One Dream Getaway

This is a follow-up to A Date In Gettysburg (3/2/21 -- Romance) and Good Things To Come, (3/16/21 -- Romance).

So sad, Cody Davis thought, watching this man who was trapped inside a body that no longer worked the way it was supposed to.

That man was fifty-five-year-old Edgar Kowalski, Bethany's dad, who had this house built in a semi-rural part of southwest Pennsylvania on twenty acres of land from money he won from a workman's comp law suit. It was only a few years later that disaster struck in the form of an injured back after carrying lumber and then undergoing surgery that left him a paraplegic, trapped inside a body that no longer worked the way nature intended, the way all healthy bodies did. Other than going to rehab twice a week, he was confined to the first floor of the house because he could no longer do stairs. In fact, with close to zero feeling in his legs, he could barely walk, even with a walker. Overweight before the surgery, he had put on more pounds because of his sedentary condition, one that left him with swollen legs, a protruding belly and the fear that he would never be normal again. Even with all that, his full, coal-black head of hair and smooth skin belied his age.

Cody admired the way he could still manage to smile and joke, though he could see the despair that lay just beneath the surface. He was sitting on the back, ground-level deck with Edgar, his wife Daniella and Bethany, admiring the view—all those acres, those fields of green that sloped down to thick patches of woodland.

"There's a creek beyond those trees," Edgar said, "and that's part of our property, too." Edgar sat there in his cushioned deck chair pointing toward the trees, his blue eyes surveying his vast property like some proud manor lord, albeit a crippled one.

Cody wondered about Daniella, fourteen years her husband's junior, and cute enough to attract younger men, including Cody. Born in Guatemala, she had dark skin, dark eyes and straight brown hair which she had tied in back. She sat barefoot, wearing white shorts and a loose blue top. It was obvious that Bethany had inherited her heavier bones from her dad. Daniella was on the petite side—slim, shapely legs and small waist. Her bust was perhaps a tab large for her petite form but not obnoxiously so. Cody thought her mom had a "cute" figure, where Bethany was voluptuous. Daniella worked for the Feds processing immigrant applications, mostly from home so she could care for Edgar. She appeared caring and loyal but also frustrated. "Sure, coming right up, DEAR," she said, her tone on the edge of annoyed when Edgar asked for something.

How could she not be frustrated caring for a disabled, overweight husband who needed her for things that the able-bodied took for granted? An attractive gal like that, one who kept fit by taking daily power walks around her property, who no doubt still had needs her husband could no longer fulfill, might be tempted to stray, Cody thought.

Cody hadn't seen Bethany's parents since the days he used to babysit for her. Edgar was working then, Daniella was a stay-at-home mom, and they lived in a split-level suburban house on a half-acre of land. The law suit bought what they had now, a bigger house and all those acres of which Edgar was so proud but could no longer fully enjoy. Yet he appeared trying hard to make the best of it on this warm and breezy, early June day, sharing a lunch of soup and sandwiches and iced tea with Daniella, Cody and the daughter that no longer lived with her parents because she didn't like their "rules."

Cody was surprised to learn that Joey, Bethany's former boyfriend, was back living in the house that he had once shared with Bethany, the house she had grown up in and the one that Edgar and Daniella had given to her and Joey. Both Joey and Bethany's names were on the deed, so it wasn't like Joey was living there illegally. Cody had thought the house was fully paid for. But no, there was still a monthly mortgage and Joey was paying it, along with maintenance costs. Still, Bethany wanted it sold. She and Joey would divide the spoils and she'd get some much-needed cash to supplement her thirteen-dollar an hour job at Starbucks.

"I don't think he's going anywhere," Bethany said of Joey. "He was honest enough to tell me that he moved his new girlfriend into that house. Maybe I'll go to the courthouse and start the process."

"You should get a lawyer," Edgar advised her. "You have no idea what you're doing."

Bethany clenched her jaw, obviously pissed. Cody knew how upset she was with her dad's situation. Yet he also got the impression that any advice her parents gave her, about anything, annoyed her, and her hostile reaction to Edgar's comment confirmed as much. She wore orange shorts and a white halter top, showing plenty of leg and cleavage. He still wanted to take her to the beach. They had yet this season to go swimming anywhere, though Edgar had said they were welcome to take dips in their fifty-four-inch deep, above-ground pool which stood just a few yards from the deck, filled almost to the top. Cody knew that the pool was another thing off-limits to Edgar; he'd never make it up the ladder to climb in.

