Part III
Life planning, meeting the parents. FYI: The story is lengthening a bit so it will be more than 4 parts.
A few weeks after they got engaged, Gwen and Henry started wedding planning and started having conversations about how their life together would unfold. They already knew they both wanted to have children, two of them to be exact, which was revealed in more casual conversations from when they were dating. But how was this all to work? And, as for wedding planning, Gwen decided she would do most of that herself, as Henry either had no opinion or his opinion, frankly, did not count, since she was the ultimate decision-maker.
One weekend evening, with their love-making complete and Henry firmly in Gwen's post-coital embrace, she raised the subject of children.
"I know we've talked about having children, but we haven't talked about how it would work with us both working. Have you thought about it?"
"Um, no, not a lot. I guess I sort of assumed that you would take some time off post-pregnancy and then we would do, what? A nanny? Daycare?"
Gwen sighed slightly. An out-of-the-box thinker on so many things in their relationship, Henry was thinking very traditionally right now.
"No, I don't think so."
Henry looked at her, quizzically.
"I don't think our children should be raised by a nanny or be in daycare... No, when the time comes, you will quit your teaching job and become the stay-at-home parent. I make far, far more money than you do--enough money for you to do that. And if I get that promotion next week, as I expect and have been led to believe, then that will make it even easier." She squeezed him just a bit tighter as she set down this new law between them.
Gwen did not mean for it to sound quite like the order that it was, but she thought, let's face it, it was an order, it was always going to be an order, he was going to be taking her orders the rest of his life, from the small and mundane to the large and significant. No other arrangement was going to be acceptable to her. There was no point in pretending in such an important discussion. There can be no ambiguity going into the marriage about how the children were going to be raised.
Henry was a bit taken aback by this. He hadn't really thought about it this way. But he was still the gentlemanly, timid soul that he had always been. As he did a quick assessment in his head, he realized the irrefutable logic of what Gwen was saying.
If someone was going to stay home, it made sense that he should be the one. She did make a lot more money than he did. Paying out the equivalent of most of his salary in daycare bills did not make much sense. His educational background would make it easy and simple to help the kids with homework, to deal with schools, even being a member of the PTA would give him a unique perspective as a former teacher.
Gwen was waiting for him to respond to her proclamation. It was clear she would say nothing more until he did so. Her silence brooked no opening for disagreement.
"Um, yes, now that you say that, it makes complete sense. I guess I will be a stay-at-home dad--maybe the first the school has even seen!"
Gwen broke out into a wide smile. She hadn't expected a big argument, but she wasn't sure how Henry would take it--he is essentially sacrificing his career to hers. But that's what happens with couples. Just because it has been the women giving up or delaying their careers to build a family doesn't mean we have to do it that way, she thought. I mean, it's not like a lot of wives are spanking their husbands at night before they "rape" them, so why should raising children be any more conventional for us?
She started kissing him, deeply, and fondling his cock and balls. She wasn't interested in another round, but he was already responding to her ministrations and was happy to bring her lover off as his reward. She held his arms tight with one hand, immobilizing him so she had complete control of when and how it happened. But just as he was about to cum, she slowed her strokes down to barely a touch and a whisk and mentioned one more thing.
"One other thing," she whispered in his ear. "When we are married, we will merge our finances. And I will be the money manager of the household. I will give you what you need, but all the financial decisions will run through me."
Gwen didn't need Henry to be on the brink of cumming to agree to that, she knew, but it was sorta fun to do this way! Henry could now barely focus on what she was saying, but he knew Gwen would be the head of the household--she was just making it official. He might not have appreciated how complete and dictatorial her authority would become in future years, even in front of the children, but he still wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Yes, of course," he gasped in the agony of lust. Gwen sped back up until Henry's cock erupted all over his stomach and her thigh. She loved touching his smooth, hairless skin and crotch. Once they had moved in together, Gwen found she wanted Henry hairless below the neck, so he was required to shave often. Fortunately, he was already naturally pretty smooth, so not much needed to be done to his chest, for example, but his crotch, legs, arms, underarms--she wanted him to have a swimmer's body--something had and done in high school!
