The Freak Pt. 03 of 05

My sisters had a huge discussion at dinner about what they should wear. Dad and I laughed, but Mom silenced us with a look. "This is an important day in our lives and understandably we want to look our best. What are you wearing, Jack?"

"My navy suit, white shirt, and the paisley tie that Barbara gave me for Christmas."

"So, you're dressing up as you should. I know that Barbara will also dress up. It isn't every day that you get married. I know what Barbara is wearing and I think that the two of you will look great. Now leave the girls alone so we can plan what to wear."

I usually knew when to shut up and this was clearly one of those times. I picked up a pork chop with my fork and when Barbara held out her plate I passed it over to her before being rewarded with a nice, but chaste kiss. Once my sisters decided what they were going to wear the meal was like so many others we'd had over the years, loaded with animated discussion. Tonight, however, it was all centered on the wedding. My sister Marie told us that she had gone to the pharmacy this afternoon to buy flashbulbs and film for her Kodak Brownie. "I'm going to take a lot of pictures," she told us with a huge smile.

Suddenly, Barbara had a somber serious expression on her face. "Jack, we don't have any rings."

"We don't need rings to get married, but we do have some. They are a matching set to your solitaire as you'll see when you get it back. Okay, now?" She smiled again and threw her arms around my neck, kissing me passionately in front of my giggling sisters and smiling parents.

Turning to the sisters on the other side of the table she said, "You'd better get used to seeing that. What did I tell you about kissing Jack, Carole?"

"You kiss him as often as you can."

"And he deserves it, too. How many boys do you think would rescue their fiancée the way Jack has rescued me? A lot of them would have turned tail and run, leaving me high and dry even though I did nothing wrong. Only crosses are permitted around your neck, but there's no school rule about wearing rings or bracelets. I'm very lucky to have him and all of you, too." That was my cue to lean over and kiss my future bride.

Rather than help with the dishes, Barbara, Carole, and I were excused so I could shine the shoes. I did Carole's and mine and then I got my first glimpse of what Barbara would wear. Her shoes were a silvery color. That was the only way I could describe them. Fortunately she had polish for them. I assumed correctly that it was squirreled away in the box with the shoes. Looking at Barbara I resolved to thank Mrs. Gleason the next time I saw her.

* * * * *

That happened much earlier that I had thought. She and Mr. Gleason were at the house at eight the following morning, arriving just before my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dave with my cousins. We left the house at 8:35 in three cars—Mr. and Mrs. Gleason with my parents and Angela, the cousins with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dave, and my remaining two sisters with Barbara and me. Angela volunteered to get on line if necessary as we would be about ten minutes later due to picking up Eli.

Once down in the Village I turned right at the playground, the site of some really intense basketball games. So far as I knew, I was the only white guy to play there without hearing plenty of jibes and insults. Then again, there wasn't one other player who could keep up with me. After the playground I made another left and a right before pulling into Eli's driveway. Carole squeezed out from the back seat and sprinted up the sidewalk. The front door opened just as she arrived and Eli scooped her up into his arms.

"Hey there, Big C; I hear you're in the wedding, too." Then he hugged her, giving her a big kiss. Carole loved when he called her Big C, especially because she was by far the smallest in our family. Eli greeted us as he pulled the seat forward for Carole and squeezed into the front passenger seat next to Barbara and me.

"How's your back, Barbara? You really look beautiful; unfortunately, there's nothing special about you Freak. Did you comb that head with an egg beater this morning?"

"At least I never had the stupidity to get a Mohawk."

"Ouch! That hurt! But it really is an honor to be with you this morning. I think all the guys and their girlfriends are going to be there, too."

Barbara leaned over to kiss Eli's cheek and laughed. "Jack told me about the Mohawk. Wow, is your mother strict!"

"Yeah, but looking at how some of the other kids behave I'm glad she is. They have no discipline... no self-control. I see nothing but trouble for most of them. It'll be too late by the time they finally grow up. Enough of this negativity; where are you going for your honeymoon?

'We're leaving this afternoon for my parents' bungalow. It's not much, but we'll have quiet and privacy."

