Chapter 6

While the waiters circulated with the champagne, people gathered around us to offer their congratulations. The first were Stacie's school friends. The tall black girl, Latoya, was the first. She was, as my granny would say, "a piece of work." Her hair was in small tight braids. She was dressed in a very tight yellow crop-top and a matching miniskirt, which reached just below her crotch. And she was wearing lots of what the kids called "bling" -- flashy jewelry. She swept over to Stacie and lifted her hand. Latoya took a very close look at Stacie's ring. "Girlfriend," she said, "that is one serious rock. It's almost as good as you deserve." She turned to me, "Jack, you better take damned good care of Stacie. We know where you live, homey." She looked at me and winked.

Stacie said, "Toy, please. Jack isn't used to your sense of humour. Jack, Toy is one of my dearest and sweetest friends."

It took a few minutes, but we finally got some breathing room. Stacie sighed. "Now maybe I can take a few minutes to repair my face. That was quite a trick you pulled on me, Mr. Charles."

"It's too late to back out now, my love. I'm a lawyer, you know. I could sue for breach of promise."

"Bullshit. As though you'll ever get the chance." She took Ayesha's arm. "Sheesh, will you come with me? I need to repair the damage done by this brute." Stacie kissed me and went upstairs, followed by Ayesha.

I found myself button-holed by Stacie's high school principal, Mr. Nickerson. "I've always worried about Stacie," he said, "she has such high career aspirations. Now that she's engaged to you I can see," he gestured about the room, "that she won't want for anything. But I'd hate to see her waste that fine mind."

"Mr. Nickerson, please be assured that I plan to make every effort to see that Stacie is called to the bar. I see no reason why our firm couldn't become McHenry, Charles and Charles."

He smiled at that and drank to our happiness.

Finally, the crowd began to thin out. Among the last to go were Mack, Larissa and four of Stacie's friends Ayesha, Latoya, Sydney, a short heavyset black girl, and Mike, the complexion-challenged boy. Sydney hugged Stacie and cried. "I'm so happy for you," she said, "so happy." She turned to me. "And you treat her right, you hear? You got the best girl in the world here."

Latoya, on the other hand, surprised me. She'd been the most boisterous of the group all evening. Now, all she could do was to hug Stacie and cry wordlessly. Finally, she released Stacie. "Toy, I found my man," Stacie said, "you'll get yours, too. I promise. There's a wonderful guy out there just waiting for a wonderful girl like you."

Larissa said her tearful farewell, hugging Stacie for a long time, while Mack shook my hand and then hugged me. "You surprised the hell out of me this evening," he said, "but I think that you surprised Stacie even more. Congratulations and best of luck. And I'm sure that I'll see both of you at work on Monday morning."

The last guests had left. Charlotte was in the kitchen supervising the cleanup by the caterers. Stacie and I were alone at last. I put my arm around her and led her into the study. I closed the door, took her in my arms and kissed her gently. "Stacie, I love you so very much. Tonight, you've made me the happiest man in the world." I led her to the bar. "Let's have a drink to celebrate. What would you like?"

"Well, I guess if I'm going to be a lawyer's wife, I have to learn to drink like one. What would you suggest?"

I made her a gin gimlet and poured a Scotch for myself. I turned the lights down. We sat on the chesterfield in front of the fireplace. "I took a big chance tonight," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"You could have said 'no' and made me look like a jerk in front of all those people."

"Not bloody likely. But when I opened that box, I almost fainted." She held her hand up, admiring the ring. "This is the most beautiful ring I ever saw. How did you manage to get one that fits so well?" She frowned at me. "Did you steal my little agate ring?"

"Guilty," I said.

"I thought so. Well, you're forgiven. Just don't make a habit of it."

We cuddled quietly for a long time. "I wish it was winter," Stacie said.

"Why?"

"So we could have a fire. And maybe we'd be married by then, too."

"This is Canada. Winter will come. As for marriage, I'm ready when you are."

"I've been thinking about that. I'm sure I'll get accepted by the University of Toronto. I'd like to start there in the fall. And when I register, I'd like my last name to be Charles."

I kissed her. "Yes ma'am. I'm sure that we can make both of those things happen."

There was a knock at the door. Charlotte came in. She said, "Are you two lovebirds decent?"

"Aunt Charlotte, how did you know we were in here?"

"I didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes. The door was closed, that's how. I just wanted to tell you that everything is cleaned up. The caterers have left, and this old lady is going to bed."

