Mid-Life in Crisis: Amy's Story

"What a bunch of morons. She's like the nicest person I've ever met." He looked at me to see if I was joking.

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't change the facts. Then, I almost blew it, playing grab ass with Karney, when she pulled up. She's sweet, innocent, and in shock. Take it easy until she can relax and get to know us better." I asked him seriously.

"Then, what the hell does she see in you? You're a bossy, grumpy, pain in the ass that's busting our balls all the time." He hugged me.

"I don't know, but I'm not looking a miracle in the mouth. She loves me and that makes me the luckiest person on the face of the planet." I told him honestly.

"So, what are you going to do?" He asked as we watch her play with the boys in the water.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me and live happily ever after. On our wedding night, I'm going to make love for the first time for both of us, and make our lives complete. Other than that, I don't have any plans."

"Damn Amy... really?" He looked at me with abject shock and surprise.

"So, who's the flavor of the month for Bryan?" I changed the subject.

"How the hell should I know? I don't even try and remember their names anymore. I think this one is a Debbie, or Peggy, or something like that." He shrugged at the girl who was hanging on his brother's arm.

All in all, the party was a success. Elspeth was able to relax and enjoy herself and everyone went bonkers over Linda's engagement ring. I don't know how she did it, but Elspeth even kept crash and crunch under control, which is a minor miracle in itself.

Things quieted down a great deal, after dad came and picked up the wrecking crew. He looked a little older and pudgier, but still like the same asshole, who cheated on my mom. Not that I'm not happy how it all worked out. I just can't stand cheaters.

"Are you sure it's alright for me to sleep with you?" She asked me for like the tenth time after our showers while getting ready for bed.

"Yes sweetie, it's perfectly fine, both of my moms' even said so. The same rules apply as in the dorm. I won't do anything you don't want me to. There will be time enough for that later. I'm sorry but there isn't another bed you have to sneak into. This is all I have and the rest of the rooms are full." I smiled at her hesitation. "Come on my love... come to bed and sleep with me again." I held the cover up, welcoming her in. For the second time that day, I rocked her to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the most sensational feeling. My hands had found their way under her top and my palms were full of her nipples as she rested her head on my arm. She had her perfect butt snuggled tightly into my tummy and she was snoring peacefully in her cute little snore. I hated to get up, but my bladder said it was time to go pee.

I was only gone for a minute, but she was restless by the time I got back. I noticed she had turned over and was looking for me. Not wanting to climb over her, I just scooted in and waited for her to find me. As soon as she did, she sighed and fell back into a deep sleep.

Part of me wanted nothing more than to turn her over and make love to her until she couldn't move. The other part of me said it would be worth the wait. Either way, I was bound and determined to make that wait as short as possible. It's funny. Before I met her, I wasn't in a rush. Now that I knew she loved me, I couldn't wait until she was totally mine and I was totally hers.

I woke up to her smiling face and the smell of bacon. I knew Karney and mom were already awake and had done their morning run. "Good morning gorgeous." I stretched not realizing sometime during the night, my top had gone missing.

"You are so beautiful." She whispered in awe and touched me in between my breasts. "You need to put something on." She smiled.

"Yeah, and then we can go down and get breakfast." I got up and started looking for my top.

"Looking for this?" She held up my top so she could put it on me. "I've already gone into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and stuff." She said shyly, as she pulled the top over my exposed chest.

"Thanks, I'll be out in a minute." I did my thing and I knew she would be waiting for me. I held her hand as we walked into the kitchen.

"Hurry up before the boys come down and hog it all." Mom said as she bustled around her kitchen. "Good morning sweetie. Did you sleep okay?" She gave us both a quick kiss and went to stir the cubed potatoes.

"I slept fine. She kept hunting for me in the bed." I smiled at my mom as Elspeth blushed.

"Don't tease her. I don't blame her for having a restless night. Trying to sleep in a strange house with strange noises and goings on." She looked at me with meaning.

"Did he use protection this time? If he did it will be a step up." I shrugged, knowing the Bryan would be totally unrepentant for having sex with his girlfriend in mom's house.

