6 comments/ 5080 views/ 2 favorites Nursing a Relationship By: Halin24 No visual description of sex here, just a romantic tale. Looking for an editor, so spelling might be a bittt offf (true, but this was meant to be. . .) ***** Let me begin by introducing myself: my name is Randy Goodman and I usually try to be. A good man I mean. I'm 37, something like 1.80 m tall, 85 kg, fairly fit, has darkblonde hair that is rather long and curly, kind of like a rockstar from the 70's. I don't consider myself good looking, never have, and I'm sure you would agree if you saw me. I'm married to Celia and we are going on our fourteenth year together. She's 39, almost my length but 20 kg lighter. If you saw her you'd wonder how on earth she ended up with me, and that is a very good question, because she is gorgeous (still)! You don't have to take my word for it, after all I am not entirely neutral, but everyone says so, even women. Narrow waist, ample but not huge bust, curvy hips, loooong legs and long thick hair the same colour as mine but wavy rather than curly. Her main feature, though, is sparkling clearblue eyes and a smile that can charm a lamp-post. We have two kids, Amanda 9 and Daniel 7, usually called Mandy and Dandy (Well, we tried Danny but when you call for them together it is easy to get it wrong, so we made it official . . .). I'm staying at home, taking care of house and family while Celia works. 'What, one of those equal rights stories again?' you might think, but I wouldn't say so. The thing is that Celia is an architect with her own small company and I'm educated to work in daycare with young schoolchildren. Guess who earns most money? Yeah, Celia, so when we got kids we discussed it, and after deciding that we wanted one of us to stay at home with the kids at least until they were mid teens, it was easy to see that it was my thing to take care of that: after all I am educated to do it and we couldn't live on my salary anyway. I have no objection really, although I do miss my job. After the morning chores and sending everyone off to work and school I clean the house, wash clothes, do dishes, prepare dinner . . . okay, that does sound like an equal-rights story, but those things has to be done after all, and leaving them for Celia to do after work would be cause for a divorce. I don't want that so I do it with a smile (sort of). Anyway, there is also more 'manly' things to take care of: car-repair and -wash, house-repairs, lawn-mowing, it really never ends you know, and if I should get bored I can always reorganize Celia's home office. I think that, when all is said and done, we are happy together. Really happy! Not that we never fight, oh no, we can get going now and then, for instance when I did rearrange her home office! Yep, I did it once when I though it was too messy with papers everywhere. I did it to help her, and I was very structured putting all the papers in folders after the name on the contract and in order of date. When she entered the office when she got home that evening I was right behind her, ready to receive praise for what I had done. She stopped dead after opening the door and switching the lights on. She stood like a statue for a minute before she turned around: "What the hell have you done!!?" she screamed, and those beautiful blue eyes sparkled alright, with rage! "I filed away the papers that lay everywhere without any order amongst them. I put them in folders in alphabetical order and after date so you can find them easier, honey. Don't you like it?" "No!! Get out of my office!!" She shoved me out through the door, slammed it shut in my face and locked it. Yeah, behind that angelic facade lays a fiery temper I can tell you, and the fuse can be very short at times. I didn't see her for two hours that evening, but when she finally unlocked the door and came out to me she gave me a hug and a kiss: "Randy, I'm sorry that I yelled at you like that, please forgive me. It was a shock to find an empty desk when I had to do the final changes on that project tonight, meeting the client tomorrow morning. I found everything as you said, sorted and folded and it was great, thank you, but please don't do that again without telling me beforehand. I know that it looks chaotic, but I know exactly where every paper is, and when the project is done I file everything away. If you want to help, fine, I appreciate that, but when I say okay, not before that. Okay?" With arms around her waist I pulled her to me for a kiss, followed by several more: "Okay honey, I am sorry, but I wanted to help. Now that you have explained it I understand that you blew your top, so it's okay, and I won't do it again unless you ask me. I think you should go and say goodnight to Mandy and Dandy now, they were a little upset you might say. I'll warm the dinner for you in the meantime. A glass of wine to go along with it to calm down?" "Yes please. Thank you darling." Did I hear 'hen-pecked' from someone? Screw you! I can give as good as I get, the difference is that when her fuse is short and she aslo gets over it fast, I have a very slow burn that takes time to extinguish. She had just started her office, it was actually before we had the kids and had only been married 5 months, and she went away on business-trips more or less every week, worked late most