Nuclear Options

"You DO like my mommy, huh?" Mia asked as she walked over to them.

Dalton bent down then said, "Yes. I think I kinda do. Is that okay?"

Mia looked up and saw her mother smiling then nodded and said, "Yes. That's okay."

"Well, that was easy," Rachel said quietly enough for only Dalton to hear.

"Now if I can just impress her mom..." Dalton told her before giving her a quick kiss.

Rachel almost told him he was doing an amazing job so far, but she just smiled and said she needed to get her coat.

As Dalton was helping her with it, Rachel said, "You know we don't have to do sushi. It's expensive, and we're fine with something cheaper."

When she turned around Dalton told her, "I don't have a lot of money, and I try to be very careful with it. But the purpose of money is to trade it for things that make us happy."

He gently touched her cheek then said, "Spending time with you makes me happy, okay?"

As Rachel experienced yet another pleasant reaction she recalled the many times she'd dreamed of meeting someone like this. Someone who really, truly wanted to be with her, someone who would accept Mia as a blessing rather than a drag on his life, and someone who cared about what she thought and felt.

She'd just never once imagined it could be someone so young. But here he was ringing every one of those bells and doing so in spades.

"Okay," she replied. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Dalton told her just before he kissed her again. "You ready?"

As they rode along during the cold, winter night, Rachel's mind continued to think about things she didn't believe most women would worry about, but then, she couldn't be any other other woman, and these thing mattered to her.

One of those things was how relationships typically took weeks, months, or even years to form. Granted, she couldn't say she was in one just yet, but as she sat there looking at Dalton, she knew she wanted to be. Rationally, it made no sense. But did love have to be rational? Was it supposed to be reduced to a bunch of ones and zeroes and happen according to some blueprint?

And didn't most people meet at work or through a mutual friend? Didn't many others meet at places like bars or churches? How many people had ever met because one of them was delivering something at a time when that person could take care of a problem that seemed tailor made for them to solve? And of the tiny, tiny percentage, how many times were both people single, attracted to the other person, and ready to fall in love?

"Um...yoo-hoo," she heard Dalton saying.

"Huh? Sorry. I'm listening," she told him even though she had no idea what he'd just said.

"Oh, okay," he teased, knowing she wouldn't be able to repeat his question if he asked so he just asked it again.

"What's your favorite food at a sushi place?"

"Oh, gosh. The only thing I'm not wild about is raw eel. Other than that, I love pretty much everything from Ahi to tempura rolls."

She then asked Dalton the same question.

"Same here except that I don't mind eel."

Rachel shuddered and said, "Ewww! It's just so...slimy!"

"That means it goes down easy," Dalton told her as he tried not to laugh.

"You can have all the eel you like, but I'm gonna take a pass, okay?"

Rachel paused then said, "But I do like raw oysters."

"Now you're talkin'!" Dalton told her.

Rachel laughed and realized how easy that was to do that with this very handsome younger man. She'd just met him and already felt safe and at ease with him.

Rachel had always been small in terms of her weight. Even during her pregnancy she only gained 17 pounds. Other than that, she'd been between 112 and 115 pounds for as long as she could remember. At 5'7" she was thin but not skinny.

So when she began putting away a second plate of sushi, Dalton wondered where it all could possibly fit. When she finished it, he asked her.

"I know! It's terrible, but I'm sitting here thinking about having some more, but I don't want to scare you off on our first date."

Dalton laughed and told her he didn't care at all and there was nothing that could scare him away.

"I was just surprised to see you eat more than a few bites," he told her. "Then again, it is sushi, and at the risk of lumping cultures together, isn't it a bit like Chinese food in that it only makes you full for a little while?"

Rachel laughed, and told him she didn't know, then decided to start a third plate. Dalton was finishing his third while Mia was happily taking little bites of the half dozen or so giant shrimp she'd polished off in the same amount of time.

Both of them watched her pick one up when Rachel said, "Hmmm. No blindfold of shrimp-cuffs."

"Right!" Dalton replied. "I forgot all about my ridiculous comment."

"I remembered," Rachel told him sweetly.

