No More Wasted Time

"Oh dear, I guess I must have been tired last night when I put it on. Thanks." It was quick thinking on Jess's part, but it was probably wasted on Masie.

"You might as well take a shower after Dad's done. I'll keep Aisha and Jake busy for the next hour until it's time for us to leave."

"Leave for where?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't answer. Masie grinned and slipped out of the room. I turned to Jess as soon as we were alone. "Did our little girl just offer us some 'alone time'?"

"Not so little," she sighed. "She'll be driving in a few months."

"Maybe it's time we had the talk with her?" I thought it was a good idea, but Jess's surprised look made me second guess myself. Masie was a beautiful young woman, and I wasn't oblivious to the boys that had started to come sniffing around recently. "I mean, she's sixteen and..."

"Men!" Jess interjected with a loud sigh. "You're a little behind the times dear. I had that talk with her years ago."

"You did?" I asked in surprise. "Did it go okay?"

"Fine." I didn't like the fact that Jess was giving me a one-word answer, but in this case, it might be all for the better. Still, it was important to me that I be there for my kids.

"Is there anything I should know?" My question made Jess smile, lean in and kiss me.

"Only that Masie has a good head on her shoulders. Well, that and she's in no rush to get serious with a boy."

"Good to hear," I said, meaning it. "But if you had the conversation so long ago, maybe we should..."

"I touch base with her every so often," Jess interjected. "Besides, she talks to Bethany about boys. I guess it easier since Masie thinks of her as an older sister, despite the age difference. Bethany doesn't go into details with me, but she keeps me informed of the things I need to know."

"And who is supposed to be keeping me informed?"

"Me," my wife replied with a laugh.

"And yet, I didn't even know you had 'the talk' with her already," I said pointedly. Jess didn't seem remotely bothered by my reaction. "You will tell me when she starts dating?" My wife all but rolled her eyes at me. "I mean dating someone seriously. I know she's already had a few boyfriends."

"Of course." Jess paused before adding, "We need to talk about putting her on birth control soon."

"Already? She doesn't even have a serious boyfriend yet." I might have blanched a bit at the thought, but it's not like I hadn't faced it before. "Bethany didn't start until she had her first serious boyfriend."

"Who do you think suggested we start Macie now?" Jess asked. "Besides, the time to start birth control is before she has a serious boyfriend. The trick is finding a way to do it that doesn't make her think you're condoning her having sex already."

"I think I liked it better when you kept me in the dark." I was only half kidding. There were certain parts of parenting that didn't become simpler, no matter how many children you have.

"I figured. Why do you think I never told you I had the talk with her?" This time Jess out and out laughed at me. She also chose that moment to start fixing her buttons.

"You know, Masie did say she'd keep the other kids busy for a whole hour." I reached for my wife. "And it is my birthday." Jess shook her head, but came willingly into my arms. I started to unbutton the top she'd just fixed until she grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"I am not getting back into that bed until the sheets are changed! Someone decided to have a food fight."

"Well," I said with a slow smile. "Masie did suggest you take a shower after me. We could always conserve water and take one together?"

"There is that." My wife smiled, releasing my hand and letting me continue to undress her. "And as you seem intent on reminding me, today is your birthday, after all." Jess reached out to help me out of my own clothes. It wasn't long before we were both naked.

I'd come to know my wife's body very well over the last nine years, and it never ceased to amaze me. It might have grown a little thicker over the years, but it still got to me in all the right ways. It felt incredible when she came into my arms and pressed against me as we kissed.

"I'm being poked," she teased a few moments later as she pulled away from me and took my stiffness in her hand. She stroked it a few times before letting go and moving toward the bathroom. "I was promised a shower." Jess was looking over her shoulder at me in the sexiest way imaginable.

"Yes, you were," I laughed. "I'll be there in a minute."

I went to the bed and stripped the sheets as quickly as I could. I also grabbed the extra set from the closet. I put the fitted sheet on and threw the flat sheet over it. I figured that was good enough as I turned toward the bathroom.

It struck me that what I'd said to Jess earlier was true. It wasn't that having her in my life made me feel young, so much as it made me feel alive. I was more content at sixty with Jess than I'd ever been before. That made the number of years I'd lived almost unimportant. Not that I didn't want as many more as I could get with her in my life.

"Maybe I will cut down on the red meat."

"I heard that!" Jess cried from the shower. I snorted and started laughing.

"I said maybe!" I retorted as I entered the steam filled bathroom. Jess always liked her showers hot. I slid the glass door open and took the sight of her glistening body in. "Happy birthday!" My comment drew Jess's laughter as she welcomed me with open arms.

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one saying that." I stood back from our hug and looked her body up and down.

"Seeing you like this is the best birthday present ever."

"You must really love me," Jess joked, but then she grew serious and added, "And I really love you. Having you in my life has made all the difference." We kissed slowly and deeply, for a long time before she stepped back. "Now, speaking of birthday presents..." I groaned in anticipation, not that I had to wait long for what came next.

I would celebrate my birthday later with my entire family, and I'd enjoy it despite my grumbling, but it was the woman in front of me that really made it all worthwhile.

Life was funny. It had taken Jess and me a quarter of a century to find each other again. Some days I regretted that, but then I'd think about what could have happened if we'd never found other again. I'd also think about life without Bethany, Neil and the kids. That wasn't something I wanted to contemplate for long. Not to mention that if things had worked out differently then Masie, Aisha and even Jake wouldn't have been part of our lives. That was unfathomable.

Life was funny, but I had a strong sense that it had a way of working out the way it was supposed to, or maybe I was just lucky that way. Even if I had chosen differently when I was younger, there was no guarantee things would have worked out between Jess and me. We always loved each other, but maybe we needed the time apart to truly understand what that meant. Maybe not, but the point was that we were together now and that was all that really mattered. There would be no more wasted time when it came to Jess and me.

*****

I want to take a moment to thank Blackrandl1958 for editing this for me. I've never used an editor on anything I posted here before and I appreciate the time and effort it took to edit a 27K document. The resulting story is far from perfect and any errors you find are mine and mine alone, but hopefully Blackrandl1958 efforts allowed you to enjoy my tale a little better.

Regards,

JD