"More importantly, we'll have each other," Barbara said as she reached up to kiss my cheek. I turned left at the light onto White Plains Road and less than ten minutes later I was parking in the Town Hall lot. Angela was right there first in line with two couples behind her. We took her place with an apology to those behind us. They assured us it was not a problem and that Angela had told them that she was holding the spot for her brother. I gave her a hug as we took our place in line.

We hadn't been there five minutes when I heard a clamor behind us. All of my school friends and some of Barbara's—no doubt the work of Mrs. Gleason--walked in. I was proud when I saw that they were all in suits and dresses. I would have walked over to thank them, but the door opened at that very second. Barbara and I walked in with Eli and Carole right behind us. I showed our license and our judicial waiver, and paid the fee, handing Eli the rings before a quick request to the clerk and stepping forward to meet the Justice. I shook his hand, slipping him a twenty that he calmly slipped into his pocket. He did laugh when he saw the crowd, but took charge, telling everyone where to stand. My family and Mr. and Mrs. Gleason had prime locations. Eli stood to my right; Carole to Barbara's left.

I had worn my navy suit as stated, but I was surprised to find it newly pressed as was my shirt AND tie. Barbara was stunning in a silver-white short-sleeved dress that was mostly form-fitting with a loose matching vest /jacket that ended at her waist over the bodice. Her coordinating heels were a great match and her diamond and opal jewelry set went with the outfit perfectly, as well. I listened carefully to every word the Justice said, repeating word-for-word the oath of love and loyalty, forsaking all others gladly and loudly, proclaiming my love for Barbara, followed immediately by Barbara proclaiming her undying love for me. Eli produced the rings on time and Carole smiled broadly through the entire brief ceremony. It ended to nobody's surprise with the command to kiss the bride. I had intended a quick relatively chaste kiss, but Barbara grabbed my head, pressed our lips together, and held it for more than ten seconds before pulling back to whisper, "I love you more than I can ever say so I'm going to show you every single moment of every single day." We turned and walked out, making room for the next group of four people even as I slipped the clerk another twenty in trade for a legal-sized envelope with the typed documents I had requested.

Once outside Dad startled me by inviting everyone back to the house. "We'll have deli meats and bread and a host of salads. There's soda and beer and even the hard stuff and we're hoping you will all come." When I reached home I learned that Mom had ordered everything including delivery yesterday while Barbara and I were getting our license. Two of our closest neighbors had taken the delivery and organized everything.

The house was jammed with people even though my parents' house is large—not mansion large, but close. The living room alone is almost 600 square feet and when you add in the dining room, kitchen, breakfast nook, and my bedroom/family room at the rear the total was well over 1,000. I was standing with Eli, sipping a Coke, while Barbara spoke to a few of her friends from school. They told her that some absurd story had been created to explain her sudden departure. I overheard one of the girls refer to the nun as "the troll." It must have been a commonly used name because the other three nodded their heads in agreement.

I would have laughed had Eli not spoken. "You're a lucky guy, Freak. She is an incredible woman. She's beautiful, intelligent, has a killer body, and it's obvious that she is totally in love with you."

"You're right, Eli. The day I met her was the luckiest day of my life... until today, anyway. There was no way I was going to let her get away from me." He clapped me on the back and left to tickle Big C before grabbing a sandwich from the dining room table. Angela started the phonograph and as soon as I heard "Sea of Love" I moved the latest Mrs. French to dance. We held each other closely as I whispered, "Come with me, my love... to the sea... the sea of love... I want to tell you how much I love you... " I was pleased when Barbara pulled me even closer to her body. The message was clear—I belong to you—everything... all of me.

I saw my sister Marie taking plenty of photos, spending Dad's money freely. I knew she was on at least her third roll of film. We ate and danced and received the well wishes of our friends and family, but at 1:45 we disappeared upstairs exactly as planned. Once in Carole's room we changed our clothes and I was especially keen to check on Barbara's back. There were signs of healing, but it was all too clear that she still had a very long way to go.

