Chapter 6

"That, my dear, is us returning to civilization. That's telling me that the utility power's been restored and I'm ... we're still on generator. I need to go flip the switch and shut the generator down." I stood up, naked. She smiled.

"Come here," she said. "You're dripping."

I stepped back and faced the bed, letting her soft, warm mouth clean my dick and balls. I dove into her wet pussy with my mouth and returned the favor, then we both got out of bed and went to the utility room to perform the needed operations.

Standing in the utility room, she looked at the back door, then looked at me and smiled. Her head tilted in what I knew was the lead-up to an adventuresome question. She smiled at me, then broke into a grin. "Outside? In the sun?"

"Why not?" I answered. "Just a little while. Don't wanna get caught."

We walked hand in hand, naked, in our back yard. "I could get used to this," she laughed.

"Maybe I need to get us a privacy fence so my baby can run around naked."

"So WE can run around naked," she countered. "And do this!" And she knelt and sucked me.

"Stand up! Let's go get a blanket."

She was giggly, following me to retrieve a blanket and then we were out in our yard and I was amazed at the effect that this fifteen year old's physical attractiveness and enthusiasm had on my forty one year old libido. I was already hard when we got the blanket spread and she lay down and I mounted her and took her, wildly, vigorously, her unmuted cries ringing over the open fields and marshes surrounding us. We came down together and then gathered up the blanket and retired into the house.

I was breathless and my baby was glowing. "Wow! Baby! That was wild! Did it excite you as much as it did me? Really?"

"Gosh, yes, little girl. That was our fourth in twenty-four hours and the second in an hour. Guys my age can't do that. It's gotta be YOU!"

"Mmmmm, thank you," Nikki said, kissing me just inside the back door. "I think it's US!"

"Yes, that's it, baby. It's us. Together. All I ever wanted was you. Even before you existed. Before I knew you. I've been looking all my life and now I have you. We have each other."

Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Work. Work. Work. Work.

Yes, school was supposed to start on Wednesday for the handful of the students in the parish. I made a phone call to give them an address and yes, they'd dispatch a bus to pick Nikki up at the house. I had to wonder about the number of students who'd be on that bus. On my drives back and forth to work I'd not seen a lot of activity at any of the few homes that had survived the storm.

I called Sheriff Richard. I was pleasantly surprised to be called by my name when he answered. Apparently I was on his phone list. "Dan! Why, hello, newlywed," He said.

"Hello, Ernie. How're things goin' in the sheriffin' business?"

"Well," he said. "We're getting out of the mad scramble. Some people are comin' back, what with the utilities getting done. And some of them have homes to live in. We'll start seein' FEMA trailers for others any time now."

"That's what I was callin' about. I just set Nikki up to go back to school and they're tellin' me they'll send us a bus to get her. How's that gonna work?"

He said, "Best information I got is that she's gonna go north out of the parish to school, and from your end of the thing, there's probably a dozen kids, kindergarten to high school. And it'll pick 'em up. I don't know when they plan on openin' our schools back up. One' of 'em's gone. The middle school and high school, they'll need some work. Maybe they'll open by January."

"Okay."

He asked, "So how's YOUR business?"

"Oh," I answered, "Kinda like yours. We've finished panicking. Most of my clients are up and running, or darned close. I'm about to go back to regular hours."

"That's good!" he exclaimed. "Remember! We get together soon, okay?"

"I haven't forgotten. Neither has Nikki. We'll call you."

"'Kay, Dan. Talk to you later."

I went by the office and checked on a few things. Saw Steve. I stuck my head in his door. "Hey, Steve."

"Hey yourself," he said. "You dropped a couple of techs off the Salzburg project. It's winding down?"

"Yeah," I said. "Two guys can finish up working a regular schedule. We'll have to go back in in a week or two when the new stuff comes in and we can put the load back on the repaired equipment. But it's pretty much done there." We continued talking about the other projects I was working on.

"And in the middle of all this, you stopped to get married?"

I grinned sheepishly. My social life wasn't a normal topic of discussion with outsiders. "Yeah. I did."

He asked, "Was this something that's been going on for a while?"

"Nope!" I said. "Hurricane. Call it a whirlwind romance."

Steve laughed. "That's BAD! Well, when the town gets back to normal, maybe we'll get all the guys and their wives together for a dinner. You know, for appreciation."

"That'd be nice," I said. "Anyway, I gotta go. See you tomorrow." I called Nikki as soon as I got on the road. "Babe, I'm on the way. Be there in an hour."

"I missed you, honey," she cooed. "I'm putting the fish on the stove right now. Court bouillon. I hope you like it!"

"I can't imagine not liking it, sweetie," I said, privately thanking generations of caring Cajun grandmothers.

"An' we got cable and phone an' stuff. The guy came by today to check on us."

"That's good," I said. "Life is getting back to normal."

