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Sunlight

By: Dahveed



She awoke to bright sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows and falling warm on her nude, lithe body. She stretched, marveling in the sensations of her nudity, the sunlight, the softness of her bed and her skin against the cotton sheets. Relaxing, she thought she could lie there forever in that perfect moment...but another need began making itself known in her lower belly, so she sighed, rolled off the bed, and padded out the door, heading down the hallway to the bathroom. “Padded” she thought, “It’s amazing how differently people walk when they’re naked. It’s something different even than being barefoot. There’s a big difference from shoes to barefoot, but, less logically, there’s something even more different when all the clothes are off, an extra swing to the body or something. Maybe it’s an unconscious freedom of movement...

Her ruminations were interrupted by the opening of the door she was headed for. Her roommate walked out, sporting a huge erection. 

“Something get you excited this morning?” she asked.

“I think I was dreaming about naked girls,” he replied with a grin as he passed her.

“It was only pee that came out of that head in there, wasn’t it?” she posed slyly.

“So far.” he responded as he disappeared into his room.

As she sat down on the toilet, she began to think about the times that she and Toli had masturbated together. While not an often occurrence, they would sometimes happen to be alone at the house, be horny, see each other naked (making the other even more horny), and one would find the other, then they would sit down and masturbate together, their own experience magnified by the sight, sound and smell of the other’s ecstasy. 

As she finished and wiped, even the touch of the toilet paper felt good. She dropped it and pressed her finger against her clit, moaning at how great just that pressure felt. “I must be more excited than I thought,” she said to herself. 

She got up and left the bathroom, with her finger still on her clit. On her way out she picked up two towels, and walked on down the hallway, almost moaning aloud at how the motion of walking was moving her finger. She passed up her room and-wait! She looked in and saw him on her bed with penis in hand, waiting for her to come back. At this sight, knowing what was coming, she felt the cream from her pussy start to come out and moisten her lips. 

She tossed a towel to him and set one down for herself, then put one foot up on the bed, put her hand down to her pussy, and opened her flower for him to see. At this, he gripped his penis hard, causing him to move involuntarily and a drop of clear precum emerge out of the hole in the end of his perfect member.

“You’re beautiful” he said as he continued to massage the head of his dick, “Your feet, your legs, your belly, your breasts, your neck, your hair, and of course that gorgeous place between your legs. If we hadn’t agreed to keep separate as roommates, I’d fuck you all over the place.”

She looked at his dick and felt her vagina pulse at the thought of something like that filling her, driving in and out, stroking her g-spot until she went insane...at the same time, she felt a little rush of inhibition at actually touching him in that way. 

She laid down beside him and started using the end of her finger to start circling that little nub at the top of her slit, at the same time taking hold of the end of one of her round breasts, pinching her dark, hard nipple, sending waves of pleasure down to meet the ones coming up from her clit, causing her to arch and moan aloud, wondering how she would last for very long at this rate...and then she didn’t! Her clit started to jump and her body jumped with it, her head tossing from side to side, toes clinching as her orgasm flowed through her, lifting her through space until she started to come down, drifting softly through soft clouds of delight and back down to her bed, and found she was lying in a wet spot where her pussy had overflowed down over her anus and onto the bed. 

She looked at over at him, and he was keeping a steady rhythm on his penis and smiling at her.

“I love watching you cum,” he said, “It’s amazing how it totally envelopes you, and it’s so soft and feminine.”

She looked at him with a sigh, “I’m sorry I didn’t last until you were able to cum too.”

He grinned. “How sure are you that you didn’t?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Keep rubbing yourself” he said, “Doesn’t it still feel good? Pretty soon you’ll start to feel it building again.”

She did keep rubbing herself, and it did still feel good. How was this possible? How did he know this was possible? As she took her clit in between her finger and thumb of her right hand, she started feeling downward with her left, finding her vagina and putting a finger inside, finding that special spot just inside and up, then stroking it and then alternating with pulling out a little bit and making circle around the outer edge of her vagina. 

She even reached down where the cream from her vagina had covered her anus, and, curious, began to palpate that tight muscle. It felt good, and enhanced the sensations in her clit for a minute, but couldn’t compare with her finger stroking her g-spot, so she moved her finger back up, over her perineum, and into the bottom of her pussy slit, making one complete revolution over the outside of her vagina, then plunging her finger back inside to grind over that round, wet protuberance inside her.

“Oooohhh,” she moaned as the rapture started to take her again. She looked over at him and saw that the rapture was beginning to take him too. She moved her fingers faster and faster, one hand dancing over her clit and the other abusing her pink cavity. She looked at her roommate and saw his hand going more and more quickly as he started to groan and thrust his hips in half-time with his hand. As she thought about and envisioned his penis pulsing and shooting out white cream, her entire pussy started to fill with the incredibly warm feeling of imminent orgasm, and she was amazed at the intensity of the force of the wave she felt coming. She looked in desperation into his eyes and nearly wept, “Toli...I’m almost there...ohh...it’s so big...I think I’m going to...I think...” She screamed, losing total control, thrashing frantically on the bed, hands and fingers working furiously, mercilessly, torturing her with a mind of their own as her pussy screamed back at her in waves of ecstasy, streaming female cum everywhere underneath her. 

She stayed on that excruciating peak for what felt like an eternity, then started to come down, and all of the sudden the wave crashed again and she screamed even louder, arching her entire body off the bed, only touching with her head and feet, maintaining that furious pace with her fingers. She fell down on the bed and tried to relax, but her hands betrayed her, digging at her extremely sensitive clit with ruthless force, compelling her body into violent paroxysms as her hips alternately bucked in orgasmic pulsation and in desperate attempts to get her excruciated nub out of reach of her fingers. She regained control enough to slow down a little bit, come back to her senses, and look over at him in time to see entire body go rigid in an endless moment, rock hard penis immobile in his fist, and then it pulsed! Cum shot from the end and splattered in his hair, falling in a long line across his face and stomach. He gave a mighty jerk with his hand, and his body jumped as well as his penis shot again, up onto his chest. His hand started working with abandon, the palpitations coming thick and fast now, his groans of pleasure in time with the streams of cum discharging onto his stomach and chest, a couple even flying over onto her. Almost unconscious of her fingers still working at her clit, being wrapped up in his amazing orgasm, she was surprised by a long, slow orgasmic undulation washing over her, and her moans were almost purrs of delight as she watched his orgasm wane, his body easing, the pulses coming slower and slower.

“Please, please, come here,” she moaned to him, “I want our organs to pulse together, I want to feel so close to you, please, come into me now and hold me.”

He rolled over to her, cum dripping off him, and eased his cock into her engorged pussy. 

He stopped at her look of alarm. “It’s ok, I’ll be gentle, I know your pussy has had all it can take. Becalm.”

He resumed his long, slow slide into her, jerking now and then as his sensitive, still cumming head glided through her sweet recesses. Finally, he was all the way in, and he laid down, almost weeping at the comfort of her warmth circling and soothing him, gripping him gently now and again as her orgasm played itself out. She felt secured by his closeness, and her pussy was grounded by his cock filling her, giving her cunt something to grab on to and start to rest against. 

She hugged him tightly with her arms and legs, whispering “Thank you so much. I love you. Thank you...”

The bright sunlight streamed down... 

Sunlight



The sunlight pierced the room, its bright rays penetrating the darkness in glistening brilliance as the dust sparkled, hovering in the heat. I waited for her as I stood in the shadows for what felt like hours, my legs trembling, my outstretched arms aching. My hands weren't bound, like they had been for her so many times before, the stretcher bar did not constrain me, instead, I propped it on my shoulders, holding the ends with my hands.

Standing, with my back but inches from the wall, I felt a bit of stoic pride, of her students, I was the one she first trusted without restraint, I was the one she held the firmest, the one who could give himself completely to her will. Sweat dripped down my chest, running into the curly patch of hair above my cock. My erection flagged a bit now, leaning to one side as it softened some, but it would recover as I refocused my mind onto her.

Remembering how I watched her fiery body as it glistened in the sunlight, she moved and danced before me, each step, each spin, and each movement designed to burn into me, to fire my desire for her. I could feel the searing heat of her molten will chaining me, holding me to in this position, my cock hard, aching for her, my need drawing me to her, coaxing me, begging me to grab her and take her. But I stood fast, waiting for her to guide me, to control me, to release me from my mental restraints.

She slowly stepped toward me, her fingernails lightly scratching down my chest, her fingertips hovering just fractions of an inch from my throbbing erection, her breath hot on my thighs and balls. Pausing there, she'd draw closer, her hair brushing my stomach, her lips almost, almost touching me and away she'd move, teasing, taunting, igniting me, slowly drawing me away from the wall, slowly creeping towards her.

But then her commanding eyes chained me again and I leaned back to the wall, her will: my tether. I could feel my cock twitch, the length of it aching for her as she moved, her oiled body, winding, turning, drawing the strength from me, with only her power, her will tying, restraining, controlling me.

She left me then, standing in the shadow, ordered to await her return, my cock ready for her, whenever she took the notion to touch its length, the feel its hardness, to stroke it, to guide it into her body and use it for her whim. I stood silently, my sweat boiling, my desire drawn by her fiery dance, my body still chained by her molten will, my chaos rising, desire inflamed, control failing, rapidly, melting away.

When she returned I felt the weakness tempt me, I leaned from the wall, my fingers aching to touch her, my lips shivering to taste her, my cock, my cock aching to feel her, to drive into her, to fill her as she'd let no one else do. Sensing my weakness, she glared at me, freezing my movement, once again holding me, a moment as her fingers slid down her body, sliding out over her breasts. I watched as her fingertips teased her nipples, as my mouth yearned to do. Then she slid them downward, through her tight curls and between her legs, dipping into herself.

She then took her fingers from herself, glistening in her wetness and traced them on my lip, pushing into my mouth, letting me taste her.

"Do you want me?" she whispered.

I nodded.

"How badly do you want me?"

I surged toward her, the spreader bar falling to the floor behind me.

"Stop," she said sternly. Then calmly, whispering again, "What do you want from me?"

"For you to let me please you."

"You want to please me?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"You want to please me, but what do you really want?"

"Only to please you."

"Oh but you want more, you need more don't you?"

I nodded, bowing my head in shame.

"You can't control it can you? You want me, you need me?"

"Yes," I growled and then watching her as she paused a final movement, standing in a searing pose.

Ready to pounce I endured her burning glare, feeling her own desire pour from her body I waited, glaring at her. Sweat poured from my forehead as I waited for her signal, her release. Moment by moment, my body trembling in desire I watched, waiting, waiting.

Her slightest nod released my restraints and I grabbed her, lifting her and carrying her to the bed, tossing her onto the satin sheets. Diving on her, I felt her guide me into her and in the shattering motion I plunged her depth, feeling her wet softness take me, enveloping me in her pleasure, drawing me into her.

I gasped for breath, the strength surging inside me, driving each thrust as I pressed deeper, deeper into her delicate softness. Arching my back, I suddenly exploded, my cock spurting again and again, splashing into her as I emptied myself in complete and utter abandon. Collapsing upon her, we remained joined in the flames, burning together, one heat, one fire locked in one consuming ecstasy. Later, once released, I knew I was forever bound to her, her bright light shining so intensely in the sunlight. 



Sunlight



I adore summer and the sun. I hate winter and I am covered up in a blanket all the time. 

When summer hits I love to sit outside. I do not tan well at all, being that i am very fair and blond, but I still love the feeling of the sun on my skin. We have a hammock in our back yard and I absolutely love laying it in and feeling the sun on my body. 

However, one thing that I have absolutely always wanted to do is nude sunbathe. unfortunately, we live in suburbia and next door to a family with 2 small children who have a bedroom window looking down into our back yard! so laying around outside naked has not been an option!

There is a place not too far from us that is like a nude campground. I have asked my husband many times if we can go, but he doesn't want too. He isn't comfortable just having it all hang out for everyone and he says (in his words) that he doesn't want me to "end up a beat off fantasy for some old wrinkly dude. It's funny when he says it in all seriousness, but the idea does not personally bother me. 

Every time the weather gets warm and I can feel the heat of the sun my mind goes back to wandering and yearning to feel the sun on my breasts and pussy. Yes, those spots specifically. Every year I go on a search for a secluded cabin or something of the sort that I may help me be able to fulfill my needs, but always end up failing miserably. 

So from that yearning this fantasy arises.

My husband's friends go on a float-trip every summer. We have never gone and I don't know if we ever will. But I like the idea. I know that I would feel very embarrassed and self-conscious when we first arrived, as I am the only mom in the group, but I imagine that after the first day I would loosen up a little more and by the third or fourth day I wouldn't really care anymore.

I imagine that the girls would all start bitching about tan lines at some point and through some investigating in the nearby woods we find a small clearing on a hill and decide to do a little nude sun bathing. Together we all go and spread out our beach towels side by side on the prickly grass, kicking away any pine cones or twigs that have gotten in the area, quickly stripping down. 

Despite the display of naked female flesh, I am more excited to feel the sun on my body. I am lying on the end, my towel is black and pink and I can already feel it soaking up the sun. Sitting down we all start rubbing in sunblock, taking special care on our boobs and labia, knowing that delicate skin is going to be extremely sensitive to the sun's rays. 

