,” Virginia replied, flashing me a smile that made my gut churn. I smiled as I turned to head down the trail, going first. I made sure to work my walk, knowing, without looking, that Virginia’s eyes were on my ass. I made sure to watch where I was putting my feet. The trail, while improved, had rough patches, especially along the narrow part of the gorge that we were going to go through shortly.
We were heading west along the northern side of the Little Miami River along the part of the gorge called ‘The Narrows.’ Here the ravine was only twenty to thirty feet across in places but a long way down to the whitewater below. At one point, we came across a plaque depicting the site where, supposedly, Daniel Boone (although most historians now agree that it was probably a member of his hunting party, Cornelius Darnell) jumped across the gorge to avoid being captured by the Shawnee Indians that were pursuing him.
We stopped there for a few minutes, looking across the narrow gap and down to the raging white water nearly a hundred feet below. I tried to picture in my head how desperate he must have been to prefer plunging to his death if he didn’t make it to the other side when he jumped, rather than being captured by the Shawnee. I took Virginia’s hand in mine as we stood there, taking in the beautiful view. There were no places for rock climbing along this part of the gorge because it was too dangerous with no place to land except in the rapid water if you did slip and fall. Further down the valley, it widens out, and we’d come across the areas approved for rock climbing as we descend down into the gorge.
After a quick side-hug and exchange of “I love yous,” we headed out again, this time Virginia taking the lead. I’m sure she knew I was ogling her ass as we went down the path. Virginia had a nice taut ass, not a bubble butt like many women have. Because Virginia wears heels so much, she’ll sometimes forget herself and start toe walking, the heels of her sneakers not touching the path. I think it’s cute and tell her so every time I see it.
Finally, the trail started descending into the gorge. There would be a series of steps either carved into the rocks or built out of wood. The intervals between stairs would be a semi-leveled path so handicapped people could stroll the trail. However, the further down we descended, the more you had to watch your step because the stairs and path could get slippery from the water seeping out of the rocks or the spray from the river below. There was probably a lot more hand-holding or touching at times when we were helping each other navigate tricky places than was strictly necessary. We made sure it didn’t get out of hand due to the chance of running into other hikers along the trail.
By the time we reached the bottom, the gorge had widened considerably, and the raging white water was now smoothly flowing without any spray. We passed Blue Hole, so-called because the white water debouches there and smoothes out into blue water. We finally started encountering places where rock climbing was permitted. You could climb a steep path to get to the top of the rock face at each spot. That way, you could use your own ropes on the pitons already placed in the rocks for you to use. Some places had lines already deployed, probably by one of the climbing clubs. Still, it was always a good idea to use your own gear whenever possible because you never knew what an unknown rope had been put through before you came up to it. We didn’t see any activity yet, but the day was still young. We did encounter a couple of hikers, and we exchanged greetings as we passed.
After another hour or so, we came to the South Gorge Bridge. This bridge carries the trail from the north side of the gorge to the south side. We started back east along the south side of the valley for another hour, encountering a few more hikers. At this point, it was nearly lunchtime, so we found a shady spot to sit to eat the lunch we had packed. There was just something about a hike that made sandwiches taste so good. We shared and kissed a couple of times while we ate, discussing what we had seen and what we planned for the rest of the hike. We would soon come to a place where there were plenty of places to rock climb, and we hoped to find someone at one of them to plan to do some climbing with.
When we were finished with lunch, we packed up, making sure we left no litter around, and headed out, refreshed. We came across a couple of rock climbing areas and finally got lucky and found an instructor camped out at one of them. He introduced himself as Vince. We chatted for a few minutes and found out that he would be at this spot all week between 10 AM and 2 PM. We thanked him and went on our way after first getting release forms from him. We promised to be back on Wednesday when he said a beginner’s group from Antioch University was planning to take some lessons.
As we approached the Blue Hole again, I sprung my surprise. At this point, there was a narrow, steep path up to the lip of the gorge. I looked at Virginia, smiled, and said, “Follow me. I want to show you something.”
I started up the path, and Virginia started following me, curious about where I was going. I knew that there was a little glade at the top where we could have some privacy. The path was steep enough that you needed to use your hands at one point to get up through. Finally, we reached the top, and the track petered out into the small clearing. We were both breathing hard at that point, so we sat down to rest for a minute. After catching her breath, Virginia looked at me and asked, “What did you want to show me?”
I shrugged off my backpack and pulled out the beach towel I had put in there. I stood up and spread it out flat before I said, “You’ll see.”
Virginia watched me intently as I was doing this. When I started toeing off my shoes and unbuttoning my polo top, I saw her eyes go wide, and a grin spread across her face. She went to get up, and I said, “No, just watch.”
I pulled my polo up and off, revealing my breasts clad in the lacy demi bra I decided to wear this morning. I started undoing my shorts and then slid them down, bending over to get them off. When I stood back up, I locked eyes with Virginia and asked, “Like what you see so far?”
“God, yes!” Virginia said. The desire I heard in her voice made my breath hitch as I reached back to unfasten my bra. I eased my bra off, revealing my breasts and my stiff, aching nipples standing out proudly. I saw Virginia’s eyes latch onto my breasts, and when she licked her lips, my breath hitched again. I hooked the waist of my bikini panties and eased them down over my hips, bending over to push them down to my ankles. I stood back up, stepped out of my panties, and pirouetted, naked except for my ankle socks, before asking, “How about now?”
Virginia’s guttural, “Oh, God, Bonnie, yes!” made my heart nearly stop in response to the raw desire I heard in her voice. My juices started flowing as my pussy heated up, my need for this wonderful woman nearly overwhelming me.
As I stood there naked, the slight breeze caressing my overheated skin, I wanted Virginia to take me and ravage me more than ever. I locked eyes with her and asked, “What are you waiting for? Take me, now!”
“Here?” Virginia asked, her gaze darting around the empty clearing.
“I’m sure the grass won’t mind,” I answered as I leaned down and took Virginia’s hand to help her up. When she was on her feet, I started working on her top as her hands flew to her shorts to get them off. In seconds, Virginia was as naked as I was, and we were in each other’s arms, our lips locked and our tongues fighting for supremacy.
The hot sun beat down on my naked body, and I reveled in the feeling of being naked in nature, the woman I love in my arms, our bodies pressed tightly together. After an eternity, our lips parted, and we were both panting, trying to get air in our lungs. We locked eyes, and Virginia panted, “I love you.”
Losing myself in those sapphire blue pools, I panted, “I love you more.”
Again, Virginia hesitated, peering intently in my eyes, almost as if she was starting to believe me, before she finally returned, “Not possible.”
Our lips met again, and I did my best to convince Virginia that it was possible.
***
As we lay there in our post-coital drowsiness, I reveled in the feeling of the sun beating on my sweat-kissed skin. A sense of euphoria overtook me as I heard the insects buzzing and the birds chirping all around us. From time to time, the leaves would rustle as a breeze made its way through the trees. Occasionally, I could hear a shout from a hiker down on the trail below us. So far, we’ve been undisturbed. There had been no indication that anyone was trying to come up the path from below.