She laughed, "The new normal. 'Cuz I got a husband and you got a wife, and things'll never be the same."

"You're right, cutie," I said. "They just get better and better."

"Yes they do," she said. "Now you hurry. I missed you."

I pulled into our driveway a half hour later. Clear roads meant faster commute. As I shut the door on the truck behind me, the front door opened revealing my Nikki standing there in shorts and a logoed t-shirt. She rushed out to kiss me in our front yard.

"I don't care who sees us now. You're my husband!" Her arms were around my neck as an SUV with a magnetic sign pulled into our drive.

We walked down together. The SUV was assigned to a federal agency, and the occupants were surveying the hurricane's aftermath.

We all shook hands and exchanged business cards and I pretty much burst their bubble when they found out that not only had I weathered the storm right here, but that I had no damage.

"So," the senior guy asked, "what you're telling me is that you have zero storm losses?"

"Yep! That's it."

"But how? Houses are torn up all over the county ... uh ... parish!"

I smiled. "That's not my observation, man," I said. "Get away from the storm surge, and you'll see the seventy year old houses did pretty well. The twenty year old and newer houses got torn up. That's the way they USED to build 'em."

They regarded me coolly. "But your house. What'd you say, six or seven years old?"

"Yes it was. And designed and built by a freelance consortium of eminently qualified engineers." I pictured the motley crew sitting around the table in the kitchenette after work, But, hey! We WERE eminently qualified.

"Who would that be?"

"Me an' the guys I used to drink coffee with at the plant."

The older guy snickered. "That's interesting. What about utilities?"

I showed them the generator, the propane tank and my well.

"Wow!" the junior guy said. "That's the way people should do it."

"They won't, though. I paid a fifteen percent premium to build this way. And $10K for the generator. And I haven't had to pay for anything yet, but I put the well in out here before they came up the road with the community water system, and it's gonna cost me to keep it working. But it's worth it." I gave Nikki a squeeze. "We didn't miss a beat after the storm. Lights. AC. Water. And peace and quiet." I motioned toward the rubble pile next door. "What about that?"

The senior guy said, "According to what I've been told, there's a contractor lined up to finish the demolition and cart the debris off. Maybe next week."

Nikki piped in, "Uh, can you, like, call us when they're supposed to start. I used to live in one of those apartments and maybe I can get some of my stuff out."

"We can try to do that. But I can't promise you much. It's a private contractor and you can imagine how independent they are right now."

I laughed. This got me a look from the pair of agents.

Nikki giggled. "I can imagine. My husband's an independent contractor, and he's been a complete asshole for three weeks!"

"Oh yeah?" the senior guy asked, "What'd'ya do?"

"Electrical engineer. Industrial power systems!" I ran quickly down the list of my projects since the storm.

"If you need work..." the junior guy started.

"I got more work than I know what to do with. I NEED time off!" I laughed.

They laughed with me. "So," said the senior. "How much propane did you use?"

I told him.

"Sign this form and we'll get you a reimbursement for it. Storm loss."

"Hey! I appreciate that. Heaven knows that you guys are getting' a deal for your money!"

"How's that?"

"You should see the hit that federal income tax gets out of my check."

The senior guy laughed. "Well, this is a way to get a little back." And they got in the SUV and left.

Nikki and I went inside into the kitchen and enjoyed dinner together.

Conversation at the table wandered around and came to the beginning of school. "I'm torn," she said.

"Torn?"

"Yeah, baby," she said, "Last year, livin' with Mom, school was kind of a refuge for me. I could go an' hang out and stay out of trouble and there wasn't much stress. I mean, except for some of the kids..."

"There's always that. Even when I was in school..."

"Yeah, but I mostly ignored that. But this year..." she smiled wistfully, "When I go to school, I'm gonna leave OUR house. An' you know, I have enjoyed bein' here takin' care of our home and making breakfast and dinner for us. It's been really nice."

"I know. And I have really appreciated it, too, baby. But school's something you have to do."

"Don't get me wrong," she said, "I like learnin' stuff. But I am going to miss bein' here when you come in, with dinner on the stove."

I finished the last bites off my plate and pushed back from the table. "Believe me, babe, I am going to miss that too!" I patted my full belly. "You're a better cook than most women four times your age."

"Awwww, thank you, baby!"

"But we gotta get you through school."

"Oh, I'll GET through high school," she said. "And YOU'RE gonna help me. Remember?"

"Yes, I remember."

Her brow knit. "Dan, do I come off as intelligent? I mean, you work with engineers and they're supposed to be smart. How do I stack up?"

"Smart. You do things on your own that show me that you want knowledge. And you catch onto things quick. And you're an excellent conversationalist. I'd think you're above average. Way above average."

"Really?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Really. And that's why you're going to get your act together in school. What I see in you, I want others to see in you, at least your intellect. I've seen a lot of you that I want to keep to myself." I chuckled.