I lay back with my arms slightly parted from my sides and my legs slightly parted also. My head is toward the top of the hill and my feet are toward the bottom, enjoying the natural reclining slope of the hill. A soft breeze sighs, tickling my skin and hardening my nipples. 

The sun feels so deliciously warm. I can feel small beads of sweat start to accumulate and slide down my sides and between my legs. I open my legs a little farther to enjoy the suns warmth even more. 

I notice movement out of the corner of my eye and see one of the girls flip over. I am probably one of the smallest in the group. But I'm trying to keep my eyes to myself since none of the other ladies are bi. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. However, a quick glance shows me that the rest of the ladies also have their legs parted more than you would think to indulge in the sun. 

I am not sure why, but knowing that there are a handful of naked ladies near me and also that they are enjoying the sun on their vulva as much as me is very arousing. Of course, I cannot possibly admit this to any of the other ladies!

So I continue sunning, the heat of the sun baking my lips, matched with the heat of my pussy from arousal, is making for one very slippery pussy and I am very glad that no one has walked by! But then... wait... that idea is actually not too bad!

The sun starts to set and we are all hungry and thirsty. We all gather up our stuff and start putting our swim suits back on. 

Admittedly, I do peek to see who has the biggest breasts, the firmest, who takes meticulous care of their pussy hair and who just shaves themselves bald. I feel a sharp wave quake through my nether regions and quickly put my mind back at the task of gathering my towel, sunblock and other things to head back to camp. 

Upon arriving back at the camp grounds I see my husband coming out of the river. He is looking very yummy. He tans much easier than I do and has water rolling down his body. He is not some hard-bod bodybuilder. I have never liked that. He is very tall, broadly built and his body is soft. I love it. 

He comes over to me and gives me a short kiss. "Hey babe, how was your tanning?" he teases. He knows it's been years that I have been nagging to find a place to lay out nude.

I give him a kiss back, harder this time and with a small tongue peek and reply, "It was nice. I think I might be a little burned though. You know my skin. Can you rub some aloe on me?"

He agrees and we sit down on a log around the fire pit as his friends start the portable grill to start some hamburgers and hot dogs. People are milling around, some getting back in the water, and some wrestling through coolers. I am simply watching and enjoying as my husband rubs the aloe down my back and on my shoulders. 

Before too long I start to realize that the aloe is pretty much rubbed in, but he has still not stopped. I look over my shoulder at him and notice that he is blushing! Is it just a trick of the heat? 

Scooting back toward him I discover, no, he is definitely blushing, as a swim suit does absolutely nothing to hide a boner!

I press my butt back against him and then lean forward and pick up the aloe bottle. I start rubbing my legs and thighs, all the while wiggling my butt against the growing package in his swim shorts. He lets out a couple sighs and leans forward a few times. I can see him sneaking glances at everyone, trying to see if anyone else has noticed what is going on, but everyone is too involved in their own conversations. 

I start to stand up and my husband grips my hips and quickly pulls me back down. He looks at me with big eyes, knowing that if I get up anyone standing nearby will be able to see the tent that he is currently pitching! 

"I think I forgot my book? Will you come with me honey?" I say, swinging my legs around and gently pulling his knee so he will take my queue and spin on the log so that our backs are facing everyone. 

He quickly follows suit and I hope that no one will realize that my book is under my towel that we have just left!

We stroll back down the path to where our little sunning spot was. Along the way I notice that his penis is beginning to wilt and is no longer bobbing along with his step. I'm sure it's a relief for him, but not so much for me! 

I stop walking and turn around to him, both of us still in our swimwear, and begin to kiss him. Although I have not always been the fondest of kissing men, I know that he loves it and it's the best way to get his cock hard again!

Here we are, standing on a path in the woods, making out like a couple of teenagers in our swimsuits and savoring every second of it. I'm wearing a halter bikini, so my midriff is bare and easy for him to slide his hands over. His swim trucks are thin and stroking him through them is ridiculously simple and also surprisingly arousing. 

Eventually he moves his hands up to my top and pushes the cups aside. He takes a quick look and then starts to kiss me again, rolling my nipples around in his fingers and then hugging me close to him so my tits and hard nipples poke into his chest and stomach. He grips my ass firmly, pulling me into his hard on.

I grind my hips against him, press my hands to his chest, and start to push him backward. 

Luckily there is a tree nearby and as soon as his back is against it I drop to my knees and yank down his swim shorts. They come off in one, sweet, fluid movement and I stare up at him, giving his OTHER head a quick kiss. 

I keep looking up at him. I am feeling particularly feisty. He flexes and bounces his dick tip against my lips. Smiling I slowly suck it into my mouth, savoring every single inch and the sound of his breath hissing against his teeth as his cockhead hits the back of my throat. 

Slowly I pull his cock back out, then even more slowly lean my mouth forward to him again. I feel a hand at the back of head and he pushes down as he thrusts his hips forward and starts fucking at my mouth. I gobble him up as fast as I can, trying not to gag as he humps. 

I feel his cock getting harder and move my hand up to grip his balls. I can feel them getting tight and know that the orgasm is mounting. Extending my pinky I continue to grip his balls and let my pinky tickle near his ass crack, deep throating all the way.

He wraps his hands into my hair, thrusting as hard as he can, his body tenses and he unleashes a huge, thick load of salty cum deep inside my mouth. I swallow it down eagerly, running my nails on the inside of his thighs.

I stand up from my crouched position and move my hands up his chest, playing with his light chest hair and then kissing his sweat beaded chest. He looks down at me, smiling an exhausted half grin, his blue eyes sparkling in the setting sun.

"Thanks babe," he says, reaching down to grab his swim trunks. "Let's go find your book."

"My book is back at the camp grounds." I say calmly. 

He looks at me, confused, "But I thought we were coming out here to look for your book?"

"Nope," I say, giggling a little. "We came out here because I wanted YOU and I'm not done yet!"

"Good luck! I'm hot, dehydrated, and just came. You're going to have to give me a little bit."

"It's ok," I say, grabbing his hand and putting it between my legs, "There are other things you can do in the meantime."

He takes the hint and it's my turn to lean against the tree. He slides my swim suit bottom down to my ankles, leans his right hand over my head on the tree and puts his left to work rubbing away at my clit. My cootchi is already wet, so collecting some of my own juices for his fingers is fairly simple. 

The day is so hot, I'm already sweating. The tree bark is rough against my back. Another breeze picks up, caressing my thighs that are already becoming damp with my juices. Generally I take a very long time to orgasm, but I must be feeling hornier than I thought I was, or maybe it's the fresh air, because I already feel myself nearing climax. 

My husband starts to kiss my mouth again, sticking his tongue into it, working away even harder with his hand on my clit. My knees start to weaken, my legs start to quiver and burn, and my orgasm tears through me. I cannot help but let out a small scream and bite at my husband's lower lip. 

He grabs my hand and puts it back to his crotch and just a couple soft strokes and he is raging hard again. I quickly turn around and put my hands up on the tree. I stick my ass out for him. He gets behind me, gripping his cock in one hand and pulling back one ass cheek with the other so he can see himself push inside of me. 

Oh! There is nothing better than the feeling of being filled up after you are already sensitive and swollen from a clitoral orgasm. Mmmmmmmm. It's just so good. I start pumping my hips backward into and he slaps at my slightly sunburned ass cheek as he thrusts away. 

I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. Something white. I turn to look, but I don't see anything. A deer maybe? I don't care. I stick my ass out farther and rise up on my tippy toes so my husband can trust away deeper. 

Was that movement again? I turn to look, and again, look just in time to see something disappear behind a tree. Is it an animal? One of my hubby's friends coming out to take a leak? Maybe one of the girls actually did forget something? 

I have no clue, but the idea of potentially being watched it doing it for me on a whole other level. I stop trying to keep my moans down and let them out, I encourage my hubby to fuck me harder and he eagerly obliges along with a fist full of hair. 

The bark is gritty against my palms, sweat beads are rolling down my back and breasts and I can feel my husband's sweat dripping onto my lower back and ass. He is grunting and panting; I can feel the dirt and dead leaves between my feet and smell the river nearby. The whole world seems so alive and the sex is so wonderfully animalistic. 

I feel my husband's dick start to twitch inside me, I clench my own pussy against his, and I can tell that both of our orgasms are nearly here. 

Movement out of the corner of my eye again. Is someone out there watching? Right as I turn my head to look my handsome hubby unleashes his second load deep inside me, feeling him pulse and knowing that there may be someone watching sends me over the edge and I grit my nails at the tree, getting moss under my them and screaming out my orgasm. 

Hubby and I stay still for a moment, catching our breath, savoring the breeze that comes up to help cool us down. Slowly we get dressed and he teases me when i almost fall trying to pull up my swim suit because of my weak knees. 

We hold hands, sweaty palms and all, on the way back to camp, still acting like teenagers without a care in the world.

Upon returning one of the girls asks, "Did you find your book?"

"Nope." I reply, "It must be up here tangled up in my towels or something."

I notice a couple glances amongst his friends and a couple silent snickers. I don't ask why though, whether someone heard us or saw us, it's just all the better not knowing who and keeping it a fantasy.



Sunlight



Dear readers

If you're looking for a stroke story, you won't find it here.

Also, this story is dark and bittersweet. Some of the dialogue and images may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. As always the only payment I receive are your comments and votes— I appreciate both.

So, curl up with that special person, give them a big kiss and enjoy my story I call Sunlight. 

*

Arkansas has the distinction of operating some of the dirtiest coal fired power plants in the country. My job is to fix that problem. I'm a process engineer, and tonight my wife Aliana and I will be attending a black tie affair to celebrate an EPA award for emission reductions at unit two. 

Sunlight reflected off of my wedding ring as I drove to the downtown Marriott. I'm glad Aliana rode with me to work today; that way, I didn't need to make another fifty mile run back to pick her up for the evening. We live on a small farm way back in the country. Aliana grows organic vegetables and other crops for quite a few high-end restaurants.

I slid my card key through the electronic door lock and walked into our room. I heard the water running in the bathroom and no sooner than I plopped myself onto the bed, the water stopped. "I'm here," I called out.

Aliana came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her body, running a brush through her hair. "Let me do that?" I asked.

Aliana sat on the end of the bed, and I pulled the brush through her hair. I always enjoy brushing her hair. It looked like stirred honey that flowed and ebbed around her ears and down her cheeks then softly settled on her shoulders. "Ooh, that could put me to sleep," she said as she closed her eyes.

I continued to stroke her hair, pulling it through my fingers, lifting it up and then allowing it to fall back down on her bare shoulders. I loosened the towel around her waist and pulled it clear of her body. She quickly raised her hands across her chest.

Aliana was terribly self-conscience of her breasts—they're quite small. As a matter of fact, everything about Aliana is tiny. Even when she wears her highest heels, I can rest my chin on her head. Although she just turned thirty, she could easily pass as a senior in high school.

I pulled her hands away. "Don't, please."

She dropped her hands, and rested them palm down on the bed. "I'm sorry I'm just—"

"I just happen to adore them." I leaned down and kissed each nipple gently, then continued to work the brush through her hair. "Excited about tonight?"

Aliana's face blushed. "I don't know. I'm way out of my comfort zone."

"It'll be fine." Aliana returned to the bathroom to apply her makeup while I flopped back down on the bed. "Ooh, I'm pooped," I said as I hit the bed with a thud.

I caught Aliana out of the corner of my eye. She pushed the bathroom door back, keeping it ajar. I watched her wiggle a small black thong up her legs, adjusting it just so. She turned one way then the other. I saw her smile as she admired her own figure. I watched her slip her toes into smoky black thigh-highs, rolled them up her legs, then tug them up her thighs. Her fingers ran up and down her legs, making minor adjustments to the nylons. She picked her shoes up by their straps and walked out. 

She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Will you do the buckles?" 

I pulled her legs over the side of the bed then I held the back of each calve with my hand and slipped her shoes on. I worked the pins into the straps.

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"It's nothing. Really."

There are times like these I wish I could pop the thought bubble above her head, letting whatever she's thinking spill out for me to read. My hand skimmed over her thigh. "You have nice legs."

"I'm kind of scared."

"You'll do just fine." I patted my hand down on the bed and Aliana crawled along the side till she was lying beside me. I could sense there was something else eating away at her.

"Didn't go so hot at the doctors today did it?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so. What did he say?"

"Ah, I'm allergic to the medication. Back to square one."

"We'll keep trying. I want a child, too. We'll keep trying."

I took my shower, and put my best suit on. As I looped tie under and over, I heard Aliana talking to herself. I peeked out of the bathroom door and witnessed Aliana trying in vain to insert beige-colored half-crescent inserts into her strapless bra. In frustration, she yanked them out and threw them on the bed. "Damn it to hell anyway."

I knew but asked anyway. "What's wrong?"

"What a waste of time."

I smiled at her dilemma. "I wouldn't bother with them."

Aliana pulled her bra out from her body. "There's not enough there to keep each other company."

"Aliana, don't worry about things you can't fix."

"I'm not." She left the inserts where she tossed them, and snatched her dress out of the closet and disappeared into the bedroom. Several minutes went by before she stepped back out. She turned her back to me. "Zip me up?"

I didn't notice until I had the zipper and hooks fastened. "Oh, man! You look unbelievably sexy. Talk about a little black dress."

"Mary told me to minimize the bad, emphasize the good."

