Laura's Cardinal

Laura's Cardinal

This is a story of one love being taken and another found.

Like all of my stories, this is a slow build.

The usual. Everybody is over 18 and all sex is consensual.

They say that seeing a Cardinal is a happy sign. That the red bird is a representative of a loved one who has passed on. They usually show up when you need them the most or miss them like in times of loneliness or despair to let you know that they will always be with you.

As Cardinals sing their pleasant song, people may recall cherished memories of better times.

This is one such story.

..................................................

The snow fell gently and quietly in large flakes. They say that each snowflake is unique as there is and never has been one exactly the same. It was a visit that I would make every year on the afternoon of the first snowfall of the season. This was the first - the hardest.

Standing before the black granite headstone. My eyes filled with tears leaving wet trails down my cheeks as I read the inscription one more time.

Until the twelfth of Never, I'll still be loving you.

Laura Mari Swanson

June 15, 1996

To

October 22, 2023

Long may your star shine bright

Off to the left were two intertwined hearts, and on the right was a picture of a star, like you would see on Christmas decorations.

Tracing first the hearts and then the dark engraved letters of her name on the cold stone brought a cry of sorrow from my empty soul that was muffled by the snow-covered trees.

My emotion-filled voice to my Laura with words that sometimes became caught in my throat and garbled in my emotions.

"I'm here, my love. I'll always be here for you. You always loved the first snowfall of the season as the grays and browns of autumn were blanketed in the soft whiteness of white virgin snow."

Brushing away the start of many tears at what I knew I was about to say.

"I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with you. Then I realized that you spent the rest of your life with me. I know that you loved me till the day that you went away. The day that you were taken from me. And I will keep loving you till the day that we're together again.

"We always said that we'd walk together hand-in-hand. I fell behind. Wait for me. I will find you. No matter how long it takes. No matter how far I must journey. I will find you. And we will spend the rest of eternity together as it was meant to be."

My tears falling on that cold piece of stone, which never seemed to accumulate any snow. Like it was being warmed from below.

The sharp chirp from a Cardinal that was perched on a snow-covered branch brought me out of my emotion-filled state. One more chirp and the red bird flew off into the snow-covered trees.

.....................................................

We met in our senior year of college. It was purely coincidental, as many things in life that were meant to be, began. We ran in different social circles, mainly because of the paths of our education and hopeful careers. Laura was working on her teaching certificate, as an elementary teacher and I was on the Computer Science path. We each lived off-campus on the opposite sides of town from each other, so the possibility of our paths crossing was remote... if non-existent.

Midway through the Fall quarter while heading toward my car, there was a commotion off to my right. A guy ranting and waving his arms over a petite diminutive girl on the ground with her books scattered around her, cowering under the verbal onslaught. I always tried to maintain a sense of just 'blending in' never finding the need to be outspoken and bold. However, the sight I watched made my blood boil.

Standing maybe eight feet away, still unnoticed, "Hey. Why don't you just leave her alone?"

Glaring back, "Fuck off. This is none of your concern. Just keep going."

By now, a small crowd of students had gathered.

"You're wrong. It is my concern. I don't know, or care, how you were raised, but my mom and dad always taught me that that's no way to treat a lady."

With a challenging smirk, the Neanderthal just said, "And just what the fuck are YOU going to do about it?"

I wasn't a fighter. In all of my life, I had never been in any kind of physical altercation. The guy was taller than I was by at least a good six to eight inches and outweighed me by at least fifty pounds, and I could tell that it wasn't all fat.

From the gathering crowd, I heard from my right, "Well maybe he'll have some help," as a guy about my size stepped forward and then another and another.

The smirk vanished. He glared back at the girl, "I'm not done with you bitch," and bullied his way through the crowd.

My body shook as the 'Fight or Flight Response" started to slowly ebb. I must have blacked out for a brief moment. When I came around my arms were around the sobbing body of the petite woman who had her face buried in my chest.

