Consorting with Romance Ch. 06 - Final

I'd grown accustom to the fact that change had become a way of life over the past year, and while I didn't enjoy the fact that Jesse would be leaving my employ, I looked forward to having him at home each night. It had taken several weeks, but after conducting many interviews together, we had finally settled on a new assistant. Jesse had proven to be even more particular about who would replace him than I was. He'd insisted it was someone large and skilled enough that if something like the incident with the giant ever occurred again, they'd be able to help. I doubted that would be necessary however, as at least for the time being, I'd stopped taking new clients even by referral. If I had to put in a few more years in order to feel comfortable at work and have enough time and energy to keep Jesse fulfilled, that was just fine with me.

The last week before Jesse's graduation was a whirlwind for us both. Jesse still had courses, and I still had work, yet we managed to find time to move his things into our home. Jesse also worked hard to train his replacement, who was to start full time when I returned to work after our time off together. With so much going on, we had decided it didn't make sense for us to expend our energy on wedding plans, and we'd agreed to let his family make all the arrangements as it was to take place on the farm. I had no one to invite other than Kim and Casey, but it didn't matter. They had become close friends; often joining us for dinner after Casey's appointments and Jesse's family had always treated me like one of their own. After twenty years on my own, the amount of love and acceptance I now found in my life astonished me.

As I gazed through the bedroom window into the yard behind the farmhouse, the colors were warm and rich. The afternoon sun shimmered brightly in the distance behind pale green fields. It felt like gazing into a painting, and I was glad we'd decided to do this so soon. It was just early enough in the fall that the weather was a bit cooler than during the sweltering summer months, but the crops that hadn't yet been harvested stood tall and beautiful around the large swath of grass upon which chairs had been set up. Distant laughter drifted up with the light breeze that carried the scent of earth and leaves and life.

I could hear the shower running in the room next door as I dressed. We'd decided to shower separately as being late for our own wedding because we'd gotten lost in ravishing one another in the shower seemed inappropriate even for us. It was to be a casual affair and I'd chosen light tan linen pants paired with a dark forest shirt that reflected up into my eyes, making them appear to almost glow with a rich emerald light. I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail at the nape of my neck with a leather tie as Jess stepped into the room with a towel around his waist.

"Jesus Ash." He stopped just inside the door as it shut behind him. I grinned at him in the mirror.

"Likewise."

As he tossed the towel onto the bed, I turned to lean against the dresser and take in the show. He dressed in charcoal dress trousers and a simple white shirt. As he pulled the shirt over his head, he walked toward me, eyes burning brightly. He tucked a stray hair back into my ponytail with a loving smile.

"Ready?"

"Definitely."

We made our way to the yard hand in hand. His family had done an amazing job with little time and even less money. A few dozen chairs were placed in a half circle in front of a wooden arch, an isle running through the center. Vines and flowers of all sorts elegantly draped the arch and chair backs, bringing life and connection to the whole scene. As marriage was uncommon these days, it wasn't a legal or formal affair that required anyone of a specific rank or faith to perform the ceremony and his mother had agreed to do it, just as she had for his siblings.

Everyone was gathered together; some already seated, some milling around conversing. It wasn't a large group as neither Jess, nor I had many friends to speak of. He'd been too busy on the farm and then in school to have time for them. His college roommate was here, as well as a few people he'd gone to school with, but the majority of the group was his family. I was grateful that Casey and Kim had enthusiastically agreed to come, they were the closest thing I had to family, and I was thankful for their support and friendship.

As we made our way toward the group, a petit, strikingly beautiful woman with pale blond hair, holding the hand of a small child that looked to be simply a miniature version of her, separated herself from a group that had been chatting and took several steps in our direction, apprehension clearly written on her face. I didn't know her, and her out of place expression confused me. I glanced over at Jesse who smiled broadly but offered nothing else. I turned back to the woman to introduce myself as we approached her, assuming she was one of Jesse's old friends. As the sunlight behind me caught her eyes, they flashed bright emerald green, and I knew in an instant. Abbie.

