Brian's Questions and other miscellaneous facts...
After the ceremony in the church and the wedding festivities in the meadow, the entire city of Colorado Springs came to the station to say goodbye to the newlyweds. Michaela and Sully were very surprised when they got into the train car to find their beautiful bed there, secretly put there by Brian and John, the train driver, after stripping the train car of its benches. Michaela blushed, because of course it was very clear to everyone what was going to happen here soon and her nerves, already stretched to the max, were running through her body. Fortunately, she managed to control her anxiety somewhat, because she didn't want Sully to notice her, because if she wasn't mistaken, he was also quite nervous. Strange, she thought, because he had been married to Abagail for a few years, so intimacy with a woman was nothing new to him. She found it strange that the prospect of the wedding night with her could disturb him so much too...
As soon as the train with the bride and groom had left, Brian turned to his grandmother. "Grandma, do you think they appreciate being able to make the trip to Denver in their own beautiful bed?"
"Brian, I'm sure they're very happy to be able to travel in such a comfortable way!"
"Well, they're married now, so they do other things too, don't they, Grandma?"
Elizabeth Quinn didn't like the fact that her grandson asked her such an embarrassing question, and she frantically tried to find a way to change the course of the conversation, without making Brian feel as if he were being treated like a baby. On the other hand, she understood that the child had questions about this sensitive subject and that as a grandmother, she had a responsibility to answer them. With a deep sigh, she said, "That's right, Brian, when people get married, they sleep in the same bed and at some point there will be a baby." Brian nodded, recognizing the truthfulness of his grandmother's words. He had seen enough animals mate to know that humans would more or less follow the same procedure, but he still found it a rather disturbing idea to think that Sully and his Ma would do the same thing together in their beautiful bed in the train car...
Meanwhile, in said train car, Michaela and Sully were busy kissing each other in the most ardent way they knew. When Michaela noticed that it was not yet dark, Sully had got up to close the jealousies of the small windows one by one, reassuring her that it would soon be dark enough. Michaela was still very nervous, but she too had obscured the last little window by closing the jealousy and pulling Sully towards her for a most fiery kiss. Finally, Sully thought, he was finally able to make this woman he loved so much his own. He was overwhelmed with excitement, his nerves were also almost at the end, because although he had been married to Abagail for a few years, this wedding night with Michaela was also the first time for him. He wanted at all costs to avoid it to end in a debacle, as had been the case with Abagail. At that time he was young and impetuous, he didn't know exactly how to manage such a first time, in short, it had not been a success. Afterwards, Abagail had never really appreciated their intimacy. With Michaela, things had to be different, he had made a sacred vow to himself, a commitment to his future with Michaela...
Elizabeth Quinn had gathered all the children and grandchildren around her, and they all headed to Michaela's clinic where Elizabeth would spend the night with her daughters Rebecca and Marjorie. The Cooper children went home where Matthew was supposed to stay with them. After wishing each other a good night, Matthew, Colleen and Brian went to Robert E's livery to pick up their horse and cart. There was still an impressive crowd milling around in the streets of Colorado Springs, everyone was talking about the magical wedding they had attended that day and they agreed that there had never been a grander wedding party in Colorado Springs. Even if Michaela and Sully were not the most obvious combination for a married couple, the inhabitants of the city were unanimous that with these two, they witnessed a love like few other people had the privilege of experiencing.
Once at home, Matthew noticed that his younger brother Brian had been very calm on the way home. Normally, Brian would talk endlessly to everyone willing to listen, but this time he didn't. After taking care of the horse and rolling the wagon into the barn, the children sat together in the living room of the homestead, where they would continue to live for just another two weeks, until Michaela and Sully returned from their honeymoon and they would move into the new homestead, built single-handedly by Sully with so much love for his family.
"Is anyone hungry?" asked their sister Colleen, who was an excellent cook, to Michaela's greatest joy, since the latter had little to no idea about cooking.
"Not really," Matthew replied, "we've already eaten so much at the reception that I'm not very hungry right now. We could have a cup of tea with some cookies. Tomorrow morning we'll have a huge breakfast at Grace's Café in town anyway." Brian nodded, he wasn't very hungry either, and the prospect of one of Grace's breakfast was very appealing to him.
