Chapter 5: Allegretto Non Troppo

I arrived early in the office, but the temp had not appeared yet; Irene was waiting for me, however.

“James, I spoke with Sir Allan, and he told me that Maureen had already departed and that Mary Ann was now with them. He’s so happy that they are there! Lady Ellen started to live again with Maureen, and Mary Ann is wonderful. He believes that they’ll come to a conclusion about what happened early this week, and perhaps they can come back on the weekend. He told me for you to go on; he has absolute confidence that you’ll do well. Perhaps you could call him tonight? The time difference is 14 hours, and you can catch him at the hospital. You have his number.”

I promised to do this and got into work. The temp had arrived, and I saw Irene supervising her. Soon I had my list of things to do: phone calls, emails, walk around with my staff, talk to Finance, and principally to make sure that our excursion to Hawaii was on course. The day passed, and before I left, I told Irene that I would be late the next day; she grinned and only remarked: “You’ll be at the airport, I guess?”

At night I spoke with Allan; he gave me the same advice that Irene had given me already and that Jenny had been a God-given gift to Ellen. She was better now, and a big reason for this was the presence first of Maureen and now of Jenny. They would never forget this.

I got up early in the morning and waited for her to appear at the airport. There was the usual delay, but then I felt her presence, eager and hoping to see me. She came out, looking around, and when I waved, she flew into my arms. Suddenly, I felt whole again, and it was strange that I felt fine before, but now, I felt better with her in my arms. We kissed, and I looked at her: there she was, the love of my life.

“Maureen, I missed you so much...”

“James, I missed you so much...”

We laughed, relieved that we were together again. She was a bit tired and told me that she was eager to go home. The drive was short due to early morning traffic, and when we closed the door behind us, she let everything drop and hugged me with all force.

“I’m home again with you, my love. I want nothing more!”

We stood there for a long moment, and then she stepped back.

“Let me have a shower and change; then we can talk.”

I understood, got her luggage, and took it to the guest room; she would unpack from there. I had prepared breakfast already, but I assumed that she had eaten on the plane; after all, first-class has privileges. I waited for her, and when she appeared, it was like the sun had gotten up: her smile was brilliant and her eyes shining. She had dressed in that diminutive baby doll that showed off her beautiful body, but the only thing I cared for was her smile and her eyes full of love. She looked at the table with everything set but shook her head.

“James, all I want right now is to be in your arms.”

We went to the sitting room, and I sat on the couch; she immediately sat on my lap and pulled my arms around her. She started to cry.

“James, these are not tears of sadness, but of happiness that I’m back with you. Just hold me...”

She sniffled and then looked at me. “Did you miss me?”

I laughed out loud: what a silly question! But she continued.

“You had Jenny for a week, and you love each other, and then Mom was here for the weekend. I was alone all the time, and that was not fair!”

“Yes, Jenny was here for a week, and I love her, but she is not you. And Eileen was here for the weekend, and to my pleasant surprise, all went well, but they’re not you, and I missed you every moment.”

“Even when you made love to them?”

“My love, making love to your mother was exciting, and having Jenny was even better, more loving, more caring, but I can only repeat - they are not Maureen. I missed you, my love!”

She looked at me for a long time and then nodded.

“Yes, I know. We’re different. With all the love I have for Jenny, in the end, you are mine, and even sharing you in the same bed, I know that I’ll always be first for you in your heart and soul.”

She hugged me and put my hand on her breast.

“You know what I missed, too? Getting my goodnight and good morning kisses; please never stop doing this!”

I held her close, and slowly she relaxed.

“Can you stay this morning with me?”

Unfortunately, a major prospect had insisted on a meeting this morning, and all attempts to delay were for nothing; he was going on an overseas trip and wanted to speak to me before that. I had been able, however, and with Irene’s understanding help, to clean my afternoon. I promised to be at home after lunch, and she agreed but promised with a pretty little pout that I should better be home as promised. She got up, drank the tea I had prepared, and pushed me out of the door. I thought it strange that twice now in two days I had been sent off from my own home!

Irene looked at her watch when I walked in.

“James, I respect you! Maureen has come home this morning, and you’re at the office? Duty before everything?”

“Irene, not before everything. Maureen will always be my first priority, but I’ve to consider my responsibilities since I have already taken off the afternoon.”

“James, don’t you understand the word ‘teasing’? I know your love for your wife, but I respect you even more because you’re able to think beyond these moments. So read the briefing; the car is ready at 10.00 o’clock, the meeting is at 10:30. Good luck!”

