Silver Pt. 07

"That's OK, I'll live... hopefully anyway," I laughed.

Dianne stood in front of me and kissed me; not a sexual kiss, but a friendly, comforting one. She hugged me tightly and her lovely breasts pressed into my chest. My cock was alive once again, and making his presence well known. "Mmm, somebody has a problem," Dianne whispered in my ear. "Thank you Michael, thankyou so much for listening and making me feel so much at ease," Dianne continued as her hand played with my hair. "I love you."

"Thanks Dianne, I love you too," I replied in a comforting tone. "Thank you for bringing me out shopping tonight too," I exclaimed, "You both did a great job of spending my money and teasing me beyond belief!"

"You're welcome, Slim," Margie said as she walked into me with a hug and kiss. "You truly are a wonderful man, and Marlene is so, so lucky to have you as her own. I love you too!"

"Thank you, Margie, I love you also, and if either of you ever need anything, just let me know, OK?"

Again, the girls broke out in laughter, "We'll come over every day if that's the case, and you can help us with all of our needs," Dianne laughed. "Good night, Michael, thanks for the laughs and for letting us torture the shit out of you!"

"Good night, girls, be careful going home, and I'll talk to you later. Oh, and remember, don't slip in front of Marlene and mention anything that we bought tonight, OK?"

"Mum's the word," Margie replied as she walked out the door.

**********

**********

Christmas was just days away, and i needed to get out and pick up one more gift for Marlene. My sister Rose was on her way over to bring me to a jewelry store or two, so I could pick up something that would replace the ring that I felt Marlene was expecting. I showed Rose the gifts that I had purchased so far. She thought that the long brown leather coat was gorgeous and said that it fit Marlene's personality perfectly. She loved the soft sweaters and long denim skirts that the girls had helped me pick out. She said that the matching leather gloves and white scarf was an excellent idea and accented the coat perfectly. "How about I help you wrap this stuff when we get back," she offered before we left for the store.

"Rose, that would be a huge help; that coat will sit in a pretty big box, and it might be a bit too much for me to wrap."

Rose and I entered the crowded jewelry store and began looking along the glass cases. I wanted to purchase a nice pair of diamond stud earrings, and a diamond encrusted cross neclace. A sales person asked us if we needed any help. I told her what we were looking for, and she directed us towards the back of the store. We looked at several pair of earrings, trying to decide the proper size to fit Marlene's delicate ears. The woman set several pairs onto the counter, making sure that there was no one close that would grab them and run. Rose was doing her best to describe them to me, when the woman picked up a pair and asked me to hold out my hand. As the card that held the earrings rested in my left palm, my right index finger shook uncontrollably as it lightly felt the diamond. "Are they sparkly?" I asked.

"Mike, they're beautiful; yes, they are really brilliant!" Rose commented as my hand continued to tremble.

"After we clean them up, they will sparkle even more," the woman commented.

"Rose, what do you think; do you think they will look alright on Marlene? Do you think that she'll like them?"

I was so nervous; i wanted everything to be perfect for my Marlene. "Mike, I think that she'll absolutely love them," Rose reassured me.

"Sir, they are indeed beautiful, and they're even forty percent off!" the woman said in a cheerful sales voice.

"Please, call me Mike; and forty percent off of what, a million dollars?" I replied nervously.

Rose and the sales woman laughed at my candor. She pulled out her calculator and tapped in a couple of numbers, giving me the price of the earrings. "Jesus Christ!" I said in a long groan. "And I still need to get her the necklace."

"Do you have to get a necklace, Mike? Is it necessary?" Rose asked, trying her best to find a resolution to my dilemma.

"Yes, Rose, I want this to be perfect; I want to hear Marlene's reaction, and most of all, hear the happiness in her voice."

The saleswoman began to tear up after listening to my words and told me that she would see if she could do anything else to help with the price. I asked her to hold onto the earrings until we picked out a necklace.

After holding several of the delicate necklaces in my hand and touching the diamond cross', we picked out the daintiest one with the most sparkle. "Sir...Mike," the saleswoman began, " This is also on sale, and the price is going to surprise you! I can't believe that no one has purchased this one yet, it's gorgeous!"

"Yeah, Mike, it's almost like someone purposely left it there for you," Rose commented.

"Wait here guys, I'm going to speak to my manager to see if we can work on the price for the both of them together," the woman said as she left with the two pieces of jewerly.

"Oh God, the old, I'm going to talk to my manager thing," I sarcastically said, "I feel like I'm buying a fricking car."

