Eclipse

Eclipse

My story is unashamedly a New Zealand story. Some of the terms used may be foreign to some readers. For example pounamu is green jade also known as greenstone. Pakeha is a non-Maori New Zealander. New Zealanders often call apartments "flats", Cabins "Baches" and hiking "tramping". I include these words to make the story authentic and hope that they are not too distracting. This has been submitted once before but as I have been unable to access it and withdraw the original copy to edit it I am re-submitting it.

Mark was standing at the door of the site hut. It was a viciously hot day and the nor 'wester was kicking up irritating clouds of yellow gritty dust. In response Mark was only dressed in khaki shorts and his hi-vis jerkin. Visibly a construction man, he was donning steel capped boots with incongruent big woolly socks (on such a hot day) topping off the effect was his helmet with air muffs folded back. All revealed a tanned muscular body, sparse chest hair, his sweat mixed with dust, tousled sandy hair and bright green eyes. A Maori Tattoo adorned his pakeha left shoulder and a pounamu pendant at his throat gave a hint of his background.

Squinting against the glare of the sun, he called out to the young Maori Quantity Surveyor sitting at the desk behind him. "Hey 'H', I have just seen the mother of my children!"

Henare stood and came to the door. "Hey Bro', she's an angel, who is she?"

Mark replied "Oh, a teacher from the school up the road is bringing a class to look at the construction."

What they were staring at appeared, to all intents and purposes, a large white goose fussing over a brood of goslings up the slope and to the hut all dressed in identical hi-vis jackets and blue wide brimmed sun hats.

"Who authorized that, kids on the site are a bit of a risk aren't they?"

"Oh, I dunno, I was asked to give them an induction and show them around very carefully."

At that point mother goose arrived, relieved herself of her hat and looked up into the eyes of Mark. Green eyes met clear blue and wide. Both were suddenly stuck for words. Mother goose dropped her eyes for a second in a show of shyness then head down gave peered sideways back at him expectantly.

Mark gathered himself, "Er, you must be Christina Andersen."

"Christina answered in the affirmative, giving a broad smile."

Utterly charmed with that, Mark took a short while to recover.

Fishing in his pocket, Mark pulled out a creased and grubby business card.

Christina held it in both hands "Mark Hardwicke, Structural Engineer, ME (hons), ooo brains as well as brawn, I see."

Flushing with pride, Mark again took a little while to recover. Finally, "Well you all need to come into the hut and I will tell you all how to be safe on a construction site, I think you should all be able to fit in."

With that Mark and Christina rounded behind the little goslings to herd the brood through the door into the shelter of the site hut.

At this point there needs to be a bit of background to these two.

Mark is the product of a back country farm in New Zealand. Living in the back blocks he grew up to be practical and self-reliant. The farm was reasonably remote requiring the farmer to be carpenter, metal worker, plumber and whatever it took to keep a rugged back country farm functioning to carry the cattle, deer and sheep. Mark had an older brother and a younger brother and sisters. His older brother was set to inherit the farm although most of those knowing the family privately felt that Mark would be the most able, being the practical one. However Mark had been a constructor from an early age and engineering was his love and he had never coveted the farm.

Mark is a bloke. He is the kind of a guy you might meet solo in a high country hut, all gaiters and rifle having just come down from the divide chasing chamois and thar. He is the sweaty bloke with beer in hand and tatty leather apron having just spent all day helping getting the framing up for his mates new house. He is the captain of the country rugby team, the open side flanker with a fearsome reputation holding mana with his Maori team mates.

Christina is probably a polar opposite. Although they had one thing in common, Christina's father had been an engineer. He had died of melanoma when Christina was five and she could barely remember him. Up until then her family had lived in the construction towns built for the mighty dams that provided the backbone for industry.

Christina's Mother never got over her husband's death and held a photo of him in pride of place. She would tell wonderful stories of their life together inspiring Christina to idolize the father she never really knew.

