Elizabeth To Beth Ch. 02

"Sweetheart?" I suggested, smiling.

"You can be so frustrating at times, you really can." Beth said, taking my face in her little hands. "Will you braid my hair for me, I was thinking a French braid would be nice."

"Beth, I have to say this and then I will never bring up the subject again. You are not Bea and I'm sorry that I had your hair cut like hers because it wasn't fair to you. You are my woman now and my thoughts are only for you.... my eyes are only for you. You deserve a fresh start, and a home of your own; a place that we purchased together. If you ask, I will sell this house, this property and everything I own and I will never look back, I..........."

I put my hand over his mouth and I loved him more then ever, his selfless offer leaving me almost speechless. I know how much of himself that he put in this house and his barns and fields. As I said, Richard absolutely means what he says.... he would give up everything for me and I knew at that moment how truly I was blessed.

"No Sweetheart, no." I told him, putting my head on his chest. "I ask only one thing, and you have to promise. Do you promise?"

"Anything for you Beth, I promise." "But first, I want you to braid my hair, because I have two surprises for you."

He did a wonderful French braid for me and it was much better then I do myself and I'm pretty good at it. I sent him downstairs to wait for me by our fireplace, while I took care of his first surprise in the bathroom. I then went right to the fireplace wearing my white silk nightgown looking for his wedding picture on the mantle and it was missing. "Where is your wedding picture?"

"I put it in the closet. It is just you and I now and.....

"You promised, Richard and I am going to hold you to it."

"I don't understand? What does my promise have to do with my wedding picture?"

"Please go get it, Sweetheart." Richard returned with his wedding picture and handed it to me. I put the picture in its place on the mantle. "I want you to promise me that you will always keep that picture out on display in our home, and further when we have our wedding picture taken we will put it on the mantle piece next to it. There is no place that I would rather be then here with you in this cozy brick house. Besides I have already picked a spot for my Grandmother Clock, it would look perfect the top of the landing. I have put a lot of work getting my flower gardens in order and we have walnuts to gather and cider to drink under and I drive that old tractor pretty good now." I walked over to the window to look outside at the light dusting of snow that fell overnight.

"Elizabeth Susan...come here." He ordered in a quiet and commanding tone that I have not heard him use before. Keep in mind that I have lived most of my adult life as an independent woman, and as I have said, I can be a bitch at times. I have never allowed myself to be ordered about...I will always speak my mind, but I was drawn to that part of him, that no nonsense, unyielding discipline that he imposed on himself.

I walked over to him and put my head and his chest and I said, "Yes, Sir." He stroked the fine hairs at the nape of my neck. I actually enjoyed giving in to him. He was holding me so gently with his strong-callused hands and he was giving me goose bumps.... he made me feel so safe and secure. I could let my guard down and be myself with him and tell him anything now. He said something that surprised me, and his confession gave me another peek at his soul.

"I saw a lovely woman with a nice figure, clear complexion and youthful face. I saw intelligent hazel eyes, and a small turned up nose, and sensuous lips. Her hair was pinned up sensibly for work, neat and professional and her precious little were ears showing. She was wearing a white blouse and a dark gray skirt that day, with stockings and black pumps."

"I got out of my truck, smiling and I was fascinated with this pretty woman. She extended her right hand for me to shake and her handshake firm and sincere."

"She was confident and looked me directly in the eye when she spoke. The strangest thought or impression...feeling, perhaps all three came over me, as if an invisible hand was gently pushing me in her direction." ""Beth...Beth." I thought. If she were my lover, what a marvelous thought...yes, Beth it is. That is what I thought when I first saw you, Elizabeth Susan...my love... my Beth, before we were introduced and before you told me your name."

"My father was an atheist, therefore I considered myself one as well. Then Margaret took me to the Methodist Church on Sundays. I learned there that I was not an atheist but an agnostic. I could neither prove nor disprove the existence of God and I stopped going to church until I married Bea. I attended the Lutheran Church with her, mostly for social reasons and the good people attending."

"We agreed to disagree about the existence of God, although in my grief after her death I blamed God, cursing him and I turned my back on Bea's church and the good people there... in my arrogance, I confirmed God's existence, the hypocrite that I was then."

