Dani 3

Authors Notes:

This story is dedicated to Literotica author and frequent commenter northbaybear. A public comment from him, on my last story got me thinking about the blessings in my life. Thanks for the challenge.

Admittedly, this story could/should be posted in the Romance category, but as a LW junkie...well you know...it's about a loving wife after all.

Thanks to John and Marie for their work on this story. I made significant changes, after they returned it to me. All mistakes are mine!

TSG

Dani

A tribute to my best friend and loving wife.

"Hi. My name is Dani Wilson. Will you go to the Winter Carnival Dance with me?"

I looked up from my prepared speech and scanned the pews of a very crowded Saint James Church. I could easily see the confusion on the faces of most of the attendees. However, those closest to me had heard the story of how we met, many times. Those people had wide grins and tears in their eyes.

When a groan/sob escaped my youngest, Julie's mouth, everyone present knew, there was much more to the story.

Forty-two years earlier:

I was a nerdy high school junior. My friends called me B.P. (Bean Pole), as I stood 6'2" and weighed 130 pounds. I had long greasy blond hair and a face full of acne. I wasn't shy around girls; they scared the shit out of me. About the only thing I had going for me was, I was good at math and science. I mean really good!

Dani Wilson was a sophomore at the time. She was tall and athletic and a football/basketball cheerleader. She was a good student, was popular and involved in many extracurricular activities. I was surprised when Ms. Long approached our study hall table in the school cafeteria.

She looked at me and said, "When the bell rings to end the school day, I want you to stay here."

Turning her attention to Billy Wolf and John Shepard, she instructed, "You'll both leave the area when the bell rings."

As she walked away, John asked, "What the hell did you do?"

I shrugged and answered, "Beats the shit out of me!"

Billy and John hightailed it when the bell rang. I was annoyed when I couldn't spot Ms. Long. I did notice Dani Wilson enter the cafe shortly after the bell rang. It seemed that she stopped at every table to say a few friendly words to everyone she passed.

I was stunned when she turned from the table two spots from mine. She walked toward me, pulled out a chair, and sat. She said, "Hi. My name is Dani Wilson. Will you go to the Winter Carnival Dance with me?"

To this day, I can't remember if I spoke to her. I suspect that my eyes got big. I suspect that my smile was huge. I know that I nodded my head vigorously.

Dani clapped her hands together and said, "I'm so happy! I was extremely nervous asking you. The dance is six weeks away. I am sure that we should go on a few dates before the dance. Does that sound OK?"

My head bobbed in agreement.

"How about Saturday night? Let's go to a seven o'clock movie and share a pizza after?"

My head never stopped nodding.

Dani reached out, cupped my hands and said, "I think you're such a cute guy!"

+++++++++++++++

"To this day," I continued to tell the congregation, "I wonder if Dani would have asked me to the dance if she had known what a poor dancer I was."

Forty-two years earlier:

Dani and I had a date on either Friday or Saturday for the next three weeks. They were simple dates. We went to a movie. Afterward, we went out for pizza, burgers or ice cream. Sometimes we joined classmates at the restaurant and other times we were alone. Starting on the second date, we'd end the night by heading to the tracks. There was a remote parking spot along the railroad tracks at the far end of town that was a popular make-out spot. Dani loved to kiss and I loved kissing Dani.

On the two weekends leading up to the dance, we went out on a date Friday and Saturday night. On the second Saturday, Dani suggested that the back seat of my old rusted Pinto might be more comfortable. As usual, Dani was right. The back seat was very comfortable, which made the kissing even better.

My Mom bought, and insisted I wear to the dance, a navy blue leisure suit and a white shirt with blue polka-dots. I looked ridiculous! Dani said I was the best-dressed guy and she was proud to be my date.

She wore a floor-length, off-the-shoulders, pink gown. She looked gorgeous and felt even better wrapped in my arms for each slow dance. I learned something about Dani that night. Not only did she love to dance, but she was, without a doubt, the best dancer in the school gym. Her moves weren't outrageous. She didn't dirty dance. Instead, she looked so at ease and comfortable. Each song that the DJ played seemed to be designed specifically for Dani's enjoyment.

And me? I guess I was a typical dancer for a sixteen-year-old boy. I marched like a soldier, to the beat of the music.

