Wanders Ch 02

Author's note -

This is the second chapter in an ongoing series of character studies. Here the two leading characters discover each and their world. Maybe age is just a number. This is not a stroke story; of course, this being Lit, there are some sexy scenes.

All characters are over eighteen years of age and are fictional. While some places may be geographically correct, what takes place is fictional.

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"Good Morning, Sally. Two things, first did you get an overnight package addressed to me? Second, is everything set up for the conference this morning?"

"Yes, I got the package. What am I suppose to do with it?"

"Call Raul and have him come to the office. Put him in my private office. He'll know what needs doing. He will give you the package back and which I want to be sent back to me for 8 AM delivery to me here in Watkins Glen tomorrow morning. Make a guaranteed reservation at the Riverside Inn in Overlook, NY for me beginning the day after tomorrow and running for the next eight days. I am not sure when I will be arriving, likely sometime during that time frame. I will need a suite when I get there. Give Raul the address of the inn. He will know what I need."

"Yes, sir."

"All right, connect me to the conference room, and let's get this ball rolling."

Two hours later, I finally got off the phone with the team, and we all had a clear idea of how to go forward. Walking back onto the bus, "Kat? What's wrong? You look upset. What's going on?"

"You know the little ring I always wear? Aunt Flo gave me that ring when I graduated from high school. That ring belonged to her mother. It's lost. I've looked everywhere, and I can't find it."

"It's got to be here. I know you have taken everything apart, looking for it while I was outside on the phone. But, for sure, the ring is here where I can't say. When I misplaced something and could not find it, I walked away for a day instead of running around looking for it. Almost always, I found it the next day or the following day. Baby? It is here, and it will turn up. Ok?"

"Neil, I, I just can't understand what happened. I'm upset, and well, I'm worried that it is lost. And what do I say to Aunt Flo? Give me a few to calm down. Losing something this important is so unlike me."

"Kat! Do not beat yourself up. The ring is here, and it will turn up. Making a guess, it will turn tomorrow morning." All right, genius, how are you going to get the ring back without stirring up all kinds of stuff on her part?

"Hun, let's go in town, get a bite to eat, and then go to the Corning Museum. Have you ever seen crystal done as a statue?"

"No? I've seen pictures but not in person."

"As you know, I love to do landscape photography. Taking either crystal or glass and shaping it into something else is another art form that I find endlessly fascinating. In Chicago, you'll see I have a few small pieces of glass in the condo along with some photos as well."

After lunch, we got to the museum and began wandering about the galleries. Seeing the exhibits was the first time Kat had seen works like this and how they came to be. As we strolled about, she struck up conversations with one or another staff member, talking about techniques and what all else I didn't know. What became very clear to me was that Kat was a genuine artist in her own right.

"Kat, at some point, I am going buy or build a house, a house for the both of us. As you saw, they have some great design concepts I'd like to incorporate into our new home. What do you think?"

"Neil, my darling man. You have no idea what this place has done to me. It is incredible, breathtaking, and it has changed my notions of what and where to go next."

I was taken aback by Kat's reactions. Her eyes bounced from one exhibit, one piece to the next, and back and forth as she drank everything in. She absorbed galleries in ways I did not understand. But she was incorporating everything she saw.

I stepped outside and called my office. "Sally, I need you to get a hold of Raul and find out from him when the earliest he can have it in Albany. Then send me a text with what he said. And no, I will not give you any details, just let me know what it says. Thank you, Sally." Thirty minutes later, my phone chimed in, telling me I had a text. The text said, "tomorrow afternoon, not later than three. The other thing will be there by eight in the morning." Well, well, tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

"Sweetheart? Roll over and go back to sleep. I'm going to take Ru out for a walk and run. We'll be back in a little while. Ok? When I get back, we will need to start moving towards Albany. I'd like to get there around four or so."

I was waiting at the office when FedUP arrived. Yes! They did have it. Thank all the gods in all the heavens for that. Very carefully and securely, I slipped the ring into my pocket. Together Ru and I roamed around the campgrounds. About an hour later, we headed back home and heard the shower running when we came inside.

