Eva

Time does seem to pass by faster as we get older. Eva and I continued on as co-principals of Wayne Upper Day School. There was a small party to celebrate our tenth year in June of 2001, which finished out our first ten year contract (the extension from the initial five year contract). We were signed up for another ten. We hoped to stay at least another ten after that. We loved our jobs and we loved the young men and women we worked with, the office staff and teachers and everyone else. Some staff retired over the years and new staff were hired. Mrs. Addams retired that June after thirty three years of service, and we threw her a big retirement party. The school wouldn’t feel the same without her. And Mrs. Cole was due to retire after the current year. We’d do another party for her as well.

In March we got an invitation in the mail for a ‘delayed’ 20th high school reunion. Delayed by about two years. Eva and I wanted to go, badly, and see old faces from our past. It was being held at a hotel in Manhasset, at $150 a person! That wasn’t a problem. The problem was the timing. It was scheduled for the weekend after school started, Saturday night, September 8, 2001. That first week of school is exhausting; experience told us that.

Our kids. Rachel was taking music lessons three times a week and practicing three more times. We never had to push her; if anything, she wished she had more time to play, especially the piano. The guitar she usually saved for when we played and sang together at night, before she went to bed. Most of our family tv time was spent on the news, news shows, Jeopardy! and sometimes a movie. Music was much more prominent in our home.

Connor had a great Plebe year, ranking fourth in his class, with only four thousand ‘fries’. As he told us over Christmas break, “If they want to find reasons to ding you, they’ll find them. A piece of lint on your coat. Your ‘cover’ (the cap they wore) not sitting just right on the head. I was lucky. Four thousand is nothing.” Straight A’s in his classes and he was running middle distance in track and he joined an acapella group. And he loved the military life. He fit right in, loved the discipline and the regimentation. And he loved the brotherhood (including the women who were, year by year, becoming more a part of Academy life). He came home for a month in July before returning for some extra sailing lessons in August. We didn’t get to see him nearly enough, but he loved his life, and that was good enough for us.

Cammy continued to see Kyle exclusively from the Fall of 2000 through the winter and into the Spring of 2001. One night in April they joined us for dinner at an Italian place in South Philly and when we saw them, they were both glowing. As they sat down, my sister held her left hand in such a way that we couldn’t miss the 1.5 carat diamond solitaire on her finger. Eva and I got up quickly and we congratulated them both. I shook Kyle’s hand like I would my future brother, and when I hugged my sister, I could feel the rush of love flowing from her heart. “Cammy, I’m so happy for you! I see the way Kyle looks at you and I just know he’s the one for you, for the rest of your life.”

“Thank you, Jon. You know what I love most about him? He reminds me of you. Smart and caring. Like you are for Eva, like you were for me when I needed you. He treats me like I’m the center of his world. Just like you did.” She hugged me and I was the one crying for her. They already knew they wanted to get married on New Year’s Eve in a medium sized party.

That night at home, when we got ready for bed, Eva sat at her vanity, rubbing moisturizer on her arms. I was doing her back. It was a lot of fun. “I was taken by surprise tonight” my wife said as we were playful together. Sometimes this ritual led to sex, sometimes not. It was more fun when we didn’t know in advance. “I’m happy for them. Kyle is so good to her.”

“He is. She told me he reminds her of me, again. Personally, I don’t see it. He’s a super hunk and I’m fighting my middle aged spread.” I smiled at her through our reflections in the mirror.

“Don’t say things like that, Bear. You’re a handsome man. I’m as attracted to you now as I’ve ever been. Look at you. No spread. No beer belly.” She tapped my gut. “Nice and solid there.”

“I don’t drink beer anymore.”

“OK, no scotch belly. You’ve got those strong legs from playing tennis. I think you’re an incredibly sexy man. My version of the Marlboro Man. Right down to the mustache.” She was smiling at me that time. She reached behind her and trailed her finger down my Pleasure Trail, making my tummy quiver. It was going to be a yes to sex night.

I reached around and caressed her breast through her nude satin short nightie. Eva closed her eyes and moaned as I lightly flicked my finger on her nipple. “See? You are a very sexy man. Twenty one years and we still get steamy for each other.” She reached reached further down and found my erection, standing at attention in my boxer briefs. “You’re wonderfully hard, Bear. Just the way I love you to be.”

I bent over and kissed her right where her shoulder and neck met and Eva giggled in her lusty way. That sound always sent a thrill through my body. “I may be wonderfully hard, but you’re magnificently soft” I whispered in her ear. Her breathing got deeper as I licked her ear and then blew my warm breath in it. “I want my soft little Angel tonight. I want you as naughty as you feel like being. I’m up for anything you want to do.” Eva turned her head and our lips locked in a great kiss as I rubbed her tits harder. She turned on her bench so she was facing me without breaking our kiss.

“I’m yours, Bear. You feel like doing something very naughty tonight? Something we haven’t done in a while?”

“Anything you want, my lusty Angel. I’m ready to take you however you like.”

Eva lifted her head and whispered in my ear, very soft and sexy.

“Anal. It’s been a very long time since I felt your lovely cock in my ass.”

“Are you sure, Eva? That’s what you want tonight?”

“I’m very sure. With a little something extra.” Her lips gave me a few small kisses before she got up. Before we got in bed, Eva went to a box she kept in our closet, where we hoped Rachel would never snoop around, buried under other shoe boxes. She got the large bottle of lube and the vibrator we bought the year before, the one with the little bunny ears. She stood and turned to me, holding one item in each hand like it was an everyday thing to do. “Wanna play with me, Naughty Bear?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice, Dirty Devil.” I moved quickly to her, picked her up in my arms and I tossed her on the bed, both of us laughing.

“You love tossing me around like a sack of flour, don’t you. I should punish you. Maybe next time I’ll be the one fucking YOUR ass.” Eva moaned while I kissed her all over her neck and chest. She had her hands all over my back and neck, and she was grabbing my ass. Vigorously.

“You don’t have the equipment, lady” I said as I softly bit her earlobe.

“I can buy the equipment, buddy. I can buy a bigger dick than you’ve got!”

For some reason, this line of conversation was getting me even hotter than I already was. I shimmied out of by underwear and pulled Eva’s nightie up to her shoulders while she got out of the loose satin boy shorts she wore. I was molesting her body as she kissed my nipples and stroked my pulsing cock.

“Come on, big boy. Come and fuck my pussy first. But don’t you cum. You know what else I want tonight.” Eva got on her knees and put her luscious ass in the air. Her pussy was smiling at me from between her thighs and I growled with raging desire. I got behind her and rubbed the head of my dick up and down her lips, then along the crack of her ass, then on her lips again. “You fucking tease. You’d better fuck me already before I go prowling the streets looking for some strange cock!”

I smacked her ass with my dick and a small drip of my precum sprinkled on her right cheek. I rubbed my cock over her ass, all around. “I’ll tease you as long as I want” I grunted in her ear. “You’re going to beg to be fucked before I put it inside you.” We were in a mood that night, a very dirty mood.

“Come on, please? Please fuck my hot little pussy” Eva whimpered. “Just give it to me!” I couldn’t hold out any longer. I leaned over her body and held myself up with one arm as I used my free hand to put the head of my cock to her moist and swollen lips. I spread my legs wider for leverage and pushed inside her tight and steamy pussy.

“Oh my god” I moaned, tingling all over from the incredible feeling of her pussy clamping down on my cock. Eva was moving her hips in a circular motion as I went deeper inside her and her fingers were grasping at the sheets. She was doing her best to keep from crying out. Rachel’s room was all the way down the hall from us, but we sure as hell didn’t want to take the chance.

“You’re filling me up, Naughty Bear! I can feel every vein in my cunt!” She turned on the vibrator and touched it to her clit, right above where my cock was surrounded by her lips, and I had to do everything I could to keep from fucking her until I came. I managed to keep it easy, though I really wanted to pound away.

“Such a Dirty Devil” I said in her ear before kissing her neck. Eva came with a deep shudder as her fingers twisted in the sheets, pulling hard. “So sexy and so kinky.”

“Look who’s talking. I’m still shaking.” I could feel it, from the tip of my dick and all through my body.

“Are you sure you still want me to fuck your cute little ass? I won’t mind if you’re not up to that.” I kissed her cheek, still buried inside her.

“I’m sure, baby. I don’t offer what I’m not prepared to give.” Eva turned her head and kissed me back. “Just get me ready. You know how.”

I sure did. I pulled back and out, my cock bobbing around, dripping with Eva’s honey. I leaned over and started licking up and down the crack of her ass and she let out a low howl of intense pleasure. Up and down, then circling around the ring of her anus with the tip of my tongue. She tasted clean with a hint of her pussy and a little earthy. It was a flavor of hers I’d come to enjoy since the first time I rimmed her long ago.

“Jon, that’s lovely. So fucking nice” she moaned, wiggling her ass in my face. I then took a finger and slowly worked it past her sphincter. She kept making those very sexy sounds as my finger finally went all the way to the knuckle, then I twisted it around, right and left.

“You’re so wonderfully tight, Dirty Devil. Maybe a little too tight. Hand me the lube, please.”

“You’re so polite, Bear. Even when you’re about to do such naughty things to me.”

“I think you’re even naughtier than I am. My Dirty Devil.” I gave her a little spank and she chuckled lustily. Eva reached back and handed me the large tube. I squirted a dollop of the thick, slippery gel onto her anus and I pushed my finger back in, then added another. Eva was shaking and making almost other worldly sounds.

“I think we’re equally naughty. God, I feel so full! Whenever you’re ready! Fuck me, Bear. I want you.”

“If you insist” I whispered in her ear. We moved around a little, and I put the head to Eva’s anus and squeezed it past the tight and slick entrance to her ass. “Fuck, so damn tight” I grunted as I popped past the resistance. I held very still.

“Yes it is” my sexy, sensuall love grunted. “Keep going, nice and slow.”

In a little further, then back a little, then further in, gradually getting all the way inside until my hips were snug against her soft, round cheeks. I held on tight at her hips as I moved in and out, a nice slow pace to start, feeling her body grasp at me. After a few minutes I started going faster so my hips were slapping her ass and we both were making more noise than we probably should have. It just felt too good. That’s why god put locks on doors.

We were into a quick, steady rhythm and I was starting to feel the pressure build inside me. Eva cried out “Oh, oh, oh, FUCK!” Then I felt it before I heard it, the buzzing of that thick prick vibrator entering her pussy. I could feel the entire length along my dick through the thin membranes separating her pussy from her ass. I don’t know who enjoyed it more, but we were fucking like a machine, bucking into each other, muttering all sorts of obscene words, my cock throbbing and twitching as the little ears hit her clit.