Rose shushed me and smacked my back as she laughed at my comment. "Keep quiet, here she comes," Rose warned.

The saleswoman came back with a big smile on her face and told us what the manager said he could do about the price. I was quite happy when she revealed the final price and asked her if she could wrap them for me after she cleaned them. She happily agreed and asked us to take a look around while she prepared the two pieces of jewelry.

"Rose," I began to ask, "Do you think that we can take a look at engagement rings while we're waiting?"

"Mike, you're kidding, really, really?" she exclaimed out loud, "You and Marlene? You're going to ask her to get married?" Oh my god, we love Marlene, we all absolutely love her," she said as tears began to run down her cheek.

"Easy there, little sister; yes, I'm going to marry Marlene, but I'm going to wait until after the holidays and get these bills paid off."

Rose grabbed my hand and dragged me to the cases that held the engagement rings. As she brought me up to the case, I told her that I thought that a pear shaped diamond would be best for Marlene's long slender fingers. She agreed as she pressed her nose down to the glass and reviewed the brilliant rings. "Oh Mike, I can't wait, this is so exciting... Oh my God, this one is gorgeous and it has Marlene written all over it," she gasped as she excitedly grabbed onto my arm. Rose looked up and waved our saleswoman over. The woman greeted us with the two wrapped pieces of jewelry. "Here you go, Mike, all wrapped and ready for Santa to deliver," she said, taking my hand and resting it on top of the two boxes.

"What color wrapping paper?" I asked.

"Silver," she answered. I looked up at her with a stunned look. "Actually, it's silver with a blue ribbon and bow on each; is that alright, or would you prefer another color?"

"Um, no, silver is perfect," I said in a trembling voice.

"Are you alright, Mike?" Rose asked after hearing my shaky voice.

"No, yeah, I'm fine; I was just thinking of something," I replied.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked again.

"Yeah, Rose, I'm fine."

"OK, well, can we see that ring right there?" I heard Rose ask the saleswoman.

The woman unlocked the case and reached her hand inside to retrieve the ring that my sister was pointing to. "This one?" she asked.

"No, the pear shaped one next to it," Rose replied.

The woman picked up the velvet case and placed it on the glass counter in front of us. "Oh my God, Mike, this is absolutely stunning!"

"Is it alright if I feel it?" I asked the woman.

"Sure, let me place it on this black velvet mat, and you can pick it up, Mike."

"Mike, you should see how brilliant it is against the black," Rose exclaimed.

I held out my palm and asked Rose to hand it to me. My hand shook once again as I felt the weight of the ring against my skin. I picked it up by the metal ring and lightly touched the diamond.

"Mike, it's white gold, and the diamond is lying in a wishbone setting, which has tiny diamonds running along the setting and onto the ring," the woman explained. "You're going to be engaged soon?" she asked.

"Sometime after the holidays," I answered as my finger ran across the pear shaped diamond. "Most likely after Valentine's Day, so I can get these Christmas bills paid off."

"It truly is stunning!" the woman added.

"How stunning?" I asked, not talking about the brilliance of the ring.

The woman looked at the tag on the case that held the ring and told me the price. I coughed and placed the ring down on the velvet matt. I paid less for my first car!" I studdered as I held my hand to my chest.

"We could probably take twenty percent off of the price," the saleswoman replied, laughing at my response to the original amount.

"I don't have that kind of money right now, or ever, for that fact," I said.

"Mike, will you let me and Matthew help you out, and you can pay us back in monthly payments?" Rose asked.

"Rose, that is so sweet of you and Matt, but I don't know," I replied.

My body began to shake and i could feel the blood draining from my face. I could feel the perspiration forming on my forehead as everything was finally sinking in. I was going to ask the most beautiful, the most precious person that I could ever dreamed up, the woman that I loved and adored, to marry me. "Mike, are you alright? You don't look good," Rose said, "Here, sit down in this chair for a minute."

I sat down and placed my head in my hands, rubbing my temples as a feeling of uncertainty filled my brain. Was I good enough for Marlene? Would I be a good enough husband? Would she eventually get tired of my blindness like most of the other women had? Would Marlene leave me one day for someone better? In reality, I knew the answer to my questions. Marlene loved me more than words could describe; she told me. She promised that she would never leave me. She said that she fell in love with me the first time she saw me and Misty walk down her street. She was the one who came up with the plan to meet me. What was I thinking? Of course she loved me and wanted to marry me and live the rest of her life with me.

