4 comments/ 11077 views/ 4 favorites A Bittersweet Romance By: DrTool If you want raw, graphic sex, go to another story. This is romance, and also a sad story. ***** My wedding to Carla, my fair skinned, black haired beauty, was an event I will always remember. It was not just because I was publically committing to the woman I wanted to spent the rest of my life with. I hadn't thought about it while single, but on my wedding night nearly every woman in the room wanted to spend time with me. All the men wanted to be close to my beautiful bride was well. We had talked about it in advance; we each spent a good portion of the evening separately dancing with others. My cousins, sisters, and friends of course wanted to be with me. The maid of honor was Carla's best friend, so I knew her well. Carla had a wide variety of sisters, cousins, and aunts, and I swear every one of them was beautiful, and horny, and wanted to tease me. Nothing could change my love for the beautiful woman who would go with me to the hotel room tonight and be mine, but I have to admit dancing with and hugging beautiful sexy women in low cut gowns was a pleasurable experience I will remember forever. Carla brought her dance partner, my best friend Eric, closer to me as I was dancing with her much older sister Dori. Some of the young guys were missing out. Dori was actually 20 years older than Carla, who had been a 'surprise' child to her parents, but she was one of the most beautiful women there. Earlier when we had danced a slow dance together, she had held me so close, I had no doubt that this was a sensuous women who was physically well equipped for what all those young guys were missing out on. I knew she was a widow; since it was my wedding day, I was not really concerned whether she spent her nights alone or not. Carla whispered to Dori. Dori turned, and indicated to me a young woman with long red hair, who had just gotten up from a table where she was seated by herself. "That's my daughter Beverly. Carla said I should point her out to you?" The young lady in question looked like she was getting ready to go. I really hadn't seen her, because I was spending so much time on the dance floor. But Carla had extracted a rather odd promise from me about Beverly, and I really wanted to fulfill my promise. "Excuse, me, Dori, I really love dancing with you, but I do need to catch Beverly. Later?" She waved me away with a smile on her face. Surely she did not know what Carla had made me promise? No matter, I had a special guest to attend to. I caught up with her as she was walking out of the room. I hope she wasn't leaving the building already; the night was still young. (And if she had gotten away without my fulfilling my promise to Carla, my new bride would have given me grief.) "Excuse me," I said. "Are you Beverly?" She turned, and I got a look at her face for the first time. Fortunately, Carla had been very clear. Where most people had cartilage on their nose, Beverly had none. And she had a split in her upper lip. At first she looked like someone had bit off her nose. Later, I decided she looked more like she had a nose transplant from a cat. Even though I had not met her before, I had been forewarned. I looked her straight in the eyes without blinking, and smiled. (She had really beautiful eyes, and cute freckles; her figure was obviously even more impressive than Dori's, even though her dress provided more coverage than was average for that night.) "Hi. I'm Ken," I said. "I guess now that I'm married to Carla, you're my niece. I'm sorry I haven't got a chance to meet you before, but Carla says you are just one of the most special people in the world, and I wanted a chance to spend some time with you. May I have the next dance?" She looked almost cornered, poor girl. I wondered, 'what if she's been just sitting alone, being ignored, while everyone else was out on the dance floor?' "Um, I, um, really don't know how to dance, so..." "Nonsense" I replied. "Most of those people don't know how to dance, they're just making happy moves. I hear you did ballet as a little girl. I can have you dancing inside 5 minutes, if you trust me." I extended my hand. "Please?" She took a deep breath, took my hand, and walked back in the room without even stopping by 'the powder room'. She set her purse back down on a table. I'm thinking she was actually planning on leaving, and I was lucky to have caught her. Carla had told me it was actually Beverly's 18th birthday, and I didn't want her to leave her sister's wedding to go spend her birthday night feeling lonely. With how superficial most men were, I bet she spent too many evenings alone. As we got to the dance floor, they started a slow dance. "Just put your arms around me, and just shuffle your feet around on the floor," I whispered. She gave me a startled look, then put her arms around me in a bear hug. I wrapped my arms around her, and began gently guiding her swaying, while we were cheek to cheek. On the other end of the dance floor, I could see my beloved Carla dancing with her father again, and she gave me a thumbs up. Knowing I would not get into trouble with my new wife, I relaxed, and enjoyed holding the warm wonderful body that was pressed so closely to mine. I could feel