Faced with his brother's silence, Matthew became more and more curious to know exactly what was bothering him.
"Brian? Why are you so quiet? We're not used to that from you," he started his investigation.
To his great surprise, Brian blushed violently. "Uhm... I'm just thinking," Brian replied sheepishly.
"What are you thinking about? Is there something on your mind? If you have any questions, you know you can always come to me. I'll try to answer you honestly."
Brian looked at his older brother. "Yes, but these are strange questions, Matthew, maybe you'll get angry when I ask them." "Well, you won't know until you try, Brian. I promise I won't get angry, really, I promise." "Well, uhm, it's about Ma and Sully." Brian blushed again, but said nothing more. Matthew had an idea of where the conversation would go and was preparing to have to answer some very embarrassing questions.
"Ma and Sully, what kind of questions do you have about them?"
Brian hesitated. It really wasn't easy.
"Well, they're on the train now, in their beautiful bed, and I know what they're doing there, but Matthew, I saw the animals when they mated, and I think it's not very tender. Does Sully hurt my Ma when he does that to her?"
Matthew chuckled. His intuition proved to be correct. Brian was worried that Sully would hurt his wife while he was fulfilling his matrimonial obligations. Obligations? Matthew thought, guessing Sully would never ever see this as being an obligation...
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the train was also heating up. Sully had helped Michaela undress and Michaela, in turn, had helped Sully remove the beautiful Cheyenne wedding robe. With evident pleasure but also with some embarrassment especially on Michaela's part, they had looked at each other and, although Michaela was still consumed by her screaming nerves, she was very happy to soon become one with Sully. After the three long years that their courtship had lasted, now the moment of becoming husband and wife in the biblical sense, was finally there, she thought. In a tight embrace, she felt not only that she herself, but also that Sully was trembling. She was quite surprised to feel his anxiety.
"Sully?" she looked at him with questioning eyes. "Hmm? What is it?" he asked. "Why are you trembling, I mean, I thought I am the only one to be nervous about what we're going to do now?" He blushed, which didn't happen to him very often, admitting: "I'm just as nervous as you are, it's our first time together, I want you to feel good, not bad, I want you to like our first time together," he whispered, his voice hoarse with repressed excitement. Michaela giggled, "And I thought that with all your experience, you wouldn't be anxious!" Sully had to laugh as well. "Yeah, but don't you forget, I ain't been with a woman for many a year and secondly, I love you so much that it makes me dizzy." And with these words, he took her lips with his own for a long, deep kiss.
Matthew had to think about how he could talk to Brian about such a delicate subject. Brian was now ten years old, Matthew thought. What did he know when he himself was ten years old? Like Brian, he had seen many animals mate and had determined for himself that, like all male animals, he had something that could be used for this purpose. Brian knew it too, but now he had to reassure Brian that Michaela and Sully's union would not be as vehement as Brian would have seen in the animal world.
"You know, Brian," he began, "Sully has already been married, so he knows exactly how to make sure his wife won't get hurt the first time they're together. But the first time is always a little painful for a woman. There is a membrane inside the woman that must first be pierced. It may hurt, but from what I've heard, it's only for a short while and after that, it doesn't hurt anymore if everything goes well." Brian nodded. All this seemed very plausible. He thought he could only hope that Sully would surround his Ma with all the tender, loving care which she deserved. He knew Sully loved his mother very much, so it wouldn't depend on that. "Thank you, Matthew, for being so frank with me."
Meanwhile, Michaela and Sully had reached the crucial point, namely the union of their two bodies. During a very close embrace, Sully, with great caution and tenderness, had broken Michaela's virginity. Michaela didn't really know what to think of it, it hurt for just a few seconds, but was very soon over. After reaching his peak, Sully, totally out of breath, had collapsed on her, heavily sweating and panting. Michaela wondered what she had been so afraid of. It was certainly not an unpleasant experience, this intimate encounter of their bodies, but to say that it was fantastic, no, it really wasn't that, she thought. With a deep sigh, she resigned herself to doing her wifely duty in the future.
