History Lesson

There were several moments of indistinct noises, until I heard Arthur's calm baritone come on the line. "Well done, then, I assume?" I could hear the hint of a smile in his tone.

"Thanks, Arthur. Sorry for throwing your household into a bit of a whirlwind." I could still hear Beca and Linnet.

"Ieuan... it's nothing. That you're happy again... worth it, lad. Absolutely."

"Thanks for that. I'll send you the details as soon as we have them. My love to those two escaped mental patients."

He laughed. "Same to your young lady. Ta."

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Jenny's father couldn't stay through Christmas, but we had a good visit and sent him home on Thursday. After we dropped him at the airport, Jenny, smiling with joy, said, "Thank you. Thank you for giving me my father back," followed by a fierce hug.

We had a wonderful Christmas, just the three of us. We had put up a small tree and decorated it, laughing as we watched Coral's delight at the small collection of brightly wrapped gifts under it. Keeping her from tearing into them was an ongoing challenge.

Christmas dinner was a treat. Jenny's father had brought his mother's recipes with him, and the associated memories brought tears to Jenny's eyes. Her grandmother had emigrated from Austria as a girl, and she had collected some wonderful recipes.

"I remember how much you enjoyed cooking with your Oma and your mother, sweetheart," he had said, as he handed her the small box filled with index cards. "She would have wanted you to have this."

She made apple strudel for dessert. It was amazing.

"Oof," I rubbed my stomach. "Hide those recipes immediately! I'll be 300 pounds by next Christmas!"

She just smiled as she cut tiny pieces for Coral, who loved it even more than I, the way she wolfed it down.

She and I exchanged simple gifts. I bought her a book of haiku by Bashō. Jenny loved poetry, but haiku was a form she hadn't explored, and she was enthralled.

For me, she somehow found a first edition of "A History of Wales" by John Davies. She looked at me hopefully, wondering if perhaps we were related. She was adorably crestfallen when I told her that "Davies" is one of the most common surnames in Wales. I hugged her and told her it was still a perfect gift.

"It's funny that we got each other books," I told her, as we relaxed with a glass of wine.

"I guess we're more alike than we ever knew," she smiled, leaning against me.

I thought about that, as we watched Coral crawl around after Hank. It was her favorite game these days, and he gave me a long-suffering look, as if to ask when this tiny monster would stop tormenting him.

I chuckled at his expression, then said to Jenny, "A dork from Wales and a farm girl from the Midwest." She grinned.

After too long a pause, I whined, "Hey, I'm insulted! You're supposed to tell me I'm not a dork!"

She stayed silent, and just sipped her wine. Eyeing me.

My eyebrows rose nearly to my hairline, and finally, she started giggling. Then very tenderly, she said, "You ARE a dork. But you're MY dork."

I nodded, mollified. "For as long as you'll have me."

We sat there, lost in our thoughts for a while, and then she seemed to grow a bit more serious... and perhaps a bit apprehensive.

"Ieuan? I... have one more gift for you."

"Sweetheart, you know..."

"Just shush. This is serious."

I shushed, while she got up and left the room for a moment. She came back carrying an envelope, and she held it out to me. It was blank. No stamp, no address.

I looked at her, and she whispered, "Open it." She went and picked up Coral, to Hank's everlasting gratitude.

I pulled out two sheets of paper. Aloud, I read the following from the first page. "Instructions for Completing each Section of the AOP."

"What's an AOP?" I looked at her quizzically, and was shocked to see her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Sweetheart?"

"Next page," she prodded, smiling.

I looked, and it looked like a government form. Across the top, it read, "Acknowledgement of Paternity."

I stopped breathing. My eyes lifted to hers, and she nodded. "If you... if you want to..." and she couldn't continue.

I leapt off the sofa and wrapped my arms around both of them. I kissed Jenny, and then laughed as Coral patted me on my cheek.

"So, if we sign this, I'm on her birth certificate? I'm her father?" I asked in wonder.

She nodded. "If you want to." She was so nervous.

"If I want to? My God, Jenny, nothing would make me happier! Well, okay, maybe it's a tie with marrying you, but..."

I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. "You really want this?"

She nodded. "I really do. You're her father already, in every way that matters. I love you; she loves you; it feels right. Really, really right."

I thought so too.