"The Reverend Fisher from Bea's church always described heaven as the absolute communion with God and where all people are spiritual soul mates with God, as the Angels always were. Then I saw you that day under our trees, my gift from an Angel... I would say soul mate, however that word is overused. It is coarse and banal in describing how I really feel about you, Beth.... God made the glorious daffodils and then my beautiful Beth in a pale yellow dress that moved about her like a cloud of yellow daffodils." Richard sighed and continued holding me, his Beth, and we stood there for a while, neither of us speaking.........finally I broke the silence.

"May I have permission to grow my hair waist length for you, Sweetheart?"

"You don't need my permission for that, my love."

"I know that you prefer my hair long and I will never cut it short without your permission."

"You may grow your hair waist length and you are right, I much prefer your hair long. Furthermore, you are forbidden to ever cut your hair short with my permission."

"Thank you, Sweetheart... Richard, I love going down on you but your hair tickles my nose, would you consider...."

"Only if you will let me shave your first, wait a minute.... was that my surprise?" And then he gently stuck his hand under my nightgown and lightly caressed my mons pubis, giving me goose bumps again. "Marvelous, I can't wait to go down on you, my love, I was going to ask you if you would do that for me."

I was thinking, "Wonderful, he approves and I love it like this, I feel so clean and fresh...mmm and so will he when I taste him."

"May I shave you now, darling, for you know what comes next?"

"After we put up our Christmas Tree."

"Christmas!! It is almost May and Christmas is so far away!"

"If I wasn't so stupid, stupid and stupid, I would have told you that I loved you instead of talking about pound cake. If I had told you, we would have spent our first Christmas together on Christmas, I can't wait 8 months, Beth. I called work and made the arrangements while you were making yourself taste delicious, however that will have to wait. We both have a week off and after our engagement party I thought you might like the time off together. Besides, when I helped you move I saw several boxes marked Christmas ornaments and they are still in the barn, untouched. I have Christmas decorations and between the two of us I am sure we will have a beautiful tree. I have a stand of blue spruce trees, Christmas Trees and I know where to get a fresh turkey, and by fresh, I mean fresh! I have a friend who raises them................................................"

We got dressed and then went out for breakfast, bagels with cream cheese, medium poached eggs and coffee I sat close to him in the restaurant and we planned our Christmas dinner, writing out our grocery list. Richard called ahead for the turkey on my cell phone. I was excited when we left the restaurant and the spontaneity of my big Sweetheart. I should have told him that I loved him first and saved his favorite coffee mug from sudden death.

As he always does, he opened my door for me, helping me in. This time before he closed the truck door, he leaned in and kissed me and squeezed my hand. My love was absolutely beaming because he was so happy.... Christmas in May; our presents to one another, simply each other.... God bless you, Sean, you Symplocarpus foetidus.

We were grocery shopping and I was in the can goods section trying to decide whole cranberries or cranberry jelly. Richard came up behind me unnoticed and wrapped his arms around my waist and then kissed my cheek, nuzzling my neck with his cheek and he whispered. "I have everything on my half of the list, beautiful, are you almost done?"

"I have to get the heavy cream for the pumpkin pie, whole or jelly?" I asked, turning to face him and holding up the cans. He put his arms around my waist and kissed my mouth. "Sweetheart, wait until we get to the truck." I whispered, not pushing him away and enjoying his show of affection.

"Well, I suggest you that you two buy a couple of ice scrapers, just in case. You never know when one will come in handy." Margaret said, standing there smiling................................

After we returned from shopping and put the groceries away. We then took the tractor (I got to drive it) out to the stand of blue spruce and picked out our first Christmas Tree together, a perfectly wonderful and fabulous 8-foot tree. Those trees were so fragrant with their pine scent and the carpet of pine needles was soft and yielding beneath our feet. Richard brought two wool blankets, a large and heavy canvas tarp, rope and a small lightweight chain saw with us. He spread the canvas on the ground and then showed me how to make a blanket roll and it was obvious what my Sweetheart had in mind.