"One of these days, he's going to get a big surprise and I'm going to laugh." My mom said as Karney came in fresh from the shower.

"Hi girls...." She went around the table giving everyone kisses. The longest to my mother, as Elspeth stared shocked. "You're going to make me fat if you keep feeding me this way." She heaped her plate full of food.

"I'll just have to figure out a way to make you work it off." My mom swatted her butt hard enough to make her flinch and bite her lip.

"Not in front of the kids' babe." She breathed heavily and sat down. "So, what is on your agenda for today after your brothers' head back home?" She asked us.

"Got to do some shopping for her and talk about school stuff. We have to be there after next week. Linda said she'll let us know when the shower and all that stuff's going to be. I think she's tired of waiting and ready to get a move on this wedding thing." I stuffed my face with my mom's great food and nudged Elspeth to do the same.

"Would you be upset if we sold this house after you started school? It's way too big for just the two of us." My mom asked as we talked about the normal things that went on in our family.

"I'd wait until after the weddings." I let slip but covered it by stuffing a slice of bacon into my mouth.

That afternoon, after we took her rental car back and got what was left of her deposit. Elspeth sat there and looked out of my car's window as I drove her home. I knew she was thinking hard and let her do it. I put my hand on her knee to let her know I was there for her when she was ready.

"You know it is so different here. Your family is so caring and understanding. I find for the first time in my life, I'm jealous of someone else's family." She sighed sadly.

"Well don't be." I pulled off into the closest parking lot. "If I have my way, they will be your family too." I took out the small case. "Here I got this for you the day after I came home." I handed it to her, knowing now was the time.

"What is it?" She asked, her eyes going large.

"Something I found and it made me think of you." I pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Open it, I hope you like it." Her fingers shook as she opened the lid.

"Oh, it's beautiful. I love it." I could see and hear her tears as she looked at the necklace.

"I cheated on your birth stone. I called the school and asked them when your birthday was." I flipped it over to show her the small lettering. "Your half has my name on it and mine has yours." I took the two pieces of the heart that connected together like a puzzle piece and separated the two fine gold necklaces. In their center were our birthstones.

"Really...? Why...?" She was crying, but I hoped they were happy tears.

"Because I love you and want to be with you forever. I figured these will do until you put a ring on my finger. So, will you be mine forever?" I asked hesitantly.

"Really, you love me that much. You don't care that we can't get married in a church and many people will think we are wrong to love each other?" She brushed the tears away so she could look at my face.

"A church is nothing but a building. I'll take you any way I can. Some day they will let us be legally married, but until then, I still only want to be with you and only you. Mom and Karney married each other the day Karney moved out of her condo and into our house. I watched as they traded rings. That's a real marriage to me. I know there will be no others from that day forward until death do they part." I took my heart and held it open for her.

"Yes... I love you and only you. If you'll have me, I'll have you. I never felt whole until I met you." Her tears were flowing freely as I clasped the link around her neck. "As God is my witness, I promise myself to you and only you."

"And I promise myself only to you." I repeated as she clasped her heart around my neck. I took the two pieces and linked them together. "See, only together does it make a whole, just like us." I smiled and kissed her as the necklace bound us together.

It took us awhile to stop crying and kissing. I was so happy, as we headed home with the stuff we bought. I had hoped to surprise my mom and Karney, but they saw the necklaces instantly.

"Oh look, they did it. Isn't that wonderful." Karney said, and hugged Elspeth. "Welcome to the family."

"Let me add my welcome." My mom joined the hug and kissed her cheek. "I hate to do it, but we need to sit down and talk about some of the mundane stuff." She sat Elspeth down and motioned me to sit next to her. "So, do you have a place to live yet and what about school?" She sat across from us with one of our hands in hers.

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I know my mom didn't mean to be a wet blanket, but she sure put a damper on our exuberance. One minute I was ecstatic about my partner, and the next we are debating the pros and cons of our living arrangements. It was quite the mood breaker. On the plus side, I noticed Elspeth constantly stroking or feeling the little gold heart.

