My wife, Kami, recently had an uncle pass away that left her, as the only surviving relative, his entire estate which included a one-hundred-and-thirty-acre weekend property about ninety minutes from our home in Houston. Her uncle had fixed it up nicely so that it had a mixture of woods and open pasture, and he had built a three-bedroom house, complete with stone patio, fire pit, and hot tub. In addition to a small herd of cattle, tended by others, there were three horses that her uncle had kept on the place mostly for Kami's visits, as she loves to ride.
Her uncle had been sixty-one when he suddenly passed away, so he was still relatively active. In fact, we had suspicions that the property had seen its fair share of women out for the weekend, and these suspicions were bolstered when we found a large box of condoms in the nightstand. More searching resulted in the discovery of a bottle of sexual lubricant and what looked to be restraints. Although Kami was deeply saddened by her uncle's passing, finding these things helped lift her mood, and we had a nice laugh imagining him with his lady friends.
For the first couple weekends, we came out to check on things around the house along with the horses, but once we felt comfortable, and with the summer heat setting in, we moved to visiting every three or four weeks. However, when fall hit, and the temperature and humidity dropped, we returned to the weekly schedule. Kami would do some light chores, ride the horses, read and relax in the afternoon sun, and I would do maintenance projects and catch up on my sleep. In the evenings, we would usually start a fire outside, drink wine, talk and cuddle.
Kami and I met during the spring semester of our junior year in college and got married immediately upon graduation. So far, things had been going pretty well, and we were still very much into each other. We were making good money and progressing in our jobs at a reasonable pace, and although we had shared several conversations about kids, we had not yet reached the milestone date in Kami's family plan. Not that the step would be all that difficult, as we used condoms since the pill caused Kami to gain weight, and neither of us found the idea of an implanted device appealing.
My wife is 5'7" tall and slender with natural blonde hair that she wears short, accenting her lovely neck. In college, she was a bit skinny and awkward, resulting in her being self-conscious about her body. However, since graduation she has added a few pounds in the right places which has made her almost perfect in my view. Her long legs and perky B-cups breasts are nicely proportioned for her frame, with nipples that are easily made erect and point slightly upward. The changes have also improved her self-confidence, although there are still occasions when she will revert to her old nervousness.
In bed, she is normally a willing but not overly adventurous lover. I say normally because there are times when she will lower her reserve and let go. Typically, it happens when some there is a festive atmosphere that includes drinking, and her reticence in-between those moments often makes me frustrated because I know it is in her.
The property was located five miles off the state highway and required that we first take several county roads, with the last one being Little Mill Road. It was a single-lane asphalt topped track in reasonably good condition, and like our place, most of the surrounding properties were owned by people from the city that used them as a weekend getaway.
One odd feature of the area was the Little Mill Road Calvary Baptist Church which was set about three hundred yards from our gate. It was strange because there wasn't any community nearby and the fact that it was a black church. It was painted white and consisted of a chapel, with a bell tower in front, that I guessed would seat about a hundred parishioners. In back was a single-story building that likely was a function hall. The parking lot was gravel, and the times we had passed on Sundays there had been about twenty cars present. Occasionally, we would threaten to attend a service, and had even checked the schedule that was posted on a sign near the road. We figured it would be an interesting learning experience and probably entertaining too, but despite these enticements we had never followed through.
It was on a Sunday in late October, during a weekend that had been absolutely brilliant, that we decided after coffee to finally experience the church. Both Kami and I are Catholic, so it was definitely going to be different, but we thought that would be part of the fun. Thus, with me wearing dark slacks and a blue button-down shirt and Kami in a simple, conservative dark blue dress we took the short drive.
During the walk from the parking lot, we received confused stares from several people and once inside they became even more pronounced. We took a spot on a back pew and met the looks from the congregation with smiles. The inside of the church was actually quite nice. There were ten rows of pews, one on each side of a central aisle, and there was the normal raised altar at the front with a choir section to one side. The ceiling was vaulted and the last two windows on either side were made of stained glass.
The sign out front had informed us that Pastor Jerome Mathews presided over the congregation. The choir walked out first, dressed in blue robes with white collars, followed by the pastor who was a fortyish man, easily over six feet tall, with broad shoulders. He had his head shaved and was wearing a charcoal colored suit, dark blue shirt and a bright red tie. The choir consisted of ten women and two men, and looking at the congregation, except for the dozen or so children, that gender ratio held.
For the next hour, we worshipped with the others, occasionally getting looks and experienced a definite difference in style. It was altogether more passionate, with the congregation much more engaged. This included the singing which was more confident and robust. Being Catholic, we were used to a more rote approach with no opportunity for deviation, so this was a completely different experience for us. But, in the end, it was a message of prayer and redemption that is universal to all Christians. When the service was over, we stood outside and lingered, wanting to give a good impression, and had several women come up and inquire about us. When we told them that we had the property across the road and had been curious about the church, they immediately opened up and we had some nice conversations.
"Welcome to our church," a booming voice came from behind us as we chatted with an older woman who I guessed was in her 70s.
"Hello, thank you. I'm Phillip and this is my wife Kami," I said, turning and offering my hand.
At his side was a young girl that looked about three who was clutching his trousers tightly.
Pastor Mathews took my hand in his and gave it a strong shake, "My pleasure, my pleasure. We always like to have guests."
His eyes quickly left mine and turned and took my wife's hand treating it gently while his eyes looked her up and down.
"It was a lovely service Pastor," Kami said with a smile, which brought a fresh one to his face.
"Thank you, thank you very much. Now what prompted you two to drop by?" he asked.
"Kami inherited the property across the road from her uncle. So, we come out on weekends and have been meaning to stop by because it's so close," I explained.
"You're Joe Covington's niece?" the pastor immediately replied.
"Yes, I am," Kami said.
"Well, I see then. Joe was a good man and a good friend of the church. I had heard rumors of the unfortunate news. My condolences to the family," he said in a very sincere voice.
"Thank you," Kami responded, just as the young girl started tugging on his pants.
"This is my daughter Anjanae," he explained, patting the girl on the head, who was wearing a purple dress with black shoes and had her hair pulled into pigtails.
"Hello Anjanae. Nice to meet you. You look so pretty," my wife said while bending down.
Her words made the young girl smile, but also embarrassed her and she turned and put her face against her dad's leg. Pastor Mathews smiled at my wife and patted the young girl's head again.
"We certainly hope to see you with us again soon," he said looking mostly at Kami, then with a smile and a nod he turned to speak with a young woman who had been patiently waiting on him.
"That was fun," Kami said with a laugh, as we pulled from the parking lot and drove back to the house.
"Yes, it was a nice experience," I concurred.
The next two Sundays found us in the same pew at the church listening to Pastor Mathews' sermon. It was easy to see that the congregation was becoming more relaxed with us, and we took the opportunity to speak with more of them. There were some new faces each time but the general size and makeup of the group stayed basically the same.