evenings and so on. I worked too then and we hardly saw each other more than some mornings or when she came to bed. After a month of that the burn inside me had expanded to a raging inferno and I kind of exploded: "What the hell are you doing all the time? Can't you keep your hands off of your lover at least for one day so you get to say 'hi' to your husband? Fuck!!" No, I didn't really think she had a lover, I had no reason to think so, but I was frustrated that we hardly ever saw each other, it wasn't what I expected of life with her. Now I can't blame her for getting upset: "What?! Are you accusing me of having an affair? God, Randy, I work my ass off to start my office! Do you think that I stay away from home because I want to?" She looked shocked and had tears in her eyes, but that didn't calm me a bit: "And why shouldn't I think that? Tell me! Why? How many minutes have we seen each other this month, how many words have we spoken to the other? Hell, I think we are setting a monthly record right now, probably redoubling the amount of conversation! But maybe we shouldn't overdo it so we get bored with each other, huh?" I turned around and left her, left the house and stayed with a friend that night. And the next. By then I had calmed down and regret took over. What had I done? Was it over, would I find an empty house when I returned? Entering the house I found her asleep on the sofa, phone in her hand. I had turned mine off and had forgotten to turn it back on again. Kneeling beside her I saw her eyes swollen from crying, make-up smeared and striping her cheeks. "Celia . . . Celia?" I whispered as I stroked her cheek. When she opened her eyes I continued: "I'm sorry honey! I missed you and lost it. I'm desperately sorry, please, can you forgive me? Please?" She didn't answer but threw her arms around me with new tears flowing. Those two examples are the extremes. Our usual disagreements are quite calm, more like discussions, but sometimes we do explode as you now understand. We know each other by now though and tend to see the warning-signals in time. If we don't, we have a fight and let the dynamite clear things once and for all. We both know, too, that we have full schedules at times with stress and worries. Just like every couple in love we tip-toe around the other at some times, trying to smooth things. A spa-weekend or a dinner without the kids can work miracles, and thankfully we both have our parents nearby, ready and willing to babysit when needed. Sometimes our plans collide, with more or less humorous results. On one memorable occasion I wanted to surprise her with a romatic evening for just the two of us. I left the kids with her parents, prepared a special dinner with wine and candlelights, had a romantic movie standing by before we would go to bed for a night of lovemaking. When she came home at seven in the evening she wasn't alone: my younger sister Meg was with her. She was away at university abroad and I had no idea she was coming home. Celia had bags with chinese take-out in her hands and when she saw the candles on the dinnertable she got an embarrassed look on her face. Meg looked very confused you might say, as she thought I didn't expect her, which I didn't, but suspecting she was the one getting a surprise instead, which was the case although not the one she thought. Was that confusing for you too? "Sorry that we ruined your surprise, darling." Celia whispered in my ear as she got over and hugged me "It looks lovely and smells wonderful, but Meg wanted to surprise you all with her news and I promised to help her." "It's alright honey. I am glad to see Meg, it's been a long time, and I guess I can seduce you another evening, right?" "Anytime! You know that." So, I turned to Meg and took her in my arms, kissing her cheeks: "Welcome home sis! Everything okay with you?" "Yeah, great thanks. Did I just ruin a romantic dinner for two or something?" "Actually, yes! But Meg, it's okay, I promise! We change the plans, set another place at the table and bring another bottle of wine out. There's enough food for you too, and you love romantic movies as much as Celia. You won't share our bed though, there are limits to the hospitality after all!" She blushed but giggled, and after they had dropped their outerwear we all sat down at the table. The take-out food was put away for late-night snack or lunch the next day. While we ate and drank I was told what it was all about: Meg had taken her degree a year 'early', and since she had studied landscaping architecture Celia had convinced her to work for her. Our parents didn't know anything either, and Celia had offered Meg our spare room until she found somewhere to live. It was cause for celebration of course, but it felt strange anyway with my original plans for the evening. So, we surprise each other from time to time and it creates that little extra spark that you need to keep the marriage alive and well. Ordinary boring things can be exciting and fun that way, and it doesn't need to be all that much to make the difference. We have a huge garden, the lawn covers 5 hectars and there are a lot of outhouses, bushes and trees all around. Mowing it isn't the most exciting thing I have to do, even if I get to sit down and drive around doing it: it takes hours and crouching under