Sonny Throckmorton; Casey Kelly: "And my heart is sinkin' like the setting sun, setting on the things I wish I'd done. Oh, the last goodbye's the hardest one to say. This is where the cowboy rides away."
= = = =
When Kiki and I started dating, she made sure I attended all of her family functions. At the time her grandparents were still alive and they ruled the roost. Kiki's father had two older brothers and one younger sister. Kiki's mother was an only child and as such her mother's parents doted over Kiki and her brother. Those gatherings were always crowded with all the aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and their extended families.
Since Kiki appeared to be in love with me, I got the once over from all of her family tree. Mostly friendly but some had doubts.
"What is it you do for a living Ryan?" from Kiki's Uncle John as about a dozen of the adults gathered around one of the food benches.
"I'm an assistant dispatcher. I help schedule fleets of trucks."
That failed to impress any of them, but I acted confident enough and said that it was a good job for me. I truly believed it. I couldn't afford a college degree, and no one was stepping up to pay for one for me. This job had a future even though I lacked a degree. Well I was about the only one without that precious diploma so Kiki got an earful while I was purposely distracted.
Apparently Kiki dismissed their concerns and I passed the sniff test. Kiki and I married later that year.
When the trucking company I worked for went under, shortly after we married, we were forced to pay for our health insurance. Being relatively healthy we opted to go with only major medical. Kiki's father's brother, uncle Tad, was a family doctor. He agreed to waive most of his fees for us so I along with Kiki became his patients.
According to Tad, we lived in the big city. His practice was in a town of about six thousand people and thirty miles away. Our town was fast approaching fifty thousand people. Tad's office was his alone. He didn't believe in teaming up. I don't know the exact count, but he employed at least a handful of people.
Over our first two years of marriage, I think I saw Tad once when I contracted strep. I got a penicillin type shot in the butt. There were a few more visits for physicals and bloodwork but nothing serious. Kiki saw Tad several times until she got pregnant. Tad shied away from delivering babies, something about malpractice insurance being astronomically expensive. Instead, he recommended a specialist in our town. We'd previously agreed to wait much longer to start a family but somehow Kiki's birth control pills failed. Uncle Tad brushed it off saying they weren't foolproof.
So along came Nathan, my eldest, just after our third anniversary. Two years later I was holding Ginger in my arms. That lady doctor did a very good job, I think. Let's face it, if Kiki liked her, so did I. It's not like a guy has any clue what's it like to be pregnant and scream out babies. Driving sixty miles round-trip to see Tad, with sick children, didn't last long. We started using providers closer to home for emergencies.
Life was good. I progressed up the ladder and am now managing five people. Kiki went back to work part time when Ginger entered pre-school. My management job included medical benefits which really helped cut down the out-of-pocket expenses. Although we'd quit using Tad, it was still sad when he died of a heart attack. At the gathering after the funeral Tad's widow handed me some envelopes.
"These are copies of your medical records from Tad's practice. We wanted to make sure each of his patients got their records. Don't worry, I haven't peeked."
The envelopes were sealed, quite securely. I hadn't been to see Tad in a few years, for myself anyway, but I'd taken the kids a few times. I just wasn't getting sick. Kiki's envelope was a lot thicker because she was still seeing him for annual physicals and the likes. Ginger and Nathan's envelopes were thin as they had only been to see him a few times. Rather than misplace them, I went out and put them in the trunk of our car.
It was a few days later when I opened my trunk to put some boxes of work related stuff there. After loading the boxes, I brought the envelopes back into the house. Putting mine in my briefcase I took the other three into the kitchen.
"Hey Kiki, Tad's office wanted to make sure we all had copies of our medical records" as I Tossed Kiki and the kids envelopes to her.
Kiki's reaction certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I really couldn't put a finger on it. Anxious? Made no sense. I repeated what I'd been told "Don't worry, I haven't peeked."
Another odd reaction as Kiki's eyes were glued to the envelopes, like I'd handed her a grenade with the pin missing. She counted out three envelopes a few times.
Gathering herself, and after counting to three again "Did you get yours too?"