"Aunt Charlotte, we were just talking about getting married soon. I have something very important to ask you."

"What is it, child?"

"Would you give me away? At the wedding, I mean."

It was the first time I saw Charlotte cry. "Oh child..." She was at a loss for words. Stacie went to her and hugged her. They did look like an adult and a child. Even though she was wearing heels, Stacie's head didn't quite reach Charlotte's shoulder. "Nothing would make me happier. You're safe now. But then, you'll really be safe. At last."

I went over and hugged them both. "Now," I said, "we should all go to bed. This one," I kissed Stacie's cheek, "has had a very big day. And this one," I kissed Charlotte's cheek, "has made it all happen."

Stacie and I went upstairs. As we undressed, Stacie said, "Would you mind if I continue not to wear panties to bed?"

"Of course not, silly. In fact, I insist on it."

"And I think that I won't wear nighties, either. At least for the rest of the summer."

"Are you saying that we should sleep naked?"

She grinned. "In fact, I insist on it."

We cuddled and kissed under the covers. The romantic mood was broken by my need to answer the call of nature. When I returned from the washroom, Stacie was sound asleep. I cuddled her against me and soon joined her in sleep.

It was the best night's sleep that I'd had in a very long time. I awoke the next morning in a state of bliss. I was experiencing the most wonderful feelings. I looked down. I saw a head of tousled blonde hair. Stacie looked up at me. She had my penis in her mouth.

"Oh baby," I said, "Oh God! I'm going to come."

She lifted her head for a moment, smiled and said, "Good." She returned to her task.

I came. Very hard. I collapsed, incapable of movement. Stacie gave Mr. Willy a good-bye kiss and scooted up. She put her arms around me and kissed me. "Rest for a little while," she said, "I've had my breakfast. Now I'm going to go and fix yours." She got up. In a minute, I heard the shower running. I went back to sleep.

Something brushed my face. I opened my eyes. In front of me was a pink tummy. Beyond it, I saw a beautiful pair of breasts. Beyond them, was a pretty face smiling at me. "Wake up, sleepyhead. I brought you breakfast in bed." She tickled my nose with her pubic hair.

I put my hands on her hips and pulled her sweet pussy down to my mouth. I gently explored her with my tongue and lips. Gradually her excitement built to a fever pitch. She bucked against me and finally tensed. I reached up to hold her under her arms as she went limp. I lifted her and laid her against my chest. She snuggled against me, making a little nest for herself in my arms.

"Darling, is this what I have to look forward to every morning?"

She said in a muffled voice, "Would you mind?"

"Of course not." We snuggled for a while. Then I just had to ask about something that had been puzzling me. "Darling, how come you know so much about sex? Especially the oral part."

"Do I really seem to? Am I doing things right?"

"More than right. How did you learn all that stuff?"

"I asked a friend. Someone who knows a lot more about it."

"Was it Charlotte?"

"No, silly! I could never talk to her about stuff like that. I'd be too embarrassed."

The penny dropped. "It was Latoya, wasn't it?"

"I can't say. I promised."

"I have a lot to thank her for. If you can find some way to thank her for me, please do. But how did you go about asking?"

"Well, a couple of weeks ago, we were talking, and I said that I'd found a wonderful guy. I said that I didn't know if he'd ever be interested in me, but, if he ever was, I wanted to know what to do. She told me."

"In detail, obviously."

"Well, I asked a lot of questions."

I hugged her. "Are you feeling sore today? Down there, I mean."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. A little bit. Would you mind if we just do the sort of stuff we did this morning? At least for today."

"Now, you're being silly. You're not required to have sex with me every day."

"I sort of thought that it was part of my wifely duties."

"When we're married, it will be. Then, you'll have to put out any time and any place that I desire."

Stacie looked at me in shock. Then she saw that I was barely stifling my laughter. She swatted me, a little harder than playfully. "Pig," she said, "Last one in the shower is a rotten egg!"

As usual, Charlotte had prepared an incredible breakfast. There were blueberry and raspberry pancakes with appropriate syrups and condiments. There were lovely sausages and pea meal bacon. All complimented with a bountiful fruit platter.

After breakfast, Stacie asked, "Would you mind if I invited a few friends over for supper tomorrow?"

"Of course, not, sweetheart. Who?"

"Toy and Sheesh. And Mike, of course."

"Why of course?"

"Cuz Sheesh doesn't go anywhere without him. And vice versa."

"Oh. I think I understand. Sure. What would you like to do?"