Eva

The next year and a half was a bit of a blur. Starting that Summer, Eva and I took various classes in Educational Administration and she also had to take a couple of education classes, so I had more “free” time than she did. It was a lot of work to cram into that amount of time, but we did it. In between, we found days to drive down to Wayne and meet the staff and spent time with Joe DeMilo, the interim principal, getting an advance idea of how things ran at Wayne Day. We found out the school was even more prestigious than we had been led to believe. The school was right in the heart of the Main Line of Philly, where many of the wealthiest “old money” families lived and was one of three of the most sought after schools for families that didn’t send their children to boarding schools. We wished someone would have told us, or maybe we should have looked into it more closely. We were going to be dealing with people who were very used to getting their way. Sometimes we felt like we were getting thrown to the wolves.

Cammy graduated in May and of course the three of us were there to see her graduate with high honors. That night we took her out for the best dinner we could find in the area before she went out to a party with her friends. We went with Connor back to our hotel and the next day we helped her pack up the rest of her things. Cammy was a bit hung over (OK, a LOT hung over) so Eva and I had to do a lot of the work while my sister watched Connor. Then I drove Cammy’s car back to Queens with Connor next to me (kids didn’t have to ride in the back in 1988) while she rode with Eva. We threw her a graduation party over the weekend and she stayed with us during the summer, relaxing with friends and a couple of guys between getting a start on her law school reading.

At the party, my vivacious sister came up to me while I manned the grill. “Jon, I can’t thank you enough. You and Eva made all this possible. I couldn’t have done this without you. Mom and Dad are watching from somewhere and they’re very proud of you.” She leaned up and kissed my cheek.

“It’s you they’re proud of, kiddo.” I still called her that sometimes, affectionately. “Look at all you’ve accomplished. Ivy League education and about to start one of the finest law schools in the country. My amazing sister.”

“Jon, I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for you and Eva. If I had had to stay with Dad, my life would have fallen apart. You two gave me stability and a lot of love. The brains are mine. The support I needed was from you. But there’s one thing I’m mad at you about.”

“Mad at me? What the hell for?”

“I compare every man I meet to you, brother, and almost none of them measure up. I’m not settling for less than someone of your high quality. I’d rather be alone.”

That got to me and I choked up a bit, unable to answer her for a minute. Then Connor came over to assist his dad and I found my voice. “Thank you, Cammy. That’s so sweet of you to say.”

“What did Aunt Cammy say to you, Dad?” Connor asked with curious eyes.

“I told your father that the man I eventually marry would have to be just like him, a great, kind and loving man. No one less will do. You’ve got the best parents, sweetie.”

“I know that already, Aunt Cammy. We got lucky, didn’t we?”

“We sure did, honey. We sure did.”

“OK” I said, trying to break up my fan club before I cried in front of everyone. “Connor, take that tray of burgers inside for your mom to put on buns. Then come back for the dogs.” My happy, brilliant son carried those hamburgers like a platter of precious jewels. “You’re crazy, sis, you know?”

“Crazy about my brother and ‘sister’. I love you both so much. And don’t get me started on Connor. I may kidnap him for a weekend and take him to the Jersey Shore. Just him and me.”

“Ha! That will drive off the men. Guys your age don’t talk to women with kids.”

“I’m not going to meet guys. I just want a weekend with my nephew. Please?”

“I’ll talk to Eva, but we both know she’ll be fine with it. So we just have to pick a weekend. Connor will love it. The beach and ski ball. Sounds like a lot of fun. And, as much as I adore my son, Eva and I could use a quiet weekend to ourselves.”

So three weeks later, Cammy drove down to Sea Bright with Connor and Eva and I had a weekend to relax, we went to an R-rated movie and had a nice dinner in a restaurant Connor hated. And we had great sex. Dirty, lusty, fun sex.

The next year flew by. Eva’s parents watched Connor a number of times so we could get caught up on schoolwork. Will got engaged to his girlfriend during Thanksgiving weekend and they set the wedding for April a year and a half away. Connor got big, tall for his age on his seventh birthday. Cammy did great her first year in law school, seven A’s and a A- over the year. Of course, she was pissed about the A-.

Eva and I finished the courses we needed that May as well. We were certified for our new jobs and we decided to take a family vacation before we started to pack up the house, which had been on the market since March. We’d had a few nibbles but no serious offers. If we didn’t sell by when we had to move in mid-August, Eva’s parents would help with the sale.

The day after Connor finished school, June 23, the three of us flew to San Francisco for a few days, then we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at various sites like Carmel, Monterrey, Big Sur and San Luis Obispo overnight on our way to LA. It was a great time, also spending time in Malibu and Santa Barbara, then five days in Los Angeles. Of course we had to take Connor to Disneyland. We saw a few old friends from college in LA. And while we were gone, an acceptable offer came for the house. We took it and the new owners were going to move in on October 1, six weeks after we moved.

The six weeks from when we returned to when we moved were hard. Packing memories was tough enough. Finding time to say goodbye to so many important people in our lives was even harder. We had friends from college, friends from work, even some friends from high school. Then there were relatives. You’d think we were moving to China the way people were acting. But honestly, most of them we never would see again. That’s how life goes. People move on.

We weren’t taking much in the way of furniture; the home on the grounds came furnished so we were only taking personal things, like artwork and other touches that made a house our home, and the things for Connor’s bedroom and a family room. Every other room was furnished in a style that blended with the style of the house. It was a good-bad situation. The house was expensively decorated, but it wasn’t our own taste. And that would always be a reminder that we were, in effect, mere tenants and not owners. Not that we could have afforded such a house.

From August 1st to moving day we tried to spend as much time as possible seeing the people important to us. Our closest friends from school, Karen and Mike. A few people Eva worked with. And most of all her family and my Aunt and Uncle, Annette and Phil. Since we weren’t taking a lot of furniture with us, packing didn’t take as much of our time as it would have under typical circumstances. What did take a lot of time was the melancholy we experienced as we packed our most personal things. Pictures and photo albums, works of art we’d bought and inherited over the years, gifty things like crystal and colored glass, which we loved. They all reminded us of specific people and events in our lives and there was a natural sadness that came with packing those things to move. What we weren’t taking, most of our furniture and small appliances Phyllis and Harold were going to try to sell.

August 13 we went out with a large group of friends, who refused to let us contribute to the huge dinner and liquor bill since we were the guests of honor. It was a boozy night, though Eva and I kept from drinking too much since we had things to do the next day. But that didn’t stop us from being very playful when we got home. Connors room was thankfully far enough away from ours and he didn’t hear a sound of his father attacking his giggling mother.

The 14th, our last full day in Queens, we stopped at some favorite places: our favorite bagel store; our favorite pizza (Amore of course) and for dinner, fourteen of us met for dinner at, drumroll please…Marco’s. Eva, Connor and I, Phyllis and Harold, Will and his fiance and Walt and his girlfriend, and Aunt Annette and Uncle Phil and Nick and my cousins Nick and Jerrold. And Cammy of course, who was living with us during the Summer. Ten people all to say goodbye to Eva, Connor and I. The three of us were crying but there were calls for me to make a speech.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do without all of you nearby. You’re all the very best family anyone could ask for in their lives. When things were at their darkest, when my mom got sick and my dad had his troubles, you were all there for me and Cammy, and for Eva, who was the anchor in my life. My love,” I said, turning to Eva for a minute, “you saved me and you saved my sister. We couldn’t have gotten through that time without you.” Then I turned back to everyone else. “And we couldn’t have made it though without all of you good people. You’re all amazing in your own way. And you’re all invited to visit us whenever you want…within reason.” That got a few laughs. “Seriously, you’re the best family there is and you’re all special to us. We love you and we’re going to miss you. So don’t be strangers, because it will probably be December before we can get back to New York to see you.”

There were a lot of tears around the table. Eva got up and kissed me, a very passionate kiss in front of our loved ones. Then I got Connor up and we both kissed his cheeks. He didn’t mind at all; he was a sweet, loving kid and still is to this day, though he’s hardly a kid anymore.

When we left there were a lot of kisses from everyone and it took a while for us to get to our car. Eva was crying heavy tears; she was leaving her parents and brothers behind and it was hitting her hard. Leave it to Connor to get his mother’s mind off her sorrow. “Mom, Dad, could you tell me what my other grandparents were like? I’d really like to know.” It was something we’d talked about before, but he knew this would help his mother, even if he heard everything for a second or third time over. Eva dried her eyes with a tissue and we both told him what wonderful people they were. We left out certain facts about the last years of his grandfathers’ life; maybe when he was an adult it would be time to talk about that. Not at seven years of age. I told a few stories from my childhood, funny stories, like how my mother loved to sing even though she couldn’t carry a tune. How when I was young, until I was ten, my dad smoked these godawful smelling cigars, How they loved to take me and my sister to the Bronx Zoo every year, like Eva and I did with our son the last three years. All nice memories that made me long for my parents.

When we got home, Cammy was there already, She helped us with a few last minute things while Connor got ready for bed, then we all got ready to go to our respective bedrooms. Cammy looked around and said “This was a great home, guys. Not a fancy or luxurious home. Not huge. But from day one it was always filled with loving people. You both made this house a home the minute you moved in. I love you all more than I can say.” Then she disappeared into her room before Eva or I could respond. Connor kissed us like he did each night and he went to his room.

Eva and I looked around, our last night in our first owned home together. “Your sister is a piece of work, Jon. She knew just the right thing to say.” She gathered closer to me and said “I’m really going to miss this house. I think we were happy every day we were here.”

“I think you’re right, Angel. We did all right, didn’t we?”

“Yes we did, Bear. My gentle Bear. Would you make love with me one more time in this house?” Her eyes pleaded with me, unnecessarily. I silently took her hand and we closed the door quietly when we entered our room.

We kissed, sharing love and tenderness, warmth and desire. Eva’s t-shirt fell to the floor as did mine, then my shorts and briefs were off a split second before her panties joined the pile. Then I scooped her up in my arms before gently placing her on our bed. “You’re so sweet, Bear. I can’t imagine any man who could be a better lover than you are. And I know there isn’t any man out there who could love me more than you. It’s not even close.”

