Making a Tape

Kate and I spent a recent evening listening to old CDs until midnight. Some of the songs reminded me of when I was courting Kate and would make cassette tapes for her to play during her long work commute; the tapes were different genres, but most had a love theme. The (very) short story below is fiction; but grew out of my memories of making the tapes.

No sex below – you've been warned.

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Making a Tape

April, 2002

William 'Bill' Phearson woke up when the neighbor's dog wouldn't stop barking. Damn, it was such a great dream he was having. Maybe it had all been a dream; but he looked over at the other half of the king size bed and it was empty. No, not a dream; Kathryn was still gone.

Bill got out of bed and shuffled down to the kitchen. He looked out the window and his first option for the day just disappeared. The way he was feeling, it would have been a great day to take a few laps around Green Lake; eight miles could have released enough endorphins to get him past his funk. Unfortunately, running in the Seattle rain never did it for him, the run would just have to wait.

He put the kettle on, ground the coffee beans and when the water temperature reached two-hundred-six degrees, poured the water into the French Press. A creature of habit, Bill turned the radio on to the local Classic Rock station, KZOK, and stirred the coffee before pressing the plunger down on the carafe. A great cup of coffee to start another crappy day.

It was Saturday, Bill was trying to decide what to do when the radio played Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street', the saxophone reaching those high notes that could be so melancholy, almost as if the sax was trying to find a lost lover in the music. Bill went over to the CD rack and pulled the 'City to City' CD out. The second cut on the CD provided an incentive for this rainy, gloomy day. He would make Kathryn a tape.

Bill turned the radio off and powered up the tape and CD players. He knew what his first song would be. He put the CD in and started recording. Gerry's voice sang out the lyrics, "When I wanted you to share my life, I had no doubt in my mind, it's been you - woman, right down the line." The lyrics said it all. From that moment over twenty years ago when he realized he loved the young medical student, it had been her, and only her, as the woman he wanted to spend his life living with and loving.

Bill pulled his next selection down from the shelf, The Beatles White Album CD, Paul sings 'I Will'. Would Kathryn remember that night five years ago? They took a much-needed vacation without the twins and headed to one of the few places in the continental U.S. that guaranteed sun and warmth in January. That night in Miami, Kathryn surprised him by wearing a slim sundress that hugged her trim body; it buttoned down the front and Kathryn left the four top buttons undone, just the slightest hint of cleavage and her tan breasts.

Kathryn's breasts were tan because she had surprised Bill on the beach earlier that day by removing the bra and sunbathing topless. She only wore the skimpy bottoms, not a thong but still skimpy, on her otherwise naked body. Bill spent those two hours on the beach with a stupid grin on his face; he couldn't shake the thought of how the other surgeons at Harborview would react if they knew the conventional Doctor Phearson, mother of twins and one of the top reconstructive surgeons in Seattle, was now laying on the sand without a top.

And then that evening he received a second surprise when she walked out of the bedroom of their suite wearing the sundress, something he never thought he'd see her wear in public. They ate dinner and a band started to play oldie covers. When the female singer began 'I Will', Bill asked Kathryn to dance. As they danced in each other's arms, Kathryn whispered in Bill's ear, "Touch my bottom." Bill discreetly moved his hand down to Kathryn's bottom and stroked.

"Aren't you wearing panties?"

Kathryn laughed and looked Bill in the eyes, she could feel his penis start to harden. "Of course; but it's a thong. And a very sheer one at that."

The singer continued singing, "Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart" and Bill kissed his beautiful wife; the woman who could still surprise him after all these years together. They left soon after, went back to their hotel room, and made love until well past midnight.

That day was one of the greatest days of Bill's life; right up there with their wedding and the twins' birth. Would Kathryn think of that day and night in Miami when she hears the tape?

Bill continued to search through the CDs and pick out love songs, some obscure, some everybody knows, to fill the ninety-minute cassette. Blood, Sweat and Tears' 'Child is Father to the Man', Al Cooper wailing "I love you more than you'll ever know".

Bill moved from the B's to the C's and found the Cowboy Junkies' 'Crescent Moon Pale Sun'. The 'Anniversary Song' is still one of his favorites and deserved a place on this compilation. Margo Timmins sings, "And I don't know how I survived those days before I held your hand. Well, I never thought I would be the one to admit that the moon and the sun shine so much brighter - when seen through two pair of eyes than when seen through just one." The first time Bill heard the song, it hit him hard, sounding so much like Kathryn: a strong, independent woman accepts that love can add to an already fulfilling life.

