 Her two-month-old daughter cooing and smiling happily in a basket at her feet, Lou pinned the last of the laundry to the line in the fresh spring breeze, then stretched her back contently. Though they were well along into the season by the calendar, this was the first real spring-like day this year, she thought. Nature seemed to be trying to outdo herself, as if in celebration of something. The sky was a cloudless blue; the sun warm and bright but not too strong; and the returned birds were twittering as if their lives depended on it, though it was nearly one o'clock. Her husband rounded the corner of the house and headed toward the clothes line. She smiled at him, calling out, "You couldn't ask for a nicer afternoon to work with the spring colts! I'm jealous!" Kid smiled back at her, asking slowly as he approached, "Actually, it's such a nice day I'm thinking of playing hooky. Would you be interested in a walk? It'd be nice to spend such a fine afternoon with my two best girls. Jeremiah and Theresa aren't due back from school for at least a few hours, so what do you say?" Lou eagerly accepted, and ran into the house to toss the clothes baskets in the hallway and grab a few of the baby's things to take on their walk. She was hoping that this invitation meant, as it usually would have before Emma Rae's birth, that Kid was interested in more than just taking in the scenery. But they hadn't even attempted to make love since Emma Rae's birth, and she was starting to wonder, anxiously, if Kid would ever want her that way again. She reflected that there might be some reason for Kid's lack of interest in sex since she had given birth. Emma Rae had come a couple of weeks early, in the middle of a late but bitter snowstorm, and there had been no way to get a doctor or midwife or even a neighbor woman to come and help him. He'd had to deliver Emma Rae himself, and almost as bad, care for Lou's personal needs and damaged body for several days until the roads were passable again and he was able to get a nurse for her. She had been terribly weak and sick immediately following the birth, and unable to take care of much of anything herself. Kid had been as patient and gentle as any nurse could have been, and had tried hard not to show how upset and shocked he was at the ravages childbirth had on her body; nonetheless, she had been bitterly mortified that he had seen her in labor and afterwards, torn and swollen and bleeding. How could he ever look at her again without thinking of it, she wondered. Still, it had been two months now… and the doctor had given the go-ahead weeks ago for them to resume their intimate relationship. Yet Kid showed no signs of interest. How long would this go on? Forever? Lou shuddered at the thought and hurried out, to join Kid where he waited for her with their baby girl.
Their ramblings took them well back in the wooded area of the ranch they'd bought with their savings from their Pony Express jobs. They reached a small clearing in the woods beside a rippling, crystal-clear brook, just as Emma Rae started fussing for her afternoon feeding. Kid dropped down on a grassy spot under a tree facing the brook, and gestured to Lou to sit down beside him. She leaned up against his shoulder, and he cuddled her to him as she unfastened her blouse and camisole to the waist and lifted their baby from her basket. Emma Rae quickly latched on and began noisily slurping away. Lou sighed with relief and dropped her head on Kid's neck; nursing always made her a little drowsy. Kid looked down at Lou's breasts, exposed as Emma Rae suckled. They were fuller and even more beautiful than before the baby had been born, and he had always thought she was perfect in every way. But now, the sight of her had a different effect on him than back before Lou was a mother, the mother of his child. He felt almost awestruck by Lou now. How amazing women are, he thought. His mind went back, unwillingly, to the sight of his daughter's head and body emerging in a flood of blood and fluids from his wife's tiny body. The weaker sex, my big foot, he thought grimly. Lou's eyes fluttered open and she looked upwards, noting Kid's face had that odd expression it wore so often around her these days, especially when she fed their daughter. That faraway, annoyingly worshipful, almost reverent look. That look that had no hint of desire or lust in it, even though she was lying in his arms half naked. The baby had fallen asleep at her breast. Lou knew that Emma Rae was down for the count, and probably would sleep like a rock for at least two hours if undisturbed. She inserted a finger in the corner of her daughter's mouth to release her from the nipple, as the midwife had taught her when she finally came a week after the birth. It seems nursing babies didn't come that naturally, for something everyone said was so natural. Lou's ignorance had led to some problems, with sore and aching breasts, for several weeks after Emma Rae was born. She thought back with regret at how she had involuntarily cried out in pain when Kid had tried to hug her two weeks after the birth. Kid had drawn back in shock and guilt, and Lou wished she had somehow stifled that scream of agony. Lou sighed again and placed Emma Rae in her basket, before buttoning up her camisole and blouse. He isn't interested in the inventory, might as well put the merchandise back on the shelf, she thought dismally.