We were shielded and secluded in our sanctuary of pines on that brisk spring day with the temperatures in the low-forties, early fifties and fortunately we were shielded from the wind. We undressed and then lay down together in between the blankets, the canvas protecting us from the damp ground. I could feel his rigid and unyielding manhood pressed up against me as he kissed me, while holding me in his strong arms and my tongue was soon desperately seeking his... "My God, he makes me so horny." I was thinking.

His strong hands were everywhere, touching, probing, while lingering and caressing and his tongue was driving me crazy with desire for him. Finally he went down on me, licking with his tongue, and licking me in places were there once was hair and now there was none. "You taste scrumptious, my love. It is so much nicer like this."

I had my hand over my mouth and I was moaning and pushing his head down between my legs with my other to my welcoming flower. He was driving me wild and bringing me to the brink of orgasm, and then backing off to start all over again. I was burning with desire for him; I wanted to come so bad.... he knew exactly what he was doing to me and I was getting frustrated in a good way. I had to remove the blankets and lie on top of them because I was getting so warm.

Twice he had to pull me back onto the canvas. I was sliding off for all my squirming, and I was fanaticizing about sucking on his shaved cock and balls while wearing his handcuffs.... I couldn't believe I was thinking that.... but only with him would I even consider it. I am generally quite reserved and will always comport myself as a proper lady. If someone told me one short year ago that I would be doing this at my age I would have not believed it and I would have been indignant and offended...and yet, I was doing it here with him, my Sweetheart and I loved him because he will always treat me like a lady and he will never speak of our intimacy to anyone.

Finally he rolled me over on my stomach and entered me from behind, ravishing me with his rock hard cock. Just as my orgasm was starting to peak for the final time, he wrapped his hand around my long braid and pounded me even harder. I buried my face in the blankets to muffle my screams as my orgasm washed over me, and Richard came soon after, rolling off and covering us with a blanket.

We took a short nap together cuddled in each other's arms, and it was wonderful because of the little sleep I had the night before. After our nap and we were dressed, Richard showed me how to operate the chainsaw and then let me practice with it on some fallen, dead trees. We cut down our special tree; we double- wrapped it in the canvas tarp and then slowly dragged it home behind the tractor with the rope. Once home, we unwrapped it and then Richard cut the bottom straight and level with a fine- toothed handsaw. He then shaped the bottom with a fine wood rasp so that it would fit tightly in the tree holder before tightening the screws.

We then went inside to set the dinning room table together. I finally got to use my Mother's and Grandmother's crystal, silverware and china as well as the embroidered linen napkins and one of the embroidered tablecloths from my cedar hope chest, putting the rest away in one of the empty but well dusted and polished China Cabinets. Richard gave Bea's Mother's & Grandmother's china, crystal, and sterling silver tableware to Bea's younger sister, Susan, to make sure that it stayed in their family were it belonged.

Once our Christmas Table was set, we brought the tree inside and secured it in place on the stand. We played Christmas music while decorating the tree, each using our favorite ornaments from years past and looking forward to buying more together in the years to come.

While we sat on the couch together admiring our tree and sharing a platter of cheese, crackers, apples and pepperoni, the telephone rang, and the call was from Richard's friend, Amos, advising us the turkey was ready. We then left together, bringing our snack with us for the one- hour ride to get our turkey.............

Amos was quite the character, he being a wizened little man of indeterminate age and he was barely five foot tall. He was dressed in clean but threadbare faded blue bib overalls, a green plaid flannel shirt, worn knee high yellow rubber boots and a new green John Deere ball cap.

He was tanned a deep nut brown and his face was a roadmap of wrinkles from all the time that he spent outdoors with his free-range turkeys. He had such striking clear blue eyes looking out from his face of hills and valley's, and perfect white teeth when he smiled.

Amos lived alone in a small run down trailer, however his turkey sheds were new and pristine with spotless concrete floors, plenty of light and ventilation and plenty of room for his small flocks. Richard told me that Amos was a confirmed bachelor who made his money in real estate and was actually quite wealthy. He also told me the he would be surprised if Amos broke even selling turkeys. We went to his small office where he was waiting for us with a bill of sale. As we entered, Richard made the introductions.

