Love Is 20/20 Vision

At that point his employee came into the living room. For the first time her petite firm body hiding behind a little little black dress that emphasized her breasts that he never noticed before, exploded into Ben's awareness. She had jet black hair in a page boy cut and even at 41 the faint outline of her nipples through her dress were sexy. He doubted that she weighed more than 100 pounds but after having watched her on three occasions deal with altercations between crew members in the yard, one would think she weighed 150 pounds more than that. She touched her lips to the almost ball head of her husband and to the lips of Ben and said, "Good evening, Gentleman I sure hope you have been having an exciting conversation about me."

Her husband spoke and said, "I have been doing the talking and Mr. Parker has been placating an old man by calmly listening. I was just about to tell him that I have been on dialysis since my kidneys failed 13 months ago, which then, statistically speaking, means that I am a dead man. Excitement? The most exciting thing that happens to me daily is first of all to wake up and that followed by seeing Rachael in the next bed after I awake."

Trying to shut down her husband's talking about private matters, she said, "I have the food from the caterer laid out on the dining room table. Anyone but me ready to eat?"

At the dinner table, the conversations turned to poetry. With Ben's newly found interest in the art form he was astonished as both his hosts recited line after line of classic poems of several poets, to his total fascination in their three way conversation. The last poem segment quoted at length was from a 1700s British poet named 'Alexander Pope.' The segment included several references to American idioms he already had heard, e.g., 'A little knowledge is a dangers thing.' Ben even wrote the poet's name down to check out some his poetry from the library.

After dinner, the Professor called his LVN assistant . And while awaiting her, he said good night to his wife and offered his hand to Ben. He said, as he was being wheeled away, "You have said very little tonight, Mr. Parker, but Rachael's assessment of you is my own based on what little input you gave plus, more importantly, what you did not say. Please come again."

After he was wheeled away and they were alone, Rachael said, "On a personal note, Mark has urged me to take a lover. In the past thirteen months you are the third candidate lover we have had to dinner with us. The other two impressed neither him nor me, but, for the record, I am impressed with you as is Mark, obviously."

His mind spiraling as if he was high on a drug, he was unable to think of anything to say at first. Ben could feel his blood pressure dropping and his cock rising in his trousers, and he said, "Thanks, Rachael, for not rejecting me. But, I came to talk about buying out the competition and instead I had the most fascinating evening of my life conversing with you two, and my head is still spinning. Thanks again."

She said, "Lets talk shop I want to become a silent, junior partner in your business and the money I buy the partnership with will be the difference between what the bank will lend and the minimum we think Joseph will take for his company."

Ben opened his mouth and said, "I....."

Rachael interrupted him by putting her fingers on his lips and said, "Don't answer me now. But sleep on it and we can talk in the shop tomorrow."

"Rachael, you two will need all the money you can muster for medical expenses, this doesn't sound logical to me."

"Ben, Mark survives on a long term disability insurance policy monthly claim benefit - hence the LVN three days per week and the dialysis equipment. His and my income is largely from lifetime annuities with escalating clauses since we purchased them when inflation and interest rates were high. Also, I am still a full professor and will return to full salary in 14 months. I love the man so much his imminent death - which is statistically guaranteed - will tear a hole in my life. But, if I had you as a business partner, I would still be left with something. "

Ben really didn't know what to say but he did know that his secret love for this woman absolutely must not influence his business decision. They continued to discuss particulars and dollar figures. Afterwards he stood to leave and said, "You are right, dear workaholic, we both should sleep on this. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow!"

Driving home, Ben's whole body ached with desire to hold that woman next to him in bed while he tried to analyze the risks. At the same time, he chided himself for 'thinking with his cock.' When he pulled into the trail leading to his cabin, he suddenly had a plan.

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Ben drove over to Joseph's shop again early the next morning. After those two crews had been dispatched, the place was completely empty and quiet. Again, he was treated warmly to a doughnut and a cup of coffee. Ben showed the amount that the bank would lend, and said, "Your business is worth half again as much but I don't have the cash. Would you consider a personal loan as the second lien holder for an additional amount that is half what the bank will lend on the first lien? I am asking that you loan me 50 cents for each dollar the bank will lend. "

Joseph got up from his desk, grimacing with pain in both knee joints, and slowly paced the small shop. Finally he said, "Ben, get your cashier's check from the bank tomorrow and meet me at my attorney's office at 2:00," as he fished a business card of his attorney out of his desk to hand to Ben.