her heart beating. The next dance was a line dance. "Just listen, and do what the people around you are doing." She picked up the pattern right away; after the first round, I noticed, she wasn't looking at the feet of her neighbors any more. In fact, except when the pattern had her turn away from me, she was looking at me consistently. She had a smile now; she was enjoying herself at last. The next was a regular rock and roll dance, and I said, "just hop step back and forth until you feel comfortable doing more." After a couple of measures, I demonstrated some of the turns and twists, and she followed soon after. Then she saw a couple near us do the 'bump', and she turned and waved her hip at me. We started turning, and bumping, and twisting, and having a grand time. She was relaxing more by the minute. Most of the people there were relaxing more, too. Some people were even acting tipsy. I had to keep myself from laughing; we had set up two punch bowls, a large and a small one. Most people were drinking from the large one; only Carla, me, and the caterer knew that neither punch bowl had any alcohol in it at all. I hadn't seen Beverly drink anything, but here was a natural dancer, who was finally getting a chance to try her stuff on the dance floor. I was having fun dancing with her, and I had already made the rounds of the other guests, so I resolved to stick with Beverly to see if I could fulfill the rest of my promise to Carla. After many dances, she looked up at me, and said, "I want to dance more, but I just have to stop before I pop. I'll be right back, unless you need to see to other guests?" I saw my opportunity. "I'll walk you out." We walked, quickly, out to the hall where the bathrooms were. She disappeared quickly, and I took care of my business too. I was sure I could finish faster, and I was right. When she reemerged, she look both surprised and delighted to see me standing there, waiting for her. "There's one other thing," I said. "Carla said today is your 18th birthday." She nodded. "I really want to apologize for having our wedding on your 18th birthday, and I wish I could do something to make it up to you." She shook her head, and waived away my comments. But I remembered Carla's idea, and, weird as it had seemed when she first said it, I wanted to do something nice for this niece of my new wife. "I can't give you a birthday party, or anything, but... can I at least give you a birthday kiss?" She turned beet red, and stammered, finally saying just "Carla?" I put my hands gently on her shoulders. "Carla is OK. I promise." She looked around, and saw the same empty hall I had seen. She gave a little nod. I couldn't tell how much was her leaning into me, and how much was me pulling her close, but suddenly there was no space between us, and our arms were around each other. The spark of static electricity I felt from the carpet paled compared to the jolt I got from that kiss. I had intended a kind of brotherly kiss, but because of the split in her upper lip, the kiss was instantly fuller and deeper than I had intended. And I loved it. My wife was still wearing her wedding dress, and I was getting an incredible thrill out of kissing her niece. I hoped it was special for Beverly, too. Carla was sure Beverly had never been kissed before, and she told me it was OK if I wanted to give her a kiss worth remembering for her birthday. Mission accomplished. That kiss lasted longer than I expected. When I looked up, I saw that my blushing bride was watching from the doorway. I was glad to see she was smiling at me. "Happy birthday" I said, to cover myself in case anyone else had seen. "Beverly, Carla says you are a very special person, and I can already see the truth in what she says. I hope you can come visit us this summer, so the three of us can have some time together." She blushed. Three times, she tried to open her mouth to say something. No words came out. She leaned in again, and gave me a light kiss, which happened to land on my nose. Then she twisted away, and saw Carla watching. She blushed, and pulled away, but I'm sure she could see that Carla was still smiling. Beverly did come out to visit us a couple of times that summer. She had just graduated from high school, and was planning on community college near her home in the Fall. I was starting a new job teaching at a private college in Fall, so I had time to visit. I got a chance then to see how close Carla and Beverly were; they acted more like sisters than anything else. On greetings and departures, Carla would demand that Uncle Ken give his niece a kiss, and I was always happy to comply. It grieved me that so sweet a girl had so little social experience, just because people were turned off by her nose. But I couldn't think of any friends who were both available, worthy of her, and guaranteed to not flinch at the first sight of her face, so I just resolved to be as nice to her as my wife wanted. I tried to be a model of the kind of man she should look for. Part of me thought it would be better for her to stay single than to settle for just any guy, but even then I knew I was having conflicting feelings. We didn't see much of Beverly during the school year, but she often called. If I answered the phone first, I was happy