Chapter 2: Decision

Bill Pierce hung up his coat and suit coat when he got home. That preparation made Carolyn’s welcome-home kiss all the sweeter. Her tongue met his, her mound was pressed against his leg. She hugged him, and he clasped her buns. People told him that married couples stopped seeing each other as sexual objects, but the effect hadn’t begun for him yet.

She’d cooked a dinner that smelled delicious. He did his part by setting the table. Even though she was a full-time graduate student, Carolyn still regarded cooking dinner as part of being married. Her crunch time would come, but it would end as well. As far as he was concerned, all her domestic labors, delicious as this dinner was, were an added bonus. He’d married Carolyn for her body. That didn’t make him insensitive to her spirit, and he could tell that she was nerving herself up to say something. It didn’t look like she wanted to discuss a fault of his, though.

“Delicious,” he told her.

“Glad you like it. You’ll see some left-overs this week.”

“That’s fair. I like left-overs of good cooking. You have something else you want to talk about?”

“Is it that clear?” Well, yes. But he let her have more silence to gather her thoughts.

“Remember we said that we’d delay a baby until it didn’t interfere with my employment?” She asked. He’d be unlikely to forget it, and they were doing just that. What needed discussion about that?

“Yes.”

“And,” she continued, “it’s still clear for me to take next year for dissertation without working?”

“Sure.” Wasn’t that a bygone? “Could you get a job this late?”

“It would be hard. But...” He waited while she decided whether to actually get to the subject.

“Look, if I don’t teach next year, if I’m not employed, then there is no employer to object if I go into the hospital next year to have a baby.” She had got to the subject. It was worth the wait. Did they want to start the baby now? As she said, it was as good a time as any in her employment. He only owed on the car and the engagement ring, and the car loan would end before a baby came. His present income, not counting the pittance that the University paid her for being a teaching assistant, would cover their expenses in next-year’s larger apartment and her tuition next year. The dissertation-year tuition, fortunately, was much less than they charged for actually taking classes. Not that generous of them, since their only contribution would be a few faculty consultations and a committee meeting. Well she wouldn’t have brought this up to say that she didn’t want to do it -- or would she have? Carolyn was sometimes brutally frank.

“Are you suggesting getting pregnant now?”

“We could ... I could. Oh, you know what I mean. Still, it’s damn early. And, then too, it’s a lot more outgo than you budgeted.”

“Yeah. It would be a stretch.” On the other hand, it would be the sort of reason for going into debt that his company would respect. That was more his worry than the actual debt; if he couldn’t manage his money, it raised questions as to how well he could manage his staff.

“Do you think we should?” That was the question he should be asking her.

“Well, we can. Do you think that you should? Are you telling me you’ve gone off the Pill?”

“Not yet. That’s a family decision.”

“Well, as a family decision, I vote yes. But, it’s also a decision about your body. Are you sure?”

“Well, it might not take. People go years without children. And we only have so long. If you say a year from July is the last possible date for delivery -- I’d have to be ready to start teaching a year from September, after all, and have to be available for things like interviews before then -- then we could cut out the Pill from now until September.” All of which was meaningless dither. Well, not all. He was under notice that the decision to go back on the Pill, if she made it in September, was adjusting to changed circumstances, not feminine vapors.

“Sure. It might not work, but we’re deciding whether it would be better or worse. How likely doesn’t enter in to the decision.”

“One thing is that my periods lasted longer before I was on the Pill.” And she cut him off during her periods. She tended to be bitchy about it, too.

“I’ll accept that.”

“You really want kids, don’t you?” Wanted them? Very much. But the net desire was rather faint. Being a parent was giving hostages to the future.

“Well, yes. The idea of a kid of my own is damned attractive. On the other hand, it’s also scary. Other people’s kids are fun, but they aren’t much of a responsibility.” He might walk Beatrice along the back of the church for half an hour when teething made her fussy. He didn’t have to stay up with her all night when she had something serious.

“Scares you?” That’s what he’d said.

“A little.”

They had no more discussion, but Carolyn went off the Pill. Her next period was -- as she’d threatened -- longer. Still, when she came on to him on a Friday night, he knew his drought had ended.

She’d watched television with him on the sofa. They made out like high-school kids, and she didn’t tense up when his hand went below her waist. When the news came on, she went away. The news had precipitated too many arguments in the past. The Democrats and the media had been persecuting the President over a third-rate burglary as if Democrats never bugged anybody. Carolyn, for all her vaunted intellectual skills, had fallen for it time after time. She was wise to pass the news up this night, although there was nothing of Watergate on it. She came back from the bathroom and watched the sports report standing up until a commercial came on.

“When it’s over, want to come in and brush my hair?” He loved her luscious locks, and always wanted to brush her hair. Logically, she should have let him, but she seldom did -- almost never during her periods. This time, she not only allowed him to brush, she allowed him to get it as smooth as he was capable. Meanwhile, he could see more and more of her cleavage as she let her robe hang open.

“I think that’s it.” The hair hung down like a glorious, black waterfall. Aside from a little static, it was one smooth mass.

“Thanks. Wake me when you come to bed.” But he didn’t give her time to go to sleep. She had the lamp on and was naked under the covers. “Turn off the heater, will you?” He did. The room was too warm, but he was never sure whether it was warm enough for her.

“Darling.” And she was a darling, for her bouts of pretended modesty as much as for her lush body. They had a delicious kiss.

“I’m definitely not fertile yet.” Well, no. But she was incredibly sexually desirable.

“Well, probably not. Maybe we should try just in case.” That got him a grin.

“Well,” she agreed, “just in case.” She’d staged this to be a special sexual occasion, and now she was letting him persuade her. He was half-way tempted to turn over and pretend to go to sleep, but Carolyn was stubborn enough to let him.

But it should be special for her, too, and he was in danger of going over when his dick first touched her snatch. He started with kisses to her face, continued down her body. She enjoyed the sex more when she was reminded that he loved her.

The hair he had brushed wasn’t the only lovely hair she had. He combed his fingers across her mound to appreciate the hair there. Then, he got to the serious part. As his mouth went back upwards, his hand went lower. He was kissing up the bottom of her breast when he fingered her snatch -- and struck oil. She was enjoying this.

“Mmm.” She might object to explicit mention of her state of lubrication, but she hugged him in response to his murmur. He managed to get the first times of touching her nub and sucking the tip of her melon to coincide.

“Yes, Bill,” she said. And, obedient to her comment, he continued those actions until she went over. Carolyn’s orgasms were always so obvious. She didn’t scream then, but her face, her body, her motions, always let him know her pleasure.

“Darling, I’ve missed you.” He continued to stoke and kiss her until she had finished going over. But she was capable of more, and he desperately wanted to feel her next one around his dick, even though he couldn’t last long as excited as he was.