Chapter 74: A Diamond in the Rough

January 3, 1989, Columbus, Ohio

"Any changes in what you like?" I asked as Kris and I cuddled in bed before lunch.

"No. I definitely prefer the way we did it the first time," Kris said. "And I very much enjoy oral sex, both giving and receiving. And, as I've said, I'll do anything you want, so long as it's just the two of us!"

I laughed, "You keep reminding me!"

"That's such a normal male fantasy!"

"I'm not normal!"

"No kidding!" Kris declared mirthfully.

"You pointed out you chose me, so what does that say about you?"

"That I see a diamond in the rough which needs polishing! And that is something that requires a cosmopolitan touch, not a provincial one!"

"And what needs to be polished?" I asked.

"I've already mentioned a few things, and I should say your politics, but it's more that you decide to shut down conversations, usually after you've given your opinion without allowing rebuttal."

"I didn't realize I was doing that."

"You should either stop the conversation right away, or allow it to reach a reasonable conclusion, rather than shutting it off after pontificating."

"I'm sorry," I said. "What else?"

"For now? Just that and the things I mentioned before — being self-deprecating and qualifying your answers with 'to the best of my ability'."

"May I say something?"

"Of course!"

"Did someone tell you I didn't do well with subtle hints?"

"Clarissa may have mentioned needing to use a club on you from time to time!"

I laughed, "I suspect she said '2x4'."

"Yes. I wasn't sure what that was, and she explained it's the normal size wood used in construction here. Lara said your girlfriends would need to whack you on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper!"

I laughed, "Of course she did!"

"Perhaps I should get one of those small whips!" Kris teased.

"No problem," I chuckled, squeezing Kris' tight butt cheek.

She laughed, "You know, if you keep teasing me about that, I might just tell you to do it!"

"And then I can tease you by not doing it!"

"Well, technically, per our agreement, if I were to demand it, you would have to!"

"I've said as much," I replied.

"Is there anything about me you think I need to work on?"

"No, but if you lose your sexy French accent, I'll be VERY unhappy!"

Kris laughed, then, in an exaggerated French accent, even for her, said, "I shall do my best not to disappoint you! Did it bother you that I spoke French with Chloé at dinner?"

"No. She's your best friend, and I knew you needed time to catch up. I had a good conversation with Pierre."

"I realized afterwards it might have been rude, but things like that often happen in Paris when people speak different languages with different skill."

"Don't worry about it. Growing up, people at church spoke Russian all the time, even when there were people who weren't Russian speakers who were nearby."

"What shall we do for lunch?"

"How about the deli down the street?"

"That sounds great!"

We got out of bed, showered, then dressed. We left the hotel, walked the three blocks to the deli, and ordered our sandwiches, chips, and drinks. We ate sitting next to the front window, and when we finished, we returned to the hotel for our dessert.

"How does this work?" Kris asked after we'd undressed.

"Allow me to demonstrate!"

Kris got into bed, and I put a small amount of fudge topping on one of her breasts and butterscotch on the other. I then put a mix of both on her mons, added whipped cream to each breast and her mons, then put a strawberry on each dollop of whipped cream.

"And now I'll have my dessert! I hope you enjoy it!"

Kris laughed softly, and I proceeded to eat my Kris sundae, making absolutely sure I'd licked every bit of topping from each breast, paying special attention to her nipples. I confirmed I'd cleaned her breasts by licking them and sucking on her nipples, then slowly kissed my way down her body to the toppings on her mons. I slowly and deliberately ate my dessert, ensuring I ran my tongue over Kris' clit every thirty seconds or so. When Kris was perfectly clean, I focused on her pleasure and brought her off twice with my mouth and fingers.

"Wow!" she breathed. "That was really sexy!"

"I agree!"

"Time for my banana split! Is there some specific way to do it?"

"This is actually about you, at least until the very end. And you can choose how you end things."

"On your chest, too?"

"Again, it's up to you, but my nipples are sensitive!"

Kris put butterscotch topping on my nipples and coated my shaft with fudge topping, stroking me hard as she coated me. She squirted whipped cream onto my chest, and then along my entire shaft, then added three strawberries.

"One warning," I offered, enough neurons working to remember something important. "Sugar can cause yeast infections. That's why I was careful where I put the sauce."

"You just want me to finish you in my mouth!" Kris said mirthfully.

"No, just use a damp washcloth if you choose the other option!"

"Doctors!" Kris exclaimed theatrically, but winked at me.

"So, sue me!" I chuckled.

"That is the American way! Your honor, my husband interrupted sex with medical advice!"

I laughed, "I did tell you one young woman went to Father Nicholas to complain that I wouldn't have sex with her, though she couched it as a 'spiritual concern'."

"I still don't believe it, even though I'm sure it happened! Now, be quiet, and let me have my dessert!"

"Yes, Dear!" I chuckled.

Kris bent down and nipped my sack with her teeth, a 'threat' which was a surefire way to guarantee compliance.

I very much enjoyed Kris having her Mike banana split, which culminated with an exquisite blowjob, followed by a searing French kiss.