Conversation about the house segued into Edgar praising Cody for finishing college at Penn State and then running a successful construction business. "You've done really well for yourself," he said. Then he looked at Bethany. "You know, Starbucks was funding Bethany's online education at Phoenix University. Too bad she lost interest and dropped out. She was bored, she said." He rolled his eyes.

"She told me," Cody said, seeing the disappointment etched on Edgar's face. "Well, she's only twenty-one. She's got plenty of time to decide what she wants to do. Besides that, she's one hell of a chess player." He winked at Bethany as an acknowledgment of her beating him the last time they played.

"That's great, but it won't pay the bills," Edgar said. "Now, if I were her—″

"Dad, that's enough," Bethany cut in. "If you were me...you're not me, so you don't know what you'd do."

Edgar folded his small mouth into a disgusted look and waived his hand.

"Um, would anybody like more iced tea?" Daniella asked, said as much to break the tension as noticing that their glasses were almost empty.

"No thanks, mom, we're outta here," Bethany said.

Cody stood up right after Bethany did. He could have stayed longer but knew he didn't have much choice. Bethany was clearly upset. He reached down, shook Edgar's hand and said, "Don't give up hope."

Edgar managed a wane smile and nodded. "Never. Believe it or not, I've made some incremental progress since the surgery. It's just that it's been so damn slow."

When he and Bethany got into his truck, he could see her tearing up. "Anything I can do?" He held her hand.

She sniffled and shook her head. "No, just please don't judge me like my dad seems to do. I'm not upset because of what he said. I'm upset because I know he's right. I've got no direction. Just kind of drifting along."

"What happened to nursing? You were once interested in that, you told me."

"Right. Well, now I'm not sure. Perhaps a direction for the future, I don't know. Still drifting, like I said. I'd hate to think that ten years from now I'm saying the same thing while still working at Starbucks."

"I doubt that will be the case, Bethany. Look, as I told your dad, you're only twenty-one. You'll find yourself, if that's the right term." He leaned forward and kissed her.

"I'm not so sure, but thanks for the vote of confidence."

Cody held her for a few moments, as his mind drifted to other things besides Bethany's road to finding herself. "You know what? I think we could both use a vacation. It's been a long time for me, and we had talked about Myrtle Beach. Of course, there's other options, too. Ever been to Martha's Vineyard? I've been wanting to go there for years. The water isn't warm like Myrtle Beach but, from what I've read about it and from the photos I've seen, it appears like an interesting place with loads of charm. If we have time, we could even head south to the Jersey Shore. How's that sound?"

Bethany smiled for the first time since Edgar got on her case about dropping out of Phoenix. "Cody, I'd go with you anywhere. Just let me know when so I can put in for leave time."

*****

It was an eight to nine-hour drive to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, a drive that Bethany would never do alone. But she was with Cody and they were going to a place she'd never been and she'd rarely been this excited about anything in her young life. She had already perused the Web for information on Martha's Vineyard and the pics she saw left her with the impression that Cody was right: this place was loaded with charm.

They drove up in Cody's second vehicle, a Toyota Rav 4, more comfortable than his Ford F150. Cody had booked a three-night stay at the Sands of Time Motor Inn, ideally located near the Island Queen Ferry that took passengers over to the Vineyard. Their room was ready when they got there in the late afternoon. It was fully carpeted, had a queen-sized bed, flat screen TV, cable, Wi-Fi and a big sliding glass door that looked out to the harbor. Big but cozy and Bethany loved it.

They hauled their luggage inside, took a brief shower, then headed to a local harbor-view seafood restaurant that the desk clerk recommended. They got seated on the patio at a round metal table with a blue umbrella in the middle. "It all looks delicious," Bethany said, perusing her menu. "What shall I order?"

Knowing what he wanted, Cody folded his menu. "I'd recommend the lobster. I mean, we are in New England."

