23 comments/ 43185 views/ 3 favorites Meadowlark By: Caroline Covington Ninety-year-old Rhys Shaftesbury still found himself breaking into tears at thoughts or mention of his wife, Gail, two weeks after her death. They'd had a wonderful, passionate life together, but cancer finally struck her frail body down at the age of eighty-five. For the past fortnight, condolences and sympathies from colleagues, friends, and acquaintances had poured in, starting almost from the moment Gail had died. The popular Dr. Shaftesbury, a former chair and now Professor Emeritus at the Department of Bio-Mechanical Engineering, had been active in the faculty and community up until five years ago. However, when Gail became ill, he shed his academic and civic responsibilities and devoted all of his time and fading energy to his dying wife. But now that she was gone, he seemed lost and listless. "You'd think that in 2042, they'd have a goddamned cure," he yet again muttered to himself as he poked through a box of her belongings. How the box came into Rhys's possession was somewhat circuitous: Gail had given it to Melanie, the Shaftesbury's eldest child, over a year ago with instructions to hand it to Rhys one week after her, Gail's, death. Seven days after her mother died, Melanie, like Swiss clockwork, presented the box to her father. The cardboard crate was a surprise to Rhys; he'd known nothing about it. His daughter, carrying out her mother's wishes to the letter, had asked—no, ordered—him to sort through the container and pick out what he wanted to keep. Rhys was mystified as to how his daughter had ended up so stern and humourless. According to him, she was passionless, and he pitied her husband. Had they not had children, Rhys would've questioned whether their marriage had ever been consummated. "Well, they must have done it at least twice," he chuckled to himself as he thought about his grandchildren. He shook his head and pondered where they'd gone wrong with Melanie, how had Gail and he failed to instil joy and wonder into her life? Rhys and Gail prided themselves on how they'd raised their three children. In addition to all the material essentials, the kids had received an abundance of guidance, instruction, independence, laughter, and unconditional love. That over-popular adjective from the turn of the century, dysfunctional, didn't apply to their family. Their two younger offspring, Lucille and Aiden, had that joie de vivre, Rhys thought, but Melanie didn't; dark and brooding best described her character. Indeed, if Melanie weren't his spitting image—and the resemblance was uncanny—he'd have serious doubts about whether or not she was his child. She had, at least, inherited Rhys's work ethic. Rhys resumed looking through Gail's things, but his worn-out eyes soon glazed over. The box's contents seemed like junk to him. Nothing caught his interest. Her possessions held no appeal. What he wanted was Gail: her laugh, her love, her wit, her passion. "Hell, I even miss her anger," he whispered while remembering how stormy and headstrong she could be. His eyes welled up again, causing him to curse himself for his weakness, but his crying continued as he sifted his hand around the box. Then, out of a corner of his tear-blurred vision, he saw the ancient USB flash drive. He picked it up, turned it over in his thick fingers, and sadly smiled. "Five terabytes. Shit, that used to be a lot of memory," he sighed. Upon further rummaging, he found an old USB-compatible portable drive reader but with a modern XNL connector. It looked like the card reader had been custom-made. He was intrigued by this piece of incongruent hardware and wondered if it had been made-to-order by Gail. She was always better at computers—or personal electronic assistants, PEA's, as they were now known—than he was, but he never admitted that to her while she was alive. It was clear to him that his wife had left the memory stick for him to find, and he correctly assumed that a message from Gail would be on it. So he took the flash card and reader, raised himself from the kitchen table with more enthusiasm than he'd displayed the entire past two weeks, and made his way to the PEA in wonder and hope. Once there, he connected the card reader to the machine and inserted the memory stick. Only one file resided on the flash drive, and its simple title blindsided him like an unseen automobile at an intersection. Meadowlark After he left, I rinsed my body, got out, and dried myself. My sarong was still wet, and I didn't want to wear it and be clammy. Similarly, my bikini bottom was wet from just being rinsed. My one option if I wanted to remain dry was to wrap a towel around me, which I did. The towels in the rooms were very short. When I stood, if I covered my breasts, my vulva was