Canon Ch. 03

And she saw.

She touched the tears that were sliding silently down his rough old cheeks, and she brought them to her lips.

And then she rose a little and kissed his lips as he leaned down for it - and then she kissed his tears, tasting salt on her pretty tongue.

Amy knew that this man did not cry easily. "What is it, Geoffie?" she asked, as softly as a prayer.

He looked down at the perfect white body that lay across his own, opened his mouth, closed it, and lifted a hand helplessly. She snuggled against him and waited.

Finally, he wiped his eyes and said, "You're thanking me, Punkin. That's... That's just..." He stopped.

He tried again. "You gave yourself to me tonight, sweetheart. You gave me the most precious thing you had. And you're... thanking me...?"

She kissed his wet face again. "Who could love me more, Geoff?" she asked softly, and kissed him again. "Who would that have meant more to?" And again, and again, small, fairy kisses to take away his tears.

He looked at her, his eyes still full. "No one," he finally said.

"You know what we felt." She kissed him again. "Could either of us have felt that-" Again. "-with anyone else?" And again, with a questioning look.

He shook his head, and then he finally smiled. She smiled, too, and kissed him yet again.

"Thank you, Geoff," she said once more. "What you gave me counts, too. I was so sure - I wasn't afraid - and, oh, Geoffie, it was so, so wonderful...."

She snuggled deep into his arms again, drawing her nude body up into his lap adoringly. "I love you so much." She kissed his chest and rested her smooth cheek against him, and her eyes closed in contentment. "I love you," she whispered, so softly it was little more than a breath.

He cradled her and rocked her like a child. "I love you too, Amy," he whispered sadly. "I wish I could live forever."

Without opening her eyes or looking up, she said, "Now IS forever, Geoffie. Now is the only time we have, ever." She kissed his chest again. "I'm glad I'm here, now. I don't want to be anywhere else - or wearing anything else." She looked up then, with a twinkle, and blinked at him behind her glasses, the only thing she wore.

He smiled and stroked her back. "My favorite outfit," he said.

Then: "You're right again, Punkin, and about the same thing. When did you get so smart?"

She giggled, glad he was back with her, in the present. "Well, I'm not just an incredibly pretty face and an incredibly sexy body, you know," she teased.

He laughed. "You think you're kidding, Punkin, but that's exactly what you are. And more," he added quickly at her look. "And more. But - you are absolutely the most beautiful girl - or woman - I've ever seen.

"And I'm an old guy. I've seen a lot of women and girls," he finished, with a twinkle of his own.

She looked up at him adoringly. "I want to be beautiful for you, Geoff," she breathed. "I want to be so beautiful, and so sexy, and so naked..." She blushed. "...and so wet and juicy and nasty and open and hot, you'll want to fuck me all the time."

One side of his mouth rose in a wry, cockeyed smile. "Mission accomplished," he said, and she giggled.

---

They snuggled and kissed happily for a while, then Geoff said, "How about a moonlight swim?"

They ran naked out the back door and jumped into the pool; Amy squealed at the coolness of the water, and Geoff smiled at her delight. The lights beneath the surface illuminated her and made her pale, nude body look as white as snow.

They stood in the shallows - shoulder-deep for Amy - and just looked at each other, holding hands in the wavering blue light from beneath them. The cool water on their bodies seemed to wash their few remaining shreds of doubt and fear away.

Geoff looked into Amy's eyes; one shone with the light from the pool, and one was dark; but they were the same somehow, this time.

He looked into her eyes, and what he saw there was love. Unconditional, complete, and as deep as space. It was not the adoration and hero worship of a child. It was the love of a grown woman, and one who was wise far beyond her years. He wondered at it - but he saw it, and could not turn away.

He did not want to. There was nothing to be afr-

He realized something then, in that wavering blue light: He trusted her, just as she trusted him.

As he had never trusted anyone before...

And then the floodgates opened, and he realized much more.

"Come," he said, opening his arms; and she came into them, easily, eagerly.

He held her in the cool water and whispered to her, speaking as he had spoken to no other woman, not even his wife. He spoke as the thoughts entered his mind, letting them out as he thought them. He had never done that before, either. He wouldn't look at her; he held her close, his eyes on the silent, distant Moon.

He told Amy of his many hurts, of the times he had been betrayed and wounded, and of the armor he had learned to wear around his heart, of the walls he'd built and the fortress he had retreated into.

He held her close and told her - of how alone he had been in that fortress, how cold he had been, how empty; and of how he had pulled so far inside himself, he had not even known it.

"When I heard you were going to come to live with me, Amy - I just thought it would be nice to have some company, someone to talk to and take care of."

He rocked her a little, swaying in the water. "I knew you from when you were a baby, and I've always loved you. I knew you didn't want anything from me, and that you liked me."

He stroked her wet hair as she clung to him and listened. "I just thought it would be nice to have a friend again, at the end of my life," he said. "I've been a hermit since your Aunt Tina died - and I guess a long time before that. I've held people at arm's length for - well, all my life, I guess. I never-"

He hesitated, and Amy squeezed him in encouragement. "I never even let Tina in, Amy. I was distant and - disconnected. We were married, and it was good - but I had no idea how much better it could be."

He looked at her at last, his old eyes glowing in the liquid light. "I've kept everyone out, Punkin. But I couldn't keep you out, could I?"

She smiled up at him, but said nothing. She sensed he wasn't finished.

"You are a miracle, Punkin," he went on. "I was just - waiting to die. And you come along and - and I'm sixteen again, and innocent, and trusting, and so in love - in love like I've never been, and life is wonderful and sweet and worth living.

"My walls, my armor - pfft. They crumbled when you walked into my house, and when you crawled up on me when I hummed to you - like when you were a little girl - they vanished. It was too late. You were already inside.

"I love you, Amy. I've never said that often, and I've never meant it more."

His old gray eyes were full, but no tears fell. He wiped them and went on.

"I never prayed for miracles. Hell, I never prayed at all. But if I had - I could never have prayed for this. I could never tell you in a million years what you mean to me, Amy. But I'll spend the rest of my life trying to show you."

She hugged him, her small hands on his scarred back. "You just did tell me, Geoff." She rubbed her soft cheek on his graying chest. "I love you, too."

They kissed - not the longest, but perhaps the sweetest they had shared - and they looked at the Moon together.

---

They swam and relaxed and enjoyed the water for another half hour or so, till they were chilled; then they ran shivering back to the big old house, where Geoff lovingly dried her and carried her back to bed. They snuggled close again, still naked, but they knew better than to try to top that night's lovemaking so soon. They held each other in warm silence and listened to their Canon, which held more meaning now than it had before.

Around midnight, he saw her sweet eyes growing heavy. "Come listen, honey," he said quietly. "Let me hum you to sleep again. We have all day tomorrow to play."

"Mmm," she murmured contentedly, then climbed on top of him and curled up in his arms, her head on his chest. He started the Canon again, and hummed along with the basses till he sensed her relaxing, more and more, till she was soft and limp and breathing slowly.

He held her as she slept, bare and trusting as a baby. Her nude body was resting comfortably on top of his own, curled up like a sleeping cat.

When she was breathing deeply, he gently moved her from his chest and laid her beside him. She stirred but did not wake; and he watched her sweet face as she smiled in her sleep and drew herself against him, safe in the circle of his arms.

Geoff fell asleep watching her, and his last thought before dozing off was - Tomorrow; we have all day tomorrow...