I sighed as I stretched my back, trying to ease the kinks in it. Leaning over mending was not easy on the neck and back.
It was warm already, being April in south central Texas, and I was dreading when summer would hit full-force. I went to the kitchen area of our small house and got a cool drink of water. Well, it was as cool as could be under the circumstances. The crock kept it fairly cool, at least better than the air temperature.
The chicken was stewing nicely on the stovetop. The vegetables were prepared and ready to add when it was time. I went back to my mending out on the porch. I don't know how two men could be so rough on clothes. Well, I guess ranching is hard work, even as small a ranch as my husband Matthew and I had. He and his hired hand, Caleb, were forever tearing cloth, or losing buttons. It was just part of my life as a wife in 1890.
Matthew had gone to Austin to take care of some business. He left Caleb here to take care of the ranch chores, and to watch out for me. I felt better with Caleb being there; it was kind of scary being out as far from town as we were. It would only be another day until Matthew came home. I missed him. We had only been married for 6 months, so the newlywed bloom was still fresh.
I did the mending until it was time to put the vegetables in the stew, then puttered around doing other assorted chores until the stew was finished. I went to the door to call Caleb; he was already out at the pump washing up. I guess he had smelled the stew and biscuits.
Caleb came in just as I was putting the food on the table. He was really a nice man. He and Matthew were about the same age, 26. I was 19 and very naive. Typical for a young woman of my day.
I smiled at Caleb and we sat at the table to eat. We really didn't have a lot to say; it was kind of awkward, really. He tried to carry a conversation, cajoling me into talking. Supper was soon over and we carried the dishes to the dry sink. I washed and Caleb offered to rinse and dry them. He even poured the hot water from the bucket heating on the stove into the dishpan for me. After the soap shavings melted, I washed our few dishes and he rinsed and dried. I hung the dishrag and towel on pegs and turned around. Caleb was standing just about a foot behind me.
"Oh! Caleb. I didn't know you were standing there" I laughed nervously. "You startled me."
"Miz Sarah, I didn't mean to frighten you", he said as he closed the short distance between us. I realized that I was trapped between Caleb and the dry sink. I was afraid. I had heard that some men would "take" women who were not their wives, do "things" to them. He put his hands on either side of me, leaning onto the cabinet behind me. He leaned down to my ear and whispered that he wasn't going to hurt me.
"Sarah, I just want to make you happy, to make you feel good." He was kind of nuzzling around my ear as he spoke quietly to me. "I know that Matthew doesn't make you feel really good, honey, and you deserve all the pleasure your body can stand."
I jerked my head back and looked at him, my eyes wide with fright. I asked him what he meant about Matthew.
"Oh, honey, I've heard what goes on...or rather what doesn't go on...in your bedroom at night."
"You've been snooping around our house at night?" I said with as much indignation as I could muster in my current state of nervousness. What was he talking about? What was he going to do?
"I didn't start out listening in on you two. It kind of just happened. After you and Matthew went to bed at night, I would sometimes sit on the porch swing out there and enjoy the cool night air, looking at the stars. One night I guess Matthew had forgotten to close the window, or maybe it was always open at night and I'd just never noticed before. But that night I heard the unmistakable sounds of "bed talk". I could hear Matthew murmuring things to you and I knew that he was going to be making love to you." Caleb looked at me, but I would not, could not, look at him. I was so horrified! Someone had heard what went on in my bedroom at night!
"You shouldn't be saying these things to me, Caleb. It isn't right." I tried to push him away, but he stayed in place and continued his story, whispering to me. I could feel the loose hair that had fallen from my bun tickling my neck, his warm breath making the tendrils move.
"I got up to leave, but found myself walking over closer to the window. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help myself. As I stood there, I heard Matthew talking and telling you that he would be quick, as he always was. I didn't hear anything from you. It sounded like he was consoling you or something. I listened, and heard Matthew grunting, the bed squeaking, then he groaned and it was over. I heard him thank you, then murmur some other things that I could not make out, and then it was silent."
