Chapter 7

Over the summer Matt kept in touch with the four ladies he had met during his winter trip. Contact was either by email or phone. None of the ladies came to visit him in Joliet nor happened to visit Chicago that summer. He was a little disappointed by this lack of visits but they all had their own lives to live. In two months winter would arrive and he would start on another trip down to warmer climes. He planned on taking the same route he had the previous year. He wanted to visit with these same women and enjoy their company.

He often thought about his experiences with them and missed being with them. In many ways they were very similar to each other. They were: intelligent, accomplished, beautiful, educated, and sexually liberated. In other ways they were the opposites of each other because of their background or individual personalities. If anything further would develop in a relationship with any of these ladies Matt wasn't sure but he wanted the opportunity to see if something would.

The first opportunity came earlier than expected when Matt received a phone call from Sean on an October Sunday morning. He broke the news that Julie, Matt's daughter, had just given birth to a healthy baby girl they were naming Rebecca. Julie and the baby were doing fine. They both were very happy about this new addition to their family. Matt congratulated Sean and told him to give Julie his love and tell her he said, "She did good." Matt said he would be out the following week to visit and see the baby.

After making a flight reservation he spent some time thinking about going out to LA and about his visit. Since he was going to be out west anyway he would contact Anna to see if she was available. The following morning he placed a phone call and when it was answered he heard, "Mr. Faires's office. How may I help you?"

"I am wondering if you recognize my voice."

"Of course I recognize your voice. I am glad you called, Ron. The roses are beautiful and last weekend was something I have been constantly thinking about. I still am sore and walking funny. You were such an animal!"

There was a slight pause and then in a serious voice he said, "Anna, this is Matt, I sincerely hope you are kidding."

She laughed and laughed and finally said, "Yes Matt, I am. Gotcha!"

"Yes, you did. You had me going there. For a minute I wasn't sure what to say. I am going to need to watch myself with you. The reason I am calling is to tell you that my daughter Julie had a baby girl. Everyone is doing fine and I am going to be going out to LA next week to visit. I was wondering if you could take some time off."

"Matt, the last time you asked me if I was available we visited Hoover Dam at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Steve is still chuckling about that. I don't know if I will ever hear the end of it. What do you have in mind this time? Liberace's Museum?"

"Touring Hoover Dam at that time of day, I admit, was a bit unusual but you did enjoy your visit to the dam and you had a good time. Maybe it could be called a dam good time. At any rate this time I was thinking that if you could get some time off and fly to LA I could meet you there. We would take our time on a drive up north on the coast highway to San Francisco. We could stop and see Big Sur and visit Hearst's Castle and spend some time in Carmel. Maybe visit the wine country if we have time. I don't know if you have ever visited those places, but I haven't. I thought you might enjoy seeing them."

"No, I haven't been there and it sounds like fun. I haven't taken any vacation yet this year so time off is no problem. Let me double check and make a plane reservation. I will email you my arrival information into LAX. I do miss you."

Matt's flight to LA and his visit with Julie, Sean and the baby went well. The baby looked just like all babies do although Julie and Sean thought she was one of a kind. Matt would have been disappointed if they thought differently.

After a two-day visit he told Julie and Sean he was going to drive up north along the coast to do some sightseeing. He would probably drop the rental car off in San Francisco and head home to Joliet from there. He would come back to LA for the baby's christening.

The next morning at LAX Matt was watching the passengers coming into the terminal arriving on the flight from Vegas. He saw Anna and waved to her. Matt observed some of the male passengers eyeing her as she walked up to him. She greeted him with a smile on her face and then she gave him a long kiss on his lips right in the middle of the terminal. This surprised Matt a little and he thought that she really was glad to see him.

Anna took his arm as they walked to claim her luggage. There was a glow about her that excited Matt. He didn't realize how much he had missed this beautiful woman. Just being with her gave him such a good feeling.

The trip up the coast with Anna, to put it simply, was great! The time just flew by. They saw all the sights Matt told her he had wanted to visit. He didn't know if he spent as much time looking at those sights as he did looking at Anna. He thought that she was the best sight he was seeing on his trip.

The nights he spent with Anna were truly wonderful. He had brought his little blue pills with him but he wasn't sure if he really needed them. There was no lack of sexual stimulation from Anna. She had such a subtle way about how she looked and acted with Matt that coupled with her physical attractiveness just had him wanting to make love to her as often as he could. What was interesting was that Anna could sense when Matt wanted to fool around. There were no awkward moments in Matt telling her he wanted to make love. She just knew when it was time and made it so easy to transition to this stage of their relationship. The little things she would do such as touching him with her hand, taking his hand when they walked, being physically close to him at all times and flirting back at him when he flirted with her would, as they say, prime his pump.

When they arrived in San Francisco they continued to act like the tourists they were. They rode the cable cars, took a Gray Line tour, shopped along Fisherman's Wharf and visited Alcatraz. They also visited Chinatown and the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory.

Matt couldn't help himself but during this trip he compared Anna to Gloria, Helen and Candice. They were all outstanding and interesting women. They all possessed the features that a man looks for and wants in a woman, in a wife. The bottom line was in Matt's opinion that Anna possessed much more of these features than the other women. While others could have differing opinions about these women, this was Matt's opinion and to him his was the only opinion that counted. He knew that Anna was the woman for him. He hoped he was the man for her.

After dinner one night they were out on the balcony of their room looking out onto San Francisco Bay. Matt was standing behind Anna with his arms around her waist. His head was resting alongside hers. The smell of sea water and her perfume was stimulating. Sometime during this trip Matt had made what was to him was an easy decision.

"Anna, I have experienced many joys and some sorrow in my life. I don't know what the future may hold. I do know one thing however and that is I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me and being my wife? I love you Anna. Please say yes."