“I’m cummingggg!” Eva cried, her head all the way down on the mattress as she shoved the toy as deep as she could. I couldn’t take it anymore and i unloaded my cum deep in her bowels, what felt like a massive gusher of my seed.

“No more” Eva moaned weakly as she pulled the vibe from her pussy and shut it off. We laid there like that, unable to move, unable even to speak or kiss. Our bodies were drained of all our essence, but not our love. Never our love. I finally found the will to kiss her neck and cheek as my cock shriveled and plopped out, leaving a thin trail of a white stream trickling out and down along the inside of her thigh.

I was next to her and I caressed her leg and her ass, then up her back to her shoulder. She made involuntary movements along the path of my hand. “I love you, my amazing Angel. My amazing wife. My amazing everything.”

“I love you too” she responded faintly. “You’re a beast. And I love it.” I went and got a warm towel with a little soap on it and I wiped Eva first as she came around, from her vagina to her ass (never the other direction) and when she was clean I wiped my own well abused areas. We probably could have used a better cleaning, but we were too damn tired. It would have to wait for the morning. The only thing we did before going to sleep was we hid the vibrator and lube in the bathroom in case Rachel got up early and got into our room somehow. It wasn’t unheard of.

I got a couple of clean t-shirts for Eva and myself, some clean underwear, and we both tiredly got sort of dressed before cuddling under the blanket. We were very tired, but we talked for about ten minutes, most of that time taken by telling each other how much we loved each other and how good we made each other feel.

I spooned Eva from behind and I said, softly, “How would you feel if we offered our house and yard for Cammy and Kyle’s wedding? She said it’s only forty or fifty people,”

“Jon, that’s sweet and I love it. But New Year’s Eve is probably going to be too cold for an outdoor party. I’ll gladly host her shower here. But without being able to use the yard, I don’t know how that would work.”

“We could get heated tents. A few wait staff, a couple of bartenders, chafing dishes….I think it could be different and elegant.”

“Bear, could we talk in the morning? I’m wiped out and a little sore. But I’m not complaining.” Eva pushed back against me, getting as close as she could. I loved feeling her warm body snug up against me. “I had such a great time with my very sexy man. An absolute animal in the sack.” She laughed, a tired laugh, as she wiggled her soft cute butt in my lap.

“Yeah, and I’m married to an total sex monster. I think we’re getting wilder now than we’ve been the last ten years. Imagine what we’ll be like when Rachel leaves the house for school in about eight years. We won’t even need clothes most days.” I kissed her on her neck and got another giggle and wiggle for my troubles.

“I’d love to find out when the time comes. But not a minute earlier. I love you, my sweet Bear. My Honey Bear.”

“I love you too, my Beautiful Angel. Good night, my darling.” No answer. She was sound asleep, breathing deep and peacefully.

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After talking it over and doing a little research, Eva and I agreed to offer, as our wedding gift, the use of our house and backyard for the wedding. We found a caterer who, for a price of course, provided heated tents, full staff, full bar etc. Everything you could want. We told her and Kyle that if they wanted, it would be our pleasure to provide the wedding. They both were shocked, not expecting anything like that, and after talking it over, gladly accepted. It was set, New Year’s Eve, 2001, approximately fifty people at our home for their wedding. Eva and Cammy would be VERY busy getting it all together.

After school ended for the summer, Rachel was set to return to Tanglewood, but for the August session instead of July. There were two reasons; one, the August session was more advanced than the July session and two, Connor was only going to be home in July. We took a family trip to Japan and South Korea over two weeks. It was a fantastic trip, just like we used to take together. Exhausting, but a great time. We discovered Rachel, along with her ear for music, also had an ear for languages. She picked up some of each language while we were there. She was a savant, no other word for it.

That left August for Eva and I to be by ourselves and we took advantage. Almost the entire month was spent at the beach house, with our friends and family visits, enjoying parties and cookouts, restaurants and wine. And of course our sex lives were as fun as ever.

There was just one downside. One weekend Larry and Patty came to stay and while our wives went to do some shopping on an overcast afternoon, Larry and I sat on the porch in back, sipping a couple of beers while listening to the Yankees. After talking about life in general, how his daughter Lisa was doing (she went to Vassar during the school year and was working in a stock brokerage for the summer) and a few mundane things like sports, I could tell Larry wanted to talk about something, but he didn’t know how to bring it up. I sat forward and said “Larry, whatever’s on your mind, just say it. We’ve been friends a long time so you can talk about anything to me.”

He took a long swig of his beer and paused for a minute. “Jon, do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

“You can ask me anything. I’ll answer if I can.”

“How are things between you and Eva? You know. In the bedroom?”

I had no idea where this was going, if he knew something I didn’t or if he was curious for another reason. “Well, without going into detail, I’d say things are great. Always have been. Why? Is there something you’re trying to tell me?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just….well, things with me and Patty are not so good. In fact, they stink. The last six months. We barely touch each other.” He was clearly frustrated and a little ashamed.

“Larry, last summer when you guys were here, I remember one night….it was like we were having a contest. The walls are kind of thin here.”

“Yeah, everything was fine. But lately she’s like she lost all interest. I try to talk to her about it, but she just shuts me out. She says she feels fine, she’s not sick. But there’s no sex, no intimacy. Nothing. It’s like we’ve become strangers except when we talk about business or Lisa and Danny (their 22 year old son). I don’t know what’s going on. But I’m getting fed up. So much so I’m thinking of having an affair.”

Fuck. First Karen cheating on Mike. Now was Larry about to do the same to Patty? Knowing about Karen poisoned mine and Eva’s friendship with them. “Larry, as your friend, as you closest friend, I’d advise you not to do that. Try to get her to go to a doctor, marriage counseling, even a sex therapist. If they don’t work, you maybe should get separated. But don’t cheat. Please. And if you do, don’t tell me about it. I love Patty very dearly and I don’t want to look at her like some poor pathetic female version of a cuckold.”

“I pretty much expected you to say that. Well, not the cuckold part. The part about not cheating. You never cheated on Eva, did you?” He leaned back and pulled a fresh beer from the cooler on the deck between us.

“That I’ll answer, Larry. No. Never. I’ve never even thought about it. Well, our first New Years Eve together we went to this ridiculously fancy and expensive party at a ritzy hotel. We were eighteen, doing something crazy and fun. At our table was this stunning couple in their 20s and the wife, Maria or Marie, was this incredible blond bombshell. We danced one dance together and I thought about what it would be like to fuck her. A passing fancy. I never actually let it get to the point where I imagined being in bed with her. And I’ve never thought about being in the sack with another woman since then. I told Eva about it and we laughed about it. She has her own celebrity fantasy, as do I and we have ‘permission’ if that opportunity comes up. Like it would ever.” I smiled sardonically as I shook my head.

“Who are they? Your celebrity fucks?”

“For Eva, Sylvester Stallone. You can see the resemblance between us.” We both laughed at that. “For me it’s Michelle Pfeiffer. Damned if I know why. It’s silly anyway. You know why?” He shook his head no. “Because we’re both madly in love with each other. A thousand times more than when we were married. I couldn’t hurt her like that, even with permission. And Eva wouldn’t do that to me either. We just couldn’t.” I grabbed a second beer, something I hadn’t done in a few years. Beer is bloating, especially when you get past a certain age. Then I touched Larry’s hand, the touch of a best friend trying to comfort that friend. “Larry, I’m sorry you’re going through this. Seeing you in any kind of pain hurts like seeing Cammy in pain. You’re my brother, in my heart. I understand you’re missing intimacy, maybe even more than sex. You can always jerk off. But getting that kind of connection from someone else….”

“Jon, I just don’t understand any of this. Why Patty has gotten so cold and distant? What the fuck did I do to her? Is it possible she just doesn’t love me anymore?” Tears fell down his cheeks.

“Larry, I can’t answer any of these things. I don’t know. I don’t think Eva knows, and if she does, I won’t ask her. If Patty told her something, she told her in confidence. I’m sorry, my brother. Try talking to her again. Ask her if there’s something she needs from you she’s not getting. Ask her to go to counseling again. Beg her if you have to. Tell her you love her and you’ll do anything to save your marriage.” We heard Eva’s car pulling into the driveway and Larry wiped his tears from his cheeks and eyes. “Try. Please.”

“Hello? Where are you two?” we heard Eva calling out. “We’ve got hot calzone’s!”

“We’ll be right in!” I called back. I turned to my friend and, as we stood up I hugged him close. “I’m always here for you to talk to, brother. Whatever I can do. I love you.”

“Love you too, Jon. Thanks for listening.” We went inside and he and Patty behaved like everything was fine between them. I don’t know how they did it. If it had been me and Eva, I doubt I could have hid my pain.

The next night, after Larry and Patty went home I asked Eva to walk with me on the beach. It was a cool night so Eva wore white capri pants with sneakers and a light sweater and I wore tan pants with sneakers and a short sleeve button down shirt. “Is that going to be warm enough for you, Bear? With the breeze off the water you might be cold.”

“Then I’ll have to hold my wife to warm me up.” I kissed her quickly and we went out and walked south along the sand. It was almost 9PM and full dark. A few hardy souls were violating the prohibition on swimming after 5 (no lifeguards) and there were others walking around. We just held each other around the waist as we walked at an easy pace, the wind blowing Eva’s long chestnut hair all around like a frayed flag. After we walked about a mile I asked her if she minded if we sat for a little while.

“Of course not. It’s cool, but it’s a lovely night. Kind of romantic.” We sat facing the ocean, about thirty yards in front of us and we listened to the waves breaking and crashing and we also heard the sounds of the stores behind us, restaurants and bars and ski ball arcades. T-shirt shops. Ice cream soft serve. We loved our summers on the shore.

I was a little chilled, but holding Eva did warm me. We didn’t say anything for a while; we didn’t need to. It would have broken the mood. I thought about what Larry and I talked about the day before and I just couldn’t imagine being in his position. Married to a woman he still loved but who was possibly not in love with him anymore. I took Eva’s hand in mine and squeezed it gently and she squeezed mine back. We looked at each other and I could see it in her eyes. Patty had talked to her the day before while they were out. My wife had a very sad look, and I just knew what was hurting her. I knew that Patty was thinking about asking Larry for a divorce.

I held her as close as I could without hurting her while she cried softly. “Bear, what if what’s happening to Patty and Larry happens to us some day? I don’t think I could stand it.”

