Renny would come home first from her job in the cafeteria, and cook fiery hot South Indian dishes. Dan gradually got used to these, and he found that they had a certain aphrodisiac quality. Or perhaps it was Renny who kept him stimulated. Sex to her was like a wonderful new toy that she wanted to play with all the time, and Dan was delighted to oblige. She would go around the apartment naked in the hot New York summer, and the sight gave Dan an erection as soon as he came in the door. If the dinner could be left for a while in the oven, they would go to bed; otherwise he would take her standing up, or bent over a low stool. After dinner, they would go to bed, and try the things that Renny had seen in porn videos.
They found that reverse cowgirl wasn't much good for either of them with little skin-to-skin contact, and no eye contact at all. "It's just for porn, I guess," said Dan. "You get to see all of the woman while she is fucking. But it's not for us." Doggy-style they liked, but best of all was cowgirl, because Renny was so much smaller than Dan, and he tended to crush her in the missionary position. She could set her own pace, while Dan reached up to caress her breasts and tweak her nipples, and she could bend down to kiss him when she liked. Anal sex was painful for her, and unpleasant for Dan, so they only tried it once. Oral sex was a joy for both, whether giving or receiving.
If she had her period, she would suck his penis while bringing herself off with her hand. She said that an orgasm helped relieve her cramps; and Dan was only too willing to help her with his fingers, or a vibrator. He would have gone down on her during her period if she had asked, but she never did. He would do anything for her; he loved her so much it hurt.
Afterwards, they would cuddle each other and talk about everything under the sun, until they fell into the most profound and rewarding sleep. Their window faced East, and often when the early morning sun woke them, they would do it again.
They did lots of other things, of course. Weekends were spent exploring New York, and whatever was free was sure to get their custom. They went to a tattoo shop and had each other's names in their native tongues tattooed around their wrists.
After six months of this idyll Renny missed her period. She said nothing, but when she missed the next one she got a pregnancy text from the drugstore: it was positive. She told Dan, and he was ecstatic.
"That's wonderful, Renny! I'm going to be a father! Let's get married!" He immediately called his aunt in Queens and told her the news. She was somewhat taken aback, as Dan had not told her he was living with Renny. His cousin Kevin knew, but had not told his parents. They went for lunch the next Sunday. Dan's uncle did a double take when he saw Renny's colour, but recovered quickly and welcomed her in. At lunch, Dan found the corned beef and cabbage very bland compared to Renny's cooking, though he used to love it. Renny felt the same, but did not mention it, in fact she praised the food. She got on very well with the older couple. They were rather old-fashioned in their ideas about women, and Renny, who had been brought up in a culture of female deference, had what they thought was the right attitude. When Dan and Renny left, it was with his aunt and uncle's blessing on their union
Dan had no other relatives closer than second cousins in Ireland, and Renny had broken with her family, so they had a very small wedding; just the two of them, his aunt and uncle, two of their three children --Dan's cousins Kevin and Charlie--and a few friends. Kevin was Dan's best man, and Deepa was Renny's bridesmaid. Dan's eldest cousin, Patricia, who had taken his virginity, and had sex with him clandestinely on her visits back home, was married in Seattle and very close to the birth of her first child, so she did not come. Dan was glad of that because he was afraid that she might tell Renny about their relationship, and Renny might be jealous. Renny sent photos of the wedding to her family in Trivandrum, but received no reply.
The baby was born, and they decided to call her Anita, because it was a name well-known in both Ireland and India. Dan was ecstatic, and could not do enough for her, and for Renny.
About six months after Anita was born, Renny started to feel very tired all the time. Soon she could not work and was fired from her job in the canteen. Dan's employee medical insurance paid for some tests, which showed she had leukemia. She had a course of chemotherapy, which seemed to be successful. Shortly after, Dan's advertising agency went under, and Dan was unemployed. Renny's leukemia relapsed, and there followed a nightmare time for them, with Renny dying and very little money coming in. They began to fall behind on rent and bills, and were threatened with disconnection and eviction when Renny died. Dan managed to borrow the price of a very simple funeral, and a month later, went to California, where Kevin was working in a high-tech company and offered them a home until Dan got on his feet again.