I was uncomfortable and I silently compared Dani and me to Beauty and the Beast. She looked so perfect in her moves and I was so clumsy. The discomfort vanished during a fast dance. Dani moved in fairly close and put an arm around my shoulder. The other hand was stretched high in the air and rocked to the beat of the bass drum.

She looked deep into my eyes and said, "I'm so happy being here with you!" Six times during the night, popular jock types either tired to cut in on the dance floor or asked Dani to dance while we took a short break. Each time, Dani politely declined and said, "No, thanks! I'm saving all my dances for my boyfriend!"

+++++++++

"I had a very difficult first semester of my sophomore year of college. It was the only time in our nearly forty-two-year relationship that Dani made a bad situation even worse, although to be fair, she didn't know I was going through a tough time."

Many in the church knew that this story had a prominent place in Harrington family lore.

Thirty-eight years earlier: It was two days before I was to leave for the start of my sophomore year at a top engineering school in Boston. Dani had left three days earlier for freshman orientation at the University of Connecticut. My Dad was with me when my doctor gave us the bad news. I had cancer. The good news was, we had caught the disease early and a successful treatment was to be expected.

It was the first time I had ever seen my Dad cry. He hugged me with all his strength and bawled into my cheek for a minute or two. His sobs scared me. After regaining control of his emotions, Dad wiped away the tears, looked into my eyes and said, "We're going to kick some leukemia ass."

Dinner that evening with Mom, was equally as emotional. We told her about the disease and positive prognosis. My doctors in Hartford arranged for a ten-week treatment plan to begin the following week in Boston.

Mom fought relentlessly for me to stay at home, but the doctors suggested and Dad agreed, that being in Boston and working on my studies would be a much better environment than staying at home and worrying.

As a family, we all agreed that we would keep my illness to ourselves. I didn't want Dani or others to worry needlessly. Dani was starting her college career and needed to put her time and energy into her school work.

Cancer treatments affect patients differently. In my case, the chemotherapy and radiation treatments made me sick and weak for the twenty-four hour period immediately after each hospital visit. I quickly started losing hair once the radiation procedure started and just as quickly decided to shave my head.

Dani and I talked once a week on Tuesday nights. I was expecting Dani's call and was waiting in the hallway for our shared dormitory phone to ring. Our previous two calls had been odd. I couldn't put my finger on any problems we were having, but I wasn't completely happy about our relationship.

Our call that Tuesday night didn't last very long. Dani had met an interesting guy and he had asked her on a date. She wanted to go out with him and thought it would be best if we broke up. We were young. We should see other people. We could still be friends. We had a lifetime in front of us and we could get back together sometime in the future.

The radiation had been kicking my ass for the last couple of weeks. Dani's bombshell knocked the shit out of me.

"Two weeks," I told myself. "If I can get through the next two weeks, stay on top of my school work and finish the radiation treatment, I'll have a five day Thanksgiving holiday to get my act together."

Thanksgiving was great. My Mom's family gathered at her childhood home outside Albany, NY. The family was shocked to see my big white bald head and even more stunned to learn I'd been fighting cancer.

Luckily, I was able to share the news that the tests I had taken earlier in the week showed that I was in remission and on my way to a full recovery.

When we returned at ten-thirty Thanksgiving night, our home answering machine had three messages from Dani.

My Mom observed, "She sounds adamant that you call her tonight!"

I was about to tell Mom that I'd return the call the next day when the phone rang again.

Dad laughed and said, "Adamant and persistent!"

I answered the phone:

Me: "Hello."

Dani: "Didn't you get my messages?"

Me: "Hi, Dani. We just walked in the door."

Before I could say anything else, Dani jumped in.

Dani: "I'm so sorry and I love you. I promise nothing happened. I didn't do anything inappropriate with that jerk. I promise! I love you so much and I miss you." Me: "I miss you too, Dani. Can we get together tomorrow?"

Dani: "I don't want to wait until tomorrow. Please come over tonight! Please! We can watch a movie. I want to be with you!"

When I hesitated, Dani continued, "I know I've been awful to you and I'm ashamed. I need you and I want to be with you. Please come over!"

