"It was so good to hear from you, honey. I can't remember the last time you called."
"I know, Mom. I'd rather email than call and I'd rather text than email. Calling seems like something from the Stone Age, you know?"
His mother laughed and said, "Yes, I do. Even your father and I text each other now most of the time. In fact, we sometimes text each other from different ends of the house rather than walk down the hall. It's just so much easier than calling and the other person can respond when it's convenient for them."
Zack understood why his mom and dad essentially lived on opposite ends of the big house he grew up in and let her comment stand on its own. "So they really can teach old dogs new tricks. And by old dogs, I mean Dad, of course."
His mother laughed again and said, "He misses you, honey."
"I know. Tell him I miss him too, okay?" There was a pause before he asked another question. "So how is Mrs. Kelly doing? It's been what—a year now?"
"Oh, more than that, sweetheart. Robert passed away a year ago March so that's...what? Fifteen months now? And to answer your question, Kendall seems to finally be doing better and I think it's largely because she stays so busy at the ranch. I don't think too many folks stop by to help anymore though, you know?"
"That's too bad. She's such a nice lady. I really thought she'd have sold the place by now."
"We all did, Zack. But she's a tough woman. I don't think I've seen her cry once after the funeral."
"Well, maybe she'll find someone else who can help her out in all the ways her husband did."
"She's certainly pretty enough. From what I hear, a lot of bees have been buzzing around the hive, if you know what I mean, not long after Robert was laid to rest. Bees buzzing around the hive. That must have sounded terrible, huh?"
"It's fine, Mom. I know what you mean. Shoot, I even had a crush on her when I was a kid."
His mother laughed and said, "You and about a hundred other boys from around here! So when will you be home?"
"I have finals every day this week until Thursday and that's it. I'll leave as soon as I can on Friday so I should be there early that evening."
"Well, I can't wait to see you! I'm gonna make your favorite dinner so don't eat anything after lunch, okay?"
Again, there was no reason to mention graduation or bother asking why his parents wouldn't be attending. Instead of bringing it up, he just said, "I won't, Mom. I promise. See you then, okay?"
"Okay, dear. We love you!"
He told his mother he loved her too, then hung up.
Zack Bartlett was finishing his final semester at The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Fort Collins, Colorado, and would be heading home to Pueblo to take a job with a veterinarian he'd known since childhood and who was also getting ready to retire soon. He also planned to take a trip out to Vineland to see how Mrs. Kelly was getting along knowing the crush he'd had on her hadn't ended back in high school.
She and his mother, Beatrice Bartlett, had been casual friends for years after Zack's mom had taken him to the Kelly's ranch to learn to ride horses when he was ten. He'd spent quite a bit of time there over the years and since he'd gotten a little older, Mrs. Kelly, or Kendall as he'd been allowed to call her since high school, was the best part about his visits.
Kendall had just married Robert Kelly, whose family had owned the ranch for four generations, when Zack went there for the first time.
Kendall was from a small town in Wyoming. She loved riding and taught everything from how to tack up a horse and ride for pleasure to dressage up to and including the fourth level.
Nothing other than basic riding—and Mrs. Kelly—had ever interested Zack and yet she always made it seem like he was her most important client anytime he showed up. Then again, she had a knack for making every client feel special. During high school, she offered to let him ride all he wanted in exchange for doing work around the ranch and Zack had jumped at the chance. He not only got pretty good at riding, he ended up learning how to do a ton of new things as well as learning important virtues like being on time, taking responsibility for his actions, and working with other people. Seeing Kendall was a side benefit; one he never got tired of enjoying.
Her husband wasn't nearly as people-friendly as her, and in some ways he reminded him of his own father, Zachary, Sr. Neither man was unfriendly, they just didn't show a lot of emotion. They got right to the point, said what needed to be said, and that was that. Kendall on the other hand, was not only beautiful but friendly, outgoing, and charming. Kendall dealt with the people and Robert ran everything else.