"Did I hurt you?" Sully asked after a while, full of consideration for his new wife. "Not too much," Michaela replied, "it only hurt for a few seconds and then it was quite pleasant." Sully was worried, what was she saying there? Quite pleasant? Was that all it had been for her? Suspecting that his wife wasn't really seduced by this entire procedure of procreation, he asked, "Did you at least like it?" "It's special," she said. "Special?" Upon hearing this, Sully's heart almost stopped. "Yes, special," Michaela replied, "it's not unpleasant, but I didn't expect it to be like this, I expected it to be more uhm... overwhelming, more emotional," she added, blushing heavily.
Sully almost hit his head. This second time too, he had made a mess of it. If it were true that Abagail had not liked intimacy very much, now he found himself with his second wife, the love of his life, who couldn't call their lovemaking anything but nice and special. With a deep sigh of despair, he tried to remedy the situation. "You'll see, soon, things will get better. We just have to get used to each other, find out what the other likes, and you'll see that it will then give you a lot of pleasure too." "I hope so," Michaela said dryly, clearly without being convinced by her new husband's words. In principle, what she had just experienced, she thought, confirmed what she had learned over the years from the various talks with her male as well as female patients, namely that physical love was very satisfying for the man, but that the woman certainly did not get the same pleasure out of it...
Brian had decided to go to bed. Colleen, seeing Matthew sitting alone in the living room, approached him and sat down beside him. "What was Brian up to?" she asked her brother. Matthew sniggered. "He was afraid Sully would hurt Dr. Mike, because what he saw when animals mated, didn't quite reassure him about Dr. Mike's fate. He thought it would be very wild and savage, but I assured him that it wouldn't be because Sully loves Dr. Mike very much and would certainly be careful and very tender with her. I also told him about the hymen, so at least he knows about that now too." Colleen smiled: "Thank you Matthew, such a conversation between brothers is always useful." "Do you have any questions, Colleen?" Matthew asked. "Me? No, I talked to Dr. Mike about these things and she gave me very clear answers to everything I wanted to know." "We couldn't have wished for better parents than Dr. Mike and Sully, now could we?" "There, my dear brother, you are absolutely right!"
Upon their arrival in Denver, Michaela and Sully had gone straight from the station to the luxury hotel where they were supposed to enjoy a two-week honeymoon without being disturbed by patients, friends, or children. The hotel was great, Sully was looking with wide eyes, he had never seen such luxury as was displayed here right in front of him. For Michaela, it was a little less impressive, she had grown up in Boston and had been in these kinds of institutions at more than one occasion. After a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant, they decided to take a short walk. The weather was pleasant, and close to the hotel was a beautiful park. Sully, who loved being outdoors in nature, admired the many trees and bed full of flowers, he loved having Michaela by his side, his wife, had there ever been anything more beautiful? From time to time, they stopped in the shade of a tree, away from the prying eyes of other visitors, to hug and kiss. After a while, Sully couldn't take it anymore, he felt he wanted more and more to find the isolation of their suite at the hotel, in the hope that Michaela would allow him to show her once again how much he loved her. "Shouldn't we go back to the hotel? It's getting late," he stated tentatively. "If that is what you want, I don't mind," she replied, suspecting that he wanted to be alone with her again, perhaps to repeat what they had done on the train. But this time, she hoped it would be a little better than the first time, of which she was still a little disappointed...
Greeting the hotel employees from afar, they walked up to their room. Greatly relieved, Sully shook off his uncomfortable clothes, heading to the bathroom to freshen up a little. Michaela, not knowing what to do, sat on the bed, and began to take off her shoes and some of her other garments, too warm in the room. As he came out of the bathroom, Sully looked at her, and wondered if she wanted to celebrate their love for a second time as much as he did? He didn't want to force her to do something she didn't want to do. Maybe she still was a little sore inside of herself because of breaching her virginity? Completely naked, Sully approached her. Michaela lowered her eyes, blushing furiously. How could he walk around the room like that? Oh, how she wished she would have the courage to walk around like that too, but she knew she would need quite some time before she would have shed all her inhibitions in this respect. Perhaps in the near future, she mused, would she be able to overcome these inhibitions, but for the moment, she was more than embarrassed...