I looked up at the woman who was standing silent behind the jewelry case. "Can you hold that for me?"

"We can hold it for thirty days, but we need to have a deposit of ten percent in order to do so," she softly said. I heard Rose ruffling through her pocket book and say, "Here, put it on hold for us."

"Rose, no..."

"Be quiet, Mike, I'm putting this ring on hold," she said in a sharp, firm tone.

The saleswoman leaned over the counter while placing the ring back into the case and whispered, "The price will be discounted the day after Valentine's Day, so put it on hold for the first thirty days, come back in and we'll take it off hold and immediatley put it back on for another thirty days. That will get you past Valentine's Day and we can discount it then."

"Will you do that for me?" I asked, staring her in the face.

"Yes, just make sure that I'm here when you come in each time," she whispered as she began to fill out the paperwork.

Rose thanked her over and over again, saying how absoolutely stunning the ring will look on Marlene's finger. After finishing up with the papers and signing my life away, we thanked the woman, took her card from her, paid for my Christmas purchases, and left the store.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God," Rose rapidly said the moment that we exited the store. "Mike, I am so happy for you! I'm ecstatic and I can't wait to tell Matthew!"

"Rose, you can tell Matt, but promise that you won't tell anyone else. I don't want anyone to slip in front of Marlene. I want this to be a total surprise," I said.

"OK, Mike, I promise, I won't tell anyone, not even Matthew; he would be the one who lets the cat out of the bag. Oh, I am so excited; this is so great!"

"Yes, it is great, isn't it?" I replied. "Rose, Marlene will be happy, right?"

"Mike, of course she'll be happy; she'll be thrilled to death! You know that she's going to cry, right?"

"Yes, I know she's going to cry. And she'll cry every time that she looks at it on her finger," I chuckled.

"How about some lunch?" Rose asked.

"No thanks, I feel like I'm going to throw up!" I said with a half smile.

"Mike, I have to tell you; that ring is absolutely stunning. It is just gorgeous."

My little sister and me spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping Marlene and Monica's gifts. She did a perfect job with each of Marlene's gifts, wrapping each gift with a steel blue paper and red ribbon, curling it with the scissors after tying it together in the middle of each box. It was my job to top off each one with a red bow and fill out the card. With Rose's help, I carefully wrote, To: Marlene... From: Santa, in the best print that I could manage. Rose helped me carry the gifts down to the basement and place them on my workbench in the shop. I didn't have the other gifts that the girls talked me into buying at the adult store; I would take care of them myself. I also decided that I wasn't going to give Marlene the porno movie the girls picked out. It just happened to have three women and one guy on the cover, and I wasn't going there. I would give it to my buddy Frankie. He loved that stuff and could jerk off to it after having a few drinks after his Christmas dinner!

**********

********

Christmas Eve was finally here! I was going out of my mind, not bbeing able to wait until my beautiful Marlene walked through the door. It was going to be a wonderful night! I bought a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers, and had the nostalgic holiday songs from the past playing low on the stereo. I had placed Marlene's gifts under the tree and in her stocking. I nervously paced the house, trying to make sure that everything was in place. I had decorated the bushes in front of the house, and placed a white candle in every window. Finally, I heard it; the closing of a car door in the driveway! The familiar sound of Marlene's heels tapping on the cement walkway. Misty was waiting at the door, wildly wagging her tail in anticipation of seeing her mommy! "My tail would be wagging like that too if I had one," I laughed to myself. Misty was doing her dance at the door before leaning down and letting out a long playful stretch with her butt raised in the air.

The door opened and the cold December air rushed into the room. "Hi Handsome! Oh my God, it's beautiful in here!" she gasped as she tried to walk past Misty. "Hi there, Misty-girl, how are you? Are you ready for Santa to come tonight?" she asked in a high pitched voice. Misty dropped to the floor as usual and raised her belly for Marlene to rub. "Misty, you'll never change, will you?" she laughed as she bent over and gave the Lab her belly rub.

I walked towards Marlene; I couldn't wait any longer. "Hi Gorgeous, Merry Christmas!" I said with a huge smile plastered across my face.

"Hi my love, Merry Christmas to you too!" she said as she stepped over Misty and ran into my arms.

I squeezed her body into mine, harder than I had ever done in the past. "I love you so much," I tearfully whispered.

"Michael, I love you so much too; what's the matter?"

"Nothing Sweetheart, I'm just so happy... Finally, a Christmas with the woman that I absolutely adore," I replied as I continued to hold her tightly.