She had no interest in 'kinky' things in the bedroom, but something not too kinky wasn't out of the question if Dalton did. She'd seen the Fifty Shades of Gray movies, and there wasn't anything the male lead was into that turned her on. Then again, it was way too early, and she was clearly letting her imagination run wild because all they'd done was kiss.

"So I was wondering," Dalton said, interrupting her latest mental machinations. "You know about my uh, high-powered job delivering pizzas, but you haven't told me where you make your millions."

Rachel also loved his sense of humor and laughed another happy laugh.

"Right. My millions. Well, that would be waiting tables at IHOP. The one on Baxter Street," she informed him.

She tried not to laugh when she told him, "It's the tips that allow me to live the life of the rich and famous."

"I can see that," Dalton told her as he played along. "Of course, any guy with a little extra money is going to tip a gorgeous woman like you rather well, right?"

She loved his words and wished they were true.

"I do okay, but I haven't quite made enough to be able to retire just yet," she told him as though she was getting close.

"So do you believe the old adage about women being judged by how they look while men are judged by what they do?" he asked, suddenly shifting gears.

"Oh. Gee. I don't know. I've heard that before, and I suppose there's some truth to it."

She smiled at him then said, "So while I can't really say for sure, I do know I believe in another one that says there are exceptions to every rule."

"Yeah?" Dalton replied hopefully.

"Yes. Definitely. Especially when the exception has so much potential and so many things going for him even though he may not currently have some kind of...power job."

As Dalton sat there looking at her and listening to her talk he realized he'd never felt like this about anyone before, and he realized he didn't want that feeling to end.

"Anyone have room for dessert?" he asked the girls.

"Me!" Mia said even though she had no idea what kinds of dessert they had.

"How about you try a little bit of mine and see if you like it, okay?" her mom suggested.

"What are you going to have?" Mia asked her mother.

"It's called Cinnamon Tempura Gelato."

"Jello? That's yucky!"

"It isn't jello, and while it sounds yucky, it tastes yummy."

Dalton ordered the Coconut Creme Brûlée, and Mia tried that, too. When she said she liked both of them, no one was more surprised than her mom.

"Wow. Little Miss Picky likes two desserts. This is a big deal!"

That was just one more thing Dalton liked about this gorgeous older woman. She was so patient and good with her daughter. A part of him thought that should be the case with every parent, but even at 22 he knew that wasn't the case. But it was with Rachel, and Mia was a very sweet girl, and as he enjoyed their company, Dalton allowed himself to imagine a life that included them both.

"Now someone else isn't listening," her heard Rachel say.

"Uh, boy. You got me. Sorry. I was just sitting here enjoying the way you and Mia get along."

"Well, we do kind of like each other, right, Peanut?"

"Yes, we do!" the little girl said as she took a large bite of the creme brûlée.

She chomped away and with food in her mouth said, "And we like Dalton, too, huh, Mommy?"

Her mother smiled, looked over at Dalton, then quietly said, "Yes. Yes, we do."

When they finished eating and talking it was a little after 7:30, and Mia normally went to bed by 8 o'clock on the nights before a school day. But this one time, at least, Rachel didn't much care about anything but being with Dalton. So when he asked if the 'ladies' were ready to go, Rachel only reluctantly told him she was.

On the way home she thanked him yet again and told him it had been quite awhile since she'd been to a nice restaurant.

"You don't date?" he asked, hoping to find out.

"Me? No. Well, not very often."

"That surprises me," Dalton told her sincerely.

Without going into detail, Rachel explained why.

"So when you said it really is hard to meet a decent guy, would I maybe be an exception to that rule, too?" he asked in a flirty kind of way.

"Maybe," she told him as coyly as he'd been flirty. "I don't really know you all that well yet, but...maybe."

Dalton reached over and took her hand then said, "We could change that?"

As her tummy flip-flopped again she said, "I'd like that very much."

So over the course of the next couple of months, Dalton spent as much time as with his two new girlfriends as their very busy schedules would allow. And although Rachel was exhausted at the end of every shift, she couldn't wait to see this amazing, younger guy she was falling hard for.

They'd moved to 'second base' a week after that first date, and on the one-month anniversary of their first meeting, Rachel insisted on taking Dalton to third once Mia fell asleep. Just pleasuring him made her very happy, and as much as she desperately wanted to make love, she told him he didn't need to repay the favor.