The crowd was dissipating, but one of the guys who stood forward with me was at our side with the woman's purse and books which had been scattered during the altercation.

Our eyes met. He was a simple-looking guy. Who, just like me would blend in into any crowd.

"Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you and the others hadn't stepped up back there. You'd probably be scraping me off the bark of that tree over there."

With a friendly smile, "Hey. No problem. I've seen that jerk around. He's just a total asshole. Just watch out for yourself and her. Do you know her?"

"Nope. Never seen her until just a few minutes ago. By the way, I'm Steve."

"Greg."

By this time the woman had calmed down and reached over and gave Greg a hug and whispered, "Thank you.... Thank you for everything, Greg. I'm Laura."

"You take care, Laura. And like I told Steve here, watch your back."

Standing in front of me, I could tell that she was petite as she looked at me through a pair of puffy soft brown eyes with gold streaks. I later discovered they were similar to the 'Tiger Eye' gemstone. Her soft face was framed by her long chestnut brown hair that hung down around her shoulders.

She stood a few inches shorter than my five-foot-eight-inch frame. Since it was a warm autumn afternoon, she was wearing a pair of mid-thigh shorts and a button-down V-neck pastel blue blouse. The lack of any noticeable curves did not go unnoticed by me. Laura grinned as she saw me quickly checking her out.

I felt my face redden in my embarrassment.

"Well Steve, this one hell of a way for a guy and a gal to meet. And you haven't even introduced yourself... to me anyway," she grinned again.

"I guess you're right. I mean when I woke up this morning the last thing that I envisioned for the day was rescuing a cute damsel in distress. I'm Steve."

"Nice to meet you, Steve," then ginning, "You think that I'm cute?"

My face once again flushed in my embarrassment.

"You're so cute when you get all flustered. Oh, and as you heard, I'm Laura. Do you have any more classes this afternoon?"

"No. I was on my way to my car."

"Well, I'm done too. Let's go someplace quiet and get to know each other. For some reason, and I don't know why, I have a feeling that I'm not supposed to just say 'Thank you' and then just leave. Something is telling me that we need to get to know each other. Is that OK? I mean... unless you have a girlfriend or you don't think that it's a good idea."

"No, Laura. No girlfriend. And, yes, I'd like to get to know you better."

So that's what we did. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the patio outside the Student's Union cafeteria at a quiet table away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world sharing some fries and cokes. Learning and describing how we wound up here. How she wound up in the precarious situation that led to our meeting was never brought up and I didn't press the issue.

After that afternoon, we spent every free moment together. Over the next few weeks, we experienced the joys and feelings of a deepening emotional connection that was unlike anything either of us had ever felt before or knew existed.

That connection that was born that first afternoon, blossomed into the kind of love that was only found in fairy tales. Our commitment and devotion to each other were cast in stone on a cold winter night in the warmth of her bed. For the first time in our young lives, we opened our hearts and bodies to another person and tenderly gave ourselves to each other, and then in the morning, the afternoon, and well into the next night. After that weekend of joining and bonding each of us knew that somehow, the rest of our lives would be spent together.

We made it through the rest of the school year without any further incidents. After graduating in the spring of 2018 we knew that we would spend the rest of our lives together, we just didn't know where.

We each had grown up in small farming towns in Northern Illinois and knew that was where we belonged and not in some large inner city or suburb. Laura figured that finding an elementary school teaching job shouldn't be much of a problem. My career path was more specialized. But we found employment close to both of our families, which by another one of life's strange coincidences were in neighboring towns

Setting up our little apartment together was fun. Our first bed and bedroom were initiated before anything else was unpacked.

Needless to say, our parents weren't exactly thrilled about our living arrangement. But they knew and saw the deep love and connection that we shared, and that we were going to do it anyway, with or without their approval or acceptance. After reassuring each set of parents that we knew what the next step would be, it helped to ease their concerns.

