The Ghost of Red River Falls

And, of course, couples who slept in the nude were always ready for sexual intimacy at a moment's notice. It is wonderful waking up a bit in the early morning hours and running my hands over Wendy's soft, delicious body. She wakes up slightly and responds with little moans and coos and she savors the sensation of my hands on her body. Inevitably, her nipples become erect and the sweet nectar of her delectable fiery pussy begins to flow. She'll turn to me for a kiss and reach down to stroke my turgid penis. After ten or fifteen minutes of increasingly passionate kissing and stroking of genitals, she slips her leg over mine and maneuvers herself onto my cock.

We absolutely savor lovemaking at this hour as it is somewhat sleepy and almost feels like an erotic dream! But it is a dream where only she and I play a part, no one else. Soon, our passion level rises and neither of us can hold back. We almost always come together and then bask in the soft afterglow, holding each other firm in our embrace. We drift off to sleep again, with our bodies and blood stream full of endorphins, and wake up each morning fully sated and refreshed.

We maintained separate households for about a month. After a few counseling sessions and beginning to grow closer and learning to forgive one another, Wendy was soon spending the night with me in my apartment. By the second month, she had put the house on the market and moved completely in with me. We decided to stay at the apartment for a while and take our time before rushing into finding a permanent home of our own. Needless to say, Ed Parmelly was pissed about selling the house. But Wendy hasn't spoken to him since the day at the attorney's office, not that Ed hasn't tried.

By Christmas time, the house had sold. We were getting closer and closer every day and we were feeling and acting like the newlyweds we really were.

Wendy gave most of her furniture to Nate Parmelly and Wyatt Helms as they decided to take the big step of moving in together. Interestingly, they chose to get a nice two-bedroom apartment in the same complex as us. We hosted a nice housewarming party for them. Greg, Bobby, Melinda, their spouses and all the grandkids attended. Joann attended; Ed did not.

But lately, there has been progress there, too. Ed and Joanne have, at the strong urging of just about everyone, gotten into a grief therapy program of their own. Ed seems to be coming to grips, finally, with losing Kevin. It is having an effect and he is starting to reconnect with Greg, Bobby and Melinda and is becoming much more involved with the grandchildren. Ed still hasn't fully accepted the fact that Nate is gay and still considers Wyatt to be Nate's "friend" but not his romantic partner. But the ice is thawing and there is always hope. Regardless of what you may think, I really wish no ill or evil upon Ed Parmelly. I, too, know what it is like to lose someone. And I just can't hate him for that.

At our six-month anniversary of our wedding, I picked up some flowers and drove Wendy early out to Rosewood cemetery where Kevin was buried. We laid the flowers on his grave and stood there. We had gone there many times before but that day I noticed Wendy didn't cry or act so somber as she usually did. She simply looked at his beautiful polished granite headstone with a smile and a look of fond remembrance. She laid a small envelope with a note in it at the base of the marker. After a few moments, Wendy took my hand and was going to lead me back to my truck.

"Go on ahead," I said. "I'll catch up in a bit."

Wendy gave me a puzzled look. "Are you sure? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "Everything is fine. I promise. I just want a few minutes with Kevin by myself, if that's okay."

"Yeah. Absolutely," she said as she gave me a kiss on the lips. It was the first time she had ever kissed me while visiting the cemetery. She smiled at Kevin's headstone one more time and then turned to walk back to the truck.

"She's absolutely amazing, Kevin," I said to his headstone. "I want you to know that I promise to love her, cherish her, and protect her for the rest of my life. There is absolutely nothing I won't do to make her happy. I promise you that I will never raise a hand against her nor raise my voice in anger to her. I want you to know that your name will always be spoken of with respect and hallowed honor in our household and that I will never do anything to try and attain a place of more importance in her heart, only equal. And I promise you that I will love her for the rest of my life. God as my judge, I swear this oath to you, Kevin."

I stood there for a few moments more and then quietly turned and walked towards my truck. It was parked at the bottom of the hill from Kevin's grave. Standing outside the truck was my beautiful wife, her shocking red hair glowing brilliantly in the early morning sun. She absolutely radiated in a way I had never seen until that moment. I walked up to her, took her in my arms and we shared a brief but tender kiss.

"Let's go home," she said.

Home is the name for Heaven for those of us still on this earth; a place of love, warmth and a stage where life memories are made.

It was still early in the morning as we drove away, the sun still hovering above the eastern horizon. The sky was cloudless and blue and there was no wind. The city was just waking up and the incredible and peaceful calm reminded me how far we had come from the stormy, tempestuous days of our early marriage.

"I could see you were talking to him," Wendy said. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him that I would love you and cherish you for the rest of your life. And that his name and memory will always have a place of honor in our hearts and home."

Wendy sat there smiling and squeezed my hand tightly.

"Wanna know what was in the note that I left for him?"

"Only if you wanna tell me," I replied, somewhat uneasy.

"I told him that I was grateful for every minute we spent together and will always cherish his memory."

I looked at her, smiled and squeezed her hand back.

"And I also told him that I didn't think you would mind if Kevin was the first one I told that I'm going to be a mother."

I nearly slammed on the brakes of the big Ford in shock and then immediately chastised myself for doing so.

"Easy, Jack!" she giggled. "I'm in a delicate condition over here!"

"Oh, my God! You mean, you're..."

"Congratulations, Jack! You're going to be a father!" And she quickly unbuckled and crawled over for another one of her steel-melting kisses. "And before you even think it, no, there was no visit to the McMillan Women's Clinic," she giggled.

We embraced for a few moments before we realized that I had stopped dead on the road and a car was honking behind us. We both laughed and then waved an apology to the driver as he drove around us. Fortunately, it was someone I knew and he didn't get too pissed.

"I just can't believe it! I mean, we weren't even trying! And you're on the pill!"

"I know, I know! I guess that just means it was meant to happen!"

"I mean, how far along are you?"

"Not far. Only a few weeks. I should have had my period by now and I took an HPT after I got up this morning. There was a plus sign!!"

"And those things are supposed to be pretty accurate, right?"

"The box says over 98 percent!"

"Wow! I'm absolutely floating on air! And panicking! We gotta figure out what we're gonna do about a house, and a nursery, and baby clothes, and diapers. And what do we do if it is a boy or a girl?"

Wendy laughed. "I'm reasonably sure it is going to be one or the other, Jack!"

I laughed at myself. I was blubbering. My heart was racing a hundred miles an hour but was swelling with love as well. "Well, what do we do first?"

"Well," she said, "we've got some time before we have to worry about the big stuff. But for now, maybe we could start thinking about names."

I thought for a minute. "If it is a boy," I hesitated, wondering if it was right, "I think Kevin Fitzgerald has a really nice ring to it."

Wendy's eyes widened and her face lit up. "Really?!! That's so amazing! Because I was thinking that Connie Fitzgerald sounded perfect for a little girl!"

"Oh, my God! We share a brain!" We embraced for a passionate kiss.

"Come on," Wendy said. "Drive me home so we can have some hot pregger sex!"

"Oh, my! Is pregnancy gonna bring out your inner freak? 'Cuz that would be awesome!"

"I dunno about that, Jack. But you can at least take me home and fuck me a few times before the morning sickness kicks in!"

I laughed out loud. "Well, since you put it that way, I consider it an honor and a duty!"

"Just adding to your husbandly duties," she giggled.

"Well, you know what they say - If momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!"

"That's a fact, Jack!"

And so we drove home - to make lots of love and memories!