I looked over at Virginia, and I could see the blissed look on her face as she laid there with her eyes closed. She looked so beautiful and peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb her. After a minute or two, I reached over and brushed a few strands of hair off of her face. As I did, I saw her lips curl up, and her eyes opened, and I fell into those deep pools, not caring if I drowned in them. After a time, I resurfaced and said, “We’d better get dressed, love, unless you want to get sun-burned in places that are very uncomfortable.”
Virginia reached over and cupped my cheek and said, “I’d burn to a crisp if it meant I was with you.”
I leaned in to kiss her, tears burning in my eyes from her declaration. Virginia noted my tears and put everything she had in her kiss, trying to stem the tears. It worked this time, and when we broke, we got up and started getting dressed, first performing a very thorough tick-check on each other as we dressed. Once we were presentable and I had the towel stowed away in my pack, we started back down the trail into the gorge. Going down the steep route was a little more challenging than coming up, so some hand-holding was needed on the way down. Finally, we were back on the main trail and started heading east past the Blue Hole and back up the Narrows.
We spotted several more places where rock climbing was allowed, but no one was there. Finally, we came to the place where the leap across the gorge took place. There was a placard on this side too, and again, we marveled at how desperate someone would have to be to chance making that leap. Virginia took me in her arms, put her forehead against mine, locked eyes with me, and said, “I’d do it if it saved your life.”
“I know,” I said and kissed her to let Virginia know how much I appreciated her love for me. Before it got too hot, I pulled back, smiled, and said, “I hope it never comes down to that, though.”
We continued on up the trail, and soon we came out onto Wilberforce-Clifton Road. We crossed over the Little Miami River and walked down Water Street and then Jackson Street to get back to our car. Once we put our packs in the trunk, we drove over to the Historic Clifton Mill to eat dinner in the restaurant. First, though, we walked around the property, taking in the view of the old water wheel and the covered bridge next to the old mill. Finally, we went inside, past the souvenir shop, and got a table by the window.
When our waitress came to our table, she introduced herself to us. Penny asked for our drink orders. We both ordered Dos Equis. While Penny went off to get our beers, we poured over the menu. We saw that they had a good selection of salads, so I decided on a Cobb salad while Virginia chose the Steakhouse salad. Once Penny took our orders, we took turns using the bathroom to clean up from our hike. As I looked around the restaurant, it was evident that most of the other customers had been out hiking too, so we didn’t stand out from the crowd.
Once Penny brought our food to us, we dug in, being hungry from our hike. Virginia commented on how her salad was okay but not as good as the ones they had at Jack’s Salad Bar and Grill when we were back in California. When Virginia said that, a stab of loss went through me as I realized that I would never again enjoy a salad from there. Virginia noticed my sudden mood change and asked, “Are you okay, sweetie?” as she reached across the table and took my hand.
I smiled to cover up my feelings and lied to Virginia when I said, “Yes, I’m fine, my love.” I squeezed her hand and said, “I just realized that I miss Jack’s. That’s all.”
“Well, we’ll make sure to go there first thing when we get back to California,” Virginia said, thinking that she was reassuring me.
Of course, it had the opposite effect, and tears burned my eyes as I struggled to smile through them. To allay Virginia’s concern, I said, “I’m looking forward to it.”
We sat there in silence for a bit, each of us deep in our own thoughts. Finally, I got my feelings under control and started eating my salad again. Virginia joined me, and we were back to chatting about our hike. While we finished up our meal, we talked about some of the things we had seen today.
When we were done, we headed back to our cabin. Once we got there, Virginia did her best to cheer me up. I ended up screaming her name several times before I fell into a deep slumber, spooned up against Virginia, happy that she loved me.
… I found myself walking down a hallway, doors to the many rooms half-opened. As I passed each door, I peered in and saw well-dressed people clustered around, speaking softly. As I came to the end of the hall, I was drawn to a door that hung open. Inside, I saw Virginia, Mom, the boys, Alice, and some of my classmates from school. They were all looking sad and gathered around Virginia, taking turns hugging her and consoling her.
I looked around, and I saw the coffin on display against the far wall. It was then that I realized that this must be a funeral home, and someone had died. As I walked past the knot of people toward the coffin, I noticed that nobody reacted to my presence, as though I wasn’t there or was invisible. I saw the pain and loss in Virginia’s eyes, and at that moment, I knew who was in the coffin. Almost against my will, I walked over and looked into the coffin.
I lay there, dressed in my favorite yellow sundress, wearing my treasured turquoise necklace. As I looked closely, I could see how emaciated my body was and the wig put on my head to hide the fact that I had lost all of my hair. I recoiled, looking around frantically as if I was expecting to find someone was pulling a prank on me. Instead, I saw everyone but Virginia heading for the door.
I watched as Virginia reluctantly walked toward me and the coffin I was standing next to. I saw the tears in Virginia’s eyes, and I desperately wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her, but I found that I couldn’t move. The grief I saw in her eyes ripped my heart apart as Virginia stopped next to me and looked down into the coffin at me, reaching out with her left hand to touch my cheek. It was then that I saw Virginia’s tears start streaming down her cheeks, and her chest started heaving as she sobbed out of control.
I heard Virginia whisper between sobs, “I know I promised, but how am I going to find someone to take your place?” I watched as she took her ring off, the gold ring with the other half of the heart, matching the one I wore that we had shared while I was alive. Virginia slipped it onto my ring finger, and the two rings came together and formed a whole heart.
At that moment, I realized what I was doing. I was taking half of Virginia’s heart with me to the grave …
I started awake, momentarily confused about where I was, the anguish from the dream I had woken from still twisting my heart in knots. I felt Virginia spooned up against me, her arm protectively over my ribs. I was silently shaking with my sobs, tears burning their way down my face. I gently eased myself away from Virginia and got out of bed, not wanting to wake her up. I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet, trying to get my emotions back under control.
This dream was new. I had never had it before, and it shook me to my core. It seemed so real, and in my heart, I knew it was real. I was going to die, and I was going to leave a vast hole in Virginia’s heart. That thought made me hurt so badly I just wanted to die right there. I spent a few minutes getting myself back under control. Finally, I was ready to go back to bed. I took the opportunity to pee and splash some water on my face. I went back out into the bedroom and slipped into bed behind Virginia, spooning up against her.
As I fell back to sleep, I vowed that I would do everything I could with the time I had left to make Virginia as happy as possible. I knew that there was nothing I could do to prevent the hurt that I’d be inflicting on her later, but I’d try to make it up to her until then.
When the morning sun streaming through the window woke me, I was still spooned up against Virginia, my arm over her ribs, her breast cradled in my hand. I could tell that Virginia was already awake, so I gently massaged her breast, feeling her nipple harden and poke the palm of my hand. Virginia murmured, “Good morning, love,” before turning around and wrapping her arms around me. My eyes closed when our lips met, and I was lost in the incredible love I had for this woman.
Finally, our kiss ended, and I opened my eyes. I could see the love Virginia had for me on her face, and I smiled widely before saying, “Good morning, my love. I hope you slept well?”
“Yes, I did,” Virginia said.
