Heartbrea and Hope

My universe, my rules in a story that takes place in a fictitious island chain.

St Ives. South island and current home of MC. The main town is named Somerset.

St. Austell. North island and the home of the other half of the people taking part in the project with Movie Max. The main town is named Devon.

The town of Alsace is inspired by the real Amish town Berlin, Ohio.

C-level. Executive or chief level as in Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer.

The 'dad reflexes' thing was inspired by a video I saw. Google terms: 'Reddit. Dad reflexes. Girl on bike is saved from being killed by a car speeding through the crosswalk.'

Anyone doing anything remotely sexual is over 18 years old

Covid does not exist in this world.

Heartbreak and Hope Ch. 08

Sunday, March 15, 2020

We got up a bit early as I was rousing and Jennifer playing with my morning wood was an indication that she was in the mood. We were a month in from having our lives torn apart and we were happy. Jennifer was the biggest part of it, but the lower stress levels of having secure food and shelter was also a welcome part of our lives. Simply being able to sleep without worrying about those things puts me in a better place each morning.

We had been texted to eat on our own time as there would be no big breakfast meeting with Movie Max, so we headed to Hamburg Bagels near the end of our street for a quick and easy breakfast, getting back in time to take the shuttle bus at eight going to the Western end of St. Ives Island almost ninety minutes away. Most of us were just relaxing for the ride, talking among ourselves when Jessica did a double take while talking to Sophia, causing us all to look toward the front to a field full of hot air balloons.

Upon seeing the balloons ahead of us, Jennifer squeezed my hand hard, clearly loving what she was seeing, sporting her mile-wide smile. Yeah, she was happy with our upcoming adventure and I can't say I was complaining. We stopped short of the balloons and quickly exited the shuttle bus and everyone was excited.

Claire was our hostess for a quick introduction and plan for the day, "Good morning couples! Today we have hot air ballooning for you. With no room for a video person and all the gear, each balloon is remotely wired for sound and video. Two couples plus your pilot in each balloon. Let me introduce you to Sandra Michaels of West Island Balloon Tours."

Sandra was a sandy haired woman probably around age forty with a pleasant face and a warm smile, "Welcome!. It's not often that I have to call in my friends in the ballooning community as I only have three balloons of the six needed. There are a moderate number of us in the ballooning community and I was able to bring in some of my friends as this will be great publicity for both my community and The Cornwall Islands!"

"Just a few things. Your pilot is the boss and it has to be that way. We promise to not be evil about it, but safety is important and it goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. Don't lean over the edge or start jumping around. It's a long way to the ground and we haven't lost anyone yet and don't want to start today. Let's get everyone assigned and introduced to your pilot."

We were paired up with Zach and Sara for this adventure and we watched as the last of the balloons was fully inflated and was straining a bit against the tie down cables. Claire read the list, "Zach and Sara, Joshua and Jennifer, head to the yellow balloon with the outline of St. Ives Island on it."

Zach was not my favorite person in our group, but I could be polite. At least he was better than Nick and both Jennifer and I liked Sara more. We walked over to the balloon and met our pilot, Faye, a lean woman in her fifties with shortish brown hair and a slightly stern look to her smile. We received instructions from Faye with her two biggest rules being; 'Don't fuck around' and 'Do not touch my burner'.

A half hour later, we were in the basket and Faye hit the burner pretty hard as they cast off and we climbed. What a view we had for three hours as we drifted over Western St. Ives Island. Western St Ives, excepting the beach areas is mostly farmland with some forest mixed in and we saw a lot of cattle. The view of the farmland below and the north coast of St.Ives Island was picturesque as a postcard and we each took over one hundred pictures. Toward the end of the ride and in the far distance, you could just make out the south coast of St Austell Island as it got closer to the coast of St Ives Island as we traveled Eastward.

Another experience of a lifetime, the video for this one being taken by two remote-controlled cameras Movie Max had installed on the balloons. I wasn't quite there yet, but I was falling for Jennifer and I knew this because her delight in this adventure was feeding my happiness as we became closer. Each of us took a few hundred pictures each as we passed over the farm fields, forests, and even the occasional small town below us.