Life with a single mother had been hard for Christina. Her Mother suffered a series of bad relationships with men and making ends meet was a constant struggle. She helped her mother at the hospital laundry in her holidays but it was difficult. Many of the other workers were rough and her mother felt she was a cut above.

Her Mother loved books and their home was full of them. Christina inherited her Mother's love of books, and went on to achieve an education degree. Despite her potential Christina elected to teach at a primary level. Why? Christina loved children. She was a devoted teacher and nobody would disagree at how good at it she was.

Her big difference from Mark was that she was a city girl, a 'townie'.

As promised, Mark showed Christina and her goslings the site; very safely. Despite the discomfort of the dust he found them enough shelter to admire heavy machinery at work building a new large water supply dam.

At the end of the visit they gathered back at the hut. After all the thank yous, finding one misplaced blue hat and counting the goslings twice to ensure they were all definitely there Mark spied that Christina was still clutching his card.

Ever the opportunist Mark suggested "if there is anything else you need to know for your project, just give me a ring, my numbers on the card."

Christina, equally adept at the opportunity game snatched a pen off the desk and wrote her number on the back of the card and gave it back to Mark. "If there is anything else I can help you with, why don't you ring me and we can talk about it over dinner". She then departed swiftly with her goslings. Mark and Henare were left staring at one another. Mark was first with a "yesssss! Sweet as!!"

High fives.

As Mark had already marked Christina out as the Mother of his children, this was going to be an opportunity that would not be missed. The phone call was made. There was to be no neutral ground for these two on their first date, Christina would cook for Mark at her house. Mark would bring the wine and anything else necessary.

Christina lived in a small house across the road from a beach. She had one flat mate, another teacher who was out of town at that time. She had prepared a table and food was well advanced. Waiting for Mark she poured herself a glass of pinot noir and was staring out the front window at the swell rolling in from the sea when Mark pulled up at the kerb side in front of her.

Now, Mark was a mountain lad, his wheels of choice was an old green Toyota short wheelbase 4 x 4 Landcruiser, Mark had inherited from his old man in the days when they would both go hunting up the backcountry. This was a vehicle that had seen many rocky roads and shingle creeks. It still had a couple of dog boxes on the tray although the pig dogs that once rode in them had long gone.

These days Mark had taken the knobbly tires off it and slapped on some road tyres. In the city it was a curiosity with its snorkel and winch, but Marks mates loved it and it still rode high. It was real good for terrorizing old ladies in supermarket carparks. Now Mark did get up country from time to time. He had not washed it for about 5 years and the cruiser still retained a good portion of the geology he encountered on these trips.

To Christina the materialization of this outside her home was a bit of a shock. She had been anticipating something a little more elegant. In time Christina learnt to love the beast and she liked nothing more but to shock people by arriving at some gala event then stepping out of it dressed in her finest.

In this Mark was quite different to his eldest brother who was more into polo playing than hunting. He was a gentleman farmer, an executive, more corporate and eager to expand buying into farms elsewhere. He was of the horsey crowd and toyed with three day eventing for a while. His wheel of choice was a Merc.

It was a stunning clear spring night. A little cool but not a breath of wind. They decided to wrap up and transfer dinner to the beach. Laying out the blanket and their dinner things they found they had the whole beach to themselves. Once eaten, they gathered up their things then snuggled down under a Duvet. There they observed the waves and the birds and the sky in the last glow of the day.

They began to kiss. Christina was wearing a big oversize woolly jumper and yoga pants. They began to gently caress each other with their tongues from mouth to neck, their ears. Mark was slow and deliberate. Christina responded to this in kind. Finally Mark slipped his hand under her jumper finding that she was braless, he began to caress her breast and lightly deliberately pinching and twisting her nipple. He felt her tremble as he lifted her jumper revealing her white porcelain flawless skin. As he lifted he saw the tail of a tattoo. Curious, he immediately raised up the jumper. Under sprayed across torso, her left breast to her shoulder, was the most beautiful floral tattoo he had ever seen. He gasped, "My god that is a work of art. Who did that? It must have cost a mint."

