Mother Road Ch. 06 - Mile Marker 10

"I will tell you, though, it's a good thing I met you before Walter. Dotty tells me he's quite something in bed."

"What am I, chopped liver?"

"No, silly, you know you're my perfect lover. From what Dotty says, though, if we compared sex report cards, he could almost match your grades."

I put my hands to my face like the Home Alone kid and teasingly cried out, "NO!"

"Well, he been 30 years without a steady girlfriend, so now that he's in love, he's making up for lost time. She tells me Walter's quite, um, enthusiastic, and when he comes, it's pretty intense. Let's just say it takes her some time to clean up afterwards." Her hand slipped down the front of my trousers, caressing my hardening lump. I groaned inwardly, cursing Dr. Halpern's restrictions.

"There's one area that you're far better than him, and that's oral pleasure. Dotty says she's teaching him, and he's so in love with her he's quite the willing pupil. She says she's never felt more loved; he's constantly touching her whenever she's within reach. Every time they make love, he wraps her up in his arms afterwards and doesn't want to let go."

I leaned over and put my arms around my wife, pulled her in close and told her "I've known that feeling for 15 years, sweetheart. Honestly, Laura, getting out of bed while you're still in it is the hardest part of being married to you."

I kissed Laura as she continued to rub me through my trousers. If she kept this up, I'd need to change underwear soon. "Speaking of bed, how about as soon as they cut the cake, I take you there? It's been a big day for you."

Laura's hand rubbed on my crotch a little more firmly now, "Why Tom McFarland, wherever do you have in mind? You know what Dr. Halpern said."

Moving my hand under the table, I caressed my wife's thigh. "The good Doctor said nothing about me using my tongue, and I have plans for that love tunnel of yours."

As good as my word, my tongue made sure my wife's orgasm reached three 'Toms' on the Laura scale that night.

September - The Big Man and His Bride

Dotty's divorce from Sonny was final on Friday September 14. On Saturday the 15th, Minister Barksdale was delighted to come out to the farm again to perform the wedding ceremony in our barn. It was a small, informal event. I was Walter's best man, and Laura was Dotty's matron of honor, seated in her wheelchair. Eli was a groomsman, handsome in his suit.

Having bonded with our new 5-month-pregnant daughter-in-law Natalie while living with us, Dotty asked her to be a bridesmaid, and with Laura 6 months along, they formed a pregnant bridal party trifecta. Unlike Laura and Natalie, Dotty wasn't showing yet, but during the ceremony Walter kept touching her belly. I suspect he was cherishing the idea that soon he was going to be a father to both a 5-year-old and a newborn.

Walter had no direct family since he'd grown up in foster homes, but the rest of our local kids showed up to cheer him and their Aunt Dotty on; Olivia and Brad, along with their two children Archer and Laura Hope; Liam and Miriam, and their three, Hunter, James Thomas, and Olivia Leigh; and then, of course, the four still living at home, Amelia, Lucas, Pearl, and TJ.

It was interesting to see Lucas had a guest with him, Natty's sister Josie. When Laura saw Josie and Lucas together, she leaned over to me and whispered, "Make sure the cabin is locked."

Not that Lucas would ever deliberately do anything stupid or irresponsible, but like her sister, Josie was awfully pretty, and they were both hormonally charged 17-year-olds. I'd already had one uncomfortable conversation with Josie's father Joshua after Eli got Natty pregnant, I sure as hell didn't want to have another.

To remove temptation as much as possible, I not only made sure the cabin was locked, I also locked the RV, and even went so far as to chain the hayloft ladder to a post so it couldn't be used.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Dotty was wearing a simple cream-colored dress; Walter wore a nice custom-made silk suit. Hell, everything Walter wore was custom-made, because for a man Walter's size nothing 'off the rack' would ever fit. Minister Barksdale started off by saying a few words of welcome and reminisced about all the weddings and the vow renewal she'd officiated for us, then talked for a little while about how our family members were perfect examples illustrating the importance of marriage. That made me smile.

When they got to the vows, I wasn't sure who was more choked up, Laura or me. While Dotty was Laura's flesh-and-blood sister, with all we'd been through together as business partners and friends, in my heart Walter was now my brother.

"Walter," Dotty began, "you're the most wonderful man I ever met. You're strong, caring and loving to me, and totally devoted to Trent. Before I met you, my life was broken. After I fell in love with you, it healed. I make these vows to you before heaven and my family, that from today onward I pledge to always treat you as my best friend and lover; I'll ask for your help when I need it, and be there when you need help, always and without question. You are my perfect man."