barely hidden. I could've used two towels, but my excitement trumped my better judgement and roused a desire to tease, flirt, and even show him a little pussy. So with my towel tied over my breasts, I entered the room. Dieter sat in a chair with a towel around his waist and stared at the expanse of thigh I was showing. I sat across from him in another chair, crossing my legs. He got us a couple of beers—the cold fluid was refreshing—and we chatted and joked. Although the circumstances were thrilling, I always felt that I could leave at any time. Initially, as we talked, I took care to have my towel over my delta and kept my legs crossed to help hide my pussy. But as time went on, and as I had another drink, my inhibitions loosened, as did my towel. It went on that way for the longest time. Eventually my towel slackened until it slipped to no longer shield my breasts. I didn't cover them. The alcohol emboldened me; and, besides, I reasoned, he'd seen my tits plenty on the beach. If I wanted, I could now use the entire towel around my waist to conceal my vulva. However, I kept the towel high on my thighs, showing off my legs with my pussy scarcely hidden. I was thrilled to tease him a little, and thought that I'd do it for just a while longer. But Dieter's towel had also unravelled and lay across his lap. His taut chest with its sparse mat of fine blonde hair, the flatness of his stomach, and the narrowness of his waist and hips gave his torso a pleasing shape. I became agitated looking at him and wished for his towel to fall so I could again view his cock, to see whether it was hard and eager or soft and indifferent. I'd uncrossed my legs by now and played with the idea of flashing my pussy to entice him, for I wondered if Dieter would ever approach me. At that point, I knew that if he did make an advance, I wouldn't reject it. Something devilish then possessed me, and I raised my feet up onto my chair so that my knees were scrunched up and apart. The manoeuvre, while casual, exposed and presented my pussy. I'd been tingling ever since the shower, so I knew that my vulva was wet and swollen. I also knew that Dieter now had an excellent view of my excitement since his eyes kept darting back to my folds. I sat like that, showing him my pussy but still chatting with him. He looked at me throughout our conversation, his eyes returning to linger on my exposure for longer and longer periods. But still nothing happened. I was just about to abandon him, accept rejection, make an escape, and go back to my room to indulge in some safe masturbation to thoughts of Dieter. But Dieter stood, and, letting his towel fall to show me his hardness, came over, leaned down, and kissed me. This time, when our lips met, his hands did touch me, squeezing my tits and tugging my nipples. Each pull on my nipples sent waves of pleasure to my pussy, causing it to flood. As we kissed, I rubbed his chest and arms, but what I wanted was to caress his erection. But I didn't touch it. I wanted Dieter to touch me first, to touch my wetness. At the time, I didn't know why; but in retrospect, perhaps it was a way to fool myself into believing that I was innocent of what was happening and that it was he who touched me first, so I was blameless. These were silly notions, for I was obviously responsible for what was to happen. I still sat while he leaned to kiss me, and I ached for him to pet me. My legs remained propped up, my knees apart, in anticipation of that touch. Finally, one of his hands slid from my breast, travelling down my belly to the top of my mound. But he stopped and tugged on my pubic hair for a while. It drove me crazy with lust; my pussy throbbed and I sensed a rivulet of my juice run down my ass, as if my vulva were weeping for attention. At last, he inched his hand lower, roaming his fingers over and in my pussy. I was so wet that I heard his fingers squish, and the noise multiplied my desire. He had touched me, so I was now free to fondle his cock, and I cuddled it while we kissed. His pre-cum had seeped out, and I rubbed it over the bulbous head each time I pulled down on his foreskin. We kept kissing each other and playing with each other's genitals, with him leaning while I sat in the chair, my legs spread for his touch. He inserted more of his fingers, stretching my rift. I tried to fuck his fingers, to move my hips to his probing, but our awkward position restricted me from gyrating as much as I wanted. The position was uncomfortable for both of us, so he stood, which placed his penis next to my face. I leaned towards it, flicked my tongue at his shaft, licking the foamy pre-cum and sensitive foreskin. With my feet lowered back to the floor, I sat on the edge of the chair, bent forward, and began sucking his cock. He moaned and held