Lou brightened, however, as she sat up and looked out over the beautiful spring afternoon. No one could stay depressed on a day like this, she reflected. The sun was dappling the surface of the stream, and suddenly she noticed something on the other bank. "Daffodils!" she cried out, excitedly. "It looks like a thousand of them, all the way back here! Can you imagine -" Kid grinned knowingly at her. "You planted them? So many?" Lou exclaimed. "You never said anything -" "It was a surprise. Put them in last fall so you'd have them when the baby came in the spring. I know how much you like them… remember when you read me that poem about them: I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze," Kid proudly quoted, before reciting the entire poem she loved so, by heart, ending with: And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils. Lou looked at him, wonderingly. She did remember that bitter cold fall night. She'd been anxious over the coming winter… it was hard for her to be cooped up inside in the best of times, never mind with morning sickness and swollen ankles, and she couldn't help wishing the winter already were over and the spring, and her baby, were already here with all their sunshine and promise. She'd read him that poem by Wordsworth that night, and he'd gone to all this trouble… her heart nearly burst with love for this kind, thoughtful, and romantic man who was her husband. Lou kissed him, hard, on the mouth, in thanks, and leaped up excitedly to run down to the bank of the stream. She wanted to pick some of the flowers, to take back to the house, but they were on the other side of the creek. After a moment's hesitation, she stripped off her stockings and shoes and waded in, toward a large rock. There were a series of them leading across the stream, and she could jump from one to the other to reach the other side. "Lou, be careful, those rocks look slippery -" Kid called out, just as Lou's feet slipped out from under her and she landed, waist deep, in the freezing stream. Kid looked at her, laughing at her own foolishness, bright and sparkling as the stream around her. His heart swelled, almost painfully, with love for her, as he watched her clamber back out of the stream, her white cotton blouse and cotton skirt clinging to her transparently. As she reached the bank, she stripped off her blouse and skirt, and laid them out in the sunshine to dry. Still chuckling, she waded across the stream, where she picked daffodils in her thin, damp camisole and petticoat, the sun gleaming on her shiny, long dark hair. He felt the stirrings of a familiar arousal, as he watched her from a distance. She waded back across, her arms full of the blossoms, her beautiful eyes full of love and gratitude, for him. Kid called out to her, a catch in his voice. "You'd… you'd better take off the rest of those clothes, and lay them out too. You'll catch your death walking around in those wet things." Lou stopped, mid-stream, and looked at him curiously. Finally, she saw in his bright blue eyes and handsome face, the old fire that she'd longed for so long. She brushed her cheek flirtatiously with one of her flowers. "Yes, I suppose that's true…" she finally said, conveniently also ignoring the fact the mid-afternoon sun was shining down merrily and it certainly was not cold at all.
Lou climbed back up the bank, and laid her flowers down carefully next to her skirt and blouse. Turning her back on Kid, she slowly stripped off her damp undergarments, and deliberately bent over to lay them on the sunny bank. It was a blatant, open invitation, one Kid suddenly was powerless to refuse. Stopping only to check that the basket Emma Rae slept soundly in was secure, he jumped up and found himself rushing toward her stooping form, unfastening his pants as he literally ran to her. There wasn't time to do more than that; his passion for her was too overwhelming after the months without having her. Grasping her around her still bent waist, he entered her womanhood in a single thrust from behind without word or ceremony. Lou was startled by this untoward development, but not unpleasantly. One of his hands gently cupped her breast, before releasing it quickly as he remembered that he shouldn't touch her there … she might still be too tender … but Lou quickly guided his hand back to its place, as his other hand wandered between her legs to fondle her gently as he plunged into her over and over. Her mind reeled dizzily with pleasure at his touch, sweeter for the long wait she'd had for him. Kid was panting with passion, about to climax after only a few minutes inside her … he didn't want to disappoint her after all this time, so he reluctantly pulled away, despite her whining protests. He turned her stand facing him. "Let's take it slower," he said, hoarsely, placing her hands on his shirtfront. Trembling, she slowly, tortuously, unfastened each button, one at a time, and pushed the shirt off his shoulders. She ran her hands slowly over his chest, placing gentle kisses along its breadth. Her hands traveled to his waist, pushing his clothes down over his hips. Suddenly impatient again, he kicked off the rest of his clothes and bent to swing her up in his arms. As he carried her up the bank, under a pink cherry tree, their mouths met in a passionate kiss. He laid her under the tree… positioned himself above her, and entered her again, more slowly and gently this time. He silenced her grateful, loving words with his own mouth on hers; there was no need for thanks … she'd given him the greatest miracle of all this spring, and he would spend his life thanking her for that. He moved slowly inside her, taking his time and making up for the weeks of frustration they'd both endured; and as she climaxed, the sights and sounds and smells of the spring - - the blinding blue sky, the dancing, heady-scented cherry blossoms above Kid's head, the babbling brook, filled her senses with their promise of a new beginning. Email EllieTYR EXPRESSions Home |