The Last Chimes of Fall

"Surprise," I heard someone say from the group. I looked around hoping to find someone who would tell me what the hell was happening.

"Personnel clued us in my friend," said Terry a companion photographer. "Today marks your tenth anniversary here."

"Happy anniversary;" everyone yelled as Jenny, the office girl, approached with a cake supporting ten candles.

It looked like we were going to have a party so I thought I'd better call Kris and let her know I'd be home late. When I talked to her she asked how late I would be. When I told her about an hour she said okay but try not to make it much later because George was at the house and wanted to talk to me about something.

I did enjoy myself at the party and walked into the house in a good mood. Company or no company, Kris greeted me in her usual, passionate way.

"I held off dinner until you got home honey. George is going to eat with us if that's okay. Oh, and one more thing," she said squeezing me a little tighter around the neck and giving me a second long, passionate kiss. "Happy anniversary honey, I wished I'd known."

"Hell honey," I said, "I didn't know myself until the party."

I walked into the living room. "Hi George, how the hell are ya?"

"Fine as frog's hair," he responded. "Hey, I understand congratulations are in order. Has it really been ten years? Damn; time flies when you're having fun, huh old buddy?"

Just then Kris called us to dinner. As usual, she fed Catherine and I fed Brea. George fed himself. After dinner Kris took the girls to get their bath and get them ready for bed. George wanted to talk to me about something so I got us a couple drinks and sat down on the couch.

"Brent, do you know Don Del Notto? He has a little commercial photography studio just off of Ohio Street."

"Ah, I know I've driven by the studio but I don't know him personally, no; Why?"

"Because he's selling his studio and I think you should buy it."

"What;" I couldn't believe George thought I should buy a studio. I was a press photographer.

"Listen to me a minute, Brent. We farm out some of our small product photography to this place. Hell, I'll bet we give him almost a hundred grand a year for shooting the stuff we don't have time for."

I didn't know the first thing about running a studio but the hundred grand a year caught my attention.

George continued, "Del Notto has a brother in Vegas who is very sick. Don wants to sell the studio and go out there to take care of him. I was talking to him the other day and you could buy that place for a song. Don just wants to get out and he's willing to sell the whole business for the value of the equipment."

"George, I doubt that I could afford it. How much is the equipment worth?"

"Forty thousand dollars," he replied.

"George, we're trying to buy a house right now. There is no way I could come up with that kind of money."

"Brent the house could wait another year. I'm telling you, if you let this slip through your fingers you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Just then Kris came out from putting the girls to bed. She had a small grin on her face. "So what do you think, honey?" she asked.

"Think, about what?"

"Ah, well," George stammered, "maybe I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't help telling Kris about the studio. Brent I'm telling you, you just can't let this go."

"And what do you think?" I asked looking at Kris.

"I think it's your decision to make honey, but I heard something about the house as I was walking out of the bedroom. If you're worried about buying the house, don't be. This apartment has been just fine for us so far and it will continue to be fine. You have to do what you feel is right. You have to listen to your heart, your head, and your gut; know this though, whatever decision you make, I will back you one hundred percent. I believe in you my love. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to doing, so whatever you decide, you will have the love and support of this family behind you all the way."

Wow, I thought as I sat there almost in shock from Kris' speech, would this really be possible. I had to admit, after ten years of constantly driving around the city at all hours of the day and night; sometimes having to go into dangerous areas in the wee hours of the morning to shoot a fire or some police action, it would be nice to work regular hours and from one location for a change.

I looked at George who was staring at me with a big grin. I looked back at Kris who, by now had sat down next me and put her arm around my shoulder. I thought how quickly life can change. I was twenty-eight years old. Press photography was the only work I'd ever known and now I was seriously considering jumping into another career. It was scary, but with George's help and the staunch support of my wife, I didn't see how I could fail.

