Blue Ridge Romance Ch. 03: Forever

"Ray, sweetie, you know I adore you. But I come to tell you we got to stop now. This was supposed to be a one-time thing, but I been weak. I take all the blame; after so many years of being just a cleaning woman and a caregiver, you went and made me feel young and desirable again. But I got to put my needs aside now. I married Kurt and swore to stick with him in sickness and in health. He was plenty healthy until the accident paralyzed him. For the last 9 years, I've stayed with him and cared for him, because I married him and I 'm grateful for the life he gave me before he got hurt. You're a wonderful man, but you're not the one I married. I know it sounds funny, seein' that I'm naked in your bed, but it's the way it is. Do you understand?"

I sighed and took a deep breath. The smell of our juices was still in the air; I could feel my cock stirring, getting ready for another round but I nodded my head in agreement. "I understand, Faith. You've been good to me since I got into town, taking care of me and watching over me. I want you to understand that in my eyes, you're as near to perfect as a woman can get. You're beautiful and sexy, you're strong, honest and you're loyal. Kurt may be paralyzed, but to me he's still a very lucky man because he has you."

Faith looked away for a minute, as if to compose herself, then looked back at me. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "Thank you, Ray. I'm far from perfect, but thank you." At that moment, it took all my internal strength not to kiss her again. Sensing this, she got out of bed and put on a sweatshirt I'd left laying on the floor, then turned back to me. "Ray, let me ask you something."

She put on the panties she'd left laying on the chair, ending my last opportunity to see her lovely pussy. "Sure, anything."

"Forgive me, I know this is a kind of sensitive subject for you; Suppose Darlene had been hit by a car in an accident and somehow disfigured before Bobby come back. Would you still have loved her, and helped her recover?"

My answer was instant: "Of course I would have. I loved Darlene, I wanted her to marry me. She was my world, Faith!"

"Well, for Darlene, Bobby was that car accident. He hurt her and disfigured her. Now she tryin' to get back to normal. She needs you to help her."

Faith was right. This WAS a sensitive subject. It hurt like hell, in fact. "I see your point, Faith, but there's one difference. When someone gets hit by a car, the people who get run over typically don't have sex with the driver or humiliate the bystanders."

"Ray, you know that wasn't her. That was all that bastard Bobby's manipulations." She walked over to me, cupped my face in her hands, and kissed me softly. I resisted the temptation to pull her back into bed but given the nature of our conversation, it wasn't much of a struggle. "I know you hurt, darlin', but she needs you. Will you think about it? For me?"

I sighed. "I can't ever say 'no' to you, Faith." She kissed me on the forehead and walked out of my bedroom for the last time.

++++++++++

The old clock on the mantel struck noon Saturday. I was just finishing a glass of whiskey when I heard footsteps on my front porch. Jessie had arrived right on time. I opened the door and she stepped inside. Per my instructions, she had a small nose ring in her septum and her lipstick and fingernails were black. She was wearing dirty jeans with holes in the knees, and a sweatshirt stained with a variety of different things. She was barefoot, so her feet were nice and filthy. Perfect.

I pulled out a wooden chair in the kitchen and motioned for her to sit. Her beautiful red hair was neatly combed and tied back into a ponytail. I undid her ponytail and picked up the barber shears, turning them on with a flick of my thumb. She gasped and clenched her eyes shut as I took a handful of her hair in one hand. "Please, Mr. Durling, don't do this," she whispered. I held the shears close to her ear to heighten her fear.

"Would you like me to shave your eyebrows first?" I gripped her hair tighter. She was shivering now.

"Please no, sir, I don't want to be shaved at all."

"You can thank your brother," I said. "My only regret is that he's not alive; I would have loved for him to see the finished product when I'm done with you." I moved the shears closer to her forehead and pulled hard on the hair in my hand. Jessie began to cry. Not sniffling, but full-on tears of fear.

"My daughter is only 4 years old - I don't want my her to see me like this," she sobbed. "I'm not a cheap whore, I don't want her to remember me looking like one. Please sir, I'm begging you. Bobby done bad things, real bad, but not me!" She began sobbing harder, wailing in fear.

At that moment, time stood still for me. With the shears poised a half an inch from wreaking havoc on her, I suddenly had a change of heart. It was almost an out-of-body experience, like I was floating above and looking down at the whole scene. It was at that instant that I realized that I didn't want to be this angry whiskey-soaked man, holding shears with a heart full of hate.

Bobby had wrecked Darlene's life, and mine along with it. He'd turned her into a junkie and turned her against me as well, but what was worse, he'd changed me into a cruel and heartless son of a bitch bent on vengeance. That was not the man my grandfather was, it was not the man I was when I arrived in Hanson, and it was not the man who I wanted to be. Instead, I had become like Bobby. And I realized who I wanted to be was the man who fell head over heels in love with Darlene, the man who was willing to do just about anything for her.

Stunned, I dropped the shears and let go of Jessie's hair. "Get out," I whispered, pointing towards the door. She stood, shaking a little and unsure of what to do.