“That’s because such a man doesn’t exist. I love you more than anyone could, Angel. I think I have from our first date. Maybe the second. Definitely the third.”

She smiled a warm and teasing smile. “It took you until our third date? I knew by our second.”

“It might have been our second for me. But I was certain by the third. And the first time we made love was heaven on earth.” We kissed tenderly with enough heat for us both to be very aroused.

I pulled her on top of me and Eva held my cock as she eased herself down. A deeply loving smile shone on her beautiful face, her blue eyes glowed with love as we stayed like that. Eva just rocked forward and back as I made myself twitch inside her very warm, inviting sex. She held my hands in hers as she kept moving and I moved my hips slightly in unison with her. Eva bit her lower lip as a gentle climax rocked her soul, then she leaned over and kissed my lips, my neck, and my chest including my nipples.

“You’re making me shiver all over, Angel. Wonderfully.” I let go of her hands and caressed her ass and thighs, then her hips and breasts, lightly teasing her hard nipples in a way that made her gasp each time. We kissed hard and she came again, a much more powerful orgasm as my prick throbbed over and over as my own orgasm approached. Eva could sense it and started moving faster. And then faster still.

“Cum for me, my sweet Bear. Fill me with your love.” She squeezed me with her incredible pressure and I came inside her, spreading my seed throughout her pussy into her cervix. Then she fell on top of me and we kissed over and over, mostly short, sweet kisses with a few bigger ones.

After a while I turned us both on our sides, facing each other. I touched her cheek and kissed her nose. She smiled back at me. “Our last love in this house, Bear. And it was as great as any of the thousands of times before. Eight years here. We created Connor here. There are so many great memories here.” She started crying and I held her, but honestly, I was crying too. It was hard to leave our first home, not counting the apartment.

“Angel, we’ll create new memories in our new home. I know we feel like we bit off more than we can chew. But when have we ever had a challenge we couldn’t meet? We’re going to be successful there and live there a long time.” I was actually as scared as Eva was, but I felt it was my job to instill confidence in both our hearts. “It’s going to be a huge challenge but we’re up to it, honey. We can do anything together.”

Eva kissed me and then we turned on our backs and held hands in the dark room. Our last night in our bedroom, in our home. We fell asleep like that, holding hands. It comforted both of us.

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We got up early, 7AM, so we had time to take showers, eat something and get the last minute things together, like stripping the beds, emptying out the refrigerator, packing the things in the bathrooms. The movers showed up promptly at 9 and started putting Connors bedroom into the van, then the family room, then the dozens of boxes. It really wasn’t a lot; more was getting left behind than was coming with us. Within two hours, everything we were taking was packed in the van.

The four of us stood outside the house, not one of us dry eyed. We looked at our small, loving home for as long as we could before we finally had to say goodbye. It was even harder than we expected it to be.

We had hired a couple of students from Queens college with clean driving records to drive Eva’s and Cammy’s cars down to our new house for a few hundred each, plus we paid for their return trip on Amtrak. It wasn’t a hard drive, only 2 1/2 hours down, easy money for them. That way Cammy could ride with us in my car, now a ’88 Jeep Cherokee. I’d gotten rid of my beloved Ford six years before, sadly. But I’d come to like my Jeep with a four wheel drive.

The beginning of the drive was very quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Once we put on some music and we all sang along, our mood lightened. The drive went quickly.

We pulled up in front of the house, as I’ve said, a beautiful old Colonial, red brick and white columns in front with a semi circular driveway and a garage around the side. I had the keys (they had been shipped to us) and I let us in so we could explore while we waited for our cars and the furniture van. While it wasn’t what Eva and I would have chosen, we admitted to ourselves it was a beautiful house. Lot’s of mahogany along the walls and the bedroom furniture, including a four poster bed in the master bedroom. There were three large fireplaces, one in the master bedroom, one in the family room and one in the library. Large windows let a lot of natural light in and most of the furniture in the sitting areas was rich leather and again, dark woods, We could be comfortable there. The house would grow on us.

Then the movers came, right before the cars arrived. I paid the students and Cammy drove them to the local train station, only five minutes away, which took them into Philly to the Amtrak station. She was back in less than 15 minutes.

Cammy came back inside and she was impressed. “I can’t believe this house comes with your job! It’s amazing! I may stay here full time!” she joked. It was much more convenient for her to live in the Penn Law housing, just a block from her classes and so she could meet with her study groups. But she was welcome anytime, particularly on weekends and holidays.

Cammy helped Connor set up his room, posters of his favorite baseball and football players plus a few music posters. Eva and I had looked ahead and saw the Grateful Dead was coming to play at the Spectrum in November and we had tickets to take him to his first concert.

A couple of hours later, we were all starving so we stopped for a while and I went with Connor to get some sandwiches. We were on our way back when I asked him “So, what do you think of the new house?”

“I kind of like the old house better.” He was honest.

“Me too. But its a beautiful house. I think it will grow on us. We just have to give it time. We have four weeks before school begins on the 10th. We’ll find some time to do some exploring around here and see what fun things there are to do. We’ll make this home soon enough, Connor.”

“Dad, I know. I miss my friends already. Grandma and Grandpa too. It’s hard.” He looked up at me, his sandy hair all ruffled.

“Tell you what. Tomorrow, we’ll go buy a grill for the backyard. Just you and me. Then we’ll get some chicken and some burgers to cook on it, some corn. Even some asparagus.” I smiled at him while he made a face. He hated asparagus. Not that he ever really tried it.

We got back, washed up and ate at a table in the backyard, covered by an umbrella. It was a big yard, about a quarter acre, with a pretty tree line at the back. While we were eating, the doorbell rang. We weren’t expecting anyone, but people from the school knew we were moving in that day.

I went to get the door and Joe DeMilo was there as well as a couple of people from the administrative office and a couple of teachers as well as some of their spouses. They had a few bottles of wine and a case of beer along with some homemade food. It was a nice start to our tenure at Wayne Day and it made us all feel very welcome.

I got some paper cups and dug out a corkscrew and we all (except for Connor, who stuck with his Coke) toasted our new home and jobs with a cup of wine. A few of the women helped Eva get the kitchen stowed away while the men helped me in the garage. I wasn’t a real Mr. Fix-it type, but I did accumulate a bunch of tools over the years. It turned into a nice afternoon and early evening.

There was a single man, a science teacher, David Meyers, about 28, and he and Cammy were making eyes at each other on and off. I could see the attraction; he was average height with dark blond hair and killer grey eyes in very good shape, and my sister, as I’ve mentioned, was gorgeous. 5’6″ with a curvy body (I could tell objectively) and her dark eyes and curly almost black hair. I hoped he’d get around to asking her out.

By 7 our guests left and we were all feeling the exhaustion of the day. An hour later I carried Connor up to his bedroom and got him into his pajamas, then Eva and Cammy came up so we could all kiss him goodnight, even though he was out like a light. We left his door partly open so he could find his way in the strange house if he needed to get up during the night.

The three of us talked and listened to low music on the stereo (cable was getting hooked up the next day). It would be odd sleeping in strange beds in a strange house in a strange place. Then at 10, we were also done for the day and Cammy went to her room and Eva and I retired to ours.

As we got ready for bed, we talked about a few things we wanted to get for the house like new dishes and a snow blower while it was summer and they were inexpensive. The things couples talk about. Then Eva said “Bear, this really is a beautiful house. I know we didn’t care too much for it at first, but I think I’m going to love this. It’s very warm feeling.”

“Are you trying to talk yourself into it or me? Because I’m coming around myself. This is the kind of house I dreamed of when I was younger. I like colonials. I was just so happy in our old house. Listen, I’m already calling it our old house. We haven’t even slept here a single night yet.”

“We don’t have to go to sleep just yet, do we?” Eva smiled at me and gave her hips a little wiggle, trying to entice me. I laughed at her come-on.

“I am tired. But I could be convinced. What are you offering?” I challenged her.

“Hmmm I haven’t sucked your cock in a while. Would you say no to a half and half?” She said it with an exaggerated hookers accent. Or what she and I thought that sounded like.

“And just how do you know what a half and half is, young lady?” I was pretending to be stern with her. We were playful already in our new surroundings.

“You don’t know about my checkered past? A few street corners have my name and high heel prints on them” Eva said as she pulled off her nightgown. She was just in a pair of white lace panties that were doing great things for my libido.

“Damn and I thought I married a virgin. How disappointing.”

“I promise, the last thing you’ll be tonight is disappointed. I guarantee it.”

Eva jumped onto my lap and the old mahogany bed, with our new mattress and box spring, barely made a sound. I pulled her down with me, kissing with burning heat and love until we maneuvered around into a 69, avidly licking and tasting and sucking each other. After she had an intense orgasm, we moved again so I was behind her and we fucked vigorously into a mutual climax that left us both sated and very happy.

“Mmmm my stud Bear always pleases me so well. I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, Angel. Completely. That was fun. I didn’t think we’d have the energy for that tonight. I’m glad I was wrong.”

We were quiet for a while, enjoying what came after good sex, the warm intimacy. “Bear…I’m still scared.”

“Honey, you’d be crazy not to be scared. I’m terrified when I think about what we’re jumping into. But I know we’ll be all right because we’re together. And now, my love, we really need to get some sleep. We have another long day tomorrow. And the next day and the next day…”

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Over the next two weeks before Labor Day we spent a decent amount of money on things we needed/wanted. Dishes, bedding and towels, some new pieces of cookware we now had room for in our larger kitchen. Even though Connor would be going to school there for free, we had to buy him uniforms. And we needed new suits for ourselves. I had one good suit already so I needed another four to start, plus shirts and ties and shoes. Eva had a few suits, but, being as fashion conscious as most professional women, she needed another half dozen suits to go with the six she had, plus accessories (shoes, handbags etc.). It was a good thing we had done well with investing over the years. This career change was getting expensive, even with the free house.