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There was just one dark spot in our holiday. Two days after Christmas, the phone rang, and it was a 217 area code. Illinois.

Jenny picked it up and put it on speaker. "Daddy?"

"Hello, Jennifer," a rather severe woman's voice replied.

I saw her face tighten up. "Hello, Mother."

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"Well, gosh, Mother, I haven't heard a single word from you in I don't know how long, after you basically shunned me, and cut me off. What do you expect me to say?"

"I... I'm sorry, Jennifer. But try to see it from my perspec-"

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare make this about you." Jenny was livid. I reached out, and she grabbed my hand, squeezing.

"I was a CHILD. You... you..." She closed her eyes. "Never mind. Why DID you call, Mother?"

"Well..." I could tell that Jenny's fury had thrown her. I was willing to bet that she had never been spoken to like that in her entire adult life; certainly never by Jenny.

"Your father tells me that you've met a nice young man and are engaged to be married. I am willing to admit that I may have acted harshly with you, but that does not mean that I don't love you. I would... I would... appreciate it if you would come visit."

"Daddy came here. Ieuan asked you both to come. Why didn't you? And why make me come there? Do you expect me to come crawling home?"

"No, of course not. I just... oh, very well, Jennifer. I suppose I could come there."

"Oh, how gracious of you. But you didn't answer my question. Why didn't you come when Ieuan asked?"

"What kind of name is that, anyway? Is he foreign?"

"Oh, the cheek!" I blurted, then clapped my hands over my mouth. Sorry, I mouthed.

Jenny smirked at me for a moment, but into the phone, she said, "Stop avoiding the question, Mother."

There was a longish pause, then, "I am afraid of flying," was the subdued reply.

Jenny was nonplussed. She muted the phone, and said to me, "She has never admitted to being afraid of anything in my entire life."

I just raised my eyebrows.

"Jennifer, are you there?"

She turned back to the phone and unmuted. "Yes, I'm here. Well, I must say, I didn't expect that, Mother. But what do you plan to do when we get married? If I decide to invite you, that is."

"Well, I had hoped that you might."

Never a question or request in her tone, throughout the entire conversation. Just statement after statement.

But Jenny wasn't through. "Tell me this, Mother. If I was marrying a woman, would you come?"

"Certainly not. That's what started all the trouble in the first place. I would never abide such a blasphemous union. But now that you've come to your senses- "

Jenny cut her off again. "NO. Don't come. I don't want a bitter, narrow-minded, intolerant old woman anywhere near my daughter. You are not invited. If you try to show up you won't be allowed in. Goodbye, Mother."

And she hit the disconnect, and turned off the phone.

That's when she lost it, reaching for me and sobbing onto my shoulder.

"I'm here, I've got you." I held her, stroked her hair and rubbed her back, and whispered in her ear that it would be all right. When she settled down, I grabbed a tissue, and wiped gently at her face, peering into her eyes.

"I love you, my girl... can I get you some tea?"

She nodded and blew her nose into the tissue. I handed her another one as I got up to put the kettle on. We moved onto the sofa, and I held her some more while the water boiled. When it was ready, I added honey and an ice cube to cool it, and brought it to her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Why are you so good to me? I'm such a disaster!"

I pulled her to me. Her arms were curled against her chest, and I wrapped mine around her, tightly.

"Never let me hear that again. You are most assuredly NOT a disaster, Jenny. You're the strongest person I know. Look at all you've gone through." I let that sink in for a moment.

"And as for why I'm good to you? Why I want to do things for you, and take care of you? Just... be with you? Simple. Can you guess?" I pulled back a little and smiled at her.

"Because... you love me?" she looked at me, her eyes full of her own love.

"Got it in one," I whispered, and kissed her.

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Chapter 16

That night, we were both emotionally wrung out after the week we'd had, and Jenny clung to me a little tighter as we tried to sleep. She was restless though, and it was obvious that she was still upset about the fight with her mother.

Finally, I turned and slid down just a bit so we were face to face, on our sides. I stroked her hair, tucking an errant strand behind her ear, and I looked into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Okay. Just relax. Breathe." I cupped her cheek with my free hand and kissed her, but this time, I prolonged it, gently probing at her lips with the tip of my tongue, until she opened to me. I heard her draw in a breath, and her hand went behind my head, her fingers gripping lightly, as she tentatively explored my mouth. I became passive, letting her chase my tongue with hers for a moment, and then I began to reciprocate. When I did, her grip tightened and she made a small sound.

