Donnie watched Mary Ann from the study window.
She frequently worked in her garden on spring afternoons while he sat and typed away on one of his stories. Today he stopped every so often to look out and watch her tooling away in the soil. He enjoyed the sight of her beautiful and peaceful form in the garden behind their house. Today was the first decently warm Saturday since winter was over and she was wandering around her garden, picking off dead leaves from her bushes and shrubs, apparently assessing her workload for spring.
As he watched her move gracefully around her garden, he recalled the many early years they had traveled while he was in the military and how she had to leave her garden after each change of assignment. It was tough for her at first. However, it didn't diminish her voracity to grow the healthiest and most beautiful garden at every place they had lived. They were most fortunate the last few years of his career as they were able to stay here, in the first house they had ever bought. Now that he was retired from the Air Force, she loved being able to work this garden to perfection.
Mary Ann was a lovely creature, he thought, and ever more so when she was 'in her world'. She carried herself in such a manner, upright and proud, as she walked around outside, her shoulder-length brown hair bouncing around in the breeze as she enjoyed the sunshine. He knew later in the season and on into summer she would pull that lovely hair back into a ponytail to try and keep cool.
Now completely distracted from his work, Donnie let the keyboard fall silent as he continued to watch her. She wore a thin sweat top and blue jeans and was constantly brushing her hair away from her face with one or the other gloved hands. Occasionally she would bend over, facing away from him. She never had really understood what a delight it was for him, to see her backside directed at him like that. Of course, at the moment she had no idea she was putting on so much of a show for him either.
Donnie smiled, but finally dismissed his pleasurable thoughts of Mary Ann and returned to his computer screen. He tried to get back to writing his story. He was only partially successful though and found himself unconsciously peeking out at her every now and again. After an hour of glancing to see how Mary Ann was getting on, Donnie noticed she had moved on to some heavier yard work and was attempting to lever a large rock out of the dirt with a shovel. He sighed as he watched her fruitless efforts for several minutes. Finally, he looked up in time to see Mary Ann's hands slip from the handle of the shovel. She fell backwards onto the lawn, bouncing that pretty behind off the turf.
Donnie smiled.
He also realized it was time to help, solicited or not. He got up from his desk and went to the garage. He retrieved his old work gloves and stepped out into the warming spring air, walking in Mary Ann's direction, as she was getting back up and brushing grass and dirt off her jeans.
"Stop!" He called jovially. "Stop, before you hurt yourself."
Mary Ann looked up and smiled, wiping some sweat from her brow with the back of her glove. "I was just trying to move this big old rock a few feet closer to the corner of the patio."
"Well, maybe if I help you it'll keep your back in place and your skin on your body." He quipped as he arrived at her side. "I'm surprised you haven't broken anything already, especially the handle of that shovel. Where do you want it?"
"Over there, on the side of the patio, just past the corner."
"No problem, my dear."
For the next half-hour, Donnie shoved at the stubborn oversized boulder, laughing along with Mary Ann at their efforts, but finally succeeding in moving the thing to its new site. He leaned on the long handle of his shovel and pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket. He wiped it across his sweaty brow. "You know I really do love yard work. I love mowing the grass, trimming a few trees and bushes. Most Saturdays it's really pretty relaxing out here. But this, this is too much like work now that I'm an old retired guy."
"You aren't old. Why do you always say that? Fifty is not old." Mary Ann scolded him.
"Okay, but the body sure doesn't feel young anymore. Can't do all the things it used to for as long as it used to." Donnie says as he reached around and rubbed his back.
Ignoring his grumblings as usual she looked up to the sunny sky and brushed her bangs back. "I just can't believe this weather. Feels like we're jumping straight into summer."
"No chance of another frost, I'd think, even here in late March," I said. "I think we could even start planting tomorrow."
"Come on." Mary Ann stood, smacking the dirt form her gloves. She started back to the kitchen door. "Least I can do is get you a cold drink for your hard work."
Donnie couldn't help himself as he watched her backside sashay away from him. The jeans clad bottom did so excite him still after all these years.
"Sounds deliciously enticing, my dear. Can I get a tall glass of 'you' with that, too?" Donnie grinned.
Mary Ann stopped in her tracks and gave him an ornery look over her shoulder. She turned and threw her muddied gloves at him. "Always, nothing but a one-track mind."
"That's me, Love." He said as he reached out and caught one of her gloves in mid-air.
Mary Ann shook her head and continued on into the house.
Donnie was sitting on the boulder they had transplanted when Mary Ann came back out ferrying a glass of lemonade in one hand and iced tea in the other. As she walked towards him, he noticed again how attractive she was. When he looked at her hair, he grinned. The heat must have gotten to her. She had pinned it back into that summer-style ponytail he really liked. It now framed her face showing off her lovely ears. When she smiled back him, her face came alive. Her vibrant green eyes sparkled and her lips parted naturally allowing her teeth to brighten the overall effect. He found himself thinking about wrapping his arms around her as she walked up and handed him the glass.
He resisted and took his offered glass of lemonade. "Thank you, dear."
"Thank you my hunky handyman for helping me move that big, big rock. What would I have done without you?" She mock fanned herself and rolled her eyes.
Donnie stood and grabbed the waistband of his jeans and hitched them up a bit. He spoke in a deeper tone, "Yea, little lady, what would you do without your studly man of the house?"
Mary Ann put her finger to her chin, gazed upward and pretended to give the open question of his some serious thought. All the while knowing she was preparing for the great tease. "Let me think. Hmmm, where shall I start? Find me a hunkier, younger man that can fulfill all my womanly desires. Oh yes, and of course, IF I marry again, it will be for money, not sappy love." Then she took a big swig of her iced tea, peering at her husband over the rim of the dripping wet glass.
"I guess that is your short list. As I think I've been hearing that same notion for about twenty years now." He took a gulp of his lemonade.
"You can test my notions anytime, my dear, and kick the bucket." She reached out with her bare toe and tapped his shin.
"Nah, which would mean you'd get too rich on me with all that life insurance."
"Oh, forgot about all that."
"Sure you did. Usually that's the third thing you tease me with when you want to get to me." He reached his shoe and played footsie with hers. "Of course, I don't mind the insurance money so much, as not being able to stand the thought of you wasting it away on some young punk, hunk or not."
"Oh, baby, baby. Where would I ever find another hunk as sexy as you? Hmmm?" Mary Ann smiled over her glass and batted her eyes.
They bantered back and forth for another few minutes before they got back to work.
The unseasonably warm early spring day gave them ample opportunity to get the ground broken and then mixed with peat and fertilizer. With aching muscles, as the sun set and a few storms clouds began to roll in from the west, Donnie looked at the rich earth they had just tilled.
"This is gorgeous dirt." He commented.
"If you can call dirt gorgeous, I suppose so." Mary Ann agreed. A stiff warm breeze tossed a few loose strands of auburn hair across her face.
"It's too late to go to the nursery to get the plants and seed," said Mary Ann, looking at her watch. "Is there anything else we need to do before we plant?"
Donnie smiled, after all these years he still couldn't believe she gave him such great openings. "I could be a good ole farmer and take my wife into the field and make love to her." He leaned toward her.
"Here, in the dirt?" Mary Ann wrinkled her nose and gave him a wry smile.
"Better than doing it after we spread the manure." He reached close enough to meet her lips with his.
"Rather forward aren't we farmer boy?" Mary Ann countered, but still eased into his kiss.
The kiss was brief.
Then Donnie stepped back and looked at his beautiful wife.
