Kissing the Frog

I watched as the man tried to get the old jeep out of the mud hole. Nobody local ever tried to go through that hole. It was deep and soft with no hard ground near by. He had cut some poles somewhere and was trying to get a firm enough base so he could jack the wheels high enough to get something under them for traction.

I had never seen anyone get themselves out of that hole without help in the form of a good winch or a pull from someone else. He had shoveled out a place under the front bumper and he dragged some pieces of wood from the back end and he was hooking the wood together some how. I leaned against the cypress sapling and watched. It looked like a three foot square hunk of wood when he was through. He put the base of the mud jack on the wood and jacked the front up off the ground. He laid the poles on either side of the wheels. I watched as he looked at the sky. Clouds were moving in. He checked his watch.

I felt sorry for him. I stepped out and said, "Hello Mister, are you having fun yet?"

His head jerked up and he finally spotted me. "Hi! Yep! I'm having as much fun as you can legally have, I think. If it were more fun I would be breaking some sort of law."

"That is a real bad hole. I don't think you can get out without help. And there is no way to get help before dark."

"Where is the nearest dry spot where I can put my sleeping bag for the night?"

"Have you got a tent?"

"Yes I have all that good stuff but I don't think I could haul it very far in this muck."

"Well it is nearly ½ a mile to a dry spot. You can't make it before dark. I guess I could put you up for the night. Are you ready to go, it is real rough going in the dark.?"

"I have some food in a cooler should I bring it?"

"Only if you think you can haul it for ½ a mile. Otherwise let's go. The bugs will be thick in a few minutes. Follow me." I turned and walked up the narrow trail. The trail was badly overgrown and we were not able to make good time. It was almost dark by the time we hit my back yard. I went in through the back screened porch. My little dogs were barking their heads off at the stranger. He put his stuff down and said he could sleep on the porch if it was OK by me.

I looked him up and down. "No. You couldn't make it out here. See that black dust on the deck, those are dead no-see-ums, they would eat you alive. They go right through regular screens. Come on in the trailer. They will hit here any second."

I shut the sliding glass door behind him. I turned on the light and flipped on the A/C. Cool air hit right away. I stood under a vent and pulled the neck of my T-shirt out

and the bib of my overalls. My back was to him. The cool air felt good. I turned and looked at him. He stood watching me. I took my old slouch hat off and shook out my hair. I saw his eyes widen.

"You are a girl!" he said.

I grinned at him, "Not hardly, an old lady maybe, but not a girl. Too many miles on these old bones to be called a girl. You don't look like you were just hatched yourself."

"You are right about that. Been across a few rivers my self."

I smiled at him, "My name is Sue, Sue Murphy. What is your name and what in the world are you doing out in the swamps?"

He grinned at me, "My name is Bob, Bob Stewart. I am out here researching for a book I am trying to write. It is about the Seminole Indian Wars. I am looking for the site of an old fort. It was known as Fort Wacahoota. It is supposed to be around here somewhere. There would be nothing left of course. But I want to find it to get a feeling for the terrain and the general feel of the area."

I grinned at him, "you landed in the right place. This is it. You are standing on the site of Fort Wacahoota. The dirt road out front is the old military road between Wacahoota and Micanopy."

"You are kidding me, this is it?"

"Come over here, Bob, look in this case. These are all relics I have dug out of my garden and other spots in my yard. See, bullets, pieces of glass , some little bottles, buckles. Just junk they threw away."

He looked up with wonder in his eyes. "This is wonderful, I mean really unbelievable. Wow!"

I loved his boyish enthusiasm. He was cute, if you can say that about a guy who is about six three or four and about two hundred and forty pounds of what appeared to be pretty solid muscle and bone. Looked like the nose had been broken once or twice and there were small scars around the eyes. Boxer at one time perhaps.

He straightened up and smiled at me. I asked, "Would you like a cold Bud Light? That's all I can offer you right now. I do my monthly shopping tomorrow."

"I would love one, I usually have one Non Alcoholic beer in the evening, but a Bud Light won't hurt a bit." His grin was infectious. I felt a tingle I hadn't felt in years. I went and got two Buds out of the refrigerator. I motioned for him to sit in the easy chair after I threw an old towel over it. I sat across the coffee table from him.