my hair with one hand, while his other played with my tits. After a few minutes of my sucking, his excitement grew and he began pumping at my mouth. He held my head motionless with both his hands and fucked my mouth while I massaged my clit with one of my hands. I tried transforming my mouth into a pussy when the urgency of his thrusts increased. Then, just before he erupted, his cock swelled in my mouth and twitched. He groaned so sweetly with every one of his spurts and flooded my mouth with his equally sweet fluid. He was warm and delicious, and I swallowed everything he gave me. After Dieter's orgasm, he bent to kiss me and then knelt in front of me to mouth my vulva. My bum was forward, on the edge of the chair, so I leaned back and raised my legs in the air. I held them apart by placing my hands behind my knees and by pulling them back, giving him unbridled access to my pussy. The situation, the exhibitionism, the long lead up, and, I admit, the fact that I was doing something wrong—in other words cheating—all meshed to make me burn with wetness and itchiness. At first, his mouth touched the perimeter of my cunt, licking and sucking the lips on either side but avoiding my clit. I longed for him to work my button, but instead he tongued my entrance, using his fingers to open my hole. I watched him tongue-fuck my cunt like that and got more excited by the second. At last, he moved up to my clit and mouthed it. I glowed with ecstasy! My nipples felt like they'd burst, they were so tight; and my pussy pulsed under his mouth. I was so ablaze that a thunderous orgasm swept over me soon after. Dieter wanted to keep eating me, but my clit was too sensitive after climaxing to continue with oral play, so I moved him away from between my legs. He stood, took my hand, and led me to the bed. We lay on it, snuggled, and talked. Pangs of guilt over what had just happened prodded me, but Dieter's kind and gentle manner eased my burden. Looking back, I realise that I was still in denial. I convinced myself that since we'd only had oral sex, nothing serious had happened. Perhaps I should've stopped at that, a blowjob and getting my pussy sucked. But we didn't stop there. After we recovered, our hands roamed again, this time in the comfort of a bed, while our mouths locked in a wet kiss. My vulva was fingered anew, and again my legs rose, offering him my cunt for our mutual pleasure. He finger-fucked me for a while, kneeling between my raised legs. I opened myself as much as I could and moaned with delight and anticipation. But when he moved up to kiss me, he mounted me and slid his hardened cock into my moisture. We were now fucking, and a host of thoughts buzzed through my mind, and not all of them were good. Firstly, I could no longer deny that I was cheating. I was married and loved my husband, yet here I was fucking this man I hardly knew. Secondly, I was worried about STD's. How could I take such a stupid chance? And thirdly, I wasn't on birth control. I'd stopped taking the pill about three months before going away on my contract. Hubby and I had planned for a family, and we wanted to get pregnant once I returned home. God! What if I got pregnant from this fling? All of these thoughts were never far from my mind for the rest of the time I spent with Dieter. Yet lust does strange things to reason. I didn't stop Dieter nor did I tell him to use a condom. Instead, we kept fucking, bareback. He placed my legs on his shoulders, and we fucked until he shuddered and deposited his cum into my cunt. When he came, I knew that what we were doing was insane, but it also excited me in a strange way. I never said anything to him about my fears. I'm sure he assumed that I was on birth control. I spent the next three days and nights with Dieter. We would fuck three or four times a day, and despite my lack of birth control, it entranced me to receive his orgasm within my pussy. I can't explain why, but it seemed as if I burned for his cock to plough my fertile furrows and plant his seed. As we'd fuck, I'd finger my clit and think wild thoughts about how he was about to fill my womb with sperm. And whenever he ejaculated, it seemed to hasten my orgasms. For those three days, I cherished having his fecund milk ferment inside my loins. Sex with Dieter was good but far from spectacular, yet, for whatever bizarre reasons, the circumstances of my time with him aroused me. Although I've always treasured swallowing my lovers' ejaculate, I sucked Dieter with purpose: to make him hard. Once stiffened, I'd guide his rigid penis into my dampness and keep him there until he surrendered his cream. Yet, during those three days, my fear of pregnancy was never far from my mind. When I came home, I said nothing to my husband about my adventure. He was starved