Chapter 44

SANDY - Friday, April 6, 1962

It was a beautiful day out, but even if it had been snowing, it wouldn't have spoiled my happiness; Steve was coming today and we'd be starting our life together tomorrow. I sprung out of bed and went to the kitchen to grab my usual mug of coffee. Mom was sitting at the table, and I sat down with her for a moment.

"Mom, is it possible for anyone to be any happier than I am today? I love Steve so much, and after today, we'll be together all the time."

"Ah, young love! Steve is a great guy, and you two are lucky to have discovered each other. I'm lucky to be getting him as my son-in-law. I know how much your job means to you, but remember that Steve is infinitely more important."

"I think I learned that lesson last summer. I know that he can't say much about his work, but I know how important I am to him, and I'm sure we'll have a rich fulfilling partnership."

"I know you will, dear. We'll talk more later, but you need to get moving to get to the airport on time. Don't forget to pick up your new shoes sometime, and remember that you have a hair appointment tomorrow at nine. Go take your shower; I'll have breakfast ready for you in a few minutes. I'll be gone when you and Steve get back — I told Sarah that I would help her get everything ready for tomorrow. Mary and Megan will be staying here, along with Steve's family, so Chad has agreed to give him a bed for tonight. You know, I have that superstition that on their wedding day, the groom shouldn't see his bride until the ceremony."

Naturally, I was disappointed, but said, "OK, Mom. At least he'll be with us for dinner."

As I got into the shower, the music from South Pacific started running through my head, especially the final line from "A Wonderful Guy" - "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a wonderful guy!". It was so true for me!

I quickly got dressed, ate my breakfast, gave Mom a hug, and set forth for LaGuardia. The morning traffic into the city slowed me down, but the anticipation of knowing that I would soon be seeing Steve made the delay seem like only a minor annoyance. As it turned out, I arrived just as the arrival of the flight was announced. I was about to settle down to

wait for him, when I heard my name on the PA system, "Sandy Rhule, please come to the desk."

I wondered what that was about, thinking that it probably wasn't good, and went to the desk.

STEVE - Friday, April 6, 1962

When I saw the truck heading straight at us, I yelled at the driver, who swerved sharply to the right and went up on the sidewalk. Fortunately, nobody was there, but almost immediately there was a crash as we hit a lamppost, followed an instant later by the impact of the truck on the left side of the cab. I was lucky that I was sitting on the other side, and, while I was shaken up by the two crashes, I wasn't hurt. The driver wasn't so lucky; he was unconscious and it looked like he had a broken arm. I jumped out of the cab, saw a police car approaching, and waved them down, telling the officer who was driving, "The cab driver is hurt; I think he needs an ambulance."

He quickly radioed for help, and then took a statement from me and the truck driver. By the time he was done, I saw that I was probably going to miss the flight I had planned. I grabbed my luggage, and he asked me, "What airline are you flying?"

"I was going to catch the shuttle to New York that's about to leave; I'm getting married tomorrow."

"You've been very helpful, and we can't get in the way of your wedding. Let me see what I can do." He picked up the microphone again and talked to the dispatcher for a moment. He then said to me, "Get to the gate as quickly as you can; they may be able to hold the flight for you."

I thanked him and practically sprinted for the gate. Unfortunately, the flight had left, but the gate agent arranged to have Sandy paged in New York to let her know that I would be on the next regular flight.

SANDY - Friday, April 6, 1962

When I got to the counter, the agent told me, "Your fiancé was delayed by an accident at the Washington airport; he'll be on the next flight in about an hour."

Of course, I started to worry about the accident, but realized that it couldn't be too serious if he was going to be on the next plane. I resigned myself to waiting an hour, bought a cup of coffee and a New York Times, then settled down with my coffee to read the paper and do the crossword puzzle. Finally, the arrival of the flight was announced. I got as close to the gate as possible, wanting to see and hug Steve the moment he got through.

There was a short delay while a couple of agents went through the gate with a wheelchair, and I was terrified that Steve had somehow been hurt in the accident. However, they soon returned with a teen age girl in the chair, one of the agents carrying a pair of crutches. Once she was out of the way, the other passengers were able to deplane. Steve was the fifth person off, and when I saw him, I rushed over and hugged him for dear life. Smothering him with kisses, I asked, "You're OK?"

"Yes, dearest love; I was just a bit shaken up, but I was held up helping with the police report. A truck sideswiped my taxi just as we arrived at the terminal. It could have been much worse; it was heading straight at us, but I yelled at the driver and he swerved. Even so, he was unconscious and it looked like he had a broken arm."

"You're here now, and that's what matters."

"I know, my love. We're together now, and it's going to be that way for a long long time."

"Mmmmm." We stood, still holding each other for dear life. Finally, Steve said, "Let's get my luggage and head up to Poughkeepsie."

We picked up his bags, and walked out to the short term parking lot. Soon we were on our way to Poughkeepsie.

"Tigger dear, Mom has this superstition about weddings, and..."

"Let me guess. I'm sleeping somewhere else tonight, is that right?"

"Yes, at Chad's. I'll say goodnight to you after the dinner. In the meantime, nobody will be at the house until late this afternoon, if you have any ideas about how we could make the time go by until then."