"Amos, this is Elizabeth Adamczyk, my fiancé. Elizabeth, this is my friend Amos Goldberg, the purveyor of the finest Kosher turkeys or turkeys in general anywhere in the world."

Amos stood up and took off his hat when he saw me, and he was smiling as walked over to us. He took my hand and kissed it, saying.

"I am very pleased to meet you, Elizabeth. It is seldom that such a lovely Lady visits me. I recognized you for a Lady the minute you walked in. Don't let my appearance fool you my dear, for I have experience in such things and I am never wrong. You must stay for tea, I insist. Do you like Earl Grey?"

"Yes Earl Grey would be lovely, thank you, Mr. Goldberg."

"Amos my dear, its Amos among friends."

And then he offered me his comfortable overstuffed office chair getting a hard metal folding chair for Richard and himself.

He then left and returned with a small teacart and on it was a complete sterling silver tea service, plus three fine bone china teacups & saucers. He served us our tea as if we were in his New York City Mansion instead of a tiny office in the corner of a turkey shed with turkey chicks in a brooder on the other side of the wall.... yes he was quite the character and I liked him immediately. Amos was charming and witty and immediately put me at ease, making me laugh at his funny stories, especially the ones about turkeys. Before we left he packed our turkey with block ice inside of a new Styrofoam ice chest and I promised him that we would stay longer when we picked up our Thanksgiving turkey.

We had a pleasant ride home listening to the radio. We stopped along the way for an ice cream cone; a strawberry cone for me and a chocolate cone for Richard; we shared, passing our cones back and forth. While we were sitting in the booth at the dairy store sharing our ice cream, he said.

"You should be honored because Amos is an impeccable judge of people." He grumbled jokingly that Amos always served him tea in a paper cup of barely hot water with a generic tea bag, and grumble or not that fact was true.

Further, he pointed out that Amos served me imported Earl Grey tea, strained and piping hot in a fine porcelain cups & saucers poured from a sterling silver tea service.

"Yes my Lady and my love, you made quite an impression on him. Did you notice that before he returned that he combed his hair? I have never seen him with his hair combed."

When we arrived home I put the turkey in the fridge and then looked for a roasting pan while Richard cleaned up the Christmas tree mess, saw dust, needles and such before he put everything away in the barn. I found the nicest roasting pan I had ever seen. It was made of blue & white speckled enameled cast iron with a stainless steel rack in the bottom and it was heavy and substantial. It would hold a turkey almost twice of the one we brought home and our special turkey weighed 25 pounds, an engagement gift from Amos.

Now that I found it, the pan could wait until tomorrow when we would have our Christmas dinner. While driving home and listening to the radio, the weather report called for a heavy lake effect snowstorm with up to three feet of snow by morning.... welcome to Western New York in March. With a week off it did not matter because we have plenty of food, firewood for the fireplace, a gas stove, candle lanterns and a diesel generator for electricity if need be... no doubt Richard heard the weather report long before I did, bless his heart.

It was already to snowing when my Sweetheart came into the house and he had snowflakes and melting snowflakes stuck to his red plaid wool-hunting coat. He reached up and hung it on the rack by the door. I put my arms around his waist and hugged him, putting my face next to his, and he smelled faintly of Aqua Velva.

"You smell nice and the tree is up." Richard took my hands in his and squeezed them, but didn't turn around... perfect. "Richard, I have been thinking, so please keep an open mind about this. I've decided to keep and use my maiden name after we are married."

Wow, he let go of my hands and I felt him tense up and then take a deep breath. Then he let it out and sighed and I felt his stomach and chest relax. He slowly turned around to look at and he had the start of a smile on his face.

"You almost had me there for a second, Beth. Please repeat what you just said, so I can watch the corners of your mouth turn up?"

"No!" I replied, turning my back to him and folding my arms, like he does.

He put his arms around my waist and nuzzled my neck with his cheek and he was giving me goose bumps. "What if I really meant it, would you let me?" I asked, reaching back and touching his face.