"You're not going to shave my head?"

"No. Get out!"

"I done what you asked. Will you still help Larry and my daddy?" Wow, I had to respect Jessie. Scared as she was, she had the wherewithal to take care of her family.

I sighed and thought for a second. I drew a calming breath, let it out slowly, then answered in a normal voice. "On Monday I'll have a word with union management and get Larry assigned to a different shift." Then my eyes narrowed, and I felt some anger seep back in. "As to your daddy, well, the trailer I evicted him from is still empty. I'll tell the property manager to let him rent it again, but that's it. He raised Bobby, so the way I see it he's an accomplice to everything his son did. You tell that bastard if he sees me coming down the street, he'd best stay the hell out of my sight."

She tentatively took a step towards the door, but before she could leave I grabbed her upper arm. She looked at me, eyes looking wide in fear I might hurt her or even worse that I'd changed my mind. "One more thing. I'll put in a word for you with Mrs. Swenson's sister Hope at the drug store. The cashier there just quit. Maybe she'll hire you." Jessie's expression turned from fear into hope. Then I asked, "How much is tuition at the Community College?"

"It's...it's four hundred dollars a semester."

I pulled my checkbook out of my desk, wrote out a check to her for $800, tore it out and handed it to her. What the hell, I was earning good money, I could afford it. "Here. Now leave."

"Mister, this is awful kind of you, but..."

I'm not sure if I was angry at her or angry at myself, but rage suddenly came pouring out of me, like the air from a punctured balloon. "Are you deaf, Jessie? Get out before I change my mind!" I shouted; she hauled ass out the door like a character in a roadrunner cartoon.

++++++++++

The fall air was cool and crisp and the leaves in the trees were starting to turn brown. Darlene had been waiting by the front door of the clinic and came out to meet me as soon as she saw me get out of my car. Her thin jacket barely covered her 7-month pregnant belly. She'd be needing a winter coat before long.

I kissed her cheek, took her by the hand and led her towards a bench on the side of the building overlooking a forested ravine. Her hair had grown out quite a bit, not as long as when we first met but it looked good. A cold wind blew up the valley, making her shiver.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me, Darlene. I came to tell you some news." She said nothing, just looked at the ground and nodded her head. "I wanted you to know I'm going back to Pittsburgh. My boss Jerry accepted a new job at 3M in Minnesota and I've been promoted to take his place. I'll be Controller for Mining Operations for the whole company. This is a huge achievement for my career." Anxiety crossed her face as what I was telling her sank in. "The sad news is that I'll be leaving Hanson as soon as my replacement arrives. That should be in three weeks or so."

Tears were forming in her eyes; I didn't doubt this was tough news for her to swallow. "How's your recovery program coming along?" I asked gently.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "The doctors say I'm doing good. I've been clean now for 32 weeks, and don't got no drug cravings. My baby's 26 weeks along and it's lookin' like he's developing normally. They told me I can check out and go home next week. I guess I'll have to move in with Faith, I got nowhere else to go."

I nodded and squeezed her hands gently. "I'm glad to hear you're doing so well. I came by to ask you a big favor, Darlene. I need to get that ring off your chain. There's somebody I want to give it to."

Darlene got quiet; a few tears started running down her cheeks. She let slip a quiet sob as she undid the clasp, took the ring off and handed it to me. "I figured that might happen, Ray," she whispered, "you're too good of a man not to have somebody to love you."

She stood up to go but I grabbed her by the left hand. "Darlene, please stay, I'm not finished."

She stopped suddenly, trying to hold back her crying and looking like she was ready to bolt if I let go. "Darlene, I need you to listen to me. My life's been empty since you broke up with me. I've become bitter and mean, and I drank myself to sleep too many nights. I don't want to be that way anoy more. I don't want to go back to Pittsburgh by myself. I want you and the baby with me." I dropped to one knee and held the gold band up to her. "Will you marry me?"

++++++++++

Since the "Bobby's Girl" tattoo was so small that it posed no risk to her pregnancy we had it lasered off right away. Being new and made of red ink, the devil tattoo on her belly was going to be problematic to remove with lasers; instead, I found a woman tattoo artist in Pittsburgh with experience in altering bad boyfriend tattoos. She'd turn it into a nice flower pattern once Darlene had recovered from having the baby.

As for myself, since we were engaged I stopped drinking completely. It was a habit that had caused me enough problems, and I also quit in support Darlene's sobriety. I never went to Jumbo's again, but I had so many bad memories there it wasn't a problem.

We got married by a local pastor in the parlor of Faith's house. Mike Crews was my best man. Faith was Darlene's matron of honor. The two blue-eyed beauties both looked so beautiful; I couldn't help but think that Kurt Swensen and I were very lucky men. The organist from the local church played Elvis's "Can't Help Falling In Love" on the old piano -- it was my grandfather's favorite song.