School started on Monday, September 10th, but we would start working the week before, on the 4th. Which meant we had four days to find someone to look after Connor (Cammy started classes on the 4th also). We probably could have found one of the incoming 12th graders to sit for him, but we didn’t know anyone. Eva decided to call one of the secretary’s from our office, Ellen Riordan, to get a recommendation. She suggested Rebecca Carrol and Jennifer Steiner, both incoming seniors and good friends. We didn’t mind hiring two people to look after him; it would be easier for both of them, considering how much time we needed from them. And we’d need regular sitters, since we expected to be busy one night at least most weekends. So Mrs. Riordan gave us the girls numbers and Eva called and asked if they could come meet us before Labor Day weekend. We needed a sitter that Friday; we were invited by one of the board members for an evening casual barbeque and it would be a good opportunity for us to meet some of the people in an informal setting.

That Wednesday before Labor Day Weekend, both young ladies came to the house to meet with all three of us. They were both attractive, with Rebecca qualifying as a genuine knock out, vivacious, polite and were interested in working with children. And they were both athletic, Rebecca on the volleyball team and Jennifer on the softball team. I’m sure since the child in question was the son of their principals they were even more interested in making a good impression than they would be under ordinary circumstances. But they were fun and funny and they hit it off with Connor, the main concern. Our eight year old sure had an eye for the ladies. He took to them like a horse to water. We hired them for Friday evening and they said they were available the next week if we wanted them.

Eva and I got ready that Friday evening, dressing casual-nice, and we were both a bundle of nerves. We were going into a social situation that wasn’t exactly social for us; we’d be under a microscope all evening. And we were leaving our son with people we barely knew. Either situation was enough to make us nervous. Both together…you get the idea.

“We’d better limit ourselves to two drinks tonight” Eva said, “no matter who drives home. We need to keep under control in front of these people.”

“I thought about that, Angel. I’ll skip alcohol altogether if you want.”

“No, have a drink or two. We want to appear to be social with these people. Two drinks is enough to be social without looking like they hired a couple of booze hounds” she said with a forced laugh.

“Hey, we’re going to be fine, Angel. They wouldn’t have hired us if they didn’t think we were fit for the jobs. I hope, anyway. We’ll just take it easy, have a drink to relax a little and then another with dinner and we’ll be just fine. I promise.” I kissed her head and then her lips, just as Connor came into the room.

“Kissing…Yuck! How can you guys do that to each other?” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Trust me, Champ” I said, smiling at him, “some day you’re going to want to kiss girls. Lots of girls. You’ll find out it’s a lot of fun to kiss girls. Especially if you fall in love with the perfect girl, like I did.” Eva smiled warmly at me and we kissed again and Connor giggled at us.

“Your father is my perfect man, too, sweetie. You’re my other perfect man. I’m a very lucky lady.” Just then the doorbell rang, 6:30, right on time.

We let the girls in and after saying hello they made a big deal over Connor, and our little gentleman ma de a big deal over being their host. We went over the basic ground rules with Rebecca and Jen, as she asked to be called. No boys, a 10PM bedtime, that sort of thing. We’d ordered a pizza for them and left money to pay with a nice tip. And then, after a bunch of hugs and kisses for our son from his mother, primarily, we were off.

I followed the directions to the house of the chairman of the board of the school in Villanova, a mile from the university, about 10 minutes from where we lived. I say house, but that’s not quite right. This was an estate. The house was over at least three times the size of ours, and we thought our house was huge. This was real old money. We could see stables off to the right. If you can afford horses…

“Oh my god, Bear. I know we’re secure financially, but this…this is another world. We don’t belong here, not in this social circle.”

“Try to relax, honey. We’re not going to be joining their country clubs or going to their cotillions or whatever. This is just a night to be friendly with the people we’ll be working for. After tonight, we’ll only see them at the monthly board meetings. I hope.”

I pulled up to the front where there was valet parking. We went to the door and rang the bell and someone hired for the evening let us in and directed us to the back yard, through the main hallway to the informal dining room.

“Jon, Eva! Welcome!” Our hosts, Jack and Samantha Moran waved us over where a half dozen people were, sitting on lounge chairs and sipping drinks. Jack introduced us around to the people we hadn’t met when we were hired.

He got us drinks, a gin and tonic for Eva and a scotch on the rocks for me. The man had really good scotch, I have to admit. I savored it slowly.

Others were hired to cook and to serve the food, chicken and steaks off the grill, salads and corn on the cob. I had a beer with dinner and Eva had a glass of white wine. And honestly, everyone was incredibly nice to us. They were all among the wealthiest and most powerful families in Philly and still they behaved like we were all everyday people. Maybe in more formal settings they were different, but that night, everyone was polite and friendly. They made us feel welcome and as if they were very happy to have us there.

We left on the early side, before 11. Eva and I drove home in a much more settled mood. Rebecca and Jen said everything went fine, Connor was a “darling” (a direct quote from Jen) and they were looking forward to spending the four days next week with him. When I went to pay them, they tried to not take our money, but that wasn’t going to happen. “You worked for us, ladies. When you work, you get paid.”

“He was a sweetheart all night” Rebecca said. “It wasn’t like working.”

“Still, it was your personal time. So take the money, ladies. Please. Or we’ll have to find someone else for next week.” They took the money, of course and agreed to be at the house by 8 each morning, Tuesday through Friday until 4 each afternoon. If I needed to get in touch with them during the day, Rebecca even had one of those new-ish cellular phones, those big old boxy types that cost a fortune to purchase and were expensive to use.

After they left, we went up to Connor’s room, where he was sound asleep and perfect. That may be my bias talking, but he looked like a perfect child sound asleep. Eva brushed his hair, the way she loved to do with me, though not in the romantic way she did to me. With Connor, she was just the epitome of a loving mother. She kissed him on his forehead and we silently went to our room to put on our bed clothes and we went got in bed and turned on the late news. We shared a few kisses and simply held hands in bed. Very romantic, at ease with each other, like we had been for years by then. There were plenty of nights we made love in one way or another, and there were many nights we just loved each other. Both fulfilled our deepest needs for each other. But I did want just a little bit more. “Angel, wanna cuddle with me?”

She gave me a sleepy smile. “When don’t I want to cuddle with you?” Eva slid over and our arms held each other. “This feels nice, Bear. Like it has since our first date. I even remember our first kiss, on the dance floor at Poet’s Corner. Remember?”

“How could I forget? It was the best first date of my life. I couldn’t believe you let me kiss you so intimately when we got in my car. You even let me grab your ass. But you didn’t let me feel your boobs.”

“You have such a good memory, Bear. I remember that night as well. I remember almost all our first dates. When you gave me my first orgasms, besides the ones I gave myself. You didn’t even get upset when we didn’t have time for me to reciprocate. You were so kind and understanding. And of course, I remember when we made love that first time in my bed. You were so sweet and you made me feel great. Do you remember?”

“Of course, Angel. And one other thing, something you don’t know. The night, the first night we were in my backseat and you let me take your pants and panties off so I could taste you. You were delicious, by the way, just as you still are. Remember we couldn’t find your panties? We looked all over the back of my car. No panties.”

“OK. So when did they turn up?”

“The next day. When I got home from work my mom found them in the blanket, in the laundry. She was reasonable about it, but she gave me some grief, about being indiscreet and told me to think if Cammy had done the laundry. She was still twelve back then. God, honey, it’s been more than ten years since that night. In February it will be our tenth anniversary.”

“I can’t believe you never told me about that! I forgot all about it. Your mom…telling me that story makes me think how much I miss her, Your father too, with all his troubles. Honey, could we go visit my parents tomorrow? We could stay overnight and come back late Sunday. I miss them, and I know Connor misses them.”

“Angel, I miss them too. Call them in the morning, We can be there by noon,”

“Thank you, Bear. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

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We got up by 8, much earlier than we wanted too, but Eva had a phone call to make. Her parents always were up early so we weren’t going to wake them. She called and I could almost hear her mother scream from ten feet away as she told Eva to come, she just needed to go do some shopping. Phyllis was in Jewish Mother mode.

Connor was excited, of course. He missed his Grandparents as much as Eva missed them. We took showers, Eva packed some things for Connor and then we packed for ourselves. I called Cammy quick to let her know we’d be gone overnight, and we got going. We stopped for some bagels and cream cheese before I got on the highway. As usual, we sang on our way for much of the ride and we got there about 11:30. Connor ran out of the car and up the walk to where his Grandma and Grandpa were waiting eagerly.

“Oh, my little man is getting so big!” Phyllis cried, bending to hug and kiss him. Harold, a big man and strong as an ox, picked him up for his own hug and kiss. Then they greeted Eva and then me, with the suitcase in my hand. They’d always been so good to me, from the night we met. They never felt that Eva married down and they knew how much we loved each other.

We spent the afternoon in the backyard, with finger foods and drinks (beers for Harold and me and Phyllis and Eva had wine). Harold and I threw around a baseball with Connor, then a football. It was a great afternoon. Then Eva’s brothers came by with their fiance/girlfriend for dinner, barbequed chicken and hot dogs and all the fixings, including a Carvel ice cream cake.

By 10 Connor could barely stay awake so we let Eva’s parents tuck him into bed in the twins old room. By midnight, the rest of us were also tuckered out and Eva and I retired to her old bedroom, where her parents had replaced her old bed with a Queen size, thankfully.

I was lying in bed, reading a book when Eva came into the room from the hall in an old robe. When she took it off, she was covered in an oversize t-shirt that hung loosely on her body, showing no curves at all. I looked up from my book and said “Hubba-hubba, babe. You really know how to turn your man on.”

“There will be no funny business with my parents home, young man!” she said as if we were back in high school. “My dad would throw you out the window!” Eva giggled, enjoying her game. “I even wore this to make sure I didn’t turn you on.”

“Ha! While I love your lingerie choices, you think I need it to get hot for my girl? You’d turn me on if you wore a potato sack.” I leered at her, and she knew I was undressing her with my eyes.

“Well, stud, if you promise to be quiet,” Eva said as the nightgown dropped off her shoulders and onto the floor “I think we can accommodate your desires, you animal!”

