The rain fell on the tent over the grave in heavy drops. Mother Mary Rufus stood with her brothers and sisters with their children in its shelter as I read the graveside blessing for their mother. Lucinda Parkhurst-Frazelton had come to the end of her long journey, and gone to her reward. It seemed a bit sacrilegious as I read the words that my thoughts wandered to the feel of her warm, wet, cinnamon fired mouth encircling my manhood, and with difficulty I focused myself on the task at hand.
A week earlier, I visited Lucinda in the hospital the last time. She was very alert and lucid that day; according to her daughter the nun, it was her last fully conscious day. The small woman seemed dwarfed by her hospital bed, wearing a pale blue nightgown on the clean, white sheets, her skin pale white and translucent. We talked about many things: about letting go and the promise of heaven, about her children and grandchildren, about her childhood and her parents who doted on her, about her husband and her expectation of seeing him again. It was ten o'clock in the evening, when she sighed and said: "Vicar, you've been so kind to me, made me feel like vibrant young woman again. Would you do me one more kindness?" Her voice was faint and tenuous
"Anything, Lucinda.
Your
kindness and generosity has been overwhelming, both to St. Dunstan's and to me."
"Let me make you happy one more time."
Lucinda was laying flat on her back; it was clear that she wasn't capable of much motion, and I doubted that she could even sit up unaided. Her bed could be raised to a full sitting position if needed, but I wasn't sure she could handle it. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Her eyes pleaded with me. "Raise the bed, Alfred, please. I want to try."
I pushed the button that elevated her; she rode up with her eyes close until she was almost sitting up straight. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, love, fine. My head's on just the right level. Take your trousers down; let me see it again." I buttoned my fly and lowered my briefs, leaving on my dog collar and jacket.
A lovely smile creased her lips as my manhood was uncovered, and she laughed in delight. "Come closer, dear, let me see this lovely boy," she whispered, reaching out to embrace my phallus as I came close to the bed. "Get up on the mattress, let's see if we can get you at the right level." I knelt on the mattress; between my long legs and her diminutive height, her mouth was at the perfect level to try to fulfill her wish.
Her grip was soft yet tentative, encouraging me to fullness with slow strokes. "Sorry I don't have any candy, but I think I can do it without this last time." She closed her eyes in anticipation as she opened her toothless mouth to welcome my erection, which became rock hard as I felt her gums chewing on me. It was unlike any encounter I'd had with her before: more insistent and eager. I grasped the corner of the mattress beside me to keep my balance, for she was making my legs weak. Pulling out, she guided me closer so she could get a chance at my scrotum. Her gums nipped and gobbled at my testicles, which brought me very close to the edge very quickly. Sensing this, she pushed me back to she could give my corona her last, full effort, sucking it in while stroking the shaft with her left hand and rubbing my oysters with her right.
It didn't take long for me to give her what she wanted: milky whiteness flowed from the sides of her mouth down her chin to her neck and the base of her throat. She was obviously tired as I jettisoned the last drops, so I reclined her back until she motioned for me to stop just short of horizontal. Her hands went over her skin, guiding the cream to her mouth where she savored every drop. I stroked her hair as she cleaned herself, purring contentedly, and fell into a deep slumber.
My consciousness returned to the graveyard with a start. I realized I'd just finished a paragraph and didn't know where to go right away. Pausing for a moment, I let go of the memory and continued the service, drawing a puzzled look only from her daughter the Mother Superior.
There were many mourners clustered near around us, including my Quilting Ladies, Mary, Sheila, and Mavis, Agnes , and members of the Vestry. Sister Mary Francis Xavier was there in habit as well, her usual energy and cheerfulness subdued; standing with Lucinda's grandchildren, who ranged in age from 30 to teens. I wondered how she fit in to this picture. Windsor castle sent a representative: a child of one of the Queen's cousins who told me prior to the liturgy at St. Dunstan's he spent most of his time attending funerals of minor peers and other nobility in exchange for his pension. Several executives of Lucinda's corporation and subsidiaries were there as well, standing stolidly in the damp holding umbrellas. Most of St. George's Covent were there as well, arrayed in rows like warriors going to battle. Many of my parishioners, whom I had seen the day before as we celebrated the Resurrection, came as well: Lucinda was well known and beloved in the area.
I finished the text, and Barbara and her siblings threw hands full of earth into the grave on the casket. They stood for several long moments in tableau, and I kept my place as the gravediggers approached to do their job. My seminarian, Kieran Hali, was beside me as acolyte, bareheaded with the rain streaming down his face, holding a bucket and holy water sprinkler. Lucinda's children turned and went to embrace their spouses and children, and a receiving line formed as people approached to pay their respects.
Many people approached me to murmur appreciation and chat briefly. Harry Hazleton was already bantering cheerfully with those around him, who smiled at his antics. Sheila's new husband, Sean Williams, came to take her arm. They had married a month ago in Devonshire after a brief courtship. I wanted to be there, but I was defending my dissertation the day before their wedding and my air connections couldn't get me back in time. Mary chatted with her granddaughter Agnes for a few moments before they turned to leave.
At last the group was finished, and the family repaired to the mansion for a light meal. It was a subdued and stately affair, Willikins the butler supervised the refreshments flawlessly as usual. A wink at Sister Mary Francis Xavier brought a slight, momentary smile in return as she sat by Barbara's older sister Patricia. I was siting next to the Mother Superior and murmured: "Why is Sister Mary Francis Xavier here?"
A look of fear passed her face momentarily, then subsided as she leaned over: "My sister Patty is her mother. She never knew her father's side of the family, so Mum was the only grandparent she ever knew. Mum always treated her with special kindness, even learning Sign to talk with her."
"I thought you said she was adopted?"
"Patty and her ex adopted her just before he left her. She raised Helen as a single parent while she traveled the word. They've had their problems over the years, but they made their peace just before Helen became a Postulant."
"Does HelenβSister Mary Francis Xavier know who her real parents were?"
"Oh yes," came an usually soft reply. She leaned away from me to talk with her oldest brother.
I caught the young nun's eye and signed:
I'm sorry.
Thanks
, she signed back.