Christina beamed proudly. I saved a while for that. The guy who did it does not come cheap. Mark then leant down kissing it and licking it. "I want to eat it" he exclaimed.

They continued their lovemaking. Christina was fascinated that Mark, so big and rugged looking, was so gentle and in control. Mark had a hard exterior and a soft centre. In rugby he was hard and uncompromising. There are many who have been on a receiving end of a hard hit from this boy to know he was an opponent you treated with respect.

To women he was polite, soft spoken and gentle. Women easily succumbed to his confidence and those who knew him intimately gave him absolute trust. He learnt his sex with the country girls but particularly the Uni girls. Earlier he did not have a lot of exposure as he went to an all-boys boarding school but he had been well taught by his mother on the benefits of being a gentleman and he expressed this as much in his loving making as in the way he treated women socially. Always in his lovemaking he made sure his partner's needs were addressed and that included orgasm.

Christina on other hand had learnt her sex with the rough boys in the store room at the laundry where she worked in her holidays. Their sex was no frills, simple and hard. There she had lost her virginity to Jason Hunter, a boyfriend her Mother hated. There she had never been brought to orgasm by a boy but the remembering its illicit adventure and the roughness was a powerful aid to her masturbation.

On this, their first night of lovemaking Mark paused murmuring that he had been unprepared. Christina was protected but unwilling on their first night without a condom. "I don't want to hurt you but I simply don't know where you've been."

Oh shit, thought Christina that's killed the atmosphere, but she was wrong. Mark proceeded to give her the best sex she had ever had to date, short of penetration. And it was the first time she had orgasmed with a boy. He worked her body with knowledge, care, and total focus. He worked his way around her body kneading, caressing and teasing. Pinching and licking, he sensitively searched out Christina's special places until he was finally between her legs.

Exploring for her G-spot , he used his thumb giving her clit unrelenting pleasure. Christina was gently writhing out of control until she could hold herself no longer. She came down with a little burst of shame. How could she reciprocate but then the ever attentive Mark gently guided her into pleasuring him, Mark 101. That night Christina learnt the art of the blow job, at least in the way Mark enjoyed it.

Taking a break they lay back surveying the darkening sky and the appearing Milky Way. Mark pointed out the Southern Cross and Matariki within the myriad of winking stars.

Out to sea a glow appeared on the horizon. Slowly arising from the sea was the largest full moon Christina had ever seen. Initially she could hardly believe it was the moon. She had never noticed it rising like that before. To her it was mystical. She saw it as an omen.

She laid there for hours in Marks arms. Mark dozed off at one point. Christina gentle shook him awake gushing "this the most magical night of my life. My new life is beginning."

And so began their odd relationship. On one hand they were totally different people, He the mountain man and she the urbane sophisticate. But they were strangely complementary. They were always willing to derive new experience from one another. Mark picked up on Christina's love of books. They would enter used bookshops together. Although having a predilection for romantic novels Christina would read almost anything. Mark had a strong preference for the outdoors hunting, fishing and male derring-do.

Mark introduced Christina to the back country, the bush and tramping. She came to love tussock covered hilltops, the mist shrouded cloud forest with the moisture dripping lichen and filmy ferns. The mountain lakes and cascading rivers, she learnt to curse the bush lawyer when its hooks grabbed her pack but love its fruit when it ripened. She loved the smell of the bush when it was raining, the song of the bellbirds when she camped among the beech trees and the blazing red of the forest mistletoe.

Christina's happiest moments were skinny dipping in bush pools and making love on the soft cushions of the bush mosses and the ferny undergrowth with the little grey warblers trilling above and the voyeuristic fantails flitting from branch to branch above them. One special moment was when Mark introduced her to the taste of the Tawhara the edible petals of the kiekie flower. "This is really something," exclaimed Mark, "You townies prattle on about fine wines and dining but none of you are sophisticated enough to even know about this rare delicacy." Mark was laying it on but Christina bought it and when out dining with friends did not hesitate in expounding on her new found knowledge of the edible delights of the bush.