“That’s me, your animal!” I got up and out of my shorts and shirt and beat my chest as if I was King Kong. Eva laughed loudly and her parents had to hear us.

“My king of the jungle! God, I’m fucking soaked! What the hell is making me so damn horny?”

“Maybe because we’ve never done this in your parents house while they were home before. We did it in my parents home, even when we were single, but never here. Even though we’re married, there’s something very kinky about this situation.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Now just sit on the edge of the bed, Bear, and let’s see how quiet you can be.” Eva kissed me before she got on her knees in front of me and kissed all around my stomach. Her kisses were like butterflies, especially when she got to the lower part of my torso, that very sensitive region just above my groin. My cock was poking her throat and I left a small trail of precum there.

“Damn, honey, keep doing this to me and no way will I be able to be quiet. It feels too good.”

“You’d better be quiet, or my parents will come charging down the hall and they’ll forbid me from seeing you again.” Then she took my cock into her mouth, just past the head at first, then down a little more and a little more, and I was squirming around, trying to keep as quiet as I could. My sex monster was giving me an even better blowjob than usual, turned on by the situation we were in. Then she got the head into her throat and held still, humming as she buzzed my dick and I thought I would lose my sanity.

“Angel, if you don’t stop, I may not be able to put out the fire between your legs” I warned. “Not the way you want.”

She stopped sucking me and she wiped her lips as she stood up. “Oh, you’d better put it out. Or I’m going to hold out on you for a very long time.”

Eva climbed on the bed, balanced on her feet with my hands holding her hips as she lowered her pussy down onto my cock. “Talk about an empty threat” I muttered as her warm, velvet walls surrounded my dick like she was around the essence of my being. Eva was so hot she started bouncing right away as I kissed her hard, snaking my tongue in and out of her mouth. My hands massaged her soft ass as we rocked together, making the bed squeak with our movements. We were beyond caring if her parents could hear.

I was rising a little every time she thrust down onto my lap, then she arched back a bit and I sucked her nipples as if I was starving. She moaned, not a stifled moan but a full on moan, loud enough to escape the room. And when she bore down on my cock, gripping me with her pussy, I moaned right with her. Louder than we meant to. Our whole plan of keeping things quiet went right out the window.

When Eva came, she pushed her tongue into my mouth and our lips sealed together, preventing any even louder sounds from getting out. She held me behind my neck with one hand while the other scratched my chest and that was all it took for me to join her, emptying my balls inside my sexy, sexual, loving wife. We held each other, slightly sweaty, then we laughed together as we shared small kisses.

Just then, we heard Connor from his room call out “Mom? Mom? Could you come here?” He had a slightly scared voice, like maybe he had a nightmare. Eva quickly got off me and put her robe on while I got into my shorts and we both hurried to his room.

Eva was first and she got to his bed, where he was still half asleep, “What’s wrong, Connie?” It was our nickname for him when he was very little, which he now purported to hate (but we knew he liked it when he needed affection). “Did you have a bad dream?” She was stroking his hair like she did with me.

“I thought I heard you crying, M”om. I was scared for you.”

We smiled at each other, guilty grins that showed embarrassment as well. “I’m fine, honey. Daddy was massaging my feet and it felt good and I made that sound. It’s nothing to worry about.”

I said from over her shoulder “Do you need anything? Water or do you have to pee?”

“No, I’m ok now. Would you stay with me until I fall asleep, Mom? You can go, Dad.” I didn’t take it personally. Sometimes a boy just needs his mother. So I kissed his head and went back to our bedroom, where Eva joined me again five minutes later. We both had to stifle a giggle so we wouldn’t wake him again.

“I didn’t know what else to say to him, Bear. A foot massage was all I could come up with.”

“Somehow I don’t think that will work with your parents in the morning. And we probably shouldn’t tell them that being down the hall from them turned us on more than usual.” Eva hit me with her pillow and we kept stifling our giggles.

“Asshole. I don’t intend to tell my mother anything. Hopefully. Besides, I can’t imagine what my father might say to you.” She got me, the last word on the subject. Thankfully, her parents didn’t say anything, though her mother gave us a withering look when we came downstairs in the morning. It was enough of a rebuke.

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We came home the next night and spent Monday exploring the massive King of Prussia mall, about fifteen minutes away. Massive and a lot of high end stores. Eva convinced me to get another suit at the Brooks Brothers store, where I spent a lot more on a single suit than I ever would have considered spending in my life. But when it was ready a week later…I have to admit, I looked damn good. After doing the mall in the morning, we went back to Wayne and we got sandwiches and soft drinks and brought them to the town park, where a lot of people were taking advantage of the beautiful Labor Day. We spread out a blanket and had a nice afternoon. Connor and I threw a baseball for a while, then we met a few other families, including one whose kids went to Wayne Day, one in the grammar school and one in our upper school.

By 5, we were all feeling tired so we headed home and we had a light dinner of chicken salad on mixed greens as we watched the television. We had to make it an early night; Connor was being picked up by Jen and Rebecca at 8 and Eva and I had our first day at our new jobs, the week before classes started. Teachers were coming in to set up their classrooms and all the administrative staff had their work to do. The groundskeepers worked year round maintaining the fields. The janitorial staff had their work to do and the head of the dietary staff had her work to do. And Eva and I had to meet with everyone at some point during that week and introduce ourselves.

We went to bed early, but of course we had trouble sleeping. We were even too nervous to make love, which might have tired us out a little. So we just laid there in the dark, holding hands until we each finally drifted off. Then the alarm rang at 6 and our first day was there.

We got Connor up at 7 so he could get washed up, dressed and have breakfast before he got picked up. Eva and I were dressed casual but nice. We didn’t have to wear suits that week, but no jeans either. We needed to look professional in front of our staff. The girls picked him up right on time, told us they were taking him to a public pool and I gave them money for lunch and whatever snacks they might need. After he left, we were alone for a half hour before we had to be at work. We were all jittery, bordering on terrified.

“So, Angel, it’s finally here. Our first day. God help us.”

“God helps those who help themselves, Bear. So it’s up to us.”

We got up and went to the front door. On a nice day like that day was, it was a ten minute walk from our home to the school or a two minute drive when the weather was bad. We got to the front door and stood there, taking in the scenery of the huge lawn in front of us leading to the schools, the driveway and parking lots, where we saw a few cars already.

“Well, Eva, my love, today is the first day of the rest of our lives. Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go, Jon.” We took that first step into our future.

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Considering we were inexperienced at our jobs, that week went very well. We first connected with Belinda Andrews, the principal of the grammar school. She apologized for not seeing us before then, but she had been away for a month in England, where she had family. We spent the morning with her and Joe DeMilo, our mentor for the year, getting the lay of the land so to speak. In the afternoon we met with all the staff in the auditorium, and set a schedule to meet them in groups (English teachers, Science teachers, groundskeepers etc.) so we could get to know them better. It was an exhausting week but productive. Our offices were adjoining, which was very convenient and we took the rest of that first afternoon setting up our workspaces and getting to know the secretarial and administrative people. I have to admit, everyone was very kind and, at least outwardly, very accepting. What they thought and felt inside I can’t say.

The girls dropped Connor off at the school a little after 4 and he had a great time. They also seemed to have fun with him. So the week went, busy for us during the day, and Jen and Rebecca kept him busy during the week, even taking him to a Phillies game (I of course paid for the tickets and food). At the end of the week, Eva and I gave the girls $200 each plus a generous tip. At first they tried to say it was too much but we insisted. Then I gave them their first life lesson as one of their teachers. “Ladies, remember this: when people trust you with their children, they’re trusting you with the most precious thing in their lives. More than their cars or homes or anything else. Their children mean more than everything else put together. You did a great job with Connor. He had a fun week, he’s safe and you both proved to be very responsible. So when you’re offered more money than you expect or think is appropriate for caring for someone’s child, trust me, it’s worth every penny. And when you need a letter of recommendation for college, if your grades are solid, come to us. We’ll give you an excellent letter.” They went home glowing with pride over a job well done.

The weekend was spent running errands on Saturday like food shopping and picking up my suit, plus a gift for Eva, a lovely pair of earrings. No special occasion. I just wanted to do something nice for the mother of my son and for getting us our jobs. She loved them and showed me just how much in bed that night.

Sunday rained all day. Cammy came over, needing a day with family and her Little Man. We just stayed in, relaxing, sharing a bottle of wine and I made a roast for dinner. She loved studying the law and, no surprise, she was in the top 5 of her class. As I’ve said, Eva is brilliant. But my sister is a damned genius. We couldn’t be prouder of her. We just didn’t get to see enough of her with all her studying.

Then Monday was kind of our first day, all over again. Staff was hard, but we got through the week. This was the first day with students. Talk about a tough crowd. They’d be watching and testing us. We stood outside on the steps of the school as the kids came in by the schools’ private bus service, by parental drop off, or, in the case of the older students, by their own cars. We said hello to a number of kids, asking random names and grades, trying to make the students feel welcome in a friendly atmosphere.

We held two assemblies, morning and afternoon, to introduce ourselves. Again, we tried to make the kids feel like they were in a warm and caring place while also letting them know a little about us and what we expected from a group of smart and talented students. We were received with polite applause. They were reserving their judgement of us until they saw how we responded when they tested us. Fair enough.

Connor came to our offices at the end of his day and he raved about his teacher, Janet Russo, and he told us about a few of the other kids that he got to know a little. Our son was the type to make friends easily and he had a leader personality. We weren’t worried about him fitting in\ his new school.

Connor sat in my office doing his homework while Eva and I finished our day and discussing some things with Joe in his office. We got along well with him and he made that first year so much easier for us than it would have been otherwise.

Before we left for the day at 4, I was in Eva’s office and I went behind her chair and started rubbing her shoulders. She closed her eyes and let out a huge sigh. “That feels so good, Jon. But anyone in the office, students or staff, can see us. I know they know we’re married, but some things should probably be private. Tell you what, Bear. Continue this after we get Connor tucked in and I’ll rock your world when you’re done.” She flashed me her winning smile.