We were married in the spring of 2020 in a non-denominational church that was full of friends, family, and relatives. She looked like an angel coming down the aisle all dressed in white. Through the thin lacy veil, her brown-gold eyes shined with a radiant smile that could brighten any day.

During our premarital meeting with the minister, the subject of our living arrangement came up. While not judging, he explained that marriage between a man and a woman is a wonderful union. Not just the

physical

union; but the deeper union of two hearts and souls joining to become one with each other. That our wedding night should be one of joy and of anticipation. Again, not just the physical; but the anticipation of joining and spending the rest of your lives together as husband and wife.

Then pausing for a moment, he just suggested that to make our wedding night special, we commit to each other to refrain from intimacy for the following six weeks until after the wedding.

He watched with a gleeful smile as we read each other's thoughts and wordlessly gave our commitment to each other.

Music had always been our way to express to each other our deepest feelings for each other. Two songs in particular always brought a tear no matter where we were when we heard them.

With a gentle smile, Laura cupped my face in her warm and soft hands as Celine Dion's song 'Power of Love' softly began.

The whispers in the morning

Of lovers sleeping tight

Are rolling by like thunder now

As I look in your eyes....

A kiss to my lips as Laura spoke the words as Celine sang in the background.

...Cause I'm your lady

And you are my man

Whenever you reach for me

I'll do all that I can...

By the time the song ended, we were in tears. In the middle of the dance floor, our lips met as she added, "I'll always be here for you... No matter what. No matter where. Just reach out for me. And I will do all that I can."

We mingled. Everybody complimented Laura on how radiant she looked, which was true. My Laura. I had never seen her so full of life so vibrant... so alive. I don't think the smile ever left my face from the moment the minister pronounced us "Husband and Wife".

Taking my Laura to the dance floor for my dedication to her. She knew what was coming, still the tears were forming. Cupping her face in my hands, my thumbs gently stroked her cheeks. Our eyes connect as we each look deep into our life partner's soul as the soothing voice of Johnny Mathis, 'The twelfth of Never' began.

You ask how much I need you...

... I need you oh my darling like roses need rain

You ask how long I'll love you, I'll tell you true:

Until the twelfth of never, I'll still be loving you....

Our lips meet. Followed by a kiss on her forehead as a sign of my everlasting love and devotion.

...

I'll love you till the clover has lost its perfume

I'll love you till the poets run out of rhyme,

Until the twelfth of never and that's a long, long time.

Our first night as husband and wife was like our first time together. Even though we had not been together for the past six weeks, we took our time. We made love the only way that we knew how... slowly... tenderly.

Having not seen the love of my life completely bare for the past six weeks, I took a moment as she lay back with a gentle smile. Appreciating the longing gaze as my eyes drank in the masterpiece of the universe that lay before me.

The nude feminine form is a work of art which had evolved over centuries. In Laura's case, she was like the love goddess herself... Aphrodite.

Laura's small breasts always drew my attention like a moth to a flame. Each was the size of a tangerine and topped with delicate and sensitive pink nipples. Roaming down her body, past her cute little belly button, my eyes caught the trimmed delicate triangle of dark brown pubic hair that decorated the gentle upward swell of her Mound of Venus and the treasure that lay beneath.

I knew her body so well. I knew the sensitive spots that would bring her to the precipice of divine pleasure before falling into the abyss of a world of ecstasy that only a woman can experience.

The spots that would ignite the ember to start the slow burn. The spots that would let the ember smolder until ready to burst into a gentle flame. The spots that would fan the flame into a roaring blaze and then to burst into an out-of-control fireball.

Laura lazily combed her fingers through my hair as I made love to each nipple that I had sorely missed. Flicking each engorged nub with my tongue brought the soft coos and sighs of pleasure that we had each willingly deprived ourselves of over the last six weeks. As I gently nursed, my fingers lightly grazed over her smooth tummy and swirled through the soft strands.