the trees is a bitch. One saturday when I had suggested that we should pour concrete over it all before I went out to start, Celia stood up behind a bush all of a sudden. She had Daniel's play police-uniform on, whistle in mouth and stop-sign in hand. Confused I stopped beside her and the kids rushed up serving me water from a squeeze-bottle and pushing a cookie into my mouth before they backed off and Celia took down the stop-sign and waved me away. I didn't know what to think right then but couldn't help smiling at the crazy pit-stop. It could have been perhaps 30 minutes later that Daniel showed up behind the trunk of a tree in the same outfit, stopping me. Once again I parked and Amanda and Celia rushed forward with the waterbottle and cookie, serving me. When done Celia pushed a kiss on my cheek before backing off and I was waved on by Daniel. It continued that way until I finished and were back outside the garage to park. Beside the garage all three of them stood cheering and applauding, Amanda with a checkered flag that she waved as I passed the 'finishing line'. Seriously, you can't wait to mowe the lawn again after that! Of course, the kids are the center of our lives. That is something that ought to be unnecessary to say, but then again, today you can't be too certain of anything, can you? Both Mandy and Dandy are good behaved and positive kids, seldom giving any trouble at all. They tend to react in a negative way when we have our, thankfully rare, fights, and you can't blame them for that, can you?. They both have friends who live with one parent after divorces, so they are well aware what can and does happen in families. We always make sure that they understand that we love each other as well as them even if we scream or sound angry. We have tried to explain that it is better to talk about things, even if it is with raised voices, and get it over with, than to keep quiet and glare at the other, but I don't know if they understood it. Once in a while they do get into trouble like every kid that have ever lived, though. Frankly I find it amusing when Mandy gives Dandy grief one day, to protect him with her fists the next day at school. I know, I shouldn't find it either amusing or charming, but I can't help it. Dandy has a way to charm Mandy's friends so that they invite him to play with them when he is is alone, and sometimes Mandy is put-off by that: she wants her friends for herself without sharing with her brother. That leads to argumentation now and then, both at the dinnertable and 'in private'. In reality it isn't that private, but she thinks it is, and Dandy always loose those arguments. A couple of times there has been continued play with the girls the next day in school for Dandy, and other boys has started teasing him for it. No-one messes with Mandy's kid brother, that's just the way it is: she has the right to tease him or whatever, but no-one else. She starts off easy enough, telling them to back off or else. Those who doesn't, gets a close-up killer glare and a snarled warning, but if that isn't enough either her fists speak instead. So far it has happened twice but I doubt that it will happen again soon: she has Celia's temper but in a physical way and from the reports I've had, she has scared the boys to the degree that they run away as soon as she looks at them. That isn't acceptable, of course, not for anyone, but it works. The first time she was in a fight I went over to school and was met by a teary-eyed Amanda at the principals office. She explained the circumstances, not withholding her part in it, and said she was sorry and never meant to hurt anyone. The boy had ended up with bleeding nose and lip, laying on the ground with Mandy sitting on him, telling him what would happen the next time. Then she had let him up to go see the school nurse. It was over before anyone could intervene. We had a long talk together with the principal where I explained that hitting anyone was wrong unless, possibly, it was in self defence. I got the phonenumber to the boy's parents, called them and arranged for us to come over to apologize. The second time she pounded two boys that had teased Daniel and then, when she stepped in, one of them had called her 'bitch' and slapped her. That boy had received a knee in the holy place before she beat them up. Celia and I got over there, gathered Dandy and Mandy and had another talk, now with both of them as well as the principal. Celia apologized for what had happened but also questioned the school: "First of all it doesn't seem that you care about kids being teased for playing with the opposite gender, and I find that disturbing. Second: what about a boy slapping a girl and calling her 'bitch'? They are 7 to 9 years of age after all, and if you are to stop such behaviour it is now you should do it. Third: where are those boys? Shouldn't they be here to explain their behaviour and apologize too? One wrong behaviour doesn't make another wrong right all of a sudden. When you can satisfy my curiousity about those three things our kids will return to school, but until then they stay at home. And if you should think that I am a bitch too and my husband is a meek sheep who you can run over, forget it! We talked this over on the way here and agree on this. It's simply the case that I have a