“Deal. Five minutes after he’s asleep, I’ll meet you in bed. Don’t be late. I’ll even cook dinner tonight.” I gave her my own warm smile.

“Done! Dinner and a massage. I’m so lucky!” We gathered up paperwork to do after dinner (you wouldn’t believe how much paperwork came with our jobs) and we walked home, all three of us, tired but feeling good about our new lives.

Later that night, we got Connor in bed at 9:30 and five minutes later I lit a few candles, turned on some light mood music, and waited for my wife to join me. I was just wearing a pair of white briefs so I was a little chilly from the air conditioning. Eva came in from the bathroom in a simple white nighty, lacy at the bottom and very short, showing almost all her legs. I got much warmer then.

I patted the bed, indicating she should lie down on her tummy, minus the nighty. “Bear, you don’t have to do this. I was going to fuck you tonight anyway” she giggled playfully.

“I promised you a massage and that’s what I’m going to do. Next time you can do me. But tonight” I said as I kissed her, “I’m going to help you relax. Between the glass of wine with dinner, this massage and what we’re going to do after, I bet we both sleep like babies. Now, off with your nightgown and lay down.”

“I can’t argue with you” Eva smiled, then she lifted her gown over her head and was just in a little pair of white panties. She looked delicious.

“Those too. Off with them.” She took the panties off and stretched out on the bed. I used a little baby oil and used my fingers and palms to work it into her back and shoulders, the back of her thighs and lastly into her soft, delightful ass. Her back glistened and I heard her moaning softly with every twist of my digits, every rub of my hands.

“Bear, that is wonderful. I don’t know why we don’t do this more often. I love your touch.”

“And I love touching you. However much time passes, I’ll always love touching you. And I’ll always love you, my Angel.”

“I love you too. I’m ready to show you just how much.” Eva flipped over and beckoned me with her finger. “Straddle my chest, baby. Feed me that tasty dick for a little while.” I love making love to her, but I also love getting down and dirty together. I got out of my briefs like they were on fire and got on the bed with my knees on either side of her, my already hard cock waving in front of her. “MMMM looks delicious, as usual.” Then I pressed the head to her pursed lips and she let me in, warm moisture surrounding my head.

“My Little Devil, that is sooo good. I love the things you do to me, naughty girl that you are.” I slid in and out, fucking her face, but gently. Then her fingers tickled my balls, sending me to another level of lusty pleasure. Eva’s lips were loving me, massaging me, pleasing me to no end. Her tongue licked all around the head which made me whimper with desire. I could have easily cum like that, but that would have been terribly selfish of me.

I let her tease me for a few minutes more, then kind of reluctantly I withdrew, leaving a connecting trail of saliva between the head and her lips that fell to her chest. “I would have finished you if you wanted, Bear. I enjoy doing that to you.”

“But then I wouldn’t be able to make you happy as well.” I was moving down her body, my cock tickling her tummy and further to her pubic hair, making Eva writhe and moan.

“You always make me happy, you sexy Bear. But I do love what you have in mind. I love it a lot, in fact.”

I leaned over and kissed her with all my love. “I know, Angel. I love it too, Only with you” as I entered her pussy, sliding along her clit, and Eva shuddered and let out a soft cry of joy. I pulled back out and when I went back inside she came with uninhibited pleasure. “I love you so much, my Angel.”

I was leaning on my hands and Eva lifted her right leg over my shoulder so I could go deeper. Then she handed me a pillow and asked me to put it under her. It adjusted my angle so I was constantly grazing her clit. She shook her head back and forth as she came again, her fingers digging into my shoulders, and then it was my turn and I kissed her hard and she kissed me back just as hard. Then we settled into gentler kisses and soft caresses before we took turns in the bathroom and put on enough to sleep in.

As we cuddled in our afterglow, before we had to go to sleep, I asked Eva “So, Angel, how do you think our first day went? Were we successful?”

“I’d give us a B+. As we told the students today, there’s always room for improvement. We were accepted, but they’re going to be testing us to see where the disciplinary lines are. They’re teens, after all. It’s what they do.”

I knew that from being a teacher but still thought it over. There was so much to this job. Teacher evaluations had to be written at the end of each semester. Fundraising events every few weeks on top of the high tuition the parents paid. And there was something we wanted to try to get the board to agree to: a scholarship program for promising but disadvantaged students whose parents could never afford to send their children to the school. That might be a tough sell, even as liberal as the members of the board claimed to be. We were sure most of them would assume such children would be bad influences. We had to try to convince them it was worth trying. It might take a few years.

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Our first year went well. Joe was a huge help and when it came time for him to retire at the end of the year, he told the board they hired the right people. We were popular enough with most of the kids and the staff grew to respect us. By June, test scores went up an average of 4%, a very good start with room to grow. Most of the 83 graduates were headed for top colleges and the others were going to good schools. We were pleased with our start but not satisfied. There was plenty of room to grow.

Connor loved the school and made a core of good friends. He wanted to join the junior hockey league which his friends were involved with, but he wasn’t a good enough skater then; we sent him for skating lessons twice a week so he would be ready by the next season. He was a straight A student like his mother and his aunt. He was very happy there.

Cammy worked her ass off and had all A’s her second year. And when we hosted our family for Thanksgiving (Eva’s family, my Aunt and Uncle and their kids as well as my sister) she asked to bring a ‘friend’. That friend’s name was Mark, a fellow student at Penn Law, and he was the first man she was serious about since starting law school. They were making eyes at each other all day and we were glad to see her so happy. The only bad part was she didn’t have as much time to see us or her nephew, who still worshiped her. It disappointed him somewhat but he kind of understood. He was still a few years from discovering girls. We didn’t even see her much that summer, though she was ostensibly living with us. She had an internship at one of the top law firms in the city and between that and her falling in love,, she just didn’t have much time to spend at home.

The only thing Eva and I were unhappy about was it was hard for us to make new friends. We couldn’t get too friendly with the teachers; we were their bosses and you can’t put yourself in a position where supervisory duties could conflict with a friendship. And we didn’t fit in socially with the parents of the students, largely for the same reason. We needed to keep a certain distance for professional reasons. So that first year, most of our nights out were either by ourselves or school functions and fundraising. It was a little lonely.

But overall that first year went well and we looked forward to the next year. And then fate sent us a couple of curveballs.

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First a couple of good things. During the Spring we were taking Saturdays to go to the Jersey Shore, with the thought of buying a small house on the beach as a getaway and a summer place. We had to find something before October or we’d have to pay a big capital gains tax on the house we sold in Queens. After four weeks of looking, we found a lovely 3 bedroom 2 baths in Lavallette, literally two houses from where the beach began. This was before the Shore took off in a big way, so prices were reasonable. It was a bit more expensive than we planned but the previous owners had done a lot of work on it two years previously so it didn’t need much work now, We made an offer that was accepted and we moved in just in time for the summer season. It was idyllic, a great place for us to go some weekends when we were working and to spend most of the summer and other vacations. And we met people to be friends with, young professionals or working class people with children Connors age. Some of them lived in the Philly area so we could see them even during the winter.

At the middle of August we took a family trip to England and Scotland. We rented a car, which was a little terrifying until I got used to driving on the left side of the road. We did a lot during six days in London (including shopping!), then we took three days to drive up to Scotland. The scenery is stunning there, lots of verdant hills and meadows, or ‘glens’ as they’re called there. And distilleries. Lots of distilleries. We took a few tours and had a few samples (not Connor though, poor guy) and being the single malt lover I am, we bought 4 different bottles, including a 22 year old that was exquisite and about half the price that it would have cost in the states. Even with the duty at customs, It was still a great deal.

We got home the weekend before Labor Day and we joined a temple in a nearby town, reformed, and we enrolled Connor in Hebrew School so he could learn more about Judaism and be prepared to be Bar Mitzvah in four years. Hey, Eva and I went for five years, so he got a bit of a break.

Then, the week before classes started, while we were working at school getting ready, we got a call from Eva’s mother. Her father, Harold, had a heart attack, a serious one, so we needed to leave ASAP, as soon as we could meet the latest sitters, young ladies named Ann and Ronnie. There was also a young man, Ty, but not that day. I called Ronnie on her cell phone and we met them in the city and we drove up to New York, as fast as we safely could. All the way up Eva was atypically quiet, but it was understandable. Connor asked me what a heart attack was and I explained as best I knew, that arteries in the heart get clogged with a blockage, and it causes serious pain and can damage the heart.

Connor was worried, in the way that young children can get when they don’t totally understand such situations. “Dad…is Grandpa going to die?”

Before I could say anything, Eva snapped at him. “Connor, don’t be silly! Your Grandpa will be fine, just fine. He’s not going to die!” She turned back forward in her seat, a furious look on her face.

“Honey,” I whispered, “Don’t tell him that. Everyone dies eventually. If god forbid he dies now, how will we explain it to him? He’ll think we lied to him.”

“Jon, I love you, I love our son, but do NOT cross me on this!” I shut up the rest of the ride. I had to let her cool down before talking to her…or to Connor.

We went to Bayside Hospital where Harold was in the CCU. Phyllis and her sons were there and they came to give their daughter/sister a hug and kiss, then Connor got the same, and then me, the same. Eva asked a dozen questions and between her brothers they answered her concerns. The main point was that he was sick but not dangerously so. He would need surgery to bypass two arteries but he was expected to fully recover assuming he came through the surgery, which was expected. He would have the surgery the next day, Wednesday, and we needed to stay at least that long.

While Eva and Connor went in to see Harold for ten minutes, I called school and let Mrs. Adams, one of the secretaries, what was going on and that we wouldn’t be back until Thursday or Friday at the earliest. She told us not to worry, the three assistant principals would cover for us until we got back. Then I went in to see Harold, who looked more tired than I ever saw him look before. A little scared too.

The visiting shifts were only 15 minutes every two hours so it was only a couple of minutes before we had to clear out, but Harold asked me to stay a minute. That brought back very mixed memories of when my mother did the same thing with me. I stood next to him while he sent everyone else out.