to chat before I gave the phone to Carla. When Carla started developing morning sickness, I ended up talking to Beverly even more, even though much of it was about Carla, and conveying what Carla would say while she was indisposed. Then, in Spring, she started taking a rough class, and she knew I was an English professor. She started emailing me, asking for help proofreading her papers, and calling me, and while I wasn't looking for a label, we were getting definitely closer. When the baby's due date was approaching, Beverly called, and offered to spend the summer with us. (She actually said she might never get a baby of her own, so she wanted to see what it was like to care for a baby while she had the chance.) Everyone was happy with the idea. I was secretly worried, because with my wife being so pregnant and not really wanting to be touched, I was not sure how good an idea it would be to have a young, beautiful woman around who loved to give me hugs and kisses. But it was my wife's idea, I liked the idea, even if maybe a little too much, and no one in their right mind turns down having help with a new baby. So Beverly moved in with us, as soon as she finished her finals. She came not a day too soon. I don't understand the medical stuff, but the doctor suddenly put Carla on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. Beverly was a godsend. She cooked, cleaned, did errands, sat with Carla, and was just really the salvation of our summer. I tried to stick with hugs to show her my appreciation, but she always pulled me in for a kiss every chance she got. I did not exactly object. Before long they moved Carla into the hospital. The time came, and the doctors decided to do a C section, because it was too dangerous for both Carla and the baby to continue the pregnancy any longer. Beverly and I went in to the hospital. To my surprise, Carla was already sedated and moved out, and they wouldn't let me see her. Something about how the baby was in distress, and they had to move rapidly. Beverly and I ended up sitting in the waiting room. I needed reassurance, and we sat together, holding hands. It took much longer than I expected. One of the chaplains at the hospital came out to see us. "You can see the patient, now." We followed him. Carla looked asleep, holding a baby at the breast, no top, no sheet, no nothing. My mother had warned me that when you are learning to nurse, bashfulness tends to go out the window, so I figured it was OK. That image of my topless wife sleeping with our baby on her breast is one of my most special moments to this day. She was the ultimate in beauty. She opened her eyes and smiled at us. "Finally," she said, "I get to use these jugs as God intended. Little Rita Joan loves her milk." Then her smile dropped. " Ken, the baby is fine, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." My eyes widened. "What?" "The doctors weren't sure while I was pregnant, and I wouldn't do any tests or even X rays that might hurt the baby. But Ken, they think I have ovarian cancer." "Honey, what does that mean?" "First, if I do, we may not be able to have another baby." Then, she took a deep breath. "And Ken, if it's what they think it is, it might be... too late." "I don't understand," I said sickly, even though I was afraid I understood too well. "Because I didn't do anything that might hurt our baby, it has been untreated for nine months. It might have metastasized by now. It might be terminal." I stared in disbelief. She had cancer, and she had said nothing to me? My young new wife might be dying? I grasped for something to say that didn't sound stupid. "What... what can we do?" She smiled at me, grateful I was not angry. "I'm going to nurse this baby at least a couple of days, so she gets at least some of the benefit of Mommy milk. Then, I want you and Beverly to take the baby home, and the doctors will cut me open, to see what they can do. As soon as I can, I'll be home, even if we have to set up a hospice in the den." Beverly leaned over to put her arm around me. "Ken, you need to spend time with your beloved wife now. I'll go take a nap, and then I can stay the night shift while you go home and sleep in your own bed. I'm here for you two; I'll do everything I can to help." I don't remember much of the next few days. With two of us to watch over a baby and a mommy, neither of us got much sleep. Suddenly I was opening the door to a delivery of a hospital bed. Carla was going downhill quickly. My wife was not even well enough to sleep in the queen bed with me. We indeed had to set up a hospice in the den. Carla would not hear of going to a formal hospice; she wanted to be with her family. I knew that Beverly meant just as much to her as I did, and I didn't mind. Beverly had baby duty last night, so I was sitting with my love Carla. She slept a lot; mostly I was just with her. "Ken," she said. "I don't know how much longer I've got. You know I love you totally." "I know, honey, I know. I love you too." She closed her eyes, and for a minute I thought she would fall back asleep. "Ken. I left a letter in the lockbox, with what I want for ... arrangements. You don't need to look at it until... after. " She sighed. "I left a letter for Rita Joan too, for when she is 