"That was fun!" she exclaimed, snuggling close.

"What's the plan for the rest of the day? And where should we have dinner?"

"We can just snuggle and talk; you choose dinner because I chose the movie."

"I saw a diner a couple of blocks away, so I think we'll try that, then see the movie.

"Great!"

January 4, 1989, Columbus, Ohio

"Another day in bed?" Kris asked as we lay in bed after waking on Wednesday morning.

"Well, as you said, we won't be able to do this very often in the future! When we're in Tennessee, a certain toddler will be far more interested in remaining an only child so that she has all our attention rather than allowing us the chance to make a baby brother or sister for her!"

Kris laughed, "Is that something you've seen?"

"Not personally, obviously, but I've heard that from some doctors. Doctor Getty called it the 'little brother/sister detector' and said his son's was highly accurate. The minute he and his wife even thought about intimacy, his son would demand attention, even if he was sound asleep!"

"Just out of curiosity, did Rachel interfere with your intimate encounters?"

"No. She was very much in tune with Papa's need to get laid and coöperated very well!"

Kris laughed, "Cute. Were there any girls she didn't like?"

"Not really. Some she took to, some better than others, but none she disliked. She doesn't like her cousin Viktor, but he's a typical male toddler in his 'terrible twos' and she prefers a calm environment."

"Your house was always very quiet, right? I mean, besides music?"

"Yes. And that suited her quite well. That said, she was very much into attention, but always on her terms. In other words, she's a girl!"

Kris laughed, "Boys very much want everyone to look at them and watch what they're doing; that's true even for big boys!"

"Me?"

"When you sing, yes, but that's a proper venue. I don't think you're one to do stupid things."

"Oh, I am," I chuckled. "But they were usually to do with my relationships, not trying to jump cars on my bike or hold firecrackers in my hand or any other stupid stunt we see in the ED!"

"What's the worst?"

"Trying to race a freight train. As one of my teachers said when I was in seventh grade after a similar accident, 'trains win all ties'. He was exactly right."

"So foolish. But besides that?"

"The usual stunts, such as trying to build a ramp to jump over a car. Kids see Evel Knievel do that and then think they can do it. They don't remember how badly he's been hurt when things don't go exactly right."

"He's the motorcycle daredevil, «non»?"

"«Oui»," I chuckled.

"You said you like the French accent!"

"I do! I also like French kisses! And every kiss with you is a French kiss!"

"Technically," Kris agreed, kissing my neck. "In France, we call it «un baiser amoureux» — a lover's kiss."

"Do you know why it's called a French kiss?" I asked.

"I asked my English teacher, who said it was because the French have a reputation for more adventurous and passionate sex practices."

"«Oh là là!»" I exclaimed in a faux French accent.

"That does not mean what Americans think it means!" Kris countered. "You use it only to refer to French sexuality, but it really is an expression of surprise or delight, or mild disappointment."

"Well, every American I would say that to would know what it meant, so that sounds like a you problem, not a me problem!"

"«Pas tout à fait»! You chose to marry a cosmopolitan French woman! So, it seems to me that it's your problem!" ("Not exactly!")

"Are you saying that you're a problem?" I asked with a smirk.

Kris slid her hand down to my groin and said, "I could be!"

"What did you say in French?"

"'Not exactly'. I figured since you like my French accent so much, I should use more French!"

"Accent? Absolutely! Kisses? Definitely! Language? Not so much!"

Kris laughed, "Shall we have breakfast? Or did you wish to do something first?"

"Take a walk? Watch the morning news? Read the newspaper?"

"Make love!"

"Oh," I replied flatly. "That."

"Excuse me?!" Kris exclaimed in faux outrage.

"I would very much like to make love!" I replied.

Thirty minutes later, we got out of bed, I called room service for breakfast, and then we showered, dried off, and dressed.

"I want to ask a question, which isn't important now," Kris said, "but was something I thought of when you commented about Rachel interfering with making a little brother or sister for her. How long into pregnancy can you make love?"

"Usually, at least into the sixth month, but everything depends on how comfortable the woman is. Care has to be taken the further along you get, but we aren't vigorous, so that won't be a problem. In the seventh month, it would depend on what the gynecologist said. After that, it's generally not advisable. And to answer the next question, eight to twelve weeks after giving birth, depending on how difficult the labor is and if there was an episiotomy. And to answer a question you didn't ask, I find pregnant women to be very sexy!"

Kris laughed, "That's good to know! I suppose you'll want oral sex?"

"I'll want you to be happy and comfortable," I replied. "That would be up to you."

"That's not an answer, Mike. You evaded the question. Please don't do that. I asked because I want to know what you want, not what you think I want!"

"Will you accept an answer that I will tell you my needs at the time? Who knows what else might be going on then, or if you'll have a difficult pregnancy or difficult delivery or how content our baby will be?"

"Still not an answer."

"I'm going to push back and say that me saying that I don't know is a legitimate answer to a hypothetical question. We can, as they say, cross that bridge when we come to it. You said it wasn't important now!"