short fuse, just like Amanda, and he is a slow burner like Daniel. If we haven't heard from you in a couple of days the slow burn will reach ignition-point for real." We didn't hear from the principal that week and I caught fire just like Celia had said: I went public with all the details and our doubt about the competence of the staff at that school. We caught some flak for that naturally, but a lot more support. It even reached the city-counsel and in the end we turned to another school who had a clear policy when it came to such matters. It may surprise you, but in difference to the previous school the new one was considered to have a lot of troublesome kids, but as that principal explained, it caused them to address the problems that occurred at once and in a strict manner to prevent escalation. So far it has worked out good. Are we then the strange family that do odd things and behave like assholes when accused of anything? Maybe we are, but I'll leave that to you to decide on, and frankly I don't care what you might think. Oh, did you just add 'arrogant' to your judgement? Fine, I can go along with that if you so wish, but I would rather call it self-assured and protective of our family-members. Despite good intentions (at least I hope that is the case), todays society is often focused on 'I, me and mine', not 'we, us and ours', and everyone has to watch out for themselves any way they can. Well, that doesn't have to mean that you ignore what happens around you. Often the best way to protect yourself and what is yours is to take care of others and what is theirs. Like I said we were economically well off with Celia's income. We owned the house with a total of 10 hectars of land and we had two cars, both payed in full. But we didn't swim in money in any way. We had to prioritize too like most people, but with a slightly bigger 'costume' than average. We thought about buying a summer-house on the coast but got a boat instead, an old 25-foot sailboat I got for a kiss and a song when it was about to be scrapped. That was because there was a decrease in orders for Celia's business due to the economical stagnation, you might say. There wasn't any risk for the company, but with the usual takeout of salary for us there would have had to be a cut in staff by one person. Celia was confident that it was a temporary drop and that it could be used to produce new ideas, look at alternatives and so on, things that the deadlines seldom allowed ordinarily. That would keep the four architects, including Meg and Celia, somewhat buissy, but leave one of the PA's superfluous. Not only were Celia sure that it was a temporary stagnation, there was also the knowledge that Alice, the one that would have to go, went through a rough divorce at the time, had three kids between 2 and 6 years of age, would have to leave her house and had no family to help her out. A tough situation even if you don't loose your job at the same time, right? It worried Celia and I noticed that something was bothering her even before she told me. She was kind of distant, sitting in her own thoughts at dinner and flinched when spoken to, saying 'What?' with a confused smile that never reached her eyes. After the third time it happened I 'cornered' her in bed later in the evening: "Honey, talk to me! Something is on your mind, I can see it and so can the kids, so speak up." She lay cuddled up against me, head on my shoulder, and flinched that way once more: "What? Oh . . . sorry." She spilled it all out after some hesitation and finished: "I don't want to fire Alice, she needs the job, is good at it and I'm sure I will have to recruit again within a year or two if I do, but I have to cut expenses somehow." "Well, aren't there any other way? Scale down on office-space or something?" Nursing a Relationship "Longterm contract, it will cost even more to renegotiate that. I feel guilty looking for a summer-house for us at the same time as I have to kick Alice to the curb. She will be left without husband, house and job but with three kids to support. It makes me feel ashamed that I even think about doing that to her." "Honey, don't do it then! If we cut down, take out a mortgage on the house or sell off some of the forest, will that change anything?" "Well, yeah, it would. At least short-term, depending on how much we can cut down. I don't think I can get another loan on the company, not now, but the house is worth a lot so with that as security we ought to be able to manage. But it has its risks, Randy: I can't guarantee that we will be back on track in a few years, that is based on my knowledge of plans for new schools and so on. There is nothing that says that we will get a piece of that though, even if we do have a good reputation." "I understand that, but at the same time your people depends on you and that means that you have a responsibility towards them. Hell, let me refrase that: our people, we have a responsibility. If that is what it takes it is worth it isn't it? Even if the worst should happen we will manage somehow, won't we? Together! If you . . . we, don't have enough work to keep Alice buissy she can do some things here at the house, assist in school, work in a soupkitchen or anything. Why not let all our employees spend some time on charity-jobs, including us? Meg could do