“It won’t, Angel. We’re going to be in love until our dying days. I can’t imagine life without you.”

“I can’t either. You’re my world, Jon. You and our kids.” We kissed a bunch of times, gradually getting hotter within. I sure as hell wasn’t feeling the chill any more.

“I agree. Plus my sister, your brothers and their families, your parents and Kyle. And my aunt and uncle and their kids. Our world is pretty huge these days. And that doesn’t even count our other family. All those special people in our lives. All of them indispensable.”

“‘The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.’ Ernest Hemingway. I don’t remember which book.”

“I guess I mostly agree with that. I know a lot of people in our lives that are worth fighting for.” We sighed and kept watching the water, partly lit by a quarter moon, listening to the sounds of sea and sand. “Angel, I want to take you home.”

“You’d better. Or we’ll end up getting arrested tonight.”

We made our way back home at a much quicker pace, arm in arm, than when we walked down the beach. We were smiling, even a little giddy, eager to be alone.

Once in the house, we locked up and shut the blinds and the lights in the living room, used our bathroom and finally we were able to meet in the bedroom and hold each other, just in our underwear, smiling with warm love. “You know what I was thinking of this morning? That day when we went to the Plaza Hotel on your first credit card. The day after we made love for the first time. Do you remember?”

Eva kissed my chest and then leaned up to kiss my lips. “I’ll never forget it, Bear. That was one of the most fun afternoons we ever had as teens. The following week in the lingerie store in Great Neck was pretty great as well. Even better was when we got back to my house.”

I stroked my fingers through her hair and along her smooth cheek. “We’ve got pretty damn good memories, don’t we?”

“Which do you mean, Bear? Are you saying our brains are very sharp and we remember things from over twenty years ago? Or do you mean the memories we’ve formed are damn good?” She kissed me as we made our way to our bed.

“I guess I’d say both are accurate.” I sat along the edge and Eva sat on my lap as we made out like it was new to us. Between a series of very passionate kisses, I said “I was referring to the memories we’ve made. Great memories. Some sweet and some naughty.” She was kissing all around my cheeks and my neck, and my cock was sticking her right under her still lovely ass. “All incredible.”

“Yes they are, my sexy Bear. How about we make a new memory. Or two.” Eva giggled as I kissed her in a number of her most sensitive places. “Maybe even three, if you’re up to it” she said softly as her fingers made their way through my chest hair.

“Let’s start with two and see from there. I know just what I want to do with you to start.” I nibbled her shoulder and Eva tilted her head back and gasped as my fingers went up and down the slit of her pussy, covered only in silky leopard patterned panties. I pulled her bra down and suckled on her left tit, causing her to squirm around uncontrollably.

“You’d better get me into bed before I explode right here on your lap. Or would that be such a bad thing?” Eva asked, biting my lower lip.

‘”OUCH! You’re a demon woman, you know that?” I spanked her lightly as we moved to the bed. Eva shed her bra, but we both kept our bottoms on.

“Yeah. I know you love it, too.” She crawled across the bed, showing me her inviting ass in her panties. “Now come and get me, stud!”

“Wait just a second.” I dug through her underwear drawer, looking for something in particular.

“Jon, what the fuck? If you want to wear my panties, I’ll find what you’re looking for. If you think you can fit into them.”

“Too late, got them!” I tossed her a pair of white silk panties with pink lace at the elastic bands. “You’re going to use those on me” I told her as I stretched out on the bed next to her. I grabbed her and kissed her lustily as our bodies rubbed together: then I lowered my head to suck and bite gently on her thick, hard nipples.

“Fuck, whatever you want, you bad, bad man. As long as I don’t end up being neglected!”

“When have I ever neglected you? I would never.”

“Ok, you convinced me. What do you want me to do?” Her voice was husky and shallow. Eva was ready to go along with whatever I wanted.

“Simple, Angel. Just stretch on top of me and use those on me however you like. You can do whatever else you want to as well. I just want to feel you play with me.”

“I can do that.” Eva kissed me, then turned around and put her ass in my face. “I think I’m going to like this. But we will fuck later, right?” She swung her head around and smiled at me.

“Of course! Would I hold out on you?”

“I’m so glad you can still be counted on for more than once a night” Eva said with a pleased moan. “Ok, get under me, my naughty husband.”

I slid under her so her ass, barely covered in her snug satin panties, was inches above my face and I could feel her breath on my tummy, making me quiver. Then I felt her tongue licking from my belly button down to the elastic on my briefs. “God, that’s wonderful. You get me so damn hot.”

“As you do for me” she moaned as she reacted to the sensation of my fingertips going lightly up and down the back of her thighs. Her legs were so exciting, toned and brown from tennis and swimming and lying in the sun. I put a couple of pillows under my head so I could kiss her ass comfortably. I pulled her panties tight so the satin leopard spots were snug over her pussy, creating a nice camel toe.

I licked her thighs, the back and then the inner part, getting closer to her pussy. She was steaming hot and her intoxicating scent was enriching the air around my face. In the meantime, Eva pulled my briefs down to my knees and I felt her hot breath all over my cock as she grabbed it firmly by the base. Then more hot air on the glans as I felt her other hand exploring my thighs and my balls with a touch of silk on her hand. I moaned out loud, and this was merely teasing. Fuck me, I thought. This is going to be a lot of fun.

I kissed all over her amazing ass, pulling her panties into the crack between her cheeks. At forty, she had no sign of cellulite or flabbiness. I loved her perfect ass. And her legs and her waist and tits and her lips…..god, her lips, which were starting to do such incredible things to me. Her nipples were hard and she moved around a little so they would roll on my muscles, giving her a little extra pleasure.

I pulled Eva’s panties aside and blew my warm breath on her excited lips. She moved around involuntarily and I could hear as well as feel her moaning around the head of my dick. No tongue, just her lips were massaging the head as I felt her rubbing the shaft and my balls with her silky panties. It felt so good and I pushed my tongue and my face into her creamy gash. We were driving each other wild.

My face was all wet from both Eva’s juices and my own saliva. I licked her rapidly, then slower, keeping her on the edge while she swirled her tongue in circles around the crown of my cock as her silky panties moved all around, not just on my cock and balls but also on my thighs and my knees. Then Eva pulled my legs back and she rubbed gently over the back of my thighs and over the cheeks of my ass.

“Fuck, on fucking god, my wicked man! You know what to do to my ass! Actually, do anything you want to me! And I have a surprise for you!” She put the head back in her mouth, but I didn’t feel her hands anywhere, though I felt her arms moving around on my thighs.

“Anything you like. You want me to be very nasty with you? Your cunt is craving something dirty? Tell me!” I growled as I spanked her, hard, making a resounding crack that echoed in the room.

“You’re such a dirty man! Fuck, YES! Spank me! Finger me! Use my body!”

I pushed two fingers from my right hand into her well lubricated pussy and I eased another into her tight little asshole. Eva was flexing her cheeks and her muscles were squeezing my fingers, hard. With my left hand I gave her the sting she sometimes loved so much, spanking her soft cheeks.

Then Eva pulled my legs back again, constantly keeping my head between her lips, sucking and licking, and I felt her playing around the ring of my asshole. Then there was a new sensation as she started pushing her panties, now with knots tied every few inches, into my ass. I cried out with the most incredible pleasure, mixed with a little discomfort. “Devil woman, what the fuck are you doing to me?” I wailed as I kept pumping my fingers in her snug holes.

“You wicked man! I’m fucking you, just like you’re fucking me! You inspire me to do dirty things with you, naughty Bear! Don’t cum yet! I’ll tell you when, and not a moment before!”

I whimpered as her tongue went wild all over my dick, licking me like I was melting ice cream. I smacked her ass a couple more times while I licked her throbbing clit in tight, small, rapid circles. We were both moaning, sweating, and grinding around as our mutual need to cum approached. I smacked Eva’s ass again and that was her last straw. She smashed her hips and her groin onto my face and she cried out around my cock. I was so fucking close now, desperate to get off. I begged her, I had to. “Angel, please let me cum too. My balls are so damn tight!”

“Just one second, Bear. You’ll love this…..” She pulled on her panties, pulled them slowly from my ass so I felt each knot, one at a time, rub on my prostate. I shouted and thrust my hips upwards as Eva called out “Now! Cum now!” She rubbed my cock on her throat as she jerked it and between all three sensations I exploded like I hadn’t in a very long time. My cock kept twitching as strands of my thick cum hit her throat and then her upper chest. I kept cumming like I’d never stop as the last knot passed from my ass. I was crying obscenities and gibberish as my dick throbbed long after my balls were empty.

The next thing I knew, Eva was caressing my cheek and kissing my face all over, but I didn’t remember her shifting around to be face to face. “Bear, are you ok? Say something” she asked with a self-satisfied smile. Her chest and throat were covered in my slowly dripping semen which looked pretty damn sexy on her.

“Something” I managed to croak out.

“Asshole” she said with a broader grin. “I thought you passed out there for a minute.”

“I might have, just for a moment or two. I think you blew my circuits, among other things.” I reached for her and brought her to my lips, kissing her with love and tenderness. Some of my sperm smeared on my chest, adding to our stickiness from our sweat which formed despite the air conditioning. “As kinky as I like to think I can be, I think you’re even more so.”

“I think it’s very close, but I do have the edge. I guess we’re just born perverts.”

“But nice perverts. Sweet perverts.”

“Agreed. I love you, Bear. With all my heart. My amazing husband who inspires me in bed, at work and with our children.”

“Honey, that’s so beautiful in its way. I love you just as much, my sweet Angel.” A few more kisses shared. “You thrill me not only because you’re so sexy, but because you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met anywhere.” I stroked her hair and traced my fingertips over her lips. “Angel, how about we get something cold to drink, take a quick shower to freshen up. and get some rest. I know I promised you something else, but I think I’m running on fumes here. Tomorrow is another day.”

“Well, I’ll let you slide, but just this once” she teased. “To be completely honest. I wouldn’t mind a good nights sleep either. Could you get us something to drink while I get the shower going?”

“For you? Anything, my love.” I kissed her hand and got us a couple of bottles of water, then we cleaned up in a hot soapy shower. And then, after drying off and throwing on some very comfortable bedclothes, we climbed into bed and I spooned Eva as we fell into an easy sleep.

