They talked it out a little while longer and agreed to drive to Amyâ parents on the day after Amyâs doctorâs appointment, which was tomorrow. Marc walked Amy up to her apartment and when they reached the landing in front of her door Marc walked backwards into the darkest corner of the landing and drew Amy in after him. Marc stopped when he backed into the wall; he wrapped his arms around Amy and pulled her close to him.
Amy looked up and wrapped her arms around Marcâs neck as he looked down at her, their eyeâs fixed momentarily on each other and then their lips touched. Each closed their eyes and lost themselves in the arms of the other. This was their first kiss as lovers since their time on the boat and for each of them the memories came flooding back. For Amy she once again felt the love in the way Marc held and kissed her and she realized what a fool she had been to ever doubt him. For Marc the feeling of Amy in his arms and the taste of her lips on his brought every memory of their time together on the boat flooding back. In the months it had been since he had held her in his arms he had thought many times of how empty his life would be if he never held her again. And now that she was in his arms again the fear and emptiness that nagged him just seemed to drain away.
The kiss they shared in the dark corner of that second floor landing was long and loving. It was fulfilling but not completely satisfying. The hunger each had for the other wouldnât have been satisfied if they spent the whole night kissing in that corner. As they kissed Amy became more frightened that Marc would make a move to take it farther than the kiss. She knew it was silly and that Marc loved her, but the thought of her skin being touched caused a trickle of sweat to run down her spine.
Mark watched Amy disappear as her apartment door closed, blowing her a final kiss through the narrowing gap of the closing door. As he headed down the stairs, he looked back over his should at the dark corner that provided the cover for their goodnight kiss. The memory of his lovers lips on his lingered in his mind and he thought to himself that he could kiss her forever. Ya, he thought to himself, he was sure that was something he would never get tired of. Itâll be a lot better though when sheâs in my bed and after the goodnight kiss she snuggles in my arms instead of disappearing behind a door as I trudge down the steps. Tonight though as he was kissing the sweet lips of his young lover he fought the urge to let his hands roam over her body. They stayed on her back, between her shoulders and no farther down than her waist. They hadnât discussed it yet, but Marc could only assume that Amy wasnât ready yet to be touched in a sexual way. They needed to have a talk about their physical relationship, but until they did he wasnât about to risk upsetting Amy by touching her.
Part 2, Tale of Two Cities
When Amyâs eyes opened the next morning her room was flooded with bright golden sunlight. Amy slept in the following morning, because she could, not starting school it lifted a big demand on her time. She got dressed, ate quickly and headed out on her bicycle for a long and exhausting ride. She returned, showered and waited for Val to return so they could grab a bus to get to her doctors appointment.
During the appointment, Dr Sheela, that was what she had asked Amy to call her, questioned her about her sexual history, she asked how long Amy had been having sex. When she said only once before the rape the doctorâs demeanor took on a kind of sadness. Itâs a terrible thing to say Amy, Dr. Sheela had said to her, but I suppose your fortunate that the rape wasnât you first time. Dr. Sheela asked Amy if she had enjoyed her first sexual experience and the doctor could tell by the tone of Amyâs voice and the look in her eye that she really had. Good thing thought the doctor to her self, hopefully she can use the pleasant memories of her first time to help her deal with the nightmare of the second. When the doctor finished asking Amy about dates, her first sexual experience, the rape and date of her last period; She performed the examination and ultrasound and confirmed that the dates seemed to match the results of her exam.
After the exam was over, Dr. Sheela asked Amy if she had reported the rape and then asked her if she was seeing anybody to help her through her situation. Amy explained that she had visited the rape crisis center in Minneapolis over the summer. One of the last things the doctor said to Amy was that she must be a pretty special student for Professor Daniels to pull in a favor like this. In spite of her effort not to, Amy blushed as she said that Professor Daniels was a very sweet man. The doctorâs voice sounded a bit tinged with skepticism, as she replied, yes, I suppose he is. Then Dr. Sheela asked about her ring and Amy explained that she had gotten engaged a couple nights ago. The doctor said that it was really nice to get engaged on your first day back from summer break, it must have been from someone you hadnât seen since spring, was it a big surprise? The last thing Amy said before leaving was, âa very big surpriseâ.