Here I was thinking about dates and when we could finally make love for the first time. And mom and Karney were talking about rental agreements and who would work part time to make ends meet. Karney gave Elspeth advice about her money and how she should save as much of it as possible, while they talked to me about the increase of cost of living. I know they meant well and I did listen, but damn.

It was decided that she would get her Business administration and office management degree, while I went for my RN. We figured that during one year, I would work part time to supplement our income, and the next Elspeth would take the responsibility. We knew that the last couple of years, I would have to do a lot of rotations to prepare for my exams. Elspeth knew she could take an accelerated course study for the first year, and depending on her GPA, she might be able to get her degree in three years instead of four to five.

Yeah, those subjects got my blood pumping. Hell, I wanted nothing more that to get married and have a lot of great sex and lovemaking with my sweet Elspeth. Not sit there and worry about studying and who could work. But, life isn't lived in the bed alone.

Okay, enough of this shit. I'm sure you're not really interested in how my girlfriend and I were going to do school. You want to know the juicy stuff.

Well HAH! I'll get to it in due time. First we had to pack out meager belongings and move into our small student shared apartment. Okay, okay... I'll back up and tell you how Karney took Elspeth out to look for our rings first.

After laying there in bed with our minds racing about all the changes in our lives, Elspeth asked me in a frightened voice.

"So, how long do you want to wait to exchange our vows?"

"Sweetheart, I'll leave that up to you. I know life is moving so fast right now. I'll be ready whenever you are." I promised her as she held me settled on the world's greatest pillows.

"You know, there will come a day when I'm not going to let you get away with having me make all the big decisions." She warned ominously.

"That will be the day you put your mark on this little finger right here." I held up my left hand and wiggled my third finger. "It's a size seven by the way."

"Oh is it? Had it sized already have you?" I could hear the tease in her voice.

"When I found the necklace, they asked. I think they were hoping for a bigger sale." I shrugged, making my pillows jiggle. I felt something get hard next to my right ear.

"Quit wiggling." She said as she was pulling my hair through her fingers, giving me goose bumps. I just sighed and fell asleep, dreaming about being able to do this for the rest of my life.

By that Friday, I was going crazy. Do you know how hard it is to change a lease? I was on the phone or bugging Elspeth with trying to get all her details. Between phone calls, I was trying to get all our stuff packed and arrange for the moving truck. Karney found us a nice queen sized bed and dresser set at the thrift store.

"Elspeth... Elspeth, where is the swim suit I got you?" I called out while emptying our dresser. "Babe... where are you?" I called out the door.

"I think Karney took her someplace." My mom called up the stairs.

"Great... Mom, do you know if she... I needed to know where all her stuff was so I could pack it."

"Amy, quit your shouting. I'm trying to write down here." My mom shouted back.

"Great...." I shut the door and sighed. "I'm never going to get all this done if everyone abandons me." I bitched to the empty room. Little did I know how I was being set up. Because, here was what was happening downstairs. Mom was holding back her laughter and shushing my idiot brothers.

"Be quiet or you'll give it away." She told the two behind her.

"So, she has no idea?" Ryan asked while Linda put her finger to his lips to keep him quiet.

"Not a clue." She smiled at the rest of the people in the room. "Karney is taking her to the place that made ours, to see if they have anything Elspeth likes. She just texted me and said they are on the way home."

"You know this isn't fair... I have to get blood tests and file paperwork and everything else." Ryan complained but stopped when he saw the look on Linda's face.

"We could have already been married if someone got off his butt and asked sooner." She smiled at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Besides, it's not like they are going to get each other pregnant doofus."Bryan added his two cents in. "That's what the blood tests are for. What a dork-fish." He smacked the back of his brother's head and rolled his eyes in long suffering frustration.

"Don't you think they are moving too fast?" Linda asked Stella, ignoring the boys.

"Karney thinks this will be better for her. She'll feel guilty if they start having sex without some sign of their commitment. I think Amy is the same way. At least some of my kids know self control." She looked at Bryan who just shrugged. "Okay... everyone scatter. Karney said they're pulling in." She waved them all out and closed the door. They all separated so they wouldn't be seen.