STEVE - Friday, April 6, 1962

The loving, sexy, tender look she gave me was priceless. I reached over, caressed her hair and her cheek, growled, and then said, "Darling Kitten! You are so delicious and so dear to me. I can't believe my good fortune."

"Our good fortune, dear love."

In another half hour, we turned off the parkway, and soon we were at her Mom's house. It was the first time I'd been there since Thanksgiving dinner. We went inside, and I once again wrapped my arms around her, holding her close and whispering loving words in her ear. Finally, she pushed me away gently, saying, "What about some lunch right now? We have time."

I realized that it had been a long time since my meager breakfast, and said, "Sure. A sandwich would be great! What are the plans for tonight?"

"Your parents and brothers will be here by six, along with Mary and Megan. She left Matt with a sitter. They'll all be staying here except for your brother Jim who will be with you at Chad's. Dinner is at seven at Kaal Rock; Chad, Liz, Sarah and Nigel will all be meeting us there. I invited Paul to the wedding and he said that he would be there, although his wife has another commitment. I hope that's OK with you."

"It's fine, even if he tries once more to hire me and get you back!"

"Well, I think he saw our relationship developing when we were working on the Reaper spec, and it's hard to imagine a better boss. Now, get two plates and glasses out, pour us some milk, and dish out some of the potato salad that's in the refrigerator."

We sat down next to each other at the kitchen table, and ate our lunch, interrupted from time to time by my putting an arm around Sandy and nuzzling her ear.

SANDY - Friday, April 6, 1962

I said, when we had finished lunch,"It's so nice outside, and we have time for a short walk around the block."

"I like that idea. Let's go."

Hand in hand, we took a short walk. I said, "It's nice, but a bit brisk. In another two days, I don't think we'll need these coats in Tucson. Fortunately, it's supposed to be nice tomorrow; sunny and not so cold."

"That will be nice, won't it? Of course, by the time we get to Washington, it will be much warmer there also."

We got back to the house and went back inside.

Steve took my hand, and led me to the comfortable armchair in the living room. He sat down, and pulled me onto his lap, holding me tenderly, caressing me all over, showing his love for me. I kissed him, and said, "If this keeps up, we're going to need a shower in a while."

"Oh, goody!"

We went into my bedroom and slowly undressed each other, taking plenty of time to caress and tease each other. When I couldn't take any more of it, I pulled him onto the bed. After holding each other for a few minutes, kissing and touching gently, I chewed gently on his ear and growled at him. His response was even more than I had hoped for; he entered me, slowly, gently, but decisively, and I shivered with ecstasy. We moved together slowly, but I could feel the gathering storm, and, from the way he was breathing, I could tell that he was also quite aroused.

Up and up we gently floated, luxuriating in the exquisite sensations, until finally we were caught up in the maelstrom, moaning, gasping, and shuddering as wave after wave of intense pleasure washed over us.

Afterwards, Steve again held me closely, gently stroking my hair. I nibbled on his ear again and murmured, "So dear, my love; so very dear."

"As are you, my precious Kitten."

I glanced at the clock, and said, "Darling, I don't ever want to let go, but if we are going to get that shower without getting into an awkward situation, we'd better get to it!"

"I suppose so. After today, though..."

I gave him a red-hot kiss and we went into the bathroom to shower. We'd cut it close; it wasn't much more than five minutes after we were dressed that Mary's Volvo pulled into the driveway. She helped Megan out, and got a couple of suitcases out of the back. Steve went out, gave her a hug, spoke to Megan, and brought in the bags. They were barely settled down when Mom and Walt came home, followed shortly by Steve's family who drove up and parked on the street. There were hugs and introductions all around. I started a pot of coffee while Mom showed the McCalls their room. When I came out with a plate of cookies, Jim was just walking in. Megan had a very puzzled look on her face as she looked at Jim, until Steve walked in. She ran over to Steve, crying out, "Uncle Stee!"

He put his arms around her, and said, "Yes, and this is my brother Jim. He's also going to be your uncle."

She pondered for a moment, and then said, "Two uncles?"

Steve answered, "Yes. Did you know that Uncle Jim lives right near you in Ithaca?"

"Mommy and I live in Ithicky."

Mary looked at Jim, and said, "Really? What took you there?"

"I'm an architect, and I joined a small, up and coming firm there. I really like the area. I have a small apartment in Collegetown, but try to get out in the country most weekends. I remember now, Sandy told me that you lived there, and worked for a seed company."

"Since you're near Cornell, do you get to many of the events on campus?"

"Yes, I like theater, and there have been a few concerts that I've enjoyed."

"I'm closer to Ithaca College, and I've been to a few things there when I can get a sitter."

I could see that Jim and Mary were starting to get acquainted, and I joined Steve, who had moved to the other side of the room with his parents. Ed was just telling Steve, "You should check out the birds when you get back to Washington in a couple of weeks; the spring warblers should be out in full force."

"Yes, the canal trail should be a good location."

"That, and some of the larger parks. Strangely enough, wooded cemeteries are often excellent places to look for warblers."

Mom said, "It's time for us to head for the restaurant. I think we can fit in three cars as long as one of them isn't Sandy's Sprite. Walt and I, along with Steve and Sandy, know the way. If one of us is in each car, nobody will get lost. Chad and Liz are meeting us there along with Sarah and Nigel; Chad will come back here afterwards and give Jim and Steve a ride over to his place."