The next day, they started to think about the wedding and, God forbid, breaking the news about their future nuptials to their parents. They each loved their parents but there were reasons why they both lived 500 miles away from them. They had told their parents they were dating but hadn't given up much information. Now that would need to be done. And Gwen wanted a spring wedding. As it was already early June, that meant next April or May. And being it was June and they now lived together, Gwen gave yet another order to Henry over lunch.
"I don't want you getting a summer job. I want you here to take care of me and the house. And it's time to give up your apartment as well."
Henry usually took a summer job, as many teachers did, since they had 10 weeks off in the summer. Some coached summer sports or did academic tutoring or activities; Henry himself typically painted houses.
"You should use the summer to get the house in shape, before the wedding, before we start having children. It could use a full paint job, inside and out, as well as a number of repairs. And then there's the cooking, cleaning, and other domestic work--the most important of which will be taking care of all my personal needs." She smirked at him, and he grinned back at her. What she really had in mind was to use this summer as a trial-run for Henry as a stay-at-home husband.
"Okay, yeah. That makes sense." He was already doing most of the chores around the house, so not having to work would actually make things easier for him. But it also meant he would need to get money from Gwen, unless he dipped into his not-very-large savings. "So, if I'm not working..."
"I will give you an allowance. It will be for groceries, dry-cleaning, you know, the usual household expenses. We will set up account for you at the bank where I will deposit it and you can draw on it. For bigger things, like the painting or other repairs, you come to me with an estimate and then we take it from there."
"Okay, that should work," he replied. He realized it gave him very little control over any aspect of their money, but he also knew that's the way she wanted it.
"Oh, and I want you naked as often as possible when doing your chores at home. I love the idea of being at work and you are here, working for me naked! And I especially like the idea of coming through the door in the evening to find you naked and working for me!"
Henry grinned. They discussed the practical considerations and limitations to that, but he of course agreed.
Over the next few weeks, both Gwen and Henry made weekend trips together to see meet each other's parents. Those encounters went fine, although it was clear that both sets were not exactly sure about this. They met Gwen's first. They flew to the city where her parents lived, stayed with them, had a lovely dinner Saturday evening, everything seemed to go swimmingly. On Sunday morning--there was none of their usual weekend morning activities in her parent's guest room--Gwen asked Henry to go take a walk just so she could get a sense of what her parents were really thinking.
After he had left, Gwen asked directly. "So, what do you think of him?"
Beth, Gwen's mom, answered first. "Oh, he seems very nice and very gentlemanly."
Gwen knew her mother. This was damning with faint praise. "But...?"
"Well, dear, he said he was a school teacher? I don't know, I always imagined that you would be with a big go-getter. And he's... a lot smaller than you, than all of us..." Beth herself was 5'11" and Gwen's father, George, a big man who hadn't said anything, was 6'1". It was clear where Gwen had gotten her height.
Gwen sighed inside. More outdated, or at least traditionalist, thinking. But she also knew she could put this to rest pretty quickly. "That's all true. Henry is a school teacher and I am taller than he is..."
"Dear, you look like you are twice his size!"
Gwen winced at the insult--to either herself or to Henry, she wasn't sure which it was.
"Well, Mom that's pretty shallow of you. And it doesn't bother us in the slightest and certainly shouldn't matter to anyone else. As for his career choice, I'm happy if he's happy. I make plenty of money--I was just promoted to senior management a couple of weeks ago, so..."
"Oh, that's wonderful," her mother replied. "Why are we just hearing about this now?" Her father, too, who never talked that much, also gave Gwen a look.
"Because now is when I wanted to tell you about it! In any event, we are both very happy--I have never been so happy in my life, never have I met someone who is so good to me, good for me, and frankly worthy of me. Henry is totally devoted to me, my interests, my career, the direction I want for us in life!" Gwen's tone brooked that that was pretty much the end of the discussion.
In the silence that followed that declaration, George finally broke it and said: "If you're truly happy, than that is all that matters and we are happy for you." He arched at eyebrow at his wife that said, there's no point in continuing this, she's made her choice.