Tears filled my eyes and I dropped Jesse's hand while she closed the gap between us and threw herself into my arms. I wrapped my body around her small frame, holding her as delicately as one might an orchid. Simultaneously afraid she might break in my embrace, yet terrified to let her go. Her arms held me tighter than I'd have thought someone of her size was capable of.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed into my neck.

"It doesn't matter." My reply came without thought as I pulled back to search her gaze; so identical to my own. "How?"

She grinned broadly through her tears. "I panicked when you didn't send a gift for my birthday. I thought perhaps something had happened to you, so I just showed up at the return address that's always on the label a couple of weeks ago." She lowered her eyes. "I should have come years ago. For so long I've been ashamed of the way I left; so embarrassed by the way I treated you." The glistening emerald orbs met mine once more. "Jesse was the only one home when I showed up. We talked for a long time, and he invited me." Worry crept across her face. "I hope that's ok."

I said nothing, instead scooping her back into my arms and clinging to her; spinning us around so that I could see Jesse. He stood with a soft loving smile, obviously hopeful that he had done the right thing.

"It's perfect." I managed in a shaky voice.

When I eventually let her go, she brushed a hair from my forehead the same way Jesse so often did.

"Plenty of time to catch up later." She grinned. "Go get married."

I smiled happily as I kissed her cheek and reached for Jesse's hand. Everyone took their seats, and together we made our way down the aisle to the arch where his mother stood waiting.

"There is little of permanence in this world." She began. "Everything in life has a beginning and an end. For the brief moment we are gifted consciousness in this place, the best thing we can do is hope to find love, and if we're lucky enough to find it, to never let it go." She turned to Jesse. "Jesse, will you allow this man to be your partner? To walk beside you, whatever may come your way?"

We turned to one another and grasped hands. I had expected tears from both of us in this moment, but there were none. Instead there was a confident sense of calm that said this was what we had waited for our entire lives.

"I will." His voice was strong and sure.

She turned to me. "Ash, will you allow this man to be your partner? To walk beside you, whatever may come your way?"

"I will." I heard my own voice as if it came from another. Just as strong and sure as Jesse's had been.

"Then it is my deepest honor to see the two of you joined for all of this life."

Short and simple. As it should be. Our kiss was intense and slow, and it held everything that we were, everything that we would continue to be together.

"Mmmmmm." I groaned and stretched; rolling back against Jesse's warm body.

His arm tightened around me as his fingers wandered down my stomach to cup my slowly hardening cock. Waking up next to him never got old.

I was amazed each day at the life we now shared. As Jesse had established himself as a respected physician in the city, my career had continued as before. Four years after we married, his father had a small stroke, and we'd both taken a hiatus from work to help at the farm during his recovery. A month into our time there, the administrator of the small local hospital had offered Jesse a job. Our conversation about what path we should follow had lasted all of thirty seconds. I changed my hours and spent weekends working in the city while we continued helping on the farm.

Not long after, with the sale of my house, we'd had enough money to build a small home on his family's land far enough from his parents and siblings' that we felt we had a space of our own. We'd managed to transplant my fruit trees and they, like us, thrived in their new home. After two years of commuting, I had enough in savings to officially retire.

Now that Jesse's parents are older, I've taken on more responsibility on the farm. I spend my days tending to the small orchard and flourishing strawberry harvest as Jesse's siblings handle the wheat, tomatoes, and hydroponic crops. We spend our evenings laughing, cooking, and making love. After all this time, his touch has never lost its excitement for me. On weekends we spend time with his siblings and once a month Kim and Casey come out to visit. While Abbie has a career that takes most of her time, and her daughter Sarah is in school in a nearby city, we speak often, and they now spend the Holiday, and three weeks each summer as our guests.

His fingers tightened around my leaking shaft as he nibbled at my ear, and I rolled to face him. As my lips moved to catch his, the early morning light peeking through the window behind me reflected in his golden eyes as it had the morning he'd asked me to belong to him. As I found myself doing so often, I silently thanked whatever fate had brought him to my door looking for a job all those years ago as I rolled against him, pulling his strong warm body over mine.