18, so she knows her mommy loved her enough to give her life for her. I'm glad you have little Rita Joan. You have someone to love, and I have someone as a legacy." "Ken, this is very important." "I'm listening." "You not only have little Rita Joan, you have Beverly. I'm so glad you have Beverly. When I'm gone, you won't be alone." "Yeah, she's been a big help with the baby, and everything." She turned to look at me, and shook her head. "I love you, and I love Beverly, and I know that Beverly loves you. I want you to know that I am not in any way jealous of Beverly. Not on our wedding night, not now, and certainly not... after. You two are my favorite people, now more than ever. I want you to know that it is OK. You have my blessing." She leaned back into her pillow, and took several deep breathes. "I just wish..." I waited, but she never finished. Baby Rita loved being by her mom's side in the hospital bed. Even when she could no longer talk, putting Rita Joan next to her got a smile, even when she was apparently unconscious. Towards the end, I spent most of my waking hours with my poor wife Carla, but I went to my own bed to sleep. The queen bed, so wonderful for two newlyweds, was too empty, but I slept as well as I could. We didn't talk about it much, but we knew the end would be soon. Beverly moved the bassinet back to the room she was sleeping in, except that she often dozed in the room with Carla, instead. We pretty much made sure Carla wasn't alone, even though she was totally unresponsive. Carla came over and gave me a big hug. "It's over, Ken," she said. "I'm going on. I want you and Beverly to be happy. She'll make a great Mom for Rita Joan. Remember me, but don't hold back. Love Beverly and Rita Joan now." I was crying, and I reached for her, to find only a pillow. It had been just a dream. But a minute later, the door opened. I saw a shadow slip into the dark room. I felt the bed shift. "Ken. It's over. She's gone. I'm so sorry." "Were you with her?" I asked Beverly. "Yes, I was," she said. " She is at peace now. We did everything we could for her. I miss her so much already, but right now, I want to be with you. I want us to be totally together." Suddenly Beverly's hand slid over my chest in the dark, between the sheets. She wasn't just sitting on the bed, she was in bed with me. I felt her sliding on top of me, and I suddenly realized she had no clothes on. My boxers shorts were no impediment to what popped up naturally. It had been a long time since Carla and I had shared a bed, and in the meantime, Beverly had been hugging and kissing me all the time. "Are you very sure this is a good idea?" I whispered. "Totally sure," she answered. "I want to be with you, right now." I think she would have said more, if I hadn't covered her lips with mine, flipped her over, and implanted myself deep inside in her as we assuaged each other's sorrows. The next morning I woke up. Had I had one dream, or two? I looked at my bed. There was blood on the sheets. That much had not been a dream. Had I taken unfair advantage of my niece? Was she OK with what we had done in our grief? I dressed quickly, and went out to find Dori, Beverly's mother and Carla's sister in the front room. "I sent Beverly back to bed. She looked exhausted. The poor dear." She came over to give me a big hug. "My husband died while Beverly was young. I understand what you are going through better than almost anyone else. " She kissed me lightly on the lips. "If you need to talk, need a hug, need anything, ... I'm here for you." I whispered my thanks. She looked me in the eye, and nodded at something only she saw. "I think Beverly will be good for you. But you have to be good to Beverly, too. Promise?" I nodded. The services were easy to deal with, relatively. It all happened very quickly. All had been pre-planned, everyone had had a chance to say goodbye, and most people felt more relief that it was over than grief that she was gone. I barely had a chance to wave at Beverly in passing, there were so many people coming and going, all of whom wanted to know how they could help. Nearly every one of our wedding guests visited at least once. Were we just so busy, or was she avoiding me? A Bittersweet Romance Those days, Beverly slept in her room, with the baby in the bassinet, and I slept in my room, and family members were coming and going at all hours. We didn't talk about that night Carla died at all. I wasn't even sure how I felt about what had happened; I still had no idea what her feelings were. Finally, the last family members left. Dori, was the last to say goodbye. "Whatever you need, call me," she said to me. "Beverly, are you going to be taking any classes?" She hesitated. "I'm going to stay right here with Ken, and watch Rita Joan while he teaches. That is," she said, "if he wants me." That got her a hug from her Mom, who apparently didn't even bat an eye at the idea that Beverly was going to live with her uncle, and care for her aunt's baby, her cousin. Dori hugged me, hard. "You be good to my baby, and yours." I looked at Beverly. I hadn't even thought about the approaching Fall semester. "Of course I want your help, Beverly. I love having you with me. But are you really OK with watching Rita Joan while I