“Jon, I just want to tell you how thrilled I am with how you love and care for my daughter and grandson. From the night we met you, that first date you two had, I knew Eva found herself someone special. I never once felt any unease with you taking her out, and even though I miss them, and you, I’m so thrilled with the way your life has worked out.” He gripped my hand with a surprisingly strong grasp.

“Harold, thank you, That means the world to me. You know I’ll always take care of them, and Eva takes great care of me. She is the great love of my life. And when you get better, you’ll come down for a weekend and stay with us at the new beach house and you’ll get some sun and rest. I wish we could have everyone at once, but unless some of you are willing to stay at a motel, we don’t have that much room. But you and Phyllis can always have the extra bedroom. And thank you for stepping in and being like a father for me. When my dad had his problems, you really made things easier for me. I love you…Dad.”

His eyes teared up and I hugged him as tight as I thought was safe. “You can call me dad anytime you want. You’re just like a son to me. And count on Phyllis and me coming to visit you every chance we get.”

That night in bed in her old room, I had to talk to Eva. “You know, honey, I understand how upset you were in the car today. You were scared about your father. I remember how that feels. But you were rude to our son, and worse, you weren’t truthful with him. I’m sure you dad will be fine, but some day he’s going to die. We all will. It’s healthy for him to have questions about death at this age; I’m amazed we didn’t have to face it with him yet. The only person he knew who died is Lenny, rest his soul. (Lenny had died in November of the previous year and Eva and I went to the funeral, without Connor). We need to answer him as honestly as we can.”

Eva was very quiet aside from the sound of her breathing for a long time. I almost thought she fell asleep on me. But she started crying before I could ask her anything more. She rolled over to me and I held her while she cried herself out. “I know I was wrong, Bear. I was upset with myself right after I snapped at him but I was still too distressed to apologize to Connor. I’ll have a talk with him in the morning, before breakfast, to apologize. Help me, please? We’ll also have a talk with him about death. I’ll need you for that, sweetheart. I don’t know if I could do that by myself right now.”

“Honey, you know I’ll help with anything for you and for Connor. In fact, if it’s too hard for you under the circumstances, he and I can take a walk and I’ll talk to him alone, father to son.”

“No, I want to be a part of it. But I’ll let you take the lead, Bear.” Eva cuddled closer to me and kissed my neck and my cheek. “I’m sorry, my love. Sorry for making this harder for you and for Connor.”

“Angel, I don’t need an apology. I’m sure Connor will say something like that too, because that’s just the type of person he is. You’re the most incredible mother I’ve ever seen. I love you so much.”

“Do you love this?” Eva asked as her hand found my cock and gripped it gently, encouraging my blood to fill and expand the tissues that gave me a physical erection. But the true source was the love and attraction I felt for her.

“You know I do. Every time.” I turned to kiss her, big sexy kisses and I reached to touch her between her legs but she pulled away.

“This is just for you tonight, my sexy Bear. Just let me take good care of you.”

That’s just what she did. Eva stroked me masterfully, building me up and then letting me cool down before I got too excited. Three, four times she did that to me until I was dying to get off. “Angel, you’re torturing me…”

“Nonsense, When I torture you, you’ll know it” she taunted me. “Trust me, this is just pleasure, baby.” But she got the message. She jerked me more furiously, using her thumb on the glans of my dick and when I came it was like a small stream that Eva aimed at her lovely breasts, letting my warm load cover her chest. While I tried to recover, she said “Wow. Look what you did to me. I should have brought a towel with me from the bathroom. I can’t go out in the hall like this” she chuckled. “Imagine if our son saw this!”

“OK, I’ll get the towel. I guess it’s only fair after what you did for me.” I threw on a pair of shorts and went and got the towel, I cleaned her chest gently with a tender touch and then we got ready to go to sleep, kind of on the late side, but hey, things happen.

We had a talk with Connor in the morning. Like I said, as far as he was concerned, his mother didn’t need to apologize, but Eva believed she did. After that, we spoke to him about dying, about how in most cases it’s a normal process of life. We explained how no one really knew what happens when we die, and a lot of what people think depends on their faith, that even for those who believe in heaven and hell, there was a huge difference on what those terms meant depending on how people worship God. He had some questions which we answered as honestly as we could, and when we were done, he seemed satisfied and, more importantly, he didn’t seem scared. And he knew, like he knew about everything, he could always talk to either of us if he still had a question.

Harold’s surgery went well, and we were able to return home on Thursday so we could work on Friday and over the weekend to get ready for school. The first few weeks after school reopened we made the trip each weekend to see Eva’s parent and make sure her father was coming along, which he was. In another month, they’d be able to come see us, providing Phyllis did the driving. Harold claimed that would give him another heart attack, good naturedly.

Then in early October, as days were turning cooler and trees were starting to turn color, Eva started feeling sick in the mornings. Nausea, not able to eat in the morning…we’d been through that before. If she was pregnant, it was an accident. We’d been told it would be dangerous for her to carry another baby after what happened when Connor was born.

We went to her gynecologist for a proper pregnancy test and it came back positive. We were going to be parents again.

Or were we? This was going to be a long discussion between us. If the risk to Eva was too high, it just wasn’t worth it to me. I would love to have another child, but there was a reason we never tried. Eva was the love of my life.

We decided the first step was to see an obstetrician who specialized in high risk pregnancies to see what our options were. In the meantime, we told no one, not even Connor. If we had to end up terminating the pregnancy it would be almost impossible to explain to him.

We took a half day off from work in the morning for ‘personal reasons’. We were referred to Dr. Joy Garcia, a 40 something specialist who had a very reassuring manner about her. She asked us a lot of questions, some very personal, but we dealt with a little mild embarrassment. The stakes were too important. The doctor examined Eva while I sat nervously in the waiting room. After what felt like forever, I was called to come back to Dr. Garcia’s office.

I kissed Eva on her cheek and sat down next to her across from the doctor at her desk. “So, first things first, Mr. and Mrs. Grossman. Eva, you’re good and healthy in every way I can see. I drew your blood and we’ll have those results in a few days, but I don’t expect any unpleasant surprises there. When I did the internal exam, I could see where your uterine artery was scarred from your previous delivery. It’s something to be concerned about. But it’s something we can deal with. You’ll have to deliver via a Caesarian section. It will be much safer for you than a vaginal delivery.” Eva and I held hands tighter. She sure as hell wasn’t saying no. “And you’ll probably need to go on maternity leave from your job around six months into your pregnancy and take it very easy. And no heavy lifting from now on. Even moderate lifting. Nothing heavier than ten pounds. So I’m saying, if you want to keep this baby, we can do it.” She smiled warmly and confidently, encouraging us. “I’ll step outside, give you a few minutes to talk. If you need more, go home and take your time. You can always call this office and I can help you either way. But you can keep this baby if you want to.” She got up and left us alone.

We looked into each others eyes, which led to each others hearts. It took five seconds to know what we both wanted. “Eva, my Angel, I would love to keep our baby. More than almost anything. If you want to.” I knew what she was going to say, but I needed to hear it.

“Jon, I want this too. It’s unexpected, but that will make him or her even more special. I didn’t think we’d have this opportunity. I want it. So much, my love.” We hugged and held each other and were still holding on when Dr. Garcia came back into her office with a broad smile.

“So, can I infer that you want to have the baby?”

“Yes, doctor, very much” I answered, tears streaming down my cheeks to my neatly trimmed beard that I grew over the summer. Eva’s eyes were leaking pretty heavily as well. Tears of pure happiness.

Doctor Garcia talked to us about a lot of things and gave us papers and booklets, like we got when we were pregnant with Connor but geared to a risky pregnancy. We made a few follow-up appointments for Eva, then we went to lunch to celebrate before going back to work. We celebrated over hamburgers (I’m a real sport sometimes). We were so happy. We didn’t think this could happen for us again.

“Jon, we’re going to have to tell the school right away. I’m going to need time off for appointments. And you’re going to have to do a lot of my work as well as yours when I go on maternity leave. I won’t even be able to do things like food shopping for the next…wait, she didn’t give us a due date! We have to call there and find out!”

So when we got to work, the first thing we did was call the doctor’s office and we were on hold for a few minutes until the nurse came on the line and told us our date: May 15th, 1992. We hugged again, briefly, before getting to work.

That night at the dinner table, we broke the news to Connor. “Connie, sweetie,” Eva said, stroking his head while he dug into his grilled chicken and roast potatoes, “your father and I have something to tell you. Something wonderful.”

He looked like he was more interested in his food before he put down his knife and fork. “Yeah? You’re pregnant, right mom?” The little weasel. He knew.

I asked him, incredulous, “Connor, how did you know?”

“Mom’s been sick in the mornings the last couple of weeks. You had that talk with me back in February, remember? About where babies come from? And I’ve seen things in movies or tv shows where women get sick in the morning when they’re pregnant. So I put it together. I was wondering when you were going to tell me.” He gave us his best smile. Our smart as hell son. Sometimes a smartass. And a sweetheart.

Eva smiled herself. “Yes, honey, I’m going to have another baby, right around your birthday. Maybe it will be on your birthday. A little brother or sister for you to watch out for and to love and to teach everything you know. Connor…are you all right with this?”

“Mom, I’m very happy. I’ve wanted a little brother for a long time. I guess a sister will be all right too. I’m happy for al of us.” Eva and I smiled at each other, just a little relieved. We knew he was a loving kid, and when he was younger he asked why he had no siblings. We explained as best we could that his mom could get sick if she tried to have another child. So we weren’t surprised when the next question he asked was “Mom, are you feeling all right? Are you going to be sick?” We could tell from the look on his face that he understood that his mother was risking more than just being ‘sick’.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’ll be fine. I have a good doctor who’ll take good care of me and just to be safe, I’m going to stop working in about five months. So we’ll need a little extra help from you. Think you’re going to be up to it?”

“Of course, mom. I’ll do whatever I can. Do you want me to drive to the stores?” He was smiling and we laughed with him. I loved that kid. I still do.