Now it was Walter's turn. I had no idea what he was about to say, but I was confident he would surprise us; he did not disappoint.

"Dorothy," he said, sweat beading on his forehead and temples, "I'm not a young man. I went almost 50 years without a woman's love. I never knew how wonderful it would feel..." He stopped, tears rolling down his face. I couldn't believe it; the usual stone-faced Walter was getting emotional! Dotty, who had kept calm up until now, started crying with him.

After a second, Walter was able to compose himself, and continued, "...because of you, now I know. You was worth waiting for, Dorothy, you..." He paused and drew a breath, struggling to maintain his composure, "...you, Trent, and our baby are everything to me. I promise with all my heart to be a good husband to you and good father to our children." Saying that, he patted Dotty's belly.

At this point there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Reading the room, Minister Barksdale whispered, "Exchange rings now, let's wrap it up!" The rings were quickly exchanged, then she lifted her arms heavenward, saying, "I now bless this union and pronounce you husband and wife!" She then announced, "Family and friends, I am pleased to present to you Walter and Dorothy Connor!"

Walter and Dorothy kissed, then the older kids sprang into action and rolled out the sparkling wine, punch, and wedding cake. Afterwards, the newlyweds headed off on a honeymoon to the Bahamas for a week. Trent stayed at Liam and Miriam's house with their three children for the week and had a ball.

October - Back to Normal, Just For A Minute.

When Walter and Dotty got back from their honeymoon, Walter came back to work with a vengeance. He set up three local 2-day beta sessions of our new women-only firearms classes, (for marketing purposes now entitled 'Firepower Feminique') with Miriam as the instructor.

The sessions sold out quickly, and the reviews from our satisfied customers resulted in the phones ringing off the hook. With three grade-school kids at home, she couldn't commit to teaching as much as we needed, so Miriam suggested that we hire some recently discharged women veterans as firearm trainers to keep up with demand. Walter was working with the local VA to do just that.

Walter won three new security system contracts, racking up significant billable hours. He also kept Eli by his side, making him work harder and learn more than he'd ever done in his life. I had to admit, as skeptical as I was that Eli could handle it, I was happily proven wrong.

Under Walter's tutelage, it was Eli's time to shine. His hard work might have been motivated by the fact he now had a loving wife at home (and would soon have a child to provide for as well), or simply because for the first time in his life he felt truly successful, but whatever the reason, Laura and I were proud of our boy.

Walter and I finally executed our plan to pivot us away from architecture and into corporate security systems, hiring a web development contractor and a marketing contractor to redesign the website and complete the rebrand/refocus from McFarland Consulting to Stronghold Corporate Security.

We reorganized the company; Walter was now the Chief Executive Officer, while I was the Chief Operations Officer. This allowed me to spend more time taking care of Laura.

Now 7 months along, her health was worrisome. The baby inside her seemed fine, but Laura was still weak and dizzy. To Laura and everyone around me I kept a cheerful and encouraging demeanor, but inside I was worried as hell.

November - Delivered By A Turkey, Instead Of A Stork

As Stronghold Corporate Security business ramped up and Thanksgiving approached, I thought things were looking up. Laura was still on bed rest, but she wasn't sleeping as much, and the dizzy spells had vanished. Laura was still worried, but despite my own anxiety, I did my best outwardly to be the reassuring husband she needed me to be.

Out of caution we'd curtailed our sex life, of course, so our intimacy consisted of cuddling and caresses, and kissing. Laura would give me the occasional hand job, and I'd reciprocate by using a small vibrator on her. Her breasts were super tender and sore, but I still got in my quota of kissing and sucking because, hey, pregnant boobs are the best!

I was keeping a calendar, though, of how long until we could break free of Dr. Halpern and go back to crazy monkey sex. One month to birth, then maybe six weeks for recovery; about 80 days until we'd be back on track! I figured if Verne's Phileas Fogg could make it all the way around the world in that time without sex, I could too.

At Laura's request, the married kids had decided to have their own Thanksgiving at their own homes or with their in-laws. Just the younger kids would be at home, except for Lucas. He'd been invited to attend the holiday meal with the Reed family, along with Eli and Natty. I'm positive his place setting at the table would be next to Natty's sister Josie. Before he left, I advised Lucas to remember to eat something while he was there, rather than just stare at Josie the whole time.