That night Marc appeared at the door of the girls apartment with his arms full of Chinese take out and a long stemmed red rose in his teeth. Marc had decided that delivering the daily flowers in person avoided the possibility of further confusion and the Chinese take out was because they decided not to go out. They were leaving early the next morning for Amyâs parents so staying out late didnât seem like a good idea. They sat around on the floor eating Chinese as Amy told Marc about the doctorâs visit. The doctor said I was due on March 14th and that Iâm healthy as a horse, she said to keep up the exercise and my eating habits and she prescribed a vitamin. She said the heartbeat was very strong, but had a little flutter to it, she said that was nothing to worry about and that except for how I got pregnant everything was perfect. Marc asked Amy if she found out if it was a boy or a girl, but Amy said that she hadnât. Then Marc asked Amy if Dr. MacDermot had talked to her about how she got pregnant. Amy said she had but that she didnât want to talk about that now.
After the kiss good night on the landing that night, Marc pressed his lips to the palm of his hand and then placed his hand on Amyâs belly. Looking directly into his young loverâs eyes he whispered to her, "Since I met you il mio molto amava, âweâ has become more magical than you or I. And since this has happened âthe three of usâ has become even more magical than âweâ."
Amy rested her head on Marcâs chest as his arms held her close, she softly said, âprofessor, you're very, very hard to resist when youâre so sweet!"
Marc stroked Amyâs hair as she rested her head against him. As he caressed Amyâs hair he said to her, âyou know Amy, neither of us has ever done this before, even with our age difference parenting will be something we can share as a first experience for both of us. I think weâll be good parents Amy. I know Iâll be a good one if for no other reason than Iâll love the babyâs mother more than anything it can possibly imagineâ. Amyâs hands came down from Marcâs shoulders, she placed both her hands on top of the one he held to her stomach and with a tear draining down her cheek said in a squeaky voice, âthank you Marcâ. In spite of the emotions of the moment, the squeak of Amyâs voice caused Marc to start laughing even as he tried not to. As his laughter calmed he said, âGod Amy, it sounds like Iâm marrying a mouseâ. She slapped him on the arm and said âsee ya in the morningâ, as she turned and disappeared behind her closing apartment door.
At 6:45am the following morning Marc was holding the car door as Amy climbed in. She picked the red rose off the seat as she sat down; she liked the idea of Marc delivering the rose to her personally every day. Marc climbed back in the drivers seat and they were off. The glistening black BMW 750iL blasted across Wisconsin toward Amyâs hometown of Rochester Minnesota. As it did Marc asked Amy more than once if she was sure of how she wanted to handle this. Marc offered to speak to her father, but Amy continued to refuse saying that he would just explode at Marc. Amyâs plan was to go in by herself and break the series of news items to her mother. Amyâs parents still didnât know about the rape, so obviously the pregnancy would also be news and she would top off her news flashes with her engagement. When the bombs had all been dropped Marc would come in and to meet Amyâs mother and they would be gone long before Amyâs father got home. It would then be Amyâs mothers job to pass the news on to her husband.
The plan seemed somewhat cowardly to Marc, but Amy was sure this would work out best. And when Amy and her mother came out of the house and met Marc in the front yard, he made the same offer to Amyâs mom, but she agreed with her daughter that Amyâs plan was the best way to handle things. Marc was very impressed with Mrs. Chaseâs composure considering the string of shocking news she had just received. They all went into the house where Amyâs Mom served lunch and they continued to get to know each other. By the time they left Amyâs mother still wasnât sure that marrying a man as old as Marc was an ideal situation, but she did appreciate the kindness Marc showed toward Amy and Mrs. Chase gave Mark a hug and a kiss on the cheek, welcoming him to the family as they were getting back in the car to leave.