I said, "can you excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back." I went to my bedroom and took off my overalls and T-shirt and took a quick shower and pulled on some shorts and a halter top. I walked back in the living room and he sort of stared at me.

"Wow! You sure don't look like a guy now."

"Thank you. I can't run around out here in something like this with out being scratched or bitten up. Don't you want to take a shower. Do you have anything to put on if you take off those muddy jeans and shirt?"

"Yeah, I brought shorts and a shirt and my laptop and that's about it."

"Wait, I have a big robe you can use. Let me get it then you can go on the front porch and strip and leave the muddy stuff out there. We'll wash them in the morning."

I got the robe and he went out and was back quickly He smiled and said, "Nothing bit me."

I laughed, "That porch has fine screen. They can't get in."

He laughed and asked where the shower was. I showed him.

I put a frozen Lasagna in the microwave and tossed together a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, scallions and olives.

I heard a noise behind me and turned and he was standing watching me. He looked much better clean than he did covered with mud.

"I hope you don't think I am being nosy, but do you live way out here by your self?"

"No, not usually, my daughter goes to the university in Gainesville but she is not here yet. I can take care of myself."

"I love it out in these little known historical places, the area probably hasn't changed that much since the 1830s." How did you end up out here?"

"Well, to make a long story short, I inherited a couple hundred acres here and wanted a place to get away from everything. I was in the computer boom in Silicone Valley and made big bucks for a while. Helped start several large companies. Got tired of being passed over by guys or little beautiful girls when I was much, much better qualified. I held lots of shares of stocks and I sold out just before the bottom fell out. I was tired of being called healthy, big boned or just plain big. The little thin cuties always got the guys anyway. I have always been a big horse of a gal."

"Some body must have liked you if you have a daughter."

I laughed, "Yeah, he left me for a little centerfold type. But he did give me the great treasure in my life, my daughter."

"I think you can be very lovely when you want to. You aren't fat or plump, you are perfectly proportioned and look like you are in very good condition. You look very strong."

"Why, thank you, I do work out a little twice a week. Keeps me occupied.. My daughters old boy friend left some weights here when he went in the service. He never came back for them so I started using them. I love to walk too."

He looked me strangely, "Don't you get lonesome? Don't you miss having people to talk to. To interact with."

"Well, sometimes I do have a spell of wanting to be near or close to someone, but I think of what I usually give up to do that and I just talk to my dogs. I take a vacation from here once or twice a year and go somewhere and pamper myself. The neighbors stop by once in a while. What about Bob Stewart, where do you live and work? Do you have a family?"

"Well, I an a widower, three boys, up and gone, I live in my motor home right now and pull my old Jeep behind it. I am retired so I keep my self busy writing a book about the Seminole Indian Wars. It is a forgotten war. It is similar in many ways to wars we are fighting now. In the tropics, swamp, against guerrillas and terrorists. We forgot what we should have learned here. Hey! Don't get me started on that. I get all wound up. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I love to hear about that stuff. I really do." There was a dinging noise. I jumped up and said, "That is dinner, I hope you eat Italian. Like I told you, I am running out of choices this close to shopping day." I decided we would eat in the kitchen, so I set places at the kitchen table. I served up two plates and put the salad in salad bowls. I started the toaster oven. I had everything on the table when it buzzed. I put bread sticks wrapped in a cloth napkin in a little basket and put it on the table. He was still standing watching me. I told him to sit down. He walked over and pulled my chair out for me. That gesture meant more to me than I can say.

We talked over dinner and were half way through when I remembered a bottle of Chianti I had put in the refrigerator. I got a couple of wine glasses and let him open it and pour. It was very good with our quickie meal. I apologized for the meal, "Next time let me know you are coming and I'll fix you a real dinner."

"Gosh, this is great, I live on TV dinners. I never do anything this fancy for myself."

We finished dinner and we talked while he helped me clean up. We sat back down and finished the wine as we talked. We moved into the couch in the living room. He looked around at the place like he just saw it.

"This is a really lovely place you have here in the middle of nowhere. I don't recall ever being in a place I felt more at home."