Me: "I'm going to take a shower and change and then drive over. I'll be there at eleven fifteen. Do me a favor. Come out to the car so that we can talk in private."

Dani: "My Mom and Dad miss you too and my sisters think I'm the stupidest bitch in the world for breaking up with you. Please come into the house."

Me: "I promise that we'll all see each other tomorrow. Please come out to the car tonight."

Dani was halfway down the front walk by the time I pulled into her driveway and put the car in park. She was skipping, her smile was ear to ear and she looked radiant.

As she pulled the door open and climbed into the car, I removed the ball cap I had been wearing to hide my bald head. Dani froze with her mouth hanging open when she saw me.

"I've been pretty sick over the last few months. I wanted to talk with you about it before I saw your family."

Dani groaned and launched herself over the car's console and into my arms. She cried harder than my Dad from a few months earlier and her hug almost strangled me. Our conversation lasted about a half-hour, but it wasn't much of a conversation. I talked and Dani cried.

I had noticed the shades in her house moving and knew her family was keeping their eye on us. When the front door opened and Dani's Dad walked out, I said, "Your Dad is coming out to check on you."

Mr. Wilson stood outside the passenger door of the car, as Dani rolled down the window . "Is everything OK, sweetheart?"

Dani started to nod her head and then started crying.

Mr. Wilson bent down and looked across the car at me. He was angry and was about to lash out until he got a good look at me.

"Chris? Are you OK?"

I smiled back at Mr. Wilson, shrugged and said, "I've got my girl back and I beat leukemia, all in one week! I'd say I'm doing great!"

+++++++++

"Our wedding was like so many others, while at the same time being completely unique."

Scattered around the church were a majority of the two hundred and thirty people who had watched Dani and I exchange our wedding vows.

Thirty-five years earlier:

"Who the hell plans a wedding for the end of February? Especially in the northeast."

I'd thought the same thing over and over through our entire eight-month engagement.

Our wedding day was bright and sunny, and the temperature was minus eighteen degrees at eight in the morning.

When I swore and started to complain for the ten-thousandth time, my Mom jumped in.

"Hush," she barked. "This is Dani's day and you will not spoil it in any way. Are we one hundred percent clear?"

I had heard the phrase, 'it took my breath away,' many times over the years. I didn't know what it meant until I saw Dani standing next to her Dad at the end of the church aisle. I was stunned and speechless. Suddenly, the cold temperature didn't matter. Our wedding day was perfect. As the music to the Wedding March started and Dani and her Dad took their first steps down the aisle toward me, I wondered what I had done, to have God bless me with such a special woman.

My college roommate stood up for me and his toast put things in a perfect perspective when he began, "I'd like you to join me in a toast to my best friend and his ... best friend!"

The wedding reception was choreographed to perfection. Everyone had a ball and I suspect that a few of our under-aged cousins had a little too much fun.

Dani and I changed out of our formal clothes and were going to leave for a quiet hotel room on the other side of the county.

I met Dani outside the bride and groom's changing rooms. We were about to walk down the hallway to the stairs and then down to the reception to say goodbye.

Dani looked up at me and asked, "Do you promise not to get mad at me, Mr. Harrington?"

I laughed and countered, "Don't tempt me, wife! I'm looking for a loud drag-out fight on my wedding day!"

"I'm having so much fun. Do we have to leave?"

Ninety minutes later, we were dancing in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by family and friends, when the bartender let us know that it was last call.

An hour later, we arrived at my parent's house for the after-reception party and stayed until the end.

We arrived at our hotel room at three in the morning, stripped our clothes off as we made our way to the bed and fell asleep in each other's arms moments later. We consummated our wedding after we woke up later that morning.

The last thing I remember hearing was, "I love you, Husband."

+++++++++

"Dani and I had just started our new careers when we were married. We hadn't accumulated enough time to take a honeymoon. Our first vacation together was three years later. We took a ten-day hiking adventure at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming."

The faces in the church showed interest in my story.

Thirty-two years earlier:

There were fourteen of us in the group, including our guide, Greta. She was going to take us on a one hundred and fifty mile hike that brought us to many of the most popular sites in the southwest edge of the National Park.

Each night, we were going to sleep in very rustic cabins, built around the park. We carried our food, but also brought fishing equipment. The streams, rivers and lakes in Grand Teton National Park were teaming with trout.