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After we brought Rachel home, there was no time to do anything else. We had to start prepping for school two days later while Rachel spent the days that week with sitters. We got everything ready as usual, then after Labor Day school started. And that Friday, September 7th, we drove up to New York to attend our reunion. We stayed with Phyllis and Harold, who were thrilled to have us there for the weekend, especially their granddaughter. They were in their 60s and they were getting a little tired of driving down to Philly every few weeks. They were in good health, but it was wearing on them.

The reunion Saturday night was a blast. There were a lot of people I was friends with at one time that we saw for the first time in over twenty years. People who didn’t know Eva well back then treated her like a long lost friend. And let me tell you, she looked great. She even got a new hairstyle for the occasion, cutting it from her mid-back to her shoulders and getting a willowy wave put in. It was a good thing we got a room at the hotel for the night because I fully intended to have my way with her.

Mike and Kevin were there with their wives, we all showed pictures of our children, did some bragging, had a few drinks and a mediocre dinner, and exchanged some phone numbers and email addresses. We were glad we went. And we had a great time afterwards too.

We drove back Sunday afternoon, and Monday was a good day at work. Eva and I were in too good a mood to have a bad day.

The next day was September, 11, 2001. I assume we all remember what happened that day. By 10:30, when the second tower fell, both schools gathered all the students in their auditoriums to keep everyone together. We fully expected parents to come pick up their children, and by 11, that’s what happened. Before anyone left we told everyone school would be closed the next day at least, and we would leave a message each day on the school website as to when school would reopen. Eva called over to the grade school to let them know one of our seniors, a young lady named Sophia who sat for Rachel from time to time, was coming over to pick up Rachel and bring her to us. After hugging her tight, she, like all the other stunned students, sat kind of quietly, in shock. Students were crying, staff was crying. Eva and I had to stay until the last child was accounted for and by 6PM we knew we had a problem. We had four students, ages 14, 15, and two 17 year olds whose parents hadn’t been heard from. Three we weren’t worried about. But the 15 year old, Steve Brent, told us his mother had gone up to New York early that morning. She had a job interview with a company in Tower One. So we posted a notice on the school door, letting parents who came for their children know they could be picked up at our house, any time. When we were about to leave, the 14 year old and one of the 17 year olds parents got there, hugged their children for all they were worth (like every parent everywhere that day) and we took the other two home with us so we could feed them and put them up for the night if necessary.

The 17 year old, Katherine Dowd, was finally able to reach her mother on her cell phone. Her father was stuck in London on business and her mother had been in Washington for work and was stuck in terrible traffic. We let her know she could ring our doorbell whenever she got there and that Katherine was safe and doing as well as could be expected. Steve’s father lived in California so Steve called him there and let him know he was safe. But he was not all right. His mother was missing and her cell phone kept going right to voice mail. The news by then reported that all air traffic was suspended for the time being, so his father couldn’t come to Philadelphia. I spoke to the father, Joe, and I told him we’d look after Steve as long as necessary, trying to reassure Steve that his mother would call any time now.

When we got into the house we had a message from Connor. All the Midshipmen were given permission to call home and he said we should call him on his cell when we got the message. I called right away and we made sure we were all safe, then I put Rachel on the phone with her brother for a few minutes before Eva spoke to him, worried but reassured from hearing his voice. After that she called her parents, who were grateful to hear from us, and finally we spoke to Cammy, who left work early. She wanted to come over but since we had at least one student who might have to spend the night, I asked her to stay at home with Kyle. It made things a little better to just talk to all of them. It was that kind of day all over the country. Even the world.

Katherine’s mother arrived after the pizza’s we ordered did, so we invited her mother to join us and she did, gratefully. The poor woman hadn’t eaten since early in the morning. After we ate, Katherine and her mom left (after her mother thanked us with huge hugs and a lot of tears). But after they left, Steve was a wreck. He started crying almost inconsolably and Eva went right into mother mode. I kept Rachel busy while she comforted the young teen, who was convinced his mother was dead. Honestly, we tried to reassure him that he’d be hearing from her soon, but inside, Eva and I were feeling much the same. The only reason we had some hope was because the television news reported that cell towers were down in the area of the World Trade Center and other phone lines were hopelessly jammed.

I dug out some of Connor’s old clothes, including some things Steve could wear to sleep in, and we put him up in the guest room, but the poor kid was in terrible pain. I took over for a while, hugging him while Eva tried to get Rachel to sleep. Rachel was in no condition to sleep on her own so I got a couple of air mattresses from the attic and pumped them up so all four of us could sleep in the family room together. That’s where we were after 1 AM, all of us awake, when we got a frantic knock on our front door. I opened it and it was Steve’s mother. He ran to her and the two of them cried in our foyer for a long time. I finally got them to sit in the library and Eva and I gave them a few minutes to be alone.

We sat in the kitchen and Eva called to Cindy (Steve’s mom) and asked if she needed something to eat or drink. She asked for something cold and we brought her some iced tea. She told us how she was in a cab just a few blocks from Tower One when it was hit and from then on, she was stuck in traffic and dust. She couldn’t get a signal to call anyone and was frantic most of the day. The commuter trains were all shut down and she didn’t know how to get home but luckily she met a couple of people also trying to get back to Philly. One of them managed to hail a cab and offered the driver a ridiculous amount of money to drive them home. By the time her phone was working, she had no idea where Steve would be, so she called her ex in California, who told her where to find Steve. By then she was just a few minutes away so she just showed up on our door.

“Mr., Mrs. Grossman, I don’t know how I can thank you enough. You two are a Godsend.”

Eva told her “Mrs. Brent, it was our pleasure to help. We could never leave any of our students alone. Steve’s a good young man and we are just relieved your ok. Maybe before you leave you should call your ex back. We told him, if needed” she said in a way that hinted to the worst that could have happened, “that Steve could stay with us until he could figure out some arrangements. He was very worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’d better call him back. And thank you again. You’re a couple of lifesavers.”

She called her ex and put his mind at ease, then took Steve home. By then it was almost 2 and Rachel was out cold. I carried her up to our room and put her in our bed, in case she woke up frightened during the night.

Eva and I hugged Rachel, then finally had some time to hold each other and cry. And we cried without saying much of anything for a long time. We hugged across Rachel’s sleeping body, consoling each other as best we could. After a long while, I whispered “I hope to god we didn’t know anyone in there. It’s horrible to even think about.”

“I don’t know, Jon. I’m just so grateful we’re all safe, and I’m relieved Steve’s mother finally showed up. I can’t imagine what we would have done if something happened to her. They just moved here a year ago and they have no family here.”.

I sighed and pulled her as tight as I could without hurting Rachel. I started singing, softly, Please Be With Me by Eric Clapton, a loving, tender song, and then I sang our song, Tupelo Honey. Eva was crying softer then and she did something she rarely ever did in bed with me: she sang with me. Rachel stirred a little, surrounded by the love of her parents. I stroked her hair, and I stroked her mothers hair with the other hand. Eva brushed my hair back on my head, which was getting a little thinner every year. “I love you, my Honey Bear.”

“I love you too, my sweet Angel. Thank God you’re here with me. I hate to think about if I didn’t have you with me right now.”

“We’re always going to be together, Bear. For a long time to come. I love you so much. I love Rachel and Connor and Cammy and my brothers and their families and my parents.” She was rambling a bit, and I didn’t care. As long as we were together I didn’t care.

“A very long time, my love. Right now I’m worried most about our children and our other children, our other family. I think we need to talk to the Trustees about bringing in few psychologists. I doubt we’re going to be able to deal with all the need. Maybe one for the staff too.”

“That’s a good idea, Jon.” She yawned which made me yawn. It was 3 by then and exhaustion was catching up to us. We kissed, a long kiss of love, and we went to sleep with two of my three favorite girls in the world in my arms. I comforted them and they comforted me. None of us knew it then, but in a few short weeks, everything would almost all go to hell.

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School stayed closed the rest of the week, like most public and private schools throughout the country. Eva and I got a lot of emails from students and parents, worried about everything from a terror attack at school to making up class time, especially among seniors getting ready to apply to colleges. Those who worried about a terrorist attack seem kind of silly looking back from twenty years, but at that time, anything seemed like it was possible, especially bad things. We answered every email, even called a few students who seemed particularly worried, and we did hire a few psychologists to help out with those students and staff who were feeling anxiety. For the first few weeks after the attacks, they were very busy and they were a great help to many who were suffering.

It was an exhausting time for Eva and me. We dealt with a school with dozens of distressed young people, including two who did lose relatives in New York. We also knew a couple of people from our past, including one at the reunion just days before, who died in the terror attacks. Rachel had her own anxiety. She used to be the most happy-go-lucky kid you could imagine, but she was showing her own distress at times. Eva was a huge help for her, thankfully. And her love of music also did her wonders. She channeled her feelings into music, even concocting her own songs. That was more my area, and she and I would sing and play together. It helped her so much Eva and I started a music therapy session at school, open to anyone whether they had talent or not. We had our kids healing.

Almost all of them. There was one young man, a 15 year old named ‘Corey Romano’ (Not his real name), who was troubled before the events of September 11. He had a real Master of the Universe type father who ran a large hedge fund and was an alumnus of the school. He expected Corey to be the same, a real take no prisoners type who would brow beat those he didn’t agree with. I know; I had a couple of run-ins with him over the two years Corey went to school there. Mr. Romano came in to argue every A- that he believed should have been a A. Corey wasn’t a great athlete, but his father thought he should be a starter on the basketball team. The man was a nightmare for Eva and me, but a cruel bastard to his less than perfect son. No child is perfect. No person is perfect. But that’s what Mr. Romano expected. And we couldn’t deal with Corey’s mother because she was so beaten down over the years she wouldn’t answer the phone at home. She never came to school meetings or parent teacher nights. We never met her.

So Cory, a sweet, vulnerable ninth grader who was already sinking emotionally before that terrible September morning, was getting worse. We matched him with the best psychologist on the staff. But Corey kept spiraling down and down. He couldn’t reconcile between the help he was getting at school and the abuse he was getting at home. He was prone to outbursts in class, some of them violent, like when he threw his chair across the classroom. He didn’t hit anyone, but he was becoming dangerous.

After that incident, Eva and I decided he was a danger to himself and other students and we had to suspend him. Ideally, with supportive parents, we would have recommended Corey be placed in a lock down institution. His father certainly could have afforded the best private mental care for his son….if he was interested. We requested he come in for a meeting on October 23rd, with his mother as well.

Of course, Mr. Romano showed up by himself. He was brought into my office, with Eva and the psychologist, Dr. Alan Wein, with Corey waiting in the outer office by the secretarial staff. Mr. Romano, his usual charming self, started off by saying “Well, what’s he done this time? And make it fast; I have an important meeting in two hours in the city.” Like his son wasn’t important.