The visitor stood and said, "Will do," as they shook hands.

Back in his own shop he noticed that the working leaders and crews had already left for the previously scheduled jobs that day. He watched Rachael's car pull up to start her day. She came in the door, and the first thing both of them noticed is that they consciously had to keep themselves from embracing. Ben couldn't speak. Rachael finally said, "What is your decision about my business proposition?"

"I can not accept your offer, Rachael."

Unable to believe her rejection, she exclaimed, "Why," as she sat down?

"I love you so much until I ache to touch you right now, and mixing business with what I feel for you is too risky - That is verbatim from the first lecture of Business 101 elective course I took once. I do thank you so much for the offer and sure hope your enthusiasm for working here will not diminish."

She suddenly stood up and said, "Did you just say that you love me so much? Did I hear that correctly?"

With his eyes glistening from his tears and unable to speak, Ben shook his head, 'yes,' and that prompted Rachel to rush over to Ben and hold him and she whispered, "My first awareness of my falling in love with you was when I started my third week here. I will go home tonight and discuss our happy plight with my husband, Mark. He will be very happy and he just might want to pull the plug on his dialysis machine now that he will know that I am in your arms and bed. Hey! How should I set my GPS to find your log cabin?"

He wrote down his cabin address and gave it to her.

She then held him again and kissed his lips lightly and said, "No more of that in this shop. Now back to business......"

Ben told her about his meeting with Joseph's attorney at 2:00 P.M. tomorrow and all the other details.

Afterwards, Rachael got very busy paying invoices and billing customers and assembling the bank deposits the Working Leaders brought in yesterday. She always looked forward to going into the yard this day of each week and handing out pay checks while chatting with the employees. Ben was on the phone soliciting business for the rest of the day.

Ben fixed his dinner when he got home and sat on his screened in porch enjoying a cigar and drinking a beer afterwards and pondering the huge new double risk that he was undertaking - uh triple risk when being newly in love was added - but felt very confident. At this point he was on top of the world. As good as things were, however, they got better: A set of headlights were bouncing down the drive from the county road to his house. When he verified that it wasn't a neighbor, he jumped up and ran to the car as Rachael was getting out. They grabbed each other as they started ravenously kissing. Then she backed away from him and said, "Hey! There are mosquitoes out here lets go in." As soon as they were inside the screen door, both started taking off their clothes as Ben guided her to his bedroom, by which time both were naked."

She watched him roll an extra large condom on his cock and said,"Whew! Please be gentle. Mark hasn't been inside of me for 4 years and my sexual experience during that interval has been limited to using a small dildo occasionally." After that they resumed their passionate kissing.

Entering her very slowly, he finally was all the way inside of her. Then after their 15 minute fiery coupling was over, she continued to lie on top of her lover staring into his eyes. She said, "Say something!"

Ben was still holding the full length of her body to his looking into her eyes and said, "I can barely believe this is happening to me."

Rachael replied, "We are real, mentally and physically, Ben. This is not pretending and masturbation - which often happens even when there are two people in a bed - and I will work - as if I were studying for yet another PhD - just to keep sex this exciting over the years if you will promise to do the same."

"That? I promise."

Rachael said, "There is one other thing that you should know. When I got home this afternoon and told Mark about us, he was so excited until I thought he was going to get up from his wheel chair and try to dance. He actually insisted that I leave THEN and go straight to you. But he calmed down after I told him, 'Ben is not at home, yet. I will go after he has had a chance to eat dinner and then I will come back to sleep in my bed besides yours.' Mark started crying with happiness which started me crying with happiness as well. So, Ben, may I come down here and stay for two or three hours often, like two or three times per week when the opportunity presents itself?"

"However often you come, it will not be enough. But yes. Remind me to give you a door key."

The End

Epilogue: Five weeks later, the 68 year old Professor Mark Baxter Copperfield died in his sleep as a result of 'complications resulting from Kidney Failure' - so stated the O.B. column which quoted the coroners report. Within two months Rachael had sold all of the medical equipment and excess equipment and furniture in their home. In another month, she finally sold their house and moved in with Ben. A year later his attorney prepared a pre-nup document for both to sign and they were married in a small private ceremony. All 15 of their employees, a very few friends and neighbors, plus Ben's daughter's family attended the ceremony that was held in front of Ben's log cabin and presided over by the precinct JP.