Lobster, with sides of fries, veggies and bottles of Samuel Adams. It was a veritable feast, shared with a man she adored, her former baby-sitter whom she now saw through the eyes of the young lady she had become. He was "one hot dude," as roommates Sandy and Hannah had told her after they met Cody for the first time. Obviously, she thought so too. She had no doubt that any girl who went for men like Cody would feel the same way—men with jacked bodies and faces that were ruddy and tanned and covered with facial hair, not the type you'd see on the stereotypical wild mountain man, but beard and mustache tastefully clipped and shaped the way a successful entrepreneur such as Cody wore it. And here he was treating her to this feast of a meal, enamored with her as well, it appeared, despite her dropping those online college courses, part and parcel of her self-admitted lack of direction, if not ambition.

She found out just how enamored when they returned from dinner. She knew he was tired from driving over half the way. She was tired also, though not too tired to fall into his arms when they slipped into bed—and it wasn't just to sleep. So warm, so comforting was his hard body against hers. So passionate were his kisses. So endearing were his words of endearment, whispered between those passionate kisses and even when he entered her, wedged between her meaty thighs, a guy on mission in plain-vanilla missionary, though there was nothing plain-vanilla in the tender way he made love to her and the way she felt. "Our first night on the Cape and you've already made me feel like the luckiest girl on the planet," she said.

"The luck works both ways," he said, keeping up his rhythm. "If I make you feel special it's because you are. And so pretty besides, with those beautiful purple-blue eyes that amaze me every time I look into them."

What could she say to that? Plenty, in terms of how she felt about him. But now wasn't the time for lengthy conversations. Now was the time to lose herself in the moment, to close her 'beautiful purple-blue eyes' and surrender to the emotional-sensual high of making love with this man, this special man who really did make her feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.

*****

Bethany always looked so adorable when she slept. She did when Cody used to babysit for her and she did this morning, their first full day on the Cape. Vacation or not, he was up early per his sleep pattern on a work day. He brushed back strands of hair from her face, then kissed her gently on the cheek. So pretty, so adorable, he thought, like the little girl she once was. And also, so sexy and sensuous, like the young woman she now was. She had shown that side of herself last night. She gave the term humping new meaning, the way she took top after their first go-around, squatting up and down on his hungry cock, her luscious thighs pumping, her melon-sized boobs flapping, her soft voice in moan mode. It had been a long day's journey into one wild night.

He slipped on a pair of briefs, stepped into the bathroom, took a pee, and then brushed his teeth. When he returned to the room, he could see her just starting to stir. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaned over and kissed her. "Hey, wake up, sleepy-head. The Vineyard awaits us."

She rubbed her eyes, then smiled up at him. "Are you always up this early?"

"I'm still on work time. But you can sleep later if you'd like. You look as beautiful when you sleep as you do when awake. Maybe more so."

"You make me feel beautiful all the time." She stretched and yawned, then sat up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You smell like sex," she said, taking a whiff.

He took a whiff of his own. "Yeah, well, so do you. We could shower it off if you'd like."

She shook her head. "No, I think I'll wear it today. It's a lovely scent with the right person and you, Cody Davis, are the right person."

Forget sleeping later. She was now wide awake and, like him, she was getting hungry. She slipped on a pair of white shorts and a blue, white and yellow striped short-sleeve top. Cody wore jeans and a pullover sports shirt. Both wore cross-trainers for the extensive walking they'd knew they'd be doing. They ate breakfast in Falmouth, then took the Island Queen Ferry, a windy, forty-five-minute trip over to the Vineyard. It docked at Oak Bluffs, a charming, picturesque town among other charming, picturesque towns on this interesting piece of American real estate. Bethany loved all the Victorian gingerbread houses, painted in various colors.

Their cell phone cameras clicked away at the houses and at each other. They stopped an elderly couple who cheerfully agreed to take pics of them together, standing in a park, with a fountain and pagoda behind them. They held hands strolling along Circuit Avenue, a commercial stretch of stores that sold everything from clothing to jewelry. They dropped into an antique store that featured old magazines and vinyl records, among other things. Like most of the tourists, they did more looking than buying, flipping through the record bins of used LPs, ancient audio technology that was close to out-selling CDs for the first time in decades.

Following lunch at a deli, they took a bus to Edgartown, where they rented bikes and rode around for over an hour, covering a dozen miles on dedicated bikes paths. Cody could have gone a lot further and a lot faster. Not so Bethany, who said she was sorry she wasn't in better shape. "Sandy kind of shape," she said, referring to one of her roommates. "She exercises regularly. One of these days, maybe I will also. It's on my to-do list, just like college once was." She shook her head in self-disgust.