"I can't believe you did that, Caleb. Please, let me go. I think you need to leave now. I won't say anything to Matthew if you leave, but I will if you are still here when he comes home." I was frightened, not knowing if he was going to do to me what men do to women, what Matthew did to me at night. I knew that men sometimes did that to women who weren't their wives. I kept trying to break free, but he just pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me.
"Sarah, you are too sweet, too lovely to have to put up with that kind of marriage bed. I'll go, but first I want to show you what you are missing. What Matthew does not give you. What he SHOULD give you." He leaned down and kissed me. I tried to wrench free from him, but he held my head in place, licking my lips with his tongue. I was horrified. Matthew would kiss me with his tongue in my mouth, but he was my husband. I worried that Caleb would try to do that, too. And he did. He squeezed my jaw so the my mouth was forced to open and he slipped his tongue inside. Dear God, please help me! I prayed. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, not moving. He kissed me, his tongue exploring all around the inside of my mouth, just as Matthew did. He sucked on my tongue, even! Oh, my! What was happening? He shouldn't be doing this to me. And worse, I shouldn't like it. What? I liked it? Dear God, I did!
He pulled back from the kiss and looked down at me again as I averted my eyes from his face. "I'm going to give you a climax, Sarah. Do you know what that is?" I shook my head. His fist hit the cabinet behind me. "Damn your hide, Matthew. You have this special woman in your bed and you don't even try to pleasure her." he cried out. Then lowering his voice, "Sarah, honey, let me do this for you. I promise to leave, but please let me do this for you."
I didn't know what to say; I was dumbfounded. Caleb picked me up and carried me to my bedroom. "I hate to do this on the bed you share with him, but it is the only one you have", he told me as he stood me up next to my marriage bed. He kissed me again, softly. He pulled the pins out of my hair and let my long brown hair cascade down my back. I could feel his fingers running through my hair as he leaned down and inhaled the scent. It felt good. This was so wrong. Another man was touching me intimately, taking my hair down, kissing me. This was so wrong and I was enjoying it. I must be like those "bad" women who work in the saloon. I'd heard that they let men do things to them and even take money for it! Surely I wasn't like them.
I realized that he was unbuttoning my dress. "No!" I told him. "You can't do this, Caleb." I was near tears, but not wanting to cry in front of him. I tried in vain to push his hands away from my dress, but he continued on. I just wasn't strong enough to fend him off.
"Sarah, I'm not going to rape you. I'm just going to give you some very good feelings. Honey, a climax is when a man makes love to a woman and he does things to her that makes her feel so incredibly good. So good that her body just gets to the point that it feels like it will explode with pleasure." He was finished unbuttoning my dress by this time. I was almost in shock, hearing the things he was telling me. Things he should not be saying to me. But I was astounded. Did things like that really happen between men and women? Could women enjoy what their husbands did in bed? What Matthew did with me wasn't unpleasant, and sometimes I started getting these funny feelings in my breasts and in that private place between my thighs. But Matthew would always spill his seed in me before it got to feeling really good.
"When Matthew gives you his seed, Sarah...when he finishes making love to you...that is his climax. He feels very good at that point. Apparently he never takes you to that peak. I'm going to. Tonight."
I was determined to get this over with, since I obviously could not disuade him, or fight him off. I just stood there and let him have his way with me. I would not enjoy it; I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
Caleb was kissing my face, my lips, my throat. My head was tipped back, and I felt my dress being parted and pulled down off of my shoulders. He was seeing my chemise! My underclothing! I was horrified. But I stood stock still, trying to control my breathing. He pulled the ribbon that tied my chemise and soon it was spread open, my breasts bared to the night air.
There was a full moon, so he hadn't lit a lantern. I knew that he could easily see me in the moonlight, see my body, that which only my husband should see. I heard Caleb take a sharp breath in and let it out, whispering how beautiful my breasts were. He leaned down and licked one of my nipples! Oh dear Lord I must be a wanton because it felt really good. Even better than when Matthew did the same thing. What was wrong with me?