It went well: he was interested in both proposals, one for equipment and another for consultant services. He was surprised that Sir Allan was not present but told me that he had heard enough complimentary comments about the company and me so that he would probably give me a decision on his return. He invited me to lunch at his business club, and I realized that this was an opportunity to lead his decision in our direction.

We saw Mr. Fuller at the club; he came over and warned my host to be careful with me. He had only wanted to discuss one insignificant item with me, and now he had a preliminary business proposal on his desk that demanded serious studying. He smiled when he said this and whispered to him: “Listen to him. He’s good!”

They looked at me for a long moment, and then my host had to leave; Mr. Fuller stayed for a moment and remarked that if I could convince his friend about my ideas, it could be a very interesting business for me indeed! Finally, he left, and my way to my love was free.

When I arrived home, she was still asleep. I wondered how she had spent her hours on the plane; after all, she had been in first-class, comfortable, with a straight bed, and for over 25 hours. I looked at her; she was smiling, had grabbed a pillow to put her head on, and one breast was peeking out from under the blanket. I left silently and prepared tea and toast, got my laptop, and worked on the notes that Irene had given me on this prospect. It was exciting, and as often before, I was unsure why Frank had not been more active; but this was water under the bridge, and it was my job to get things going.

A noise told me that Maureen had woken up, and I put the laptop down. She appeared dressed still in that little baby doll, but her eyes were still half closed.

“James, why didn’t you wake me up? I wasted time sleeping when I could have been in your arms. Don’t you love me anymore?”

She sat on my lap and hugged me.

¨My love, it has been so long since you held me tight. Every night and every morning, I prayed that you were safe until I could come back and look after you.”

She smiled.

“Apparently, it worked, thank God. Now tell me about Mom and the weekend. Jenny has already informed me in great detail about the week you had together – you know that that woman loves you as much from deep in her heart as I do, but how did you survive Mom?”

“It was easy: Eileen was wonderful. She was so happy that she never stepped over the limits; she did everything alright, and we had a great time. We went to the opera, had lunch in the Quay restaurant, drove to the Blue Mountains, and got a good tan from the drive. She dressed up for the Opera House and enjoyed introducing the Count de Winter, her son-in-law, to a few friends she met in the Lobby. For her, it was fun. And before you ask: she was fun in bed also.”

She grinned.

“I shall get all the juicy details you won’t tell from her later in any way, but to the more important matter: Ellen. By the way, she told me that I was like a daughter to her, and a daughter would not call her Lady Ellen, so it became permanently ‘Ellen’. She has improved but is not over the hill. I spoke with the medical staff, and they told me that she might recover a bit, but she’ll never be the same again.”

“James, that might have a direct impact on you: from what I could see from Allan, he will not let her alone in her house while he is in the office. I believe that he might resign to stay with her. What would this mean to you? I overheard a conversation involuntarily, and I know Allan is pushing your name, but he was not optimistic. There is a power game going on in the Group.”

“My love, this is something we’ll resolve in the future, and in any case, there’s not very much I can do about it - but there are things I can control: there is tea in the kitchen and a husband waiting to cuddle his wife.”

I picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. The tea was still hot, protected in an Old English Tea Warmer (this time, it was a small copy of the Westminster Cathedral); toast and jam were on the table, and after arranging everything, I sat down and put her back on my lap. Feeling the weight of her body was proof that she was indeed back, and feeding her tidbits was fun, but we were both impatient and did not last long at the table. I picked her up once more and carried her to our bed. She pulled her baby doll over her head and lay down; I followed suit with my slacks and shirt and lay beside her.

As always, the thing I found most lovely of all was the joy I saw in her beautiful green eyes, which held so much warmth and such a stunning smile, that it made my stomach flutter and my heart melt. Her perfume reached me moments before our lips made contact, her eyes were closed, and I memorized every detail of her gorgeous face. I shut my eyes, though still seeing her before me in my mind, and felt the softness of her lips as she gently pushed them against me.

I pulled back and looked at her and then kissed her hair and eyes once more; when I arrived back at her mouth, she responded eagerly, her tongue seeking mine. After a while, I decided I needed to breathe and explore other places. I glided down her neck and ended at her – no, my – beautiful breasts, firm and proud, and waiting for my kisses. I played around, fondling her mounds, teasing her nipples, sucking and twisting them until she cried out in appreciation when I bit them gently. Then the journey continued southwards, and her labia appeared, with her half-shells covering her sweet entrance. Her pubic hair was still shaped to an exclamation mark, with the point just over her pussy.