I carefully put the ring just inside the back fold of the sofa in the front of the bus. Where I hoped that Kat would find it there as it was next to where she usually sat. Then, walking into the bathroom, I held a towel out for my wonderful woman. "Does anyone here need their back dried?"

"Get over here, sailor man! I need lots and lots of your hugs." Wrapping my woman in the towel and holding her deep in my arms.

"Honey? If you are interested, there's a cup of coffee in the kitchen with your name on it." Going to the kitchen and pouring the both of us a cup of coffee. I put Kat's coffee down in front of the sofa where she usually sat and where the ring was half-hidden from view. Looking up, I saw her moving very slowly, wrapped in the towel toward the sofa. As she started to sit down, she saw it, the half-hidden ring.

The discovery led to a scream, then tears, then a huge sigh of relief. Never in my life had I seen anyone as happy as she was. At first, Kat stood there wrapped in the towel, simply looking out into space. Then the smile came back and came back, and my woman, well, my woman, has back. The smile that lit my day was back. Her eyes were glowing like the precious emeralds they are. The warmth was there. All was good in the world.

"Neil, you have heard me say that since meeting you, my world is entirely different than what I might have dreamed. The world I dreamed of was teaching school kids how to draw and some handsome man riding a white horse sweeping me off my feet. Instead, yesterday I saw a world in glass that, to be honest, I don't know existed. But, for sure, it changed my views on what art is. Add to that not being able to find Aunt Flo's ring, and well, I was lost."

"I don't have any kind of horse. The best I can do is a fuzzy dog with pointy ears that barks a lot and will, on occasion, nip your fingers lovingly. Would that work?"

Kat answered my question with peels of laughter. "Asshole! Get over here!" I happily scampered out of the dog house with my morning worries fixed. However, this evening promised a lot more.

"Is it ok if I move his lordship off the sofa? Maybe he can go back to his throne upfront?" Ru! Move it, or I will sit on you, go on, dog. Move it.

With that, Ru slinked off with his tail between his legs and went up front and jumped on Kat's seat there.

"You only think your world is different. You have changed everything I thought would be. I had it set that Ru and I would wander back roads looking for the next great photograph. What I got instead was an icy cold beer and you. You reversed the course of my life, dear Lady."

"Hey, do you think we can shake our collective asses and get to Albany by four this afternoon? There's a package at the hotel I will need to sign for and review quickly. Are you good with this change in plans?"

"Neil, tell me one thing. Will we be together? If, yes then I am good with whatever."

At three-thirty, we rolled up to the inn where we were to stay. Kat stayed with the bus while Ru ran around and chased whatever there was to pursue, much to her amusement. I went into the hotel, got us registered and the keys for our suite, then met the messenger waiting for me. I dashed off my signature for the package, and he was on his way. Then I walked back out and found the dynamic duo, "hey, good looking? You and your buddy gunna stay out here all day? Or might you give me a hand getting stuff up to our room?"

"Old man? You have been so good all day. But you have to revert to form and start your shit again. You know Cathy told me she has to kick Carl's ass almost every day, or he just doesn't act right. I can see now that you are the same as he is in every respect. So what do you need a hand with?"

At that instant, two bellmen appeared with their carts. "Show them what you want upstairs? They will take care of the rest, and I park the beast. That work?"

Ten minutes later, I walked into our suite to find Kat on the floor playing with Ru. "Honey? I'm sorry I was so upset earlier. But, the last day or so has been so stressful, what with losing Aunt Flo's ring. Then the Glass Museum just knock me off my feet. I think I could spend a week at the Glass Museum going back and forth, seeing everything they have. Lord, if I lived near there, I would be in heaven."

"Have you a question or two, Miss Kathleen. When you and I started on this trip, the original idea was that you'd ride along with me beside the canal. Well, we haven't seen a lot of the canal, have we? But that's no big deal. The canal will always be there, I hope, and there will be the next time. I planned to head south from here and go down the Hudson towards Hyde Park, then on ultimately to Key West. Along the way, I wanted to stop in and look at a piece of property I have in a small town on the Gulf of Mexico. The property is outside of Bird's Nest, which, likely as not, about the only thing I know the town for is the spectacular sunsets they have. In Hyde Park, there's one of the best chef's schools in the world there. And, I wanted to have dinner there in a couple of the restaurants on campus. Kat? Tell me what you want. Do you want to keep riding along on this voyage as my navigator or, do you want or need to go back to Buffalo?"