"I did. I do prefer you simply give me direct answers instead of saying what you think I want to hear or trying to say things in a way you think won't upset me but actually bother you. I promise to do the same."

"You have a head start," I chuckled. "And that's not a complaint, just an observation."

"It's the only way forward," Kris replied. "I don't want you unhappy or hiding your feelings any more than I want to be unhappy or hide my feelings. Only truth and complete openness will work."

"Things must have been very bad in your circle of friends with relationships."

"Some were disastrous," Kris replied. "All caused by deceit or lack of openness. I resolved never to do that. Remember, that's why I was a virgin on Sunday night."

"You were also NOT a virgin on Sunday night!" I teased.

"Obviously," Kris said flatly, using my technique.

"How bad?"

"A suicide," Kris replied quietly. "I'm sure you know how I felt because of the girl from your study group."

I nodded, "Sandy. I still wonder if there was more we could have done for her."

"I feel the same about Noémie. But Jean should not have lied to her to get her into bed, then dumped her after he got what he wanted."

"When did this happen?"

"When we were fourteen. She loved him; he knew it, and told her he loved her so she would sleep with him, then laughed in public about how naïve and foolish she was. She heard and ran away, and I should have gone after her, but I didn't. I found out the next morning she'd slit her wrists. There were other situations, but none so bad as that."

"Did anything happen to him?"

"No. He was fifteen, and she was fourteen, and nothing he did would have resulted in the police or a magistrate bringing charges. Being a «мудак» isn't illegal." ("asshole")

"Sometimes I think it should be illegal to be an a-hole. Why use Russian, not French?"

"Because it made the point perfectly with you. Clarissa said you used to reserve Russian for swearing."

"She's not wrong," I chuckled. "It let me say things in public I couldn't otherwise say."

"I was surprised she took Russian lessons from Doctor Blahnik!"

"It was out of self-defense," I replied. "I was in a phase where I used a lot of Russian because I was playing at being Russian-American. I got over that fairly quickly, but by that point, Clarissa had already started learning, so she kept it up."

Our food arrived, we ate breakfast, went for a walk while the room was made up, spent the afternoon in bed, and then, after dinner at the diner, we went to see Rain Man.

"What would you like to do tonight?" I asked Kris as we got into bed. "Are we still going to Vespers?"

"Yes, and besides that, I'm OK with just snuggling and talking, if you are. Six times between this morning and this afternoon were sufficient for me."

"And me," I replied.

January 5, 1989, Columbus, Ohio

"This is our last full day here," I said when Kris woke up on Thursday morning. "Any thoughts?"

"Just to be with you! What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"We need to check out by 11:00am. Our first stop is the Clerk's office to get a copy of our marriage certificate; then we'll head to Rutherford to see Mr. Winston. After we sign our wills and powers of attorney, we can also sign advance healthcare directives, if you're willing. Most importantly, we'll sign the adoption papers at my mom's house."

"I understand wills and adoption papers, but what are the other two?"

"A power of attorney document basically means we can act on each other's behalf for anything legal or financial. In our case, they'll be 'durable', which means they are effective if either one of us were to be in a coma or die. It's something Mr. Winston recommends for couples who are both professionals, or will be. It makes conducting family business much easier, as only one of the partners has to actually show up at the bank or whatever.

"An advance healthcare directive combines healthcare power of attorney and specific treatment options. In my case, I don't want extraordinary intervention if there is no potential quality of life. Basically, if somehow I ended up in a state where I couldn't recover and have a meaningful life, I wouldn't want to be put on a ventilator or have a defibrillator used to bring me back. It also gives you complete control of medical decisions if I can't make them for myself."

"Isn't that normal for spouses?"

"Yes, but a legal document helps ensure nobody can interfere, and if something were to happen to both of us, would tell the doctors exactly what to do."

"Who would interfere?"

"Any relative might, or some third party. Remember what you said about Americans and lawsuits? We see battles over treatment at the hospital all too often. Usually it's the patient's spouse versus the patient's parents, but sometimes children versus their parent about the other parent, or about grandma or grandpa."

"Crazy!"

"Yes, it is. I don't expect that to happen, but Mr. Winston suggested signing the documents 'just in case'. Are you OK with it? We can wait on them if you think we need to discuss it further."

"No, I totally agree about medical treatment. The power of attorney I've never heard of, but it sounds OK, too."

"If you have questions, Mr. Winston can answer them."

"No, it's OK, Mike. I trust you. Did you and Elizaveta have these forms?"

"No. She died intestate, that is, without a will. Fortunately, there were no legal or financial complications. And I didn't even think of a will or advance healthcare directive because, like most twenty-two-year-olds, I didn't even consider the chance of death or of a completely debilitating injury. After Jocelyn, Sandy, Lee, and Elizaveta, well, I now have a very different view of life."

"That would certainly change someone's outlook on life; losing Noémie certainly did for me."

"I am serious, though, if you have any qualms or questions, we can set aside the powers of attorney and healthcare directives. I probably should have discussed those in detail with you beforehand instead of just offhandedly mentioning everything."