Silver Arrow Ch. 01-04

Diane had completely surprised me with her comment about my staying for a while. What brought that on? Was it just the great sex this morning? Okay, I could live with that. But what if it was something else? What if she was wondering if we might get back together now that I was no longer the big man I used to be? I wasn't so sure about that. Our split hadn't been acrimonious, but I was very upset when it happened, and I didn't have good memories of leaving my home and family. That would be harder to put into the past.

I was having my second and final cup of coffee in the living room while I thought about the situation. Diane arrived home before I could really come to any conclusion.

"Let me get my coffee and we can have a talk," she said as she put her coat into the closet and breezed into the kitchen. She seemed to have quite a bit of spring in her step this morning.

Normally the "have a talk" opening usually brings shivers of fear to men. For whatever reason, it didn't provoke that response in me.

She was back in less than two minutes and sat beside me on the sofa.

"I guess I should apologize to you, Doug. I didn't mean to blindside you like that this morning. If you aren't comfortable with staying, then now's the time to say so."

"I'm fine with it," I answered truthfully. "But ... I guess I'm wondering what I should read into it?"

"You mean ... like us getting back together again?"

"Exactly that."

"I can't answer the question because I don't know. I do know you're a different man than you were a couple of years ago. Not just the weight loss, but your attitude, your dress, your voice. I heard you whistling in the shower this morning. Do you know how long it's been since I've heard you whistle? As bad as that accident was, it has changed you for the better. I think I like who you are now. But ... and it's a big but ... we're going to have to discover each other all over again. I'm a different woman than the person you married. I have a business and a career."

"So, are you saying you'd like me to stay ... at least for a little while?"

"Yes. I'd like you to stay and I'd like you in my bed ... our bed ... each night you are here."

"Then I'll stay. I'd be a fool not to. I want to rebuild what we had in the beginning. Not what it turned out to be, but what it might have been. I think we have a chance if we both want that to happen."

"I hope you're right, Doug. I really do. But ... I'll be the first to tell you if I don't think it's going to work. Is that clear?"

"Yes," I smiled. "So now, I've got to get to work and find a job. In the meantime, I want to share the costs here. What do you pay in rent or mortgage?"

"It's rented, but I'd like to buy this house if possible. It's perfect for us and if I finished the basement, there'd be room for another bedroom, bathroom and a playroom for the children."

"How much do they want for it?"

"One-forty-two was the asking when I moved in. But houses aren't selling these days, so I'm sure I could get it for less."

"I could help if you like."

"What do you mean?"

"I have some money from my share of the sale of our house in Minneapolis. It should be enough for a down payment. Interest rates are low and I'm sure we could easily finance the balance without dragging it out over twenty-five years."

"You'd do that?"

"Yes. The market's at a low ebb right now. Investment in property, especially one as nice as this is, is always a good deal. In the end, it won't disturb your monthly payments from me and so it wouldn't be an extra expense. Why don't we spend a few minutes on the internet and see the price range in this area?"

"Okay. I'm not interested in moving, but it would give us an idea of what houses are selling for."

"Who owns the home today?"

"Uhhm ... the bank, I guess."

"Ahhhh. So if we were to make a proposal to the bank, it would be a short sale. We might be able to really save some money if we were lucky. Why don't you make an appointment with the bank and we'll see just what the situation is."

"You're moving awfully quickly, aren't you?" Diane said, looking a bit worried.

"Here's the thing. I'm contributing to the upkeep of this house now. If you owned it, I would be contributing to its potential improvement. When the market turns around, and sooner or later it will turn, you will get the benefit of that increase, whether I'm involved or not. Nothing would change for me, but it certainly would for you."

She still looked a little dubious, but a meeting with the banker would help confirm my comments.

"Okay, then. I'll see if I can get an appointment."

"Make sure you tell them you might be interested in buying the property. That will help pave the way."

"Okay, I'll call them this morning. In the meantime, I've got a couple of things to attend to for my business. What are you going to do?"

"I'm heading for the Mt. Washington Community Center and their exercise facility. I'm going to see if it meets my needs and maybe work out there for an hour if it does."

"You're not kidding around about this fitness thing, are you?"

"Nope. I've missed three days as it is, so I need to get back into the routine."

"What about your meals?"

"Not a problem. I've had some cereal already and I'll get a bagel after I've exercised, then lunch or something early afternoon, then supper and a late snack. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"No, not by the sound of it. I'll just have to remember to make your portions the right size, that's all. I hate to waste food."

"I'm with you on that, but the miracle of the modern age, the microwave stands ready to save us all," I chuckled.

As we rose, she came to me, wrapping her arms around me.

"You are so pleasantly different, Doug. I'm looking forward to seeing just how we make out dating."

"Dating? I guess that's what it is, but with some big differences. I don't recall us sleeping in the same bed when we were dating."

"No, but this time we know what's a stake, don't we?" she murmured into my neck.

"Everything," I sighed, nipping at her earlobe and kissing her cheek as we held each other.