Sully, noticing his wife's embarrassment, guessed that his nakedness bothered her. He knelt in front of her and helped her take off her clothes. Michaela kept looking at her hands, she knew they had undressed in the train to end up being both naked and consummate their marriage, making love for the first time, but now her reserve and need for privacy had resurfaced and she didn't really know how to behave. When he had helped to remove all her clothes and underwear, Sully sat down beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and whispered in his ear: "Don't be shy, Michaela, we're married now, we don't have to hide from each other anymore, do we?" She nodded, acknowledging that he was right. "This intimacy is so new to me, Sully," she said softly, "you must be very disappointed in me, I ask you to be patient, I hope one day I will be able to overcome my inhibitions, but for now, I can't yet." "Don't you worry, I'm not at all disappointed, I love you and that's all we need for the moment. So, come to bed, we'll just hug and kiss." Saying so, he slipped under the covers and held them open for her to slip in beside him.
Michaela understood very well that Sully's most ardent wish would be to not only kiss and hug, but also to go further, to make love again. "Sully?" she stammered, "do you want... eh..." "...make love?" he finished the question for her, smiling in himself at the oh so endearing shyness of his beloved wife. "Yes, that's what I mean," she replied, grateful at his most welcome understanding of her problem to express herself in this difficult situation. "Only if you want to, Michaela, I don't want to force you. Ain't you still a little sore inside of you?" "No," she whispered, "there is no pain or soreness." She fell silent. All she had learned in her youth was that a wife had to obey her husband. And pain? No, she didn't have any pain anywhere, so she had no reason to refuse what he wanted. Sully hugged her and gave her a long, deep kiss. The contact of their two bodies and the kiss were electric. Michaela immediately realized that not only Sully's body, but also her own body reacted quite violently to this proximity. "I'm willing to make love, Sully," she said in a soft, shy voice. Sully smiled, he hoped to show her that she could also experience pleasure in making love.
In Colorado Springs, the Cooper children's two eldest children had gone to bed, laughing at their little brother Brian's questions. At the clinic, Elizabeth and her two daughters had still chatted a little, welcoming the fact that everything, the ceremony and the celebration after the wedding, had been such a great success. They were proud that the people of the city were unanimous that it was a most memorable day for their small town. Hank and Jake, finding themselves in the Gold Nugget saloon, kept laughing as they guessed what the couple of newlyweds, Michaela and Sully, were doing right at that moment. "Don't ya think she sucks in bed?" Jake was softly asking Hank, so that he couldn't be overheard by the other customers present in the establishment. Hank, in his quality of connoisseur of women par excellence, shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, ya know, she's easily inflammable, this Dr. Mike, it could well be that once in bed, she has unsuspected capabilities," Hank guessed. "Anyway, they're in Denver now, in their hotel room, so in the meantime poor Sully's been able to end his almost six-year celibacy. D'ya think they've had fun on the train in that big bed of theirs?" "Yeah, there was their bed, so I wouldn't be surprised," Jake returned. Hank laughed, "Yeah, on the train our brave Dr. Mike lost her innocence!" He kept laughing. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink, before you get lost in your dreams of Dr. Mike in bed with you," Hank said to Jake.
Michaela felt more and more on heat, leaning against her husband's body, which was in an obvious state of excitement. Sully was careful to caress her wherever he knew she would enjoy it and, when the time came, their union was magical. Michaela underwent such strong emotions, as she had never had before. This time, making love was in any case much better than the first time, which gave her hope for the future for the success of any of their subsequent intimate encounters. Once he got his breath back, Sully asked: "So, is it still just special, or was it better now?" Michaela giggled. "It was magical, Sully, thank you, it made me very happy, I think in time, I will have as much pleasure as you have." "There's more to it than that, Michaela, I love you so much, I will do everything I can to have our marriage work out." They were both tired and, knowing that their future together had begun, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
The End