Favorite Aunt – Ch. 8

Chapter 8
Nature Walk and a Nymph of the Forest

Ben went in to the kitchen and noticed the back door was open but the screen door closed. The slight movement of air through the opening smelled of earth, grass and flowers. The musty smell dissipated quickly and he took a couple of deep breaths. Jean rounded the corner into the kitchen.

“I opened the windows in the bedrooms to let the place breath some and clear the air.” She said and then noticed him standing at the rear doorway of the kitchen. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle giving him a hug. He crossed his arms to lay his hands on her arms and squeezed back.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this.” She said. She felt him sigh.

“I know I wouldn’t.” he said. She released her hug and put one hand on his left shoulder to turn him. He did and their eyes met for the umpteenth time. She knew her love was genuine as was his but also knew she wouldn’t be as attractive or full of vitality to pleasure him some day. He registered the slight sadness in her eyes and leaned over to kiss her. When he pulled away, he smiled.

“What’s the matter honey?” he asked. She tried to look deeper into his eyes wanting to understand why their relationship was happening and why she felt so happy and content yet disquieted about the nature of it and their future in it.

“Right now? Nothing. I can’t remember a time when I have felt so at peace and so contented than I do when I’m with you. But I must admit something.” She said.

“What’s that?” he asked curiously.

“I won’t always look like this or feel this alive. There will be a day when I can’t even make love to you. I can only give you what you need Ben. I can’t give you what you want.” She looked into his eyes. He had the look of a man who’d been stunned.

“I can’t believe that! You’re what I want.” he protested. She shook her head.

“I’m what you need. What you want is a life-long wife who’ll grow old with you and have grandchildren that will be playing at your feet.” she said. His head shaking slowly. “In a few years or ten, will you be happy screwing a sack of doorknobs or rubbing the bunions or feeding me and cleaning me up when I’m too old to do it myself? The hard reality is I’m happy with what I have right here, right now and I want to enjoy our love for as long as I can.”

She stood on her tip toes, wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him deeply. When they parted, both were a little breathless.

“I guess this means we’re staying for the weekend?” Ben asked. She responded with another kiss then pulled away, turned and went to a closet. She opened the door and pulled out something he couldn’t see. When she turned, it was a Swiffer Jet. She walked up to him and handed it over.

“You get to do the floors.” She said and went back to the closet. With a half-smile on his face he went to the bedrooms to get started.

Twenty minutes and a few wiping sheets later, the oak wood floors in both bedrooms and the short hallway were done. He kept his boots on since he was backing out of the rooms to prevent tracking dirt on the clean surfaces. He threw the trashed wipe pads into the garbage can at the end of the breakfast bar counter separating the kitchen and living room when he noticed Jean wiping down the walls and shelves in the kitchen. He stopped and watched her bent over wiping a spot on the front of a cabinet door at the sink. She stopped and looked behind her.

“No checking out the boss. Yet.” She said with a grin. Ben raised his hands in mock protest and went to work on the living room floor.

After finishing the floor Ben came back to the kitchen.

“Ready for me in here?” he asked.

“It’s all yours. I’ll take care of the living room dusting and the bedrooms. You get the bathroom this trip.” She said.

“You’re the boss!” he quipped and slapped her butt as she passed him to the living room. Jean stopped at the threshold to the living room and removed her boots. Picking them up she put them by the door and began to dust the furniture and wall hangings. Ben completed the kitchen after removing his boots and put the sweeper away in the closet. He saw a bucket with the familiar tools of a bathroom cleaning set and picked it up along with a couple of bottles of cleaners then went to start his next task.

A few minutes later Jean looked in on Ben and saw him cleaning the toilet and smiled. What a wonderful man this was.

“You’re looking really sexy.” She said with a breathy sultry tone. He looked up and screwed up his face in a grimace.

“If that’s what I look like in your eyes while cleaning a toilet, then it’s worth it.” He said. She blew him a kiss and went to dust the bedrooms.

After all the cleaning up had been finished and the equipment stored back in the closet, she went out to the old Baja racer she called a Puma to retrieve one of two electric coolers.

“Honey.” She called out.