"George," I said looking back in his direction, "I'm not jumping into anything yet but I would like to talk to this guy. I'd have to make sure whatever lease agreement he has would stand and for how long. I'd also have to make sure he's not going to leave me with a bunch of debt. All outstanding bills would have to be paid before I would accept the keys."

"Brent my friend," George said while laying his hand on my knee and giving himself a slight boost as he stood up, "I will get a meeting set up with you and Don. He's really a nice guy. I've worked with him for years. I don't think you will have any problems coming to an agreement and you'll find him as honest as the day is long. I'll call you Monday or Tuesday. I'm sure you can meet right at the studio and look around while you're there."

Kris and I said our goodbyes to George then relaxed on the couch holding each other in our arms. Kris knew I had a million different thoughts whirling around in my head. "You know what you need," she said.

"I know what I'd like to do," I replied with a grin. I didn't have to say another word. Kris knew exactly what I meant. I wanted to ravish her body.

"First," she said, "you need a nice warm bath...along with your own private concubine, that's me of course, to bathe you. After the bath you're going to stretch out on the bed and I'm going to give you a massage. I'm going to work on every one of those tight, worried muscles of yours until they're loose and relaxed. Then I will be the one doing the ravishing tonight. I am going to suck your cock until it's so hard it hurts. Then I'm going to ride you until all the worries and negative thoughts are a thing of the past. I am going to drain every drop of precious cum and every ounce of strength from your body and when it's all over, the only thing on your mind will be pure, unadulterated euphoric bliss. How does that sound?"

"Talk, talk, talk," I said with a big smile. "When do we begin?"

"Right now," she said standing up and pulling me toward the bedroom by my hand.

Kris did everything she said she would and more. Sometime around two in the morning, she finally cuddled up into my arms with a very satisfied look. A few minutes later we both drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

If Kris' night of sexual bliss was designed to put me into an adventurous mood, it worked. By the time George set up the meeting between Don and me, I had pretty well decided to go for it. As long as there were no surprises and everything looked good, and as long as I could get a business loan, Del Notto's photo studio would have a new sign out front.

And so; 'Brent's Commercial Photography,' was born.

Not once since turning the key in the new lock to the front door, was I ever sorry. For the first few weeks George would send me work during the day, then stop over after hours and show me how to light and shoot it. It wasn't long though, before I was shooting without George's help. I studied hard and even surprised George with more creative lighting techniques I had learned on my own.

One by one I sent the older cameras into the factory to have them updated and reconditioned. In the first year I made a little over a hundred and twenty-five thousand in total receipts. By the end of my second year I was up to two hundred grand and at the end of my third year I was doing over a quarter of Million.

It got so I couldn't handle everything alone anymore so I first hired an office girl to schedule appointments, keep the books, and just help out in general.

By now my landlord was feeling sorry that he hadn't raised the rent when I first took over. Del Notto wasn't doing all that well so he kept the rent low to help him out. Now; however, he realized he left a lot of money on the table. The space was easily worth another three to four hundred a month but I reminded him I still had another two years to go before the end of my lease.

Then I saw an opportunity for both of us and said I would make him a deal. There were three rooms in the back of my studio that he was just using as storage. I told him, if he would clean them out I would rent them for an extra four hundred a month. He was more than eager to take my offer. He got his rent increase and I got the room to expand my business.

Next I had to hire another photographer. He was a young kid straight out of college after receiving his master's degree in photography. He still had a lot to learn but he was a quick study. I had no doubt that he would learn everything I could teach him, then someday go out on his own and take some of my clients with him; it seemed to be the nature of the business.

Over the next few years, things seemed to calm down. The business pretty well hit a plateau but we were in a very comfortable position financially and I had no intentions of expanding anymore, at least not just yet.

My personal life was also cooling off a little. About a year after buying the studio we found our dream house, a four bedroom, three bath Victorian on a three quarter acre lot. The moment Kris and I saw it we knew it was where we would raise our family.