“Good,” I said. “Today, we’re going to Caesar Creek to do some swimming and tanning before going into Waynesville to browse the antique shops.” I leaned in and kissed Virginia again, loving the feel of her lips on mine. Our mouths opened simultaneously, and our tongues made love to each other as we both enjoyed our passion for each other. Eventually, Virginia ended up on top of me and spent some time letting me know how much she loved me by making me scream her name. Of course, I returned the favor before we made it into the shower, Virginia screaming my name as I made doubly sure she knew how much I loved her.
After a lovely breakfast where we fed each other bites of food between kisses, we packed our swimsuits and sunscreen. According to the weather report on the radio, it would be a hot and humid sunny day, typical in Ohio in July.
We drove down to Caesar Creek State Park with the top down. I let Virginia drive so I could just enjoy the ride. Of course, Virginia loved driving, so I let her have her fun. We took US68 south into Xenia. Then we took US42 south to Waynesville before taking SR73 east to the entrance to the park. We drove down to the parking lot by the swimming beach. There was a building there with restrooms and lockers you can use to change into your swimsuit. We both changed into our bikinis and took our towels and sunscreen with us down to the beach. We found a nice spot on the sand, not too far from the water but away from the other swimmers and sunbathers.
We took our time making sure we didn’t miss any spots as we rubbed the sunscreen lotion on each other, making ourselves so hot that we hurried into the water to cool off. We went in until the water was up to our necks. We bobbed there for a while, holding each other in our arms and kissing from time to time. Nobody else was close enough to worry about either offending them with our actions or being recognized by someone. We were both wearing sunglasses, so it would be hard to see our faces anyway.
I reached back and untied my top, taking it off and tucking it under the waistband of my bottom. I took Virginia’s hands and put them on my breasts. Virginia gasped and smiled as her hands started massaging my breasts. The familiar and welcomed ache overtook my nipples as they hardened under her ministrations. Meanwhile, my hands were busy untying Virginia’s top. Once I got it off and tucked it into her waistband, my hands went to her breasts and started kneading them, enjoying the feel of her hard nipples poking the palms of my hands.
Virginia leaned in, and between gasps of pleasure, said, “God, Bonnie, this is never going to get old.”
At that moment, the irony of her statement hit me. No, it won’t get old, because there won’t be enough time left for things to get old between us. My breath hitched, and I briefly paused my ministrations as my emotions overwhelmed me and tears started leaking out of my eyes. Before Virginia could notice anything, I forced a smile on my face and answered, “No, my love, it won’t ever get old.”
However, my tears eventually ran down my cheeks from behind the sunglasses, and Virginia noticed them. She stopped massaging my breasts and asked, “Why the tears, my love?”
“I love you so much,” I answered, desperately trying to allay any suspicion Virginia might have for my tears. “Sometimes it frustrates me that I can’t express how much I love you in words.” I smiled through my tears and reached up and cupped Virginia’s face. “However, I can express it in action. Unfortunately, I can’t right here, right now, again, frustrating me. But I will, later tonight. I promise.”
“Oh, God, Bonnie,” Virginia averred, her suspicions deflected, “I don’t deserve you.” With that, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in tight against her. The warmth of her body overtook the coolness of the water. We remained that way for a bit until we heard a loud splash, signifying that someone had jumped in the water nearby. We hastily broke and backed away from each other. We grabbed our tops and put them back on before looking over to see that a family had staked out a spot on the shore near where our gear was spread out.
We bobbed apart and made our separate ways out of the water, one at a time, and met back up at our spot where our towels were. Fortunately, no one in the family had noticed what we had been doing, so we didn’t hear anything negative from them. In fact, they were paying no attention to us at all.
I looked over at Virginia, and I could see the angry set of her jaw. I knew she was internally railing against the fact that we had to hide our love for each other while in public. I needed to try to calm her down, so I said, “It’s okay, Virginia. I understand that we can’t display our love for each other in public. Please, my love, don’t let it spoil our day.”
I saw Virginia’s emotions play over her face. After a few seconds, I saw her jaw relax, and she looked up and smiled at me before saying, “Of course, my love. I’m glad you understand me so well.”
I smiled at her and said, “Let’s go get dressed and head over to Waynesville. We’ll get some lunch and go antiquing for a while.” I reached over and cupped her cheek and said, “I will always love you, Virginia, even if I could never touch you again.”
Virginia nuzzled my hand, smiled at me, and said, “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I really love how you touch me.” She then stood up, took my hand and pulled me up, and said, “Let’s go. I’m getting hungry.”
We went into the restroom and changed into our regular clothing, and headed out. We took SR73 west into Waynesville and headed for the Village Family Restaurant. I had been told they had a great selection of salads and I wasn’t disappointed. We both ordered a salad, me the Spinach salad with the Hot Bacon dressing, and Virginia the Cobb salad with diced breaded chicken strips with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. They were delicious salads, and we sampled each other’s salads, commenting on how good they tasted. We washed them down with Sam Adams Summer Ale.
We really enjoyed the ambiance, and the two women who owned the restaurant came out and chatted with us while we ate. It was apparent that they were a couple by how they interacted with each other, so we relaxed and really felt welcomed while we were there. We indulged and split a piece of pecan pie for dessert. As we left, after leaving a nice tip, Virginia said, “I really enjoyed eating here. I hope we get a chance to come back again.”
I smiled at that and said, “Yes, I’d like to do that someday soon.”
Perhaps I emphasized ‘soon’ too much because Virginia paused and looked me in the eye for a second before she smiled and said, “Then, we will.”
With that, we started strolling up South Main Street to visit the many antique shops that Waynesville is famous for. Well, that, and the Sauerkraut Festival held there every year in October. If you love sauerkraut (I don’t), you’ll love being able to get just about any food group made from sauerkraut. This included pizza, bread, pie, and even sauerkraut-flavored ice cream.
We spent the afternoon visiting several antique shops, browsing their wares. Virginia was always on the lookout for old rocking chairs. We found several of them in Lily’s Antique Mall. Virginia got excited about one that was almost 100 years old that was more of a glider than a rocker with intricate wickerwork on the back and seat. It fit her perfectly when she sat in it, and I could tell that she really loved it. I encouraged Virginia to get it, but she reluctantly declined, saying that if it was still there the next time we came, she might get it then.
By the time we got tired of visiting antique shops and sneezing from the dust, it was time to head back to our cabin. After getting on US68 in Xenia, we stopped at Nick’s Restaurant. They had a very eclectic menu and a large selection of bottled and draft beers to choose from. We got quesadillas; I got the Hogger with pulled pork, while Virginia got the chicken. We tried a Special Pale Ale made by the Great Lakes Brewing Company that Virginia promised was an excellent beer. The beer was crisp and refreshing, and the food was hot and delicious. We really enjoyed our meal, and the service was excellent. Since we had pie for lunch, we passed on dessert.
We made it back to our cabin before sunset, so we put our bikinis back on and walked down to the water. We sat arm-in-arm on the shore and watched the sunset over the trees across the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful. The last of the fireflies were floating around, blinking on and off as the dusk deepened. As I sat there, my thoughts started going to the fact that I wasn’t going to be seeing many more perfect end-of-the-days like this. I snuggled into Virginia, not wanting this to ever end.