Over the weekend we called Eva’s family and Cammy, who all were thrilled but worried until we reassured them. They all remembered the night Connor was born and how close it was with her. Hell, I was nervous, but I wasn’t going to scare her, so I kept the worst of my fears to myself. Over the next few days we called others, our friends, my aunt and uncle, etc.

The following Thursday evening was the monthly meeting with the Board. After going over old business, when they asked us if there was anything new to discuss we informed them that Eva was having a baby in May and she would need to go on leave in February for health reasons. A couple of the older men were a little unhappy but overall we got a lot of support. It bothered me a little hearing those two old farts grumble. We were a young couple and it wasn’t unreasonable to expect us to have another child. We’d continue to receive both our paychecks and Eva’s health insurance would keep getting paid. When it came to the bottom line, they were happy with the work we were doing. The test scores were up, as were acceptance rates at Ivy League universities and their equivalents. And we helped raise a couple of million dollars for the endowment fund, always something that boards look at closely. These people were all about money.

Cammy came that weekend and spent time with her family. That was especially important to Connor, who considered his aunt his best friend. She loved the role but was so busy at that time. On top of her studies, working part time at the law firm and seeing Mark, she was also applying for clerkships for federal judges, something that looks great on a young lawyers resume. We were thrilled she found a free weekend for us.

“You know, you could have brought Mark, sis” I said to Cammy when we were alone. Eva took Connor to pick up some Chinese food, still Cammy’s favorite. “It’s not like we think you’re a pure and innocent young thing. Even Connor would understand; he could sleep with you in your room.”

“I know, Jon. But I haven’t spent time with you guys in over a month. I needed my family fix. Besides, Mark and I are kind of cooling off.” I was surprised: I was under the impression the last time she and I talked he could be ‘the one’ for her. “I’m going to hopefully get a job as a clerk for a year and I’m way ahead of him in our class rankings. I’m in the top five still and he’s in the middle somewhere. He kind of resents it. He doesn’t say it, but I can tell. I’m not dumbing myself down for any man. Not even Connor.” She grinned but there was a little sadness there. As someone who married a woman smarter than himself (though not by that much), I knew a lot of men’s egos couldn’t handle being seen as less than the woman in their lives.

“I’m sorry, Cammy. I thought you were going to tell me something else. Like you were moving in together.”

“I thought we might be going that way. But since before the summer, he’s been getting mean, when he didn’t get a prime internship and I did. He’s not even likely to clerk for a local judge. He loves me but he resents me at the same time. I don’t know why I don’t just end things with him. It’s inevitable.”

Then she started crying and I held my sister like I used to, her big brother, her protector. It would always be my job to some degree. Not because Eva and I signed some papers. Because Cammy was our sister and we loved her.

She dried her eyes just before Eva and Connor got home with two bags of of decent Chinese food (we were still trying to find a restaurant we really liked).

Connor carried both bags; our little gentleman wouldn’t let his mother carry anything since he found out she was pregnant. It was sweet.

In bed that night I told Eva about Cammy and Mark and she was equally disappointed. We both liked him a lot and thought he was good to her. But Cammy needed to decide things for herself; she just turned 24 a few days before and we were taking her out the next day for her birthday. It had been a long time since she was anything but a full grown woman, but we still felt protective of her.

We had a fun day that Sunday. It was warm for the time of year and we went to a cafe with outdoor tables for brunch, then we went to Valley Forge Museum and walked around the grounds. I explained to Connor the significance of Valley Forge in the Revolutionary War while Eva and Cammy talked like sisters. We finished the day by taking her to dinner in South Philly at one of the excellent Italian restaurants there. It was a perfect day.

The semester went fine, with the usual high end school type problems. There were rare incidents of fighting, at least on school property. There were, however, occasional incidents of drugs that had to be dealt with seriously. One student had to be expelled for selling on school grounds. We didn’t call the police but we did inform the parents of both the seller and the buyer, who also got a 3 day suspension. Any other usage of any drugs resulted in suspensions; thankfully they were few and far between.

We built our relationships with the students as time went on. We became known in casual situations everyday as Mr. or Mrs. ‘G’, and of course as Mr. or Mrs. Grossman in more formal situations. Some of the kids we knew slightly, and others we got to know very well. We went to most of the school athletic activities like the football games or field hockey matches. Basketball games of both the girls and boys teams. I also got involved with the class musical since I still played a pretty good guitar. No one outside my family knew about my singing. I just didn’t have the confidence needed to sing in front of a crowd.

Eva’s pregnancy went well again. She actually loved being pregnant after the morning sickness passed. She loved feeling full of life, as she described it to me. And it made her extra lusty. Since we were working so hard, she gave me a ‘break’ when it came to morning sex (not on weekends though!) but we were at it at least four nights a week.

Will and his fiance hosted Thanksgiving that year and we stayed with them. It was a nice house on Long Island, plenty of room to have us stay with them. One of those nights we were making love as quietly as possible. Or so we planned. Eva was on top, controlling the pace as she rose up and down my cock. Nice and slow, with a good, grinding action that brought pleasure to both of us. My hands were doing their usual roaming all over her soft body, which was already showing some changes if you knew where to look (I sure as hell did) and she closed her eyes as waves of bliss flowed throughout her hyper sensitive body. “My playful Bear” she growled, fully excited. “I love what you do to me. I could do this every night with you.”

“You’d wear my dick down to a nub if we did” I smiled as I very lightly tugged her right nipple. Her breasts were very tender and I had to take some care there. “At least then I’d get a break.”

“You don’t need a break. You’re only thirty years old.”

“Almost thirty one. I’m getting old, you know.” I moved my hips around, rubbing the base of my shaft against her swollen clit.

“You’d better not. I don’t want to have to replace you! You can take it, Bear. I’ll show you.” And my sexy, sexual, slightly oversexed wife started fucking me, not making love anymore, but riding me hard. It felt great, but the bed was on the old side. It squeaked and complained like crazy. Every thrust she made echoed all through the room. And as it turned out, all through the upstairs of the house. We didn’t realize just how loud we were; we were too lost in the lust of the moment.

We kept fucking each other with wandering hands. The bed was bouncing with our motions and when I lightly spanked her thigh, Eva leaned back so I had a great view of my cock sliding in and out of her soaked pussy. She took one hand and fondled my balls behind her and I roared my approval and turned her over, fucking her harder as we panted with our desperation to cum. Just as we were about to reach our peaks, the bed showed how old it really was. The frame at the bottom by the footboard gave way and broke, slamming into the floor, followed by the top end. We screamed in surprise and still managed to cum; that’s how close we were. The next thing we knew Will and Tania and Cammy came to our door and we heard a loud knock as well as lots of giggling. “Hey, are you two animals all right in there?” Will asked through his laughing.

We were trying to get some sheets around us when we heard Connor come to the door. “Mom? Dad? Is everything ok in there? Are you hurt?” The three adults broke into riotous laughter, like they were watching Richard Pryor’s comedy routine.

“We’re fine!” I called out as I rolled off Eva and we were trying to stifle our own loud laughter. “Cammy, could you put him back to bed? PLEASE?””

She laughed her ass off as we heard Connor ask her what was so funny. He knew the basics about sex. But he didn’t know about certain…behaviors… and he sure as hell didn’t need to know about his parents sexual activities. None of them did, but the truth was, we needed some help getting out of that predicament. The mattress and box spring were on the floor, but the bed frame, all wood, was all around us. At least one of us needed help getting up.

“He’s gone!” Will called again, and he and Tania were having the time of their lives. “Hold on! Tania’s getting something for you!” Since she was the only one who wasn’t related to either of us, she came into the room and while Eva and I were laughing and dying of embarrassment, she got my robe from the closet and semi looked away while she helped me get up. She saw me in all my glory, my dick still half hard, and we both turned beet red as I got into the robe. Then I was able to help Eva up, also naked as the day she was born, and I got her robe as we both covered up. It was humiliating, but it was damn funny. We were laughing as hard as Tania and Will.

“My sister, the beast” he chuckled. “I never imagined, sis!”

“Do me a favor, Will? Don’t imagine. It’s creepy.”

“You got a point. But it’s hysterical. Wait until Walt comes tomorrow!”

“You wouldn’t!” my wife said in an angry whisper so as not to wake Connor again.

“We’re twins, Eva. We share everything!” He grinned as tried to think where we could sleep the rest of the night. We ended up sleeping with Connor. The bed was big enough, barely. We just couldn’t stop giggling ourselves. It was a story the family would laugh about for decades to come. And when her parents found out…

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Before Christmas break, students tended to slack off a little, despite final exams. It was a challenge keeping them focused when so many were already on vacation in their minds, and many of them were going on ski trips or tropical settings with their families. It was hard for us as well, since Chanukah was early that year, December 1st through the 9th, when school was still in session. And we were the only Jews at the school bedsides one of the grade school teachers. It felt a little lonely since our family couldn’t come until the weekend of the 7th and 8th, the end of the holiday. We went to a party for families at the Temple we joined where Connor had his Hebrew school. He had friends there but we didn’t know anyone really since we had so little time to get involved in the temple’s activities. And that was where we met the people who became our best friends to this day, Larry and Patty Marx.

We were watching as the kids put on some skits about the holiday when a young woman stood next to us and asked Eva which one was ours? We pointed out Connor and then she indicated her daughter, a girl Connors age named Lisa. Eva and the woman talked a few minutes, then introduced themselves and Larry and I shook hands as the skit ended and we all applauded. Then while the children had jelly donuts (a Chanukah treat) we started talking. Larry was a co-owner of a company that owned over a dozen different restaurants in the area, everything from casual burger places to high end steak and seafood. Patty had worked for him before they fell in love. She was of Italian heritage who converted to Judaism before they got married. They were friendly and outgoing and that night we made plans for the next Saturday night after the coming one.

We ended up having a nice Chanukah with our family that weekend. Gifts and Phyllis’ brisket and my potato pancakes, a big fire while we all laughed together. Connor of course cleaned up as the only child in the immediate family. Phyllis and Harold stayed with us, Cammy had her room as always, while Eva’s brothers stayed with their significant others at the fancy hotel in town, the Wayne Hotel. it’s a small, very ritzy place and they were not put out at all.

