Chapter 25

We arrived after lunch but weren’t hungry so planned to skip that meal. Her parents and brothers were glad to see us. We wee glad to see them, too.

Mister Stover grinned. “I heard that the surprise for your honeymoon is out of the bag.” He grinned even bigger. “And you’ve agreed to the requirements.”

Agnes asked, “Does Mom know about this?”

Missus Stover responded, “Yes, it’ll be fun.”

Agnes said, “Just remember, paybacks can be hell.” Everyone laughed. We went inside and enjoyed family. Agnes helped her mother with supper. By then, we were hungry. We sat down to eat. It was, of course, leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. We would have more Saturday when they would celebrate again with us.

After supper, Jimmy and Aaron left separately. It appeared that both had dates. We stayed at the house with Agnes’ parents. Agnes and her mother went over a few more things for the wedding though were only confirming what they had already decided. It was late when her brothers returned and we all went to bed. About twenty minutes later, Agnes joined me. We slept happily through the night.

In the morning, we separated. Agnes mussed her bed while I showered and shaved. I then dressed while she showered. Once dressed, she joined me in the kitchen where I had started coffee. We kissed happily offering each other, “Good morning.” We had our arms around each other waiting for the coffee to finish when her mother entered.

“Good morning, you two.” The coffee finished and I poured three cups. I took mine to the kitchen table as did Agnes. Her mother fixed hers and joined us. “I think I’m looking forward to your wedding almost as much as the two of you.”

Agnes smiled. “Yes, we are, very much. Exactly two weeks from today and we’ll be husband and wife.” I smiled nodding.

“You two are working out very well. You have planned for your continued schooling carefully.”

I said, “That was one of the things that had to be resolved before we could decide about when to marry. We will be tight as married students but will be okay financially since we aren’t big spenders. If it weren’t for you and your husband and my parents, our honeymoon was going to occur in our new apartment. We already have possession. The last thing we’ll do before we leave campus for break is move our things there from our separate dorm rooms. Then, we’ll head here for the wedding.”

Jimmy came in and said, “Just don’t move in early.”

Agnes looked at him and said, “You shouldn’t talk, Jimmy. You jumped the gun and then didn’t even shoot.”

Jimmy didn’t say anything but did blush. “I’m sorry, Sis. That was out of line.”

I didn’t think we’d been caught but I didn’t want to be questioned either. Fortunately, it didn’t go further. I made it a point not to give a sigh of relief.

Agnes and Missus Stover prepared breakfast. Aaron and I helped. Jimmy went outside to do something. I think he was also embarrassed. We called him and Mister Stover for breakfast, prayed, and ate. Agnes and I cleaned up with help from Aaron. Jimmy went with his father. Agnes’ mother went to finish getting ready for the day.

Aaron asked, “You two seem to be very much in love. I hope I find a girl who I care about and who cares about me like you do for each other. What’s your secret?”

Agnes looked at me so I responded. “I think it’s because we both want the best for the other. I know I’m in awe of your sister. She’s terrifically smart and beautiful. I’m also looking forward to volleyball season when she plays and I can cheer her on.”

Agnes smirked. “And look at my butt.”

“Yes, that too.” I smirked back.

“Are you sure you two aren’t intimate?”

I said, “Of course, we’re intimate. We sit close and talk about everything particularly intimate details of our lives and how we feel about each other and about other things. It’s just not the way you were thinking.” Agnes leaned against me and gave me a light kiss on my lips.

Aaron said, “I guess I’ve never thought of intimacy that way. There is something really neat about how you two interact.”

I grinned. “It won’t stop once we’re married. There will just be some new facets to our intimacy then.”

Aaron was silent obviously thinking about what we had said. He also blushed slightly. Of the two brothers, he seemed to be the more introspective and thoughtful. I decided that, if anyone figured out that we were sleeping together, albeit, innocently, he would be the one. I preferred that we not have to explain even to him. The cleanup was complete and we went outside to get some air. Though cool, it was a pretty day.

We held hands as we walked just going aimlessly. We did walk actively because that was our way. Agnes directed us along a fence line. “What is that land used for?”

Agnes said, “Dad is letting it lie fallow with clover to build it up. We’ve had cattle on it who like the clover. In the spring, he’ll plow the clover under and plant a money crop. He cycles through the fields on a regular basis.”

I nodded. “Agnes, should we watch our sleeping together? We aren’t having sex but I’m not sure our parents or your brothers would really understand.”

“That’s true.” She smiled dreamily. “I just sleep so much better while being held by my Viking. We’ll just continue to be careful until we don’t have to be careful. Eric, we have been careful. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Agnes. I don’t want things to get screwed up when we’re so close.”

We walked some more with our arms around each other’s waists. It meant that we didn’t go fast but the walking was more enjoyable. We enjoyed being together and didn’t even talk much. It was fun and peaceful.