Virginia nuzzled the top of my head, whispering sweet nothings to me as it got dark. Finally, it was time to head back in, so we got up and picked our way through the dark back to our cabin. Once we got inside and the door locked, I turned to Virginia and said, “Make me scream your name until I pass out.”
Virginia did as I asked, and when I could take no more and faded out, my last thought was how fortunate I was to be loved by this wonderful woman.
When the morning sun came streaming through the window, I opened my eyes. Virginia’s back was to me, and my arm was over her ribs. From her breathing, I could tell she was still asleep. I slowly lifted up my head, propping it on my hand, and looked down on Virginia’s face. It was relaxed, and she looked so beautiful that I could feel tears burning in my eyes. I don’t know how long I watched her, but eventually, her breathing started speeding up. Finally, her eyes opened, and she saw me looking at her. I watched her lips curl up in a smile as I fell into those sapphire blue pools, and I gasped, making Virginia giggle before she spun around and wrapped her arms around me. I buried my face into her neck and tried hard not to start sobbing.
Finally, I got control of myself and said, “Thank you for loving me.”
“My pleasure,” Virginia replied. “Well, your pleasure, too, from what I heard last night.”
I pulled back, a broad smile on my lips as I said, “Yes, and tonight, it’s my turn.”
Virginia put a mock scared look on her face and asked, “Is that a threat?”
“No,” I said. As I leaned in to kiss Virginia, I finished, “It’s a promise.” I lost myself in the feel of Virginia’s lips on mine as our kiss deepened and got hotter. Finally, I broke and gasped, “We need to get ready for our rock climbing today.”
Virginia moaned her disappointment before reluctantly agreeing, “Yes, we’d better get up and get going.”
We jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. We took turns peeing before getting in the shower. We quickly showered but still managed to wash each other thoroughly before the hot water ran out. We dressed for rock climbing before making and eating breakfast.
We packed our climbing gear and took off, heading down to the John Byrne State Park entrance. We were going to start from the bottom of the gorge since the place that we were going to climb was located below the Blue Hole. We parked in the parking lot by the Lower Shelter and made our way to the South Gorge Bridge. We crossed over the Little Miami River and found our way to where the climb would take place.
There was a gaggle of college-age women pairing up to get some rock-climbing lessons when we got there. We donned our climbing shoes and helmets. Virginia then approached Vince, the instructor we talked to the other day, to let him know we were here. She handed him the paperwork we had filled out and the check for the fee for the instructions he would help us with. Vince, aware that we had some experience, took us over to one of the pre-positioned ropes to get us started before going back to help the college girls.
I was going to climb first while Virginia belayed me. Then we would trade places. Vince assured us that he had inspected the ropes and that they were good. He then checked our harnesses, knots, helmets, shoes, and the tubular belay that Virginia was using to ensure they were set up correctly. Vince complimented us on the quality of our gear, saying that doing things on the cheap can get you hurt. It would be only a 20-foot climb, but you could still get badly hurt if you fall.
“Ready?” I asked Virginia as I positioned myself to start climbing.
“Are you going to rappel down or climb back down?” Virginia asked.
Vince nodded with approval as I said, “Rappel.” It’s always a good idea to let your partner know how to belay you on the way back down.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Virginia said and smiled encouragingly at me. I smiled back and took my first step, paying attention to where I was putting my feet and making sure I had a good hold before climbing up. I trusted Virginia to keep me safe, so I didn’t need to look to know she was keeping my line taut so I wouldn’t fall far if I slipped.
I didn’t study the rock face like Virginia did, planning each and every step and handhold to the top. I just went, looking for the best route from where I was at the moment. I knew this made Virginia antsy, but I just wasn’t as focused as she was. Virginia called encouragement up to me as I made my way to the top. I finally made it, not having made a misstep or a slip. I looked down and saw that Vince had left to go work with the new climbers, confident that Virginia and I knew what we were doing.
I smiled down at Virginia and asked, “Ready?”
Virginia smiled up at me and said, “Yes.”
Showing my faith in her that she had me, I called out, “Three, two, one, go!” and let go, to rappel back down, using my feet to keep me out away from the rocks as I dropped. Virginia belayed me perfectly, allowing me to come down fast but not too quickly. She tightened up just before I reached the bottom, and I gently touched down, bouncing up on my toes until she put some slack in the line.
As soon as I had secure footing and had my balance, I said, “Clear!” to indicate that I was down and secure. In my exhilaration, I turned and stepped up to Virginia. I threw my arms around her and pulled her in for a full-body hug, kissing her cheek before softly saying, “I love you.”
Virginia whispered, “I love you, too,” before pulling back and kissing my cheek, aware that Vince was coming back over to check on us.
We parted as Vince came up to us. He asked if we had had any trouble, and we both told him that we hadn’t had any issues. We then exchanged places on the rope, and Virginia handed me the tubular belay while she worked on getting her harness set. Vince watched to make sure we got everything right, making sure I had my hands correctly positioned on the belay. We went through our check, ending with Virginia declaring that she would rappel down as I had.
I said, “Okay, I’m ready.” Virginia studied the rock wall intently, and I knew she would be a minute as she pictured every move she would make climbing. I knew when she was ready when she nodded her head and placed her hands on the rock, and made her first move. Vince watched me, making sure I was keeping the rope properly taut. Once he was sure I had everything under control, he went back over to the other group of climbers. I watched Virginia intently, enjoying how her muscles flexed and how her ass moved as she climbed. I started getting hot and wet but made sure I paid attention to the belay and kept the rope taut.
Virginia paused, looked back over her shoulder at me, smiled, and asked, “Enjoying the view?”
“You know I am,” I replied, smiling back up at her.
“Good,” Virginia said before she turned her attention back to the climb. She finally made it to the top. As with my ascent, we made sure we were both ready before Virginia let go and rapidly rappelled back down. I made sure I slowed her down appropriately, and she landed lightly and yelled “Clear’ when she was solidly on her feet. The relief that washed over me nearly made me swoon as we closed for a quick hug.
We repeated the process two more times over the next hour or so, each of us trying different routes up the rock face, practicing our communication and climbing skills. After we had both climbed three times, we were ready to call it a day. Vince came over one last time to check to make sure we were okay. We both thanked him for his help and supervision. He replied that it had been no problem, that for beginners, we were pretty good. Vince went back over to the large group while we changed back into hiking shoes and stowed our gear in our backpacks.
We went over and watched the beginners for a bit before we headed back down the gorge and back to our car. We headed back to our cabin, stopping for lunch at Ye Olde Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs. We had a delicious lunch, enjoying the ambiance of the old buildings built in the middle of the 19th century, some of the first buildings constructed in the area. We ordered Reuben sandwiches, made with a butterflied bratwurst, and washed them down with Coronas, which had been appropriately limed.
By the time we got back to the cabin, we were tired but happy. We quickly shed our clothing and spent some time pleasing each other before falling asleep, spooned together on top of the sheets. We ate a light dinner once we woke up and then spent the evening in our bikinis by the lake, enjoying another beautiful sunset. As I had promised, I made sure Virginia knew how much I loved her before we fell asleep.
