Kenneth and Brianna continued to talk on the phone and on the internet as much as possible after their weekend in Savannah. Fall was soon approaching and at times there was coolness to the air. Kenneth had always loved the mountains in the fall season, and he would take trips to Tennessee and to North Carolina just to sightsee and to climb some of the smaller mountains just to get a glimpse of the nature that was no where to be found where he lived now.
"Hey Bri, I think the weather is getting almost perfect for a trip to the mountains to take in the fall foliage and maybe do a little sightseeing. What do you think about that idea?", asked Ken as he was silently praying that she would agree to go.
"Sounds wonderful to me. My parents used to take me to the mountains every year and we would rent a cabin and stay for a week. I don't think I could do that big of a trip, but a weekend would be great. I can take a Friday off and that will give us more time together."
"Wow that would be wonderful if you can manage it. How about next weekend? Would that give you enough time to request your day off?"
"Yeah, I should be alright with that time frame."
"Great, then it is a date!" Ken exclaimed, happy that his wish was granted.
"Hey Ken, how about if you drive up on Thursday evening and then we can leave out bright and early on Friday morning?" And at that moment Brianna was struck at what she had just requested. She had asked another man to come to her home. Not since Paul had passed away had she let another man stay overnight in their house. Ah shit, she thought. My house. Paul isn't here anymore. It's my house now.
"Are you sure that you are going to be comfortable with me being there?" Ken knew how much Paul still influenced her thinking, even though Brianna didn't readily admit it. And he realized that it was probably going to be a little uncomfortable for her at first when he did arrive, until her nerves settled down and she started to relax a bit.
"Yes, I'm sure. It is time that I had you over so that you can see where I live. I will be home about 5 that afternoon, so plan to be here anytime after that, and I'll fix supper for you too."
"Wow Brianna, that is really sweet of you. I look forward to seeing your place, and I'm sure the meal will be delicious also."
And with that they said their goodbyes and hung up. Brianna got the day off guaranteed, and they both made preparations for their weekend trip. Brianna emailed Ken the instructions on how to get to her house, and he printed them out so that he could take the directions with him when he drove.
On that Wednesday Brianna went to the store and bought all of the ingredients to make Ken her favorite dish, Chicken Marsala. Then she stopped by the wine store and bought the Marsala wine that she would use for the meal. She bought a bottle big enough for them to have some to drink with their meal also.
Soon enough Thursday was here, and Ken packed his things that morning before leaving for work and loaded the car so that he could leave from work and head north to Brianna's. He planned to leave around noon, or shortly thereafter so that he would arrive around 6 that evening. He didn't want to barge in right as she was getting home from her job.
Brianna had rushed home from work, and started the food preparations almost as soon as she walked in the door. She was excited to finally get to cook a meal for Ken. She was slicing the mushrooms when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. Looking out the kitchen window, she saw it was Ken, and put down the knife and rushed to the door to greet him. Just as she reached for the knob, the image of Paul when she would greet him at the door with a kiss came to her mind. She quickly shoved it to the side, and she felt strange remembering that, and realizing it would not be Paul's face, but that it would be Ken's face that would be on the other side of the door when she opened it.
"Ok, I can do this. Nerves settle down. Calm, cool, collected".
And with that she opened the door. There stood Ken with a single rose in his hand, and a smile mixed with a grin beaming from his face.
"Hey there sweetie. So this is the homestead. I'm impressed. Tired, but impressed".
"Oh hon, it's nothing fancy. But it is livable and it still feels like home to me."
"And you look marvelous too. I brought you this rose as a thank you for having me here tonight."
"It's beautiful Ken. I love it, and that was very thoughtful of you too. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, and I'm going to finish dinner for us. It will be ready within the hour. Do you want to fix yourself a drink? I have the Marsala, some whiskey left over that Paul used to drink." Oh shit, I did it to myself again, she thought. "Ken, I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have brought his name up like that. Anyway, and there is some sweet tea in the fridge also."
"Don't worry about mentioning Paul. I told you before it don't bother me." And with that he went over to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of tea. He watched as Bri moved around in the kitchen, clearly comfortable in this environment. She was wearing a pair of dress slacks that accentuated her backside quite nicely, and he couldn't take his eyes away from her ass and her legs.