I drew back to look at her. "Wow," she whispered. I smiled, and began again. This time, I let my hand drift down slowly to rub up and down her side. Finally, as I drew it back up, I changed direction slightly and ever so lightly cupped her breast. Her breath hitched, and her eyes opened wide, searching mine.

"Tell me to stop if it gets to be too much, okay?" I told her, as I was gently, feather-lightly rubbing my thumb over her nipple, through her pajama top. She closed her eyes, and I could see she was intently focused on the sensation. I moved my hand away, and thought I heard a faint sigh. I slowly undid the buttons of her top, interspersing my actions with gentle kisses.

I slid the thin material aside and returned my hand to her exposed chest, resuming my stroking. Her breathing increased slightly, and she moaned, "Ieuan, that feels so nice..."

I licked at her ear, then her neck, then back up to her mouth, lightly sucking on her tongue for a moment, before moving down to graze my lips up and down her neck. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as I licked and nibbled gently at her throat, then back up to nip at her ear. Then I kissed her again, and she eagerly reciprocated.

I broke our kiss, and smiled as she moved forward, trying to maintain contact. Then, I started to move down her neck again, but kept going until I reached the tops of her breasts. I eased her onto her back, but stayed on my side as I continued to caress her upper chest, then down her arm and across her stomach, stroking, then filling my hand with her breast again. I leaned closer and took the other nipple into my mouth. She gasped as I circled it with my tongue, then she arched up, pressing herself to me, one hand on the back of my head.

I returned to kissing her mouth, as I allowed my hand, so slowly, to wander down over the sensitive skin of her belly. I felt her abdominal muscles twitch and flex as I touched her. I brought my hand back up to her breasts again, then pulled my head back so I could watch her. Her eyes stayed locked on mine, and I saw her mouth, gasping open, then not quite closing, as the sensations ran through her.

Still keeping my eyes on hers, I once again slid my hand down across her stomach, delving a little lower, repeating the pattern over and over, until my fingers slid just barely under the waistband of her pajama bottoms.

Watching carefully, I saw no signs of her tightening up or being afraid, so I continued my pattern. Up to her breast. Stroke, perhaps a gentle pinch or a tug. Rolling her nipple between my fingertips caused her hiss in a breath and clutch at me. My hand slowly meandered its way back down, sliding under her PJs, until eventually, I felt the beginning of her curls.

I stopped and left my hand where it was. I looked at her, waiting. After I hadn't moved at all for a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked back at me.

"Don't stop," she breathed. Reaching, she took my hand in hers and moved it down, then she let it go, and began to fondle her own breast, all the while watching me.

"Jenny..." I breathed, "You have no idea what you're doing to me..."

"I think I might just," she said huskily, and looked down. I followed her gaze, and saw my straining erection through my underwear, pressing against her hip.

I languorously shifted my eyes upward, from where my hand rested just above her mound, hidden under her pajamas, across the sensual curve of her stomach, over her perfect breasts, and I paused to take a nipple in my mouth again, nipping at it lightly while lashing it with my tongue. I heard her gasp with pleasure, and I drew back to study her face. She looked back, under hooded eyes, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

"Jenny..." I moved to crouch beside her, and slid my fingers under the waistband of her PJs, looking at her. She nodded and lifted her butt. I slowly drew the garment down over her hips, past her thighs, and finally removed them completely. I massaged her feet, kissing her instep, and she giggled. At the sound, I looked up at her, and my breath caught as I saw her, all of her, sprawled naked across my bed. She was glorious.

"So beautiful..." I whispered.

Taking a shaky breath, I began a slow journey north, running my hands along her calves, lifting them so I could kiss behind her knees. Stroking the backs of her thighs before lowering them to the bed.

I couldn't help myself from staring raptly at her sex, her patch of auburn curls, the moisture building there in evidence. But I moved up to lie beside her again, to kiss her again. Teasing slightly, I moved my hand farther down to draw my fingers along her inner thighs; first one, and then the other. She spread her legs apart slightly, making a small sound of frustration.

