Chocolate and Gold Ch. 03

"I'm sorry. Vannie told me how close you were. She talks about how she wants the man she marries to give her the kind of happiness you had. I guess that's the best anyone can hope for."

"Yes ... I suppose so. I'm starting to feel like I want to get back into some kind of life again. I can't go on mourning for the rest of my life. I'm still young, and by the look in your eyes a few moments ago, I can still attract a man," she grinned.

"Yes. You can be confident of that. I'm surprised you haven't been swarmed with suitors."

"Oh, I've had my chances ... but ... the timing wasn't right. I wasn't in the mood for a man companion. But ... things are changing. Maybe you and Vannie made me think about what I might be missing. I wonder if I can talk Vannie into sharing you," she said with another sly look.

I didn't have any comeback for that. I decided to smile politely and say nothing. I was saved when Vannie walked back into the kitchen, a quizzical look on her face.

"Sharing what?"

I was about to say something to cover up when I was over-ridden by Mariah.

"Oh, I was just mentioning to Harry that I am getting back into the mood to have a man in my bed. I thought you might want to share him."

"Mother!"

I got the impression Vannie was not in agreement. In the meantime, I could feel the heat in my face and was trying to look anywhere but at the two women.

"Just a thought, girl. Just a thought," Mariah smiled. There was the hint of the devil in that smile. I was beginning to think she might just be serious.

I was pretty well beat by the time ten o'clock rolled around. The ladies had served a fine meal, and that -- combined with the time difference -- pretty much put me under. I excused myself and headed for the bedroom. Vannie and Mariah were deep in conversation and Vannie said she'd be along in a while.

I don't remember much after brushing my teeth and stripping down to my boxers. I crawled into bed and was out before my head hit the pillow. A couple of times during the night, I woke to find a naked woman tucked into my chest or spooning into my back. It was a very comforting feeling and put me back to sleep almost immediately.

When I began to awake from a lovely dream, I took an inventory. Me, a naked woman behind me that was likely Vannie, sunrise, 5:18 on the clock radio, and a warm hand wrapped softly around my morning erection. It wasn't hard to tell where the dream came from. My bed partner was using my woodie as a handle to hold while she slept. She wasn't squeezing me and I could hear her regular breathing.

I was sure it was Vannie because of her scent. I'm not sure what Mariah's scent was, but I had Vannie's committed to memory. A very pleasant memory. I closed my eyes, attempting to go back to sleep, but it was impossible. There were too many very active sensations rushing through my body.

I tried my best to blot out the erotic messages that Vannie's grip was sending, but to no avail. I decided to let it stay where it was and let the stimulation of her presence flow over me. It wasn't difficult. In fact it was very pleasant. Maybe a little too pleasant. There might be a danger in my ultimate reaction to this stimulus.

I carefully moved my hand down to wrap it around her wrist, hoping to remove it from its present grip. She didn't stir and didn't let go. I needed a better method that wouldn't wake her. Perhaps if I tickled her lightly ... but where? I had my back to her and there were only so many places I could reach. Her breasts were mashed into my back, so that was out. I couldn't reach her head, so that was out. There was really only one place that might make her stir.

I slipped my arm carefully between us and allowed my fingers to find her slit. Using my index finger, I gently began to stroke her lips, touching them very lightly. I kept it up for at least a minute before I got a response. She was beginning to show signs of becoming wet and I heard her breathing change its pattern. I was messing with her dream now, and I could feel her body beginning to stir.

"Ohhhh."

The soft, sexy groan was further proof that I was affecting her and I continued, feeling the wetness spread and become more prevalent. Then she squeezed me. Hard! I wasn't expecting that and I let an "oomph" escape as she did.

"Mornin', lover," she rasped.

"Morning," I replied quietly, moving my finger into her.

"Oh, baby ... that feels good." Her voice was muffled into my back, but her hips were now moving in time with my probing finger.

"I didn't get to welcome you home last night, baby. I'm very horny for my big man. I've been dreaming about you all week ... waiting for you," she mumbled.

"Me too. If your mother hadn't been here, I think I would have taken you in the front hallway yesterday."

"Don't let Momma stop you. You can have me anytime you want me."