I spent an average of ten hours a day in the studio while Kris was doing a fantastic job of raising our children. Both Brea and Catherine were now in school and I guess the empty house syndrome was taking its toll on Kris. We had always made love at a fever pitch, but lately it had gone from a hundred and three degrees to about ninety-eight point seven. I supposed, after nine years of marriage and two kids, one should expect something like that.

In five months it would be our tenth anniversary and I had a plan that would, hopefully, bring our love making right back up to that high fever. Every year we tried to take a little vacation but always with the kids of course. We always had a great time but I was really looking for a nice, romantic get-away with just the two of us.

Yes, I could see the Virgin Islands in our future. When we were there for our honeymoon we rented a little cottage behind the hotel that owned the property. It had a living room, a bedroom, a little kitchenette and it was only steps from the beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

Of course that was almost ten years ago. The hotel had changed hands twice since then and I didn't even know if the little hut was still standing. It took me a couple hours and several long distance phone calls before learning the new name of the hotel and the fact that the little hut was indeed still there, and was still being rented out. I immediately reserved it for the week of March first the following year. Now all I had to do was figure out what to do with the kids for that week.

I wasn't about to leave them with my folks. In his old age my dad had lost what little patience he ever had. He would be yelling at them from the time they got there till the time they left. No, my folks were out of the question.

That left Kris' mom and stepfather, but they lived in Colorado. I wondered how they would feel about staying in Chicago for a week. I called and first made them promise not to mention anything to Kris before asking if they would be interested in babysitting. Since they lived so far away they didn't get a chance to see their grandkids that often and jumped at the chance. My plan was coming together.

I really wanted to surprise Kris at the last minute with our second honeymoon so I was on pins and needles for the next several months worrying about her parents making a slip, especially around Christmas. They flew out and spent three days with us, but thank God, never said a word to spoil my plans.

I was hoping the holidays would brighten Kris' spirits some but as soon as they were over she went right back into her slump. Our sex life was suffering even more than before and I was literally counting the days till March.

On February twenty-seventh operation 'little grass hut,' was launched. I had arranged for a limo to pick Kris' parents up at O'Hare and bring them straight to our house. A little after seven in the evening our doorbell rang. The look on Kris' face was absolutely priceless as she looked at her mother and step-dad standing on our porch with suitcases in hand.

"Hi honey," said Greg, the man she had known as her father since childhood. "We were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop in for a visit."

Kris screamed with delight and hugged them both. "Ah honey," I spoke up. "Shouldn't we invite them in?"

"Yes, yes of course," she responded. "I'm just so surprised to see you guys. Come in, please. Gad," said Kris still getting and giving hugs, "it's so good to see you."

The kids, who were upstairs in their rooms, heard the commotion and came down to see what was going on. When they saw grandma and grandpa they welcomed them with excitement. It took several minutes for things to calm down. I could see Kris was just full of questions but we still hadn't quite gotten over the greeting stage yet.

Once the initial shock was over I brought refreshments out for everyone. "How did you get here from the airport?" asked Kris. I could tell she had a ton of questions.

"Brent sent a limo for us," said Audrey, Kris' mother.

"Brent did?" Kris looked at me with a question mark in her eyes. "You knew they were coming and you didn't tell me?"

"Honey, if I had said something it would have ruined the surprise," I said.

Kris smiled at her folks. "Oh, of course, you're here for our anniversary." Kris got up from the couch, put her arms around my neck, and planted a big sloppy kiss on my lips. I heard the kids groan.

"Well yes honey." I said after getting my lips back. I looked into her eyes and smiled. "They'll be here for our anniversary but we won't be."

For a second I thought I saw terror in her eyes but I knew it must have been more questions. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the airline tickets.

"Happy anniversary," I said handing them to her.

She looked at them and gasped putting her hand to her mouth. "Honey; oh my God, we're going back to the Virgin Islands? Really?" she had tears in her eyes when she looked back up at me.