Thursday and Friday were easy days, just lazing by the lake at Bear Creek, swimming and sunbathing between bouts of lovemaking in the cabin. Friday evening, we dressed up and went to dinner in town at Linardos Villa, an excellent Italian and Greek restaurant. We ordered Dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves) and Mouffalatas. As a change of pace, we tried a delicious Agiorgitiko wine to wash down dinner. We enjoyed our meal and made a note to ourselves to try to come back to eat here again.
As we headed back to our cabin, it struck me that our getaway was coming to an end. In the morning, we would be checking out and heading back home. Virginia would spend time with the boys, taking them to the Dayton KOA in Brookville to overnight in a cabin. Mom and I were going to spend Saturday and Sunday doing mother-daughter things. I know Virginia was really looking forward to having the boys to herself for the weekend. I could see her excitement as she discussed the things they were going to do together. I just smiled at her as she went on, so happy that she’s totally into being the boys’ mom.
By the time we got back to the cabin, I just wanted to rip Virginia’s clothes off and make her scream my name. I jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop and ran up to the door, unlocking it and pushing it open. I stepped inside, turned, and pulled my top off, all while Virginia was just getting out of the car. By the time she got to the door, I had already toed off my heels and had pulled down my skorts and panties.
Virginia stepped in, closed the door, and I nearly jumped her, pushing her back against the door as our lips met. The flare of desire I saw in Virginia’s eyes made my heart clench as her arms went around me and our bodies molded together. Our tongues battled as our kiss deepened. Finally, we broke, gasping for air as we stared into each other’s eyes.
Without words, Virginia went to pull off her top while I reached down to unfasten her skirt. Once I had it undone, I kneeled down as I pulled her skirt and panties down to her ankles. Virginia lifted her feet so I could get her clothes off. My face was right in front of her pussy, and I could smell her arousal and could see her fluids weeping between her inflamed lips. I leaned in, took a deep breath, and then kissed her lips. This elicited a moaned, “Oh, God, Bonnie!” from Virginia as she put her hands on the back of my head.
I grabbed Virginia’s hips and pushed her back against the door as I worked my tongue between her lips. I gathered up the juices and tasted them, reveling in the incredible taste. I locked eyes with Virginia as my tongue swirled around her hole before plunging in as far as I could get it. My nose bumped her clit, and Virginia gasped. Her eyes nearly rolled back as I tongued her slit, making sure to hit every spot that made her hips buck and her breath hitch. A moan escaped her mouth, the sound resonating with the moans I was making as I plundered Virginia’s treasure. Virginia’s hands pushed my mouth tighter onto her pussy as her hips rolled, urging me to pleasure her.
I took my right hand off her hip and worked it down to insert my middle finger into her hole as my tongue worked its way up to Virginia’s clit. The moan I elicited from her made my heart clench as I curved my finger to make sure I hit her g-spot. Virginia started gasping, “Oh, God!” over and over in time with my hitting her g-spot. I added my ring finger as I used my tongue to tease out her clit, laving it to encourage it to become erect. I brought Virginia right to the edge, holding her as I watched her eyes pleading with me to push her over the edge. When I felt the time was right, I sucked her clit into my mouth and gently nipped it just as I thrust a third finger into her hole.
Virginia came undone, and she screamed, “Oh, God, Bonnieeeee …” as she plunged over the edge, her hips thrusting as her thighs spasmed. Her legs buckled, and she started sliding down against the door as her eyes rolled up into her head. She was gasping so hard, gasping “Oh, God,” over and over as I continued attacking her clit. Finally, I had to stop as Virginia’s ass hit the floor. I kissed my way up until I could kiss her beautiful mouth, letting her taste her juices as we kissed. I wrapped my arms around her and held her until she got her body back under control, raining little kisses on her face as Virginia struggled to get her voice back. Finally, she wrapped her arms around me and said, “Oh, God, Bonnie, that was incredible. Thank you, my love.”
“I could never love you as much as you deserve,” I whispered in her ear. Until we both finally fell into an exhausted sleep, I did try my best to love her as much as she deserved.
When the morning sun came streaming through the window, I awoke, spooned up against Virginia. My ass was in her groin, and her arm was over my ribs, gently cradling my left breast in her hand. I loved waking up like this, feeling so loved and secure with my love’s arm around me. I just lay there quietly, patiently waiting for Virginia to wake up.
Shortly, I heard Virginia’s breathing speed up as she came awake. Her hand flexed and gently squeezed my breast. My breath hitched from the ache in my nipple as it hardened and my clit pulsed, and I felt my pussy heat up as my juices started flowing. I breathed, “Oh God,” as Virginia massaged my breast, my stiff, aching nipple captured between her thumb and forefinger.
I wriggled my ass into Virginia as my body continued reacting to Virginia’s ministrations. I could feel the points of Virginia’s hard nipples digging into my back as she leaned in and whispered, “I love you, Bonnie,” in my ear.
When she tweaked my nipple, my whole body jerked, and I softly gasped, “I love you, too, Virginia.”
As Virginia continued to nuzzle my ear, her hand left my breast, making me moan softly in disappointment. When I felt her hand drift down my core toward my pussy, I lifted my right leg and draped it over Virginia’s legs so her hand could access my pussy.
Just as Virginia’s hand reached my pussy, Virginia whispered, “What do we have here?” Her finger ran down my slit, slipping between my lips, making a small moan work its way out of my throat. My breath hitched as her finger penetrated me, and I moaned when she swirled it around inside my hole, feeling for my g-spot. When she found it, the pulse that went through my body made my whole body jerk, and I gasped as she continued to rub it, making me crazy.
“Oh, God, Virginia,” I moaned as I felt another finger join the one in my pussy, the feeling of fullness making me moan in approval. I started rolling my hips, wanting her to start pistoning her fingers in and out, stimulating my clit and g-spot. Virginia obliged and started going faster and faster as I moaned, “Faster! Harder!” over and over, the pace picking up as Virginia increased the tempo of her ministrations.
When I felt a third finger joining the other two, stretching my hole, I again gasped, “Oh, God, Virginia!” I loved how the base of her thumb hit my clit while her curved fingers hit my g-spot, taking me to the edge of an incredible orgasm. Virginia held me on edge for what seemed like forever, making me beg, “Please, Virginia! Let me come!” over and over. Finally, Virginia nuzzled my ear and whispered, “Come for me, baby,” just as she sent me over the edge.
I screamed, “Oh, God, Virginiaaaaaaaa…” as I free-fell into an incredible orgasm. My whole body started spasming, and my vision grayed out on the edges as I experienced a feeling of total euphoria. I drifted along, orgasming over and over as Virginia continued attacking my pussy. Finally, I could take no more, and I blacked out, fading into bliss.
When I came to, I felt Virginia’s arm around me, and I felt so loved and secure that I just sighed. I heard Virginia chuckle as she said, “Welcome back, sweetie. I hope you enjoyed that?”
I was so blissed out that I started chuckling. After a bit, I finally managed to ask, “Do you need me to put up a billboard with flashing lights alongside the road? God, that was incredible.” I spun around, facing Virginia, and leaned in to kiss her.