teach?" She came over, put her arms around me and kissed me. "Of course. We'll have to work out the details." She looked me in the eye. "If we put a travel crib in your office, and if I cover, say, 20 hours, including all the hours you are in class, would you be able to make it through the semester?" "Beverly, you are wonderful. What did I ever do to deserve you?" She looked at me. "You treat me like a whole, beautiful, desirable, woman, and you have from the very first time we met. And, you came highly recommended and approved by my aunt, who's more like my sister. And, I guess I'm just a softie for a cute itty bitty little baby. So count your blessings." She hesitated. "As long as I'll be on your campus so much anyway, I applied. I figure I can take some classes there. You don't mind, do you?" "Why would I mind? I love having you around. We'll work it out, OK?" She smiled at me. "Everybody's gone now, and the baby's asleep. I think I'll grab a nap, and later, we can talk, OK?" I nodded, hoping she was thinking of talking, not having 'a talk'. Some of my male friends warned me to be careful when the lady wants a 'talk'. I saw a car pull into the driveway, and someone got out. It was the Provost's assistant, Jane. She seemed like a nice person, but I didn't want anyone waking Beverly until the baby woke. I went outside to talk to her. "Ken," she said, "good to see you. How are you?" "Well, Jane, given that my wife died shortly after giving birth to our baby, I guess I'm doing about as well as I can be." "I heard. Do you like hugs?" I nodded, and she gave me a brief, but professional hug. I noticed she had a letter in her hand. "Listen, Ken, I hate to bother you at such a time, for something that I'm sure is nothing at all, but the admissions director noticed something, and the boss wants to know what's up." "Ok, shoot." "The director of admissions saw your address on the application of a student. You are not old enough to be her father, and she wasn't your wife. The name's Beverly. Who's she?" "Beverly is my niece, daughter of Carla's sister. She's been a godsend helping through... events. She's going to be helping with the baby, and she thought she'd take some classes." "Oh," she sighed, "she's your NIECE. Well, technically, there's a violation of policy here somewhere. Students are supposed to live in the dorm unless they are living with their parents. And you aren't here Dad, you're her Uncle. And there is a policy forbidding..." she actually blushed "too close an association between a faculty member and a student at the college. But if she's your niece, it's not like you are ... cohabiting with her, or anything. So you are saying it's a family thing?" "She is my niece. My wife invited her to come help. She has been wonderful. She agreed to help me care for the baby. I fail to see where there is a problem here." 'Except', I thought, 'for the part where I slept with an incoming student at the college where I work, and I doubt they will excuse me for moral turpitude just because it was my niece I slept with.' I frowned. Fortunately, I was too irritated for a blush to show. "It is DEFINITELY a family thing." "well, I'm sure it is all perfectly innocent, then. I'll see if we can get a waiver on living in the dorm. Here, just throw this letter away." "You sure?" "Yes. It was based on a ... misunderstanding of the situation. I'll explain it." "OK. " "See you on campus soon?" I nodded. I watched her drive away. I tossed the letter on the table. I thought it might be a good idea to read it anyway, but not right then. Right then I had something more important to deal with. I heard the baby stirring, and if I hurried, I might be able to pick her up before little Rita Joan woke Beverly. I snuck into the room without knocking. I scooped my dear little baby out of the bassinet, shushing her, so she wouldn't start crying. I honestly was thinking about the baby, not about entering Beverly's bedroom without knocking. But then I saw Beverly's dress in a heap on the floor. And the rest of her clothes, were right next to the dress. She was laying on the bed, not even covered by a sheet. And she was a vision of loveliness. I knew, of course, about her hair and her freckles, and I had kissed her often enough, I had actually grown quite fond of her unusual nose. The night my wife had died, I was distracted, and it was totally dark. I had seen nothing. Now, I saw everything, and I felt pity for all those men who had dismissed her because of her nose. I also knew that I would be busted. If I put the baby down now, she would cry before I got her down to the mattress. If I took her out of the room, Beverly would know, when she woke up, that I had been in there. I hoped my desire to let her sleep would count more than my invading her room when she was nude and asleep, and I took the baby out. I read that letter, and it was infuriating. It was a form letter, about the importance of not having 'inappropriate relationships' with students at the college. With the baby in my lap, I made it into a paper airplane and aimed at the waste basket. I missed, of course. I'd get it later. It was baby time, now. Beverly gave me some weird looks over the next few days, but she never brought up my invading her privacy, nor did