As they drove away Marc told Amy what her mother had said to him. âYa sheâs a soft touch for a handsome guyâ, Amy joked, âplus she likes older men and your almost five years older than mom. Iâll bet that gray in your beard really turned her onâ.
âCut it out Amyâ, Marc said with mock sternness in his voice. Then he went on to say, âIâm glad it worked out so well Amy, you seem like a weight has been lifted from youâ.
âYou have no idea Marc, thank you for taking me here today. If it wasnât for you I donât know when I would have told themâ, the relief was evident in Amyâs voice. They talked a little longer, but soon Amy was curled up sleeping in the soft leather seat of the speeding car. Marc assumed she hadnât been sleeping well, add to that the dumping of todayâs emotional baggage and the fatigue caused by the pregnancy, he understood why Amy zonked right out.
Marc slowed the car so he could steal a glance at his beloved Amy more often. Besides the slower he drove, the longer he could watch her. He couldnât think of the proper words to describe the sight he saw in the seat next to him. Alluring, captivating, entrancing; the words were piteously unprepared to describe the sight he was looking at. He pulled into the next parking area and just sat there looking at Amy. She was so beautiful, innocently beautiful, delicately attractive, captivatingly lovely. In the end he just sat there and cried at the thought that she loved him.
The next day didnât start as early in the morning as the previous, but it was still pretty early when Marc collected Amy and her bags with the Land Rover. Back at Marcâs house they walked the first load of gear down to the boat which was docked pointing in the opposite direction from what it had been the night they had dinner. After the gear had been stowed and they were back on the dock, Marc told Amy to close her eyeâs, that he had a surprise for her. Marc guided Amy along the dock to the stern of the boat, turned her around so she was facing the boat and said, âOk, you can look nowâ. Amy opened her eyes and quickly looked to where Marc was pointing, the stern of the sailboat. There scripted across the back of the boat, in gold trimmed crimson lettering were the words âIl Mio Molto Amavaâ.
âOh my god!!â, Amy gasped, clasping both hands over her mouth. She glanced at Marc and then back at the boat, her hands dropped from her mouth, but all she could say was âMarc.....â, and then she just stood there with her mouth hanging open.
âYou were rightâ, Marc said, âA boat needâs a nameâ.
âBut Marc, I cant take your wifeâs spot on the boatâ
âYour not Amy, it was an empty spot, and now itâs not. The stern of the boat is just like my heart Amy, it was an empty spot, and now itâs not.â
Amy moved close to Marc, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling his lips to hers. She was still whispering âthank youâ as their lips touched. As their lips parted she whispered, âI love you Marcâ.
Looking into his lovers captivating blue eyes Marc said softly, âand you are Il Mio Molto Amava, forever my much loved, forever my Amyâ.
The wind was freshening, the sky was blue and the sails were full. The newly christened âIl Mio Molto Amavaâ sliced the surface of the water carrying the two lovers south toward Chicago. During the night they spent together in the spring, they had been on the stern bench of the boat about the starlight and that got Amy talking about city lights and she mentioned that she really liked Chicago, so Marc arranged for the first days of there get-a-way to be a sail down to the windy city, some time there and a sail back. Amy was so excited when he told her that she actually jumped up and down.
The first night Marc offered to sleep in the guest cabin, letting Amy have the master cabin. Amy accepted the sleeping arrangements without comment, even though Marc was hoping she would say something about them sleeping together. The following night in Chicago their suite in The Drake had two bedrooms off the parlor. The view of Lake Michigan was equally breathtaking from the parlor or either of the bedrooms, so when both bedrooms were used, as they were that night each occupant could enjoy the view. The second night in Chicago after dinner at the hotels Oak Terrace Restaurant, and two different jazz clubs the sleeping arrangements were the same. Marc had talked the band in the last club they were in to do an instrumental version of âtheir songâ in the hopes that Amy might be in the mood to share a bed, but it didnât turn out that way. It was a longer sail back than to Chicago and that would mean two nights on the boat and both of them were spent the same as the one down had been.