for sex, and I yielded myself to him out of love and remorse. But despite—or perhaps because of—my guilt, on the day that I arrived, it excited me to fuck two different men in less than twelve hours. My first fuck with my husband upon returning home was urgent, wanton, and desperate. He attacked me as soon as we got in the door, stripping away my clothes while he grabbed at my body. My legs opened for him when he groped me, and he praised me for my readiness, for the mucous that oozed from my vulva. Slutty thoughts raced through my mind as we fucked in all sorts of positions as if making up for lost time. A few hours ago, I'd been fucking Dieter; now I was screwing my husband. I came abruptly after we started fucking, manipulating my clit to a climax. After that, small orgasms swept over me as his cock persisted on sliding within my pussy. Finally, I felt him build, his thrusts becoming frantic, until he threw his head back and pushed his hips into me as hard as he could to launch his sperm into my depths. We fucked and sucked every chance we could for about ten days after I arrived. Indeed, my guilt was great enough that I even allowed him to fuck my ass once. But the most tremendous thrill, just like with Dieter, came from having my husband's cock penetrate my cunt and discharge its mellow sap into my womb. After two weeks at home, I was due for my period, but it never came. Needless to say, I was worried sick about my predicament. I was convinced that I was pregnant and that Dieter was the father. I summoned enough courage to visit my doctor and be tested. Thankfully, miraculously, the result was negative. My relief and happiness were such that I even ventured into a church to give thanks. About three months later, I became pregnant and eventually gave birth to our first child, our daughter. Every now and then, I'll think about Dieter when I masturbate. I think not of amazing sex or endless lovemaking. Neither of those happened. Rather, I get aroused remembering my reckless behaviour, his white honey in my pussy, and my lucky escape. G.S., Midwest, USA,July 2011 P.S. Several years later, after the birth of our daughter, I discovered that my husband had been having affairs and that his inability to join me in Bali due to an inflexible work schedule was a lie. I mention this neither to justify nor to diminish my actions, but rather to point out that life sometimes bites back in strange poetic ways. By the time Rhys reached the end of the story, not only had his auto-erection device inflated his penis beyond its safe capacities but also his pacemaker had shifted into high gear, causing his heart to thump in unison with his hand oscillating on his cock. Images of a young, lively, and beautiful Gail consumed and washed over him, spurring Rhys on to his first orgasm in five years. It was to be his final one. The last thing Rhys saw was a white spurt from his ninety-year-old penis. He collapsed, and as he stared at his ejaculate, it metamorphosed into a white, beckoning light that he then followed while turning younger with every floating step he took towards it. Melanie found him the next day, dead on the floor, pants around his ankles, and his cock in his hand. Rigor mortis had set in. The scene revolted her. She then noticed that her father's PEA was running, and she assumed that some sort of offensive porn was on the holographic screen that hovered in mid air. Initially, Melanie was filled with disgust as she read her mother's file. However, by the end of it, Melanie realised that she was the same age, fifty-five, as Gail had been when the story was written. When Melanie first started reading, her intention was to destroy the memory card. But now that she'd finished, she wasn't quite sure what she would do, so she removed the card and slipped it into a pocket of her business suit jacket. Then, after shutting down the PEA, Melanie covered her father with a blanket, phoned the police to report Rhys's death, and waited for them to arrive. As she gazed out the open window of the house in which she was raised, a meadowlark alighted onto the backyard fence, raised its head skyward, and started singing. It sang and sang with all its might until Melanie thought the little creature's heart would burst from exertion. She watched the bird's tiny yellow breast heave with each breath it took, refilling its lungs between the lyrical stanzas to continue whistling the incomprehensible but beautiful melody. In that instant, she realised that the performance was for her. The fervour of the songbird, the ardour and oftentimes misplaced passion of her parents, and the total lack of it in her life were too much for her. When the police arrived, they discovered her sobbing uncontrollably and assumed that it was over grief for her dead father.