As much as I hated to, it was time to get up and get ready to go. I didn’t want to shortchange Virginia any time she could spend with the boys. I locked eyes with Virginia and said, “It’s time to go, my love,” fighting hard to prevent any tears from falling. With that, I got up and headed toward the bathroom, waggling my ass, knowing that Virginia was watching. As I entered the bathroom, I heard Virginia get up, and I knew she was coming right behind me. I reached in and turned on the shower, and as I did, I felt Virginia’s hand cup my ass cheek and give it a squeeze, making my breath hitch.
I turned, catching Virginia’s eyes on my ass. I cupped her face with my hands and leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Now, now,” I chided, “let’s not start something we don’t have time to finish.”
Virginia moaned her disappointment but then quickly smiled and said, “You’re right, my love. Matthew and Mark are waiting for me to get home so we can get going. I don’t want to disappoint them.” At that moment, the love I felt for Virginia made the tears start flowing. Virginia brought her hands up to cup my face, and she used her thumbs to brush the tears away and said, “Don’t cry, my love.”
“I’m not crying,” I said. “This is just the love I have for you leaking out of my eyes.”
I saw Virginia’s eyes mist up when I said that. She rapidly blinked her eyes before saying, “I love you.”
“I love you more,” I returned.
Again, Virginia hesitated, almost as if my tears were proof of my statement. She then flashed a smile, gave her head a little shake, and said, “Not possible.”
I turned and stepped into the shower, Virginia following behind me. We quickly showered, making sure to get each other clean before getting out and drying each other. We quickly dressed and packed, having a quick cold breakfast. I could tell Virginia was eager to get back and get together with the boys. Once we were packed, we stopped at the Park office to drop off the keys. We then headed for home, eager to get back to the boys.
One hour later, we were pulling into the driveway. Once we were parked, the boys came dashing out of the house with Mom standing in the doorway waiting for us. We spent a minute exchanging hugs with the boys. I looked over and saw how happy Virginia was as she hugged the boys, telling them how much she missed them. The boys went to get our bags while we walked up to Mom and took turns hugging her, telling her we were glad to be back.
The boys carried our bags into the house and into our bedroom, complaining about how heavy they were. Meanwhile, Mom, Virginia, and I went into the kitchen and sat at the table, catching up on our week. Mom told us that the boys had been well behaved and that they had a lot of fun while we were gone. Virginia and I took turns telling Mom what we had done during the week, leaving out the sex parts. By the time we got caught up, the boys were done bringing our bags in and putting them away. They came out into the kitchen and practically dragged Virginia away so she could get ready to go. With a laugh, Virginia got up and excused herself, and went to pack a bag for the night while the boys told her what they had packed and were expecting to do.
Mom and I exchanged a look and took advantage of the quiet time to plan our weekend. I told her that I had reservations at Michael’s Salon and Day Spa near the Dayton Mall for mani-pedis and massages this afternoon. We would then shop until we drop before going to Olive Garden for dinner. We’d then just hang out at home, watching TV and catching up on our lives. Sunday, we would be driving down to Cincinnati to go to the Tri-County Mall and do some shopping there. We would be shopping at Dillard, Elder-Beerman, and Lazarus for clothing. I also planned to take Mom to Victoria’s Secret for some lingerie.
When Virginia was ready to go, Mom and I saw them off, hugging the boys and Virginia before she left, taking the minivan. Once they were out of sight, we went back in the house and got ready to head out on our own trip.
As it was another beautiful sunny hot day, we drove down to the spa in the Mustang with the top down, enjoying the wind blowing around us. The sound of the wind prevented us from exchanging small talk, so nothing much was said until we reached our destination. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw that there weren’t many cars, so we would not have to fight a crowd while in the locker room or the sauna.
We went in and signed in, getting two girls assigned to us for the day. Mom was introduced to Sally, who would do her mani-pedi, while I was introduced to Cindy, who would work on me. We were led to our stations, and the girls started to work on us.
While we were being taken care of, I asked Mom about Kathy and how she was doing. Mom told me that Kathy was doing great and was still riding her motorcycle nearly everywhere. Mom did say that Kathy was starting to drive her car more often than she used to. Knowing the type of relationship they had, I knew that if Mom wanted to, Mom could tell Kathy to sell the motorcycle, and Kathy would. However, because Mom loved Kathy and knew that Kathy would miss riding her bike, she hoped Kathy would decide to do that for herself.
As we talked, it was apparent to me how much Mom loved Kathy. I could see the look on her face when she talked about Kathy, and it reminded me of the look I see on Virginia’s face when she’s thinking about me. We smiled at each other, sharing the knowledge that we were both in love with incredible women. I was amazed that Mom and Kathy have been in love with each other for forty-three years, and the passion they shared was still evident.
While Sally and Kathy were away, I leaned over and asked, “Mom, after all of these years, is the sex still as great as when you were younger?”
Mom looked at me, smiled, and said, “Yes, it is, sweetie. It may not be as physical as when we were younger, but we know each other’s bodies so well that we can make each other scream with minimal effort. Sometimes, just cuddling with each other is so satisfying that nothing more is needed.” The look on her face as she thought about it made my heart melt.
I thought about how it might be with Virginia and me, but all I could think about was that we wouldn’t have time to grow old together. I must have betrayed my thoughts because I saw Mom looking at me intently before she said, “Is something wrong, sweetie?”
Before I could reply, Sally and Cindy came back to start our pedicures, so I just smiled at her and shook my head slightly. I then laid back and let Cindy ministrate to me while I thought about how nice it would be to grow old together like Mom and Kathy were doing.
We went back to talking about lighter topics. I asked Mom what she planned to do when she got back, and Mom told me that she would spend some time on the beach. She really loved the beach, and I know we had offered to let her live here with us, but she wouldn’t because of Kathy and that she would miss the beach and the ocean.
I told her that the boys and I also missed the beach and the ocean and hoped that Virginia’s next assignment would be back to LA. Of course, I didn’t tell Mom that I knew I wouldn’t be coming back with her. Our conversation petered out, and we just enjoyed the treatment given to us by Sally and Cindy. Finally, they were done with us and showed us to the waiting room for the massages we were going to get.
We both really enjoyed our massages, and by the time we were done, we were both recharged and ready to go do some power shopping. We headed over to the Dayton Mall and spent the afternoon shopping. Finally, we carried our bags out to the car and headed over to the nearby Olive Garden for dinner.
We both got the Chicken Alfredo, salad, and breadsticks. We really enjoyed our meal, keeping the conversation light, discussing our shopping conquests and our day at the spa. We got Tiramisu for dessert and split it since we were both stuffed from the Chicken Alfredo. We headed for home as the sun was setting in the west. It had been a beautiful day, and I was glad I got to spend it with Mom.
Once we got home, we put our bags away and sat and watched TV for a bit. I snuggled up against Mom, laying my head on her shoulder, feeling safe like when I was a kid. My eyes started burning from the tears I was desperately trying not to shed. Unfortunately, I could never hide my feelings from Mom, so eventually, she asked, “What’s bothering you, sweetie?”