"Yes darling," I said almost tearing up myself. "Your folks are going to baby sit for us while you and I are lounging on the beach in St. Thomas right in front of the same little hut we had for our honeymoon."

At that point I think Kris forgot about her parents and the kids. She jumped on me, put her arms around my neck and hung on while wrapping her legs around my waist. Then she smothered me with a deluge of kisses. That was exactly what I was hoping for, I had my Kris back!

St. Thomas was even better this time than it was ten years ago; for one thing we had more money to spend. Even though the hotel had a new owner it hadn't changed much. We ate our dinners at the same outdoor restaurant and fed the iguanas from table scraps. During the day we shopped the many specialty stores scattered all over town. We went hiking in the mountains, swimming in the ocean, and took pictures of all the historical sights.

One that Kris loved in particular was a beautiful old tree, ancient enough to witness Sir Francis Drake himself as he stood on the high bluff overlooking the bay, just waiting for an unsuspecting galleon loaded with pieces of eight.

The evenings we spent at the outdoor bar we enjoyed last time; located right on the beach, it allowed us to drink our Pina Coladas as the warm tropical waters kissed our toes at high tide.

Of course we did all this in between our love making sessions. I think we probably screwed more than on our honeymoon. Kris was insatiable and I was so happy to have my wife back that I was up for just about anything.

We never even got to sleep on our last night. After a Mai Tai or two, we were back inside our hut. Before removing my own clothes, I slowly and sensuously undressed Kris, meticulously undoing one button, one zipper, one clasp at a time.

After getting horizontal, as my wife would say, we lay facing one another and gazed into each other's eyes. For a brief moment I thought I saw an unfamiliar look, almost guilt, but I knew I was wrong. What would Kris have to feel guilty about?

She closed her eyes as I rained kisses down in all those little areas that drove her wild. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk the next day but I didn't care as I brought Kris from one orgasmic episode to another using my highly honed oral skills.

Several times during the night the skin around my cock was stretched so tightly it was painful, only for a little while though, Kris saw to that.

We were like kids again. We just couldn't get enough of each other. We cared not of the hour, but of our passion for one another. Finally spent we lay cuddled in each other's arms and kissed goodnight. A few minutes later we both started to laugh as streaks of sunlight broke through the bedroom window. It was time get up.

Kris squeezed my hand as she watch the island getting smaller from her window seat. A lonely tear fell to her cheek.

"We'll be back," I told her trying to cheer her up. "And it won't take us another ten years, either."

I guess it's true about traveling. No matter how great the trip, it's always good to be home. Such was the case when we pulled into our drive. The kids were the first to realize our presence and came running out to the car with hugs and kisses for both of us. The grandparents waited just inside the door with big smiles. Just judging by everyone's mood, I guessed everyone had a good week.

Once inside we did a replay of all the welcome home hugs and kisses; of course we had presents for everyone. Both Catherine and Brea were ecstatic with their seashell jewelry. Kris adorned her mother's neck with a beautiful, precious stone necklace, and I gave Greg an expensive gold watch. I won't even tell you how much I spent on Kris down there; after all, it was our anniversary.

The next day we took Kris' parents to the airport and sent them back home with our profound thanks. After that things pretty much returned back to normal, everything except our love making that is, it continued to be as passionate as it had ever been on the island.

For the last five years the neighborhood Fourth of July party was our responsibility. We had a great grill and a good sized back yard so we didn't mind a bit. Kris really got into sending out the invitations, always coming up with some clever gimmick.

I remember the day in late April when I came home a little early. Kris was busy cooking with her back to the door and didn't even hear me come in. Her laptop was open on the kitchen table with the list of the people she was going to invite to the party. Silently I was browsing the names.

"You forgot Rita and Jerry," I said. Poor Kris jumped a foot in the air. "I'm sorry honey," I said with a slight chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Kris was gasping for breath with her hand on her chest. "You scared me half to death, Brent. Don't ever sneak up on me like that."