Eva said “Mr. Romano, this is your sons life and wellbeing we’re talking about. We think that’s rather important, don’t you? Corey is deeply troubled. He threw a chair in class the other day and he could have seriously hurt someone. It’s only by luck that he didn’t.”

Dr. Wein then spoke, about Corey’s emotional state and how he was a danger to others and to himself. That he needed to be in a 24 hour a day psychiatric facility for treatment and observation. Mr. Romano was having none of it. He said, he actually said to us, that all his son needed was a good kick in the ass.

I spoke up then. “Mr. Romano, that’s the last thing he needs. He has serious problems. You may not want to acknowledge it, but if you don’t, we have to expel him from school for the safety of everyone involved. We care about your son, and we want to see him get the treatment he needs. But one way or another, we cannot allow him to attend here anymore. We have a responsibility to keep everyone here safe, the students and staff and your son as well. If he gets the help he needs, we’ll be glad to welcome him back after a mental health professional tells us he is able to rejoin us.”

Mr. Romano just got red in the face with rage. He screamed through the door at Corey to get inside my office. We saw Corey get up through the glass window on my office door, hesitate for a moment, then watched in horror as he pulled a gun from his pants, a semi-automatic. He fired into the air and there were screams throughout the office.

“Oh god, no!” Eva cried as she gripped my shoulder. I hit the emergency button under my desktop (there was one in Eva’s office as well, plus in other discreet places throughout the building that all the staff knew about). It was a klaxon type horn, loud, different from the fire alarm, which was a bell. We had drills a couple of times a year regarding what to do if that emergency horn sounded. You think it can’t happen to your school. But it happened there. In our home.

Mr. Romano threw open the door and shouted “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Put that fucking gun down now!” Corey didn’t put the gun down. He turned, didn’t say a word, and he shot his father in his throat. He went down fast, and Dr. Wein moved to him to cover the wound with a handkerchief from his pocket. Eva and I were doing what we were trained to do, what we trained everyone to do. We got behind my desk to wait for help to arrive. We knew classrooms were being locked and students were hiding behind overturned desks. Corey then calmly walked out of the office, into the hall.

Fuck. This was our worst nightmare at work. We heard screaming from the halls and I got up like I was on automatic. “Wait here, stay with them” I told Eva with some authority.

“Jon, No! Don’t go out there without me! I’ll come with you!”

“I’ll be very careful, honey. Just look after Mr. Romano and the office staff. And stay here!”

“No, don’t go….!” I heard her but I had to check on our students. I passed through the office, saw everyone was frightened but unhurt, then I darted out into the hall. I followed the sound of people yelling, keeping close to the lockers on the side of the hall. Then I felt someone touch my arm and I nearly screamed. I turned and it was Eva.

“What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay with Dr. Wein and Mr. Romano!”

“He’s dead, Jon. You’re not going anywhere without me” she said in an angry whisper.

“Go back! See if you can get the students out on the other end of the building.”

“Not without you!” By then we heard the sounds of sirens approaching but we also heard two gunshots followed by screams. “Fuck it” I said under my breath. I couldn’t argue with her right then. I crept along and Eva followed me. We turned a corner and saw a teacher, Tom Sorenson, lying on the ground with blood coming from his leg. I hurried to him and saw he was bleeding, but not from the femoral artery, which would have been lethal. He was bleeding heavily, however. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around his leg. then I took off my belt and looped it around the jacket over the wound to try to stem the bleeding.

“Tom, can you stay still?” He nodded, in pain but not in shock yet. “Eva’s going to hold this on your leg. Which way did Corey go?”

“Down that way, towards the gym. God, this fucking hurts!”

“Eva, hold this to his leg. He’ll be all right until help gets here. Just keep pressure on the wound and keep talking to him.” We heard police enter the building and start calling out, then someone from then office was talking to them.

“Jon, you’d better be careful! You’d better come back to me!”

I didn’t argue, I just gave her a very quick kiss and got up and went down to the gym. I entered and saw Corey holding the gun in the direction of about fifty students and two teachers, all sitting on the floor. There was a lot of fear on their faces. I didn’t blame them at all, not even the teachers. I knew I was scared shit but I had a responsibility to all those people. I called out, gently so as not to startle him, “Corey, it’s Mr. Grossman. Look at me, please.” He turned quickly, his gun in front of him, and pointed at me. His arms were shaking and his face was covered in sweat. “Corey, why don’t you just put the gun down? You don’t want to hurt anyone else. Please.”

“What about my dad and Mr. Sorenson?” He was crying and shaking.

“Mr. Sorenson is ok. Your dad is hurt, but he’ll be all right too” I lied. If he thought he killed his father, he might think he had nothing to lose. “You can still have a future, Corey.”

He was on the verge of putting down the gun; I could see it. “That’s it, Corey. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone else.” He started to bend down. Then the door burst open and a police officer yelled loud enough to wake the dead.

“Put it down, kid! Put that fucking gun down now!” Corey flinched and the gun went off and I felt a tremendous blast of pain in my left shoulder, like a searing hot hammer slamming into me. I staggered back a few steps before falling hard on my ass on the gym floor as I heard more shots ring out from the other direction. I had enough time to yell out “No!” I didn’t want Corey shot. I didn’t want him hurt in any way. Then the depth of the pain in my shoulder screamed at me. Even the slightest motion of any part of my body sent another bolt like lightening through me. Police came over to protect me while the students ran out the gym doors to the inside of the building.

“Eva” I gasped as I passed out from shock and pain. “Eva” I managed one more time, a gasp, as I sunk into darkness.

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I woke up some time later, I don’t know how long, in a hospital, in an ICU, with other patients in beds attached to machines and nurses at a central station. I had oxygen in my nose, tubes in my arms and one leg, and I felt another tube coming from my penis. I was in a fog from morphine, which was probably keeping me from feeling the worst of the pain. And what I was feeling was bad enough. A nurse came over and talked to me. “Mr. Grossman? Can you speak? Try to say something.”

“Where….am I?” I managed with a mouth that felt as dry as a desert.

“You’re in U Penn Medical Center. You were in surgery for about twelve hours, then you were brought up here about six hours ago. Let me get a doctor and then if he says it’s all right you can see your wife. She’s been here all day and night. Poor thing. And your daughter and son are there, along with your sister. You have a lovely family, Mr. Grossman.”

“Dry” I said, and she understood. She brushed my lips with a swab that moistened them and my tongue.

“That’s all I can give you for now. It should help enough. I’m Carla if you need anything, Mr. Grossman.” She went off to call for a doctor.

In a few minutes a man of about fifty came and introduced himself. “Hello, Mr. Grossman. I’m Dr. Polanski. I’m the surgeon who repaired your shoulder. You were seriously wounded.” I realized I was in a cast from my mid stomach up, around my shoulder and my left arm was out at a right angle and the elbow bent forward. “That cast is going to be on you for a long time, I’m afraid. At least two months. And then there will be a period of physical therapy. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to hurt like hell. But the good news is you will regain almost all your mobility in your shoulder within a year.”

“Doctor….the boy. Corey.”

“That’s not for me to say, sir. Your wife is waiting anxiously to see you. I’ll send her in for fifteen minutes. Then she needs to get some rest. She’s been here since you were brought in and wouldn’t leave. I met your daughter as well. Such a sweet child.” He wrote some notes and then stepped out. I wanted to fall back asleep but not until I saw Eva.

She came into the room and as disheveled as she looked, she never looked so good to me. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red and swollen, her suit was wrinkled and she was my Angel. “I’m sorry, Angel. So sorry.”

“Jon… my Honey Bear.” She started crying as leaned over the bed and kissed my head and my lips. Then she sat down to my right and grasped my fingers. “How do you feel?”

“Sore as hell. Tired. So tired. And thirsty. Could you rub some of that water on my mouth?” She saw the swabs and the cup and spread a little cooling liquid over my lips and tongue, easing my thirst a little bit. Not enough but it helped. “Where is Rachel?”

“She’s outside with Cammy and Connor. They won’t let her in here. I don’t know if i want her to see you like this, Bear. No offense, but you look frightening. I’ll go out in a few minutes so Connor and Cammy can see you for a few minutes.” She quietly held my hand. “Jon….I know you had to do it. And I’m so proud of you. You were so brave. But when I think of what almost happened to you….” She started crying and I tried to squeeze her fingers to offer some comfort to her. She got herself under some control. “I’d better go for now and let them come in for a few minutes. I’ll be back tomorrow after we all get some sleep. I know the detectives will want to talk to you as soon as they can and I have to meet them at the school the next day to go over what happened. I don’t know how we’re going to ask the children to come back.” She sounded so sad. “My sweet Bear. I love you so much.” She leaned over and kissed me, the best kiss I ever got from her.

Before she left, I managed to ask “Angel, what about Tom Sorenson and Corey?”

“Tom is fine; he’s in this hospital on another floor. You saved his life with your jacket and belt; you kept him from bleeding to death.”

“You too, Angel. You stayed with him and kept him from going into shock.”

“Yeah, well, it was your idea. My hero.” Then the small smile on her face disappeared. “Bear, I’m sorry. Corey didn’t make it. I heard you tried to save him and the others in the gym. You really are my hero. And a lot of other people’s hero.”

“I didn’t want him to get hurt, dammit. He was just a kid.” I was crying softly.

“Bear, you did save a lot of lives. He had three clips of ammunition with him. He could have shot a dozen or more people. You really did save lives today…yesterday. We’ll talk about it later today, my love. I love you with all my heart.” She kissed me again and went outside the room. A minute later my son and my sister came in. Connor in his whites, still looking freshly pressed somehow and Cammy with a frightened look on her face.

“Dad, how are you feeling? Besides in pain.” He looked pretty scared as well when I saw him up close.

“Tired as hell. Sorry I scared you all and dragged you away from school.”

“Dad, stow that nonsense. You think anything is more important than my family? Though I thought I was in some sort of trouble when I was told the Superintendent wanted to see me in his office. I wish I had been. I’d rather be thrown out than see you like this.”

Then Cammy kissed my head. “Jon, you’re a hero again. You saved me back then, and now you saved more children. You’ve always been a hero to me.”

“Cammy, stop saying that.” I wanted to yell but I could barely speak louder than a croak. “I’m no hero. A teenager died today. I was supposed to save him with all the others. I lost a child today.” I was beyond exhausted. I turned my head just a little, as much as I could, as a tear dripped from my right eye. Cammy and Connor didn’t know how to respond to me.