I leaned my head back and kissed her passionately. Our tongues sensually danced together and our lips magically slid against each other. Marlene moaned in my mouth and took ahold of my hair, pulling me harder into her as we stood alone; the two lost souls, the two lovers who became one. Our kiss lasted for a good while before we had to come up for air. "Wow," she gasped.

"Yeah, wow is right," I replied, breathing heavily.

"I haven't even taken my coat off yet!" She said as I pictured her sparkling eyes staring deep into my very soul. "I have to run out to the truck to bring some things in."

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

"No, well, you can hold the door open for me, OK?"

"Yep, I can handle that," I replied as I tried to grab her ass through her long coat when she walked by.

"Hey, you better be good or Santa is going to put coal in your stocking," she giggled.

Marlene made four trips to the truck, returning three times with presents, and the last time with her overnight bag. "Marlene, that sounds like a lot of stuff, you better not had bought too much," I said to her with concern.

"Hush you, some of this is for Monica," she giggled. "Speaking of buying too much; it looks like Santa already came! Michael, this better not be all for me!"

"Um, uh, no...some is, uh for..." I stammered.

"Michael! I'm going to..." she began.

"Now, now, you better behave yourself or Santa will come and take your gifts back," I replied with a grin. "How about you get yourself settled and I'll get us a glass of wine," I suggested as I brushed my lips across her nose.

"You're going to have wine too?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I'll share a glass with you!"

I opened the bottle of wine and poured it into our glasses, carrying both out to Marlene who was bending over and placing her gifts under the tree. "Here you go, Sweetheart," I said as I bumped into her ass. "Oops, sorry, I didn't know you were there," I laughed.

"Yeah, sure you didn't; I swear, you can see, and know exactly what you're doing!"

Marlene stood up and took a glass from my hand. "Sweetheart, can you take mine too, and put it on the end table? I cut up some pepper jack cheese that I want to bring out."

I returned with the cheese and crackers, placing them on the table next to Marlene. I sat down close to her and she handed me a glass of wine. "A toast?" she asked.

"Sure, you or me?"

"I'll do it!" she replied with a smile in her voice. "To the love of my life; to the man that I absolutely adore. To our very first Christmas together, and for the infinite ones that are to follow! I love you, Michael, Merry Christmas, Love," she whimpered.

"Merry Christmas to you too, my beautiful, beautiful baby! I love you more than life itself," I tearfully replied.

Our glasses clinged together, as we hooked our arms around the other, and sipped our wine. We sat close, leaning into each other, sipping wine, and feeding each other cheese and crackers. The room was magically quiet with the exception of the low music from the stereo. "Oh Holy Night" played as I sat there in Marlene's arms, picturing the beauty of the twinkling lights on the tree along with the perfectly wrapped gifts that Santa had left.

"Michael?"

"What Sweetheart?"

"I have never been more happy, more relaxed, and more content in my life," she whispered as she traced her long nails across my cheek.

"I never thought that I would celebrate a nice Christmas again," I replied with my eyes closed, soaking in her touch on my face.

"What are you wearing tonight?" I asked.

"Do you mean now, or tonight?" she giggled.

"Now," I laughed.

"A white sweater, jeans, and black high heels," she answered, taking my hand and placing it on her breast.

Her nipples were pressing through the ultra soft sweater as my hand rested over it. "I think that this sweater is defective," I said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It has a bump pointing out of it! I whispered with a smile.

"Hmm, I guess I'll have to take it off and return it to the store," she seductively whispered against my lips.

"I think you're right," I replied as my smile widened against her.

Marlene placed her glass on the end table, reached down and pulled the white sweater up and over her head, shaking out her hair after the piece of clothing was removed completely. She turned her back and laid into my chest. I cupped her breasts in my hands, softly trailing my fingers around the perimeter of her tender flesh. I continued circling them, closing in to her wrinkled areolas and incredibly hard nipples. "Oh Michael, yes, that feels so good," she moaned as my fingers finally circled onto her nipples, taking them and squeezing them gently. Marlene stretched her arms back behind my neck and held me. Her tits pushed out proud and beautiful, waiting to be further caressed. "Michael, yes, please squeeze them harder...please...please," she begged as she lifted her back and press her tits harder into my hands. I released her nipples and cupped my hands under her breasts, lifting them up and pressing them together. "Oh God yes," Marlene gasped as her hands fell forward from my neck and covered mine, forcing them harder against her tits. Marlene was gasping and groaning as her hands continued guiding mine into her firm tits.