The sudden, wild joining they enjoyed in the library left both Jason and Sylvia's mother sweaty and sticky, which meant they wound up in the shower together after all. And, inevitably, as they showered, they grew aroused and made love, although with far less intensity than they'd shown earlier in the den.
After they finished their shower and got dressed again, they went downstairs and had lunch.
"I don't know how I'm going to survive after tomorrow," Karen said, laying her hand on Jason's as they ate.
"I...I don't, either," he replied sadly. He really didn't want to talk about tomorrow, or the next day, because it meant the end of his time with her. At least the end of being able to do the kinds of things they'd been doing.
Karen squeezed his hand. "I hate to see you look so sad, my darling," she said softly. "What is it? Is my talking about going home upsetting you?"
Jason nodded.
"Darling, I don't want this to end any more than you do," she said. "But it has to. At least the way it's been since Friday. I have a life I have to get back to and so do you."
"Yeah, I know," Jason said. He felt his eyes filling and fought back the urge to cry. "I hate it that we have to leave, I really do. I wish there was some way we could stay here forever."
Karen got up, walked around the table, and stood in front of him. Jason leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her hips, and pressed his face into her belly. She ran her fingers through his hair and said, "I wish we could stay here, like this, forever, too, my darling, but we can't, and we both know that. I know you're sad. I'm sad, too."
"But what are we gonna do?" Jason asked plaintively.
Karen continued to stroke his head. "I'm not sure, my darling," she said. "If nothing else, the past few days have shown me that there's no way you can predict the future. If, last week, someone would have told me that I'd meet and fall in love with someone half my age and find a man would make me happier than I've ever been, I'd have told them they were crazy, but that's exactly what's happened."
"Am...am I gonna see you when...after...after we...we get...get home?" Jason stammered. He'd given up fighting it. Tears were streaming down his cheeks now.
"Darling, I...I don't know what to tell you," Karen replied, sounding almost as sad as Jason did. Like his, her eyes were filled with tears, too. "I...I don't want to lose you, I really don't. But...well...I do have responsibilities and so do you. I honestly don't know what will happen once we leave here. God, I wish I did know. I'm still concerned that I've hurt you. That worries me more than anything."
"You...you didn't..." Jason sobbed. "You...you're the...the best...the best thing that...that ever happened...to...to me." He clutched her against him and continued to sob.
Karen continued to stand in front of Jason, holding him and caressing his head gently, while he sobbed. Eventually, his crying abated and, after a while it stopped. When it did, he leaned back, looked up at her, and saw her looking at him with deep concern in her lovely gray eyes.
"Are you all right, my darling?" she asked.
Jason nodded. "Sort of, I guess," he said. "I...I'm sorry I acted like a baby, it's just..."