We landed in a field full of grass and Aberdeen cows that were more curious about us than angry or dangerous. We even ended up with a few pics of Jennifer or myself or even both of us next to the balloon, a cow, or both! Shutterfly was going to love us by the time our two years were done as we both saw making another photo book in our future.

After landing and getting into the shuttle van, we were taken a few miles to a small town named Alsace. Wanna know what is just about the last thing I thought could exist? Naked Amish people. Welcome to The Cornwall Islands. Well, naked except the hats and the bonnets.

I still hate shopping, but doing it with Jennifer was not bad and yeah, it was because I was falling for her. Happy wife, happy life is a real thing. Jennifer had my hand as she was pulling me toward a red faux wood, as in cast concrete, barn full of nicknacks and other homey things. Jennifer bought a pillow with an outline of St Ives Island, a live fern in a hanging pot with a map of The Cornwall Islands on it, and a small hand blown glass Christmas ornament that said, 'Alsace, St. Ives Island 2020' on it. I did like how it made Jennifer happy and she was clearly turning our place more and more into our home. Those little things and mementos that show our life together passing.

They took us to dinner at a place called Des Essenhaus for some very well done and typical Amish fare. I hadn't had roast turkey in forever and Jennifer chose fried chicken and as usual, Movie Max had chosen well and dinner was delicious. We ended our time in Alsace taking some pictures in front of a bronze statue of an Amish horse and buggy with the words Alsace, St. Ives. Hokey and silly, yes, and perfect for the cover photo of our upcoming photo book. Jennifer fell asleep lightly against my shoulder as we headed back into Somerset for a relatively early end to our day around eight that night. I can't complain and we were both tired. We talked about sex, but she fell asleep cuddled on my chest and I lasted maybe a minute longer and the adventures just kept coming.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The previous weekend had been pretty routine with a simple beach day Saturday at one of the coves West of Somerset on Saturday and a quiet pool party at our condos on Sunday. It was now out of the norm, but we had a Wednesday evening Movie Max meeting in a Queen Anne style building at yet another new restaurant named Rumbold's across the road from the harborside promenade. We were seated in their second floor dining patio with decent views of the harbor. The quality was excellent though there was no particular theme to the food and it was roughly American with some British items mixed in, the standout being scones being served in lieu of the typical bread and butter.

Once seated and given a few minutes to settle and take a few pictures, Claire started, "Pack for an overnight from early Saturday and overnight Saturday into Sunday. You will be woken at half past six Saturday morning. You will be put up in a hotel and spend the night on Saturday. We are giving you a grand tour of the town of Devon."

Claire waited for everyone's happy reactions then advised, "I wouldn't stay up too late the night before as the day will start early and both days will be long and I promise, completely worth it."

She turned on a large TV and went through some of the highlights of the past week. Jennifer and I each won ten bonuses for one of our more vigorous sessions of the week. She was in the mood and I came home from work on Monday to her calling me from the bedroom ass up and on elbows. She didn't have to ask twice and yes, I made damn sure she got hers before I had mine. As I got to know Jennifer better, I began to know her body better and how to give her her sexual release.

After the brief meeting, the scones came before the entrees and now I knew why the place was popular. It came with clotted cream which sounds like it might be nasty, but trust me, it's awesome. On recommendation of the waiter, I had the baked chicken breast with a Chipotle sauce and Jennifer had the chicken bacon ranch platter and Movie Max hasn't messed up picking a restaurant yet.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

The day was going to be long, but I was looking forward to it. Our TV alarm went off at half past six and we had to meet our bus at a quarter past seven so there was no time for 'fun' showers and we did it separately, though we did our morning makeout greeting for a minute or so. Greeting Jennifer properly each morning and taking the time to show her true affection was part of what I did to keep her close and yes, we were both active in working to become closer, falling in love was our mutual unspoken goal. I ended the kiss with a gentle hand stroke of her cheek and said, "You are a wonderful wife."

She smiled and she looked at me with wonderful warmth then she startled. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she backed away. It wasn't coldness, it was just... fear?