"Remind me to give Mary a big kiss when we get back." Aliana's black dress showed every curve of her body. A slit on the right side went up almost to her waist. When Aliana walked to the end of our room and back, every other step would flash a glimpse of tan skin where her stocking top ended.

Aliana noticed, too. "Wow, she cut that slit up high didn't she?" She looked over at me. "I don't know about this. I have a pair of sheer black pantyhose in the suitcase. Perhaps I'd—"

"NO! I mean no. You're fine. More than fine. Trust me here Aliana." I slid my finger down the slit of her dress and then I tweaked her nipple. "Oh look," I said as I tapped my watch, "Time to go." She smiled and we headed for the elevator.

I've been to banquets before, and this one was no different. Bland food was served, awards were given out, speeches were made, and hands were shaken. Aliana and I mingled with the crowd. That's when I noticed Tony heading our way. Tony is the company bean counter. He and I don't see eye-to-eye, and basically, he's a pain in the ass. He's not married, and thinks he's God's gift to women.

Tony, drink in hand, had a toothsome brunette with coal black hair that cascaded down her shoulders standing next to him. A black dress with a décolleté neckline struggled to contain her ample bust. Her dress was microscopically short and hinted at a pair of legs that were never-ending. I have to admit it, she was a looker and every man's eyes seemed luminescent when she walked by. I felt Aliana's hands tighten around my arm.

Tony had consumed a few too many drinks. We made the usual introductions and learned the woman's name was Lily. Tony held his drink out in front of him and smiled mischievously at Aliana. "Why don't you come over here and stand next to Lily? Maybe those tiny tits of yours might get jealous and grow enough so you have a legitimate reason to own a bra."

I felt Aliana shake. She bolted from me and ran out of the hall. "You asshole!" Lily said as she threw her drink into his face. She turned and walked away.

I chewed on Tony's ass. He was damn lucky I didn't punch him in the face. I figured Aliana went upstairs. I missed the elevator and had to wait. By the time I made it back to our room, Aliana was out on the balcony staring out at the city.

"Tony is an ass. He was drunk." Aliana didn't say a word. "I like what you have, you know that don't you?" I don't know why, but I unzipped her dress and gently slid it down her arms. She didn't stop me; so I pushed it down pass her hips until it was a puddle around her shoes. I tossed her dress into our room.

My fingers lingered on her strapless bra. It joined her dress on the floor. Aliana stood on the balcony, wearing nothing but a black thong along with her stockings and heels. Even though we were up fourteen floors, I never thought she'd stand out here for the entire world to see. I've never known Aliana to be like this. My hands ran up her sides to rest on her breasts and I allowed her nipples to slip through my fingers. I kissed the nape of her neck. I squeezed her breasts gently. Aliana remained silent.

We heard someone at the door. I kissed her cheek. "Right back." I opened the door to a young man from room service. Apparently, my friend Paul sent a bottle of champagne up so Aliana and I could celebrate. I walked over to the dresser for my wallet to give the guy a tip when I saw this huge grin on his face. I looked over and noticed Aliana standing in the room, naked from the waist up; she stood there messing with the tops of her stockings. Her hair flowed down over her shoulders.

She straightened up and smiled at us. "Hi."

I was so shocked I didn't say a word, I just handed him a twenty. He pushed my hand back. "Already have my tip." He grinned at me. "Lucky man." He walked out of the room with a noticeable bulge in his pants.

I turned toward Aliana. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I don't excite you anymore."

"That's bullshit! What do you think I was trying to do out there?" I practically yelled as I pointed at the open balcony door.

"What's this all about? You've never acted this way before, standing outside like that, flashing that guy your body. 

"You don't look at me," Aliana began, "You don't touch me anymore. The guy downstairs was right. I can't help it I'm small." Aliana pounded her fists on the desk. "I'm so sick and tried of being a woman trapped in an adolescent's body!" Tears cut through her mascara.

Tony, you son-of-a-bitch I thought. You really pushed Aliana's button tonight.

She walked over and stood in front of a large mirror that hung just above the desk. Aliana turned her back to me, and rested her hands on the back of a chair. I sat on the edge of the bed and from my vantage point I could see her face in the reflection of the mirror.

"You may not like what you have under your shirt, but I do. Aliana, falling in love with someone is like buying a used car. You don't get to pick out the options."

Neither of us said a word. I sat on the edge of the bed while Aliana stood with her back towards me. I could see her wiping a stray tear from her cheeks every now and then in the mirror.

Aliana turned towards me. "You'd like someone like Lily wouldn't you?" She was wringing her hands together. "Please, tell me the truth."

"There's no one else. Never has been, never will be."

"This evening," Aliana began, "When I was getting dressed, I thought for sure you'd come inside the bathroom and mess around with me. I left the door ajar so you could watch me put my stockings on. I got dressed up early 'cause I wanted you to look. She sat beside me on the bed. "If I don't do anything for you anymore, we'll never have a child."

So that was the root of her anxiety tonight. We've been trying for a child for the longest time. She can't handle the medicine to increase her fertility, so she found some off the wall crap on the Internet on how to get pregnant. I'm not happy with it. I don't enjoy getting woke up a two in the morning for sex because the Ganges River had crested. I could see how Aliana believed I didn't respond to her like she wanted. Try to get an erection at that hour in the morning when you're still half asleep. Damn it anyway.

I put my hand on her thigh, and then slowly my fingers inched their way up lingering where the welt of her thigh high stocking met the smooth softness her skin. "I enjoyed the show. How do you know I wasn't thinking of doing this?"

My finger wiggled inside the front of her thong and I brushed her short moist hairs with the back of my knuckle. I lingered there for a minute and soon my finger was surrounded with Aliana's wetness.

I leaned her back onto the bed, my fingers still exploring the treasure between her legs. "Or maybe I was thinking of this." I kissed her breasts, rolling her nipples between my lips. 

Aliana started to cry then she pulled herself in. "I'm sorry... it's just..."

I pulled her close, making escape from the building heat of my body impossible. My mouth fell on hers and I devoured her lips and their wetness. Aliana, alight with lust, I saw her eyes glow with desire. Her breaths came in gasps and gulps as I twisted her moist hairs covering her entrance around my fingertip. She arched her back. My hands ran up her legs, pushing the soft silky nylon down just a bit, exposing more of her skin to my fingers. Caressing her thighs and delving a finger, then two, into the most intimate part of her body. Aliana writhed against my touch. Air seemed to rush from her lungs while she pushed my fingers deeper into her hot, wet, entrance.

She grabbed at my pants, her fingers fumbled with my belt, till at last my clothes were a scattered pile on the floor. I lay on top of Aliana, her body throbbing. Hot lusty thoughts filled my soul. I could hear the roaring of my blood in my ears. Aliana drew her fingernails across my bare back in long never ending movements.

I was so desperate to feel our bodies become one, I reached behind my back and yanked her panties to one side. I straddled her, pulling Aliana's hair from behind her head, tossing it loosely around her breasts. I wanted to lose myself in her hair, drowning in its texture. I leaned over, and I pulled her hair though my fingers, taking in the aroma. I kissed the lipstick from her lips. I kissed her eyes. Then I found her breasts and kissed and licked them until her nipples were puffy, hard, and just aching for more of my lips.

The heat of her body mingled with her perfume and became overwhelming. I palmed her body with my hands as they moved agonizingly slow following the contours of every fold, every inch, and every intimate part of Aliana's body. Aliana was mine. Her muscles tightened, she fisted the sheets of the bed, and her legs trembled under my touch.

The naked desire in her eyes became intoxicating, almost frightening. I slid a fingertip around her entrance. Her interior heat was so hot. So wet. Aliana was ready for me. My finger touched just inside her entrance—she moaned—then I moved my finger around again, rubbing her slick hot juice on to my cock. Aliana's legs spread apart, welcoming me with taunts of alluring delights yet to come.

My fingers moved up, finding her hard little clit and I rubbed it, feeling it stiffen even more with each touch. I tugged on it, pinched it, then grazed over it with a slight circular motion of my palm. Aliana's legs snapped together and she reached down to my hand. "Ohmygoddon'tstop!"

I pulled her legs up, spreading them apart as I did. I dug her heels into the bed locking her in place. Beyond ready, I placed my cock at her wet entrance and pushed slightly, causing Aliana to clinch a fist full of sheets in her hands. I slipped inside her; her body devoured my iron hard cock with her wetness. Her muscles pulled and tugged on my member. I pushed deeper into Aliana. She screamed. Aliana's fingernails dug into my back. Her legs found freedom and they wrapped around my waist, holding me prisoner deep inside her.

Aliana's cunt swelled and tightened around my cock. She came in a shudder, shaking, and screaming as a flood of hot liquid drenched my cock. My body tightened. My cock twitched inside her, and then exploded, pumping my seed deep within her. I felt her body deeply vibrate, all the way down to her toes.

For a few seconds we both caught our breaths. I rolled off of her, my cock making a long wet streak down the inside of her thigh as my stiffness left me. We lay there beside each other saying nothing, our fingers entwined. We then touched each other softly. I love my wife. I know she loves me.

I swung my feet out over the bed. Aliana had propped herself up and rested her head in her hand. Over my shoulder I noticed my seed mixed with her juice slowly meander down her thigh. I raised an eyebrow. "That was something. You need a warm towel?"

Aliana lay back on the bed, her legs splayed for me, still smiling. "In a little bit. I'm still—"

"Enjoying it?"

"Ooh, damn Walter... I went around the world and it almost did me in."

I tugged her stocking up one leg, pulling it tight against her smooth skin. "That's the way it is supposed to be," I said while I worked on her other stocking. "You want me to take your heels off?"

Aliana's fingers caressed the short hairs between her legs as she smiled to herself. "No... I feel sexy with them on."

I warmed a washcloth with some water and returned to Aliana still on the bed with her legs spread apart. I nudged off her thong—it was saturated from our lovemaking—and tossed it on to the floor. I touched her between the legs with my towel and she jumped. I looked at her face, still red and glowing. "Walter, we've got to do this again. She rolled a nipple between her thumb and forefinger, then Aliana's fingers moved back and forth across her small triangle of hair between her legs. Then they toyed with the tops of her stockings.

"What do you say we crack open that bottle of bubbly?" I walked naked across the room while Aliana's eyes followed me. I worked on the cork and soon a loud 'pop' echoed between the walls. By the time I had the glasses filled, Aliana had walked over to me. I offered her a glass. She rose up on tiptoes and kissed me, then led me over to the balcony.

I stopped. I didn't have a thread on my body, Aliana, clad only in her stockings and heels, slid the door open, then she stepped out. She tugged on my hand. I was nervous. I wasn't planning on standing outside naked. But it was dark, so what the hell, I took a step out. I placed my hand on Aliana's shoulder. "I love you," I whispered. I moved my cold glass down the curve of her spine.

Aliana's shoulders came up. "Ooh, that's cold."

I moved the glass between the cheeks of her butt. I watched them tighten.

"Walter, I'm sorry. I was being selfish. I just wanted—"

"Aliana, when we get back home, some things are going to change." Aliana reached over and held my stiffening cock in her hand. 

"Some things already have. I love you Walter."

****

Just before noon we left for home. I was surprised to see my 'blue jean' Aliana opted for a pastel green skirt, complete will all the accessories for the ride home. The long drive seemed to go by quickly. We pulled down our lane and I shut off the car. I carried the luggage in the house, and when I turned around, Aliana had slipped off one of her heels. "Oh no, not so fast," I said.

"Why? There's work to be done around here."

"I know, but since you told me I don't look anymore. Well, guess what? I'm going to look."

I slowly stripped Aliana down to just her white bikini panties. "Don't move!" I said sternly.

She covered her bare breasts with her arms. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Arms to your side," I commanded. "I'll be right back."

I ran back to the bedroom and quickly returned with a few of her things under my arm. "Come over here." Aliana walked to me. She sat beside me and I worked a pair of white socks on her feet. I put her sneakers on. "There, we're ready."

Aliana stood. "Ready for what?"

"Gardening. There're weeds to hoe."

"Not like this!" she announced.

"You told me I don't look, so now I'm going to look." When I reached out she sat on the floor in defiance.

"Don't you dare!" she protested. "Someone will see me."

"You gave the guy at the hotel an eyeful. Get up!"

"No. No. NO!"

I reached down and scooped her off the floor, putting her over my shoulder. She pounded her fists on my back as she screamed out to let her go. I carried her out to the garden, Aliana kicking and pounding as I went. I picked up a hoe on the way over to the asparagus patch then I dropped her onto her feet. She tried to cover herself with her hands and arms.




Sunlight



"Walter! You can't do this to me. All I have on are my panties. Not outside!"

"You've got shoes and socks on. Here's your hoe. There're weeds in the garden."

She took it from me reluctantly and made a few half-hearted strikes at the ground.

"Walter, someone will see me in my panties. May I have something to wear? Oh come on. Please!"

I put my ball cap on her head. "There."

She stomped the dirt with her foot. "More than that. Please! I'm sorry about the guy at the hotel. I was mad."

I pointed my finger at her. "You run, and when I catch you, you'll be lucky if you have just the hat." I turned and walked to the house.