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"Amy... can you come down and help me with something please." Elspeth called up the stairs. She was shaking but couldn't help it. The only thing she wished for that might make this day better is if her mother could be there.

"Yeah, what's up babe?" I came stomping down the stairs totally oblivious to what was happening. "Did you pack the swim suit we got you? The complex has a swimming pool and I...." I started to ask, but stopped when I saw her in front of the fireplace. "What's wrong?" I quickly stepped it over to her.

"Nothing...." She smiled. "I just need your help with something really, really important." She wiped her tears and reached for me.

I had no clue that behind me my family was gathering and quietly looking on. "I'll help with anything you need. Just tell me what wrong, why are you crying?" I was focused on Elspeth and nothing else.

She grabbed my hands and held them. Still I didn't put it all together until she reached into her pants pocket and started to pull something out. She held my left hand in hers.

"You said we couldn't be complete until I did something to this finger." She hands were shaking as she isolated my left ring finger. "I hope you like it." She slid the finely crafted Celtic knot onto my finger.

"Oh my God...!" I breathed.

"With this ring, I thee wed, and with all...." She started to say and I lost it. I looked around to see that I was surrounded by my family. They were all smiling and crying with me. "Will you be my wedded wife?" She finished, bringing me back to myself.

"Oh God; YES...!" I tried to kiss her, but she stopped me.

"You have to put mine on first. No shortcuts." She smiled at me beautifully. She handed me a matching ring as the one that now wrapped my finger and heart. I couldn't keep my hands still as I tried to find her finger.

"Help me." I pleaded. She was now in control as she held out her finger for me. "I love you and only you. I want you and I'll never... please sweetheart, will you be mine forever? I'll always love you no matter what. I promise." I babbled something else. But she looked up at me and said.

"Yes, I'll be your wife as long as we both shall live." She cupped my face in her hands and pulled me down. "Now you can kiss me." She was smiling as our lips met and sealed our lives together.

"Honey, you got a lot to live up to. Our wedding better be as perfect as this one, or else." Linda said, as we broke apart and blushed as our family cheered and crushed us in a huge group hug.

Now, I can tell you about the love making. Well, we did have to wait until after Karney brought out the good wine, and mom put out the food she'd prepared. It did take some time to get my brothers to stop welcoming Elspeth to the family, before I could pull her up to our room and make love to the greatest thing since peanut butter.

Okay, fine! We didn't do more than some cuddling. Only this time we were naked so we could explore. I knew that Elspeth wouldn't be able to relax enough while she thought there might be other people around, to truly enjoy our first time. It was enough that I was finally able to suck on her nipples and snuggle as her hands roamed my body.

The fatigue of a long emotional day took its toll and we fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms. Yes it was nice not to have to fight with our clothes as we slept and snuggled. Her untrimmed bush did tickle my butt as she spooned me and I couldn't keep my hands off her tits as I spooned her. We knew we had forever to let things progress to the next level. Besides, the next morning, we had to start the long drive to school.

The next morning after we woke up and stopped kissing each other, we had to make sure all the last minute things had gotten packed and eat breakfast before we hit the road.

"You girls be careful." My mom said as she kissed us goodbye.

"If you need anything, just call." Karney added as she made sure Elspeth was buckled in. "Remember to switch off every couple of hours so you don't have a wreck. We love you."

"Love you too mom." Elspeth said, making both of them cry.

"We'll call if we stop." I said as I started the big truck. Waving, we pulled out of the driveway and of into the sunrise we went.

Elspeth and I talked and listened to the music as the miles passed under the wheels of the truck. When we got hungry, we would stop and find something to eat. When it got late, Elspeth pulled over at a hotel and signed us in. Again we slept naked, relishing at the skin to skin contact.

"Are you okay with us not being able to make love yet?" I asked my lover the next morning as we sat down in the diner go get breakfast.

"What do you mean? I make love to you every time we touch." She looked at me strangely. "Oh, you mean the sex thing."