some sketches how to improve that ugly park at that old school for example." Celia chuckled at that: "Yeah, that would certainly be a service to the public. If you are sure it is worth the risk I'll look into it tomorrow." "I'm sure. I don't want to see you worried like this and I'm sure we will manage somehow if we try." "Thanks love! I needed to hear that. Will you make love to me now? I sure need that too!" Celia never mentioned any names to anyone as far as I know, but she called a meeting with the staff and presented the facts, telling them about the charity-jobs that would fill part of everyones time, adding that she cut her salary to zero and that expences were to be minimized until further notice but that the jobs were safe. She also had a private conversation with Alice, asking how she managed with everything. In short she was told that she held it together but not much more. Her husband wanted their house sold as soon as possible and refused to sign anything before that. Alice was reluctant to uproot the kids but didn't have the strength to handle everything. That led to an offer that they could move into our guesthouse. It was much smaller of course, but her kids already knew ours, we had the huge garden with swimmingpool, fruit-trees and bushes with the forest around to play in. Our house was also large enough to house the kids playing indoors if needed. Alice response was, as could be expected, hesitant. It would sure feel good to get the divorce out of the way since her husband had already moved away to another family out of town and showed no interest to see his own kids, but she didn't feel comfortable with 'bothering' us. Celia told her straight up that it wasn't a bother but something friends did for each other. She did not intend to pressure any more, but Alice should think about it for a week. They moved in two weeks later and their house was put out for sale. The economy did get back on track and due to the preplanning and charitywork done, the company was in a good position to grab a part of the expansion when it came. The boat deserves a special chapter I think. I grew up with boats since my grandparents had both a sailingboat and a daycruiser. If I'm not close to water, at least a creek or a pond, I feel like I'm lost in a desert. I don't have to be able to go out in a boat, not at all, but of course that makes it even better. After we had given up on our plans for a summerhouse on the coast and Alice family had moved into our guesthouse I joined in on the charitywork. Alice, Meg or Celia took over the chores at our house at those times and I did something else. There was a nursinghome not far away and I spent some time there, talking with the elders, walking with them, caring for them or anything. Soon I got quite close to some of them and we went down memory lane quite often. One of them was Phil who had moved in after a stroke when he no longer could take care of himself. There was nothing wrong with his capacity to think clearly or remember things, but he had lost much of the control over the right side of his body. He still owned a house by the lake a few km outside of town but thought about selling it as he couldn't return there. Without any children he was at a loss how he should manage it though: someone had to clear out the place and there were things he wanted to keep as memories of his departed wife. As we talked he mentioned the things and why they were important. One of the things were 'the Boat'. They had bought it 50 years ago, a 'beauty in mahogany' he said, and they had spent a lot of time out sailing. It had held a special place in their relationship, but when his wife had died he never used it again. It had lain in a barn for ten years without proper care, only as a visual reminder of what they had once had. He regretted it now, that he had let it 'fall to pieces', but as it was too late he wanted it 'put to rest' as he could no longer repair it. As it was, I took him out to his former home to help him gather the mementos he wanted. It was a beautiful house even though it was not in perfect shape anymore. It was somewhat difficult to get the wheelchair inside but in the end we managed and began to sort through all the belongings. It was clear to me that this would take weeks since he stopped to touch every single item, telling me the history behind it, but I wasn't in a hurry anyway. The second week as we arrived he asked me to wheel him over to the barn. When I did and opened the double doors, there it was: the Boat. Dusty and dirty for sure but with beautiful lines, all in mahogany, with the top of the low cabin in white. As far as I could see it hadn't fallen to pieces at all but there was sertainly things to take care of anyway. He stroked it with his left hand and whispered something I couldn't hear. I stroked along the hull too: "It's beautiful! So sleek and beautiful!" I said and he nodded. "That it is, just like it's namesake Anna, my wife. Now you understand don't you? Such beauty should be used, cutting through the waves, not lay in a barn until it is just a heap of wood. I wish I could take her out one final time at least, but it won't happen now. It's better to let her go up in flames then." His eyes were as sad as his voice and I really felt for him. "What if I get her back in shape