Chapter 10

“When you apologized for being hard when we needed to undressed to get in the hot tub, I thought to myself, “Why is Mark apologizing for liking what he sees?” She was holding Mr. Johnson. We were still in bed, enjoying the moonlight flickering off the lake.

Abby took my proposal rather emotionally.

“Oh ... My ... God...” She burst into tears and threw herself into my arms crying as she tried to speak. Her tears were like a river instead of a trickle. Either she was happy for us to marry, or she was certain she would crush me by refusing. Apparently I was going to have to wait to find out which.

Eventually she got control of herself and looked into my eyes with a look of utter amazement. “Do you really want to marry a used, broke and broken woman? Mark, I’m thrilled but are you certain? I have nothing to bring to a marriage but me...” Another tear showed as she admitted her plight.

“Of course I’m sure. I would have married you when I was in ninth grade. It wasn’t a crush, Abby. For the only time in my life, I fell in love. When the bus knocked me down and you appeared, God finally answered my prayers and brought you to me.

“I love you so much. Can you love me enough to be my wife ... forever?”

Abby looked stunned. It was almost as if she were too stunned to react when I reaffirmed my commitment to marry her. I watched her face reflect the thing going on in her head. It was easy to understand how much difficulty she could be having since it was just a few days ago that she was freezing to death, homeless, filthy, and starving.

Finally the clouds of confusion cleared from her face, and she launched herself into my arms, tearing my slacks and shirt off, pleading with me to make love to her, “before I burst into flame and burn up into ashes.”

We came together like two opposing forces. Abby jammed me as far inside her body as she could manage, riding me like a cowboy would capture a wild horse. Her eyes flashed with the fire of her passion, and when I came she thundered into her climax, screaming at the top of her lungs, “YES!!! OH, YES!!! I WILL MARRY YOU!”

What we put that poor bed through was just terrible.

“What would you say to us seeing if we can find an officiant and get married on Christmas Day?” We were just finishing our shower following spirited, athletic, passionate, sex. Abby gave me a look that was part hopeful, part lustful. The idea of a Christmas wedding must have appealed to her. “I can check with the concierge and see what magic they can perform. For what we’re paying for this suite, having them find us a pastor willing to work for thirty minutes on Christmas Day should be very reasonable.

Abby’s smile was tinged with worry. I knew she was thinking about something she didn’t have, needed, or just hoped for concerning our ceremony. “I need a dress but I’m penniless, Mark. I can’t even afford to have my hair done. I’m afraid the people here will laugh at me trying to get married looking like I just came don off the mountain.”

I took her in my arms. “My darling, haven’t you heard? You’re marrying a wealthy man which makes you rich. If we started not it would be hard to spend all of it before we die. What’s mine is already yours, including my heart. Be careful with it.” Abby smiled and then sighed into my chest.

“I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about this. “I had debit and credit cards ordered in your name. They were waiting when we got to my apartment. I was waiting for the right moment to give them and the checkbook for the account I had opened in your name at the bank back home.

“Right now you have two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars in your checking account. It might be a little less when they charge us for the checks and overnight service, but it is a lot. Your debit card goes to another account with several million dollars in it. The discover card has an eighty-thousand dollar credit limit on it. They’re in your wallet, and your checkbook is in my suitcase. It’s all yours. You can do anything you wish with it.

“As for the dress and hairstylist, we can have the hotel bring you some dresses to choose from and they will have a seamstress on staff to deal with any alterations necessary. They already have a very high class hairstylist who will take perfect care of you with all the charges automatically going to my bill.

“My darling, Abby; You will not have to worry about money ever again. Once we’re married I will set up a trust for you that will have plenty of money to take care of you if I should die someday. You already have a very high class health insurance plan, along with vision, dental and prescription drug coverage. The card is also in your wallet. I put it there days ago.

“Once we have a permanent address we’ll find you your own doctor, gynecologist, dentist and eye doctor who accept our insurance plans, so you don’t have to pay anything when you have an appointment. I will spoil you for the rest of my life. That is a promise you can count on.” Abby sat silently, thinking about all the new news. I would have given the facts out over time instead of all at once, but she was needy and I wanted her to know I was thinking about her all the time.

The hotel came through with a clergyman for Christmas Day. Their dress shop provided just the dress that Abby wanted for our wedding, and her on-staff seamstress altered it perfectly before the end of the day. It didn’t need much alteration, but no premade dress was going to fit Abby perfectly. Her figure was hers, and it wasn’t ordinary.

Their kitchen provided a small, very elegant wedding cake and we scheduled our wedding for two PM on Christmas Day. I asked Abby to marry me on December twenty-third, and the hotel got all of that done in one day. It cost a lot, but we needed a lot. After all, it was Christmas.