“Dad, we’ll be back later, in the afternoon. Try to get some rest.”

“I don’t think that will be much of a problem, Connor. I’m glad you’re here, son, but don’t miss too much school. Don’t fall behind. And Cammy….I appreciate what you said. But I don’t know……” I fell asleep before I was aware that they left.

The nurses let me sleep until 10, then they woke me to do a bunch of things to me, all of which hurt like the Devil’s Pitchfork. Changing the linen, pulling out the tube from my penis that was draining urine and changing it for a fresh one (a Foley tube, aka catherization, a very unpleasant experience). Finally at least some water. Then back to sleep.

Eva came back around 3 with Connor and Rachel. My sweetheart daughter was too young to come in the ICU but she could stand at the glass door and wave to me. Seeing her improved my spirits greatly. She was singing something, but I couldn’t hear her until Eva opened the door as Connor lifted her up. Then I heard her sing what had become our song, You’ve Got a Friend and she sang it perfectly, and I cried and blew her a big kiss. The nurses and a few of the other patients made a big deal over her, and the head nurse snuck her in for five minutes. “Hey, my Little Angel. I’m sorry I won’t be able to come home for a few days. But I love you more than ever.”

Connor helped her up so she could lean over and kiss me, on my nose and my cheek, and I saw the fear and love on her face. She said “I love you too, daddy. Everyone is talking about you. You were even mentioned on the news this morning.”

“Connor, what is she talking about?”

“Dad, this was the main story on the local news last night and this morning. You were mentioned by all the reporters. They’re even calling trying to get interviews with mom, with teachers, even some students. Mom told them no comment and hung up. The phone didn’t stop ringing all morning.” I was very uncomfortable with all this. “There’s TV trucks in front of the hospital too, trying to get interviews with doctors and nurses. You’re a big deal.”

“Stop saying that!” I shouted much louder than I intended. I even upset Rachel. I kissed her when Connor held her up for me again, then I told them to send their mother in to see me. Eva came in and kissed me with all her love, which made me feel a little better.

“Hey, Angel. How are you feeling today?”

“I’m supposed to ask you that, Bear. I’m better, since I got some sleep. I don’t know how I slept without you there.” She got a little misty, then brushed it away. “Unfortunately, the phone didn’t stop ringing since nine this morning. Every station and newspaper wants to talk to you or to me about you. But forget that for now. I’m not talking about it. Just tell me how you’re feeling?”

“It hurts like hell. I thought I’d scream when they were changing my bed and my tube down there….”

“Oh! I would think that’s uncomfortable on its own. I’m sorry, Bear.” She kissed my hand and squeezed it gently. “So the police called and they’re going to be by this afternoon to talk to you for a few minutes. We have to close the school for the rest of the week. First for the investigation, then to do a proper clean up. I’m moving our offices, across the hall. We can’t stay in those offices any more.” Neither of us said anything about that. “Did the doctor come in this morning?”

“Yes, he was here a couple of hours ago. He said I could probably go to a regular room in a couple of days, and maybe I could come home in another two weeks. I asked him about going back to work. He told me it might be three months or longer. I might not be back until the end of February. I’m sorry, Angel. Really.”

Eva looked at me with tender affection. “That’s the last thing I’m worried about. Bear.” She stroked my hair and her eyes swelled with tears. “I keep thinking how much worse this could have gone. What if he had shot some of the students or other teachers? Bear….what if…” Eva broke down and cried hard, even with other patients in the other beds and nurses all around. I wanted to hold her more than anything, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do more than touch her hand.

“Angel, I’m alive. And I’ll get better. I promise. I’m not leaving you or our family or our other family. No way. But I should have saved him. I know a lot of the students and parents are going to condemn Corey, but he was just a kid. An abused child. I couldn’t save him. It was our job to save him.” We were both crying and even though it was the end of the fifteen minute visitation period, the nurses left us alone for a little while longer, until we both stopped crying. Then the head nurse on duty respectfully let us know visiting time was over for two hours.

Eva got herself together. “Jon, I love you so much. More than ever, I think. You’re my brave husband, and I adore you. Stop denying that what you did wasn’t brave, heroic even. You saved lives yesterday. You were supposed to stay in your office and hide. As your wife, I’m pissed that you put yourself in danger. Furious, even. But as your colleague and as a human being, I am beyond proud of you. You’re the best man I’ve ever known, and that includes my own father. It’s close. But you’re the best. I adore you.” She leaned over and kissed me again.

“I don’t know what to say, Angel. I’m….” I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t find words, and I couldn’t say them even if I could. Between the pain, the medication and my confused emotions, I couldn’t even tell her I loved her.

“I have to go, but we’ll be back in a few hours. I’ll take Connor and Rachel to get something to eat. Hopefully the police will be here before then. Jon, my love….I really am proud of you. But don’t ever do it again.” She kissed me again and then she had to leave. I missed them all the second she stepped out the door. Terribly.

Some time later, while I was between dozing in and out, two detectives did come to talk to me. It was nothing like that encounter years before. This was a very friendly interview, as friendly as could be under awful circumstances. They assured me I was in no trouble, not suspected of any crimes. They just wanted my story of what happened. So I answered their questions, the sequence of events as best as I could remember, was there any warning from Corey that he was capable of such a thing, and so on. I told them if we thought he had access to a gun, we never would have let him back in the school.

Then one of the detectives asked the question I regret to this day. “Corey Romano was showing violent behavior before yesterday. He threw a chair two days before, got into a couple of fights, right? So why was he even there yesterday? Weren’t you and your wife concerned he could escalate?”

I cried, not sobbing, but tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. “Detective, we had no idea he was so dangerous. We didn’t know he could get his hands on a gun.”

“His father was a collector and avid shooter. He took Corey to the firing range all the time. From what we’ve learned, he was a highly skilled shooter himself.”

“We had no idea. What about Mrs. Romano? She was in our records, but we never met her. She never even answered the phone at home or called us back. We only dealt with the father.”

The detectives looked uncomfortable. “From what we can tell, Adele Romano left the family over two years ago. She’s had no contact with her son since she left; there’s no record of phone calls or letters from her in that time. She’ll find out about this if she lives anywhere in the country; it’s made the national news. But so far, the woman is like a ghost. We can’t even say for certain if she’s alive.”

I felt so much worse from that news. Corey needed help long before we were aware of his problems, and we didn’t get it for him. The fact that we didn’t know about his problems didn’t make me feel any less guilty. When Eva got to the hospital a little later, it was obvious she heard the same news. It was written all over her face.

After kissing me and sitting down, taking my fingers in her hand, and asking her how Rachel was doing (she was ok during the day, very upset at night because I wasn’t home to sing with her), we discussed what we knew about Corey before he started showing signs of trouble.

“After the police told me about his missing mother, I went to the office and pulled Corey’s records. Someone signed his admission forms under the mother’s line on the signature page. It doesn’t look like John Romano’s (the father’s name) signature and it does look distinctly female. We don’t know if it was the mother’s or if John Romano got someone else to sign for him. Bear, I think we made a huge error here. We never met the woman, just accepted the forms with a signature.”

The look on her face was as horrified as what I was feeling inside. We never met the mother, we just accepted a document as fact without any proof. Why would we doubt it? We wouldn’t have thought someone would fake a document for his sons’ admission to school. What had Corey seen growing up in that house? Why had his father needed to fake his wife’s existence? One possibility froze our blood.

I squeezed Eva’s fingers. “We’re going to have to change the way we do some things for the future. But right now, I want to talk about something else, Angel. Anything else. What’s going on at home?”

“Connor’s going back to school in the morning. He can’t miss too much time, though I think they’d cut him some slack under the circumstances.”

“Don’t count on it. Well, maybe a little. How’s Rachel?”

“She’s doing ok, all things considered. She’s very proud of her father, though she misses singing with you at night. She’s not the only one who misses you especially at night.” Eva had a sweet and sad smile on her face.

“Sorry, Angel. I might be unable to perform those husbandly duties for a few months.”

“Do you really think that’s what I was talking about? I’ll miss that while you recover, sure. But what I’m already missing is your affection and our intimacy. Those talks we have in bed at night. The way you hold me and shower me with wonderful kisses. I could live without sex, Honey Bear. I couldn’t survive without your love.”

Damn. That woman is something special, I thought to myself. “Honey, could you come closer? I need some help adjusting my pillow.” Eva got up and leaned over me to reach behind my head. I lifted myself up as much as I could, pain be damned, and I kissed her, not for long, just a soft touch of my lips to hers. “That’s all I needed, sweetheart. For now.” I moaned in pain for a moment, but I felt better when I saw the loving smile on her face.

“You are such a sweet man. How could I live without you?” She stroked my hair on my head. “With that cast on, I’m not going to be able to play with your chest hair. Kind of sucks.” We laughed a little, even though it hurt like hell. It was worth it to share a little laughter. She kissed me again and sat down. “I almost forgot to tell you, I did speak to Audrey Callum (the current chair of the Trustees) and she wanted you to know how the entire board is grateful for what you did. They’ll see you when you’re in a regular room, which the doctor said should be tomorrow or the next day. And parents have been leaving phone messages and emails to thank us for…well, you know. The TV stations and newspapers are all trying to get an interview with me, at least until they can speak to you. I’m not interested in talking. It’s too personal. Maybe when you’re up to it, we can do it together with advice from your sister. Oh, and my parents are taking some time from work and coming down to stay tomorrow. At least until you’re home.”

She sat with me, quietly for a couple of minutes, our fingers interlocked. “Eva, I am so sorry I’m putting you through all this. The harassing phone calls from the press, the extra work you’ll have to go through at work and at home…the worrying about me. I would do….”

“You’d do the same exact thing, Bear. Just what I’d expect you to do. You went to protect the children, which is your nature. Your decency is one of those things I love about you. When Cammy needed help, you didn’t even think of doing anything else.”

“Wait, honey. That was just as much you as me. And I know you too. If Tom Sorenson hadn’t been wounded in the hallway, you would have insisted on coming with me into the gym, despite what you kept saying, trying to get me to stay with you. You would have gone if I stayed. I know it.”

“Probably. Maybe. I don’t know, and I hope to God we never, ever have to find out. I just know I’m so deeply in love with you, more and more every single day.”

“I love you too. More than I could ever say. But I have one favor to ask you.”

“Name it, Bear.”

“Send our kids in? I miss them so much.”