I didn't take but a half dozen steps when I looked back at Aliana. A handful of sparrows had rested on the fence posts. Their heads would tilt from side to side as they watched Aliana. Suddenly, they flew up and weaved in and out stitching the day into a tapestry of sky blue and corn stalk green. I stopped for a few moments and watched Aliana myself. Sunlight glistened on her bare breasts. Aliana's hair would catch the wind and for a few seconds it would billow out like the sails of a yacht breaking over the waves. A bold sparrow or two would fly down by Aliana's feet and take a quick dust bath in the rich soil. The birds would flap their wings making small craters into the ground, as tiny puffs of dust would erupt. Aliana's smile beamed as she watched them. I turned back to house. I had a plan.

Aliana had an outfit in which I really liked to see her. I guess you'd call it a pantsuit but that name might be out of style; business suit might be better. Whatever you call it, it consisted of light gray pants and a small gray vest that she'd wear over a shirt. The vest was lacy and it had only a few buttons to keep it closed. I found a pair of her denim shorts that I knew were too tight. I chuckled to myself; the shorts looked like a postage stamp with a zipper.

While I rummaged through the closet, I emptied one of her shoeboxes. In her end table beside the bed I emptied its contents into the shoebox. I went back out to Aliana.

"Since you made such a fuss, here's a top and shorts."

Aliana struggled with her shorts. I had to turn away to prevent myself from laughing. I watched her struggle with the snap. "Putting on some weight are we now." Her face blushed. 

"You picked these out knowing they're too small, you ass."

I handed her the vest. "Here you go. Oh, don't button it."

She slipped the vest over her shoulders. The lacy part didn't cover much and you could see her breasts when she moved. It was short, too, covering just above her navel. She looked cute.

"I look like some floozy Hooter girl without the hoot. Are you getting enough of an eyeful now?" she asked.

"Not yet." I smiled at her dismay. I rubbed my chin as though I was in deep thought. "Hooter girl, hum. Let me run back up and grab a pair of your pantyhose to put on you."

Aliana pounded the hoe in the dirt. "No! Don't you dare."

She must have been too worried about getting something on, because she didn't say a word about the box under my arm. "Go get a shovel," I asked. Her breasts bounced and the cheeks of her butt jiggled out the back of her shorts as she ran to the tool shed. 

"What are we doing?" she asked when she returned with the shovel.

"I told you things were going to change when we got back home. I meant it. Aliana, I do like to look at my wife." I jammed the shovel into the earth and started to dig a hole. When I thought I had it deep enough, I pushed the shovel into the ground. 

"What's in the box?" She asked.

"History." I opened the lid and showed her the contents. Inside were thermometers, pregnancy testers, charts, graphs, and other baby making paraphernalia. I put the box into the hole.

"From this time forward. No more charts. No more calendars. When we want to make love, we will."

I thought she'd put up a fuss. But deep inside Aliana knew what she was doing wasn't working. Aliana pulled the shovel out of the ground and threw a shovel full of dirt on top of the box. She buried her dream. I heard the shovel fall from her hands and it hit the dirt.

"Walter, I just wanted a child. Don't—" 

"We'll keep trying." 

Aliana shrugged her shoulders. "I'm so sorry about last night. I just didn't think you wanted me anymore. Lily was so attractive. I could see you ogling her."

"Aliana, I remember the first time I met you. You were standing behind a booth at the Amherst Energy Fair in Wisconsin. I noticed your smile, and I wanted to catch it, and keep in my heart so it would illuminate my soul on my darkest days. I wondered if your lips would taste as sweet as they looked. I remember wondering if your hair was as soft as silk woven from gold—if it was the same color between your legs that I knew just had to be flawless."

"You remember all that?"

My left hand dropped to her butt, my fingers moved up and down between her cheeks. My other hand slipped under her vest, my thumb toyed with a nipple, feeling it harden. "Yes, and more."

Aliana's hands guided my head till our foreheads touched.

"The silver cross around your neck. Two buttons on your shirt were open. My eyes strained as they tried to catch a glimpse of your breasts. I knew they had to taste as sweet as your lips-and they did."

Our lips were a hair's breadth apart. "Go on," she said.

I felt our lips touch. I spoke in whispers. "I knew then, twelve years ago, I was going to marry you. I have no regrets. None whatsoever." I held out my hand and she took it into hers. We moved toward the old barn pass a rusty disc cultivator that hadn't moved in decades; the steel had turned a deep chocolate brown as it slowly returned to the earth. A patch of Hollyhocks shot tall slender spikes into the sky to unravel flowers of wine reds and dandelion yellows. 

I led her up the barn hill covered in a thick layer of red dog. It crunched beneath our feet. The old sandstone foundation stones had weathered and were covered in a thick layer of green and gray moss. I slid the door open, it squeaked as it rolled in its track, just enough for us to pass through. I pulled a tarp down on to some loose straw. "I want you."

Aliana smiled weakly. "Walter, I was just worried about us." Aliana moved her hands in front of her shorts. "I'm sore from last night." 

I didn't want to admit it to Aliana, but I was drained myself. So, I drew her down onto the tarp, pulled her close and then I popped the snap of her shorts open. I moved a fingertip across the front of her panties.

"I don't need sex to love my wife." My fingers pushed her vest open and my lips found her breasts. I kissed her breasts, fisting my hands through her hair, pulling the curls down to her nipples. I palmed the pelt of fur between her legs. I nibbled on the curve of her shoulders.

We heard the distinct sound of a car door slam.

"Crap!" Aliana said while she hustled to get her shorts together.

I got up, and move toward the barn's window. I saw a familiar sight. It was Jessy's white Cadillac. Mary, Jessy's wife, opened the driver's door and started to the house.

"Mary! We're up here." I said through the open door.

I liked Mary. She was a feisty old girl and quite a looker even at her age. Ben, our closest neighbor, told me that in her day Mary was 'stop and stare' good looking. She still was, in a mature sort of way, with her green dress and flawless beige hose on her legs complete with charcoal colored pumps. Her long brown hair had a hint of maturity in it as it looked like someone had painted just a few strands of it silver. Mary was also Aliana's best friend, or rather perhaps more of a mother than friend, since Aliana lost her parents when she was just a child.

"Walter, I can't come out like this. You can see my boobs through this vest. Ooh, you ass!"

"You can't hide in here. I'm sure Mary wants to talk to you."

"But, you can see my tits!"

I turned toward Aliana, and gave her a quick look over. "Naw." I noticed a pink nipple poking out between some lace. "Well maybe just a bit." I opened the door and walked down the barn hill. "Hi, Mary. Aliana is in the barn. She'll be out in a second."

No sooner that I said that, than we heard gravel shuffle. Aliana walked over beside me. Mary quickly grinned, her grin soon replaced by an ear-to-ear smile. I looked down at Aliana's shorts. In her haste to get dressed, Aliana hadn't noticed a handful of straw sticking through the zipper. A few more pieces were caught in the lace of her vest. I cleared my throat, I stood in front of her, and pulled the straw from her shorts. Aliana's face turned parchment paper white, then sugar beet red.

"Mary...ah, we, ah." Aliana struggled to come up with some reasonable lie but couldn't.

Mary patted Aliana's hand. Mary pulled a few errant straws from her vest. I could see a tiny bit of Aliana's breasts though the vest. 

"Seventy-seven remembers what it was like to be twenty-five," Mary said.

"I just turned thirty," Aliana said.

"That makes it even better," Mary said. Then she winked at us both. "Let me show you something." Mary handed Aliana a small swatch of cloth. "Jessy and I stopped at the House of Fabric when we were in town. I saw this and I brought the whole bolt. It's a perfect match for you. Don't you think? I have a pattern for a dress that I know will cause the straw to catch on fire. Let me show you."

We all have talent; Aliana's love for growing things, my enjoyment from fixing problems, and Mary, well, put a needle and thread in her fingers and she performs magic. Aliana told me there's a waiting list a year long for Mary to make a wedding gown.

Mary led Aliana to the rear of the Cadillac to inspect the fabric. I walked over to the passenger side of the car, to talk to Jessy. It bugged him that he could no longer drive; the cancer he was fighting left him too weak. I squatted down beside the open door. "How you doing, Jessy?"

He pulled out a new box of Marlboros from a nearly empty carton. His fingers, green bean long and nicotine stained, reached out for a Bic lighter. His hands shook a bit, and then he lit the cigarette and pulled a long deep drag from it. "Thought for sure I'd cough up a lung by now. Never thought I'd have dick rot. Done myself in good."

"Prostrate cancer isn't dick rot, Jessy."

Jessy's hand moved through the few strands of white hair he had. The cigarette was soon gone and he jammed the dead butt into the car's ashtray which already overflowed with filters and butts. I didn't know what was killing him faster, the cigarettes or the cancer. Jessy was just a shell of his former self. His legs seemed like toothpicks covered in jeans that looked ten times larger than he was. His face, long and slender, reminded me of an old workhorse that had been retired to the pasture. He worked another Marlboro out of the box.

As I was talking to Jessy, I didn't notice Aliana had gone to the house and back. I looked over at the pair and saw Aliana standing in the middle of the driveway wearing the highest pair of heels I ever saw. Mary was bent over measuring for the dress. It looked so utterly odd; Aliana wearing a tiny vest, shorts up to her butt, and standing in white high heels. I began to laugh. Jessy looked over the dashboard of the Cadillac, and then raised both brows. "Ah to be young again," he said.

Jessy drew in a long rattling breath then coughed it back out in abbreviated gasps. He hocked a yellow glob of phlegm in front of the right rear tire. "I b'lieve I done myself in with these damn smokes. Might just cough up a lung after all. That sure would piss off the docs in the VA hospital wouldn't it? Hell all this time they were a working on the wrong end."

Jessy leaned back in his seat. "I'm not goin' mess with anymore of them zapping me. Ain't going to do me no good. Besides, who wants to glow in the dark?"

"I can't say I don't blame you Jessy, but—"

"Stage four. Not really sure what he meant about that, but the way doc was a looking at me, it wasn't good."

"How long, Jessy?"

He shrugged his shoulders. He lit up another cigarette. "With luck, I'll make Christmas."

Mary had her measurements, Aliana changed back into her sneakers, and Jessy just snuffed out his fifth Marlboro.

Mary walked over the car, while I helped Jessy back into his seat. "I'll need to come over next week for a few final tweaks, Aliana."

"Sure thing, Mary," Aliana said, "next Saturday night, why don't you and Jessy come over for a bite to eat." Aliana looked at me sternly. "I won't be hanging out everywhere then."

"Don't you worry about what's a showing," Mary said with quiet vehemence, "I'm so happy you've got a man that comes home for a tumble in the straw with his wife instead of quick screw with some whisky whore in a cheap motel. Aliana, honey, ain't nothin' to be embarrassed about. You do good by your man. Keeps ya young."

Mary pulled the car door shut and the Cadillac rumbled to life. They pulled out our drive and turned down the road.

Aliana draped her arms around my neck. "So, where were we? Oh yeah, I was being felt up in the barn wasn't I?"

"What do you suppose we should do about that?"

Aliana took my hand and walked a few steps up the barn hill. "Finish what you started." She snapped her shorts open and then pushed them down her thighs. "Here," she said as she handed them to me. "I want your eyes to fill with me. I surrender."

We slipped through the door. I closed it. My wife and I cuddled, kissed, and touched each other in the straw. It was a good day.

****

Saturday arrived at last and Mary and Jessy came over as promised. While Mary made a few adjustments to her measurements, I chatted with Jessy as he puffed away on his cigarettes. The four of us sat around the fire, and after an hour or so Jessy started having a rough time. Mary decided they should go back home. Aliana and I settled back and watched the flames flicker and dance in the quiet of the night. I tossed another hunk of wood on the fire and an army of whispery orange ambers rose up several feet then fell back.

I jumped when my left hand was touched by something wet. Ben's old dog, Bo, gave my hand a slobbery kiss. And where Bo was, Ben couldn't be too far behind. Sure enough, Ben appeared out of the darkness and limped over to the fire pit.

Ben leaned on his cane, his shoulders hunched a bit, then pushed the front of his John Deere hat up on his head, exposing a few silver hairs. He was wearing blue jean overalls, the kind that look like suspenders going over the shoulders. I don't think he owned any other type of clothing. The overalls were frayed and worn so badly, they looked like they were one wash away from becoming rags. He had a red plaid handkerchief stuffed into his left breast pocket, and his ever-present pipe sticking out of the right pocket. His long shirtsleeves were rolled up his arms just a bit. His exposed knuckles were hairy and several of his fingernails were black and cracked from a few misplaced hammer blows. 

Ben quit farming decades ago. I'd guess he puts in forty acres of dent corn each spring. He's the local fix it guy all the farmers come to for equipment repairs for the last thirty years. He makes a tidy living welding and fixing things.

Aliana and I have known Ben since we brought this property. As a matter of fact, we purchased this land from Ben. He's a hard man to figure out. He can be bit brash, and yet he'd give you the shirt off his back in the middle of a blizzard.

"Pull up a chair, Ben. I just tossed on a log."

"I figured you two might still be up. It's been a while since me and Bo have been down here to see you two."

Ben was quite a character. No one really knew how old he is; rumors said he was anywhere from eighty-six to one hundred. One thing for certain, Ben was one hell of a conservative—and not afraid to tell you so.

I knew that he served in the military during World War Two. He won't talk about it. I think that's where he got his limp. But he's mum on that subject, too. I kind of figure that the guys that spew out never ending war stories never saw the battles they described. Guys like Ben that did; they won't talk about what they witness. I've asked, and all Ben would tell me was "before I pass on, I'll tell ya." I've never pushed it, figuring if and when he wants to, he would.

