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Arriving promptly on Kelly's doorstep at 6:00 pm, it only took the kids seeing Aunt Shawn to make me invisible to their attention. Shawn was fun and dad was old news. Either way, I was so excited about an entire night alone with Kelly, that I didn't have time to feel self-conscious.
"Good evening Dale!" Kelly's mom said sympathetically as my children forgot my existence. "I see the Shawn-effect has taken over. Don't feel too bad. Kelly used to do the same thing to me when I'd drop her off for the summer. Shawn has a magical way with children."
"Well at least it's not just me," I said trying not to make it obvious that I was searching out Kelly. "So, how are you this evening, Mrs. Persons?"
"You can call me Joan, and if you're looking for Kelly, she's giving Mandy a little nursing time before leaving for your night out. " Then Kelly's mom gave me an exaggerated wink. "Don't worry. You're allowed to be single-minded when you're in a new relationship. I'm not offended."
Caught!
"Am I that obvious?" I asked sheepishly.
"You are, but as long you're making my daughter happy, I can forgive it," she said while peaking around to see if there was anyone within earshot. "I'd like to have a moment to talk with you in private if it's okay."
"Sure, should we step out onto the porch?" I asked warily while pointing my thumb over my shoulder.
"It's a little chilly tonight, why don't we head to the den."
Leading me down a short flight of stairs and turning on a light, I discovered that the den, which I hadn't seen the last time I was here, was an outdated man cave that looked like it hadn’t been touched in at least two years.
Maybe this was where Kelly's dad spent his time.
After a few minutes of silent thought, Joan finally said, "I'm not sure how to start this conversation. But I wanted to... I wanted to ask what your intentions are with Kelly in the long term. Before you answer, I want to add that regardless of how short or long you're looking into the future, since I know you've both been through a divorce within the last year, that Kelly needs someone who is willing to work through issues and compromise. Right now, she seems happier than I can ever remember seeing her, but once the honeymoon phase of your relationship is over, I need to know that you won't run or shut down at the first sign of trouble." Taking a breath of air, she added, "And I know I shouldn't have to say this, but please don't act like it's your duty to dole out psychological punishments for arguments. She needs someone who will work through arguments when they happen instead of dragging it out for days in silence and putting all of the blame on her."
"Wow! First of all, that's a lot of information to process, so if I forget to answer any of your questions, please remind me. Secondly, I love your daughter, and though I'm not necessarily ready to get married today, I do see marriage in our future.
"As far as how I handle conflicts, I promise you that I am not a grudge holder. I've never been the type to go to bed angry, and I value a quick resolution.
“Lastly, I believe that a relationship is a partnership; thus, neither partner ever has the right to dole out a punishment to the other."
Hopefully, my sincerity was conveyed to Joan through my voice, because I wanted her to know how much I planned on cherishing her daughter for the rest of our lives. "Does that answer your concerns?"
At my admission, any tenseness at the beginning of our conversation appeared to have, thankfully, dissipated.
"They do. Now I hear Kelly talking with the kids so, go and enjoy your evening," Joan said shooing me up the stairs.
After saying our goodbyes to the kids who were now happily eating Shawn's famous grilled cheese sandwiches in the dining room, Kelly grabbed an oversized bag, and we walked awkwardly to my van.
I say awkwardly because, after my heart to heart with Joan, I suddenly felt like I was 14 and taking Kelly to the spring formal.
When I started the car, the Thomas the Tank Engine Theme Song began blaring through the speakers, which caused us both to laugh hysterically and helped to ease our nerves.
With our awkwardness behind us, I pulled out of her mother's driveway and headed back towards my house.
"Since you said you wanted to keep our relationship private to nonfamily, I thought we could go grab some Chinese-to-go from the Panda Express by my house." Hopefully, she didn’t think I was a cheapskate. After all, it was my favorite restaurant, and the food was always fresh.
"Oh, I love Panda Express! They have the best noodles."
"I completely agree. I've tried to get the kids excited about it, but they aren't ready to enjoy it yet," I said smiling at her like a love-struck fool. "So, what time do you need to be home to nurse Mandy in the morning?"
With a hint of shock in her voice, she asked, "You remembered about Mandy nursing in the morning?"
"Of course, I do, it's an important part of your daily life. Plus, I feel like I am a part owner of your milk supply and like to keep tabs." Then I laced my fingers through hers and gave it a tender squeeze.
"If we want to get there early enough to nurse Mandy and avoid too many questions from the kids, I'd say we should be back at my mom's by 6:30 am. That way you have enough time to get the kids to their babysitter, and I can drop Mandy off at daycare."
I wonder why she isn't dropping Mazie off with Mandy?
"Who's watching Mazie tomorrow?"
"I've been trying to give Mazie some extra mommy time when I can. Since my boss gives me the option to work from home some days, I figured it would be a nice day for Mazie and me to go have some quality time together before we leave for her dad's tomorrow evening."