"Thank you kind Sir. I am glad you like it."

"I'll be honest, it beats the hell out of my tent, the food is way better, and the company is super and very nice to look at."

I know I blushed, damn he was a sweet talkin' man. I smiled and said, "It IS nice to have someone to talk to for a change." He asked what I knew about Fort Wacahoota.

"I know very little. It wasn't that big, maybe a hundred men at most. Pole fort. It covered most of this high ground right here. An acre or two at most was used by the army. The fort was a small part of it. This area had several forts, there was one in Micanopy. The road between here and Micanopy was the scene of lots of fighting."

"I know, it was known as the bloodiest road in Florida."

"I'm sorry, I guess you know all of this."

"Sweetheart, I need to know whatever you can tell me. There may be a little clue in there that will really open things up for me. Let me get my laptop and I'll show you what I have figured out about this part of the country."

He got his computer and we sat with our hips touching as we looked at it. He had map pages and we located about where my house is. Then he brought up an aerial photo of the area and we could see my place on it. It was only a very short distance from where he had a circle labled 'Fort Wacahoota'. He said he should have known, looking at the topography of the area that the fort would be on high ground. That meant on the road. I told him that I thought the road was not moved since the 1830s. He agreed. I showed him where his Jeep was in the hole. He turned and looked at me. Our faces were only inches apart. He softly said. "I am so glad I found that hole."

I felt goose bumps run up my spine. I sort of stammered, "Me too."

His lips gently brushed mine. Wow! That felt so good. I didn't know what to do or say. I wanted him to kiss me again. I said I thought we could get his Jeep out in the morning. I told him I was sure my tractor would pull him out. He said that he was really in no hurry to get it out. His lips were only an inch from mine. He was looking in my eyes. I stood up and asked him if he wanted coffee. I had to do something or I knew I would be in bed with him in a few more minutes. I fixed two cups of instant and put dry creamer and sweetner in mine. He took his black. We sipped our coffee and talked more.

I asked where his motorhome was parked. He said it was in Micanopy. It was only parked at a camp ground, wasn't hooked up. He had only expected to be gone a few hours. I asked if he had been to Orange Springs or St. Augustine yet. I told him we had traced my family back to both places, and then on back to Virginia and then to Ireland.

He smiled, "Where else would you expect to be from with a name like Murphy?"

"Well it branches in about 1835 in St. Augustine and goes to a German Countess."

"I wonder how a German Countess wound up in Florida with a Murphy."

"Beats me," I said. "I have been told that area is full of Murphys, I have always wanted to see what I could find out there."

"I fooled with genealogy some a few years ago, I still have the program in the computer if you want to see what we can find sometime. I have a pile of CDs with family trees on them in the motor home."

His lips were close to mine again. Damn I wanted to kiss him. But I also wanted more than quick toss in the hay. I decided that honesty is always the best policy. I looked at him. "I want very much to kiss you Bob, but I want you to understand that there will be just the one kiss tonight. I already like you too much. I just don't want to get hurt again."

"I would never do that."

"What, kiss me?"

He laughed, "No, sweet girl, I want very, very much to kiss you, I would never, ever to anything to hurt you. You do not give yourself enough credit, you are a beautiful woman, you are large, yes, but I would put you up against any woman your age I have ever seen who was all natural, with no surgical augmentations or reductions. I really mean that. I think you are the sexiest woman of any age that I have ever been near. You have had me aroused all night long."

I grinned, "Thank you, Bob, flattery will get you every where, but not tonight. Is that why you wanted your lap top computer?"

"Do you want to see?"

"No.. . . That's not true . . I do want to see. . . I mean not right now." I giggled, "you have me all mixed up. I think we better say Goodnight, and go to bed. My puppies will tear you up if you open my door. I trust you but they don't."

"Sue, don't worry about that, I do think you said I could have one more kiss though."

"Yes I did, and you will get it in a second. This is the guestroom. The bathroom is the one you used before." I reached out and pulled him to me. He was huge and hard as I pressed against him. I could feel it throbbing as we kissed. I opened my lips a little bit and his tongue darted right in. I loved the way he kissed. It took all my will power to pull away from him. I looked at him. I kissed the palm of my hand and placed it on his cheek. I stepped through my door and pulled it shut.