We had our alcohol-free reception over at the Hanson Community Center, where punch and cake was served; a DJ friend of Mike's provided the music. After a couple of hours Darlene let me know it was getting near time to go. (In the days preparing for the wedding I had quickly learned lack of energy during pregnancy is normal.) Before we left, I asked Darlene if I could ask Faith for one last dance, and she did not object.

During our dance the DJ played Rod Stewart's 'Forever Young'. As we slow-danced, she whispered in my ear, "I'm so happy right now, Ray. I love you both, and there's nobody else I'd rather see Darlene married to than you." She laughed quietly, "And I know from experience that she'll be getting fucked good and proper." As the song ended, she winked at me and kissed my cheek. Taking my hand, she led me back to Darlene. "Here you go, granddaughter", she announced, "he's all yours now!" Darlene laughed.

That afternoon Darlene and I left to fly down to Disney World for a quick honeymoon. She had become my queen now, and I made sure while we were there that she got the full royal treatment. I waited on her hand and foot. It was as if all the bad things in the past year never happened.

Thirty-six days after our wedding Darlene gave birth to our son Jacob Curtis Durling, named after our respective grandfathers. While I didn't feel it was necessary, while she was in the hospital Darlene asked to have a DNA test done. The results confirmed he was biologically mine, but from my perspective, from the moment I laid eyes on him in the delivery room he was my son no matter what.

Marguerite and I never spoke again. The day the moving van arrived to take our things to Pittsburgh, I saw an announcement of Marguerite and Larry's engagement in the Hanson newspaper. In the picture, he's smiling like he won the lottery while the look on Marguerite's face was more like a courtesy clerk's forced smile when you check in at a hotel.

++++++++++

It's late evening in July, the sun is just starting to set. We're sitting together in a wicker loveseat on the back porch of our home in the Bradford Woods suburb of Pittsburgh. Jacob is nursing at Darlene's breast, his favorite place to be. "I swear, you're in no hurry to wean him," I teasingly accuse her, "because it means you don't have to do anything when you're feeding him and I have to wait on you!"

She giggles, "Yup, you caught me." I lean over and kiss her forehead.

"And I love it," I whisper, "And I love you."

"Get used to it," she smiles back at me, "...because when number 2 is on the way it will be more of the same."

My eyebrows go up. "Wait, are you..."

"No, not yet, but you never know what'll happen after the baby goes down tonight," she teases. Then she clears her throat, and her voice became more serious. "I got an email from Faith today."

That gets my attention immediately, but I try to feign casualness. "Oh, yeah? What did she have to say?"

"You remember that Marguerite Bognar woman that married Larry Jenkins not long after we moved out of Hanson?" Darlene looks at me, studying my reaction.

"Ummm, yeah, I remember her," I say as I swallow nervously. "She was married to a friend of mine, then got a divorce and moved to Hanson. We were together for one night before...you and I got back together." I looked up; my wife is looking at me quizzically.

In a soft voice, she informs me, "Faith says Marguerite and and Larry just had a baby girl."

Not quite knowing how to react, I take the safe route and responded, "As long as it's healthy, I'm sure they're very happy."

She stands up and says "Jacob's fallen asleep. Let me put him in his crib, I'll be right back."

I sat watching the sunset, trying to empty my mind. Darlene returns and sits in my lap, her arms around my neck; she's looking sexy as hell, now braless in her thin yellow sundress. She nuzzles my hair and kisses my head, then whispers, "Faith told me about how Marguerite tried to trap you."

I begin to explain, "I was drinking and depressed, and she was an old friend. I thought she cared about me, but she..." My wife silences me with a finger to my lips.

"Relax, silly. Given how you was feeling at the time I can't hardly blame you. You were hurt real bad, and she tried to take advantage. I'm just glad her plan didn't work, 'cause now you are allllllll mine!" Saying this, Darlene runs a hand down to the crotch of my jeans and rubs my soft bulge, which in turn is growing not so soft.

I kiss her, and she slips a little tongue in between my lips as a teaser. In a low voice I moan, "Mmmmm. Have I told you how much I love being married to you? I have a funny feeling that being married to a manipulative woman would have been no fun at all."

She kisses me again, and whispers, "You got it wrong, I'm manipulative all right. Right now I'm manipulating you to take me to bed and fuck me silly." Her manipulation fails; we don't quite make it to the bed. Picking her up, I carry her only as far as the living room sofa where I drop her, lift her skirt up, spread her legs and use my tongue to prove how much I love being her husband. She doesn't take long to orgasm, and I move up, positioning my cock tip at her labia, just making contact but not entering her. Her tits have been leaking milk, the front of the sundress is soaked with it. She looks so sexy that my cock feels hard as a steel girder. I know I won't last long.

"Damn, I forgot the condom," I say, and I stop.

"Ray, fuck me NOW, you bastard!," she curses at me, laughing. I enter her, and her laughter turns to moans of pleasure.

Not for the first time since I married Darlene, I feel if I could freeze time I would make this moment last forever. This is just one more reason why I love my wife so much.

Life is good.