She began to tug on me, getting me to roll onto my back. As I did, her leg moved over me and she slid on top of me. Seconds later, she was pushing herself onto my now rigid erection. She was ready for me and we wasted no time in finding our place within each other.

I'm not a small man, but then Vannie is not a small woman. I was fully engorged in her, pushing my hips upward to begin our perfect dance. Vannie's head came up as she looked at me, a smile and I thought, perhaps a look of love. She was still sleepy-eyed, but fully aware of what was happening with us.

"Oh, baby, that's sooooo good," she crooned.

I warned, "It's going to be a short ride, girl."

"That's okay, there'll be another train along soon after."

With that I let go, shooting my week-long load into her in stabbing thrusts. Vannie went rigid at that, the now familiar convulsions following before collapsing on my chest.

"Glad you could join me," I kidded.

"It felt so good ... it was worth waiting for."

"Sorry to wake you up so early, but I think I'm on mid-Atlantic time."

"I'm on horny-for-Harry time," she giggled. "You can wake me up anytime."

"Roll over, babe. I want to taste you. I'm hungry for you."

Vannie quickly rolled onto her back, and bringing her knees up, spread herself open to me. I moved over her, slipping down until my face was directly in front of her perfectly smooth mons. I had one objective ... to pleasure my woman.

I spent some time bringing Vannie along, leaving her just short of an orgasm, almost teasing her into a frustrated state before allowing her to finish. She never complained, but I don't think she was far from it. Only the satisfaction she took from my efforts kept her happy.

I must have surprised her when I stopped suddenly, then moved up over her, pushing directly into her in one continuous motion. She gasped in surprise, but within seconds was demanding my stroking into her more forcefully. We were rocking the bed with our near-violent joining. It was just the way we both wanted it ... a powerful beginning to the day.

We came down from our mutual high, breathing heavily and lying side-by-side. Neither of us had anything to say. It wasn't necessary. Actions always speak louder than words.

Mariah must have heard us this morning. She had a wicked grin on her face when Vannie and I arrived in the kitchen. Vannie was the first to react.

"Did we wake you this morning, Mama?"

"Of course you did. I couldn't get back to sleep wonderin' when you two would calm down. I had a half a mind to come in there and see what all the commotion was about."

Vannie had the giggles at that point, while I was looking anywhere by at the two of them.

"I know you think I'm past all that, but I'm not all that old, young lady. I remember what it was like to be with your daddy. He might not have been as big a man as Harry, but he was plenty of man for me. You can't know how much I've missed him."

I had turned to listen to her and now saw tears forming in her eyes as she finished. I don't exactly know why, but I moved to her and took her in my arms. I felt very moved by her admission, and I understood the feelings of loss she was expressing. There wasn't anything to say, so I just held her gently. I felt Vannie join us a moment later.

"It's all right girl. I know you love this man. He's a fine young man, too. I guess I'm just jealous. I got to find myself a man of my own," she said with tone of conviction.

"What about that nice Mr. Bonner from the church?" Vannie asked.

"You mean Mr. Brower? We're just friends. I'm afraid he wouldn't measure up to my expectations," Mariah sighed.

"Oh ... and just what are those expectations?" Vannie taunted.

"Now don't you go bein' cheeky, young lady. I'm not so old and feeble I won't put you over my knee."

I couldn't help myself, I snorted a laugh. Vannie took a quick look at me and barely suppressed her giggle. The thought of Mariah manhandling all six feet of Vannie was more than laughable.

"Maybe I could just loan you Harry," Vannie volunteered.

"Hey! Wait a minute. Don't I get a say?" I was only partly serious.

"What's the matter, Harry? Don't you think you can satisfy Mama?"

"Child! Don't you go saying those things to strangers!"

"Oh ... Harry's no stranger, Mama. No stranger at all."

"That's enough, young lady. I don't want to hear any more. Behave yourself or you'll sleep on the couch tonight."

I was enjoying the banter and I think Mariah was as well. She had a saucy temperament that she didn't hide. I wondered just how seriously she would take a move by me. I would never know. I wasn't about to upset a very nice situation with Vannie. Mama would just have to find her own partner.

Saturday and Sunday were spent exploring Naples and Marco Island with Vannie as my guide. The people we saw were an interesting mix of well-to-do with working class. The working class seemed to be out-numbered and out-priced. I'm sure many of them must have lived elsewhere and commuted to work.