Not that I blamed Lucas. I had to admit that while Laura and Dotty were both captivating beauties, if there was one family who produced daughters that matched the beauty of the Terhune family, it was the Reeds.

I'd been planning on cooking for five - Laura, me, Amelia, Pearl, and TJ - when Liam called, and asked if Pearl could come over to their place for the holiday meal. What raised my eyebrows was, Liam said that it was Hunter who had requested it. Apparently, the slow dancing they'd shared at Eli and Natty's wedding was a harbinger of things to come.

Then the day before Thanksgiving, Arlene Reed called. It seems that seeing his sister Josie invite Lucas as a guest had emboldened Joshua Junior to ask if Amelia could join them! I chuckled, agreeing. I made a mental note to send a nice gift basket to Joshua Sr. and Arlene after the holiday for welcoming my two kids into their home.

That left just TJ, so now I'd be cooking for three. That was cool, it would give me some one-on-one time with my little clone while we cooked. I'd gotten an eight-pound turkey, enough for 6 people. With just the three of us, we'd have plenty of leftovers. He and I watched the New York Thanksgiving Day parade on TV as the bird cooked in the oven, then switched over to watching football. The timer dinged, and I sent TJ to check on Laura while I took the turkey out of the oven to carve it.

TJ came back, white as a sheet, and said "Daddy, Mommy wants you right now! She says the baby's coming!" I ran into the bedroom, and Laura was crying.

"Tom, I'm scared. My water broke!" Laura wasn't due for another 30 days, so this was very bad. Forgetting the turkey, I called Dr. Halpern as I packed a bag for Laura. Rather than wait for an ambulance, Dr. Halpern told me to bring Laura to the Hospital ER immediately and she'd meet us there.

I called Dotty and told her Laura was going into labor early and asked her to come over and pick up TJ. It was about a 10-mile drive, so Dotty said they'd be there in 15 minutes. In the time it took to get Laura up and loaded into the van, Walter's Eldorado was rolling into the driveway. Walter took TJ and I headed off to the hospital.

Once we arrived, we were immediately routed into the hospital delivery room. Laura was hooked up to so many monitors I lost count. It was a fast delivery, Laura had only been in labor for an hour, then cried out as she made that last push and Laura Ruth was born.

She was tiny, but thankfully she had a big voice. The nurses cleaned her up and handed her to me, and I brought her over and pressed her to Laura's chest. My first thought was pure astonishment at how tiny and beautiful she was. I leaned over to kiss my wife's forehead, but when I did, I realized her skin was unnaturally cold, like she was losing body heat.

A nurse took the baby away, telling me they were taking her into the neonatal intensive care unit as a standard procedure to make sure she was breathing normally. But now there was activity around Laura that I hadn't seen when Pearl and TJ were born.

"Her blood pressure is dropping," I heard a nurse say, "she's hemorrhaging". I realized the blood I was now seeing on the sheets wasn't the normal placenta stuff. Something was wrong.

A doctor came up to me and spoke, rapid-fire. "Mr. McFarland, your baby seems fine, but your wife's hemorrhaging badly. We're taking her to the Intensive Care Unit. I'm going to have to ask you to go to the waiting room for now. She needs blood, and possibly lots of it. When she's stabilized, we'll let you know."

I sat in the waiting room in a state of shock as the reality of the situation sank in. My wife, my love, my life partner, the strongest woman I ever knew, was in serious danger and I was powerless to help. I couldn't imagine life without her, yet now it sounded like it was a possibility. I called Dotty to let her know what was going on, then, wracked with anxiety and exhaustion, collapsed in the waiting room.

I asked Dotty to call the older kids and let them know their new sister Laura Ruth was born prematurely but was fine, and that their mother was experiencing complications. Then I called the Reeds and asked them if Lucas and Amelia could stay with them until I knew what was happening with Laura.

I sat in the waiting room staring at the walls and periodically napping. The minutes stretched into hours. Finally, Dr. Halpern came out. For once, she didn't look at me like I was a sex maniac.

"Mr. McFarland, Laura is in recovery now. We've had to do a post-partum hysterectomy to stop the hemorrhaging and give her a transfusion, but she should be fine now. We're going to keep her here for a few days, to make sure things are healing.