Elton John's 'Your Song'; Aretha Franklin's '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman'; Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes' - working through the alphabet. Some Rock and some Pop. Pop included Bobby Darin's 'Beyond the Sea' (the first year they were married, Bill was still in the Navy and spent half that year underwater on an Ohio class sub), Dean Martin's 'Memories Are Made of This'. And of course, Frank Sinatra singing 'The Best Is Yet to Come', a song they danced to at her parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration.

Every song chosen for this tape carried a special meaning, a special time or event. Bill finished the tape with Stevie Wonder's 'I Was Made to Love Her' and sat down, writing the letter to accompany the tape. He hoped the letter conveyed how much Kathryn meant to him, how much he loved her; without sounding as depressed as he felt. He did his best to write the words without the desperation.

Bill finished the letter and looked at the clock. Two o'clock; time to call the twins. Luke and Lacey graduated a year early and were now freshmen at Stanford; the distance from Seattle to Palo Alto only adds to his empty-nest syndrome. First, the twins left for school, three months later Kathryn leaves; each day since added to the weight on his chest.

Bill finished the letter; signed, "With All My Love, Billy" and sealed the envelope with cassette inside. He could only hope it would be received with the same passion as it was sent.

Two Weeks Later

Doctor Kathryn Phearson sat, or should we say, collapsed on her bed. It was long day, a very long day. Kathryn held the envelope in her hand. She had just picked up her mail after three hours of surgery when she was called back in by Lieutenant Akins, one of the surgical nurses.

"Major Phearson; we just got a call, two more coming in."

Another four hours; another young man lost and one saved. The first was the toughest; the young man held her hand just before he died. His last words were a prayer to his wife and son. Kathryn still had tears in her eyes when she went to assist Major Rogers with the second Marine brought in.

After this second round in the operating room, Kathryn was able to shower and change; the envelope with her home address in the upper-left-hand corner still unopened. She could tell it held a tape inside. Kathryn considered the situation and decided a half shot of bourbon wouldn't do any harm. She looked up at the shelf above her bed and smiled at the row of cassette tapes; each made with love. It was time to open the envelope and hear what Billy had sent on this one.

When Kathryn met her future husband all those years ago, he was introduced to her as 'Bill', two months later she met his extended family at their Thanksgiving dinner. Both Bill's aunt and uncle called him 'Billy', a nickname from when he was an infant. Kathryn thought it was cute and started to call him Billy. He wasn't crazy about the name; but at long as it was her using it, he never complained. Some of the sting was eased when Kathryn's brother, Doug, gave Bill an old baseball card – Billy Williams – Hall of Fame left fielder for the Cubs. The next year Doug gave him a biography of the infamous General Billy Mitchell. Billy eventually softened his stance on his new nickname.

Kathryn grabbed her Walkman, slipped the cassette inside, put on her headset and pressed play. She read Billy's letter as the first song came on.

Kathryn hadn't yet finished the letter when the first song ended and "I Will" began. She immediately thought back to that evening in Miami; the night she wore that salacious sundress and danced with Billy, making him hard. Just the memory of that wonderful night gave Kathryn an idea and she now had a plan. Instead of flying to Seattle when her orders came through, she'd meet Billy in Miami. It was the perfect spot to give him the news.

The news? How does a forty- three-year-old physician with two teenagers tell her husband that she's pregnant? It would be the last thing he'd ever expect; but it was just as much Billy's fault. He's the one that absolutely refused to get a vasectomy after she had to quit taking the pill and they started to rely on that diaphragm. When Kathryn worked out the dates, she was certain the insemination happened the weekend before she was deployed to Afghanistan, the weekend they spent at the Kalaloch Lodge on the coast.

Kathryn hid her condition for the first four months here; she knew she was needed and wanted to do her duty. But; one of the doctors figured it out and outed her. Last week, the information went up the chain of command; next week she'd get her orders to return stateside. Kathryn hadn't told Billy, yet – she was awaiting official orders. Now, when those orders came through, she'd call Billy and tell him to meet her in Miami; she'd just tell him it was R&R. She'd tell him it was permanent in person; after he knew about their baby.

Kathryn wondered how she'd look in a bikini with a five-month baby bump. Would Billy get it or would he think she just got a belly from all the 'great' food served in the mess hall?

Kathryn listened to the entire tape before falling asleep. As she drifted off, she understood, Billy would greet the baby news with all the love one man could have for one woman.

*****

Afterword

Yes, we know this probably should have gone into the "Romance" or another Literotica category. But publishing here in "Loving Wives" adds just a small element of suspense to the story. Please save your time and energy – no need to comment and tell us it's in the wrong category. All other (sane) comments are welcome.

Thanks,

Bill & Kate