"Neil, you have heard me say it before. Where you go, I go. As long you will have me, my sole desire is to be with you. Whatever else there's to do, we will make happen."

"All right, Miss Kathleen Floyd, then I have another question for you." As I reached in my pocket and palmed the ring box there, I slipped to a knee. "Miss Kathleen Floyd, will you marry me?" As I asked the question, I presented her with the ring that I had made.

"Neil, no, no. You can't be serious. OH my god." Suddenly I found us both on the floor with Kat's arms warped around my neck as she cried on my shoulder. "Neil? Why me?"

"Kat, you asked why and here's your answer. Sure, you are a beautiful woman, as are many. But, what sets you apart is that you make my heart feel full. When we are together, I am whole and complete. Said in the simplest terms, I know. Miss Floyd, I love you. What's why you."

She sat on the floor with Ru's head on her knee as she stared at the ring. "I've seen anything like this ring before."

"Honey, it is an original. Like you, you are an original. There is a bit of a story behind the ring which, I'll tell you. But first, you have to promise me that you will not kick my ass, punch or hit me, jab those pointy elbows of yours in my chest, or in any other way cause me any pain. Deal?"

"Neil!! How can you say all that?"

"Just wait, and you'll see why. I had the ring designed several years ago, with no one in mind. But I wanted it for when the right woman and the right time happened. The ring has, as you see, three diamonds. The middle one is about twice as large as the two on either side. To answer a question that, more than likely, you will be asked, the center diamond is about six karts. You are the central diamond. The ones on either side represent your Aunt Flo and my Mom. Together you three are the most important women in my life. I designed this ring to be a celebration of all three of you. OH, Kat, you did not lose your Aunt Flo's ring. I sent the ring to my office in Chicago so the jeweler could use it to size the ring to fit you and return the ring here for you to find. Oh, another thing, your Aunt is doing a surprise birthday party for your Uncle Herman next Sunday. She has invited all your girlfriends from school to attend. So? You might want to call her and let her know if you'll be attending or not."

"Neil, I will live up to my promise and cause you no pain. That does not, however, eliminate killing you. I suppose Aunt Flo and Uncle Herman knew about this as well as Cathy and Carl? I am going to kill all of them too. No one spilled the beans. I had no idea you had this planned. Neil, you are wonderful, and HELL YES, I will marry you. So that I can poke you in the ribs again." With that, she slipped Aunt Flo's ring onto her right ring finger as our engagement ring went on her left ring finger. Then she laid there on the floor looking at the ring. "Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming."

"Honey? Didn't I tell you a while ago that I was a bit old-fashioned? So that you know, I asked both Aunt Flo and Uncle Herman for their permission to marry you. They agreed but wanted to be sure that we would come back toward Buffalo frequently. I agreed to that happily. I asked your Aunt to set us up with a real estate agent who can assist us in finding a place here. We are meeting with her on Monday."

"Miss Floyd? You need to call your Aunt and Uncle and let them know if we will be attending your uncle's surprise birthday party. Oh? You might mention to her that we are engaged too."

"You and she had this all planned, didn't you two? So that you know, I will put together a list of all the assholes I know. As it stands right now, you are number three on the list. With my Aunt and Uncle on the top of the list, Cathy and Carl at numbers four and five. Each and every one of you clowns is an asshole in your own rights and your own unique ways. Only Ru is not on the asshole list; he's my sweetie."

"Well, I suppose I am in good company."

"Sailor, shut up! Get over here and kiss me. You have some work to do." With that statement once more, the arms of my crazy redheaded vixen wrapped the world I had known and showed me something new. "Neil, you are a crazy old man. But you are my man, and I do so love you. And I do look forward to seeing where this journey takes us. But, before you divert me with some other nefarious thing you might pull out of your hat, I will call my Aunt and Uncle. AKA, assholes one and two and curse them both out."