The shuttle van took us directly to one of the jet ferries that ply between the two towns and I imagined the St. Austell group was getting a day similar to ours and coming to Somerset. The sun was trying to burn through the fog as we embarked on the ferry. It had rained the night before and there was a lot of early mist and fog in the air over the harbor, but the sun broke through just as we arrived at the Devon docks like a good omen. As I looked around at the town before me, Devon was every bit as enchanting as Somerset. We had been there before on our way to the cenotes, but I had never truly looked around closely.

We were met by Jay, as we disembarked and met him standing just off the ferry pier. After we gathered around him, he greeted us in his usual manner, "Good morning couples! Lots of plans for today and tomorrow. The St. Austell group is doing a similar thing in Somerset today. Both towns are remarkable places and everyone should get to see both!"

Near the ferry docks where we had landed was the center of downtown Devon perhaps a half mile to our East. Beyond the center of town were midrise condo buildings along the harbor shore perhaps a mile or two beyond. The most prominent feature in town was a tower that looked like a smaller version of the CN tower with a two story saucer-shaped top deck. Another obvious feature was an enormous ferris wheel on a fun pier about a quarter mile away.

Jennifer squeezed my hand and smiled happily as we stood taking it all in and this was going to be another big adventure. I looked over at her, a big smile making it clear that she was looking forward to the day. We walked across the street to an elevated tramway station then took it one stop to the East to find ourselves in the middle of town with midrise buildings around and behind us and canals and a park in front. One difference was Somerset did not have any tall buildings more than eight stories in the center city with only the condos on the harbor shores West of Town being taller. Devon had perhaps three dozen buildings between fifteen and thirty stories tall, some commercial, but most mixed-use. Think of a much smaller and shorter Dubai with lots of concrete and glass buildings with modern appearance.

The people seemed to be roughly the same as those in Somerset, all going about their day off with many gathering in the park. Street vendors and food carts were a bit of a change compared to The Central Fountain and West Park, which did not allow them.

I thought of Ashley less and less, but it felt strange to walk in Devon knowing my ex-wife had likely been walking close by there sometime in the past week. I was all in with Jennifer, but Ashley and I had parted on good terms and sometimes thoughts intruded. Though a bit smaller than Somerset, Devon held many points of interest and their tram system was up and running while the one in Somerset was still under construction.

We were set loose to wander as we wanted along the canal at the center of town, appropriately named The Central Canal, and told to meet an hour and a half later at half past eleven at West Canal Street at the north end of the park that covered both sides There were roads along the park, appropriately named East Canal and West Canal. The park itself lined both edges of The Central Canal and the area was appropriately called Central Canal Park. It was a sunny Saturday as residents, both families and couples flocked to the park. I realized this was the site for the nightly music and laser show we had seen mentioned on the CIS App.

There were many similarities between Central Canal Park and the area near The Central Fountain including an amphitheater and the pedestrian friendly design of the area with extremely limited parking for autos. I'll spare you a description of the shops we went to other than most were local artisans and she did buy a pair of handmade silver earrings with the outline of St Austell Island on them.

After buying the earrings and putting them on, Jennifer came in for a hug that lingered. She looked into my eyes with a lot of warmth then it faded again. It was not coldness, it was definitely fear. She forced whatever she was thinking away then took my hand and pulled us out of the store. I asked her what was wrong and she said there was nothing wrong, but I stopped walking, forcing her to stop. She looked me in the eye and repeated, "Nothing is wrong."

She was not lying and I believed her, but it was disquieting.

Per our instructions, we met at the North end of the park on West Canal at half past eleven. There was a two-story cement and glass building with a neon sign with the outline of a sailing ship above the name, 'Harr!Ible!" If you were to guess a pirate themed lunch and dinner theater where they made a million bad pirate puns, you would be right. We walked in and we were paired off with Jayson and Cara in a wooden booth made out like part of a sailing ship.