I let my hand cup her mound, very very gently. At that contact, she gave a little moan, and her hips jerked slightly. Then she relaxed, spreading her legs a bit more, and I started to slowly rub up and down, at first with my whole hand, then gradually sliding my middle finger between her soft folds. Just stroking, avoiding her most sensitive center for the moment. She began to fidget, trying to press herself against my fingers.

This first time, I didn't want to tease, not too much. Shifting slightly, I pushed the tip of my middle finger into her. She sighed again, and her hips lifted. I continued to push, and she moaned. She began to pant and rock her hips as I gently stroked in and out.

"Oh... oh... Ieuan..."

I added a second finger, and she began to clutch at my shoulder with one hand.

"Ieuan... I need..." and she tried to snake her other hand down to touch herself.

"Stop..." I murmured into her ear. "Let me..." and I began to trace circles around her clit with my thumb. She took her hand away and clutched at the sheets instead. After a few more circles, I began to rub with increasing firmness, quickening my pace, stroking my fingers in and out of her. I curled them up, trying to reach...

"OH! There! Right theeeerrreeee..." she wailed.

I rubbed inside her with my fingers and continued to circle her clit with my thumb, and I clamped my mouth over hers as she shivered and shook and grabbed at me as her orgasm exploded through her. Then she began to push me away, laughing. "Oh my God, too much, too much... give me a minute," and she curled up against me, still trembling.

I wrapped my arms around her and snuggled up to her. "You were amazing, so sexy when you came," I whispered.

"Love you..." she mumbled. She wasn't truly asleep, just dozing, and... well, I wanted to do more for her. So again, I eased her onto her back and started tracing a path down her body, but using my lips to follow the route my fingers had taken earlier.

I licked the underside of her breasts, then drew my tongue down across her stomach, dipping into her navel for a moment, making her giggle. I stopped to draw her arms out of her pajama top, then I dropped a line of tender kisses down to just above her mons. As before, I skipped down to the inside of her knee and began kissing, licking, and sucking up the length of first one inner thigh and then the other. I moved back up between those ivory columns. Her aroma was intoxicating, and it was driving me wild.

She was more alert now and starting to breathe heavily. "Mmmm, what are you gonna do down there, mister?" she murmured.

"Just this," I hummed, and firmly drew the flat of my tongue from the very bottom of her sex to the top. She was tangy and sweet and I wanted more. She did too, it seemed!

"Oh! Oh, that's... you can do that again, please!"

I did. Again, and again. She had one hand on my head, rocking her hips against me. I pressed one hand flat against her lower belly, trying to hold her in place, more or less, as I reintroduced a finger to her tunnel, and began to flick my tongue against her clit. Her other hand came down and she had my head in a death grip now.

"Don't stop don't stop don't stop don't stop," she babbled.

I had no intention of ever stopping. I was drunk on her taste and her scent and her reactions to what I was doing. I felt like was drunk on her. I kept at it, reaching behind to squeeze and fondle her buttocks, pulling to me. Sliding one hand up to pinch her nipples, then back to her center. I settled into a pattern of stroking in and out, reaching for her g-spot again, while sucking and flicking at her clit. Occasionally sliding down to drive my tongue into her, as far as I could reach.

"Iuean..." Her hand gripped my head more firmly, and I attacked her. My lips closed around her bud, sucking at it, and I lashed at it with my tongue, while driving my fingers into her. She let out a long, drawn-out moan, and her thighs began to shudder, and then clamped around my head. She froze for what seemed like an eternity, then collapsed, sprawled out, boneless, limbs akimbo on the bed.

"Oh my God, what did you do to me?" she slurred.

"Loved you, that's what," I smiled at her, and I began to crawl up over her until my face was just above hers. She slowly twined a hand into my hair and pulled me down, kissing me deeply.

"Hmm," she said, "Is that what I taste like?"

I nodded. Momentarily confused, but I wasn't about to ask.

"I like it," she decided.

"Me too," I grinned, and she blushed. Then, she froze, as my cock brushed against her. At some point, I had skinned off my boxers; they were killing me. I was so hard... She looked at me wide-eyed all of a sudden.

"Oh, Jenny, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

She put a finger to my lips. "Shh. I'm the one who should be sorry. You just caught me by surprise for a moment." She took a deep breath and reached down between us. I closed my eyes and my breath sighed out of me as she touched me, and gently stroked.