and then take you out on a cruise Phil? Would you like that?" "Of course I would! I could rest in peace after that, but could you do it?" "At least I can try. I know about boats and I know how to sail. As far as I can see there are no real damage done to her yet. A lot of cleaning, some yarn to get her dry, coating and some TLC." "Well, if you want to do it she is yours. Just promise me one thing: if you don't finish it, burn her! I should have done that myself years ago." "You have my word Phil." So there I was, the owner of a boat in need of work. All of a sudden I was even more buissy than I had been, and when you get a problem you're not sure that you can handle you call . . . Daddy! That was what I did too and he wasn't hard to convince to at least take a look at 'Anna'. I think it was love at first sight for him when I took him out to the old barn: "This . . . this is a real boat!" he exclaimed and I think I saw a tear in his eye "How can anyone leave such a beauty in a barn to dry up like this?" I told him the background and he nodded his understanding: "I see. Well, we better make good on that promise to restore her for both 'Anna's sakes then, but we better get her over to your house first." I still spent time with Phil and the others, but dad compensated for that. Almost every evening and weekend he spent on it, sometimes with me, at other times with friends. The mast had to be replaced as well as the tackling and sails, but the hull seemed to be okay. I dare not think about how many manhours it took, but in late June 'Anna' was once more in her right element, water. There was some leaking naturally, but that is to be expected with a wood hull and dad was happy that it was a small amount after all. We made a few testruns to make sure we had got it all right and then, two weeks later, I gathered Phil and took him to the marina. Mom and dad waited there and Phil was lifted over to 'Anna's stern. With his left hand on the tiller and dad to steady him on the other side, and with mom and me as crew, Phil once more captained his love under sails. We stayed out several hours before we returned, and after we had hoisted him ashore Phil grabbed my hand: "Thank you, son, you have no idea how much this means to me! Take care of my girl for me now!" He hugged mom and dad, and after that I drove him back to the home. It was the last time I saw Phil Samuels, he died three days later, the day before my next visit, and the nurse who found him said that he had a smile on his lips and a picture of himself and a woman on a boat in his hand. Mom, dad and I went to the funeral as a courtesy and except some nurses and friends from the home, a dozen in all, we were the only ones there. Phil had no close relatives as far as I knew, and a few weeks later I kind of got that in writing. One morning after breakfast the phone rang and when I answered, a voice said: "Mr Goodman, my name is Mark Woodrow from Woodrow&Sons. I'm a lawyer and are calling about the passing of Philip Samuels a few weeks ago." "Okay, is there any problems with that, his passing I mean?" I had no idea what it was all about, but a lawyer don't call you to say 'hi', does he? "Not at all, no problems I assure you, but we handled his affairs and among those his last will. Since you are mentioned in it, mr Goodman, I would like for you to visit me at my office this friday at two pm. Would that be possible?" "Sure. Sure, I'll be there. Can you tell me what it is all about, more precisely I mean?" "I'm afraid not, mr Goodman, but you will understand on friday, I assure you. Thank you and goodbye for now." So we arranged for Alice to take care of the kids that friday and I went to Woodrow&Sons office. There I was shown into a conference-room where Mark Woodrow met up and asked me to sit down before he turned his back to look at the door. Exactly at two he looked along the corridor and then closed the door, sitting down beside me. "Now mr Goodman, I can tell you what this is all about. Mr Samuels' will was very precise in a way but very vague in others. It specify's exactly how things should be divided but not any other names than yours. Mr Samuels had no close relatives but a lot of distant ones. That is a double entendre as he had not heard from any of them for a very long time, but since they were his relatives anyway he decided to give them a chance. If any relative of his, after a notice was published in a local paper, were to show up here today no later than 2 pm, the inheritance would be theirs to share and you would only have his 'eternal thanks', as he writes, for giving him peace of mind. On the other hand, if no-one showed up as is the case, you inherit everything: the house with land, banksavings and belongings." There it was: I was the owner of a house overlooking the lake with 25 hectars of woodland and shore, together with banksavings amounting to six figures. After signing the papers and leaving I sat for awhile in the car, thinking. In all honesty I hadn't been that close to Phil. I liked him and I felt for him, sure, but no more than that. He, on the other hand, must have felt a deeper connection, mustn't he? After all he had made me his heir, a total stranger only a few months before he died. I picked up my phone: "Hi honey." I said when Celia answered "Are you buissy?" "No, can't