But there is one thing that Ben will talk about—politics. Oh, he loved to talk politics. If you needed a simple repair on a three-point hitch, something that should take twenty minutes, and if the democrats did something Ben didn't take kindly to, well, that twenty-minute repair could take two, perhaps three hours.

Sure enough, within minutes Ben tried like mad to draw me into a debate with him about what the current administration was doing in the White House. I've learned a long time ago to just agree with Ben, as a full one-on-one argument about politics would be fruitless. I'd lose.

I guess an hour had passed when Aliana began to tire. She curled into a chair, pulled her knees up to her chest, then wiggled her toes at the warm flames of the fire.

Suddenly, Aliana jumped up and pointed at the sky. "Walter, look!" she said as her fingers rose above her head.

Ben and I looked up. The sky filled with the prismatic hues of colors that varied from deep purple to hazy blues. They were gorgeous. The light appeared to cover the entire sky. It appeared like a luminous cloud that drifted on winds we couldn't feel. Only the brightest of stars dare poke their light though. An indescribable softness and delicacy seemed to envelop everything.

"The Aurora Borealis," I said. My voice had a tone of urgency in it. Seeing the Aurora this far south was highly unusual. Out and out rare as a matter of fact. The Aurora didn't just show up in spotty patches across the sky. No, from horizon-to-horizon the sky looked like it was on fire.

Aliana's eyes dilated in the dim light. "They're beautiful. I've never seen anything like it before. What did you call them?"

I reached out and took her hand into mine. "They have had many names throughout history. We call them the Aurora Borealis after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas."

Ben sat in his chair, and watched the sky shimmer in liquid colors, but never said a word.

"Oh, Walter, they seem magical," Aliana said.

We heard Ben's chair creak. He pulled his pipe from his mouth then he reached down and tapped the bowl against the heel of his boot. A cloud of un-burnt tobacco flashed into an orange flame then as quickly as they ignited, they fell to the ground as a scattered pile of ash.

Ben reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small white envelope full of tobacco. He stuffed the pipe's bowl full and pressed it down with his thumb.

"I've seen 'em before but not like tonight. This ain't right," Ben said while he reached for his lighter. He flipped the top of his Zippo open and flicked the flint wheel a few times with his thumb before the fire took life. The orange flames danced on the top of the lighter, and Ben's eyes followed the flicking light for several seconds.

"That ain't right." Ben drew on his pipe sucking the flames down into the bowl. A large puff of apple scented smoke whiffed pass our heads. We heard the snap of the lighter as it closed. Ben leaned away from his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. He shook his head.

"Damn it, Walter, you know something is wrong."

"Ben," I said trying to calm his jitters, "we're just starting solar cycle twenty-seven. Mr. Sun is just blowing his nose at us. That's all. My ham radios haven't been working either. Too much solar activity right now."

Aliana sat back down, her eyes still watching the sky. 

Ben shook his head. His boots scratched at the gravel. I tried to appease his demons. "Ben, charged particles from the sun collide with our magnetosphere. It's kind of like a force field. The Earth's magnetic field directs them into our atmosphere. It's just basic physics."




Sunlight



Ben waved his hand like he was swatting a bug. "Don't give me that techno-babble horse shit of yours."

"I'm not Ben. It's just how it works."

Ben moved his head back and forth. He looked over at Aliana. "Listen, Aliana. Listen to the trees. What do you hear?"

Aliana tilted her head, straining to pick up a sound. Any sound. I couldn't hear anything but the wood pop and snap in the fire.

"I hear nothing but the fire," Aliana said.

Ben sat back in his chair. He drew in a long deep draw from his pipe, letting the smoke out the corner of his mouth.

"Where's the sound of a coyote calling her pack? Where's the sound of the barn owl's wings when they open, just before he glides down from his perch? Where's the squeak from the mouse as the owl's talons close around it? Aliana, listen to the trees..."

Aliana cocked her head trying to pick out sounds even more intently. She looked over at me, her eyes filled with questions for which I didn't have answers.

"I don't hear those things tonight. I don't hear anything."

Ben leaned back into his chair. Smoke from his pipe filled the still air.

"Ben, it's just charged particles from the sun—" I cut off my words, knowing Ben wouldn't hear any of my logical explanations.

He pulled the stem of his pipe from his mouth and pointed it toward the sky. He shook his head, more determined than ever to convince me. "Damn it, Walter," he said cupping the bowl of his pipe in his hand. He moved the stem of his pipe across the sky. "That's not right and you know it!"

"Ben," Aliana began, trying to defuse the conversation, "I've told you before, arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig. No sooner than you start, you're covered in mud and the pig is just beginning to enjoy it."

Ben slipped his pipe back onto his mouth. The familiar snap of his lighter brought the tobacco to life. Ben leaned back down into his chair. Like an angry dragon, his pipe glowed orange and then Ben blew out a puff of smoke.

"I got some bean and bacon soup warming on the stove. Let me get you a bowl," Aliana said then stood and took a few steps toward the house.

Ben's twisted around in his chair while he watched Aliana walk toward the house. "With some of your yellow corn bread, too, I reckon." His voice went high. Ben caught himself and I watched his face blush. "Aliana makes the best corn bread in the county," he said.

Aliana looked over her shoulder. "I heard that Ben. What good would a bowl of beans and bacon be without corn bread?" She smiled back at us sitting by the fire.

With Aliana's return, and between spoons of soup, the conversation soon drifted back to politics. Aliana was the lucky one, she soon tired and while curled up in her chair, she fell asleep.

Ben grew quiet. He pushed another plug of tobacco into his pipe. I let the fire slowly die allowing darkness to cautiously creep upon us. A bed of soft orange and red ambers flickered while transparent blue flames danced together when they'd catch a slight puff of breeze.

Ben leaned out from his chair, and cradled the bowl of his pipe in his hands. He stared down at the dying ambers. "She's a beautiful woman, your Aliana. She reminds me of those expensive glass figurines the church going ladies keep in locked curio cabinets. Delicate and fragile yet impossible not to touch." 

I looked over at Ben and couldn't agree more with him. Aliana was all of that and more.

"She's quite a girl. She reminds me of my Dorcy," Ben said. He thumped his pipe in the palm of his hand, knocking out a hunk of ash.

We sat in silence while he refreshed the tobacco. The snap of his lighter—a flash of orange—a puff of smoke. "Walter, do you know what a tin can is?"

"Besides what green beans come in? No, not really."

"During WWII, a tin can was a light destroyer. Thinly armored, under gunned, but fast. Their biggest bang was the torpedoes they carried."

I leaned out from my chair. "Ben?"

"It wasn't quite Halloween in 1944, but I've never been so damn scared in my life. For three days in late October we fought the whole damn Jap Navy in the Battle of Leyte Gulf."

Several quick puffs of smoke drifted through the night air. I folded my hands together.

"I saw men puke on the deck, shit themselves where they stood. I saw men curl up and hide under the stairs crying for their mothers. And yet, I saw men do things even God would never ask them to do. I witnessed first hand heroism I didn't believe was possible."

He looked up at me, his eyes red and watery. "Ben, you don't have to do this." Yet, I sucked up in his words like a dry sponge, savoring each one of them as he spoke of the battle.

"I was a gunner," he continued, "All we had were five-inch guns; like throwing rocks at those Jap battleships. Our shells just bounced off. We had to get close to use our torpedoes. Damn awful close, Walter. We charged—full speed. Our turbine engines screamed in agony. We dropped smoke—we fired our guns—we fired everything we had. We kept coming closer and closer. Waves broke over the bow. We kept coming. The intercom crackled with orders. The shells were getting closer. The Japs were dialing in our range. We kept going. Our captain would steer toward the shell splashes to confuse the little bastards. We got so close I swear you could see if that Jap looking back at us needed to shave. They had our range. We dropped our torpedoes..."

For the next several hours Ben told me the story of his life. How the Battle of Leyte Gulf nearly cost him his leg. How he fell in love with a nurse on a hospital ship. The woman he would later marry—Dorcy. It was close to four in the morning when he stood and slipped his pipe back into his pocket.

"Reckon I'd best get home."

I walked with him down our lane to the dirt road with Bo tagging along beside him as usual. He extended his hand out to me but instead of just shaking it, I grab it, and moved my hand up to his elbow and shook his entire arm. "Yours truly was the greatest generation this country ever had."

Ben beamed back a rare smile. I could see his eyes water. "I miss her. I miss her terribly."

"Dorcy?"

"Yeah, Dorcy. It's been almost sixty years. I lost her in '54."

"You should have remarried, Ben."

"Naw, you only find a woman like that once in a lifetime." He looked directly in my eyes. "If something happened to Aliana, could you just replace her with another?"

He had me on that one. "No...I couldn't."

"I remember. Before that damn cancer got her, she told me she'd wait for me. She'd wait for me in heaven. She's waited a long time now, Walter. Perhaps too long."

"Don't you go doing something stupid now, Ben."

Ben looked over at me. "Would you share a drink with me?"

"I'd be honored to."

He reached into his rear pant pocket and pulled out a small shinny hip flask. He twisted the top off, placed the flask to his lips, and tilted his head back. A few gulps later he handed the flask to me. He wiped his mouth off with the back of his arm. "Here you go."

I tilted my head back, took one swallow, I instantly pulled the flask from my lips. I poured what I deemed liquid lava down my throat. I coughed. I gagged. My eyes turned red. I bent over.

"Oh Christ!"

"Ah, that's a good batch," he said with a bit of pride in his voice.

"Smo—oth, too," I managed to choke out between gulps of breath. I knew Ben relished my displeasure by the way he grinned. 

"Corn's up already. Looks like a good crop. Figure about fifteen maybe twenty gallons per acre this year. But, I don't know. Perhaps I'll just let this crop go to seed."

I found my breath yet still coughed a few more times. "Ben, how about getting in my truck and let me run you and Bo back home?"

"Naw," Ben said as he rubbed Bo's head, "me and Bo, we got one more trip in us don't we girl?"

I swear that dog knew what he was saying and if dogs could smile, I saw one form on Bo that early morning. I stood and wave him on his way, watching till I could no longer see their shadows from the moonlight. I returned back to the fire pit, picked up Aliana and took her inside. 

*******

A week passed and I couldn't quite shake a feeling I had that perhaps Ben knew what he was talking about. All during the week, the Aurora had been seen as far south as Mexico City. I couldn't put my finger on it, but that knot in my gut just wouldn't fade away. Perhaps it was the unrelenting heat wave that seemed to grip the entire country. I loosen my tie, pointed my car in the direction of home and clicked off the miles. One good thing about living out in the county is the tranquility. However, when you need to drive over fifty miles each way it does get kind of old.

Traffic seemed to be lighter than normal and my usual hour and a half trip seemed to flash by. Soon I pulled down our dusty dirt road and turned into our farm. I noticed Aliana was waiting on the porch by the front door. I got out of my car and walked up to her.

"Hi. Ah, something wrong?"

"Its Ben."

I took off my jacket, pulled my tie out from around my neck. "What did that old goat do this time? Someone turned him in for selling shine again?"

Aliana didn't say a word. She just put her arms around my neck and leaned her head on my chest.

"Aliana? What's wrong with Ben?"

"He's gone."

"On vacation?"

"No...honey, Ben's gone."

She pulled me into the house. On the kitchen table I saw his pipe and lighter. My heart dropped to my feet. A small yellowed envelope lay next to them. I looked at Aliana, and picked up the envelope. I pulled out a small sheet of paper. In jerky script I read the note. My hand dropped the paper and it floated in silence to the tabletop.

"Ah damn it Ben." I felt Aliana's hand on my shoulder. "When did they find him?"

"This afternoon. He's been dead for a few days. His dog, too."

"Bo?"

"Yeah." Aliana rubbed my shoulder. "He apparently made a small charcoal fire in a hub cap, placed it in his truck along with him and Bo and they just went to sleep."

My mind returned to last Saturday night and the stories he told me. He had planned this all along. 

"That's why." 

"Why what?" Aliana asked.

I reached for Aliana's hand and took it into mine. "Ben said he would tell me about the time he served during World War Two, but only before he died."

Aliana held me tight. Her tears soaked into my shirt.

*******

The sky that night had at last returned to normal, no more Aura. I stared out of the open window, my mind wandering from one thought to another without stopping. It was hard trying to sleep, so I got up from bed trying not to wake Aliana. I went outside on the porch.

I looked up at the night sky. "What are you doing out there?" I asked in a hushed voice.

I felt Aliana's hand on my shoulder and then her fingers wrapped around my left hand.

"You talking to God?"

"No, not really. You couldn't sleep either?" I squeezed her fingers gently.

Aliana's breasts push into my back. "I was just thinking about Ben," she said, "Honey, do believe in God?"

"Where'd that come from?" Thinking for a few moments, I looked at her. "I don't know. The universe operates under strict rules of physics—of mathematics."

Aliana grinned back. "Well then, who wrote down the rules?"

Ben would have been proud of Aliana. She had me in a corner and it happened too fast; I didn't even see it coming. "I don't know." I returned her smile. "I guess, perhaps...you know maybe..."

Aliana enjoyed my frustration then she said, "God wrote the rules."

"All right," I conceded to her, "someone did."