“Immediately. The nurses already said Rachel can come in any time as long as it’s with an adult.” She kissed me, a longer, loving kiss. “No more of that for you. You’d have a problem if you got an erection with that catheter inside you.” She giggled and I ached in my penis just thinking about it. She went out and in came Connor and Rachel. I kissed both my kids, talked to them for a little while, then I asked Rachel to step out so I could talk to Connor alone.

“So your mother told me you’re going back to the Academy tomorrow. Good, you shouldn’t miss too much time there. There’s too much competition.”

“Dad….what would you say if I took a semester off? The Spring semester? To help you and mom and Rachel while you recuperate and go through physical therapy.”

“I’d say no way. You’re doing so well there and I don’t want you losing your rank in your class. Your mom and I have done well over the years with investing our money and saving from our salaries. If we need help at home, we can easily afford it. You go back to school. I’m going to be all right. It’ll take a while, but we’ll all be fine. Except that we miss you and love you.”

“Dad….I’m so proud of you.”

“No, son. I’m proud of YOU.” We hugged and he went out the door and back to school the next day.

The next day I also moved, down to a regular room with a roommate, a nice as could be man named Abi, a 60 year old Black man from North Philly who worked for the city as an bookkeeper. He was there recovering from open heart surgery. We got along fine, his wife, Dora, was from Nigeria, she was a nurse in the same hospital, and very friendly. She and Eva hit it off when their visits overlapped. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

The police located Adele Romano, living thank goodness, in a small town in Illinois. When she was interviewed, she told them about years of physical and emotional abuse from her husband until she got in touch with a group that helped such women escape. But she couldn’t take Corey with her. I never found out why. She was all over the news in the Philly area for days and she started getting harassing phone calls and had to disappear again. I didn’t know what I thought about her, and Eva and I decided whatever she did was her business. We couldn’t know how desperate her situation was. But in the back of my mind, I blamed her for what happened.

Abi obviously knew why I was in the hospital and aside from thanking me for trying to save the children one time, he was kind enough not to keep talking about it with me. But when the news about Mrs. Romano came out, he could sense how troubled I was. I was seeing a psychiatrist on staff every afternoon while I was there, but he wasn’t connecting with me. Abi, however, did.

“Jon,” he said to me one morning, in his thick North Philadelphia accent “Dora comes from a village near Lagos. It’s been the site of many attacks by rebel soldiers, then government soldiers. Back and forth it goes. I thank God every day she got out of there when she did, forty years ago, when she was a teenager. I wasn’t a religious man before I met her, and I’m not really one now. But I do thank God for her. She’s given me six amazing children. We’re not rich, but we have a good life together, like you and Eva.”

“I can tell. She’s a lovely woman, Abi. We’re both lucky men.”

“Amen to that. She got out of her village, Oyero, because a friend of a friend of her father saw something special in her, and got another friend here to sponsor her for school. A total stranger gave her that chance and she took it, and every day of my life I thank God for her and for that stranger, a man she never met, who saved her so she could do something good with her life. She goes back to Oyero for a couple of months every other year, bringing medicine and a couple of other nurses with her. White and Black. Strangers helping strangers. You and Eva, how many children have you helped by running your school over the years? A few thousand? And you told me you started a scholarship program there for children whose families couldn’t afford to go there, right?”

“Yes. It was ten a year to start, now it’s thirty.”

“Strangers helping strangers. They become like family. When you entered that gym, with that poor boy scaring those children and teachers, what were you thinking?”

“I don’t know if I was thinking about anything. I just knew I had to protect those people if I could. They were my responsibility.”

“You and your wife are well educated. You could have done anything you wanted to do. But you chose to work with children. Children are the greatest gift God gives us. When people put their children in your care…”

“They’re trusting you with their most precious possession. I know, that’s one of Eva’s favorite sayings, she’s been using it for as long as I know her, to teach others who work with children.” I thought about that for a couple of minutes, like I hadn’t done for some time. Abi let me just think it over. “You know, you’re a very smart man yourself. Very wise. And a damn good man.” I smiled in a way I hadn’t done for days.

He held up a small cup of orange juice and I did the same. “To two good, wise men.”

“And our wives and families. Two lucky men.” We both drank and laughed together. I made a new, good friend in an unusual place.

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Abi went home three days later, but not before I got his phone number. We both wanted to keep in touch with each other, and we did, right up through the time twelve years later when Abi died of a heart attack. Eva and I would visit their row house in North Philly and we had them to our house or our beach house during the summer. Rachel became friends with their granddaughter Kim, who was about her age. And Kim and one of their grandsons, Kamal, ended up attending Wayne Upper Day as scholarship students, and they both did very well there. Abi and Dora were among the best friends we ever made.

During my time in the hospital, I got a lot of flowers and I got a lot of visitors. The flowers became too much, and I asked the nurses to share them around the various rooms, while I kept the cards to keep track. Larry and Patty came together, even though they were living separately by then. Other friends came, as did Eva’s parents and her brothers came down to see me over the weekend. Then there were members of our school family. A couple of the Trustees stopped by a few times, telling me to take my time recovering. Some of the parents formed a committee and sent a few of the leaders to see me and thank me. I wouldn’t have known for what they were thanking me if it hadn’t been for that talk I had with Abi.

The best visit I had (aside from my immediate family) was that first Sunday afternoon, the day before school reopened, while Eva and Rachel were with me. I was in a lot of pain that day from the wound plus from learning how to walk around with about thirty pounds of a cast on my upper body. It’s not easy, I can promise you. So while I was lying there, feeling miserable and trying to enjoy my wife and daughter, a group of six of our students came. The head nurse gave them permission even though normally only three or four visitors were allowed at a time. I was being cut a lot of slack by the doctors and nurses.

Eva and Rachel were just as surprised as I was to see them. Among the group was Steve Brent, the young man we looked after on September 11tth until his mother finally showed up. The boys all shook my hand and the girls all kissed my cheek and they all asked how I was feeling. I was really blown away by this visit and it must have shown because I was almost speechless. Eva tried to get up and take Rachel out but the kids asked her to stay. We were Mr. and Mrs. G, after all, and we were both their family, as was Rachel. It was all very informal, just a friendly visit. They told me they wanted me to come back soon, but not to rush things. They told Eva if she needed anything, shopping done or someone to watch Rachel, they had a whole bunch of volunteers willing to help in any way possible. I hate to admit it, but I cried in front of them, and Eva and Rachel joined me.

“That’s so kind of you all” I said through the tears. “But we can’t do that. Watching Rachel- for pay- is one thing. But we can’t ask you to do errands for us, not even for money. It’s questionable ethically speaking. It could lead to accusations of favoritism. But your offer alone is just wonderful. We love you all, every single student. Make sure you tell everyone we said that.”

“The best way you can help us is to keep working hard, keeping up your grades” Eva added. “We know this is a very hard year now, and we’ll help anyone who needs it. That’s all we want from you. We’ll be fine with everything else.”

Some of the kids were crying softly. We talked a little more, both for their morale as well as mine. After about 45 minutes they left and Eva and I just looked at each other with stunned pride. Rachel and Eva both sat on the bed on my right, and I put my arm around them both as best as I could. “How about those kids?” I said to my wife.

“I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else, Bear. They make me proud every day. The only thing is now I want them all to get all ‘A’s for the year. I’m glad we don’t have to give their grades.”

“You know what, Angel? Life is sweet.” I kissed her with all my love, then had Rachel scoot up so I could kiss her too. That’s how we were in the bed when Cammy and Kyle came for the evening visit. Eva got up and into a chair, but I kept Rachel in the bed with me.

After we talked for a while, Cammy, holding Kyle’s hand, said “We’ve been talking, and we’re going to wait six months to get married, in June next year. And we’ll find a restaurant or hall. It’s not fair to ask you to host this, and especially while you’re still recovering, Jon. It’s too much and too soon.”

Eva and I had already talked about it. “Cammy, Kyle, we love you very much. And you’re still getting married at our house and still on New Year’s Eve. I’ll be out of this thing by then, and even if I’m not, I’ll be in a wheelchair and find a special tux to wear. But this is our gift to you and we’re not changing it. So unless you call off your wedding, it’s a done deal. Eva even sent the caterer a check a couple of days ago. If you two want to get married, we’re still going ahead with it.”

Kyle, normally a very quiet man, spoke for them. “Eva, Jon, you don’t have to do this. But if you insist….”

“We insist” Eva said with a smile.

“Well, then we’re thrilled to be married in your home. Speaking for myself, you’ve made me feel just like your family. Camilla always is as happy as she ever gets when we get together with you. She told me her history with you so I had an idea how special you are, but I’ve learned why she thinks you’re both amazing. And you too, Rach” he added, and my daughter giggled in her charming way. She had a little crush on Kyle, the type an eight year old girl gets. Kyle never condescended to her and she appreciated it.

Cammy hugged Eva and Rachel, and gave me a kiss on my cheek and a very loving smile. We talked a little more, then the four of them got up to go to dinner. I wished I could go with them; the hospital food was dreadful. Eva would bring me something for lunch but starting the next day, that wouldn’t be possible, as she was going back to work. Speaking of which, she asked Cammy and Kyle to wait for her out in the hall with Rachel for a few minutes; she had something to talk about with me.

When we were alone, she sat again on the bed, on my right side so we could hold hands. “Bear, I’m worried about going back to work tomorrow.”

“Are you scared? Because Corey is gone, Angel. Not that I feel any joy from that.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I have to talk to everyone first thing in the morning. Before Homeroom, everyone will be in the auditorium and I have to talk to every single student and staff member, teachers, office, groundskeepers….everyone. And I just can’t imagine what I’m going to say.” Her eyes held mine and I saw so much pain in her lovely big blue eyes. She was scared and I hurt for her.

“Angel, come here for a minute.” She laid down in the crook of my arm. “I don’t know what exactly to suggest. What I would say is talk about how we’ve all suffered a terrible blow, but we’re a close family and that’s how we’ll get past this. We need to be good to each other, better than ever before. To love each other as friends. And please ask them to think kindly about Corey, to remember he was a victim in his way. Otherwise, I just can’t give you words. I know you’ll do a great job, my love. You will.” I kissed her head and she kissed me back.

“I’ll call you later, Bear. We can go over it together. But thank you; what you said is a good start. And I’ll make sure they know how you’re thinking of everyone.”

“Please do. Tell them I miss them but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love them all. And I love you too, my darling. More than anything.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Always and forever.”

“Always and forever, Angel.”