I still hadn't settled on any particular plan for the future. I was certain I wanted to stay near Vannie, but other than that, I wasn't sure how I wanted to spend the day while she was at work. Just sitting around didn't seem to be very appealing. Perhaps I could go fishing in the gulf, or swimming? I didn't play golf or tennis. The closest baseball game was in Tampa Bay, a three hour drive. I could see myself going up there for a weekend, but not just for a game.

It brought up the question about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Vannie and I had talked about it, but neither of us had formulated a solid idea of what we wanted to do. We just knew we wanted something meaningful. All we had to do was to define what that was.

When Vannie went to work on Monday morning, it didn't take long before Mariah was buttonholing me for a talk. I had expected it, but perhaps not the kind of talk it turned out to be.

"Young man, we need to talk." One thing about Mariah, she didn't beat around the bush.

I nodded my agreement. We were sitting at the kitchen table having coffee.

"That girl of mine is head-over-heels in love with you. I've never seen her like this. Oh ... she's had her share of boyfriends, but none of them got her attention like you did."

"I feel the same way about her, Mariah. I've never felt this way about any woman before."

"When I thought about Savannah having a mixed race relationship, the first thing I thought about was with a white boy. I sure never thought she'd take up with a giant Chinese guy."

I had to suppress a laugh, but considering she brought the subject up, I decided to treat it seriously. "Is my race a problem?"

"No ... I suppose not. It's just unusual, that's all. What kind of children will you have?"

This time I did laugh. "Well ... I guess the boys will look like Tiger Woods, and the girls ... will look like ... Tiger's sister."

Mariah burst out laughing. "I don't think he has a sister."

"Too bad, he doesn't know what he's missing. I've got two, and I wouldn't trade them for anything." It was at that point that I decided I'd better explain.

"Mariah, you have an exceptionally beautiful daughter, which is no surprise. I can see she gets her looks from her mother. My sister married an Asian man and has two beautiful children. Both my sisters are very pretty, and I'm told I'm not ugly, so I guess you just have to have faith that if Vannie and I do get married, and do have children, that the girls will be beautiful and the boys will be handsome."

She smiled and seemed to relax. "That makes sense, I suppose. You can take it from me that you are handsome. It's just that you are so big. I guess that makes sense though. Vannie is no little girl. She's two or three inches taller than her older brother. I don't know where it comes from. Her daddy was no bigger than me."

"Ah, well, I'm in the same situation. I'm the giant economy sized Zheng. I'm six inches taller than the tallest in my family, and that was my father. Both my sisters are average size. Go figure."

"Are you that serious about my daughter?"

"I wish I could tell you that I was absolutely sure. I know Vannie thinks she is in love with me. She asked me about love at first sight the first day we were together. I thought she was rushing things and I said so. It didn't slow her down at all.

"She's so incredibly beautiful that it's hard not to fall in love with her. On top of that ... and this is the strange part ... I had been having dreams about a woman that looked just like her long before I met her. So ... I wish I could tell you for sure, but I know I want to be with her. I guess that's the best answer I can give you right now."

"Vannie told me about that. Tell me what you saw and when you saw it."

I could see that Mariah was genuinely curious about my dream, so I told her everything from start to finish. She never interrupted once, and never showed any sign of skepticism throughout my entire narrative. She was absorbing every word.

She was silent for a few moments when I finished. I could see Mariah was deep in thought and I didn't want to interrupt her. At last, she stood, walked around the table, and stood behind me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gently.

"Harry ... you have the gift. There aren't many of you, but you are one. You have the gift."

I didn't move, but I was curious. "What is the gift?"

"Every now and then, God puts people on this earth who can make magical things happen. Good things. It isn't about winning money gambling ... it's about touching people close to you and helping them. That episode in the casino wasn't about winning. You didn't think twice about giving that money to Vannie because you knew it would help. You might not have known it at the time ... but you wanted to help."

"But ... that was the only time I've ever had something like that happen. I can't think of any other time that something that strange or unexpected happened."

"Perhaps not. Sometimes, another person is the medium. Maybe these things only happen when you are with Vannie."

I was shaking my head. "Doesn't it make sense that Vannie might be the person with the magic?"