She grinned ear-to-ear, savoring my quick and easy defeat. Aliana looked up at the sky. "Do you think we're all alone?"

"Since when did you become so philosophical? But since you asked. No, the universe must be teeming with life. There's just too much out there." I wondered what had gotten into Aliana.

"Are you sure?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why not? As the late astronomer Carl Sagan once said, "Those worlds in space are as countless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the earth."

"Do you think Ben's up there? Up in heaven?"

"I don't know that either, Aliana. He told me last weekend before Dorcy died she promised Ben she'd wait for him in heaven. You know Ben was getting up in the years. His mind—"

"Would you wait on me? I mean if you were to go first. Would you wait?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Will you promise me, Walter. Promise me right now?"

I've never seen Aliana like this in our ten years of marriage. Ol' Ben must have rattled her cage good. "Yes, I promise."

She stomped her foot down on the porch, the tone of her voice amplified by my short answer. "Say it like you mean it!"

I took her hands into mine. I looked Aliana squarely into her eyes, and glanced at the starry sky that draped over our heads. "As the stars are my witness, I promise you no matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you till we're together."

Aliana's cheeks glowed in the starlight. "I too, as the stars are my witness, I promise I'll always wait for you."

Aliana pulled herself in as close as she could, hugging me tightly. I couldn't figure out from where this was all coming, but right now, it felt damn good. We held each other in the darkness, listening to the coyotes call their young. Aliana took a few steps back, slipped a spaghetti strap of her nightshirt down her arm, then pulled down the second one. Aliana wiggled the shirt down her body then she kicked it to one side. Aliana held out her hand. "I want you."

I followed her back into the house to our bedroom. She pushed me down on the bed and soon she was beside me.

"Tonight, Walter, do with me as you please."

I raised an eyebrow then reached down and squeezed her little butt. "Anything?"

She bit her lower lip then smiled. "Anything whatsoever..."

We listened to the sounds of the trees while I hugged her as tightly as I could. I kissed her eyes, and then kissed her cheeks. 

"I think I'd like to give you something tonight."

"And what would that be?"

"Let's try for that baby again..." 

****

A month passed. Our team was making progress with the air scrubber in unit two. I normally like to stay out in the field, getting my fingers dirty with the guys that run the equipment, but today, I had to get my paperwork in order for another meeting. I dreaded those never ending meetings and reports. It seems that life consists of forms in duplicate. Whoever said we'd have a paperless society lied. Maybe he got caught up in a meeting?

I worked through piles and piles of papers that needed to be filled out. I heard the distinct sound of Aliana's voice talking to some of the office staff.

"Hi," she said as she poked her head through the doorway.

"Why hi. This is a surprise. You sure look good. Why's my county girl all spiffed up?"

Aliana pulled her dress out from her side. "You like it? You really do? It's the one that Mary made for me. She just dropped it off this morning. I had to run into the city. I was hoping maybe you'd take me out for lunch?"

My eyes followed Aliana's feminine form; her dress matched her honey gold hair as she walked across the room. Aliana's white heels gave her a business executive look that I found mesmerizing.

Aliana sat in one of the office chairs, her legs slanted to one side. She crossed her ankles and turned slightly causing the side of her dress to ride up her thigh. The hem of her dress had to be five inches above her knees, and when she turned just so, I caught a glimpse of a stocking top. 

I cocked my head to one side and tried not to allow my smile to become embarrassingly large. "Wow! Oh damn, Aliana."

We made our way to a small Bistro that I enjoy. It was downtown and an easy walk. The place was busy and all they had was a small booth in a far dark corner. It seemed that fate intervened, as I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my hands off my wife. I think both of us silently said 'yeah!' when the waiter led the way to the darken area. I ordered a drink for myself, Aliana wanted ice tea.

Aliana slid in first. No sooner than I sat, she moved over next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her push the hem of her dress up almost to her hips. She pushed it so far that I could see the tops of her thigh-highs. 

Aliana picked up my hand and placed it high on her thigh. My fingers wiggled between the stocking's welt and her soft skin. I grew bolder and stretched out my hand until my fingertip touched the small elastic waistband of her panties. I pulled it out from her body, playing with it under her dress. I went for broke and moved my finger inside her panties and with the back of my knuckle I stroked the soft moist hair between her legs. A muted 'ooh' fell from her lips as I touched her.

My fingers moved down her thigh resting on her knee. "All right, what's going on?"

Aliana fussed with her dress. "I'm in love." She smiled back. She sipped her drink.

"I see. I snapped the nylon on her legs. You know it's awfully damn hot to be wearing stockings." 

"I went to the doctor today. He told me I'd better get used to wearing these on my legs."

"Now, wait a second. Since when did any doctor prescribe wearing nylons?"

Her face blushed and she fidgeted with the silverware then her fingertips touched my hands. "Maybe not exactly what I have on, perhaps a lot thicker like compression hose. I'm so small, he was afraid I'd have vein problems in my legs and that wouldn't be good during pregnancy."

I watched Aliana's face turn red. I saw a few tears build in the corners of her eyes then they broke free and meandered down her cheeks.

"You're—"

Aliana nodded her head. Her whole face lit up. "I'm two weeks late. So I made an appointment to see my doctor. I'm pregnant. I thought I'd explode in your office... I wanted to tell you then."

"We're pregnant! I mean you're pregnant?"

Aliana closed her eyes for a second then she smiled. "Yes, Walter, we're pregnant."

I jumped up knocking over our drinks. I dashed from table to table, shaking hands of strangers. I kissed every waitress I saw. I might have kissed a couple of busboys, too. "Aliana's pregnant. My wife's pregnant. Did you hear the good news?" I told each and every one of them.

I stood in the middle of the restaurant, and I looked around and saw Aliana leaning on a table. Everyone stopped eating. No one was talking. They were all watching Aliana and me. I turned slowly around looking at their faces. I raised my hands up to my waist, palms open, and then looked back at Aliana.

"My beautiful wife Aliana is pregnant with our first child. I'm going to be a dad." 

I walked over to her and swept her off her feet. I sat on an open chair with Aliana on my lap. I ran my hands up her arms till my hands were cupping her face. 

"Aliana, I love you." I kissed her and the restaurant erupted with the sounds of applause and whistles.

**** It felt good to be heading home after another long and busy week. We were invited to Mary's house for Jessy's birthday—he's turning eighty Saturday. I pulled out into traffic and headed home. Another long and lonely drive home awaited me, and although I wasn't particularly anxious to go to a birthday party, I pressed the accelerator down just a bit harder. I wanted to get home and see how Aliana was feeling. Morning sickness had become part of her routine for the last several weeks.

Before long I pulled off the main road, and where we lived, any highway with lines down the middle constitutes a major highway. The tires rolled down a few more miles until I saw our old red farmhouse nestled quietly in a grove of maple trees. 

As I turned into the drive I noticed Aliana standing beside the porch just a few yards in front of two sugar maples. She stood motionless and it seemed she didn't notice the cloud of dust that slowly crept over the yard. I got out of the car and walked over to her.




Sunlight



Aliana had tied her hair back and when I had moved closer I noticed her eyelashes were wet from tears. She smiled at me for a few seconds. Suddenly a ray of sunlight caught her face and a sunburst of gold ringed Aliana's pupils, turning the electric blue irises into soft un-cut sapphires that caught the fading light of the day.

"You've been crying?" I asked.

"No not really." She looked at me then up at the trees. "To the trees I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are here to eavesdrop for the angels."

Aliana moved the back of her hand across her face; I could see her tears smeared along her arm. She wiped away a few more lingering tears with her fingertips. "We're going to have a son."

"I thought your doctor's appointment was next week?"

"It is."

"How do you know—"

"I just do...all right?"

"I see." I looked up at the trees. I felt Aliana's hand as she tugged on mine. Aliana had a connection with the trees. It was uncanny. I knew. Ben did to. Aliana was embarrassed by it. I caught myself smiling as I took another glance at the tress beside us. She noticed.

"I'm not a flake." She said as she moved her head side-to-side. "I know." 

"Aliana," I began, "I'm not making fun. There's a fifty-fifty chance here. It's a toss of a coin. We won't know 'till the doctor does his tests."

Aliana's eyes widened slightly and her brows lifted a bit. "I tell you what. I'll make a bet with you."

My feet shuffled in the grass. "All right. What do you have in mind, but remember I don't bet with pennies."

Aliana thought for a few moments then beamed a smile back. "If I'm right. I want you to build me a greenhouse. I want a nice one, too. No plastic junk."

"And if you're wrong?"

Aliana's jaw twitched back and forth and she lifted her eyes up to meet mine. "I'll weed the entire strawberry patch—"

"Big deal," I interrupted.

Aliana lowered her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose. "If you let me continue; I'll weed the strawberry patch wearing nothing but a pair of panties and my shoes. You can pick out what kind."

My finger ran down the curve of her back then between the cheeks of her butt. "A white thong?"

"If I lose—but I won't."

I pulled my tie from my shirt and grinned back. "You're on!" I reached out for her hand. "I'd suggest you stock up on sun block. You don't want your pretty little butt to burn."

We walked toward the house when she stopped. "We'll need to come up with a name. A boys name." She winked at me. "And some hand lotion for your callused fingers when you get done with my greenhouse." 

I kissed the top of her head. "Dream on." I followed her into our home.

Aliana had some clothes sitting out for me. I smelled of coal dust and I couldn't wait to get into the shower. No sooner had I stepped into the running water than I heard Aliana's voice. "Don't take too long. Mary planned an early dinner just in case Jessy grew tired. Mary is fixing pot roast."

Mary's pot roast is to die for so I wasted no time washing. I stepped out of the shower and as I dried myself off, I peeked into our bedroom. Aliana stood nude in front a long mirror and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Then she cradled her breasts in both hands lifting them up and holding them. She turned side-to-side. Aliana started to move her hands up and down her body, turning back and forth in front of the mirror. I wondered what she was doing when it dawned on me. Hormones were flooding Aliana's body and the changes were becoming physical. Aliana was looking for a baby bump. And while Aliana's tummy appeared to be as flat as a NFL cheerleader's stomach, perhaps just perhaps, when you stare at a cloud long enough you begin to see faces, I could see something was there. 

I pulled on my pants and walked over slipping in behind her as quietly as I could. My hands came up her sides and I held her breasts. They were warm and oh so soft. The tip of my finger played with a nipple. "You've gotten bigger."

Aliana reached behind with her hand and ran her fingers through my hair. "Really? I mean do you really think so. I was you know...wondering. I think they are."

I gave her a gentle squeeze. "Oh yeah, I can tell. You're much bigger."

I felt her face blush against mine. "My bras are awfully tight."

"Why not go without one tonight?" I whispered. My warm breath blew gently pass her ears.

"I can't. I mean...Mary would notice."

"I won't tell." My fingers moved down her sides and across her tummy. "Hummm...hard to say, but you know I think I'm feeling a baby bump here."

Aliana whipped around in my arms, her face alight with the glow of motherhood. "You noticed too?" Her fingers touched mine and moved them up and down past her belly button. "I can tell. Oh Walter, I can tell." Aliana rose up on tiptoes. "I'll be the best mom. You just wait and see."

"I know." I looked at her naked body, "You better get dressed or I might take advantage of my wife in the bedroom."

She pushed me out of the room. "Finish dressing yourself. I'll be ready in a minute."

I left the room with a smile on my face and finished getting ready for the party. I had some files I left out in the car and decided I'd take them inside. I went to the car and grabbed the box and sat it on the ground. I looked at the trees surrounding our home and walked over to them. They were majestic. Tall and straight, they appeared like silent guardians that stood watch over us. I noticed one maple in particular whose branches and limbs seemed to surround our home. I smiled to myself then buried a chuckle deep down in my soul. With my arms akimbo I stared at the trees. You guys are house huggers I said to myself. I heard the front screen door slap shut.

I turned around and watched Aliana as she walked the length of the porch. A warm summer breeze blew through the railings and caught Aliana's skirt lifting it up to her waist for several seconds. Her hair billowed out and flew about her face. Aliana's hand caught a few errant strands and looped them over her ear. She moved down the back steps and I watched as her skirt rippled and shimmered on her body. The floral skirt she wore looked like a watercolor painted on a cloud that flowed with the wind folding itself together then exploding in a burst of color. Aliana's white heels were high while still being classy. He legs had a hint of white from the hose she wore. She stepped down into grass and walked over to me.

"Aliana, you look gorgeous. Absolutely stunning." My hand moved down her back when I noticed something was absent. I couldn't feel her bra straps under her shirt. I turned and my other hand meandered up her side and then over her chest. My fingers probed a gap between her shirt's buttons and my hand wiggled in. I touched her bare breast and gave her a squeeze. 

"Don't," Aliana said as she pulled my hand away. "I don't want to go to Jessy's party with my nipples pushing against my shirt."

"Perhaps later?"

"We'll see." She grinned an evil grin. "We better get going."

We walked hand in hand a few steps toward the car when all of a sudden she stopped. "What's wrong?" I asked.

Aliana turned her head and looked back at the trees. I felt her fingers tighten in my hand. "House huggers. They like that."

My heart stopped. How did she know? We started walking again when I stopped. "Where do you want your greenhouse?" 