"That I did. Dinner smells good, what's cooking?"
"Um, yeah, roast, potatoes, and salad. It'll be ready in about thirty minutes."
I have a home office. Since some of the information on my computer is sensitive, I always keep my office locked. That also meant I was responsible for keeping it tidy. Such is life. For the next twenty minutes I answered emails.
Kiki's eyes were red-rimmed when I sat down for dinner. Ginger and Nathan had to be peeled from in front of the television.
'Why the tears?"
Swiping her palm across her face "It's just sad that Tad died so suddenly and so young."
Again I was struck with how different Kiki was acting. She basically hadn't shed a tear at his funeral. Death affects people differently I guess.
I'm not a neat freak, especially in my office. I do, however, know where everything is. About a week later I started to suspect that someone had been in my office because things weren't exactly as I'd left them. Nathan or Ginger would have made a mess, so maybe Kiki cleaned up after them? Kiki denied knowing anything about it. Maybe I didn't know my home office as well as I thought.
Kiki perked up within a week and in my mind the sex increased. For the next six months things were running smoothly.
+ + + +
As the kids grew up we became friends with the parents of the kids involved in the different activities our kids were in. Dance, gymnastics, softball, baseball, basketball, and I'm sure I've left out more than a few. I was the head or assistant coach in many of the sporting events. Kiki became close with about a half dozen of the women and we began have get-togethers every other month, activities permitting.
This one was at Ben and Jill's house. I really wanted to pass as I'd been having some bad headaches and additionally I'd had some skin cancer removed from my neck. Sitting in my recliner sounded much more relaxing than partying. Kiki promised me a special treat if we went. Off we went. Yeah, well, the little head still calls some of the shots. Our relationship had been strained for years.
As word spread that I wasn't feeling well one of the other parents, Rick, offered me a cannabis infused gummy "This will loosen you up quite a bit. It's got some THC in it."
Rick's that kind of guy who is about one hundred pounds overweight, wears the same ear ring as his favorite action movie hero, and is about to lose his home to foreclosure. Yet he is a self-proclaimed expert on just about everything. So he explained that edible cannabis travels first to your stomach then to your liver before getting into your bloodstream and brain. The liver converts THC into a stronger form and this combined with the THC from the original product adds to the intensity of the high.
Since it is legal in our state I took one. First time for everything. Being that I was a virgin user, the impact was strong and quick. I found a bedroom and stared at the ceiling, as it morphed into things only an imagination can concoct. Any pain I may have had was long gone. Was the music real or in my head? My watch told me I'd been laying here over an hour when I tumbled off the bed and crawled into the bathroom. After draining my bladder I crawled back towards the bed but cuddled on the carpet this time. Eventually I made my way out of the bedroom. The railing on the stairs looked like wild grass swaying in the wind. Much too challenging to attempt, as I'm fairly certain they shouldn't be gyrating like that, so I sat on the top stair.
There were the telltale sounds of women chatting. Every once in a while there was that laughter the way some ladies do. As I regained my focus I realized they were talking about sex. Orgasms, foreplay, where they liked to be kissed. Guess I never appreciated what the women talked about.
An unknown voice was raving about how she loved to be licked to an orgasm. Others joined in. It was then that I caught Kiki's voice "It's been so long for me. Ryan used to do it all the time but I bet it's been eight years."
Well I was being crucified as being an uncaring lover and a poor excuse for a husband. Grab a rope and find a tree. Construct the gallows. Sharpen the guillotine. Death to the selfish husband. How could I? What a cad. Under normal circumstances I probably would have let it slide, but I was feeling no pain and wasn't using my thinking cap. Definitely stoned.
The ladies heard me coming down the stairs and, just like crickets, became very quiet.
"Feeling better" from my bride.
"Yes and no. Came to defend my honor. It's been ten years."
Kiki looked confused "Huh? What's been ten years?"
"Me going down on you. Don't paint me as the bad guy on this. Tell them why."
Kiki's eyes opened much too wide. She looked like one of those kids in a Margaret Keane painting.