Christina was not so happy about hunting and once stopped Mark shooting a deer they happened upon, but she did shoot a couple of rabbits when Mark took his 22 on one of their outings. Mark always respected her reticence about hunting and never pushed it down her throat. All these things were new to a townie.

Nobody who knew Christina, let alone her, would have dreamed that she would take to this adventure. Somewhere inside of her must a have been a gene for intrepidness and over time she became adept in traversing snow and even mild rock climbing. On the other side of the coin, Mark was finding himself in the library, the art house cinema. Listening to obscure music and going to plays, and, heavens above, the ballet. Two halves were coming together into the well-rounded whole of sophisticated people. They became the centre of a tight social group that was the creation of their gregariousness and their infectious love of life, be it the town or the back country.

Through this period the popularity of each of them and their outdoor adventures brought together a set of friendships, a new combined group of enduring friends mainly teachers and engineers. Much of this had to do with Christina's personality. In contrast with her teenage persona as a serious and earnest loner, she had flowered into someone who was sparkling; she was simply charming and funny to be around. Her smiles and giggles, the flicking of her big innocent eyes from person to person brought joy but it was the presence of Mark who gave her the strength to endure these occasions. Especially after a couple of drinks she could turn sadness into a happy day. In this she was never flirtatious; her charm was never directed toward anyone in particular.

Ironically this had something to do with her nervousness and insecurity in the company of others. If her friends could see her before an occasion they would be shocked. Anxiety, panic attacks; only Mark ever saw this side of her, sometimes having to talk her out of the toilet where she would be hiding, to get to a party or some other social occasion. This was an issue that did not trouble Mark too much. It made him feel she needed him. He liked being the strong one, he liked helping her and when she blossomed in public he felt vindicated. He always thought that she would become stronger and more confident in time and anyway he would always be there for her.

Children would never affect her like this. It never affected her teaching. Her fear was of other adults, even her closest friends. She was always strong and in control in front of her class.

Over time some of the group paired off and even married. The ranks of the married were eventually joined by Mark and Christina who married with a small ceremony and very large and noisy party.

Christina's flat mate had moved out and Mark naturally moved in. As a married couple this was their first house, all be it rented. They talked often about their goals. They wanted children. Christina had no siblings and really had no family but Mark could see in her interaction with her pupils as a teacher that she had a strong maternal desire. He thought she would make the most fabulous mother and he could not wait to start a family.

Christina thought in a similar way to what sort of father Mark would make. He was the second oldest in a family that was spread in ages. He had a lot of interaction with younger siblings. She noted that on that very first day they met how young children, especially the boys were drawn to him and how he humoured them, never pushing back with his smiling twinkling eyes. Not shy or afraid to pick them up.

Christina would deliberately encourage her classes to meet him. She was proud of him as a role model for kids. He was just naturally fatherly but he was also rugged and intrepid and full of tales of the bush, the land and his sport.

But first they needed a house, a family home. They had very little saved but Mark knew he could earn big bucks as an engineer offshore. Using their laptops, they scoured the internet looking for opportunities overseas. They wanted something that they could share together. Christina was reticent about opportunities in the Middle East but Mark through his work heard of an opportunity in Fiji. There was a big project expanding the output of a hydro electrical generation dam in the interior of the main island. They needed a construction engineer for one year's contract with the possibility of renewal. They both thought this as ideal as it was closer to home and both thought a year on a tropical island would be fantastic. Neither wondered why the position existed at all or why it had been difficult keeping anyone there long term.

Mark got the position and preparations were made for them to move. He would go first and pave the way.

As it was summer they decided to have a beach Barbie the weekend before Mark was due to fly out.

They gathered with their friends on the beach in front of their rented house. An added sadness was that they would be leaving this place which meant so much for Christina and Mark as their first home together. It would be a pivotal time for them as a couple.