"It isn't a repayment," he told her quietly. "I want to. I want to because I lo...I really care about you, Rachel."

"Then would you maybe like to skip third base and...stay with me tonight?" she asked as she lay there beside him.

"No, thank you," he told her.

The crushing feeling of his reply was so dramatic it literally hurt.

He could tell and immediately rolled over on top of her, brushed her hair back then said, "I don't want to skip third base. I'd love to stay, but third base is where a whole lot of...pleasure takes place."

Now just as happy as she'd been sad only moments ago, Rachel smiled and asked if he'd received a lot of pleasure at her version of third base.

Dalton laughed quietly then said, "The way I was grabbing the top sheet with both hands while you...worked your magic...wasn't enough to tell you?"

Rachel laughed and said, "I was pretty sure you liked it, and I have to say I loved doing that for you."

"Then let me do that for you," he said as he kissed her lips before kissing his way south to Valhalla where he stopped and spent a considerable amount of time 'repaying' the favor.

By the time they 'made it to home plate' the hunger had largely been satisfied, so they slowly and carefully made love as they looked into one another's eyes nearly the entire time.

Rachel had already cum just as hard as her new lover at third base, but she'd never experienced anything like the way her body reacted to this...slow, exquisitely-passionate love affair with Dalton that was so much more than just having him inside her. It was as if their souls had somehow merged and become one as they made love in not only a physical way, but also in some kind of quasi-spiritual way.

"I have never, ever done anything like that before," she said when Dalton finally rolled off of her and lay beside her.

He knew what he meant but teased her anyway.

"So...are you telling me the stork delivered Mia?"

She turned over on her side and gave him a playful shove.

"I've obviously had sex before, smarty pants."

Then her voice softened as she told him, "But I've never really made love until just now."

She explained how her experiences in the past, to include her ex-husband, had mostly been some kissing, a little light petting then literally 'wham, bam, thank-you ma'am'.

"I knew, or I at least hoped, this kind of thing was possible, but I didn't really know it was."

She raised up, kissed him softly, then added, "Until just now. When you showed me it was."

"So...you liked it?" he said, still teasing but in a much lighter way.

"No. I loved it," she told him.

"Is that because you love me?" he asked, still teasing.

But when Rachel got serious and said, "Yes," in a way that moved him to his core, he turned over and looked into her eyes and said, "I love you, too, Rachel."

"You don't have to say it back just because I did," she told him while secretly praying he did.

"I didn't just say it back...honey," Dalton said. "I said it because I really do love you."

"Have you told your parents about us? About...me?" Rachel asked after a fairly long pause.

"Uh-huh."

"And?"

"And they want to meet you. And Mia."

"So...do they know how old I am?" Rachel asked with a little wince.

"They do."

"And?" she asked, her eyebrows raised high.

"Believe it or not, they still want to meet you," Dalton said with a laugh. "How about you? Have you mentioned my age?"

Rachel bit her lip again then said, "Not yet. I did tell my mom I met someone, though."

"And?" Dalton asked just as she had.

"And I may have mentioned I was falling in love with him and that he made me feel like I've never felt before."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"And that Mia also really like him and that he was incredibly good to her."

"Okay? And?"

"And I just kind of need to share this one little, small, tiny detail with them."

"What kind of reaction do you think you'll get when you do?" Dalton asked her.

"If you knew how awful things were with my ex, and how much my parents love me want me to be happy—and find a loving father for Mia—then you wouldn't worry so much."

"Ah. Good to know," he replied before quickly rolling on top of her. "So why haven't you told them yet then?"

"I think it's because it doesn't matter to me," Rachel told him as she ran her hand through his thick, dark hair.

"Not at all?"

"No. Not one bit. Why? Does my age bother you?" she asked, her old fears resurfacing.

"No. Not in the least. To quote someone very special to me, 'Not one bit'."

"Really? You really, honestly don't care?"

"Honey. You're perfect, and I don't care if you're 20 or 40, okay?"

"Please don't say '40', okay? Please?" she nearly begged.

Dalton laughed in spite of her insecurities then said, "Besides, from what little I've read, we're both our sexual primes."

"Oh. Well, in that case, maybe you could..."