I won their 'trivia' contest. What is the largest roast beef fast food franchise restaurant in the US? Arby's? No, Arrrr!bys. They would not take my answer until I put enough emphasis on Arrr! Where does a pirate dock his ship? The Harrr!bor. Yeah. I'll stop now. I won a milkshake, my choice of one of their stuffed animals or characters from a display, and a faux parchment certificate that says, 'This is to certify that Joshua Simmons is Harr!ible'. The words 'Joshua Simmons is Harr!ible' was printed much larger than the words before it. Damn right, I hung it up in my cubicle at work the very next workday morning.

They had a gift shop with a lot of plastic signs with terrible pirate puns such as signs such as, 'Your mom is such a harrrr!' or 'YO! Hoe! Yo HOE! I want a Hoe! And a bottle of rum'. Dirty bastards. For my win, we were given a voucher so we went to a counter to select one of the stuffed animals or characters. Jennifer selected an anatomically correct, but over-endowed pirate.

Why she chose that one over the stuffed parrot that told dirty jokes, I will never know but she was laughing at it. If you pulled his, uh, thing he would say a couple dozen random things and this was much more advanced than anything from when I was a kid. She yanked it once and he said, "Shiverrr me timber! Ayyy keep doin' that!" when she was laughing but did not follow up, he said, "Arrr! I didn't tell ya to stop!" She yanked it again and he said, "I'm a hoisting up me mast!" The third time he made a cum shooting sound, splut! Splut, SPLUT! She pulled it another time and he said, "I'm lookin' for a... LAND HOE!!"

If I had picked out that thing, I would have received an eye roll and a frown. Selling USB sticks with videos and photos of the guests' adventures seemed to be common and Harr!ible was no different. They had our adventures on video and yes, we bought that one, too.

The food was surprisingly excellent and my chicken tenders, while a rather unimaginative choice, were cooked well, not too bready and the seasoned fries were good enough I asked about them. Unfortunately, they would not tell me their secret seasonings as it was good enough to keep people coming in and they did quite a business out a side window with takeaway food. Add in two dozen choices for condiments for the tenders and Movie Max added another great meal that was quite an adventure and a lot of fun.

There was a show with some singing and dancing. I can't say I hated the nude kickline of pirate wenches. Jennifer just smirked at me while that part of the show went on, and yes I like looking at pretty women. This was followed by an audience participation portion where I was pulled onto a stage and several of us 'fought' from one faux pirate ship at the center stage to another faux pirate ship with faux pirate swords that were obviously made of fabric and stuffed like a stuffed animal. You will be shocked that we, the guests, won the fight and the actors who worked there surrendered.

Walking out, you were given the choice of walking out the door or walking up a ramp to a diving board made out for 'walking the plank' into a pool at the exit. Jennifer 'made' me walk the plank then jumped into the pool after me. I got a hot kiss and promises that she would make it worth my while later that night though I was never worried that Jennifer would let me get blue balls. The key to her vagina was the same as the key to her heart and the key to her heart was simply to give myself to her and make sure she understood that simple fact.

Jay switched off with Claire as host for the afternoon and we headed to the fun pier. Claire texted into her phone and one by one, a ride pass was delivered to each of our phones for the fun pier including one ride on Devon Overlook, the giant ferris wheel at the end of the pier that was one hundred meters in diameter. Yes, I said meters, The Cornwall Islands are a mixed up mishmash of measuring standards even more bewildering than in the UK. Take the UK mish mash then add the presence of large numbers of US soldiers in World War Two who would have nothing to do with anything metric. Our passes allowed us to set up a reservation time for Devon Overlook, the first of which was a half hour later.

We did a few rounds of bumper cars and one on a swinging boat suspended from an A-frame high above the pier deck. Our time came up and we were in the 'short' line for the ferris wheel once we presented our reservations. What a view, though the ride was only one rotation loading, three rotations moving then followed by one rotation exiting. Still an experience well worth it, well, at least once.

After that, the giant carousel was okay if only above average because it was much larger than a typical carousel. We both enjoyed the spinning swing ride, mostly because it also rose much higher in the air than similar rides. The fun pier was not big enough for a serious roller coaster though had a nice selection of typical rides, all of which were open for us to experience free of charge thanks to the pass that Claire had texted into our phones.