say that I am. Passing time more or less." "Good. Could you meet me back at the house as soon as possible? No panic, but soon? We're going on a picnic, kind of." "Sure, but what is it? You sound strange, has something happened?" "Well, yeah, you might say that, but it's nothing to worry about. I want to show you something, that's all." I hung up and made some more calls before I started the car and left for home. Alice was ready with the kids when I got there and Celia was waiting: "What's going on?" Celia demanded to know, but I only smiled, kissed her and told her to get back inside her car. Alice and the kids were split up between the vehicles and we drove away with me leading the way. When I parked at Phil's old house my dad's car was waiting with my as well as Celia's parents in it. I gathered everyone around me: "Dad, you have been here once before so you know that it belonged to Phil, but there are new owners now since half past two today: Celia and I!" "What?!" Celia sputtered "What do you mean? Have you bought a house when we should cut down on our expences?" Her short fuse were lit and I hurried to calm her: "No, no, no. I didn't buy anything!" I told them what had happened and added: "So this is ours, together with enough money to repay the mortgage on our house. The question is what to do with this place? It would be a shame to sell it with the lakeview and all, but I prefer to stay at our house. A summerhouse? Sure, but only 15 km from home? Rent it out? Possibly, but to whom?" The kids were let loose to explore, Celia snuck up against me, arm around my waist as we walked around. Dad showed the others the house to begin with. "It is beautiful with that old house, the lake and the trees all around." Celia almost whispered "But I think you are right: it doesn't fit in our lives somehow. Our house here, yes. This place at the coast, absolutely. This house her, no. Any ideas?" "Some, but it's not for me to suggest anything. I thought that your parents or Alice might be interested, but if I suggested it to Alice I'm afraid she would take it as a 'leave us alone now', and your parents might not be interested since they sold their house to move to an apartment. If none of them take the bait I figured I could try with Meg, but that is a long shot, alone here away from the nightlife. And you?" "I like how you think, darling! And Randy, I'm sorry that I yelled again, you know how I am." "Oh yes, that I do!" I chuckled "I wasn't presenting it the right way was I? That was bound to set you off." "It was, good thing that you were fast with the explanation." We sat down by the waterfront, watching the kids play, arms around each other, not talking. It was peaceful and we were close together in more than one way. Later the others came down to us. "It is a wonderful place." Alice said "I would have loved to live here, but not alone with the kids. It's too isolated and too far from school to be practical too." "Yeah, I can understand that Alice." Celia's mom said "For me, I can only say that I sometimes regret that we sold the house. Apartment-life isn't all that fun after all. No garden to tend to, no flowers to smell, no silence at any time. Of course there were negatives with owning a house too, repairs and so on, but I guess you can't have everything the way you want it. This place is wondeful though. Just think about waking up every morning and look out over the lake and the forest while you eat breakfast." Hearing that I smiled at Celia and blinked an eye, but stayed quiet. She spoke up instead: "I'm sure dad appreciates citylife though with no lawnmowing, no house to paint and no snow to clear. Right dad?" "Mostly wrong Celia. Sure it wasn't always fun but I miss it too, quite often. Such a stupid thing as finding a parkingspace at home now can make me furious. What is mowing a lawn once a week in comparison, and you can sit down doing it now anyway." Celia's smile grew larger: "But surely you wouldn't want to live in a place like this? So close to the water and a forest on three sides." "Are you trying to make me mad girl? If you are I can tell you that you are doing a good job, so keep it up! This place is perfect and you know it: fishing and hunting a stones-throw away!" "Okay, if you say so, dad. When do you want to move in?" "Stop teasing I say! Let it be." "So you have changed your mind already? Mom, can you try to make him decide what he wants, once and for all?" I couldn't hold back the laughter anymore and dad joined in soon enough, he has always been good at picking up hints: "Let me spell it out for you since the youngsters have decided to pull your leg: they are offering you a new home!" he said then. "Really, you mean that?" her dad queried Celia. "Of course! Haven't you been listening? Randy gave the reasons why we won't sell or move here. Alice said it was too isolated and far from school for them, you and mom are humming and hinting that you miss the house. Here you have another one, with a view and hunting and fishing. What the hell are we going to do with it otherwise?" "But you said you don't want to sell it?" "Mom, explain to that stupid old man about family-ties and things like that! Randy and I will go and check on the pier to see if it is in good enough shape to anchor 'Anna' there." Celia's dad might not be the smartest man alive but he got it in the end and they did move there as tenants with no rent. Celia was delighted as she had had the impression they weren't too happy in a city flat. 