On the third day of the hike, we reached a fork in the path. Greta told us, if we continued up the path, we would reach a bluff that overlooked one of our nation's largest breeding grounds for the American Bald Eagle. From the bluff, the group could look down into the tree tops and see eagle nests.

If we went to the left, we'd hike into the valley and along one of the most famous trout streams in the state.

We voted. The result was twelve to one to see the eagle nests. Greta didn't vote.

I asked, "Is there any reason that I can't hike into the valley and fish? I'll stay overnight and meet the group at the next cabin tomorrow night."

Greta answered, "We talked about this before we left; a minimum of two people have to go together if we split up."

As I knew she would, Dani said, "I was hoping that we'd have other fishermen in the group. I know that Chris wants to fish that river. I'll go with him."

Dani and I had an incredible day. We didn't see any bald eagle nests, as they were hidden in the tops of trees, but we saw dozens of the beautiful birds as they hunted for fish along the river.

We found our cabin by mid-afternoon. Dani unpacked our gear and I took my fishing equipment to the river. The fishing was spectacular and I brought two large rainbow trout back to the campsite for dinner.

As we snuggled together in the tight confines of our two-person sleeping bag later that night, Dani whispered, "Sing me a song."

"You know I can't sing."

Her lips touched mine and then pleaded, "Please!"

I gave in and quietly sang into her ear (to the tune of the lullaby "Mockingbird"), "Hush little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

When I stopped, Dani said, "Keep going. I want more."

"Sorry babe, I don't know the rest of the words."

"Use your wonderful imagination and sing to me!"

I don't know why I had picked 'Mockingbird.' It just entered my head. I thought for a second or two and continued with made-up lyrics, "If that mockingbird won't eat, Papa's going to beat-up old Uncle Pete."

Dani's chuckle started deep in her stomach and she shook silently, as we held each other.

"When old Uncle Pete - he drops down dead. Papa's gonna-do-a-flip in our king size bed."

I knew my silly rhyme would get more difficult, because when I said, 'bed,' I decided the song would have a more sexual component.

Some seconds later, I was able to continue, "In our king size bed I'll grab your tit. I'll squeeze it kinda hard and lick your clit."

Dani was convulsing with laughter, in my arms.

"When your tiny little clit is ready to cum. I'll squeeze it between my lips and make you hum."

She slapped my back with both hands.

"As you hum, your tit I'll flick. I'll spread you kinda wide and slid in my dick."

And as a grand finale,

"With my dick, I'll love you deep. Together we'll explode and we'll fall asleep!"

Dani and I had made love many hundreds of times. We enjoyed variety in our sex life. We were adventurous and uninhibited. But the one thing each lovemaking session had in common was an urgent, powerful and somewhat rough finish. We both thought Dani needed that to orgasm.

That night alone in the cabin, Dani and I were facing each other and laying side by side. We were able to lift her leg, so I was able to slide about half my penis into her warm wet vagina. We both felt it. It was electric and the feeling consumed each of us completely.

We made love very slowly, each of us having to move, to create stimulation, due to our awkward position inside the sleeping bag. Our lovemaking was slow and leisurely and was lasting a wonderfully long time. I had just started to wonder if I needed to change positions so that I could give Dani an orgasm when she scratched my back, groaned, and her pussy started milking my dick.

I'd never felt anything like the vise-like pressure of Dani's pulsing vagina. I exploded, we both cried out and we orgasmed together.

Dani and I were up with the sun. I caught another trout and we ate it for breakfast.

After clearing our campsite, we hiked almost fifteen miles together, until we met up with the rest of our group at the next cabin.

As we had done every night, Dani and I slept together in our giant two-person sleeping bag. I don't know how long I'd been asleep when Dani poked me until she woke me up.

Our cabin was filled with the entire group, so I quietly whispered, "What's the matter?"

When Dani answered, I could tell she was crying. "You're going to think I'm nuts."

I kissed her lips softly and told her, "Too late, baby. I've known you are nuts for a long time! What's wrong?"

"Last night, you got me pregnant. We're going to have a baby girl."

"How could you possibly ..."

Dani interrupted me and said, "I just know and I'm so happy."