"I still can't believe you're going to be out of town till Sunday night. Thank God your mom and aunt surprised us with tonight. Maybe I'll send them some flowers. Should my note say, "Dear Joan and Shawn, Thanks for the night of passion? It may add some confusion and shock to the Danville gossip chain, but at least Joan and Shawn will get the meaning," I said teasing her.
"Don't you dare, Dale Fernando Wilson!" she squealed smacking me on the shoulder. "Though, Aunt Shawn would find it hilarious. She's a little bit of a closet perv, you know?"
Flirting with Kelly came so seamlessly easy, that before we realized it, I'd driven into my garage and had forgotten to stop for our food.
After we both realized my mistake, it just caused us to laugh. If I had done this with Maggie, she would have been irritated for the rest of the evening, but not with Kelly. Instead, she teased me companionably the entire ride to and from the restaurant and even peppered my hands with a few kisses between playful taunts.
When we arrived at the house for the second time that evening, I gave Kelly a quick tour of the house and poured us each a glass of wine. Soon we settled into our meal and began sharing stories from our past and the events of our day.
When Kelly had first texted me about our night out, my first thoughts were not just about the fantastic uninterrupted sex we could be having, but that it would be the first time that we could talk all night long and genuinely get some quality time together. That's why, once dinner was over, I asked her if she wanted to cuddle on the couch and talk for a while.
Once we were in the living room, Kelly's eyes immediately zeroed in on the shelf full of family scrapbooks my mom loved to give me for Christmas every year.
"Are these all scrapbooks?"
"They are. My mom gives us one every year. You're welcome to look at them."
Kelly’s excitement over my family photo albums was so intoxicating that we ended up spending the next two hours combing through the history of my life and getting to know each other better. Kelly was even interested in the 15 years I was with Maggie.
She was particularly intrigued by the photographic history of my failed marriage saying, "She's the mother of your children, of course, I want to see those photos as well.”
For the second time in a week, I was overwhelmed by the sorrow of knowing that I would never share a child with Kelly. How could one person be so understanding and forgiving of another's past? When I had first started dating Maggie, the first thing she made me do was to burn the evidence of every date I had ever been on, including my prom photos. What she didn't know was that my mom still had copies of my prom pictures at home, but I always felt it was extreme.
By 10:00 pm we had almost finished our bottle of wine, and I finally felt brave enough to ask if Kelly might share her history with me as well. "Do you have scrapbooks of your years with Geoff?"
"I do, if you're interested in seeing them, I have them electronically saved to a photo sharing website."
Wanting to reassure her of my sincerity I said, "I absolutely want to see them." If Kelly could be gracious enough to accept my past with Maggie openly, I could do the same for her. It probably helped that I knew she was irrevocably mine and that Geoff was not a threat.
From the little Kelly had told me over the past several months, Geoff was an ass and Kelly almost seemed revolted whenever he came up in conversation.
When a ding came through my work phone sometime later, effectively pulling us out of our photo-viewing bubble, I was shocked to find that it was already midnight.
"Anything exciting?" she asked.
"It appears that Polly is organizing a PTA meeting for next Tuesday. Do you think you'll be able to make it? It's usually just me, Nate, Mike and about 20 moms, but I can help you navigate through some new friend potential," I said, hoping that she'd be able to make it. PTA meetings weren't so bad when I was still married, but since becoming one of the few single men over the age of 35 in Danville, it had been attracting a lot of overzealous single moms.
"I'll see what I can do, but Monday is the first official week for Medicare Open Enrollment... Oh! I completely forgot to tell you something! I've been assigned to do a Medicare seminar in your parents' community next Saturday. Maybe you can give me and my boss Tammy some tips on the overall atmosphere of the...What? Is there something on my face?”
“What do you mean?” I asked coyly.
“You’re looking at me a little goofy.”
At some point during her news, my hand had subconsciously begun to stroke her side and once again I found myself consumed by my lust for Kelly Jenkins.
"Do you think you're ready to head up to bed?" I asked hopefully.
"I am, but let's just go straight to sleep, I'm worn out," she said, winking suggestively.
Unable to keep a straight face, she broke out into a smile that lit up her entire face like a homing beacon for my heart.
Playfully, I grabbed ahold of her sides and began to tickle her mercilessly. Catching me off guard, she retaliated by grabbing the sensitive area above my knee, causing me to jerk away responsively, giving her enough time to bolt for the stairs. Before she could step onto the second-floor landing, I grabbed ahold of her from behind and pressed my growing erection into her soft bottom with a groan.
Suddenly serious, she turned in my arms and asked, "Will we be sleeping in the same room you shared with Maggie?"
"No! We sold both the house and the bed that we shared." If the new owners hadn't asked for it in the sale, my plan was to burn the bed since there was no way I wanted it hanging around as a reminder of my failed marriage. "You will hopefully be the only woman to sleep in this bed with me."
With my loving reassurance, she relaxed in my arms, we walked up the last few steps, and I began to walk her backwards into my room for a night of lovemaking.