I awoke to the sensation that every nerve end in my groin was being charged. Something warm and wet was teasing every piece of skin. My first thought was that Pat might come in and wonder about the large bump at my waist and ask where Anna was.
‘What about Pat?’ I managed to squeak.
‘Don’t worry, he’s fast asleep,’ was the muffled reply. I was amazed; judging by the light that filtered through the curtains it must have been fairly late. Since Pat was born he had been an early riser, any time between six and seven o’clock being the norm.
All thoughts of my son were driven from my head by the insistent tongue, lips and hands that were building up a maddening rhythm. As I began to tighten, this beat lessened and stopped altogether and when my breathing had slowed, started up again. Anna did this several times, kissing, squeezing and pulling me to the peak before letting me fall back down again. Eventually, it became too much and I begged for release.
‘Don’t stop, please, don’t stop,’ I moaned.
Mercifully, Anna did as I asked and her rhythm took on an urgency that had me tumbling over the other side. And in an explosion of dancing nerve ends, I yelled out aloud.
‘Dad?’ We heard a small voice, the drum of his feet on the landing and then he appeared at the foot of the bed.
‘It’s okay son,’ I laughed, thankful that he had delayed his entrance. A few moments earlier and it would have been red faces all round. I made a mental note, perhaps it’s time to get a lock for our bedroom door.
Anna kissed me on the lips.
‘Good morning, big boy,’ she whispered.
‘Dad, Dad, can I go down and watch The Lion King?’ pleaded Pat. In the mood that I was in, he could have asked for permission to play with an open razor and I wouldn’t have refused him.
‘Of course you can, son. I’ll just have a quick shower and then I’ll make you some breakfast.’
‘No you don’t,’ said Anna. ‘You have a long soak in the shower and I’ll make us all a fry-up.’
‘I think I’ve just died and gone to heaven,’ I said as I returned her kiss.
I put my hands behind my head and watched as my new wife slipped out of the bed and into a figure-hugging robe. I thought I couldn’t be happier. But, as the endorphins slowly drained from my body, I became aware of a faint ache on my temple, and the events of the night returned.
‘One second, Anna,’ I said just before she opened the door. ‘Can we talk about something?’
‘What about?’ she appeared mystified.
‘Last night.’
‘What about last night?’ her tone darkened.
‘Last night when I woke up to you playing the drums, with my head as the drum and your fists as the drumsticks.’ I offered her a chuckle, to show it wasn’t a big issue.
‘I’m sorry, honey. That’s never happened to me before.’ She made an apologetic face. ‘And anyway …’ big smile. ‘… didn’t I just show your how contrite I was?’
After breakfast, I changed Pat out of his pyjamas and into his clothes, while Anna went upstairs to shower and dress.
In little time Anna was ready to go out. As she zipped up Pat’s jacket and checked the laces on his shoes, I allowed the attention she paid my son to deepen and widen my love for her. Last night was weird, but it was a one-off. She was under a lot of stress – joining a new family when her own had been a trial. Not that I knew much about her people; none of them were invited to the wedding and any questions about them were always met with an unnerving quiet.