"Aunt Flo? The quick answers are yes and yes. Asshole here tells me you have plans to surprise Uncle Herman; what next Sunday? I want to be there, and I will bring asshole and his sidekick with me too, if that's all right? And yes, the asshole did ask me, and I said yes. You will not believe the ring he just gave me; saying it is like nothing I've seen before is an understatement. But then again, he is like nothing I've run into before. God!! I can't believe this! Aunt Flo, thank you and Uncle Herman for helping make this happen and thank you both for being the best parents any girl ever had." The two of them chatted for a while. When she hung up, Kat looked at me. "I still don't believe this. That this is all real."

"Baby, this as real as it gets." Reaching over and sweeping her long lovely red hair aside so I could see those stunning emeralds dancing about, the eyes of my sweet woman. "Hi, baby. We will make the two of us have a wonderful life together."

"It's so funny now. I used to lay in my bed when I was a little girl, dreaming of this day and the man who came riding along with his white horse and take me away. Then you and your shaggy brown dog happened by. And I happily followed the two of you out into uncharted seas. You are the sailor of my little boat. And I do love you so much. Thank you, Neil." With that, she got up off the floor and went towards the door leading into our bedroom. While I lay on their watching her float across the room. With each step Kat took, she tugged on her towel. Flashing me in or another way as she headed into the bedroom. "Are you going to join me, or do you want an engraved invitation?"

Rolling off the floor, I slowly got to my feet and joined by the wonderful Lady. Where once more, our arms wrapped around each other, and we stood together. Where I became lost in her eyes again, "Lady, you are an imp, a vixen. But three things to always remember, you are my Lady, my imp, and my vixen. And Kat, I will always be your man, your sailor. I will always be the one who loves you."

Together somehow, we found ourselves laid across the bed here, wrapped deep in each other's arms. We were lost in the warmth of our embrace and the promise of our new lives together. We found each other's lips and softly began kissing each other. The kiss we shared wasn't a hungry or demanding kiss; instead, it was a greeting of lovers joining together again as they went along a now familiar path. Holding each other as we rolled about the bed happily, lost inside each other's souls. In time, somehow Kat slipped over my hips, then sitting up slightly, she reached down and held her cock to guide it into her. Into my woman as once again, we became one. I never knew what it was to make love to a woman until this Lady came along and changed my entire world.

She wrapped herself around her cock as she slowly slipped down it. Then, she sat there holding her cock impaled deep inside of her; as she squeezed and gave me a massage unlike none other before. In time, another climax captured us in its rhapsody.

"Baby, that was amazing, the best ever."

"Honey, yes, you lovely Lady. We need to roll our collective asses out of bed and find us something to eat besides each other. That and let Mister Rufus have a run."

"I know you are right but, that does not mean I want to move. But, for only you, I will." Slowly we got disentangled and dressed. "Ru? Do you want to go with Mommy and Daddy? Or stay here." On hearing his name, he bolted to the door. "Ru, you are as bad as your Daddy."

"Well, at least I am in good company."

"Shut up, asshole, or you two will sleep together."

Ru, let's get your vest on, and OH! My old friend, welcome to our new world.

With that, Kat and I left our room hand in hand as Ru lead the way. "Baby, when we pulled up here, I saw a small restaurant across the street from here. Next to it, there's a park that Ru can explore. That work for you, my Lady?"

"Neil, what works for me is being with you. So yes, it does."

After we were seated in the restaurant and Ru found a place under our feet. The waitress gave us our menus. I asked her; if they also had a wine list. She nodded, then went off, came back in a moment, and handed me the list, which I quickly scanned. "Ma'am, since this is somewhat of a celebration for us, might we get a bottle of the Montaudom Classe M? And if you will start us with the onion soup au gratin and a small salad."

"Certainly, if I may. Could I ask what the celebration is?"

With that Kat, slowly held up her left hand and said, "this."

"Oh my god, congratulations, you two." It seemed that Ru had to add his comment at that moment with a huge yawn.

Sitting there after dinned and chuckling lightly, "baby, you liked doing that, didn't you?"

"Neil, you have made me the happiest woman in the world. I suppose this ring is our way of saying to everyone that we are one. And yes, I will love showing off this ring you gave me as I want the world to know I am your woman."

"My woman of mine, you done wore out your man, again. So, let's do this take, Mister Rufus, to the park next door so he can do his exploration, then we can tumble into bed. Tomorrow is another day."