Since the baby is premature, we're going to keep her in the neonatal intensive care unit until Laura is ready to return home. When your wife wakes up, we'll bring her in for skin-to-skin contact with Laura, and to see if the baby will nurse."

"Dr. Halpern, I'm an architect, not an OB-GYN. What does having a hysterectomy mean for Laura, exactly?"

"It means Laura no longer has her uterus, cervix, or ovaries. Her ability to reproduce is gone. She'll need at least 8 weeks to fully recover, given the complications, but should be back on her feet in a week or so. Of course, she should avoid any lifting."

Dr. Halpern paused, and the old disdainful look reappeared on her face. Honestly it was comforting to see something so familiar again. It felt... normal. "After her 6-week checkup we'll see if you can resume intercourse, but in the meantime..."

I held up my hand, "I promise, Doctor. Laura's health will always come first." I think I actually saw Doctor Halpern smirk when I said that.

Dr. Halpern sounded as if she was done with me but then stopped, appearing to force herself to say one more thing, "If it's any consolation to you, Mr. McFarland, many women often find after having a hysterectomy they have better sex, with greater libido, frequency, and enjoyment. Once she recovers, you may find your wife to be a handful." For once, the Doctor actually smiled at me.

"I look forward to it," I said, smiling back, then added, "By the way, Doctor, I wanted to thank you for the excellent care you've given Laura all these years. You're an excellent physician." Saying that, I held out my hand.

Looking slightly surprised, Dr. Halpern took my hand and shook it. "You're very welcome, Mr. McFarland. Your wife is an excellent patient and an extraordinary woman. Please continue to take good care of her at home." I got a little choked up at that, and only nodded.

A few minutes later, I was in Laura's hospital room. She was sleeping peacefully but was wired up to a heart monitor, a blood pressure monitor, and had an IV in her arm. I gently brushed some stray hair off of her forehead, then planted a soft kiss on it. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled when she looked at me.

"Hello, handsome," she said, her voice sounding weak.

"Hey, sexy momma," I replied, then went in and planted a kiss on her lips. I let it linger a long time, just to let her know I was still crazy about her. After the kiss, I gently caressed her breasts over the many layers of blankets. "You're so hot, you even look sexy in a hospital bed, you know that? If it wasn't for Dr. Halpern, I'd climb in with you right now. Unfortunately, she says it will be a while."

She reached down and rubbed my crotch. "You poor man, will you be able to make it?"

"Oh, sweetie, believe me, you're worth waiting for." I took a $20 out of my wallet and put it on her nightstand. "In fact, I'm giving you a deposit right now." I gave her another light kiss, and the little vixen tickled my lips with her tongue. I shivered with pleasure. This was going to be a long 8 weeks. I kissed the back of her hand.

"I spoke with Dr. Halpern, she laid out everything for me. She told me the procedure you had might actually increase your libido, so I'm looking forward to that. No pressure, though, you need to heal first."

I leaned over and put my face in her hair and breathed in her scent. It smelled wonderful, and suddenly a host of emotions poured out of me. I confessed, "Sweetheart, I was so scared I'd lose you. I love you so much, I don't know what I'd do without you. You've given me so much. When you get home, I'll wait on you hand and foot, and treat you like a queen, I swear."

Suddenly the tears came, a release of everything I'd bottled up inside me the last few months. As I cried, Laura wrapped her arms around my neck - not an easy thing to do when you're in a hospital bed. She kissed my temple, and spoke soothingly to me, "Darling, you've been treating me like a queen for 15 years."

Finally, my crying jag ended. Wiping my tears away, I saw Laura had fallen back into a well-deserved slumber. I should have gone home and gotten some food and rest, but after nearly losing her, I wasn't budging.

I stayed by Laura's side, napping in the guest chair on and off for the rest of the day. When they brought Laura Ruth in for feeding, Laura finally ordered me to go home.

"Tom, you look really awful. It's embarrassing to have my baby's father look like he's unemployed and living at the bus station," she playfully scolded, "now go home, shower and shave. The baby and I will be fine without you for a few hours."

I went home, called all the adult children and brought them up to date. Joshua Sr. and Arlene brought back Lucas and Amelia. Josie and Josh got out of the car to say goodbye; Josh shyly gave Amelia a quick hug and an innocent kiss on the cheek, but Josie embraced Lucas in a tight hug, using her arms in a manner reminiscent of the octopus at the Medicine Park Aquarium in OKC.