'Anna' was anchored at the pier instead of laying in the marina and became a popular vessel for both sets of parents. We made use of her too once in a while, but Mandy was sensitive when there were waves so it wasn't too often. By now you might understand that owning a company and having employees can be both worrysome and timeconsuming at times. There is no-one else to blame when things go wrong, and if you have a family there is also the feeling of not spending enough time with them at the same time as you have the responsibility towards your employees. Me staying at home eases a lot of pressure in many ways: the food is ready, laundry washed, house cleaned and cars served. Sure, that is certainly nice and all, and Celia knows to appreciate it. It doesn't take away the responsiblities and feeling of guilt though. I can't say if it is worse for a woman than it is to a man, but what I do know is that it eats on Celia's mind from time to time. Those feelings are, I think, the hardest thing to handle in a relationship. No matter what you say the feeling is still the same just because it is just that: a feeling. I think Celia is an exellent mother and wife as well as architect and boss, and I also tell her so, often. Still the selfdoubt comes crawling back once in a while. I do have a remedy that seems to work quite well, but I think it is personal in many ways, adapted to our situation and personalities. When I feel that her mood is on the way down I keep in contact with her PA to get her views, and if she agrees I ask her to clear Celias shedule sometime soon a thursday-friday. That wednesday evening I have an extra nice dinner ready with a favourite wine. The kids have extra leave from school and are away to visit one set of grandparents which all parties appreciate. The lights in the house is dimmed down, soft music is playing, candles are lit on the table that has a white cloth and is set for two at opposite ends. Nursing a Relationship When she arrives I meet at the door with a kiss, take her coat and hang it up, removes her shoes and puts them away. By then she knows what is going on, and smiling she puts her arm around my neck and kisses me. I lift her up in my arms and carry her to the thick rug in front of the lit fireplace where I sit her down and hands her a glass of wine before I sit down beside her with a glass of my own. Between kisses and wine we talk about love, us and not much else. When we are ready for the next step I lead her to the table and seat her, pushing in her chair and placing a napkin on her lap. The food is brought out together with more wine and I serve her before I sit down opposite her and serve myself. The conversation usually centers on the food and wine and we take it slow, really tasting it all. Next is the dessert, probably something with chocolate and berries, preferably dark chocolate, which I also serve her, with a glass of champagne. When we are finished I pull out her chair and give her my hand to help her stand up. I lead her to our small spa where the sauna is ready and I undress us both. A quick shower and 20 minutes or so in the moist warmth, a cold shower and she lays down on the massagetable to be rubbed down by me. I spend extra time on some parts of her body: shoulders and neck, feets, the other three is up to you to figure out yourself. After drying us with warm towels I slip a robe on her and takes one myself before I lead her to the livingroom where we dance together, slow and close, until the swaying turns to kissing and groping. That is when we lay down in front of the fireplace, take off each others robes and make love until we fall asleep, happy and sated together. Thursday morning we continue the lovemaking, then, while she is in the shower, I prepare breakfast and serve it. After getting dressed we go and pick up the kids for a day at the zoo or something like that, having all meals in restaurants, and after we return home she puts the kids to bed and stay with them until they fall asleep. Often she does too, but either way, in the meantime I clear the dishes from the day before and prepare some canapès to go with the wine. If she doesn't come out by herself I go and wake her up and we sit down close together on the couch to watch a romatic comedy, sipping the wine and nibbling the canapès. If we are still awake after that we go to bed and cuddle up together for sleep to take us. Friday and saturday is spent together with our parents doing nothing much except socializing and playing with the kids, and on sunday we stay at home, relaxing by the pool, a typical lazy day. You have no idea what a difference it makes for us to have those days once in a while. The sparkle returns to her eyes, the smile gains at least a 1000 Watts and her whole appearance straightens up. For me it means that she is happy, and so I am too. On monday I stay at home at least until noon. Sooner or later the doorbell rings and a flower delivery drops off a single red rose with a card. That card has nothing written on it, not even a name, but a large red heart with an arrow fills it. That is all there is to say, really, isn't it?