Rachel was trying not to laugh when she said, "Prime me again?"

"Okay. That was bad," Dalton told her before he laughed.

Then he kissed her and said, "But you were good."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. REALLY good."

She reached for him and found him ready and waiting.

"Mmmm. Then...prime away!"

Two weeks before Spring Break, with Mia's coinciding with Dalton's, he asked his beautiful girlfriend if she'd like to drive up to New York to 'meet the Fockers'.

"Yes, but I'm not sure I can afford to take that much time off of work," she told him.

"Then what if my parents drove down here?"

"Yes. I'd love to meet them!" Rachel said without hesitation in spite of her unvoiced apprehensions.

As each day passed, both she and Dalton could feel their love growing stronger, and it was that realization that made him realize he couldn't possibly support Rachel and Mia while going to school.

His preoccupation with money became so serious that Rachel asked him what was wrong one evening after they made love.

"Nothing," he told her. "I was just trying to decide what we should do when my parents come to visit."

It wasn't a total lie, as they did need to plan some things. He just didn't want to bring up the subject of money even though he was already seriously considering asking her to marry him at some point. But until he could 'square this circle' he wasn't about to do so, even though Rachel had told him many times she didn't care about money.

And while she had a point, not having money could ruin an otherwise strong marriage. But it wasn't just money. It was also about things like healthcare, and as a full-time student, all he could get was treatment at the campus clinic for minor things like colds or vaccinations and the like. Mia wasn't seriously ill, but she did have a chronic problem what would need care, and quite possibly for the rest of her life. She needed her inhaler refilled at least once a week, and just that one prescription added up to several hundred dollars per month.

And at some point, Dalton hoped to have a child of his own even though he already kind of considered Mia to be his own little girl. Rachel had said pretty much the same thing, but even one more child could cost thousands. If there were complications, it could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that might never be paid off.

So just days before his mom and dad arrived, Dalton made a call to someone who'd told him if he ever needed anything to give him a holler.

"Senior Chief? Hi. Yeah, it's me. Dalton. Sorry. Petty Officer Russell."

"I know your first name, Dalton," his former boss told him cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

Dalton spelled out the situation then said, "So since it's been less than six months, I was thinking I might be able to come back at my same rate and maybe still get the bonus."

"Yes. You can do that. The Navy is so short in your rate right now, I have no doubt you could be out for a year or more and still come back."

"So I was wondering if you might have the detailer's number so I could call and check."

The 'detailer' was the Navy's name for the guys (or gals) who decided which sailors went where and wrote the orders assigning them. The senior chief happened to know Dalton's detailer quite well and told him to drop his name when he talked to him.

Dalton promised he would, thanked the older man for his time, then almost hung up when up when he heard him say, "Hold on a minute, Dalton. I've got another option for you to consider, too."

As he listened, Dalton got very excited. He knew there was no guarantee, but if what the senior chief was telling him was true, he also knew he had to check it out. He was very willing to back on active duty even thought that meant more 90-day deployments on submarines or even six-month deployments on aircraft carriers, but that was something he'd gladly do to be able to support a wife and a child. Or...children. But this other option intrigued him in the extreme, and as soon as he hung up, he dialed the other number he'd just been given.

"Yes, ma'am. My name is Dalton Russell, and I was wondering if Mr. Elkins was available."

She asked him to hold then heard her say, "Okay, sir. Mr. Elkins is on the line. Please go ahead."

After less than five minutes on the phone, Mr. Elkins asked, "How soon can you come in for an interview, Mr. Russell?"

He'd have to miss one day with his parents during Spring Break, but this opportunity couldn't be passed up. And after seeing how his mom hit it off with Rachel like best friends (and falling in love with Mia), he asked her if she'd like to spend a 'girls-only' day with Rachel and Mia so he and his dad could hang out and do guy things together.

Both she and Rachel loved the idea, and Rachel took a full day off work as the three of them went to a spa, courtesy of Dalton's savings account, while he and his father headed southeast to the city of Waynesboro before turning east for a few another 18 miles.

He'd explained the reason for the trip, and Dalton's father thought this was a fantastic idea. He also made it very clear that, in his opinion, at least, this was a much better option than 'shipping over'.