Terri and Cal

After Bess turned two they decided to try for another child. Terri got pregnant but miscarried at ten weeks. She was somewhat subdued and melancholy for a spell but came out of it, helped in part by a class in painting. She liked watercolors and stuck with the hobby after the class ended.

By this time Bess was crawling through the tubes of the park's climbing maze and going solo on the swings and rides. She was shy but got along well with other kids even though they had not put her in day care. They introduced themselves to other parents and made occasional play dates.

Bess loved books, and her parents both loved reading to her. By age three-and-a-half they were reading classic stories such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, A Little Princess, Mary Poppins, and Pollyanna.

As Terri continued Pollyanna at bedtime one evening Bess asked "Mommy, why does Pollyanna think everything is wonderful even when it isn't?"

"Well, actually, Bess, she doesn't. She's a lonely, frightened orphan clinging desperately to the hope her Aunt Polly really loves her, even though she doesn't much act like it. She cries herself to sleep at night, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot that part."

"Her father taught her the Glad Game as a way to cope with disappointment. When things don't turn out as you'd like, looking for something to be glad about, even something silly, helps lessen the sting."

"Did you ever play the Glad Game, Mommy?"

"I tried, but I didn't have anyone to play it with. I was an orphan like Pollyana or Sara Crewe. Shall we read some more of the story?"

"Did things get better for you, Mommy?"

"Yes, darling, they did." She hugged her daughter and blinked her tear-filled eyes at Cal. He sent her an air kiss and blinked tears from his own eyes. "Now, The next time Pollyanna went to see Mrs. Snow, she found that lady, as at first, in a darkened room..."

Cal thought Terri's musical voice was every bit as enchanting as any story told by Sara Crewe.

For Bess's fourth birthday they drove to a small airport and hired a pilot for a ride in a small Cessna. The high-wing aircraft gave a wonderful view of the ground and Bess was enchanted as they flew over houses, trees and water. Bess announced "I'm going to be a pilot when I grow up!"

Bess began asking for a baby brother or sister at age four-and-a-half, and they decided to try again. Terri miscarried a few days after Bess's fifth birthday. They were all three sad but pulled together as a family. Terri did some research and confirmed what her doctor said: some percentage of all pregnancies miscarry, probably due to defects in the fetus, and a previous miscarriage is a relatively minor risk factor. Having three miscarriages in four pregnancies did not mean anything was terribly wrong. She hugged her husband and daughter and counted her blessings.

A few weeks before Bess turned six she asked for a pony. Cal and Terri discussed it and tentatively agreed it would be good for her to have a pet and, as she got older, take on responsibility for it. Cal did some research and shared what he'd learned a few nights later.

"So we're not just spoiling her rotten?"

"No, I think this worth a try."

Terri hugged him; he leaned down to kiss her. She stood on tip-toe and her arms reached up to his back. He deepened his kiss while unzipping her dress. She broke the kiss to turn around and shrug the dress off her shoulders; it dropped to the floor and she stepped out. He cupped his hands around her firm, full breasts; she leaned back into him. His cock dug into her curvaceous bottom, straining to lift her off the ground and point upward. She inhaled deeply and wiggled against him.

Cal growled, "God, woman!" He stepped back, gave her a playful slap on the rear, then scooped her up giggling. His cock tented mightily. He flung her on the bed, quickly stripped them both and drove his steel-hard pole into her hot, wet gash. Her pussy walls closed tight around his member.

"Oh heavens Cal that feels so good..."

"God, Terri, I love making love to you!"

"Oh. yes, Cal, harder, faster please! I love feeling you inside of me! Keep going!"

He squeezed her tits, rubbed her nipples and moaned "You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman in the world! You are a wonderful wife and mother and I'm the luckiest guy on the planet!"

He pulled out, flipped her over and plunged back in. He kissed her neck and shoulders while one hand played with her tits and the other stroked her clit. She buried her face in a pillow to cover her scream as an orgasm ripped through her. He kept pounding her hard and fast and she had several aftershocks before he filled her with his cum.

He lay on top of her for a while, then rolled off to one side. She turned toward him and kissed him lightly. "I love you, Cal. I love you so much."

"I love you, darling Terri. I love you with all my heart."

"Not to mention other parts of your anatomy..."

They both laughed.

Sadness

The next morning Cal drove to a horse farm in the next county. He called Terri to tell her he'd bought a pony and was headed home; he would make arrangements later for stabling the pony near their home. He did not arrive when expected. An hour later Terri got a call -- Cal had had a wreck and was found dead, apparently from a stroke which likely caused the crash.

Terri allowed Josh and Zeke to make the funeral arrangements; at least they didn't attempt to keep her away from the service. Cal's will left most of his wealth and the company to his sons, but provided for Terri and Bess with a modest life insurance policy. As the house was left to the sons Terri bought a new home for herself and Bess.

Their income required Terri to make some choices. Keeping Bess's pony was out of the question; Terri desperately wanted to give her daughter her Papa's last gift, but sensibly if reluctantly had to let it go. It was for the best that Bess didn't know Cal had bought it.

Another concern was school. Bess had attended a private kindergarten. Terri considered public school but wasn't satisfied with the available choices. She looked back over her budget and decided they could make do without a cook. Unfortunately she discovered she had little talent or patience for kitchen work and they subsisted on pop-tarts, frozen/microwavable meals, carryout and delivery.

Terri didn't get out much, content to spend her time with her flowers, watercolors, reading, swimming and sunbathing, but realized she needed more exercise and so got in the habit of a brisk walk at least four mornings per week. She timed these so that most of her neighbors would be off at work, but there were always several that happened to be out on their front porches or lawn when she came by. The men were uniformly chatty while most of the women seemed to find an urgent reason to retreat inside their house when she came by.

A few women were friendly, however, and invited her and Bess over for cookouts and such, eager to introduce her to single male friends or relations. She was polite but unreceptive to their requests to "get to know you better." Her ever-present grief varied from dull, energy-sapping aches to unexpected stabs of blinding pain. She still cried every night.

A young married couple moved in next door; she nerved herself to welcome them to the neighborhood. The guy was fairly short (though several inches taller than Terri), not bad looking, and to Terri's relief, appeared totally smitten with his wife. Their names were Will and Melinda Bridges.