she mention her visit to my room the night Carla died. Since when we were both awake, one of us usually had a baby in hand, it was a while before I realized she was not initiating hugs. I wasn't sure if she was upset with me, or trying to establish a distance, and I stupidly did not ask. I stepped up my compliments to her, and brought her some little presents, hoping to show her I appreciated her as much as ever. The semester started before I was really ready. Thank goodness for Beverly. She watched the baby while I taught class, took classes herself, and was incredibly helpful at home. She very carefully called me 'Professor', never Ken, when we were on campus. (She never did call me 'Uncle'.) I certainly don't think I took her for granted, but in hindsight, perhaps I did not show her enough appreciation for what she was doing. I was barely making it through each 'now' in turn; I was not talking about or thinking about the future beyond the next task. I was surprised to see Dori walk into my office one day. "Um, Dori, nice to see you, but... to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" She looked at me. "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I told Beverly to cut you some slack, too. Beverly doesn't know I'm here, and I know her last class just started. Can we talk?" "Um, sure," I said. She got up and shut my office door. ( I winced inside, because I had one been reprimanded for having the door shut while a female student asked for advice. Even though she had asked for it to be shut, I was the one who caught the reprimand.) "Tell me about this policy about professors having too close a relationship with students." "What? Professors aren't supposed to get too close to students, so the relationship doesn't affect grades and stuff. Why?" "What about Beverly? Do you feel she is close to you?" "Well, yes, but, since she's my niece and all..." "So, because she's your niece, she isn't close to you? She's just a helper, not someone you care about?" She was beginning to sound irritated. "No, Dori, you have to understand. Beverly is my best friend in the world right now, and not just because she takes care of the baby and the house. I think she's wonderful. They made an exception for her to live off campus because she was my niece and helping with the baby." She sighed. "Beverly thinks you have been keeping her at a distance because you aren't supposed to get too close to students." I'm afraid my mouth dropped open. "She found a letter in your house. She wasn't sure what the situation was." "Ken," she continued, "if I didn't love you, I'd slap you silly right now. Beverly says the night Carla died, you and she were very, very close, but not since then. Do you know what she means?" I nodded. I did know, and I hoped Dori didn't. "Let me ask you this. If you re-marry some day, what kind of person would you want for a wife?" I opened my mouth to same something trite about maybe someday I would find someone I could love as much as I had loved Carla, but instead what came out was "I want to marry Beverly and make her my wife." At that moment, I realized it was true. "Now, is that a problem with your college policy, Mr. Proper Professor?" "I don't know. There's an exception for 'wife' in the rules. She's already listed as my 'niece'. I'm not sure what they'd do if I announced my niece has become my wife." I thought for a minute. "And if they give me a hassle, I'll just have to find a new job, that's all." I looked at Dori. "Dori, I just wasn't thinking. I can't believe how well you've helped me bring things into focus. Can you do one more thing?" She was looking happier, and nodded at me, satisfied. "What?" "Take care of Rita Joan tonight; I need to take Beverly out somewhere special." "Good man," she said. "So," said Beverly, "Was Dori REALLY OK with watching Rita Joan so that you could take me to the top of a water tower?" "She doesn't care about the where," I answered, honestly. "But she wanted me to take you out." "So, I love the view and everything, but why a water tower?" "It's kind of symbolic," I said. "Dori helped me get a clear view, and from the top of the water tower, you have a clear view of everything." "It is beautiful," she answered. "And I have a perfect view of what I want." "You silly boy. You aren't even looking at the view. You're looking at me." "I know. I am looking at forever." "What?" I dropped down on one knee, and pulled a small box out of my pocket. "I want you to be mine, forever. Will you marry me?" "This is so sudden," she said. I stood up. "Take as long as you need to think about it. I'll wait. You are worth waiting for." She stood a minute in silent thought. "Ken," she said. "If I become your wife, would I be covered by your health insurance?" "Yes," I said. "Does your health insurance cover cosmetic surgery?" Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Beverly. Maybe it covers, maybe it doesn't, I'd have to check. But I want you to know this. You are beautiful the way you are. I love kissing you, the way your lips are now. I would be proud to have you as my wife, just as you are now. Please do not even think about changing your beautiful face on my account. I love YOU." "Yes, I will marry you," she said, and pulled me in for a kiss.