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The next day, late in the afternoon, Tom Sorenson was wheeled down in his wheelchair by his wife Mary to visit me. I was sitting in my own wheelchair and we asked an aide to help us down the hall to where there was an atrium, a sunny room with a lot of plants and flowers. After talking a little about how we were each coming along (Tom wasn’t going to be able to walk right for a couple of months, but he would fully recover), Eva came in with Rachel and we all sat and talked. Mary and Tom thanked us repeatedly, despite our insistence that it wasn’t necessary. For them, it was. Mary and Eva went off on their own and cried as wives of wounded husbands while Rachel insisted on being hugged by me while I talked to Tom. What we talked about was personal, but we did form a bond that lasted until Tom moved on a few years later. He just wasn’t comfortable staying at the school after being shot there. They went to Virginia to start over.

I was sent home the following weekend under the condition I keep all orthopedist appointments as well as appointments with a psychiatrist, and it was a huge relief, even though getting around at home wasn’t easy. I had to be careful, with my left arm sticking out, not to break things (I broke a few) and getting up and down the stairs without falling over. Eva was going to have to wait on me hand and foot my first week home, which she took off from work. After that we’d hire an aide until my arm got some mobility back which wasn’t expected until sometime in January.

Eva, Rachel, Eva’s parents, and Cammy and Kyle all treated me like royalty my first day home. They wouldn’t let me even try to do anything for myself, which was a good thing. I walked with a pronounced list to the left. I couldn’t even pour a drink for myself. And Eva had to help me go to the bathroom; I couldn’t even get my sweatpants down by myself. It wasn’t a job for my daughter or sister, and Kyle and I weren’t quite that close yet. Eva even had to wipe my ass like I had to do for her after Connor was born. “It took you twenty years, but you’re finally getting even with me” she said with ironic humor.

That night after Rachel went to bed, Eva helped me get cleaned up. We were sent a shower bench, with rubber feet and plastic seat and aluminum legs so I could shower. Except I couldn’t. I couldn’t get that big cast wet. So Eva had to give me a sponge bath and shampoo my hair like in the hospital and carefully rinse men off. It got me clean but it wasn’t very satisfying, except for being with my wife, alone, in the shower.

I really reacted when she washed my penis and testicles. I got stiff like a starched collar. “Well, look what I found?” Eva asked with an amused smile. “Would you like me to do something about this?”

“Can I reciprocate?”

“Another night. In bed. We’ll figure something out. Right now I think I just want to relieve your back pressure. You deserve it, Bear. You deserve every good thing I can do for you. I wish I could take more than this week off.”

“It’s ok, Angel. You’re going to have enough to do. I’m glad your parents are here. It will help you a little.”

“Same here. They’re thinking of retiring as it is. Now, let’s not talk about my parents, or chores or anything unpleasant. Let’s talk about my sexy man being home where he belongs. Let’s talk about how I can make you feel a little better, just with a little soap and my little hand.” Eva gave me a gentle squeeze that sent a blast of pleasure all through my body. She gently rubbed her thumb under the head of my cock, eliciting a long and loud moan from my lips.

“Oh wow, baby, that is so nice. Sooo nice.”

“You like? Maybe you’ll like this more.” Her hand started moving up and down along the shaft, nice and slow, easy and light. “MMMM you are so good and hard, sexy Bear. My horny Bear.” Her hand moved up and down a little faster, milking the precum from my dick.

“God, you do the most wonderful things to me, Angel. Aren’t you horny too? I could be of help, you know.” Eva was standing to my right, my good arm, and I reached between her legs, covered by a pair of sweat pants that clung to her hips. I caressed her inner thigh and she shivered a little. “I think you like that.”

“I think I do. Shit, I was just going to do you tonight, but you’ve changed my mind.” She stepped back out of the shower stall and took down her sweats and the simple black panties she had on. Now she was as naked from the waist down as I was. She started to step back into the stall, hesitated a moment, then pulled off her tank top so her breasts were free as well and then came back in with me. “If we’re going to do this to each other, we might as well do it right. I think I’m going to have more fun with you than I planned.” Eva straddled my hips and sat down on my thighs and pushed her fingers through my wet, clean hair. “You are the sexiest man I know, Bear. And the bravest.” She kissed me, a loving and very arousing kiss and I wrapped my right arm around her back, pulling her close.

“Having you sit here, close and warm and gorgeous….almost makes all this worthwhile. My sensuous Angel.”

“Hardly. I’d be glad to do this without the shoulder wound. We’ll do it again when you’re all healed up. But for now….” She kissed me hard, snaking her tongue into my mouth as her tits got mashed against my cast. That wasn’t so comfortable for her so I pushed her back a little and tried to kiss her chest, but I couldn’t quite bend like that. So she lifted herself a little and I was able to lick and kiss her chest, even able to suck her nipples. “Oh god, Bear, that is lovely. I missed you so much. You belong in our bed every night. Our shower too.” Her fingers were raking my hair, tugging at me a little as I kept sucking her pebbles and as I squeezed her ass with my right hand.

“I have missed this my darling Angel. Even worse than the pain was being separated from my hot and beautiful wife.” I kissed her lips, this time slipping my tongue into her mouth and we went back and forth like that. She gripped my cock harder as we both moaned. She rubbed the head all over her pussy as I kept squeezing her luscious ass. Eva slid down easily on my cock as I tilted my head back and gasped with absolute pleasure. “My darling, my love” I whispered as we stared into each others eyes. “I love you so much, I can’t even begin to tell you, Angel. You’re my heart and soul.”

Eva was moving slightly, just making little circles with the rotation of her hips. It was gentle and it kept me from cumming way too soon. I was ready, but I wanted to hold off so she could catch up. I didn’t want to get her all worked up only to leave her unsatisfied. So I kissed her shoulders and her throat, the side of her neck and her upper arms and even her underarms. I used my lips and my tongue and I ran my fingers up and down her spine and along the back of her neck. I touched and kissed everywhere I could reach, even though jolts of pain radiated from my shoulder if I moved even a little more than the bare minimum. I didn’t care; for Eva, I would endure any suffering to please her. But I couldn’t hide the pain from her.

“Jon, how bad is it?” She asked, staying completely still with my cock deep inside her. “Tell me the truth.”

“It’s pretty bad sometimes. But it’s worth it, Angel, to be sharing our love like this.”

“That’s ridiculous, Bear. This is why I just wanted to make you feel good. I’m sorry, I should have stuck with the original plan.” She looked so sad, feeling guilty for hurting me, at least from her point of view. She started to lift herself off of me, but I held her in place.

“You’re not going anywhere, my love. I am in pain when I move a little too much. But I’ll take it to show my love for you. Except for our children, nothing is more important that expressing my love for you, my desire for you. Just keep going slow and easy. I want this, Eva. I want to love you.”

Her eyes filled with tears, magnifying those soft, smart blue eyes, so filled with love. Her muscles gripped me, voluntarily or involuntarily, I didn’t care. Eva kissed me, light, fluttery kisses that were more powerful than any pain I was able to feel. “You’re not going to let me stop, are you?”

“Not until we both reach our orgasms. Not until we both feel the most pleasure we can. So let’s get there, together, my darling. Do what you have to to get off with me.”

“Stubborn Bear. I love you so much. More and more, every day.”

“Just like I do with you, Angel.” She started moving again, again using her muscles to milk me as opposed to riding me. I reached between us and used my thumb to put pressure on her clit, making circles and and pressing it like a button. It didn’t take long for that to help bring her to her climax, not an earth-shattering climax, but still, a very pleasurable experience for her.

She kissed me with soft and sweet kisses, filled with love and affection. “You always find the way to make me feel incredible, Bear. Twenty two years together and you still thrill me to no end. Even with a wound and a cast. My amazing husband.” Another bunch of kisses. “Now I need to finish things for you, my love. Any requests? Or should I just do what I think is best?”

“Oh, it’s your choice, honey. I’m your willing victim.” It was my turn to kiss her with my loving attention.

“Fine. Let’s get you on the bed. So let me help you stand up so I can dry you off.” While I had been in the hospital, Kyle, who was a real Mr. Fix-it type, installed safety bars and adhesive strips in the shower and bathtub so I held onto the bar as I got my balance. Eva dried me off, helped me out of the shower and held my arm as I got into the bedroom and onto the bed. I normally slept on the right side, but with my left arm in that cast, we had to switch sides so my left arm was at the side of the bed and not in the middle where I could have hurt Eva.

After I got as comfortable as I could, Eva got between my legs on her tummy and started sucking my cock as she stared up at me without breaking eye contact. It was a blowjob like you see in a porn movie, wet and sloppy, lots and lots of spit dripping down my balls and onto my thighs. She applied pressure with her tongue, pressing the head of my cock against the roof of her mouth, sucking hard, then harder, and then she took my into her throat. I couldn’t squirm much due to the extra weight on my torso but I could lift my hips, a little, and I could certainly moan as my head spun from the sheer pleasure. When she tickled my balls, I finally got off, shooting what felt like a quart of sperm right down her throat. Eva swallowed every drop, draining me thoroughly before letting me go with a very pleased grin on her beautiful face. “Well, it took a lot longer than I planned, but I think that went rather well. But I think we’ll keep our carnal activities confined to the bed until you get this contraption off. It’s just easier.”

“I agree. Sex while sitting up isn’t very easy with this thing on. It’s only slightly easier in bed. But I’ll take it. With you.” Eva moved to rest in my right arm, the opposite of how I held her for the past twenty two years of sharing a bed. It felt strange, to say the least. Even sleeping took some adjustment, as we found out. “Honey, I’m so glad to be home. With you and Rachel, your parents. I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed being with you and how much I miss Connor.” I had a few tears falling down my cheek.

“I’m just as grateful, Bear. I don’t like sleeping without you here, even for a single night. I’m glad our jobs don’t require travel. Jon,” Eva said, getting all teary eyed, “when they put you on the stretcher and into the ambulance, I thought you were gone. You were so pale, blood was all over the floor of the gym….it was a good thing we were so close to Bryn Mawr Hospital, for you and Tom. They were able to stop the bleeding and stabilize you before they had to….they had to…oh God, I thought you were gone! I was thinking how I was going to have to tell Rachel, not to mention the rest of our family.” She sobbed, deep and pain filled cries of inner suffering. I hated hearing it from my love; I would have hated that sound from anyone at all. But from her, it was heartbreaking. I held her as best I could with one arm, cursing the cast on my left. Eva kept crying in a way she hadn’t done in a very long time. Maybe harder than since my mother died over twenty years before.