In the morning he still looked as good as he did the night before. I fixed us breakfast and we walked out to the shed and got my tractor. I told him he could ride on the fender out to the mud hole. I had put a long chain and a tow strap in the bucket. We got as close as I thought safe and I turned around and backed a little closer. He slogged out to the Jeep and put his jack and boards in the back. He hooked the chain to his tow hook and got in and started the Jeep motor. I put the tractor in low, 4 wheel drive and let the clutch slowly out. I felt us slowly ease ahead then stop. I looked back, he gave me a thumbs up. I eased ahead again and the Jeep started to move. I fed it a bit more throttle and the Jeep rose up out of the hole and was on solid ground. He unhooked everything and looked up at me. He mouthed 'I love you.' and grinned. I shut the tractor off. When he could hear I said, "Follow me home and I will hose you and the Jeep off so you can get back to civilization." They both washed up pretty well. He gave me a big kiss. I opened the front gate and let him out. He drove out and stopped and read the Historical Site Marker in my front yard. He shut the Jeep off and trotted back to me. He looked at me for a moment, "I was right, you are a real 'Hottie'." When will you be home from shopping?"

"About four, Why?'

"I owe you a dinner. That's why, you might as well know, I am going to be very, very hard to get rid of. I really have an overpowering need to get to know you better. We will see what happens, OK?"

My heart was pounding. I lifted on my toes and kissed his cheek. "We will see. I found you in a mud hole and kissed you. Are you a prince?"

"I don't think so, but if that is what you want I'll do my best."

I went in the house, changed and took extra care with my makeup and hair and slipped on a flippy little sundress and high heeled sandals. I dabbed a little perfume behind my ears and between my breasts. I usually wore jeans to go shopping. I guess I had my fingers crossed all day. As I neared home something was strange. I couldn't see the house. As I got nearer my heart leapt as I saw the huge motor home parked along side the shed. He had rolled the awning out and was sitting in a lawn chair reading a book. I honked and pulled in the drive. He came and opened my door. His mouth dropped as I stepped down. "Oh! Wow! Look at you. I love it. I knew it, I knew it. You are a knock out. Damn girl, this old heart just raced way beyond it's red line. You need to put a bell on or something."

I had to laugh at him, he was so adorable. He wouldn't let me carry a thing in the house. The poor guy lugged a months worth of groceries in to the kitchen. I ran and put on sneakers and shorts with a Bikini top. He almost dropped the cases of Bud he was carrying. I admit I did that on purpose, the little top didn't hide much. I grinned, "Do you like it?" He just nodded, and nodded, and nodded.

"Sit down and rest a little bit, How about a beer. He said, "I'll run out and get one of my Bush NA beers."

"No, I bought some to try today. I liked the idea. Here, they are still very cold. I like your motor home, it looks as big as a Greyhound Bus, or even bigger."

He grinned, "Come and see it, I am anxious for you to see how you like it." He was like a little kid wanting to show off a new toy. So very sweet. I felt my panties getting damp. I was going to have to watch myself.

The motor home was magnificent. Just beautiful inside. A large section slid out to one side to make a larger living area. The bed room had a slide out too. The thing was very spacious and tastefully done. He smiled from ear to ear, "Like it?"

"I love it."

"Good, I brought the dinner I owe you, I will entertain you tonight." He stepped to me and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me and ran his big hands down my back and sides. I was ready to drag him to his bed when he pulled back. He grinned and kissed my nose. He pulled me to a soft couch and sat beside me, he picked up a computer key board and clicked a few keys. A large TV screen lit up. It showed a computer program about a family tree It started with me. Then it went to my father and mother and had much more information about them than I had given him. It went on back for generation after generation. It came to the Murphy who had married the German Countess, They had been married very young on a plantation in Florida near St. Augustine. Wow! It went on back for many generations.

He grinned so hard I thought he would wiggle like a puppy he was so pleased with what he had found for me. I couldn't believe this guy. Who had let him get away. Some woman should have snapped him up in a heart beat. I wanted him. I wanted him real bad. I leaned back in luxury and said, "I could learn to like this. Is this how all historians go on field trips?"