Ten minutes later we strolled downstairs dressed in jeans, casual shirts, and light jackets. Our suitcases and toiletries had been packed into the trunk of the Olds earlier this morning. We said our good-byes quickly, taking extra time to thank my parents, Eli, and Big C then we were off to our abbreviated honeymoon. We were on the Hutchinson River Parkway toward the Whitestone Bridge, making sure that I had the change for the tolls. The traffic heading eastbound on Long Island's limited east-west highways was terrible during the afternoon rush hour and our goal was to reach Suffolk County by 3:00. We actually missed that by five minutes, but we clearly had avoided the bulk of the traffic and all of the delays one could expect.

We had been on the road talking and joking and looking forward to our life together when I asked her what she had been discussing with her friends. "I told them how I had asked Sister Mary Patrick about my ring and how she had treated me and about my injuries. They weren't all that surprised. Elizabeth told me that she was beaten last year... not as many times as I was and for some minor transgression in class. She said that her parents were told that she'd be kicked out of school and possibly excommunicated by Msgr. Moran if they complained so they said nothing."

"I'll bet we can come up with lots of other girls just by talking to your friends and their friends and so forth. Mr. Silverman thinks we may be able to file a class action suit. That could involve hundreds of millions of dollars and I'm sure it would get plenty of publicity. It's just like Moran to threaten the injured parties. Well, that won't happen to us, will it?"

Barbara laughed. I loved hearing her laugh. "No, it won't because we already quit, right?"

"Absolutely! Did I hear them call the nun a troll?"

"Yes, that's what we call her. She's short, maybe five feet two inches at most and she must weigh 250 pounds. Her breasts hang down to her navel and her nose is all misshapen and she has a beard. We know because one day in a weak moment she told us how hard it was for her to have to shave once a week. That was also the day that she condemned all men, telling us how the boys treated her when she was young. I gathered then that she hadn't changed much as she grew older. She's also one of the teachers you mentioned. She never attended college and she brags all the time about how that shows how smart she is." I thought about that, wondering whether that information might be of use to Lt. Flanagan.

We were about half an hour from the bungalow when a thought hit me. I had to laugh and I did until Barbara asked me why. "I just realized something. Today is my re-birthday. With all the excitement I completely forgot. I was struck by lightning exactly fourteen years ago today. I guess that makes me doubly lucky today." Barbara laughed then, as I stopped at a light, she moved over to give me a long hot kiss. Several people honked their horns when the light had turned green and I hadn't moved an inch.

I drove up the lawn all the way to the back door of the bungalow. My dad had built most of it himself back in 1948. It was a simple rectangle with a galley kitchen right at the back door. I turned on the electricity right after carrying my kicking and laughing wife over the threshold. I left her to wander the house while I did the most objectionable job of opening the house—climbing headfirst into the crawlspace to turn the water on at the main. There were always plenty of spiders there and I had seen several black widows there over the years. That was why I ran a long stick around the opening and down the pit to where the valve was located. I also wore an old long-sleeved sweatshirt I had thrown into the trunk just for this purpose.

Barbara met me in the living room. "This is really nice, Jack"

"It's better now than it was when it was built. There were no ceilings then and early in the morning there were comic books thrown from room to room and you could get hit by someone's sneaker, too. In spite of that, there was almost a rebellion when Dad decided to add the ceilings. Also, originally there were no doors to the bedrooms--only cloth drapes. I don't think that Mom was too happy with that. They only lasted one summer."

"Which is your bed?"

I pointed to the bedroom on the far right. "Over here on the right. I have the one by the wall and Carole has the one under the window. I've been thinking of buying a lot or two somewhere around here. The beach is great. Some days you can sit there and not see another person for miles. I'll take you down there tomorrow. There are pebbles all along the north shore so walking barefoot is tough at first, but within a week or so your feet will get calloused and you'll be fine. Best of all is the water. It's great for kids because it's usually calm and clean so it's wonderful for swimming, snorkeling, and fishing. There's also a big rock about a quarter mile down the beach that's right at the edge of the water. You can walk down there at high tide and dive off and swim right back up the rock because of the way it's shaped. It's pretty neat. Of course we have names for all these rocks. I'll show you tomorrow.