Instead of answering, I just wrapped my arms around Mom and buried my face in her neck. I realized that I had been selfishly thinking about the effect of my death on Virginia and the boys, but it was going to rip Mom’s heart apart, too. That thought made me feel so bad that I just wanted to disappear. I fought the tears, and when I was sure I could speak, I backed away from Mom, looked her in the eye, and said, “I just realized how much I miss this. Sitting here with you, snuggled up against you, like when I was young, just made me a little nostalgic.”
Mom stared into my eyes, and I think she didn’t quite believe me, but she went along with it anyway and said, “That’s okay, sweetie. I have to admit that I miss it, too.”
“I’m glad we have this time together,” I said, snuggling back into her.
We sat there for a while deep in our own thoughts; I snuggled into Mom and Mom with her arm around me. By bedtime, I was feeling better. I sat up, smiled at Mom, and said, “Thanks for everything, Mom.”
“Oh, sweetie, I would do anything for you,” Mom said. I sensed that there was more behind the words that she had said. I knew that I would gladly die if it saved my boys’ lives. I was sure Mom felt the same about me.
I pulled her in for a hug and said, “I know, Mom. That’s why I love you so much.”
With that, we went and got ready for bed. I made sure the house was locked up before performing my toilet and going to bed. As I fell asleep, I thought about how much I loved Mom and the pain I would cause her. I vowed to do everything I could tomorrow to make Mom happy. I slept a dreamless sleep.
When morning broke, I woke, happy that I was going to spend the day with Mom. I got up, showered, and dressed, and headed out to the kitchen. I started fixing breakfast. By the time everything was plated and the coffee pot was burbling, Mom came out in her robe and sat down. I put the plates on the table and poured the coffee before sitting down and digging in. We chatted about what we were going to do today while we ate.
When we were done, we quickly cleaned up and went to shower and dress. By the time I finished my toilet and came out into the living room, Mom was ready. We were both dressed similarly in jean shorts and halter tops with open sandals. I was amazed again at how good Mom looked for being sixty-one. I was sure that the guys were going to be drooling over her, although it wouldn’t do them any good.
I hugged Mom, gave her a big smile, and asked, “Ready to go break some hearts?”
“Absolutely,” Mom said, smiling back at me.
We headed out and went down I-675 to I-75 South toward Cincinnati. After passing Monroe and before we got to Westchester, Mom pointed to the enormous antenna array off to our left and asked what that was. I told her it was the Voice of America’s Bethany Relay Station broadcasting antenna sending VOA shortwave radio programs worldwide. Mom was amazed at its size, and I told her that the signals had a long way to go. I didn’t tell her that Virginia had explained that to me when we had seen it on one of our previous trips to Cincinnati. Soon we came to the exit for I-275, which went around Cincinnati and got off at SR 747 to go to Tri-County mall. It was named that because we were in the northeastern corner of Hamilton County, which borders Clermont County to the east and Butler County to the north.
The mall was jam-packed, but we managed to find a parking spot near the Elder-Beerman entrance. We got out and headed for the door. As we entered, I asked, “Are you ready to shop until you drop?”
Mom smiled and said, “Yes, let’s do it.”
We shopped all day, stopping only to eat lunch in the food court after putting our bags in the trunk of the Mustang. They had a nice Mexican restaurant named Tumbleweed in the food court that we ate at. The burritos were delicious, and we washed them down with Dos Equis. As I had surmised, Mom did get many men turning their heads as she walked by. We smiled at each other every time it happened. I know Mom was enjoying the attention. Of course, I got paid attention to but ignored it, just enjoying myself.
Finally, we ended up at Victoria’s Secret. Both Mom and I planned to get some sexy lingerie for our loves, so we spent some time there, trying on several items until we both found something we really liked. We were then ready to go. I was eager to get back and be home when Virginia and the boys got back from their adventure. In less than an hour, I was pulling up in the driveway. The minivan wasn’t there yet, so Mom and I had time to put our haul away and relax a bit. It wasn’t more than twenty minutes later when we heard the minivan pull into the driveway.
Mom and I went out to greet Virginia and the boys. I could see the huge smile on Virginia’s face as she got out and pulled me into a hug while Mom exchanged hugs with the boys. We then traded, and Virginia hugged Mom while I hugged the boys, kissing them on the cheek and telling them how glad I was to see them again. They were both trying to tell me what they’d done with Virginia, so I threw up my hands and said, “Let’s get your bags inside and settle down. Then you can tell me all about it.”
They did as I said, helping Virginia with her bag while Virginia and I walked in the house hand-in-hand behind Mom. Virginia and I shared a smile as we went inside, and once the door was closed, we wrapped our arms around each other and kissed as though we hadn’t seen each other in months. Before it got too hot and heavy, the boys came out, eager to tell me all about their time with Virginia. As we broke and stepped away from each other, Virginia said, “Thank you, my love, for giving me the time with Matthew and Mark. I really enjoyed it.”
I smiled and said, “I’m glad, my love. I’m sure they enjoyed it just as much.”
While Virginia went off to unpack and freshen up, I sat down with the boys and let them tell me what they had done. I loved how much they had enjoyed their time with Virginia. They told me about their hikes and the covered bridges they had seen that dotted southwestern Ohio’s landscape. They also talked about the movie Virginia had taken them to, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’ They really enjoyed telling me about it. They both hugged me when they told me how much they had enjoyed being with ‘Mom 2.0.’ I told them both that I loved them and that I was glad they loved ‘Mom 2.0’ as much as they did.
By then, Virginia had finished freshening up, so we went out into the kitchen and joined Mom to plan for dinner. I knew that after dinner, Virginia would need to go back into work mode, preparing for going back into work tomorrow. Mom would be leaving tomorrow, too.
Together we whipped up a nice dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and steamed asparagus spears. When it was nearly done, I went to get the boys ready for dinner, making sure they washed their hands. I hugged them both, telling them how much I loved them and how glad I was that Virginia loved them too. They both hugged me back and said that they loved Mom 2.0 so much and thanked me for bringing her into their lives. I teared up, thinking about how glad I was that Virginia came into my life.
After a delicious dinner enjoyed by all, Mom and I cleaned up. While we were doing that, Virginia went to get her uniform ready for tomorrow. Mom had picked up her uniforms from the dry cleaners while we were gone. However, Virginia still had to transfer rank insignia, name tags, medals, and ribbons to the clean uniforms. I always loved her attention to detail when getting them set up and, of course, how beautiful she looked in her uniform.
By the time Mom and I were finished in the kitchen, Virginia was finished, so we sat down on the couch and watched a movie on CBS until it was time to get ready for bed. Virginia went off to get the boys ready for bed while Mom and I discussed getting her off to the airport tomorrow. As much as she had enjoyed being here with us, I know Mom wanted to get back to Kathy, so I hugged her and said that I was glad she had someone to go back to, that she wasn’t going to be by herself.
Mom and I said goodnight to each other, and I headed into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Virginia came in shortly, and I could see the happiness in her face from her having put the boys to bed. She walked up to me, hugged me tight, and said, “I just love Matthew and Mark to death. Thank you for sharing them with me.”