Looking back it was obvious why he'd had such a huge crush on her. Her smile alone was enough to give him an all-day boner. Boner. "Who even uses that word anymore?" Zack thought to himself. He laughed when he thought about it, but it hadn't been a laughing matter back then. He'd often walked around with one for hours on end, day after day during those summers when she was outside where he could see her. There were times when he'd had...a boner...for so many hours, things physically hurt by the time he went home. But my oh my, was she ever worth the pain.
Kendall would be turning 35 this summer making her about 10 years older than him. Zack had just turned 25 last month as he'd managed to finish his BS in biology as an undergrad and vet school in seven years while most of the other students in his class had taken eight or even nine. Regardless of her age, Kendall was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and that included the several dozen cute co-eds he'd bedded during his time away as well as a female professor or two who'd found Zack as attractive as he'd found them.
It was one of those brief affairs with a very attractive, much older woman of 42 that had given him the confidence he now had to try and pursue a relationship with Kendall when he got home. He knew better than to come right out and directly tell her the way he felt about her—how he'd felt about her since high school. No, he'd just be friendly, make himself available, and wait patiently for an opportunity to present itself. Even then, he knew she might let him know in no uncertain terms she didn't feel the same way about him, but unless he found a way to make his feelings known, he'd never find out.
Zack had played high school football and ran track but wasn't even close to being good enough to play at the collegiate level. Then again, his course load kept him so busy he didn't have time for any team sports. Instead, he preferred to swim and work out on his own in one of the gyms on campus and that was more than enough to keep his 6' 0" frame in superb condition when he wasn't home working on Kendall's ranch during the summers. Zack certainly wasn't the best looking guy on campus, but he was well into the top 10% and had no problem finding female companionship—and plenty of it.
Between his hard body, his thick, dark hair, and perfect smile, getting a date or hooking up was a virtual given any time he wanted. As if that wasn't enough, Zack was also as a nice a guy as any girl could want to meet. He treated every one of them like she was the most important person in his life whether their time together lasted for several hours or several days and he often mentally thanked Kendall—and his mom—for instilling those values in him. It had paid off in spades as evidenced by the numerous notches in his belt over the last seven years. The notches were, of course, all figurative, as he neither kept track of the number nor ever bragged about his conquests to anyone. Each of them was something special to him in her own way. He'd laughed more than once whenever he remembered an oldie he'd heard many years ago: "Big, little or short or tall, wish I could've kept them all. Mmmm, I loved them every one." And he had. Not romantically, but they were more than just a number to him to be sure.
The difference now was that he was finally at a point where no hook up or brief affair could fill the deep longing in his heart for that special someone. Like all guys and many women, Zack loved sex, but sex for its own sake wasn't enough anymore. He had no way of knowing whether or not Kendall might be 'the one' or even interested in him for that matter. But he'd been around her long enough to know she had all of the attributes he wanted in a wife and if there was a chance, however small...
As far as her exterior went, that was a no brainer. What made her so special and so desirable was that Kendall also had the kind of personality he knew he wanted in a wife and he was finally at a point where he was ready to commit to one person. That didn't mean she was ready again yet, but he had every intention of finding out.
For her part, Kendall was simply gorgeous. She was a true blonde who had this kind of long, silky hair that looked like some sort of soft, spun gold. Her eyes were a bright blue and always seemed to be so alive they sparkled. Zack knew eyes didn't actually sparkle or even twinkle, but Kendall's were just so...spectacular. He never asked if, like him, she'd worn braces, but her smile was every bit as gorgeous as his and like him, she had those soft, full lips that looked so very...kissable.
Zack laughed again as he thought about how many pairs of white socks he must have stained yellow during his high school years jerking off to some fantasy about Mrs. Kelly who'd suddenly decided she wanted him to kiss her or...maybe even something more. He laughed even harder when he thought about his poor mom finding them and what she must have been thinking about her 'perfect' son. She'd never said a word about it though, and those days were well behind him as he had no need to take things into his own hands or more aptly...hand...anymore.