****

Everyone had a grand time at Jessy's party. Jessy himself had three pieces of cake. I stuffed myself with Mary's pot roast and while Jessy and I along with the other men at the party talked farm prices and energy costs, the ladies were busy picking out colors and clothing for our unborn son. We left the party around ten and headed home. It didn't take but a few minutes, we lived only five miles away, and we soon pulled into our drive. I shut the car down and leaned over and kissed Aliana. I wasn't about to let a perfectly good day slip through my hands.

I opened the car's door for Aliana and then snatched a blanket from the back seat. I held out my hand and she took it without saying a word. As I led her over to the lee side of the house by the trees, we both looked up. The crescent moon appeared to have settled down for the night resting in the lush canopy of leaves overhead. Moonlight poked through the branches and shimmered on the grass like bright silver dollars as the trees gently swayed in the night breezes. I spread the blanket down on the lawn then sat down. I offered Aliana my hand and soon she was beside me.

I nudged Aliana down onto her back. I gently removed her heels, then I un-buttoned her shirt. Her bare breasts sparkled when a beam of moonlight struck them. I removed her hose and skirt then as slowly as I could, I slid her panties down. My clothing soon joined hers in the grass. 

While I was on my knees, Aliana came to me and my arms wrapped around her. I felt her breasts as they pushed into my chest. A cataract of gold tumbled down as Aliana's hair fell upon my bare shoulders—a sensation I could never get enough of. My hands flowed over her body; it was so warm and smooth. I kissed her lips then moved along her cheeks kissing as I went. 

We held each other in our arms under the old maple trees. The moonflowers that covered the porch railing had opened and filled the night air with their vanilla fragrance. Several pots of angel trumpet flowers soon added their perfume harmonizing with the marigolds and zinnias. The fireflies serenaded us with their silent song of love as they flashed their lanterns in search of a mate. We held each other close as we watch them stitch the night together. 

"Someone put this evening on just for us," Aliana said.

I looked overhead at a trillion pinpricks of light. "Sure knew what they was doing." I felt Aliana's lips touch mine, and her fingers moved through my hair. My thumbs caressed her cheeks and we both smiled. I lowered Aliana back down onto the blanket. 

"Make love to me," Aliana whispered. Aliana's legs move apart and she guided me into her. She was so wet and I took her. We held each other. The beating of our hearts synchronized and became one. Our breathing blended together. Then it seemed as though our thoughts merged. Her thoughts became mine—my thoughts hers. Then something happened. I don't know what, but for a handful of seconds, I—we—felt another entity. I opened my eyes and looked at Aliana. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling. I never had such a powerful feeling of love for another person as I did right then. We never moved when suddenly I filled Aliana with my seed, and I held her as tight as I could. We lay together under the night sky.

Aliana pulled her hair out from behind her back and let it fall down on her breasts. Her face blushed and it took on a crimson red glow. "Did you feel that?" she asked.

We've made love hundreds of times in the past yet tonight was different. She was right. I felt something unique, too. I rose up on my elbow and gently brushed her hair away from her breasts. "Yeah, for a second. I thought...well...it's hard to say."

Aliana's hand rested on top of mine. "God held our hearts in his hand." 

A streak of phosphorus white light split the night sky as a shooting star flashed overheard then winked out. "Quick! Make a wish."

Aliana leaned over and kissed my lips. "I already have my wish."

****

For the next several weeks, the weather was unrelenting, and a heat wave of biblical proportions seemed to grip the world, or at least my corner of it. Here I was stuck in traffic with a non-functioning air conditioner sweating like a hooker in a police lineup. I had to make it to a special emergency meeting at the director's office at unit one. I looked down the road and all I saw were miles of orange barrels—Arkansas's state flower—they bloom every spring.

By the time I managed to defeat the expressway traffic the meeting was underway. I walked up to the conference door but when I turned the doorknob, it was locked. I heard a radio playing from inside. I knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Walter Meir." The door opened just enough to allow me to slide through. My closest friends were sitting around the conference table. My pseudo-boss Paul Dirksen had his tie off. His skin was flushed and sweaty looking. My eyes glanced over at Marie, her mascara smeared across her face, her eyes red and bloodshot. Tony had his tie off, his shirt opened to his waist. I turned. Henry was sitting with his head down. Joan had been softly crying, a pile of tissues by her hands. I heard Peggy rolling a pencil back and forth across the table. Tears dripped down from her eyes and splashed onto the table. Amy sat clutching a small Bible in her hands.

"What the..." I looked up at Paul. "Did we all get fired?"

"That would have been easier," Tony said.

"What then?" I was growing uneasy.

"Perhaps you best sit down, Walter," Paul said.

"I'm fine."

"Suit yourself."

"In the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours a CME, corona mass ejection, will hit the earth—"

"There's time then," I interrupted, "to take measures. Shut Arkansas Nuclear One down. Ah, coordinate with the other utilities and let's disconnect from the national grid. That way we can protect our transmission lines and transformers."

"Walter, that's already being done."

"Well then why all the doom and gloom?" I looked at the pale faces surrounding the table.

Paul continued, "The biggest CME ever recorded happened in 1859. The first one coming will make the solar storm of 1859 look like a damp firecracker."

"The first one?"

"Yeah, the first one," Paul explained, "According to data from the SOHO satellite, there's an unusual build up of electromagnetic flux on the sun. It would appear we're going to be hit with not just one but perhaps three CMEs each one an order of magnitude stronger than the previous one. But..."

"But what? Every eye in the room, mine included, were on Paul.

"Lock the door, Walter and then turn the radio on." I did as I was asked and returned to the table.

"Walter, this doesn't leave the room, you understand?"

I nodded back. "What's going on?"

Paul palmed his eyes. "Ah Walter—"

"For God's sakes, just tell him," Joan cried out.

"Walter, the sun's dying. No one knows why. It's swelling in size. It's turning into a red dwarf."

I pulled out a chair and slid into it. "You're kidding? Right?"

"Do any of the eyes in this room look like he's kidding? No, the whole damn world's going to die." Tony practically spat his words out.

"What about the government?" I asked.

I heard Henry's chair move. "Walter, the only thing the government will be able to do is hand out cyanide capsules. Take all you want, your tax dollars at work."

Several of the women started to cry along with a few of the men.

"How do you know that it's true? You can't keep something like this quiet. There have to be errors in the data."

"No errors, Walter," Paul continued, "temperatures at the poles yesterday reached thirty degrees. As for the news, the Internet had been buzzing about it for months now. But think about it. All the spam you get, the Nigerian cons, the British lottery you won and now the sun is dying. Do you see a pattern there?"

Paul was right. No one would believe the sun was dying. "Why are we being told now? How long do we have?"

"The weather is going mad. It's the heat. Soon people will realize what's happening. It won't be a secret much longer. Power plant owners received the news from the president, the DOD, and DOE. Paul looked down at the desk then back up at me with bloodshot eyes. "People at the equator will go first, perhaps within a month. The further up north, the longer you'll survive. Four, maybe six months for us."

"We're all dead, we just don't know it yet," someone said.

"That just can't be. The sun's not supposed to go nova or another four or five billion years. Aliana is pregnant—we've started our family."

"Well let me explain it to you Mr. Engineer," Tony began, "If the CMEs don't blast our atmosphere off, the ozone layer will certainly be gone. The ultraviolet light from the sun will damage or kill any living thing on the surface.

"Of course, all modern electronics will be fried by the magnetic pulse. Cars won't run, trucks can't move fuel and food so we'll starve. As the earth is bombarded with more intense energy from the sun, we'll burn to death. There'll be no water—it will boil away. Understand now, Mr. Engineer?"

I didn't say anything. I knew what it meant.

Amy wiped her eyes, and then she looked each of us in the face. "What did we do? What did we do to cause God's mighty hand to sweep us away like ants from an apple?"

Amy's glaze congealed on Roger who sat opposite of her. "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Ooh, that's all we need now, a Jesus freak."

"Tony," Henry began, "I don't subscribe to all of Amy's beliefs, but I do know there are no atheists in a fox hole."

Tony shoved his chair out rocketing it across the boardroom and then pointed a stubby finger at Henry. "I tell you what I know old man. I learned you take what you want, when you want it!"

Henry leaned on the table, his knuckles turned white. "Then you've learned nothing!" 

Tony jerked Amy's chair out with Amy still sitting in it. A half second later, he tore her shirt open. Buttons ricocheted off the walls and scattered across the floor. Tony yanked her bra from her shoulders and manhandled her breasts. Completely caught off guard, I froze, as was everyone else, except for Roger. He lurched over the table and with one quick and well-placed blow sucker-punched Tony, sending him to the floor with a resounding thud.

"That's how you balance a check book, Mr. Accountant!" Roger said.

"Damn, Roger, where did that come from?" I grinned a bit. I wanted to give Tony a kick in the ribs.

"State boxing champ back in '97, featherweight class."

Amy started to bawl. The kind of deep-throated bawl that I hadn't heard since those grade school fights I got into. "I'm going to die all alone!" she bellowed out.

Roger took his shirt off and wrapped it around Amy, covering her nakedness. "You're not going to be alone."

"No?" she asked between breaks of her tears.

"You're staying with me," Roger said.

Roger held Amy in his arms, cradling her, comforting her. He looked around the room then up at me. "I've never had the courage to ask Amy out. I thought we had time—lots of time. I wanted to be her husband..."

Paul walked over and stood by my side. "It's starting already. Ten thousand years of civilization will be wiped out in a week." He shook his head. "Are we all going to end up like Tony?"

I looked down at Roger wiping away Amy's tears, kissing her gently, and then holding Amy in his arms. I patted Paul's shoulder. "Not all of us..."

No one said a word for the longest time. I turned toward the door. I don't know what made me think of it, but a song I had heard on the radio the other day came to me, and the lyrics came spilling out.

Just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do, Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

I embraced Paul, who quickly responded in kind; such a good friend.

"I'm going home. I'm going to hold Aliana in my arms and tell her how much I love her. I'm not going to go down without a fight."

Just before I opened the door, I looked around the room at the faces of my friends one last time. I knew, as did everyone in the room, that we'd never see each other again. There were no good byes. No good lucks. No see you later. I left the room and I closed the door behind me.





Sunlight



****

The news was getting out. As I drove home, all the larger stores had people standing in line, trying to get in. I saw a few fights erupt. We had food in the milk house, but I deemed a few more supplies would be a good idea. So, I stopped at every drug store, every convenient store, and every mom and pop store on the way home. I drove home as fast as I could.

No sooner than the cloud of road dust caught up with me, than Aliana bolted from the house. "Is it true? Walter, what's wrong?

"Remember a few months back I told you and Ben Mr. Sun was blowing his nose at us?"

Aliana nodded in agreement.

"Well, Mr. Sun has a really bad cold and he's going to be coughing on us for a while. We're going to live in the milk house till this is over."

I didn't want to out and out lie to her, but telling her the truth wouldn't have done either one of us a bit of good. I saw Aliana's face fill with terror.

The milk house was the perfect shelter. It was sunk deep into the earth and had a massive reinforced concrete roof almost a foot thick. Ben told me this milk house was the repository for all the local farms. It had a unique feature. Before rural electrification, our artesian spring water ran through pipes along the walls. The milk cans were lowered into the milk house and it was flooded with water. The artesian spring kept the water cold which kept the milk cold. I'd love to shake the hand of the guy that engineered it. We used it for storing our canned food and other root cellar crops. It would become our life raft.

"I need you to get all the food into the milk house," I told Aliana, "Get clothing and clean out the medicine from the bathrooms. Put everything in the milk house. I'm going to take the truck and I'll be back in a hour."

Aliana looked like she was going to say something, but smiled and ran back inside the house. My task was simple. I was going to steal the solar panels that ADOT installed on dead man's curve. Batteries from the cars, the solar panels, I'd have some electrical power. When I returned, I piled dirt on top of the milk house using the frontend loader on my tractor. We were going to be busy for the next twenty-four hours.

Aliana and I had packed the milk house full of supplies. The artesian spring would provide us with both drinking water and cooling of the interior. I hooked a wire from an old section of barbwire fence that ran around the east side of the farm. The other end went inside the milk house to an old spark plug. When the CME hits, the spark plug would snap.

We sat together, hand in hand and waited. One early evening, we heard the sound of the spark plug as an arc jump across the electrodes. That spark plug zapped on and off for several days until it quit. I opened the hatch and stuck my head out. It was three in the afternoon, yet the entire landscape looked like an overexposed photograph. Tony, the asshole accountant, was right. It looked like the ozone layer was gone and the unrelenting ultraviolet rays of the sun were beaming down upon us without mercy. I lowered my head, closed the hatch, and held Aliana in my arms. The beginning of the end had started.

*****

A month had passed. We slept during the day, we couldn't be outside because of the UV rays, and came out at night. I was pleased with myself. We had plenty of water, the artesian spring was keeping us cool, and we had a good stock of food. What I didn't plan on was boredom. We read books, played board games, we made love, but after a while no matter what we did, we grew bored. As soon as night fell, we were outside.

It hadn't rained for months. I walked up to our home, the grass looked like cheap tan carpet that sloped up to the front porch. It crunched when you walked on it. The lilac bushes were dead and in the dim light of the early evening, they looked like plants from an alien world with their roots in the air. The UV rays turned our bright red house into some kind of muted pink. I felt Aliana's fingers wrap around my hand. Aliana's grip tightened around my fingers when she looked around. The trees were dead. Her trees were dead. Their voices she no longer could hear.