It was good to get back into my rehab routine. My cardio workouts were getting gradually better and my lung capacity was also getting better. My fitness would never be what it once was as a teenager, but I would be fitter than I was before the accident and thus there would be less stress on my lungs and heart. My regulated diet would give me enough calories to sustain my weight without gaining or losing. This was going to have to be a lifetime commitment, but I was ready for it. I'd been given a second chance and I didn't plan to screw it up.

Diane quickly figured out how to manage my meals and within the first three days I felt I was back on my usual schedule. There was a big difference, however. I was sleeping with Diane and we were making love ... a lot. It seemed like we were back on our honeymoon once more. We couldn't seem to get enough of each other.

But it was different too. There was something about it that was more mature and more sensitive than before. I felt, and Diane did as well, that this was better and more satisfying than in the past.

We had never been very adventurous in bed. It was pretty well the two basic positions, missionary and woman on top. But the second day I was with her and the children were in school, I came up behind her in the kitchen and slipped my hands beneath her loose skirt and ran them up her thighs. I thought she might slap them away, but instead she leaned back and with one hand behind her back, reached for my now growing erection and rubbed her hand over my pants. It was only seconds later that her panties were at her feet and my cock was sliding into her from behind. This was a first, but from the first tentative strokes, I knew it wouldn't be our last.

"Oh, oh, oh, ohhh!" she moaned as I continued to move in a nice, steady rhythm.

Her hands were on the counter, bracing her against my thrusts. She had stuck her ass out to meet me, then was pushing back against me as I stroked. I don't ever remember anything quite as erotic as this and, since we'd already had sex earlier that morning, I was able to sustain myself longer.

Diane's orgasms were pretty subtle, and I have to admit that in the heat of passion, I often didn't recognize them when they happened. This time, however, I felt the clench of her inner muscles and heard the gasp and release of breath as she came. It was the trigger that set me off and we finished with me holding her to me while my semen dribbled down her leg.

"Oh, we have to remember to do this again," I said.

"What brought that on?" she asked. "That was something new for us."

"You were standing there and you looked so ... delicious ... that I couldn't resist. I'd forgotten how beautiful and sensuous you are. I won't forget again."

"It's been a while since we thought of each other this way. I mean ... sexually," she said, turning in my arms and burying her head in my shoulder.

"It's something I want to restore. I want you to know that I find you desirable and that I want to make love to you often. No matter what's happened in our past, I haven't stopped loving you, Diane. I'm hoping we can make it all the way back."

She didn't respond with words, but lifted her head and kissed me deeply and with a rising passion. If that was my answer, I had hope.

~*~

I saw something in the paper that caught my eye in the Help Wanted section. Silver Arrow Tours was looking for qualified drivers for their tour and charter buses. I didn't know anything about the company, but it resurrected a long ago desire of mine to drive a big highway bus and see America. Most boys dream of being a pilot, or a railroad engineer, or a fireman. Not me. I dreamed of being a bus driver. A highway bus driver in one of those big, modern buses I saw on the Interstates. I'd been brought up in Minnesota near Minneapolis, and I had never really gone anywhere outside my home state. My drive to Louisville had been farther than I'd ever been before, and as much as I saw, I realized how much more there was to see.

I did a little looking on the Internet and found a nearby school that taught driving trucks and buses, particularly those with air brakes. I wasn't interested in being a school bus driver or a transit bus driver. I wanted something more highway orientated. The Jackson School of Driving was certified and had openings for students. The cost was significant for the three month course, but I could afford it.

"Diane, I need your opinion on something," I said after we had finished doing the supper dishes. "I've been thinking about becoming a professional highway bus driver. It's something I wanted to do a long time ago but never had the chance. How would you feel about that?"

"I don't know, Doug. Would that mean you would be on the road all the time like a truck driver?"

"Not necessarily. I was thinking about driving a tour bus, not a Greyhound kind of deal. They usually go out and come back to the same place. There's a local operator who's looking for drivers. I could take a course and get qualified. I'd be able to live here in Louisville. I'd just be gone for a few days at a time on trips to Florida, or New Orleans, or places like that."

"That seems like a very strange thing to want to do. Are you sure about this?"

"No ... to tell the truth, I'm not. I have this idea that I'd like to do it, but I don't know enough about it to say ... yeah, for sure this is what I want. But I'd like to explore the idea and see what it's about."

"Then you should," she said, just like that. "I want you to be happy in whatever you do, regardless of what it is. Find out more about it. I wouldn't want you to be gone for long periods of time ... especially if we're going to ... to be together again."

"That's on my mind too. I think a few days at a time, not too many and not too often, wouldn't hurt us. It might even make coming home that much more enjoyable," I grinned.

"Well, don't go off riding into the sunset just yet. I'm just getting used to having a loving man in my bed again."

"Don't worry about that. That's on my mind too," I said, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her to me.

I'd come to the conclusion that we were going to get back together again. I wanted us to marry again, but I was going to be very careful that it was what both of us wanted and I wasn't going to rush it. So far, it had been better than I had ever imagined, but these were the first days of our reconciliation and we had more to learn about each other. We may have lived together for ten years, but it was as if that had been wiped out and we were starting again. We were not the same people.

To Be Continued