"But first, we have to check out the house. I'll give you the easy job. You can make the beds. We're using my parents' room. While you're doing that I have to check for dead mice." The look on Barbara's face was priceless. "We sometimes get field mice that come in during the winter. Every September we put out Mouse-not's--essentially strychnine poison--along with a small cup of water which activates the poison. That's the good part. The bad is that they often die here either in the storage compartment in the couch or behind it or under it."

I found the sheets for Barbara while I made my search. Sure enough I found two that had been dead for some time. I picked them up using a rag and placed them into a brown paper bag I would throw out later when we went out for dinner. It was almost that time now. We had eaten several times at the party so a big sit-down meal was out of the question, besides we wanted to have plenty of time to make love. We agreed on a pizza joint we had passed on the way.

We split a small sausage pizza and a large Pepsi then bought two Pepsi six packs at the local supermarket, but no food. We agreed that we'd rather spend our time making love than cooking and cleaning.

It was when we had returned to the bungalow that I received the first shock of my married life. Rather than make the two beds in my parents' bedroom, she had made mine—a simple twin. "How much room have we needed the last two nights, Jack? Hmm? The only difference is that neither one of us is going to wear anything."

"Nothing?"

"Well... I'm going to be wearing you and you're going to be wearing me. We will have a blanket and a sheet. But I expect to feel you all night and when I feel that certain something special that I've come to love... " I couldn't help but laugh. I wanted to take a shower, but Barbara was impatient. She stripped me in seconds then shed her clothes, as well. I did make her wait until I had checked her back. Almost all of her bleeding welts had scabbed over, but I would still have to apply the ointment and reapply the bandages before we retired. Otherwise I was afraid I would further injure my bride in my sleep.

Barbara pulled several dozen condoms from her purse. When I gave her a questioning look she laughed as she explained, "Your mom is a really prepared woman. She bought them for us while you were in school then made sure they were in my purse. You know that guys never go into a girl's purse. Anyway, we have enough to get us through the weekend."

I shook my head in dismay, but thought this would be a good time for a discussion that would impact both of us. I explained how I had made some changes in my portfolio to buy Searles Pharmaceuticals because they had marketed the new birth control pill. We talked about the pros and cons, ultimately agreeing that she would try it. I explained further that the pill was a sign of progress—medically and sexually.

"If we don't make some progress pretty soon... " I could take the hint, lying back on the bed so Barbara could climb onto my body. "Try touching my back, Jack."

"I don't want to... "

"I know, but we have to experiment a bit. Ooooh! I guess I'm not ready yet." Barbara was kneeling between my legs, rubbing my cock with her nipples. Moving forward she gripped my organ and I began to worry those hard wrinkled nipples as our kiss began. After a shaky beginning I'd learned to love Barbara's kisses. Just the touch of her lips to mine was enough to harden me to steel. She carefully tore through the wrapper and rolled the thin latex sheath down over the head and shaft. I could tell in an instant that she was more than ready, easily seeing the reflection of her nectar running down her thighs in the dim light as she gripped me and spread her legs to almost one hundred and eighty degrees. Seconds later we were in heaven, sharing our desire, our need, and mostly our love.

Barbara must have been practicing because she gave me some sensations I had never felt before, either that or she was saving something special for when we were married. Her pussy was vibrating around my cock, driving me crazy with lust. That, combined with her frenetic movements, brought us to a delightful, but unfortunately swift conclusion. I twisted her big clit as I drove into her with all my strength. Barbara screamed into the night as her body exploded with rapture. My orgasm was there, too. It took all my energy and determination not to reach around her to clutch her to my body. Instead, I grabbed the muscular orbs of her ass, waiting for her convulsions to ebb. Finally, we settled together, a sweaty dirty mess. I pulled the condom off, resting it on a hanky that I used to wipe myself clean then I pulled the blanket over us. My final act of the best day of my life was to whisper, "I love you, Mrs. French." Barbara kissed my cheek and we were gone.

* * * * *

We rose early, showered and I addressed her back's needs—applying ointment and bandages--then we dressed for breakfast—just jeans and sweatshirts and sneakers.