The moon was just coming up from the east. Large black clouds with orange underbellies loomed overhead. We both saw a flash of light and then the familiar sound of a clap of thunder. It started to rain! The raindrops sizzled when they struck the barren earth. We stood in the rain hugging each other. The water felt so good so we soon got naked and splashed in the rain like a couple of school kids. Aliana's hair sparkled in the moonlight while she walked up the sidewalk splashing in the puddles as they formed.

The rain was steady, not hard, but warm. Aliana had the widest smile on her face that I ever saw. She walked half dozen steps toward me when her smile instantly disappeared. Suddenly, she grimaced then her arm bent around her tummy. I saw her knees close together. She looked at me. Then down at the rain running down her legs. In a matter of seconds the rain took on a dark hue, and then a rusty blood red.

"Walter!"

I rocketed over catching her in my arms. I noticed the products of conception lying on the sidewalk. I covered her eyes with the palm of my hand and led her back to the milk house. I knew. Aliana did as well. She had miscarried. Our firstborn was not to be.

Drying off Aliana, I dressed her and tried to comfort her the best I could. I gave her some cough syrup; the Benadryl in it would help her sleep. I went outside to bury what was on the sidewalk.

The rain had stopped as quickly as it started. The clouds disappeared and the sky again filled with stars. I just looked and looked at the sky. "Why? Why did you do that?" I waited for an answer. I didn't know who or what I was talking to. I stood and shook my fist at God and curse at him. "Why? Why?"

No sound. Eerily quiet. I recalled an old professor I had in college. He quoted Gandhi all the time. "In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart."

I dropped to my knees then looked at the sky. I squeezed the hot muddy Arkansas soil through my fists. I asked for forgiveness and I prayed.

****

Aliana had developed an infection. She spent most of the days and nights now lying on a mattress in the milk house. I comforted her as best I could. Sometimes I'd sit by her side, and dab beads of sweat from her forehead with a cool wet towel. Her eyes would be closed, yet I could see them darted around under her eyelids. 

Her body would chill and her skin would change to gooseflesh. She'd shiver for a few seconds as though she was riding in a car that plunged through a dip in the road filled with night air.

Other times, she'd call out Mary's name like a small child looking for her mother. Then she'd call out for me. A smile would fill her face as though she held a splinter of time caught in a drop of amber.

Aliana grew weaker as the hours became days. There was nothing I could do. Hospitals and doctors were nothing but footnotes in history. A history no one will ever read.

I had a plan. I knew Jessy had some Oxycontin for his cancer pain. Mary and Jessy were only five miles down the road. My old Allis Chambers tractor could make the trip and back in forty minutes—an hour at most.

Aliana was half asleep. "I'm going to get you something for the pain. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"You're coming back?"

I squeezed her fingers. "I'll be back. I'm going to Mary's house. Jessy might let me have some of his pain pills for you."

Aliana's face seemed to light up just a bit. I returned her smile and walked over to the hatch, pushed it open, then gently lowered it down when I was outside. 

In the barn, I coaxed my old tractor to life. Computers were science fiction when this old girl was assembled. She didn't care about any CMEs. I figured this might be a one-time trip, the temperature each night were steadily increasing. It was well past eleven already and yet the air temperature was over one hundred degrees.

I hopped up on the tractor and headed to the road. I stopped for a few seconds. I wondered if someone else might be out, looking for food, water. I should have given Aliana my gun just in case. I tossed that idea out as quickly as it came. Aliana could hardly hold her head up yet alone a gun. I pulled out of my drive, turned my single headlight off and drove down the road in the darkness.

The majestic old maple trees that once lined the sides of the road were dead. Their leaves long gone and scattered by the winds, leaving ghostly remains that appeared to lean over the road. The nude branches stared down as though they'd try to swat me from my seat. They scared the shit out of me. I nudged the hand throttle up two more clicks. The tractor belched out a puff of diesel smoke in displeasure. I rambled down the road at ten miles per hour.

I came upon mummified remains of rabbits, deer, and cattle lying where they fell—untouched. There were no scavengers to eat the flesh of the fallen.

I pulled into Jessy's farm. I noticed his white Cadillac still sitting in the drive. I figured they'd made a run for it, going to Mary's sister's place in Oregon. I shut the tractor down and listened. I listened for anything—but heard nothing.

I walked tentatively up the sidewalk, the wooden porch creaked under my footfalls, and then with utmost caution I twisted the doorknob. The door opened, the hinges moaned out in despair. I stepped into their house. 

I've been in their home on many occasions, and Mary's immaculate house keeping seemed to be nothing but a memory. Her curio cabinets had fallen over, spewing their precious contents on to the floor. Oddly, the heavy curtains that Mary was so proud of were gone.

It looked as though Jessy tried in vain to cover the windows. Bits and pieces of scrap wood planking had been nailed haphazard across the windows in their living room. I pulled a flashlight from my pocket, the beam of light cut through the dust that hung heavy in the room. 

I heard a sound! I stopped in my tracks. I switched the flashlight off. I heard it again. Something. I didn't know what. I froze. Was I alone? Was someone else rooting through the house? I didn't move. My heart pounded in my chest. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up. My head turned side-to-side trying to determine the direction of the sound. The hallway; it was coming from the hallway. I moved slowly toward the sound. It started out low, and then it began to grow. My ears heard a melody. I pushed myself up against the wall and with the butt end of my flashlight I pushed the bedroom door open. The sound was louder. I peeked in.

In the moon lit shadows I saw Mary laying on the bed, humming more than singing, while she slowly sewed herself into a cocoon of fabric wrapped around her body. Mary was making her own death shroud out of her living room curtains. She had sewed herself in all way up to her chest.

I reached out and stopped her fingers. "Mary, what are you doing?"

"Walter, is that you?"

"Yes, Mary I'm here. Walter"

I turned on my flashlight. She didn't flinch. I shined the light directly into her face. "Oh damn, Mary."

Apparently, Jessy and Mary spent too much time out in the sunlight. Ultraviolet rays formed thick white cataracts that covered her eyes. She was nearly blind. Blisters pocked her face and covered her hands. The cataracts unsettled me, so I switched the flashlight off. The room filled with moonlight.

"Are you in pain?" I asked.

"No..."

"Where's Jessy?"

"He's sleeping. The white angels came and took him. He's sleeping." 

I shinned my flashlight around the room for a few seconds. There lying next to Mary was Jessy. Mary had sewn her husband into a pair of curtains, just like she planned to do to herself.

"The white angels?" I asked.

"Oh yes, they came the other day. Or, maybe it was two days ago. I forget. They came down from the sky. Jessy is sleeping now." 

I pulled Mary's hands from her work. "I think you're done an excellent job. There's no need to finish it."

"But the angels...will they find me? They came from the sky. Jessy is sleeping now."

What little sanity Mary had was slipping away. That damn unrelenting heat was slowly cooking her mind. "Why didn't you two come over to our house?"

"Jessy said it would pass. We couldn't get the car started. He's sleeping now. The white angels came."

I squeezed her fingers as gently as I could. 

"We tried to keep the light out, but Jessy got sick. The white angels came."

"Ah Mary..." I pushed her hands down and pulled the needle from her fingers. "Do you need anything?" 

"I don't suppose you have a sip, maybe two, of some water?"

"Let me see what I can do."

Knowing that Jessy and Mary had more than likely ran out of water sometime ago. I ransacked the kitchen and found nothing. Then it dawned on me. The water heater! 

Their water heater was located in the root cellar. I crossed my fingers and turned the drain valve. A gush of water flooded my hand. Jessy apparently had forgotten about the eighty gallons of water just below his feet. Before I left the cellar, I spied a pint of what appeared to be peaches sitting all alone on a rickety wooden shelf. My hand hovered over the Ball jar as if to see if it was nothing more than a mirage. I snatched up the prize. I found several empty water bottles in the kitchen and filled them all.

When I returned to the bedroom, Mary was softly singing again. "I have some water for you."

"Ooh! Thank you, Walter."

I poured some of the priceless liquid into a small plastic cup and raised it to her lips. "Easy. Easy, not too fast. There's plenty for you." Mary gulped and slurped the water down. Small streams of water leaked out at the corners of her mouth and meandered down her cheeks.

"Here, I have a treat for you." I opened the jar and plucked out a peach with a fork.

For the next half hour I fed Mary the last meal she would ever have. She even drank the juice from the jar. I gave her another cup full of water.

"Mary, do you think Jessy would let me borrow a few of his pills?"

"Oh my I can't see why not. He's sleeping, so don't wake him."

"I won't. I promise. Do you know where he keeps his pills?"

"I don't see why not, especially if you promise to replace them. Did you look in the bathroom?"

Mary's mind clung onto reality by just spider threads. My flashlight lit up the room and I climbed over baskets of clothing they tried to stuff into the cracks of the makeshift shields over the window. In the bathroom, I quickly found what I was looking for. I returned to Mary's side.

"Mary, I'm going to go now. Aliana is sick and she needs my help."

"Will the white angels come for me, too?"

The shadow of death had fallen on her face. I figured Mary had a few hours to live. If she made it through the night, she certainly would be gone by morning.

"Yes, the angels will come for you tomorrow. That I know," I said softly.

She searched for her needle and thread. I stopped her hands. "You don't need to finish, Mary. The angels know you're here. Jessy told them. He told them he'd wait on you. He said you didn't need to finish sewing. He's sleeping now and you don't want to wake him."

A weak smile formed on her cracked lips. I offered her a few more sips of water then stuck two bottles beside her arms. I held her hand.

"Will I see Jesus?"

I moved a few strands of her long brown hair out from her eyes. "That I can guarantee."

"I won't know what to say."

I thought for a few seconds. "Why don't you sing for him? I'm sure he'd like that."

I kissed her forehead and stood quietly. I stared down at the woman who befriended Aliana and I when we first moved into our farm. Her mind was almost gone.

"Why don't you take a nap now? Just close your eyes and go to sleep like Jessy."

"The white angels took him away. He's sleeping now."

"I know." I placed a second kiss on her forehead then turned and walked out of the room. I closed the door. I rummaged through the house, looking for anything that would be of use for Aliana and myself. I took books, magazines and whatever else I could find.

Just as I pushed the front door open, I heard the haunting sound of Mary singing Amazing Grace. I stopped and I wept.

********

It's been over a week since my trip to Mary's house. The artesian spring had dried up, so we lost the ability to keep the milk house cool. Although we're still fifteen feet below ground, the temperature inside was increasing. During the day, the outside air reached one hundred forty degrees. We were slowly being baked to death. We were down to our last ten gallons of water. And I was out of solutions. 

"Walter?"

"Aliana, try to sleep." Aliana was quickly slipping away. Infection tore through her body. I'd trade my soul to the devil for a bottle of penicillin.

"We're not going to make it are we? You knew didn't you? And yet you still kept trying."

I took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Yes, I knew." She smiled back.

"I'd like to know, too..."

"Honey," I began, "the sun. It's dying. I don't—nobody knows—why. It's growing bigger and soon it will fill the entire horizon. The oceans will boil away along with our atmosphere. There's no hiding—there's no—" 

"You knew all this time?"

"Yeah, but you know what you said about arguing with an engineer."

I sat beside Aliana and steadied her head on my lap. I wiped her forehead with a damp cloth. "I hate to lose."

"We would have been great parents," Aliana said, her voice wavering.

I looked into her eyes. I knew that even false memories were better than no memories. So, I decided to give her some. 

"We were great parents," I said.

With a touch as soft as an eyelash's brush against skin, I moved my thumb across her lips. The brilliant love of life that always glowed in Aliana's eyes, I could no longer see. 

"We were?" Aliana asked.

"Remember our first born?" I began, "Matthew Benjamin Meir. Oh, almost forgot. Matthew Benjamin Meir, PhD. He studied under Michio Kaku, and then graduated from MIT. There's talk he'll be nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics.

"You used to enjoy the drive to Vermont in the fall. You'd spoil our grandchildren. We'd walk along the old road and loose ourselves in the autumn foliage. Then we'd come back home to the farm 'cause you liked the winters here."

Aliana stared at the ceiling. Her focus was on her mind's eye. Taking the words I fed her and turning them into images—into memories.

"We have a daughter, too; Teresa Ana Meir, MD." She smiled back at me.

"Oh, lots of doctors in the family I see."

"I know a mother isn't supposed to have favorites, but our middle son, Andy... No doctor degree, no college. He stayed here on the farm. He spoke for the trees."

Aliana gave me one big smile and I grinned back. I pushed a few strands of her hair from her forehead with my thumb. Her breathing became labored and her body tightened in my arms.

I felt her fingers close on my hand. Her voice was as hushed as a child's whisper.

"Walter...I love you..."

Aliana pulled in half a lung full of air but nothing came back out.

"Aliana! No!" 

Her eyes dimmed and I watched her soul die. "I love you..."

Tears tumbled from my eyes and splashed on her cheeks. I wiped them away with my fingers. I cradled her in my arms and slowly rocked back and forth. "You wait for me. You promised."

I don't know how long I held Aliana in my arms. Perhaps it was days, or maybe a few hours. It didn't matter anymore. Time—a human invention—simply stopped for us all.

I used the last of the water to wash her body. I dressed her in her favorite yellow dress, the one Mary made for her. The one she wore when she told me she was pregnant. The one dress she insisted on taking down into the shelter.