The next weekend we went to dinner at one of Larry’s restaurants, a steakhouse, and he wouldn’t let me pay for our meals, so I left the money I would have spent on dinner as a nice, Christmas sized tip for the waitress. We then stopped into the bar up front for a drink (poor Eva had to skip the wine and the after dinner drink so she was my designated driver). Larry and Patty had a twelve year old son who was being Bar Mitzvah in March. They invited us informally despite only having been out once but we didn’t know if Eva would be able to attend. Her doctor would make that call.

On the way home, Eva driving, we discussed how nice it was to finally meet another couple we enjoyed spending time with. We’d been out on a couple of ‘dates’ with other couples since moving, but we didn’t hit it off with them well enough to pursue a further friendship. Larry and Patty fit us well. He was successful, but not obnoxious about it. They were both funny and kind and we could just tell we were going to enjoy their company. And over time, we met other couples through them that became friends as well, all reasonably young professional couples. We finally found a social circle to fit with.

When we got home we sent the sitter home and went up to check on Connor, who was sleeping peacefully. We just stood there for a few minutes, watching his breathing, our sweet boy, and we felt a rush of love flow through us. We looked at each other and without a word said, we knew what we wanted to do. What we needed to do, to and for each other. We closed his door, walked quietly down the hall to our room, and made love as tenderly as we ever had. Eva was starting to show and that was something that turned me on quite a lot. I kissed her tummy and all over the rest of her body before I brought her to orgasm with my tongue and the tips of my fingers, then she showed off her oral skills on me before I got on top and we joined together in a loving, sweaty climax.

We cuddled in the dark, warm together under our heavy comforter but mostly from our proximity. “I love you with all my heart, my sweet Angel. I love our beautiful son. I love our sister. And I love the new life growing inside you. I’m going to have to get you a new charm for your bracelet.”

“And we have to get a new heart for Cammy’s neckless. Five hearts in this family. Another when she eventually gets married and more when she has children.” She yawned, which made me yawn with her. “I love you, my darling Bear. You’ve made me so happy.”

“Same here. I love you, darling.” We kissed and I held my wife from behind. Life is good, I thought to myself. Life is so good.

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School ended Thursday the 17th and by the next day, the grounds were strangely quiet. Belinda, the grammar school principal, invited us to her house, almost identical to ours, for Christmas with her large family. We’d gotten close to her even though she was about 20 years older, and her husband Roy was a good man who made us feel at home whenever we went there. New Years we spent with Larry and Patty and some of their friends, most of whom ended up becoming our friends as well. We brought Connor and he played with Lisa and some other kids and we took him home at 12:30. It was late for him. Hell, it was late for us.

My birthday in January, the triple of Valentines Day, Eva’s birthday and our anniversary in February, and then a big farewell for Eva on the 28th from the students in a sketch show they put on with help from a few teachers, and a complete surprise for us. It was funny, they mocked us both with respect and good naturedly, some music and a couple of beautiful speeches; we had the full respect and love from our other family. And then I did something completely out of character for me and impromptu, caught up in the emotion of the moment. I asked to borrow a guitar from one of the students and I sat on a stool on stage. After telling myself I could do this, I started to play. Not a huge deal since everyone knew I played. But then I began to sing, something about me only Eva knew. I sang our wedding song, Tupelo Honey, to my Angel, sitting crying in the front row of the overflowing auditorium.

“She’s as sweet as Tupelo Honey” I crooned, “She’s an angel of the first degree”…

Eva was almost bawling as I serenaded her in front of almost 500 people. I couldn’t believe I was doing that, but I did it and a few students and teachers who knew the song sang with me, even joining me on stage as we all sang to Mrs. ‘G’. At the end there was a thunderous applause, both for the song and to say a temporary goodbye to their co-principal. A bouquet of roses were brought out for her and many were shouting “Speech, speech!” I helped her up the steps onto the stage and as the kids cheered she kept crying. Finally it quieted down and Eva gradually got herself under some semblance of control.

“Thank you, thank you all, my other family. I don’t say ‘second family’ because in our way, we’re as much a family as my husband and our son and my sister in law are my family. Plus my parents and my brothers. Don’t tell them I mentioned them separately or they may never forgive me.” Nice laughter. “Seriously, you are our family here. We love you all, and I will miss you so much. If I can, I’ll be here for graduation with a new little Grossman for you all to meet.” Then she turned to me. “Jon, thank you for our song and make sure everyone gets a passing grade in every class!” Even bigger applause filled the room “Just kidding! You keep studying!” Then I kissed her much lighter than I wanted to. Then Cammy and Connor came up on stage from where they had been sitting in the back. We hugged and waved at our other kids, our other family.

We rode back to our house, two minutes away, all of us quiet in a very happy way. Eva was all emotional all evening, hugging Connor almost all night long, and he loved every second of it. He knew soon he’d have to settle for a little less attention and he was eating up as much as he could while he could.

In bed that night. We finally got to talk alone. “Bear, did you know anything about that wonderful performance?”

“Not a word. They surprised me as much as you. Those are some great kids aren’t they?”

“Yes they are. And you’re some great husband too. I can’t believe you sang like that in front of everyone. You really touched me deeper than ever before. I’m the luckiest woman in the world. Without a doubt.”

“Nonsense. I’m just crazy in love with you. I’d do anything for you. I just got caught up in the moment, Angel.”

“Bear, you’d better make love to me right now. We may have to stop very soon.”

“Well, we shouldn’t miss an opportunity then, should we?” Kisses led to touching, which led to some very amazing things. We made love slow and tender. And perfect.

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The next week we went for a sonogram, and we found out we were having a girl! A sweet little girl to go with our sweet and growing son. We stopped on the way home and had some pizza (Phily pizza took some getting used to), a ‘big’ celebration. We told Connor at home that afternoon and while he had been hoping for a brother, he decided a sister would be just fine.

Cammy and Phyllis were thrilled to have a little girl joining the family. A little girl for them to pamper and spoil in a different way than a boy. Harold was just as thrilled; he was back at full strength by then and they were coming down to visit every three weeks or so, since we couldn’t travel to them.

We hired a full time aid for Eva during the days when I had to be at work, Odette Washington, a middle aged Black woman who was also great with Connor. She did our shopping and cleaning, whatever she needed to do for us. She was originally hired to stay until just after the birth but we decided to keep her on for a few more months at least. She was a godsend for both of us, since I had a lot to do even besides work. Taking Connor to Hebrew school, Little League practice and games, other activities. Eva was getting stir crazy and I needed about six more hours to the day.

Many of the female staff at school, especially our secretarial people, stopped by often to bring food or run an errand or just sit and keep Eva company. Our new friends came by on weekends, often taking Connor with them for a few hours with their own kids to a ballgame or other activity (he loved skateboarding) to give us a little time to relax together. Thank god we met Larry and Patty. Especially since Cammy was brutally busy studying for her finals and going on interviews with judges in Philly, New York, and most of all Washington. She even interviewed with s Supreme Court Justice. That alone made us incredibly proud of her. But she argued it only counted if she got the job.

As the weather got nicer, Eva felt more cooped up. We couldn’t even go to our beach house on the weekends. But protecting Eva and our little girl were paramount. Everything else, except Connor, was second place. I kept him as busy as I could.

May 15th came and went. Eva was huge and she was uncomfortable and she was finally tired of being pregnant. The doctor didn’t want to induce labor until she was a week past her delivery date. I know, that sounds like she was a parcel. But that’s how I said it to her, and she actually laughed at it. We needed to find things to laugh about; we were getting on each others nerves.

The next day Cammy called to tell us she got a clerkship with a judge on the DC Court of Appeals, the most prestigious court in the nation outside the Supreme Court. We were thrilled for her, and we promised we’d make it up to her when Eva was up to it. She had to be in Washington on September 12 so she was going to be apartment hunting with a friend who also had a clerkship down there.

I was kind of misty; I told her mom and dad would be proud of her. “I know they would, Jon. But you know what’s important to me? Your love and pride in me. They raised me and I’ve got my brain power. But you and Eva got me here. I think about what might have been…god, Jon, I’m going to cry! You two made sure I became who I am. So yeah, mom and dad would be very proud of me. But I bet they’re even prouder of you. You gave up so much to take care of me when I needed you most. I love you all with all my heart. And once I pass the bar, you’d better be my first clients! I won’t even charge you!”

“Deal” I said, choking up on my emotions. I could barely say more than that. Her graduation was on the 23rd and there was no way Eva could be there. I wasn’t even positive I’d be able to be there at that point. Cammy understood but still, she wanted me at least to be there.

I had an expensive cell phone that I almost never used; I got it so Eva could call me in an emergency. And on May 17th, Connor’s birthday, she called to say her water broke. That got me moving really fast. I had Mrs. Adams call the grammar school to have Connor ready to go, which he was by the time I pulled up to the school to get him. We hurried home and Odette was getting Eva ready. I called Cammy and she said she’d meet us at University Hospital. We got a little lucky; it was a little after 1, between rush hours so we made good time and Eva was still about 10 minutes between contractions.

Cammy was there already of course and she took over with Connor, made phone calls on my cell phone (who cared about the bill?) to Eva’s parents and our aunt and to our friends. I again got scrubbed and gowned and I met Eva in the pre delivery while we waited for Dr. Garcia, who was in the hospital and on her way. I sat with my wife, holding her hand and telling her how wonderful she was. “Yeah, you have to say that, you big, silly Bear. Seriously, you’re pretty wonderful too. But Jon, I’m kind of scared. What if…?”

“What if nothing, Angel. You’re going to be fine, our baby is going to be fine, and we’re going to bring home a new, sweet girl. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Dr. Garcia came into our room and she put us at ease. She went to get ready and a little while later we were brought into delivery. And I’ll tell you, I was scared to after the last time. But this time went smooth as silk, the C-section was done fairly quickly without any complications and we heard the cries of our little girl filling the room.