I hugged her back and said, “Thank you for being like a second mother to them. They just love you to death, too.” As I said that, tears started burning my eyes again. I stepped back and angrily dashed them out of my eyes and asked, “Why can’t I express my feelings without crying all of the time?”
Virginia just pulled me in, hugging me tightly, and said, “You carry your emotions on your sleeve. I don’t mind your tears.” She then rained little kisses on my face until I got myself under control. Then I captured Virginia’s lips with my own and kissed her, hard, to let her know that I loved her.
When we broke, I said, “Let’s get to bed, love.”
“Yes, my love,” Virginia replied. We finished our toilet and got into bed. Virginia made sure her alarm was set before we spooned and whispered sweet nothings to each other until we fell asleep.
The blaring alarm startled me awake, and it took me a moment to remember that Virginia’s vacation was over. Virginia’s arm over my ribs tightened for a moment as she said, “Good morning, my love.”
I replied, “Good morning, love.” I then turned and cupped Virginia’s face and kissed her, the world forgotten for a time until we broke. I said, “You go first. I’ll start breakfast.”
We got up, and I threw on a robe before heading out to the kitchen. Virginia went into the bathroom, shedding her sleeping tee and flashing her breasts before closing the door. As much as I wanted to follow her into the bathroom, I turned and left the bedroom to prepare breakfast.
I had a delicious breakfast ready by the time Virginia came out, dressed in her uniform, her hair up in a loose bun. My heart clenched with the love that I felt for her, and I smiled at her and said, “Good morning, love. You look scrumptious.”
“Good morning to you, my love. You sure know how to flatter a woman early in the morning.” She smiled and walked up to me, and gave me a quick kiss before she sat down at the table. I slid her plate in front of her as I sat down next to her with my plate. We quickly ate breakfast, and I resisted kissing her over and over between bites because she needed to get going. Finally, we were done, and Virginia went off to brush her teeth before getting her bag to leave. I walked her to the door and gave her one last quick kiss before she left. I watched her get in the Mustang and drive off.
I went back inside, took care of my toilet, got dressed, and headed back out into the kitchen. By then, Mom was up and fixing herself some breakfast. I made her sit down, and I finished preparing her breakfast and serving her before I sat down. We chatted a bit while she ate, planning our day. Her flight was at 2 PM, so we didn’t have a lot planned.
Once Mom was done eating, I shooed her off to get ready while I started fixing breakfast for the boys. I went in and woke them up, telling them that breakfast was ready. They finally stumbled out, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. When they saw the pancakes, they hugged me and thanked me for making their favorite breakfast. By the time I had their food plated up and on the table, Mom came out, dressed and ready for the day. The boys jumped up and hugged her before she told them to eat their breakfasts.
Mom and I cleaned up as the boys went to get ready for the day. I’ll admit I teared up a bit and hugged her, missing her already. Mom, knowing me as well as she does, just accepted it, nearly tearing up herself. Once the boys came tearing out, ready to go, we smiled at each other, enjoying the enthusiastic energy of youth.
We were going to go to Americana Amusement Park in Monroe until it was time to take Mom to the airport. They had opened this year under new management, and I wanted to check them out to see what, if anything, has been changed. We had been there last year, and the boys had really enjoyed it, although the big fire had damaged part of the park.
We timed our trip to arrive just as they opened so we’d be among the first to get in and hit the rides before it got busy. We all rode the rollercoaster, the boys in the car in front of us, so we could keep an eye on them. Mom really enjoyed the ride, and I loved seeing the big smile on her face. Of course, I was smiling too. We also did the miniature golf course. Mom turned out to be really good at it and beat all of us. I came in last, not wanting to disappoint either of the boys by beating them, although I didn’t have to try to lose this time. They were starting to get good at it.
We ate a quick lunch, getting hot dogs and waffle fries, finishing it off with ice cream that Mom bought for all of us. By the time we finished lunch, it was time to head to the airport. We got in the minivan and headed up to Dayton International Airport. I found a spot in short-term parking near the entrance, and we got out. The boys got Mom’s luggage, and we headed in. We found the gate for Mom’s flight after getting her luggage checked in and made our way to it, practically at the end of the concourse.
By the time we got to the gate, they were getting ready to start boarding. Mom hugged the boys, telling them how much she loved them and was going to miss them. She was tearing up by the time she got to me. We hugged tightly, both of us teary-eyes. I kissed her cheek and said, “I love you, Mom. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve appreciated everything you’ve done for me.”
Mom again caught something in the tone of my voice and looked me closely in the eye, trying to figure out what was up with me. Apparently satisfied, she pulled me in for another hug and said, “I love you, sweetie. I’m so proud of you and how you’ve lived your life. You’ve raised two beautiful boys under tough circumstances. I’m so glad you have Virginia to love you and the boys.”
It was my turn to wonder if Mom knew what was going to happen and was telling me it would be okay. I teared up again and hugged her tightly, not wanting to ever let go. Finally, the attendant called Mom’s row number, so we broke, and Mom headed toward the gate. When Mom looked back at me, just before entering the jetway to get on the plane, I could see the tears in her eyes. I knew at that moment that I had failed in my attempt to assure her that everything was okay.
My heart clenched, and I started crying too. When I turned to the boys to leave and go home, they saw my tears and hugged me, thinking that I was just crying because Mom was leaving. I was, in a way, but it wasn’t just that. I knew, in my heart, that the next time Mom came out to visit us, it would be for the last time.
I dashed away my tears and said, “Let’s go get some ice cream before we go home.” The boys enthusiastically endorsed my suggestion, so we headed out to get some ice cream and head back home. Virginia would be getting home shortly from work, and I wanted to be there to greet her. More than ever, I needed Virginia’s love, and I needed to prepare everyone for what was surely coming.
***
As I’m writing this story, the local news is all about a local woman who tried to abandon her children to be with a man who didn’t want the children. In her attempt to leave them at a park, she started driving away before the children could get in the vehicle. Two of them managed to get in, but the third, a six-year-old boy, fell down and was run over by the car. The mother drove away and took a half-hour before she went back to see what had happened to her son. They found the body and put it in the trunk of the car, and drove home. Later that night, the mother and her boyfriend took the body down to the river and threw it in before reporting he was missing. Of course, they were soon found out and were arrested. They are both currently in jail, awaiting trial. They are still searching the river, trying to find the body of that innocent, sweet young boy. As far as I’m concerned, Hell is too nice of a place for someone who does something like that.
Against that background, I’m writing this story. This is a story about a woman who loved her two sons so much that she encouraged them to love her partner as much as they loved her. She encouraged her partner to love her sons as she did, all in preparation for the day she wouldn’t be there for them anymore. Is it no wonder that I’ve cried more while writing this story than I’ve cried as I wrote any other of the stories I’ve written so far?
But, enough of that. This story is envisioned as the middle part of a three-part series written from Bonnie’s PoV. Each part is intended to be a stand-alone story (although familiarity with the ‘Virginiaverse’ will help you understand the context). Each part will also have a unique name. The name of this story is a song sung by Neil Diamond. The lyrics to this song inspired how this story was written. I will post a link to YouTube so you can listen to the song for yourself if you are interested.