October slipped into November, and Alicia and I settled into a routine. We were generally a very settled couple. We both had careers to pursue, and we needed a routine in order to accomplish that. Most people would have called us "normal" except that hard spanking was an integral part of our relationship.
For the time being, we kept our relationship a secret to all but a few close friends. I chose not to tell anyone. I had no close friends at that hospital anyway. Alicia told a couple of friends, including a nurse that she worked with. We both felt that in the rather tight community of a hospital, it was better if personal relationships, especially between physicians and hospital staff, were kept private. I agreed.
No doubt about it, I was in love with Alicia. I was glad to move in with her and take over the duties of caring for her and her household. We had been together for about six weeks, and I felt happier than I had in years. Alicia, I believe, felt the same, though she didn't mention it. After the first night we were officially living together, she rarely told me she loved me.
On workdays, our morning routine went something like this: I usually got up first, at least half an hour earlier that Alicia. I started coffee, grabbed a quick shave and shower, then went in to start breakfast. Alicia got up after me, took a shower, and then ate breakfast.
After breakfast, I helped her dress and did her hair. She wasn't fussy; it usually only required combing out and a little spray. Alicia did her own makeup. While she did that, I got dressed for work. She usually left for work at about 6:45. I left shortly afterwards, after straightening up the house.
Our routine on days off was slightly different. Although I still usually got up earlier, we tended to stay in bed longer. Sometimes we made love. Sometimes we went out for breakfast.
We had a nightly routine as well. My shift at the hospital ran from 7:30 until 4:00. I usually got home at about 4:30. Alicia's time getting home tended to vary, depending on whether or not she had call, or if there were critical patients that required her presence. Since I worked at the hospital also, I usually had an idea of when to expect her.
When Alicia walked through the door, I usually dropped what I was doing to attend to her. I could tell in the first few minutes of her being home what kind of mood she was in. If she was in a good mood, she would generally grab me around the waist and kiss me, sometimes giving my ass a little pat. If she was in a bad mood, she left me alone. In either case, I would help her get into more comfortable clothes, and get her something to drink. Then she would read, listen to music, or talk to me while I made dinner.
Dinner was our special meal of the day. I did my best to make it as enjoyable as possible. Over dinner, we talked about work--some, but mostly about anything else. As she had explained to me before, Alicia's first choice for a career had not been medicine. She was not obsessed with it. She enjoyed talking about other things much more. So we talked about books and movies, politics, people we knew, what kind of vacations we wanted to take, and other things that people newly in love talk about.
After dinner, we watched television or a movie until it was time to go to bed. Alicia sometimes liked a bath at night, and I was glad to bathe her. It was a good way to settle her down, especially if she'd had a rough day at the hospital. It was also a good way to get us both ready for sex.
It always amazed me how beautiful Alicia's skin was; how her coloring came together so well. Her red hair, green eyes, and creamy complexion really did it for me. Even the lips of her sex were a delicate pink, and her nipples were only a shade darker. I loved taking care of such a big, beautiful woman.
My cooking was probably a factor in Alicia's gaining a little weight. At six feet even and one hundred eighty-five pounds, she was a big woman. In the first six weeks of our relationship, she gained seven pounds. At first, she seemed upset, and threatened to take it out of my hide, but then she adjusted. I began watching our calories carefully, and she stabilized.
There was one other duty that I insisted on doing: Alicia's breast exams. When I asked her about self-examining her breasts, she admitted to doing it rarely, if ever. So, I began carefully examining her every month, if not more often.