Opening her legs invitingly, my fingers probed the soft and wet lips and then entered her warmth as my mouth engulfed as much of her soft breast as possible. The smoldering ember ignited as Laura sucked in a lungful of air.

Leaving a trail of kisses down her opened body, my fingers continued to gently probe into her depth fanning the growing blaze. Tasting the love of my life and drinking her elixir of life was a delicacy that gave me life and filled me with her essence.

Finding the sensitive nub beneath the protective hood with the tip of my tongue caused Laura to cry out in a soft groan of pleasure. A sound that hadn't been heard for six weeks. I smiled as the blaze deep in her core began to grow into an all-consuming firestorm. Turning my hand and doing the 'Come hither' against that special spot caused the firestorm to explode. Cries of Laura's releases echoing off the walls of the room, as she sang the song that women have been singing for eons. A song that only a woman in the throes of orgasmic bliss can sing. A woman in full orgasm is the most powerful vision to behold.

Watching Laura position herself over my engorged cock with a smile of anticipation brought a smile to me. Anticipation of our first joining as husband and wife. How did I ever get to be so fortunate to find such a loving, caring, and beautiful woman?

We each let out a long and deep breath as she slowly took me into her warm and welcoming body. With a gentle smile, I watched as her hands moved up her sides, over her little breasts, pausing to rub her palms over each erect nipple, through her chestnut brown hair, and reach for the ceiling. The appreciative smile as my cock throbbed deep inside her followed by a gentle squeeze as the walls of her vagina constricted. The smile broadened, knowing that she held me captivated by the vision before me. The vision that she had kept hidden from me for the past six weeks

Holding that position, she slowly rode me. At times she closed her eyes as she savored our long-anticipated rejoining. All I could do was watch spellbound at the spectacle before me. My woman giving and receiving the most intimate form of bonding a couple can experience.

I needed to hold her. To hold her warm bare skin to my warm bare skin. To reinvigorate the feeling of closeness. To make US feel alive.

Moving to our favorite love-making position. The Lotus. We sat there fully immersed with each other as our bodies merged. Lips to lips. Beating heart to beating heart. Our eyes locked and peering into each other's soul... bonding in an eternal love that as the minister said earlier, "Let no man put asunder".

Making love to my soulmate in the ageless slow rhythm brought another form of closeness, and need. A need to consummate our love. A need to spew forth my seed into the love of my life. The woman who I would gladly give my life for. The woman who held me captivated from our first meeting.

It was slow, it was tender. Our mouths were inches away from each other's ears. The breaths of our coupling filling us and going directly to our hearts.

Laura pulled me deep into her awaiting body as I emptied myself, filling her womb with my life's essence. Making us ONE as we each expressed our undying love to each other. A love that we knew that we would hold near and dear to us for the rest of our lives.

.................................................

Time went on. Laura excelled in her classes, bonding with her fellow teachers and many of her students and parents. Things on my side went well enough that each of the end-of-the-year bonuses were put away in our savings account for that first house. You know the one with the white picket fence, a porch swing, and our children playing in the front yard.

Life was good. We delighted in the way that we could just look at each other and smile for no particular reason. Our thoughts always crossing over to the other in our own 'non-verbal communication. Everybody saw it. Our friends and especially our parents. And then there were those special quiet times after we made love of just holding each other as our hearts and souls kissed.

.........................................

Standing at my desk and discussing the current project with my co-worker, I stopped in mid-sentence and just stood there with a blank stare. My body shook as a cold shiver raced through me and a feeling of dread overtook my entire being. For some reason, I looked at the clock: 4:16. Then my knees buckled and collapsed to the office floor.

I tried to concentrate on getting our dinner ready, but I couldn't. I couldn't shake or make that dark cloud disappear from what I had felt earlier that day. Reaching out into our dimension... searching for the connection we always shared when we were apart found it empty.

For the first time in our lives together I needed Laura by my side more than anything, just to know that she was safe.

She was late. The one hour turned into two. Whenever she was running late she would text or call. Tonight... Nothing.