They had just turned their bikes in and were standing on the brick sidewalk outside the bike rental, a white frame building aligned in front with rows of bikes in racks, most of them designed for casual riding. Cody wasn't sure what to say. He was a self-motivated guy who wished he could somehow convey that sort of energy to Bethany. A phrase from that old Nike commercial was the best he could come up with. "Just do it," he said, throwing an arm around her. "Don't think about it, don't make it a New Year's resolution, just do it. Not to over simplify it, but—"

"No, you're right," she said. "Just do it. I get it. Believe me, I get it. It's the doing I need to work on." She paused to take a breath. "I guess by now you know I've got issues with low self-esteem."

Cody wanted to make her feel better, but didn't quite know how. This was serious stuff to talk about on a vacation. But he couldn't just ignore it either. He took her aside, away from the people going in and out of the shop. "Look, you're a beautiful girl who's searching for direction like so many other people your age. Smart, too, and one fine chess player, even if it won't pay the bills like your dad said. I mean, how many people can recite most of the Gettysburg Address? Better yet, how many want to? But you wanted to and so you worked on it until you could. In time, you'll find your way. I'm sure of it." He thumbed away the few years that fell from her gorgeous eyes, then hugged her.

"Thanks again for the vote of confidence," she said, wiping the last of her tears. "Okay, no more tears on this vacation. I'm here to have fun, not burden the both of us with stuff that's up to me to resolve."

They took a bus back to Oak Bluffs, then the Island Queen back to Woods Hole. Over dinner, Cody suggested what they might do tomorrow. "We could just lie on a beach all day, head back to Martha's Vineyard or see Nantucket. Or, most of the above, because Nantucket and the Vineyard both have nice beaches. So does Hyannis, I've heard. Of course, the water isn't exactly Miami warm."

They left it at that, leaving what they'd do tomorrow to tomorrow. Meanwhile, there were nighttime activities on the agenda. Playing chess, for instance. Cody had brought along his set, the same set he had taught Bethany the game on when he was her babysitter, and the same set, last they played, that his student had beat her mentor. Cody had planned to brush up on his game, to sand off the rust that had developed from years of neglect, but he hadn't gotten around to it. "I might not be much competition for you," he said, while setting up the pieces on a table in their room.

"Well, I haven't played since that last game of ours," Bethany said. "So I feel kind of rusty, too."

She didn't look rusty, not in Cody's eyes. Of course, that had nothing to do with chess. She was wearing a maroon kimono-style robe and nothing else, not even panties. The robe was open wide enough for him to get the proverbial eyeful; in this case, half her boobs, so perfect and so luscious and so damn distracting, though he wasn't about to complain. She sat with her legs crossed under the table, the hem of her garment pushed three-quarters up her sexy thighs. Her hair, parted slightly to the left, hung down her front in waves, dropping at the top of her breasts. She grinned, watching Cody's ping-pong glances at the board and at her. "Will you be able to concentrate?" she giggled.

Cody, in his PJs after they both had showered, said, "Truthfully, with you wearing that, probably not. But I'll do my best." He watched her purse her full lips, then grin in a cute, little girl, teasing sort of way, oozing sex appeal from every pore of her curvaceous body, the sort of sex appeal than he could never turn his back on, even if he wanted to. What a beautiful smile she had and such beautiful teeth to go with it, teeth fit for a dentist's promo brochure.

She extended her foot, placed it against his calve and began to rub it. "I could change into something less revealing, you know. I mean, I wouldn't want to ruin your concentration or anything."

"Right, I'm sure you wouldn't," he said, rolling his eyes and watching her playful grin. "Except that you are. And we haven't even started to play."

She giggled as he placed a pawn in each hand. Bethany chose black. "Looks like you make the first move," she said, her tone loaded with double-entendre, her tongue sliding across her lower lip.

He tried to control his accelerating breathing as he made that old warhorse of a first move, pawn to queen four. Bethany did the same. Then he followed with queen-knight to bishop three and she countered with pawn to queen-knight three. And so it followed, moves and counter-moves in a game that Cody knew he couldn't possibly win, not with her kimono opening wider with every few moves, her foot heading up toward his crotch and her hands touching herself in places that he couldn't wait to touch. Little wonder he made the most amateurish of blunders, leaving open for capture his king-side rook by her queen-side bishop. This was the first time he'd ever played chess with a hard-on, and it showed.