"No. I'd know by now if it was her. She's your lightening rod. Maybe that's why she's so sure you're the man for her. She can feel what you give to her. She may not realize it, but I think it's very possible."

"I suppose there's no science book that I can look this up in, is there?"

Mariah laughed again. "No, Harry. No books like that. You just have to accept that you've got the gift. It's a wonderful thing, Harry. It will make your life better. It will make you better. You'll have your trials beforehand, but ... I'm sure you'll come through those and be a happy man."

"But ... only if I'm with Savannah?"

"That I don't know. That ... you'll have to discover for yourself. I have this funny feeling that you will be tested. I don't know how or why. It's just a feeling."

It was a strange conversation and one I didn't completely accept. Mariah seemed so certain, but I was a scientist by training. It went against everything I had been taught. Yet, what had happened in the casino, along with Vannie's incredible streak of sales success, tended to make me pause. How much of it was luck, and how much was something else? It was a puzzle I would have to give more thought to.

I spent the rest of the week exploring the local neighborhood around Naples. I visited the Ford and Edison heritage homes in Fort Myers, and took a nature tour by air boat near Everglades City. I learned a lot about southwest Florida in the next five days. Mariah accompanied me on occasion, and we enjoyed finding interesting places that she hadn't known about. It was a very pleasant week.

As always, Vannie would be home not long after five and would take up much of my time from then until we retired. It was a delightful obligation. We would talk about where I had been that day and what she had done at work. I think she envied how her mother and I were getting around during the day. On the other hand, she had my undivided attention in the evenings.

I'd been so absorbed in my time with Vannie and my day trips that I had completely forgotten to let my sisters and grandparents know that I was back in the country. I hadn't even checked my e-mail in several days. My cell phone didn't work in Europe, so I didn't even try to use it there. It was tucked safely away in my suitcase.

When I finally got around to logging on, I saw several e-mails from my older sister, Jeannie. She seldom sent me e-mails, so I opened them immediately. There were four of them, and they all had the same message. Contact her immediately! Important! I checked the dates and they were from last Friday through yesterday, Thursday.

I went immediately to my suitcase and groped around until I found my cell phone. I turned it on and saw the message sign. There was one from my sister. The content was similar to the e-mails. Call her! I did.

"Jeannie, it's me, Harry."

"Where are you, Harry? I've been trying to find you for a week." She sounded desperate.

"I'm back in the U.S. I'm in Florida. What's up?"

"It's Mr. Yee Fung. He needs to see you. It's urgent, he said."

Mr. Yee Fung was my late father's partner, and the man now running the business on our behalf. He was not a man to panic, and I had to assume this was important. It was early Friday afternoon in San Francisco, so I still had time to reach him at the office. I signed off with my sister, promising to call her back and let her know what was going on.

I immediately speed-dialed the office number and was rewarded with a familiar voice after the first ring.

"Mrs. Wong, it's Harry Zheng calling. I understand Mr. Yee Fung wants to talk to me."

"Oh, Harry. I'm so glad you called. Mr. Yee Fung isn't here right now. He's at his doctor's office. He said he wouldn't be back until Monday."

"What's going on, Mrs. Wong? Is he all right?"

"I shouldn't say anything, Harry, but ... he's sick. I think it's pretty serious and I know he wants to talk to you about what happens next. Can you come home soon?"

"Yes, of course. I'm in Florida, but I'm sure I can get a flight to San Francisco this weekend. I should be there first thing Monday."

"Oh ... that's a relief. I'm so worried, Harry. You're the only one who will know what to do."

I didn't understand that last comment right away. I would take the advice of Yee Fung Hong when it came to the business. I knew I could count on him. But if he was ill ... well, it would depend upon how serious it was. I promised Mrs. Wong I would be there Monday and hung up, wondering just what my meeting with Mr. Yee Fung would bring.

I looked at my watch and realized Vannie would be home soon. I needed to make arrangements to fly out of Miami on Sunday, if possible. I got on the internet and looked for a business class or first class non-stop ticket. I found one and booked it. It left at ten-thirty in the morning and arrived at a quarter-to-two, San Francisco time. If I left early Sunday from Naples, I could at least have Saturday with Vannie. I was sure she would be upset with my unexpected departure.